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#tbh i didn't like the last episode much
silverpen-and-paper · 6 months
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loki season 2 episode 3 spoilers!
“it’s broken” says voiceover sylvie over the shot of loki and mobius torturing brad. yes sylvie i agree
oooh a lot of renslayer in this recap thing, i hope that means we’ll get to see her this episode
oooohh old timey marvel theme
is this. the old west?? i cannot tell
RENSLAYER!!
miss minutes is horrifying
she looks like she’s animated differently than season 1. way more cheap-cgi-ish, like they didn’t have time to finish animating her movements. i might be misremembering s1 tho?
child kang?? is that you??
i thought kang said he was born in the century 3000 or something? or ig this kid might be a variant? OR MAYBE HE LIED ABOUT WHEN HE WAS BORN
“you can hack into the system” “oh, that is such a relief!” ouroboros autistic vibes intensify
mobius and loki are fancyyy
HOT AIR BALLOONS!! AAA THIS PLACE IS SO VIBEY
SKDHSKSK??? there’s a nordic section???
was that use of they/them for loki intentional orrrr 👀
you know what i’m gonna say loki’s using he/they pronouns this episode and no one can stop me
“thor wasn’t that tall”
AAAAAA this episode is such a fun aesthetic so far i will never shut up about this
“what do you know about the future, boy” “great question! and the answer is, more than you…………………………..might think”
dang kang must be cosplaying as thor with all those lightning bolts
nope nope mobius that’s a terrible idea. do i have a better one? no. do i know that taking kang to the tva will backfire? yes
oh come on loki is jotun they should be able to take this human even if he is big
oh good he used his magic
GASPPP SYLVIE
what if they broke the loom instead of fixing it/expanding it/whatever they’re trying to do now? someone built the loom in the first place, the timeline wasn’t always bound by it, right? so if they broke it maybe it wouldn’t have as bad an effect on the tva as they think
if victor timely’s inventions have all been tricks so far then i don’t think he’s gonna know how to fix something for real
kinda agreeing with sylvie at the moment
welp loki just magically shoved victor close to the door that’s about to open. this can’t end well
MOBIUS AND LOKI WITH A DOUBLE BIKE??? FELLAS IT WOULD BE WAY MORE EFFICIENT TO JUST GET TWO SEPARATE BIKES
nooo they aren’t gonna ride the bike :( fanartists, you know what to do
whoop here comes the villain romance. and you know what they’re kind of perfect for each other
ahhhh so he CAN invent
squints at miss minutes. you seem jealous
I’M DYING VICTOR THINKS MOBIUS IS LOKI’S BUTLER???
skshdks maybe if you didn’t scream “THEY TRACKED US, RUN” you would’ve had more time to run, victor
MAGIC BLAST
how did they get in the wall?!
ok but this victor/ravonna romance is actually really cute. they are both bad people but the perfect ones for each other
yup miss minutes is definitely jealous
awwwww he made her a flower! this relationship is definitely gonna end in tragedy
uh oh ravonna didn’t hear it when he said he doesn’t do partners
damn already? i was expecting victor’s betrayal to happen in the next episode at least
i wonder if this is gonna make ravonna switch sides
that is an unsettling amount of mannequins
“the culmination of my life’s work” but what does it dooooo
uh oh miss minutes i think you’re gonna scare him
btw victor is kinda giving arospec vibes
miss minutes. stop. i am begging you. this is making both me and victor very uncomfortable
MISS MINUTES NO. VICTOR RUN AWAY FROM HER AND BE A GOOD PERSON WHO IS NOT A DICTATOR
OHHHH RAVONNA’S HERE! DRAMAAA
SHE’S GOT A POINTY GLOWY THING
loki and mobius are here now!
“all that matters is order vs chaos. i’m order” AND HERE COMES SYLVIE AS THE CHAOS!!!
hmmm? elaborate trick or will victor be good?
sylvie sees herself in him. she can’t do it
see you later loki and mobius and victor
HOLY CRAP SYLVIE I DID NOT EXPECT THAT. DANG JUST DUMPING RAVONNA IN FRONT OF THE DEAD BODY OF THE PERSON SHE IDOLIZED
OHOHO WHAT’S THE JUICY PLOT SECRET MISS MINUTES?
i bet it’s something about kang wiping ravonna’s memories of a life they had together or something
no end credits scene this time!
i loved this episode!! i think it’s my favorite one yet
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katierosefun · 5 months
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oh there's something particularly painful about my mister in that dong hoon tells ji an that as long as no one knows, it's no big deal, and there's something particularly painful about how ji an tells dong hoon that sometimes, i want [my secret] to play out on big screens for everyone to see, and there's something particularly painful about how the second dong hoon meets the loan shark tormenting ji an, he starts screaming and yelling about how she's just a kid, how could you do that to a kid, and there's something particularly painful about how dong hoon doesn't even let ji an know he did that, but ji an knows. she knows because she was listening in the entire time and she just starts crying because someone actually knows this ugly, sad part of her and still took her side, and something particularly painful about how my mister started with as long as no one knows, it's no big deal but really concludes with there is so much risk in having someone know who you are but there's also so much comfort and peace to be found in that, too and maybe you shouldn't isolate yourself and maybe you should reach for that kind of comfort in being known and loved anyways
#caroline talks#my mister#if this is incoherent. it should be#rewatched the first 2.5 episodes of my mister last night#felt like crying my eyes out the entire time tbh!!#every time i watch this show there's just something about it that hurts me more and more and there's something that makes the messages#in this show feel more and more relevant#idk. thinking a lot about when ji an talks about how sometimes she wishes. sometimes she wishes#that everyone knew what she'd done and what had been done to her.#something about how ji an can't ever bring herself to connect truly with another person because of how much she hates#the feeling of people realizing what her past looks like#and not wanting to withstand the pity and also horror. like. okay.#something about ji an sobbing by the bridge when she listens to dong hoon pummeling that loan shark guy#and how i used to always cry at that scene but now i tear up just thinking about it#because you know! there's that shock (that firstly: someone knows your miserable secret. and secondly: they're still on your side)#and then absolute heartache because you don't know what to do with that information. you didn't expect it.#you're sobbing at a bridge because someone knows who you are and someone knows the scars of your past and still gets angry and sad for you.#and you still feel like you don't deserve it because you know deep down you are not a very good person (or so you tell yourself).#and. oughough. lee ji an holds such a place in my miserable little heart
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tragicclownwrites · 1 month
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🤡
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cylonbarnes · 1 year
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Jade's reaction to everything is probably my favorite part about the finale. Don't want to throw spoilers yet since its only a been a day, but just her response to literally all the things that happen in this episode. She's the best.
best jade moment, other than "okay, this conversation is over" is the long up-down look she gives kit in her new armor. very mmhmm that's my girlfriend
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twelverriver · 2 years
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giles leaving sunnydale in s6 still feels so sore to me even after thinking about the whole situation for so long. it’s sad because it’s not even out of character if you think about it for a bit longer, which makes the whole thing even more painful. it’s just really telling and just so painful to see how buffy “breaks” their usual dynamic and tells him many times that him being there is making her feel safe and it feels like her mom is back and it’s nice knowing he’s always going to be there and then he hears that??? and sees she’s not only struggling with heavy depression from being ripped from heaven, she’s also dealing with life things like taking care of her younger sister and having to get a job and pay bills and the like and still being the Slayer on top of it all, he sees all that and decides THIS is the moment to go?? this is the moment to say i think my child needs to learn to stand on their own two feet?? sorry but IS THIS REALLY THE MOMENT MR. GILES????
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morethanonepage · 1 year
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In episode 10 of Constantine, John says to Zed the Achilles tendon that nullifies magic is Chas' favorite trick. So he is into magic cancelling ropes... something to chew on. Happens around 5min into the episode.
sorry to have taken so long to answer this (though this is NOT the oldest chastantine related message i'm responding to tonight 😬) but also it's partly bc it's driving me insane that this wasn't a bigger deal when the episode first aired, or since then, bc obviously i went to look it up and:
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(from a transcript site that doesn't uh identify the speakers, which is unhelpful, but that's john & zed).
i have to admit i haven't re-watched quid pro quo in literal years despite it i guess being one of the most explicitly (lol) chastantine-y episode, between the kiss (i still remember the showrunners being like 'ooooh just wait for episode 10, john's actually going to KISS a MAN' and then it was. chas and it was a cheek kiss which tbh i do still love but also the camera refused to actually let anyone perceive it fully, SO) and the arthurian curse that's forever binding chas to john (or at least till the 47 lives run out) and the hug and the pride flag hanging directly above john, zed, and chas as john looks smugly on at chas threatening someone w a shotgun.
but from what i recall there's a lot of talk in that episode about how well john knows chas (or how well john thinks he knows chas, which is actually what gets him in trouble/punched in the face, ultimately). so that exchange is a nice little hint of that early on in the episode, of john knowing that chas has a favorite (magic related) thing john does. and bc it's chas OF COURSE it's a magic-negating magic related thing (like, bondage potential aside, my first thought was -- was that the first magic-related thing john did for/around chas, to help protect him from whatever queenie was doing to him?) anyways i'm emotional about it, it's fine.
tho obviously the bondage implications ARE NOT LOST ON ME but i think i'd have to do a refresh by watching the episode itself to get a firm grasp on how that would -- potentially work.
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running-in-the-dark · 5 months
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I want to be someone who has smart and interesting things to say about shows/movies that I like - like when I tried to convince my friends that they really need to watch Leverage. that would have been useful! instead I'm just like 'it's sooo good I like it so much I love all the characters they're all so awesome 🥰'
my thoughts are generally just like.
ooh he soo prettyyy. I want to braid his hair. hehe he punched someone. look at his lil face 🥰 baby boi. pretty smile his mouth is so nice I like his teeth. chest hair. hands! arms arms arms 🤤 his eyes are so pretty. oooh blood on his face, blood on his face! he's growling. annd his voice is all raspy again. I wonder [many many redacted thoughts]. ooh now he's in danger oh noo 😏
there's a bunch of 'she's so pretty' and 'I love her' somewhere in between all that too but mostly it's just. very, very stupid
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sskk-manifesto · 1 year
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YOOOOOOOOOOOOO
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pray4jensen · 1 year
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started rewatching merlin bc it’s going off netflix and the first 2 seasons are sooo enjoyable and amazing but as soon as morgana turns evil and starts smirking evilly like a cartoon villain, the show becomes sooo unwatchable,,,,like how did they even get there,,,,,,
it was SO good,,,,,,and then it wasn’t
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ghostlyheart · 1 year
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Happy Valentines Day!! 💝 I hope you spend the day being haunted by someone you love 👻 (or if you're like me, just eating a lot of heart-shaped candy)
Poll:
#I really REALLY wanted to make a little video for valetines day but I ran out of time 🥲#maybe I'll do something late over the long weekend#for now I offer you my hot takes that absolutely nobody asked for:#the Arondekars- LOVE LOVE THEM. they're everything. just like wwdits‚ the married couple is my favorite ship. idk what this says abt me#Isaac/Nigel- I think they're really sweet!! I don't think I'm as into them as some people but I do like them a lot#the concept alone is so charming and it's a choice that establishes the show a bit from the original that I think works really well#Isaac's awkwardness and hesitancy to move things forward is SO relatable to my experience as a baby lesbian and I find it really endearing#Flower/Thorfinn- I'm not super into them I'm sorry 😭 I don't hate it but I also don't really feel the chemistry#although maybe this week's episode will change my mind!!#Pete/Alberta- oughh I didn't realize how much I loved their dynamic until I thought about it more#their opposites attract kind of thing is really cute‚ with Alberta helping Pete step out of his comfort zone#and alberta knowing she deserves someone a bit more stable who will treat her better than she was in life (she already knew this but still)#it's a shame bc they're probably the couple with the least chance of getting together 😭#Sasappis/Shiki- unfortunately there's not much they can really do :') however sass' shiki tree was adorable. what a dork#Sass/Jessica- cute while they lasted!! they weren't able to spend a ton of time on their relationship but it brought out a different side#of Sass that was fun to watch#Hetty/Trevor- absolutely hilarious. I never knew I needed it. I don't ship them in a capital r Romantic way but their chemistry is great#I'd rather see it stay just a fling tbh. also when the other ghosts find out it's going to be SO juicy I can't wait#last one- I really don't want to see the entire house coupled off. The ships are fun but also the friendships between the ghosts and how#they function as a group is the real heart of the show for me I don't want that to get lost. I don't think it's impossible to balance both#so it's ultimately just a personal preference 🤷‍♀️#wow I didn't realize i had so much to say about this aksjsk#anyway. my prediction for this poll is a close race between isaac/nigel and h-money#cbs ghosts
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the-punforgiven · 2 years
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Half tempted to go back and rewatch things I watched back when I thought I was straight and cis to see if I learn anything about myself
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l3monlem0n · 28 days
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Some Murder Drones Episode 7 screenshots I thought were interesting and my thoughts on them :>
SPOILER WARNING!!!! is spoilering
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Nori, despite being a middle aged woman with a child, appears to be an Otaku or otherwise likes "edgy" and "scene" stuff, as well as listening to nightcore, very much like her daughter. Good for her tbh you're never too old to have fun
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She also has a photo of Khan and what I can only assume is baby Uzi, though it appears to have blue eyes, but maybe it's just the lighting. Still very cute she has a pic of her husband
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As well as all the previously mentioned Otaku stuff, she also drew herself as an anime character. She has a skinsona. Phenomenal (pos)
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Nothing much here, just Uzi coughing up blood. Girl got the goop (gore) inside of her already
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Lab Space. Apparently the Church was just down there and not even the humans know why. The canonicity of this is questionable; it could just be a joke
OT, as per google, stands for "Occupational Therapy". Makes sense for the context, and makes the bottom text funnier
"Fun Time To Universe Big Crunch: 87". The Big Crunch is a hypothetical way the Universe could end, where the universe folds on itself and shrinks into a single point. 87 "what" I don't know. If it's months, that 7 years and 3 months
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Honestly the Murder Drones lore is super confusing. I think what this is trying to say is that every other Zombie Drone is doing poorly, (Except for Yeva), they are trying to reactivate 002 (Nori) via the USB. I'm not sure what this means. Maybe they only got the results they wanted from the two of them, and are trying again with Nori since she was the only other one that worked (also why they got Yeva when she failed; this may all be referring to how the episode opened up) Also, the date says SER. As revealed in the episode Cabin Fever, Copper-9 has months that Earth does not. SER most likely stands for Seramorris, the month revealed in that episode
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Looks like the "bad event" wasn't the first one. Certainly was the last one though lol
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Just a good pic of ghost/hologram V with the scary stuff. Might use this as a wallpaper
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You can literally see the hole in his neck where N bit him in...
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...And it's to the point his HEAD FALLS OFF. (including because I didn't notice the first time around)
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Yup, the idea that Uzi became the Admin for N and V is completely true. I wonder what would've happened if she didn't, since Cyn didn't react whatsoever
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friggin bug (very pos)
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You would not believe how difficult it was to get a good pic of this (I'm using snipping tool lmao). Always a pleasure to see Uzi's doodles. Things her gun can do (upper right):
NOT judge her
Forced prom date (?)
Allows her to say she had friends before she frickin murdered them with sci-fi machinery
The cut off text at the bottom: Plan B: Normal gun + Shoot really fast
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This is while Tessa is looking for something in the lockers. Claws, chains, magnets, Wings, and scribbled "HELP". Looks like the lockers were all specifically to hold the infected worker drones. Oof
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We are in the future now baby. We have rererererereCAPTCHA. Funnily enough, it still couldn't stop a robot
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There is a message board where someone who doesn't like robots is talking. They also are scared. Also no one else is using this system, which is unsurprising. "Ur aight ;)" Wait is the winky face intentional foreshadowing? Or unintentional?
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We get the names of a bunch of other Worker Drones. Unfortunately for all 029 fans, her name was not visible. (also can someone tell me what "JWEB" could be short for?) And Yeva is said to have a patch. That may be the crucible thing idk
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Cyn (which I will be calling this version Skyn [Skin + Cyn]) apparently took of the space suit just to give Doll the Withered Foxy jumpscare. Honestly really terrifying. If this photo was teased before release I think the fandom would've exploded
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Just N being a good boy :3
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The MDs, Cyn's pets. Nori refers to them as "Nerfed" so the "Entity" can ensure control, and says they were made to destroy other hosts. I don't know why Cyn would want them dead, but I'm not the loremaster here. YouTube line is there because I couldn't be bothered after the Railgun image
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Probably already confirmed, but doubly confirmed that a symptom of the Solver is giving Drones organic insides. A Worker Drone body with a rib cage and guts. I wonder what would happen if the infection continued uninterrupted (also R.I.P. Doll I loved you :frown:)
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I'm sure everyone noticed, but when Uzi tried to manipulate Tessa, the ERROR noticed appeared. Already hinting Tessa is not all she says she is
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Apparently the Solver can create Black Hole Saws. Interesting development (Blackhole Blitz)
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I know most people (I think) see this as a joke and N just being a bit of goofball. But honestly, I think he did it intentionally to shock Cynuzi and give Nori a chance. In the Pilot, he licked V's sword to surprise her too, which means he isn't unfamiliar with doing something weird and surprising for the advantage
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Skyn eating Doll's core. R.I.P. Doll again. Seriously, was that Doll in Core Form like Nori was? Or was Nori a fringe case because she was "Exorcised" and this is just a regular core? Questions, questions. Also yeah the Solver also gives you a Core. Fun
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This tag makes me think that this body is Cyn's actual body. Not longer a hologram, but her actual body from the mansion. The reason Tessa gave N, J, and V their names was because that was the first letter of their Serial Designation (she's very uncreative). However, Cyn's tag was slightly faded, which meant her SD couldn't be seen, so Tessa gave her the name "Cyn" after her P/N, even though the other 3 already have the same P/N as Cyn (Tessa, again, is very uncreative)...
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...and for some reason, Cyn or the Solver, which ever theory you subscribe to, decided to wear Tessa as a skin suit for some twisted reason. It did help her with the Captcha. Also scary because this doesn't have the right proportions for an adult (unless Cyn really forced that skin on), which leads me to believe that this is a Younger Tessa, and she faked having an older voice. Maybe I shouldn't call her my wife... I'm sure Eldritch J is still available :^)
(Seriously, the eyes are burnt out, leaving two eye holes over the visor, so she gives herself two X eyes so it looks better. Also yeah we found out what that thing on the "It Came From Copper-9" poster came from. It really was Cyn or Skyn)
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Just a frame of the final...frame... for coolness. I'm probably also going to use this for a background. Also, this is definitely Copper-9. You can see the ring and ringless moon together on the right. Uzi somehow got sent to orbit after falling in the meat hole
Well that was all for now. This series has consumed me entirely, body and soul, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Goodbye and goodnight
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cambrinkisbae · 19 days
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⋆.ೃtreat me better ࿔*:・
paige Bueckers x fem!reader
words : 3k
themes :
-angst
-18+
-comfort
warnings :
-drinking
-slight sexual content
-homophobia
A/N - I got this idea at like 2 am and it took me three days to write it but I love it tbh.
No matter how close the game was, the girls will always go out after a win. Most times I choose to not tag along since i'll probably get pushed aside. This time Paige and the girls came home more excited than usual. They made it to the final four. I was laying on the couch watching a couple episodes of friends when the doorknob of my apartment shook open. The sound of Paige's keys jingling single handily lifted me off the couches cushions. My eyes lit up even more when Paige's bright eyes met with mine.
I was originally just a trainer for Paige when she tore her ACL but during all of that, I was also trying my best to improve my volleyball career. Once I realized that being Paige's trainer would lead to a bit more, I also realized that I would get invested in everything else. Now that she was healed I tagged along the other girls, helping them out when no one was there to help with their own injuries. Finally, the season was almost over. All the other people that helped out with the teams injuries were back and ready to work. So this was my chance to get back on the volleyball court and actually pursue something. Paige was there the whole way. Anytime I would push her away so that she could focus on her own goals she would say something along the lines of "you helped me so much y/n I can't just not give anything back" and I just couldn't say no when she had that sexy of a voice. Who said that. Everything was chill, me and Paige stayed friends and we helped each other reach our goals. It felt nice to have such a good friend by my side with all that I was going through.
Paige walked through the door and her bright blue eyes met mine. She had a couple tears of joy in her eyes ready to fall and once they did I was ready to gently wipe them away. I wrapped my arms around her torso while hers were lifting me up in the air. Wow she never did that before. A loud giggle left my mouth when i noticed that I was in the air now. The blondes arms had a tight grip on my waist, keeping me up with stability. When she finally let me down all she did was jump around the living room like a child. "Did you see me and Nika's blocks?" She yelled across the room while I stood in place with my hands on my hips. A very entertained look was on my face while I watched Paige leap through the living room. "Yes i did! I saw everything!" I rushed up to Paige to hold her in place and calm her down. Before I could pull her into another hug, our phones buzzed at the same time. Paige pulled hers out first and looked down at a text from KK asking if we were up for a party tonight. Without hesitation Paige grabbed onto my wrists and shook them around while begging for me to come with. "Are you serious Paige? We do this every time, i don't like parties...." Paige kept on whining while giving me puppy dog eyes. I guess this once wouldn't be bad.
WRONGGGG
So I gave in and went to my bathroom to get ready. Most of Paige's stuff was here already so she didn't bother going back to the teams house to get ready. I spent around 45 minutes getting ready. I don't know why. It's not like there would be anyone important there. It's just a party. Nothing more. I dragged the mascara wand against my eyelashes while blinking to dry them quicker. I took one last look in the mirror before going to my closet to pick out an outfit. My eyes were immediately drawn to a black tube top and some jean shorts. It was probably going to be cold outside so I grabbed a red zip up to cover my bare collarbones and shoulders. The only shoes I could find were my red converse which I was kind of lucky to have. I walked out of my walk-in closet to find Paige sitting on the edge of my bed, putting on a pair of shoes. The moment i stepped out, Paige's eyes were very obviously clinging to my body. She tried to hide the fact that she was staring hard at my top by complimenting me quickly. "Shit you look good! Everyone's gonna be on you..." Her words dragged on with very clear tones of jealousy. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a red button up flannel. Fuck me.
Once I had grabbed my purse and some lip balm, Paige held my hand while walking out the door and I locked it behind us. We walked over to Paige's car and the moment we got inside it was Drake on repeat. She sadly grabbed the aux before I could. The entire drive was filled with Paige's voice cracking every other lyric and me pretending to not know every line. The bar that the girls decided to be at seemed way nicer than the others. Of course I may have not been out either the girls a lot but the times that I was, most of the places they partied at were just a tad bit sketchy. Paige parked her car next to Aubrey's and stepped out of the car before brushing off her shirt by sliding her hands down her chest. She clearly wanted to look presentable. The second I heard Chase Atlantic playing on the speakers I couldn't resist from singing, almost screaming, to the lyrics. I waved to a couple of the girls who were sitting at a booth right ahead of me and Paige.
"What took ya'll so long?" KK said before shoving Paige's shoulder with a wide smile on her face. "This one did" Paige said gesturing behind her to me. "She must have someone to impress huh" Ice teased me while poking at my hip. I let out a forced laugh knowing that they were right. "Nuh uhhh. I just like doing my makeup to go out..." I lied quickly. Before anyone could make anymore remarks on how i cared about my appearance, Nika came around the corner with a plate of shots for everyone. I jumped up once she set down the cup and wrapped my arms around her back. "NIKA!" I squealed, clinging myself onto Nika's body. She leaned back a little, almost falling back from the intensity of my hug. "Woah! Heyyy!" Her arms settled around my waist, melting into my back. My eyes were shut against Nika's skin but when I opened them I saw Paige staring the both of us down with not an ounce of happiness on her face. I tried my best to not react but jesus it was hard. Is Paige Bueckers, my best friend, jealous that i'm hugging her teammate? Or am I just tweaking.
I stepped away from Nika and gave her a squeeze on her forearm before pulling Paige to the side and whispering to her. "You good? You looked pissed at me just right now." She did nothing but nod. Just a simple nod. She took a sip of her drink before going over to talk with Azzi. I looked around the building to see if there were any other girls scattered around the place but for the most part everyone seemed to be in the same place. I walked up to the table of our booth and took a shot before leaning my head on Paige's shoulder. Most people viewing from afar would think that we were dating but I swear we have no feelings for each other. Paige doesn't at least. I had been messing around with the short sleeve of Paige's flannel when I felt someone tap my shoulder. I spun around to find one of my old volleyball teammates staring at me. I didn't realize it was her until she gave me that 'bitch do you not know me' look. I gasped louder than ever before wrapping my arms around the girl. "Oh my God Liv?! What are you doing here?" I squealed while pulling myself out of the hug. "I transferred a couple months ago! I saw on your Instagram that you went here and decided to surprise you. Plus my boyfriend plays for the basketball team so..." I turned around to pull Paige over in Liv's direction to introduce the two girls. "Paige this is Liv!" I say, frantically tapping the blondes shoulder. "Remember we played volleyball together in high school?" Paige was silent but seemed chill. She just kept of nodding in agreement with the same enthusiasm I was giving her. "I'm gonna go catch up with her ok? Don't dance without me p!" I yelled out while walking across the bar to sit down with a couple of Liv's friends.
I ended up sitting between her and a brunette guy. I didn't want to rude, so I introduced myself to him before Liv could. "Hey I'm y/n." I held my hand out in front of the guy. He looked at me in the eye, making me notice that his eyes were even more blue than Paige's. Damn. He held onto my hand and shook it for what felt like longer than needed. He had a shy smile on his lips and did anything he could to not break eye contact with me. "I'm Carter." It felt like our hands were melting together before he pulled away to look at Liv. "Carter this is y/n!" Apparently me and Carter were quiet enough for people to not realize that we already knew each other by now. "Oh yeah she introduced herself already." He pointed his thumb to the side, motioning to me. A little time passed that was filled with mindless drunken conversations. My head had slowly fallen on Carter's shoulder and It took me by surprise when he didn't shove me off. So I pretended to sleep soundly when I was really listening in on whatever nonsense every what talking about now. I slowly tried to inch my arm through Carter's to loop our limbs together. This is when he knew that I wasn't asleep, he gently moved his arm away from his hip for me to fit my arms through before closing in on my arms. What the fuck am I doing. Now I tried my best to act tired when he tapped me "awake." I sat up and looked around while rubbing my eyes gently enough to not smudge any mascara. "I think I'm gonna head home now." Liv snapped her head to me and furrowed her eyebrows. "What why? We've only hung out for a little bit." She whined. "I don't know I'm just tired already." I groaned while standing up and grabbing my purse. I was about to leave when I felt Carter's strong hand hold onto mine while he lifted himself up. "Let me drive you home."
Me and Carter were halfway to exit when I remember that Paige was probably still waiting for me. Just as we were going to cross the booth that Paige and her team were at I changed my mind. "Actually Carter I'm sorry but I have a friend that goes home with me and I cant leave her alone." His expression changed immediately.
"I'm sure she'll be fine." He had his hand wrapped my wrist now.
"Seriously I would feel so shitty if I just left her." I laughed off what started to feel like fear.
"No. Come on stop being ridiculous, you need to get home." His hand started to tighten around my skin.
"Carter can you stop. Just let me go home with her." I started to try and shake my arm out of his grip.
"Y/n just fucking stop. Lets go." He tugged on my wrist, trying to lead me out the door. This was perfect timing for me to be in the girls' sight now.
"Shit! Carter let me go!" I stopped walking and stood still while trying to pry his hand off of my wrist.
Finally Paige looked up and saw what was going on. Not a single ounce of hesitation crossed her mind. She stood up and rushed over to me. "Hey man let her fucking go!" She stormed in Carter face while holding a hand around my waist, pulling me away from the brunette. Carter was startled away by the 5'11 girl that had just as much confidence and more than his own. I had a couple tear in my waterline but quickly got rid of them by blinking and wiping the wet streaks of of my face. "Woah back off, I'm just trying to take her home." Carter snapped at Paige. "No, fuck off." Paige turned around with me in her grasp and walked back over to the booth. Everyone but Caroline didn't even realize what just happened. "Fine, I wouldn't want to fuck a dyke anyway." Carter yelled back at both me and Paige. It took everything in me to not turn around and swing at Carter. So Paige did it for me. she threw a hard punch right at the brunettes nose, knocking him back against the floor. "Jesus Paige!" I wrapped my hands around both of her arms and pulled her away. Her adrenaline faded away in less than a second but I swear I could still see fume flowing out of her ears. She winced while rubbing her knuckle back and forth. "Lets go." Paige said coldly while look down at Carters now bloody face. I nodded silently before holding onto her hand and walking the two of us out the exit door. Surprisingly, Paige hand gotten even a little tipsy that night. As much as I didn't want to make her drive, I didn't want to get into a crash at 12 am so Paige drove me to my apartment and unlocked the door. "Paige no. come in." I refused to let her drop me off and deal with whatever anger was built up in her alone.
I practically dragged Paige out of the car and through my door. She seemed more drunk than I was right now. I walked her to my bathroom and tapped on the counter, gesturing for her to sit down on it. She lifted herself up and winced again after putting pressure of her wounded hand. Her legs were swinging back and forth while she fidgeted with her own thumbs and I grabbed a first-aid kit and some rubbing alcohol. Her legs were spread just enough for me to fit myself in-between. I rested against her thigh while holding her fist in my hand and gently swiping away the excess blood. "This is gonna hurt." Were the only words I let out from when she punched Carter to when we almost fell asleep. I dabbed a cotton ball soaked with rubbing alcohol on the very tip of her knuckle, causing Paige's head to tilt back while she swayed her feet a bit more aggressively. "Shit!" she whined a bit before I pulled the cotton ball away and threw it in the trash can. Now that her fist was clean I could've just left it like that. I could've cleaned up the mess, put everything away and go to sleep. But of course I had to raise her hand up to my lips and place a gentle kiss on her knuckle. A lingering smell and taste of rubbing alcohol transferred to my lips but I tried to hide that. When I looked up, Paige's eye were locked onto mine. I did everything in me to attempt to look away but before I could I felt Paige's soft lips pressed into mine. I quickly got more comfortable with the kiss and slowly moved my hands to wrap around Paige's waist. I tilted my head to the side to perfectly fit her nose in between my eye socket and my own nose. She pulled away gently to look at me and protest what just happened. "I'm sorry-"
"Shut the fuck up."
I moved my hand up to Paige jawline and continued to wrap my lips around hers. I could feel that she didn't want to pull away but felt like she had the need to. "Sit up." I whispered through kisses and that she did. Paige stood up and moved her hands around my back, slowly moving them closer to my ass. I led her to my room and shut the door behind me before pushing her against the bed. I unlatched our lips to speak one more time.
"How long have you wanted to do this?"
"Long fucking time."
"I know."
I let my tongue slip in between Paige's lips, tangling itself with her own. Her hands were now running a long my back under my shirt. I pulled away for one last second to take of my shoes and jacket before fully crawling on top of Paige's lap and placing kisses down her neck and collarbones. Soft whines escaped the blondes mouth as I move closer to the opening of her flannel. Without removing my lips from her skin, I unbuttoned the flannel to reveal just a black sports bra. I looked up at Paige, giving her a look that was waiting for approval to take off her bra. She nodded eagerly giving me the chance to take it off. I couldn't help but stare at her tits before moving my lips further down her chest now reach her stomach. I traced my lips against each toned ab that she had. I could feel her stomach flexing against my mouth once I reached her bikini line. Now I gently unzipped her jeans and slipped them down her legs before tossing them to the side. The only noise I heard were the desperate whines leaving Paige's mouth, getting louder the lower I moved my lips. I practically tore her boxers off.
This is what I needed.
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stra-tek · 1 year
Text
Random spoilerific reasons to read Star Trek novels, with little to no context:
Ro/Quark is a thing
A Jem'Hadar joins DS9, tries to fit in but eventually snaps and tries to kill everybody
You learn the origins and final fate of the Borg
A thinly-veiled Dr. House clone joins the Voyager crew
Geordi briefly has 2 girlfriends at once (due to different writers not co-ordinating enough, but still)
There's a TOS book that's a musical
There are YA stories about Jake and Nog making mischief on DS9
YA stories about Worf, Geordi, Picard, Beverly, Kirk, Spock and McCoy at SFA
YA series about the Kelvinverse gang (including Gaila!) as cadets, taking on a drug problem at SFA and a very unique Borg scout in San Francisco
We very briefly meet the people who are to Q what the Q are to humanity
Janeway/Chakotay is a thing
Kirk's first mission in command of the Enterprise! Erm, at least twice.
Kirk was married between TOS and TMP
Her name was Lori
In the future, you have yearly marriage contracts that you either update or you don't and I think that's amazing
Trip didn't die! He faked his death to join Section 31 and go undercover as a Romulan
It's not great, tbh
The ENT books get better after the Romulan wars though, it's proper founding of the Federation stuff
We meet Jack Crusher (erm, the OG) when 4 timelines start overlapping and he's a bit unhinged
Teenage Kirk stole a car and his choice was go to jail or join Starfleet
What happened when Voyager got home? Seven broke up with Chakotay like 30 pages in
Kirk gets cloned, and his clone becomes the sub of an evil invincible super genius and its all very gay
George Kirk was Robert April's first officer on the first ever mission of the unnamed starship with the Naval Construction Contract 1701
Robert is a hard-core pacifist and has to turn command over to George whenever it's time to fire weapons
Data becomes fully human for a couple of days and it's really sweet
They never say "wristwatch" or "phone", it's always "wrist chrono" or "personal comm"
There are gays but they don't say that word because it's the 1990's and Rick Berman runs the franchise
Spock has a son in the past with Zarabeth
Everyone in the post-Nemesis era does spy missions all the time non stop, as if Starfleet has abandoned exploring the cosmos for doing Space Mission: Impossible
Bashir does it better than anyone else, he takes on Section 31 from the inside
Remember Control? It's from the novels, except the novels do it SO MUCH BETTER.
Remember how we never found out who Future Guy was? We do.
It's very underwhelming, nobody we know
We find out how the Romulans and Vulcans split
Surak was a Vulcan internet blogger
A Borg Cube eats Pluto
Janeway dies
Janeway gets better
At least one TOS book features a wizard
There's a Star Trek TOS/Here Come the Brides crossover novel
It had cameos from The Doctor (as in, Who), Han Solo, Starbuck and others
Whole book series about Section 31
Whole book series about the Department of Temporal Investigations
One time they do the Bill and Ted thing to escape confinement and it works
Wanna know how Riker and Troi met?
Wanna know what Picard got up to on the Stargazer?
Andorians have 4 sexes and it's very complicated
Data comes back from the dead as Data 2.0, and it was fresh and exciting because it happened long before ST: Picard did it twice.
Lal comes back too and we get father/daughter android stuff! They have a home and everything but keep having to save the universe
One time Mirror Seven is led around on a leash naked on Terok Nor
Geordi becomes captain of the USS Challenger, decides it's not for him because plot, and goes back to engineering on the Enterprise
Kirk is shot on the bridge and dies
Kirk gets better
They watch 3D holos of old Doctor Who episodes in the Enterprise rec room
The Enterprise also has an AI named Moira, which was Zora long before Zora
The TOS crew get together for one last mission. About three times.
There's a Perry Mason book except it's about Kirk's lawyer from that TOS episode
Data 2.0 owns and runs a massive gambling empire on Orion
Spock keeps randomly showing up everywhere in the TNG era
Scotty keeps randomly showing up everywhere in the TNG era
Bones keeps randomly showing up everywhere in the TNG era
You're on Tumblr so you already know about Killing Time
There's a guy named McKenzie Calhoun and he's a total badass and captains a ship of weirdos and misfits
Kirk comes back from the dead, saves the galaxy repeatedly, has an intersex child (who identifies as male) with a Romulan/Klingon hybrid
Kirk beats up Worf
Kirk's child has superpowers
Kirk's child saves the galaxy at age 6
The Kirk stuff is 100% ignored in the other novels
About 50% of the novels are ignored in the other 50%, and the ones that are meant to be in direct continuity with each other aren't always quite
Just like the TV shows and movies, then
Lwaxana Troi meets Q, and it goes as well as you'd expect
Someone tells Data, yes you idiot you had emotions all along and he's like, oh shit you're right
McCoy is left in command of the Enterprise as a joke by Kirk, who is then immediately kidnapped
Ro Laren is captain of Deep Space Nine
Picard/Beverly is a thing, they get married and have a child named Rene. No running away and raising your kid in secret here
Riker and Troi are married, serve on the Titan together with a bunch of adorable weirdos and have a daughter named Tasha
You get to watch all the 24th century characters die horribly in the end along with their entire universe. Holy fuck it's a bleak horror show. Personally, I love it. But if that's not your cup of tea I'd skip the Coda trilogy
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dropthedemiurge · 3 months
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Love for Love's Sake | Messages you didn't notice #6 | Sunbae Theory
I wanted to add this to my previous post about other messages and their translation and theories (here) but it was becoming too long, so I'm posting it separetely.
Guys, I kept thinking about the fact that we never got to learn more about the meaning of these "random" messages. And then I realized I was overthinking it too much.
ALL THESE MESSAGES WERE ACTUALLY FROM MYUNGHA'S SUNBAE WHO MISSED HIM IN REAL LIFE!!!
In the final episode there's a moment when the last message shows up, and the author is finally written.
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"I hope that place sparks your hope. From sunbae."
After we learn Myungha's full backstory, we now know "that place" means "afterlife". And if you look back on all the messages it MAKES SENSE, if you think that these are messages that are still coming on Myungha's phone from a friend – or, if we consider that everything is happening in Myungha's head, these are the thoughts about him by someone else.
Sunbae missed Myungha who was suddenly gone from life.
[In May, there is Children's Day, Parents' Day, there is even Teacher's Day but there is no Day when I can meet you] [I was passing by and saw a bracelet that you used to wear long time ago. It reminded me of you. I wonder if you still wear that bracelet.] [I broke a vase that was a gift from you. Can it be repaired?] [I thought only you dressed like that but others do too. I knew it wasn't you but I still followed. But why would you be dressed like that] (last sent messages) [I miss you. If only I could go there…] [Everything depends on what you'll do. Get yourself together.] [I hope that place sparks your hope. From sunbae.]
Tell me if these messages don't look like they were written by someone mourning the loss of a dear person. Someone who might be still sending messages to the number that will never reply anymore (and Myungha never did!). A chat that has become a diary of memories and longing, filled with a ghost of someone whose specific details you keep noticing in your everyday life. There is no Day when they can meet anymore. If only he could see him again...
I'm not sure about the vase but Myungha wore a bracelet in the beginning of the story (that was the first detail we notice about him tbh when he looks through the novel draft in the very first scene).
Someone else on Tumblr has expressed a theory that sunbae is a friend (or someone who loved Myungha) who decided to commemorate his friend in a written novel because they wanted to give him a happy life instead of a miserable one Myungha lived in real life.
I am so on board with this theory, (even though I like the grim reaper/deity theory or Myungha creating the world for himself), I think sunbae did exist in real life. And he obviously cared about Myungha, whether his love was to teach him a harsh lesson or to commemorate him in a meaningful story. After all, isn't this what all authors do to their characters? They make them go through conflicts and breaking points in order to overcome it all and finally find a happy ending.
Maybe sunbae has regretted that Myungha was never able to accept the love that others wanted to give him so he wrote the story to change that. Maybe sunbae is actually Yeowoon who wanted to put Myungha in his shoes and teach him how to love and be loved – actually, remember young Yeowoon, who lost Myungha due to his decision to erase himself from the game, who cried and picked up a pen to bring him back, starting a mission to make Myungha happy.
Maybe this novel is a desperate attempt to make peace and hope that someone you lost could be still loved at last.
No matter what, Sunbae was surely grieving Myungha.
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shadowsndaisies · 7 months
Text
codename: nightingale - usual suspects
Reference: Young Justice Season 1 Episode 25
WC: 7.4k
synopsis: fuck cadmus tbh, robin needs to work on his timing, kaldur’s got birdy’s back, and roy finally gets what he wanted
main masterlist
codename: nightingale series masterlist
a/n: guys, there's only one more in the season after this. i cannot belive my little hyperfixation fic of pure self-indulgence has come this far. i love you all so much and your support means so much, especially when i know that i go months without posting but you all come back so excited with each update! xoxo
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WASHINTON, D.C.December 30th, 09:16 EST
You were all in the Hall. The mega screen before you shows the official Justice League Induction and announcement playing on every news channel. Wally and Dick were standing on either side of you, and all of you had your eyes glued to the screen.
“The Justice League was formed for two reasons: first, as an acknowledgment that no single individual, no matter how powerful, can solve all the world's problems alone. And second, to uphold the values of truth, liberty, and justice,” Superman was making the announcement this year. Usually, it was him or Wonder Woman, seeing as the Bat didn’t exactly exude charming. “That, uh, last one's even in the name,” Superman muses, gaining a few laughs from the crowd before him. “These five heroes have sworn to uphold those values,” he continues, and the camera pans over Doctor Fate, Plastic Man, the Atom, Icon, and finally, Red Arrow.
Your lip quirks a bit as you stare at Roy. he had sent you a message this morning, reminding you that you could be standing with him today, but you had just laughed and mused that with how badly he’d wanted this, it’s surprising anyone else can stand up there with him, never mind you, who would undoubtedly steal the spotlight. You were happy for him, you were, but you were also bummed. You all had just gotten into a groove with Roy on the Team, even if it was only for a few missions, and once again, he was gone.
“You are watching live coverage of the Justice League's induction of its five newest members,” Cat Grant’s voice pulls your focus back to the News. “Looks like the entire League has shown up to welcome the new blood. Everyone from Batman to Captain Marvel!” she exclaims.
“I’m glad they didn't kick Billy out,” Wally decides, and you can’t help but nod. Dinah had mentioned briefly that there had been a chance he wouldn’t be. “And I love the fact there's a ten-year-old on the League,” he says, taking a bite of his apple.
Dick hangs his head, and you see Kaldur turn toward your redheaded best friend while the new girl, Raquel, turns to you all, “There is?” she asks.
You elbow Wally squarely between his ribs, and he hunches over, “Ow, Birdy!” he groans.
“Way to keep a secret, genius,” you scoff, glaring at him through your blacked-out lenses.
“Hey, she's on the Team now, right?” Wally defends, one arm rubbing at his side while he eats his apple.
“Is this going to be a regular thing, you just blurt out secrets whenever we get new people?” you ask.
Wally has the audacity to look affronted, “I don’t-“
“You told me about the Watchtower,” Zatanna cuts in before he can say anything else, and you snort.
Wally retorts by taking another bite of his apple and glaring at you.
Everyone’s attention shifts back to the screen, “Superman is now handing out official League membership cards starting with Doctor Fate…” You and Dick both step forward briefly to squeeze Zatanna’s shoulder in solidarity, something she smiles gently in response to, and you can feel the comfort she takes from the action in the seconds you’re touching. “…The Atom, Plastic Man, and Icon.”
“You know, I was the one who convinced Icon to become a hero in the first place. I should be celebrating with him, not hidden away in here!” Raquel complains, and you bite your lip to keep from laughing.
“Welcome to our world,” Kaldur laments.
“Well, I suppose there's an upside, too,” Raquel flirts as she eyes Kaldur. Quietly to Rob, you roll your eyes and fake a gag, which gets a silent chuckle out of him.
“Finally, Green Arrow welcomes his former protege, Speedy, now known as Red Arrow, to this roster of heroes,” Cat’s voice continues, but it’s quickly drowned out by your cheers.
“Way to go, Roy!” Wally shouts, pumping a fist in the air.
“At last, he has his wish,” Kaldur nods.
“Woohoo!” you exclaim, smiling at the screen. “The first of us to make it,” you breathe.
“No one'll call him a sidekick anymore,” Dick nods.
“Wait- Since when is being a sidekick a bad thing?” Raquel demands, and you can feel the twinge in the air. “You sidekicks were my inspiration.”
“Well, see, six months ago-“ Robin explains, but he’s quickly cut off when his communicator starts to beep.
You hover over his shoulder to look at what he’s looking at and can’t help but frown. In the background, however, you can hear as Cat Grant finishes her report, “So there you have it. The world's officially a safer place!”
There are tons of questions being shot out to Superman, who was still running the press conference.
“Looks like we can’t stay,” you announce, and everyone turns to you.
“We have a mission,” Robin tacks on, and the shift is evident as we all turn to the Zeta.
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SMOKEY MOUNTAINS December 30, 10:48 EST
“Are you sure it's her? I mean, are you absolutely positive?” Artemis asks, and it’s easy to pick up on her anxiety in the enclosed space of the bioship.
After the alert, you quickly got to the cave and changed before loading onto the bioship. The alert in question had been about a Cheshire spotting. After everything that’s happened in the last few months, especially in Taipei and then again in Louisiana, catching her was a top priority for the team.
“See for yourself,” Robin says, displaying the details on the screens in the bioship.
“This is the security footage from the Asheville Regional Airport. Facial recognition confirms that's Jade Nguyen,” you explain, having witnessed the details when they first came through Robin’s wrist computer. “But you've seen her without her mask. What do you think?”
Artemis stares at the screen for a second before her lips tug down, “It's Jade. Cheshire,” she confirms.
“Agreed, but focus on what she carries,” Aqualad hints. “Is that the case you saw in New Orleans? The one that got away?” He asks.
Artemis’ eyes harden, and her jaw sets, “Yes.”
“Okay, I'm guessing from the mug shot that this Cheshire's the bad guy. But what's so important about that case?” Rocket asks.
You have to bite back the urge to say you mean other than the fact that we fumbled the ball and lost it? Luckily, Robin speaks up first.
“Remember the Injustice League?” he asks, pulling up a photo of your friends from the bayou.
“And their giant evil plants? Uh, yeah,” Rocket confirms.
“Evil and Nasty plants,” you mutter lowly, glaring at the photo.
“The Team and the League put them in prison, but their allies still scheme, and whatever is in that containment case seems important to their plans,” Aqualad explains.
“We had a chance to grab it in New Orleans, but someone-“ Wally tacks on, but you interrupt him with a glare that he seems to miss as he focuses on Artemis.
“But we screwed up,” you correct. It was a team mission and the team’s attitudes and environment that culminated in what had happened. You weren’t going to place the blame squarely on Artemis.
Wally’s eyes dart to you, and you quirk a brow challengingly. He, in turn, scoffs and turns back to face the front instead.
“Approaching Cheshire's jet,” M’gann announces.
Everyone’s focus turns to the front, but when you get close enough, you let out a low gasp, and a wave of shock rolls over everyone at the scene of the downed plane. The crash had evidently been rough, but it’s a sharp note of grief that hits you that has you turning to Artemis, who is resolutely not staring at the crash anymore.
“Looks like there were no survivors,” M’gann notes, and your lips tug down as you try to assess the scene from the air.
“We need to go down,” you decide.
“NG-“ Wally’s scoff has everyone turning to you for an explanation.
“We need to check the wreckage,” you state.
“Are you serious?” Rocket asks, eyebrows raised.
“Cheshire and the case are our responsibilities, we check the wreckage,” you affirm.
It’s quiet for a moment before Kaldur speaks up, “open the hatches,” he agrees, and Wally lets out a puff of air, shaking his head, but stands up regardless.
M’gann opens a few drop hatches for those who can’t fly while the rest go ahead.
Soon enough, you’re spread out through the crash, analyzing anything you could find and looking for any indication that Cheshire was still in the plane when it went down or the case itself.
“How come Homeland Security and the N.T.S.B. Aren't all over this?” KF shouts, asking anyone.
“Cheshire's ID was a League alert,” you answer from where you’re crouched near the front of the plane, grabbing the black box and tossing it to Rob.
“Authorities didn't pick it up, and her jet didn't follow its flight plan,” Robin supplied.
“Flew under the radar, literally,” you note, standing back up.
“The Watchtower auto-tracked the jet and recorded the crash,” Robin continued.
“Then why isn't the League here?” Rocket pressed.
“Because our Boy Wonder has hacking skills and arranged to get the alert first,” Zatanna smirked. “Well that, and because Nightingale said to make it so,” she teases, gaining an eye roll from you.
“And because Cheshire and that case represent our unfinished business,” Aqualad corrects.
Superboy moves another part of the plane before asking the question that everyone had been wondering, “Where are the bodies?”
“Here's one. And it is stunning….” a voice all but purrs, grabbing everyone’s attention.
You can’t tell if you’re relieved or annoyed that Cheshire is standing tall, all in one piece, but you’re positive that this was the best outcome you could’ve hoped for, at least you were until the next voice pipped up.
“I am flora, not fauna,” the voice begins, and your gaze shifts as you spot the camouflaged ninjas along the mountainside. “I am foliage, not trees,” it continues, and your gaze keeps moving up, counting the adversaries before stopping on the man in green. “What am I?” The Riddler possesses his question, and you spot Shimmer and Mammoth behind him, too. He snaps his fingers, and suddenly, pylons are popping up from under the snow, and you groan at the realization.
Within seconds everyone is trapped underneath a green dome, “Seriously? A trap? We’re idiots,” you huff, soft enough for only Dick to hear, and he just shakes his head.
“Come on, you can get this. I am shrubbery, not grass. What am I?” The Riddler urges. “I…
“Am bush,” Robin grits, and you don’t hold back the groan that escapes this time.
“Didn't you think we'd be tipped you were on Cheshire's trail?” Riddler asked. “We're tired of your interference, kiddies. This is the end game. Ordered from above and executed by their master strategist, moi.”
You can’t help but roll your eyes. There was something about Riddler that screamed Narcissistic Personality Disorder, but that could be something you picked up from Dinah’s files.
“Miss Martian, is everyone linked?” Aqualad asks, and the second you hear him, your hands reach back to your back holster, fingers wrapping around your escrima sticks. “Yes,” she confirms, and you make brief eye contact with Dick, tilting your head slightly to indicate a direction. He responds with the same small action in confirmation. “Go!” Aqualad orders, and everyone splits up.
Zatanna makes her move first while you and Dick rush up behind and around her, “Ekahs siht ebolgwons!” (shake this snowglobe) she chants. Within your pylon-ed dome, snow flurries, creating an excellent interference from any direct attack.
The rest of the team jumps into action, using the moment of surprise and confusion to take on the ninjas.
You’ve just knocked one down when Aqualad speaks up again, “Superboy, the pylons,” he orders, and you risk a glance toward your friend with the S.
“Working on it,” he announces out loud, and you focus back on the enemies before you.
“KF-- cradle?” you inquire as you run up, behind Wally. “Ready,” he confirms, turning and dropping down, proffering his hands.
You run up and, with no hesitation, step into Wally’s grip. He’s pushing your body up a second later, giving you enough air to wail your escrima sticks down on the underprepared shadow. It’s reassuring that Wally will always have your back, even in disagreements. As he falls, knocked out, you quickly scan the rest of the battle and manage to spot as Rocket gets hit.
“Rocket’s down, she needs an assist K, and we’ve got a Shadow two tiers up, with some sort of electric disk device, looks like fatherbox tech to me,” you inform the team.
Robin quickly gets up, knocks out the Shadow, and Kaldur moves for the disk. You almost move to help him when you spot a Shadow coming up behind him, but you see M’gann moving in. You turn back to take on another Shadow, this time with Dick at your back fighting his own, but you see it when Conner launches into the air. You’re waiting for gravity to start pulling him back, but it doesn’t.
“That’s impossible,” you note as you use the electricity feature on a Shadow, who then crumples at your feet.
Robin turns his head, and his eyes widen as he stares at what you are.
“SB, you're flying!” he gasps, and your eyes widen too when you catch him using heat vision a moment later.
In his rage, he seems to miss the results of his attack. Your gaze drops, and you can see the top of Artemis’ head.
“Avalanche!” you shout into the link, hoping she’d cleared out of the way in time. You really weren’t trying to relive the Arctic in the real world. It’s silent for a moment, and then your anxiety takes over, “ARTEMIS!” you’re screaming into the link.  “I’m alright!” she confirms, and you let out a breath.
Rob taps your shoulder and gestures up to where Riddler’s still standing, and you nod. The two of you make your way up, targeting Shimmer and effectively knocking her out cold with a mix of a smoke grenade, Robin’s bola, and your well-aimed punch.
With Riddler’s focus on you and Rob, Zatanna floats behind him as the smoke clears, “Tekcajtiarts!” (straightjacket!) she announces, and Riddler’s suddenly restrained, unable to get free.
“No!” he shouts. “I am not the straightjacket type! I am strictly Belle Reve not Arkham!” Riddler argues.
Zatanna huffs out a, “Gag mih!” (gag him!) effectively silencing the Riddler's little tirade.
“Hey Rob, what is broken when you name it?” you ask, a shit-eating grin on your face as you crouch down beside Riddler, who only glares at you in return.
“Silence,” Robin smirks, earning Edward Nigma’s ire.
“Hguone htiw eht ebolgwons,” (enough with the snowglobe) Zatanna’s shout echos’s across the mountain, and suddenly the snow stops.
You all quickly work on the remaining pylons before loading the bioship with Nigma and the captured Shadows.
“Cheshire?” you ask out loud.
“Gone,” Artemis confirms.
“From you? Again?” Wally challenges. “That’s like the third-“
“Enough,” Kaldur cuts in quick. “We need to drop these prisoners off at Belle Reve and return to the Cave, I imagine, the League will want a debrief and an explanation.”
“I guess it’s a good thing, I got the case, though,” Artemis adds, and you can’t help but smile at her.
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MOUNT JUSTICEDecember 30, 15:45 EST
You felt like he was staring right at you. Given the whiteouts of his mask, Batman could be glaring at any of you, “Tell me if this sounds familiar. You hacked League systems, disobeyed protocol, and endangered your lives,” he pauses. 
You have to fight the wince when you catch Dinah’s eye. She’s standing behind Batman with Red Tornado and Martian Man-Hunter, and she’s got an eyebrow quirked as she stares straight at you.
“And your initiative resulted in the capture of three escaped felons proving Warden Strange runs Belle Reve as a cover for criminal activity…. Well done,” he affirms, and you let out a small breath, gaze darting over to Robin, who quirks his lips in a small smile, one you match.
“And then there's this,” he adds, forcing your attention back as he and Icon approach the case that Artemis had recovered, “Bio-technology integrated with some form of nano-circuitry.”
“Though I am unfamiliar with the species, the bio-component is clearly not of Earth,” Icon confirms.
“We'll take it to the Watchtower for further study,” Batman decides, and the Leaguers head back toward the Zeta.
Canary lingers before walking over to you, mostly everyone else disperses, but you can feel Wally and Kaldur behind you, and Dick’s still at your side.
“I get the feeling that this decision was not made on your own?” she inquires, staring at you.
“I have a team,” you reply loftily. “I don’t have to make these decisions on my own.”
“No, you don’t,” she smiles gently at you, running a hand across your cheek, and then turns to the boys, “and I’m glad to know you see it too.” She says nothing but offers you a pat on the shoulder and turns to the Zeta.
As soon as Canary and Icon zeta out, you turn to the team, shoulders set, “You realize we were set up,” your tone is even, despite the worrisome nature.
“Yes,” Aqualad confirms. “Cheshire and Riddler were tipped and ready for us.”
“They knew we were looking for her, specifically,” you point out, and you can’t help the way your gut swoops.
“Not the mole thing again,” Artemis groans, and your lips turn down. How was it that Roy got to move on, but you were still battling the same demon.
“Mole thing?” Rocket asks, concerned. “Again?”
“We had intel that there was a traitor on the Team,” Wally explains, tone resigned.
“Namely, Artemis, M'gann, or me,” Conner huffs, his bravado cutting through as he steps forward with clenched fists and levels a glare at you specifically.
“It is more complicated than that,” Kaldur argues, placing a hand on Conner’s shoulder.
“And we-“ you gesture between you and Kaldur “-never said that, we only tried to look into the claim to see if it were true,” you argue.
Conner scoffs and shoves Kaldur’s hand away, turning to leave, “But your recent behavior does concern me,” Kaldur adds, following after him. “Your attack on Mammoth nearly got Artemis killed.”
Conner doesn’t respond, though he does stop for a moment. When he winces, your brow furrows, “Conner?” you call cautiously.
“There’s something I need to do,” Conner says, turning back to face you, but his tone is wholly different. “Something I need to tell you,” he admits, and you shift as you pick up the unease of everyone in the room. “Last month, on Thanksgiving, I went back to CADMUS and found a few things out.” Your eye twitches slightly at the mention of CADMUS, but you fight to keep your expression neutral. “When I was cloned, only half the DNA was Superman’s. The other half was human,” he admits, and there’s a shift from everyone else. “That's why I don't have, will never have, full Kryptonian powers.”
Your brow furrows, thinking about what you’d seen today, “You sure? Because you sure seemed to have them today,” Robin teases, voicing your thoughts.
“I've been using these,” Conner says, pulling up his sleeve and showing a patch, “Shields. They suppress my human DNA. I get the flight, the heat-vision, but I think I also get angry. Well, angrier… I’m… sorry,” he explains and only one question comes to mind.
“Conner, where did you get those?” you ask, voice lethal.
Conner winces at the question and your tone but meets your gaze. There’s an honesty there that hasn’t existed in a while, a calmness that stems from finally unloading the truth, “From my human father… Lex Luthor.”
There’s an audible intake of breath from someone behind you, and everyone’s eyes are blowing wide, but you? You’re fuming because if Lex Luthor had that much reach, it meant he must have been the silent bankroller for CADMUS, which in turn means Lex Luthor was responsible for the death of your parents, and that? That was not something you’d be letting go of, not now, not ever.
“Lex Luthor, is your dad?” Dick asks. The surprise is evident, and if not for the topic, it would’ve been a moment to commemorate, catching the Boy Wonder off guard.
“He's summoned me to Santa Prisca,” Conner continues.
The silence is deafening. Your shoulders tense as you try to gather your thoughts, and as you open your mouth to say something about Conner’s decision to keep these things secret, Artemis speaks up.
“Ahhh, listen,” she sighs. “Superboy’s not the only one suffering from bad DNA,” she admits, and you tense further, turning to look at the blond. She pulls up three IDs on the holo-computer before beginning. “My mother is Huntress, an ex-con. The rest of my family aren't even ex. My dad's Sportsmaster, and he's sending my sister, Cheshire, to fly me to Santa Prisca, too.”
You gape at the screen, but it all makes sense: her need to prove something, her secrets, her mother’s desperation, even the reason why Cheshire always seemed to escape when up against Artemis.
“That's why-“ Wally’s voice cracks, and you’re hit with a wave of understanding and regret from the speedster as he stares at the archer.
“Yeah,” she mutters. “I was so desperate to make sure none of you found out. “
“I knew you weren’t GAs niece, but-“ you mumble but stop as eyes shift to you.
“I knew,” Dick negates, and Artemis’ eyes blow wide, and you can’t help but gape at him. “Hey, I'm a detective!” he defends but quirks a smile, “But it never mattered. You aren't your family. You're one of us,” he reminds her.
“You always have been,” you manage to choke out, “nothing to prove,” you remind her, and you can see how the tension melts away from her.
Wally pushes forward and stops beside her. He hesitates on what to say but eventually settles for a small smile, propping an arm on her shoulder and jokingly asking, “So who's next?”
“I am,” comes the somber response from M’gann, and for the first time since the start of these revelations, you watch as she seems to curl up into herself.
“I swear I was kidding,” Wally says desperately, hands up in surrender.
“Queen Bee's been blackmailing me. She wants me in Santa Prisca too,” she admits.
“Blackmailing?” Kaldur repeats as if he hadn’t heard her correctly.
“How?” you press. Your voice is rough, and you notice how M’gann’s not the only one to flinch at it.
“She knows my… true… Martian form,” M’gann admits, but the way she says it makes it seem heavier than your first instinct.
“Bald M'gann? Who cares if-“ Robin wants to make a joke, to lighten the mood, but M’gann cuts him off, and before she shifts, you know why: Bald M’gann had been another cover for a secret she hadn’t been ready to share.
“No,” she interrupts, taking a deep breath before shifting.
If you thought the reactions to Luthor being Conner’s human dad were extreme, it was nothing to how almost everyone reacted to M’gann’s true form. She stood before you, a towering creature, a White Martian. While your information was limited, you had enough to assemble a theory.
You fought not to react, to stand firm and impassive beside Kaldur, just as he did. The only other person not to react was Conner.
There’s a whispered “woah” from Rocket as everyone else releases startled gasps.
“I realized you would never accept me if you saw what I really am,” M’gann tells us, and you ache for her. You struggled sometimes balancing Nightingale and (y/n) Roxo. You couldn’t imagine having kept your true self a secret from everyone, having no one to turn to. It had to have been incredibly draining and lonely… so lonely. Your anger was fading with each revelation, but there was one point where you were still stuck.
“M’gann, did we truly seem so shallow?” Kaldur inquires, and though he sounds the same, you can hear the hurt in his words, the edge you recognize as him questioning his abilities in setting the tone of his leadership.
M’gann crosses her arms, her gaze cast down. Dinah called that stance protecting by avoidance, “I couldn't take a chance,” M’gann admits. “Being a white Martian among the green on Mars, I endured constant rejection….I couldn't face that from-“
“From me?” Conner asks, carefully stepping forward and taking her hand.
The way they stare at each other is enough to tell that they are now having a more private conversation. Dick takes the opportunity to grab your shoulder, forcing you to turn to him, Kaldur doing the same.
“Now might be a good time for anyone else to share secrets regarding CADMUS,” he hints, and your lips part- he hadn’t even bothered to whisper.
“What are you talking about?” Zatanna’s question echoes from behind him, but you standing stock still, staring at him.
“You must be joking,” you hiss as you shrug out of Dick’s grip.
“C’mon, Birdy,” he urges, and you feel Kaldur’s hand on your shoulder.
You shrug off Kaldur, too, before spinning on your heel, pushing past Artemis and Wally and to the computer. Your hands shake a bit while you type, but you pull up everything you have; the news article about your parent’s death, the report on your blood from Dinah and Bruce, and the readings on the genomorphs at CADMUS. You take a deep breath before turning back to everyone now looking at you and at everything you’ve pulled up, eyes jumping between each article and report.
You sniff before reaching into a compartment of your belt and pulling out a mask adhesive dissolution wipe. When you start pulling at your mask, there are a few wide eyes, and when your glare lands on Robin, all he does is smile in return.
“My name is (y/n) Roxo, and when I was six years old, I witnessed the murder of my parents,” you begin. Everyone but Kaldur and Robin focus on you with lips parted and wide eyes. “They were Wayne Enterprises scientists, brilliant actually. They noticed some discrepancies with a project in the labs, cover-ups, and false reports. One had to do with an instance when I was in their lab and was accidentally exposed to whatever the project had been focused on,” You begin. “When we went to CADMUS on the Fourth of July, something about the genomorphs seemed familiar. I later discovered that’s because when I was young, I was exposed to a replication of their abilities, the beginnings of the research that led to the cloning capabilities. It’s what gave me the empath abilities and why J’onn thinks I could manifest further powers, just like the genomorphs have,” you explain.
“Which is why you looked like you were about to whip out some kryptonite when SB here said Luthor was his dad,” Artemis pieced, gaze jumping toward you and Conner. “Because CADMUS-“
“Because CADMUS is his project, and he funded, orchestrated- he was responsible for my parents murder,” you affirm, eyes meeting Conner’s.
“Holy shit,” Wally mumbled, and you couldn’t help but agree.
Conner was staring straight at you despite how focused he had been on M’gann only moments before. His blue eyes were wide as he stared straight at you, his lips parted but closed, and then his expression shifted as he took in the rage in your eyes and again when he saw the hurt. His shoulders sag slightly, and he slowly takes steps forward until he is right in front of you.
“I- I’m so sorry, Bir- (y/n),” he stutters over your name for a second, and you want to hold onto the anger. You want to be mad at him, but his eyes are so open and honest with you right now, and you’re reminded of the Conner who saved you from Cadmus back in July, the one who wanted to do good, to be good.
“It’s not okay, but I don’t… I don’t blame you,” the fact that your blame fell squarely on Lex Luthor went without saying.
He offers a curt nod, “a problem for later?” he adds quietly, and you give a silent nod in affirmation.
“So uh.. I know I’m new, but what now?” Rocket asked, and everyone’s eyes jumped from person to person, waiting for someone to speak up.
“We know that CADMUS has played a much larger role than any of us anticipated when we began this team six months ago, and we know that Superboy, Artemis, and Miss Martian are all expected at Santa Prisca,” Kaldur begins, and everyone’s attention shifts to him. “So we go as a team. Prepared for whatever they may throw at us. The backroom deals and secret alliances end today.”
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SANTA PRISCADecember 30, 17:57 ECT
“Superboy’s about to make contact,” M’gann’s voice echoes as everyone focuses on the exchange.
You and Robin were in the bioship with M’gann. At the same time, Kaldur, Wally, Rocket, and Zatanna had taken discreet positions on the island, each of you waiting for the call.
You could feel Robin staring at the back of your head, but you ignored him instead of focusing on what was happening on the ground below you.
“Welcome, Superboy,” Lex Luthor’s voice sets you on edge the second you hear it. Still, you force yourself to watch as Suberboy dismounts the Supercycle. “I'd like to introduce you to my associate, Queen Bee.”
Even though it was expected, your heart begins to speed up a bit in reaction to the developments, “My pleasure,” she greets.
“I believe you know everyone else. Sportsmaster, Mercy, Blockbuster. And our new friend Bane, who's allowed us use of his island in exchange for certain considerations,” Luthor introduces as everyone around him steps forward.
“No one wanted to listen when I said following Bane was a bad idea, and here we are,” you huff into the link, but the rest are silent.
“So the Injustice League was just a distraction. You two have been behind everything from the start,” Conner surmises, painting his expression with shock.
“Heh, a flattering notion, son, but we have many friends,” Luthor sidesteps, and your skin crawls at the way he calls SB son.
“This one of your friends now?” Conner asks as a helicopter begins to approach and then as it lands.
“No, my boy,” Luthor smirks. “One of yours.”
Conner glares at the copter until the door slides open, “Artemis?” the name rings out with a tone of shock, and you roll your shoulders, trying to force yourself to relax.
To her credit, she plays her role well, “The hero thing wasn't working out. You get how it is. No trust,” she scoffs, seemingly indifferent to the developments around her. “This is where I belong,” she adds, and you flinch.
“You’re up, Miss M,” you announce, and she backs the bioship up a bit, making a circle around the island and de-camouflaging the bioship before parking it in the air above the group.
“It's a fast-growing club,” Queen B announces as M’gann descends to the ground.
You reach for the rope, securing yourself to the repeller in preparation for when you’ll all be making your move.
“So… you’re just going to ignore me?” he asks cautiously.
Your glare sharpens in his direction, but it’s difficult to make out with your mask back.
“I know you’re upset that I-“
“Upset? Dick, I’m furious, you pushed me into revealing things they didn’t need to know! Things I trusted you enough to share about, privately!”
“They needed to know!” he argues. “(y/n) you consistently come to the rescue, you throw your life on the line for us, you did it in the Bayou, you did it for Wally in Seattle, you did it last week for me in the Circus. You do it all the time, because you know these things about everyone, you know when they need the support, but no one- outside of Kaldur and I, even had the slightest inclination. They needed to know, because today is more than the conspiracy of the last six months. Today could be the end, of it all, for you. Today could be the answers you’ve been looking for since Dinah took you in.”
“It wasn’t your call to make,” you hiss.
“No, it wasn’t. But this team fights better, fights stronger, when it’s united, and you’ve always been able to make us get our shit together better than anyone else can,” he sighs.
You glare at him but refuse to respond, and his shoulders drop.
“Why are they here?” M’gann’s startled gasp forces you both to look back to the ground from your spots within the ship. “You promised!” she cries.
“I’ve kept your secret and my promise,” Queen B argues, tone deadly. “Now, you keep yours,” when M’gann ducks her head, the monarch smirks, “Good girl.”
“Give me more shields, and I'm in, too,” Conner decides, and your lips twitch down. Espionage was not his forte.
Luthor walks closer and stares at Conner briefly before smirking, “My boy, you're a terrible liar.”
Conner’s eyes blow wide before winding back for an attack. However, before he can, Luthor plays his card, “Red Sun.”
Conner does well with his role. His entire body relaxes, face falling flat, arms hanging limply at his side as he stands straight with a muted expression, staring at Luthor.
“What do you want us to do?” Artemis asks, stepping forward, prodding the meeting along.
Luthor nods his head once, and Sportsmaster gestures to Artemis and M’gann. “You two, follow me.”
“What about Superboy?” M’gann asks, eyes sliding to Queen B.
“He'll be fine. He simply requires a few adjustments…” she trails off.
Everyone but Superboy begins to follow after Sportsmaster, “Bring him along,” Luthor orders, and Blockbuster moves toward Conner.
Your breath catches as you wait to see what happens. You’d all agreed that it’d be Artemis, M’gann, or Conner’s call on when to move, given they were the three in the thick of it. So when Artemis starts running forward, bow in hand before shooting at Blockbuster, trapping him for the moment, before turning around and aiming at her father.
“Sorry, Dad. Wanted to play you like you tried to play me but I can't let them mess with Superboy's head!” she shouted.
“M'gann, be a dear and take Artemis down,” Queen B orders.
You look at Rob as you both step up to the drop-hole.
You let out an audible groan as you stare at the boy across from you, “After,” is all you say.
He nods in affirmation, “milkshakes?” and you nod in agreement.
M’gann lifts Artemis in the air but then uses the distraction to fling Queen B backward and into a tree. She falls to the ground unconscious, and you wait for the verbal confirmation. Artemis shoots a shot at her dad, and then M’gann lets her down.
“Queen Bee is down,” M’gann confirms. “Superboy, you're safe from her control.”
"I may not be much of a liar, but I fooled you,” Conner announced as he approached Luthor.
“And I'm so proud,” Lex states sarcastically. “I take it Miss Martian cleaned Red Sun from your mind?”
“And confirmed Nightingale, Aqualad, Robin and Kid Flash rescued me from Cadmus before you had time to install any other programming,” Conner shoots back.
Luthor sighs, “All true. Personally, I blame Dr. Desmond.”
As if verbally queued, Blockbuster frees himself from Artemis’ trap, charging at Superboy.
You observe as Bane’s goons start engaging, and the supercycle quickly lays down cover fire while SB gets busy with Blockbuster.
Artemis and M’gann alternate between defense and offense until, “Guys, reinforcement time,” the blonde calls.
Rocket and Wally are the first two to make it to everyone, and you glance at Rob, “Ready?”
“Go,” he confirms, and you both drop-down, trusting the rope and the bioship as you go. You yank the stop when you’re only a few feet off the ground, and both you and Robin stop abruptly before releasing yourselves, dropping to the ground and landing agilely on your feet.
You take a second to scan your surroundings. You spot Kaldur facing off with Luthor and his assistant, an unconscious Queen B in his arms. You turn instead to take on some of the goons. You and Rob were methodical in knocking down person after person, you hear the cocking of a gun behind you, and you turn with wide eyes,
“Ekoms dna srorrim!” (smoke and mirrors!) Zatanna chants and the gun turns to smoke, which then turns into a giant serpent, winding its way around the goon’s body. “Egnahc ekans otni sgnidnib!” (change snake into bindings); she continues, and the snake becomes a rope.
You’re frozen in surprise for a second, but that’s knocked away when Bane appears and charges at Robin, Zatanna, and you simultaneously.
“Shit!” you manage to grit out in surprise.
Your hands start moving blindly, a hand going to your hip where your grapple is. You quickly twist the cord out of the gun before whipping it and your arm out to the side in an arc. The tensile strength of the cable is enough to stop Bane as he falls forward with the three of you.
You and Rob push him off and to the side. Robin covers you while you quickly peek at Zatanna, who seems knocked out. You look up in time to see Bane get back up and start fighting with Robin. You're on your feet when he gets pushed back, facing off against Bane.
“Hola Chicita, it’s been some time,” he teases, head tilting down at you.
“Not nearly long enough, Bane,” you huff.
“Etaerc Elagnithgin Snoisulli!” (create nightingale illusions) Zatanna’s rushed chant whips through you, and you can feel the prickle of her magic as it washes over you, and suddenly, there are dozens of you all facing Bane.
Bane’s surprise is visible as he scans each and every duplicate of you. "Gotta love an army of NG,” Rob smirks as he pushes himself up.
You smirk in return and pull out your ring daggers, several duplicates doing the same or arming themselves with escrima sticks and marble bombs before you’re all running at Bane. He gets distracted by the ones jumping up at him directly and misses when the true you slip around him with one of your blades out. You cut through his tubes of Venom, weakening him. Then you turn with an escrima stick crackling with electricity and plant it firmly at the base of his neck, watching with satisfaction as it brings him to his knees and then as he collapses.
You pull back, and with the moment you have, you take in a deep lungful of air, finally able to breathe. As you look around, you realize the fighting has stopped. Artemis and KF are standing by an unconscious and tar-trapped Sportsmaster. Superboy, Miss M, and Rocket are posted up by Blockbuster. You stare down at Bane as you realize who isn’t still here, and Robin joins you a second later.
“NG?” his voice is hesitant, as he notices how you’re gripping your escrima stick and dagger, your body tense, as you stare at Bane.
“He got away,” your voice cracks as you say it, and your fists clench tighter. "Luthor-"
When Robin touches your shoulder, you both recoil quickly; his lips part as he stares at you and his hand.
“I.. I felt-“
“I’m sorry,” you whisper, tugging on all the strings threatening to burst free, trying to cram your emotions back in their place to keep them from leaking out and affecting everyone around you. You drop your weaponry, hugging yourself as you try to compact your feelings.
A different hand lands on your shoulder. When you turn your head, you see Kaldur beside you. You can feel yourself unraveling just as fast as you attempt to stuff it all down.
“Stop,” you say as you attempt to shrug him off.
“It is okay to feel angry, my friend,” he reminds you, eyes burning with the same rage you feel, and you know in that second that it is the same rage, it is your rage, that he’s taking it on, for you.
“Kaldur, stop, that’s not- you shouldn’t-“ you huff, but with each move back, he follows, until suddenly he’s holding you in a tight hug, and you can’t move anymore. “Stop,” you beg, gripping on to his arms.
“Allow us to help, epitrépste mou na sikóso aftó to város. stiríxou páno mou, chrisimopoíise ti dýnamí mou, méchri na anaktíseis ti dikí sou. Eímai statherós, paliós fílos. (let me carry this burden. lean on me, use my strength, until you regain your own. I am steady, old friend).”
His words wash over you, and you finally do that. You stop pushing against the bits that are bleeding. You can feel Kaldur stiffen when he finally feels the whole barrage of your emotions, but quickly, he tightens his hold on you. When tears start to fall from both of you, all you can do is sag into him in relief.
“Den eínai díkaio. Xéfyge. Tha éprepe na eínai edó. Tha éprepe na logodotísei gia ta enklímatá tou, ton rólo tou. Échoun fýgei kai eínai exaitías tou. Eímai tóso kourasménos kai tóso thymoménos, to niótho óli tin óra kai prospathó tóso sklirá na min to afíso éxo. Allá giatí eínai eléftheros?” (It's not fair. He got away. He should be here. He should have to answer for his crimes, his role. They're gone and it’s because of him. I am so tired and so angry, I feel it all the time, and I try so hard not to let it out. But why does he get to be free?) the words tumble from your lips in sobs of atlantean.
Part of the truth you’re admitting was too raw to admit to everyone else, none of the sidekicks had ever seen your anger, your rage— Kaldur had. Kaldur was the one who he lped you learn how to manage it. He was the one who taught you, the one who showed you how to channel it into something better.
“Thýmose, Poulí, tha diatiríso tin isorropía kai gia tous dýo,” (Be angry, Bird, I will maintain the balance for us both) he answers, his voice as calm as ever, and you can’t help but marvel at him, how he can hold your anger, your hurt, your rage, but present as calm, and keep it from seeping out when you can’t do anything but make a mess.
You know the team’s watching. You know they’re concerned and want to tell them it’s okay, that you’re okay, but you’re not. You know that. Dinah would know what to say and how to tell the team that they did a good job and that they should enjoy the win, but you can’t. You can’t tell them that you can’t enjoy it, not when the mastermind of it all managed to escape.
Quietly, Kaldur helps you back onto the Bioship. Vaguely, you hear the conversations happening around you. 
“It is always like this,” Rocket scoffs, dropping into her seat. 
“Told you,” Wally chimes, but you can feel his gaze on you.
“Hey, disaster averted. Feeling the aster,” Robin muses as he settles next to you but keeps a distance.
“Agreed, this has been a good day,” Kaldur nods, fists clenched as he turns to you, “but it is not the end.”
“No,” you ground out in confirmation, and you can feel the promise in his words, “it’s not.”
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