Rise movie but Casey Jr is a Borrower au <3
A collaborative au between @smallification, @rainydaygt, and I! All this is my own writing about it, though!
Pre-apocalypse NYC is so different from post already. But he's a borrower. There would be so many people, everything is loud and bright, and dangerous in new ways that he's not trained for.
He's supposed to hide to sus out situations. But there's no rubble, and not enough nooks. He's out in the open, surrounded by constant foot traffic of people many times his size.
(Since he spawns in time square or something) There's not enough places to hook to. Everything is already too far, but even when close enough to buildings, the surfaces are too flat. There's not enough ridges for the hook to get caught on properly. He occasionally uses his hook on peoples' pant legs, but the density of people and the speed at which they walk make it near impossible not to get hit. He eventually gets to a safe spot, but can't rest there for long. The fate of the world is in his (tiny) hands.
Casey trusts Commander O'Neil, and knows that she would respect him, but he still feels so... Helpless. When talking to people from the ground. So, he elects to yell at her from the top of an on-campus streetlight, and move to a more appropriate speaking area after. April being yelled at still triggers her «cat-like reflexes,» but less in the «someone is directly behind me,» way and more the «where the fuck is the threat,» kind of way.
April is very shocked (and suspicious) of this tiny guy that knows her name, and is *apparently* from the future. She's feigning agreenent with him, and texts the gang to «let them know they're coming» (aka tell them whats up bcuz. Little future man???). Casey is decently comfortable with her (seeing as she's the Commander), he doesn't mind being carried, and sits on her shoulder on and off talking to her on the way there (the Commander was always someone to respect, but he's just so happy to see her again. To see anyone he knew), except for when they get close enough for April to decide he can't see where they're going in case he's like. A robot or something. But that's a theory that dwindled more and more the longer they spent time together. He seems so... Real. Person-like. Too soft in multiple ways to be a robot. He could still be a threat, though.
He agrees to going in the pocket, because he trusts the Commander in her decisions. Why wouldn't he?
