Send me one of these in my ask and I'll write a drabble about my character in accordance to that word! 36 - Flight
Somehow, they hadbarely scraped getting out of a fight with the defected Purge. QB washeavily injured; blood was dried across her body, some of it his, butmost of it hers. Even though she was certain she would have wonagainst him in a... dare she think it, fair fight,his abuse of spacetime powers often put her at an edge.
Hewas an enemy she just couldn't win against, and she had no idea howshe was going to protect her son-- no, not her son, this kidalternate of a Purge, she couldn't let herself think that-- from him. It had been implied that Alpha and this... asshole had beenalive for far longer than she, even though she felt they were bothlying to her and that it had only been a human's millenia. Eitherway, he had come from a far more violent realm than the others, Alphahad told her. He was a mobster, and the marks he had left on her, theones that she could feel but not see, sure were proof of it.
QB wasn't sure howthey had escape this time. All she knew was that her son—no, thekid, was supporting her, as best as his small frame could. She was inpain, but suffered as silently as she could, gasping in pain onlywhenever the kid had unintentionally hit a spot that the defunctformer Alpha had abused. The control of time and space wasn't justlimited to the air around them-- no, he had the know-how to speed orslow time on a single part of a person's body. He had aged parts ofher, slowed down rate at which she would feel the pain, so that itendured for longer. Even the air she needed to breathe, he couldmanipulate, sucking the air in and out of her chest, sometimes atpainful intervals. He always made sure to return it right beforeshe'd lose consciousness.
“I want you tosuffer,” he said. It was a line that QB had used all too oftenherself, one she was familiar with giving, and hearing, but not oftenon the receiving end of. “I am more than capable of it. The othermes? They're too weak. They couldn't stomach all that blood, beingright up close in the thick of it, torturing someone for a long time.Sure, some of them could tellothers to torture for them, or build robots for it, but I find thatto be... well, too impersonal.”He paused, looking over her battered form. “You know how it is.People just don't enjoy the trauma that comes from torture nearly aswell unless you're the one to eke it out.”
Shehad spit at him, blood mixed with her saliva, but it only made himlaugh before he wiped it away in disgust. “I would love to cut outthat tongue of yours, but oh, you're so quick-witted, that itwouldn't be any fun without someone to quip with. Come now, try me.I'd love to have a conversation this time.”
QBwasn't intent on giving him the satisfaction.
“Nothing?No?” His expression lightened at her, as though he had a suddenlywonderful idea. “Are you simply....” and with a movement of hishand, all the air had come out of QB's lungs. “Out of breath at thethought?”
Involuntarygasps could be heard as she struggled to breath.
“Tsktsk tsk... That's no way to answer the question. C'mon now, tryagain. Try to speak this time, okay?” and with a reverse sweep ofhis hand, all the air rushed back into QB's lungs as he spoke. “Ihaven't got all day.” Then he laughed, maniacally. “AHAHAHA whoam I kidding, I'm a freaking Alpha, I can makemyself have time.”
Thepower display was obvious; QB was certain she would die here, thoughshe'd do her damnedest to not give this bastard the satisfaction.
Shehadn't heard the crash, or the shouting that happened when someonecame by to distract him. Her head was woozy, she couldn't seestraight, but there was a sense of urgency as someone small struggledto free her from the table she had been tied down to. A voice kepttrying to speak to her.
“...-om!!Mommy! C'mon, we gotta get you out of here, please wake up!”
Ah.Right. Him.
“.....s'notyer mother........ kid.....”
Therewas shouting right by her ear as she was helped up. She felt someonelift up her arm, a spiky tuft of hair itching at it as a head proppedit up.
“C'mon,Miss QB! We gotta go. Alpha's trying to hold him off but I can't openup a portal yet. I don't even know where to. I need you to do it!!Mom!!!”
Herhead had slumped down from exhaustion, she was almost about to passout, but the name calling perked her up a bit.
“....Isaid, I'm not--.”
“Yeahyeah I know okay? But I need you to get us out of here. I can't do itby myself, I don't know how to yet. Please Mommy, I need you to stayawake. You can rest later.”
QBgroaned. It seemed that the kid was doing it on purpose now to keepher awake. What a bother. After she had resolved to die withoutseeing him again, here he was. Trying to save her from a monster. Areal monster. One who had every intent on ripping him apart, stealinghis powers, his lifeforce.... destroying and taking from himeverything. And the kid knew it too.
“Can't.”She attempted to move her hands to show him; she wasn't sure howeffective it was, but the pain from doing that seemed to say she waseffective enough. “Magic-locking shackles. Power dampeners. Bastardknew what he was doing.”
“Okay,okay... I'll find the key! It's got to be here somewhere, right?”QB's eyes began to focus again as she saw the purple hair of the kidcome into view. He dropped her arm as he began searching. She wincedin pain.
“On'im,” she hissed.
“Oh.Crap. Maybe I can.... stop time? Alpha said that I was gonna becomemore powerful than him... So... I should be able to do it, right?Right Mom?”
“Fuckif I know,” she said, struggling to keep upright. She didn'tremember anything that had happened after that, only that everythingwent white as she felt like she was falling.
Shehad come to at some time later, with the Kid propping her up again,and the fighting somewhere else. QB didn't know where. All she knewwas that she was at the same spot she was captured still.
“Mom?You awake?”
Adisgruntled groan responded to him.
Hegiggled. “'Don't call me Mom', right Miss QB?”
Shelifted up her head and let it fall in an attempt to nod.
“You'rereally banged up Miss QB. I don't know how, but we moved the fightaway. Alpha's trying his hardest to keep him distracted so we can getaway....” He sniffled. “But... But I don't know how! I don't knowhow to mask us, Miss QB! He could find a way to find us again! Idon't want to try and use my powers and then have him find us again,or hurt you even more, Miss QB! *sniffle, sniffle hic* I-I... I'm sosorry!”
QBblinked her eyes, trying to focus on the kid that was crying beforeher. She raised an arm to try and pat his head, but pain shot up andmade her stop. She closed her eyes, and looked. The shackles thatbound her power were off.
“Hey,”she said, more pain than soft. “Hey... Did you get them off? All ofthem?”
TheKid Purge wiped his teary-eyed face and snot on his sleeve. “Yea...I got the keys from him before they left. We can leave anytime now,but I was waiting for you to get back up. Please QB. I need you. Idon't know how to do anything on my own....”
Shestarted to sigh, but the pain in her chest made her cough from thataction.
“Fine...Fine...”
Asmuch as she hated fleeing, QB knew she was outmatched. She knew itfrom the beginning. There was no way she was going to win againstthat bastard that was after Kid Purge.
Ittook a few tries, but QB was finally able to snap her fingers,getting them away. She would have him walk them a bit before she'djump rifts suddenly, asking the kid every so often if he sensed howfar away they were yet from where Alpha and the other guy werefighting. It was when he finally told her that he couldn't that QBtold him to stop, and he leaned her against a wall.
Silenceensued for a few moments, though it felt like hours to the much moreimpatient child.
“Youlook like you got something to say,” QB said.
Henodded, trembling a little.
“Y-yeah...I'm just... wondering....”
“Whatabout?”
“Well...Are we gonna have to run from him our entire lives, Miss QB?”
This is mostly a vent fic so the actual syntax/writing is subpar while the content/story is better.
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“It's been a long time.”
“What are you doing here, asshole?” came Alpha's snarled reply. He glared at the other Purge, hand going onto his gun.
“I wouldn't do that if I were you,” sneered Douchebagel. Alpha drew his gun and pointed it at him, readying his shot.
“And why's that?” he asked, though he knew the reason why. He wasn't going to kill him with it, as much as he wanted to. He still remembered when he shot him full of lead the first time, and look where that got them.
“Oh, well, by all means, if you want to lose yourself like the rest of us then please, shoot me.” And he spread his arms out wide. “But I hold the key to your salvation, Cop Purge. I can set you free from that ill-fated path.”
“Go fuck yourself,” Alpha spat at Douchebagel. His gun fired, shooting the other one in the foot. Douchebagel's reflexes had him hobbling and holding his foot, but he laughed when he saw his blood on his hands.
“If only it were that easy, pal.” And before Alpha knew it, Douchebagel was now in front of him, holding a pocket knife up to Alpha's throat. “But you see, you remember, I'm not like the other Purges. Only I have the power to change our Fates. It's up to me to set you free from what you're fated to become as well.” He pressed the knife in as he continued talking, drawing a line of blood down Alpha's neck, staining his white shirt. The knife didn't stop there, now viciously tearing through the cloth as Douchebagel continued speaking.
“A cop whose uniform is stained with the blood of one of his own, a cop who falls victim to his power, who, upset with his current position and desiring placement elsewhere, screams as he tears into the throats of his others!”
Alpha jerked away, pushing Douchebagel. He was quick with his gun and shot him in the shoulder, his face a snarl at the other's suggestion.
“I won't end up like that!” he declared, firing his gun again at the other's left wrist, causing Douchebagel to drop the pocket knife. The other's hand jerked as the blade fell away, the bullet painfully lodged in there and making it difficult to use. Blood poured out of it slowly, dripping down and drenching the corrupted Purge's trenchcoat. A sick grin came on Douche's face as he turned to regard his former friend.
Alpha knew that grin. He knew he had done something wrong, something that would be detrimental to him.
“You can still try to kill me, you know. Why bother wasting bullets when you can waste me, hm?”
Alpha's glare increased. As much as he didn't want to, he holstered his gun so that he wouldn't be tempted to use it. Now it was his turn to use his time magic to get close to the other, and he resumed it just as he was throwing a punch. It connected, the force behind it fracturing the other's jaw. Without even giving the asshole time to recover, he landed a kick to the other Purge's back, knocking him prone to the floor.
“Death would only be giving you what you want. I could do so much better.” Alpha pulled out his gun and shot Douchebagel again, this time in his back. He screamed out in pain, only to begin chuckling. Alpha stomped on the back of Douchebagel's knee.
“Heh...” It was with some difficulty that Douchebagel spoke. “Are you sure about that? You could easily escape if you would just...” he paused to cough up blood, a loud, wracking cough to make sure that it was cleared out. “Trust me.”
“TRUSTING YOU IS WHY YOU'RE STILL AROUND, YOU MOTHER FUCKER!!” Alpha charged up an attack, an orb of energy crackling in between his hands. He held it close to Douchebagel's face, the energy burning intensely while so close to its foe.
“If I wasn't a good person, I would make this last longer.”
“Go ahead, finish me! Do it!” he laughed, gleefully, eagerly.
“I'm not an idiot, but I can make your stay at the tiny jail less pleasant this time around.”
“And live up to your fate.” Douche snickered.
“I don't think fate had you in mind. I think I'll be fine if I make you feel every pain you inflicted on me. And what I can't duplicate with you, I'll more than make up for. You're the problem with all of us.”
Alpha procured a pair of cuffs which would be impossible for any Purge to break out of, blocking Douchebagel's access to his powers. Though battered and bruised, bleeding out of several bullet wounds, Douchebagel still put up a fight. He yelped when Alpha roughly pulled back the left hand, and made sure to put the cuff on tightly.
Alpha started to pick Douchebagel up, only to smash him face forward into the ground. He did this several times, each time increasing in intensity. “Gotta make sure you'll shut the fuck up before I take you there,” Alpha said mockingly. “Wouldn't want any of your little jailbird friends help you.”
Douchebagel only laughed.
Alpha had put Douchebagel safely behind bars, in a single room far away from the other inmates of the Tiny Purge jail. Though it usually went against his morals, Alpha felt satisfied in knowing that he was making the sneaky bastard suffer, however little it seemed to mean to him. He fed him sparingly. What food was given to him was beyond sanitary, and barely enough to keep him alive. There was no urinal in the cell, nor did it have a bed or any other amenities that other cells had. He never took him to any room to make sure that any excrements were taken care of, either, as he did with the more insane members of the dangerous miniature jail, and had them cleaned up with a robo. There were to be no beings that would visit him so as to ensure that he did not manipulate or break free with them, though none would want to willingly visit the imprisoned Purge. Nor had he healed Douche's injuries, excepting whatever wounds needed to be improved upon.
Indeed, Alpha had felt pleasure at watching how his former ally, if ever he could be considered one, lacked the ability to take basic care of himself. Instead, his ex-friend was silent, smiling only whenever Alpha walked by to remind Douchebagel of all the pain that had been inflicted upon him.
“Is it time already?” asked Douchebagel one day, smirking knowingly at the little habit that had become what others would consider torture.
For answer, he received a punch to the face. No time was wasted in swiftly kicking Douche's face, the toe of Alpha's shoe meeting Douche's chin. Before his kick had gotten out of range of the inmate's face, he dropped it down to smash onto Douche's face, grinding his head into the floor. He had finished twisted his foot when he heard soft laughter come out of Douchebagel's mouth, and stomped on the asshole's face. When he removed his foot, letting his foe mix laughter and pained cries together, he pulled his baton from off his belt, and began pelting the prisoner with it.
“Does it feel good? Do you enjoy making others hurt at your twisted ways, you sick bastard?! Answer me, come on!” With each word, he dealt a blow to Douchebagel. The shoulder, the elbows, which protected the prisoner's torso a bit, acting as buffer from within the straitjacket; knees, legs, smashing down every toe and each heel and its accompanying ankle. He would have smashed down Douche's hands and fingers if he didn't know better.
“It feels wonderful!” laughed douchebagel before crying out in pain, laughing whenever he wasn't yelling. It was difficult for Alpha to not shoot where his heart should have been, just to silence him. Oh how he was growing sick of that.
Out came the taser. The inmate's body convulsed for a few seconds, before he lay there panting. Alpha had given him only a second's breath when he saw that the asshole still looked ready to laugh again, and pressed the weapon towards his foe once more, increasing voltage.
“Does it hurt yet?! Tell me!!! How many times do I need to put you near death before you're begging me for mercy, huh?!” He set the taser to max, angry tears flowing down his face as he watched his old friend, this bastard before him, shake and shudder, convulse and sputter.
He had heard the cell door open, heard a boy's shout, and still continued on.
“No no no stop, Alpha stop!!!” cried Kid Purge, trying to push Alpha away from his victim. Not able to knock the adult away at his age just yet, he stopped time for a short moment. Using what his adopted mother had taught him about leverage, he managed to kick away Alpha's hand that was holding the taser. Time resumed, leaving Douchebagel moaning loudly on the floor.
Alpha glared at the boy. “What did you do that for!?” he yelled. He made to move his hand again, only to find that it was stuck in a combination of time and space. Even the electricity on it was paused mid-current.
“This is none of your business right now, Kid Purge!”
“What are you talking about, Alpha?!” cried the kid, his voice showing how close to tears he was.
Alpha, though now confused, felt much of his anger and frustration abate out of concern for the child. He looked at the kid now. Though now eleven, almost twelve, he still retained some childish features, including how sensitive he was to others' suffering. It had reminded Alpha of him when he had first met the kid, and that was why he had wanted to protect him from getting hurt from manipulators like the person he had moaning on the floor.
“Kid--”
“I HAD TOLD YOU THAT QB WAS MISSING, I TOLD YOU, I ASKED YOU IF YOU KNEW WHERE SHE WAS, IF SHE TOLD YOU ANYTHING, A-AND YOU... YOU LIED TO ME!”
“What are you talking about!? I still don't know where she--”
“SHE'S RIGHT THERE, ALPHA. RIGHT THERE!” Alpha followed to where the kid was pointing, glancing back up at the child's fearful, confused, hurt and scared expression.
He gave the boy a nervous laugh. “W-what? No, you're confused... That's--”
“YOU HAD HER THIS ENTIRE TIME, ALPHA.”
“I did not! Now listen to me, Kid. I don't know what he's done to you--”
“HE?!”
“Calm down. I had apprehended that bastard, an--”
“ALPHA, THAT'S QB. MY MOM.”
“No, it's not. I don't know what he--”
“ALPHA, LOOK AT HER. YOU LOOK AT HER THEN LOOK ME IN THE EYE AND TELL ME THAT THAT'S NOT MY MOTHER.”
He didn't know what to do. He had felt certain that it was that bastard who was behind all of this confusion, and he was certain that he had captured him again. It had been days and he had been monitoring him the entire time. So why now, with the kid's fearful and hurt expression, was he so uncertain of who was lying beside him on the floor?
He heard a pained inhale of breath as the person next to them spoke.
It had been some days since he had last seen the kid. Alpha had gotten used to the younger Purge coming in to visit him, asking him for help on how to control his powers, and, sometimes, what sort of responsibilities he had for him as the next Alpha. So it was strange when a week had passed and the child had still not visited, nor his lascivious mother stop in to bother him.
He was starting to get concerned. The child's visits were regular, regardless of whether or not QB tried to keep him away. He hadn't sensed anything strange happen to that timeline, but he hadn't felt anything for almost a week. If there was trouble, the kid would have contacted him by now. The last thing he felt was the child's disappearance from spacetime, but he had felt that happen quite a few times now due to QB's extreme measures of protection for her and the child. He had merely shrugged it off when it had first happened, assuming that the blonde woman had gotten the two of them into trouble again, and he thought nothing of it for the next few days. But he noticed when the child was not visiting.
Alpha decided to investigate the strange occurrence. It had been awhile since he had an actual case as a cop, but even if it wound up being nothing, he was going to put his all into it. Using his powers over space and time, he looked for the last location that he had known the kid to keep residence in.
That's odd, he thought to himself. It was still there. QB's spacerift that had been home to the child for the past year or so had not moved in the past week. He had never known the woman to keep a decoy place, always choosing to keep no remnants of the former location known. The spacerifts, once emptied, always looked and felt as though no life had been in there. Having had her switch locations numerous times in the last year, he knew what an evacuated rift looked like. Alpha frowned. If she had gotten herself into some serious trouble and the child was involved because of her... Well, there was nothing he could do about it right now. He had to find the two of them first.
Alpha focused his attention on the spacerift, closing his eyes and imagining himself there. When he opened them, he found himself in their front room. Up close, the place did not look as though a fight had happened, or if the kid had even brought his stuff. He could see the child's coloring books and box of crayons put away on a low shelf that was lightly dusted.
Wait. Dust? Alpha walked over to the shelving unit, which was fashioned into several box shapes. He ran a finger across it, and sure enough, left a trail. He frowned, and went towards the child's room. Maybe there were clues in there.
The child's room was, well, messily organized. A smell wafted in the air as soon as Alpha opened the door. He looked around for the source, and noticed a small mound on the small bed. A black cat was sleeping on the child's bed, and lifted its head up when it heard Alpha's footsteps.
“Mrow?” Its cry was weak, and it looked underfed. Alpha walked over to the cat. He knelt down by the child's bed and lightly pet the cat. It gave an almost quiet purr.
“How long have they been gone? It's not like the kid to leave you behind... And without food or water too.” Alpha had noticed that the cat's food bowls had been dry. The smell probably came from the litter box. Alpha gently picked up the cat, holding it carefully in his arms. “Come on. Let's get you taken care of so that when the kid comes back, you're more than just bones.” The cat gave him another meow, and didn't protest. It was time to go; Alpha knew that he wouldn't find anything else here.
Alpha focused again, and was back at the Purge Mall once more. He carried the cat over to the pet store within its boundaries. He didn't tell the clerk there what had happened, only that he needed the cat kept in its care for awhile. The clerk nodded, taking the cat and walking into the back. Alpha followed him as he watched the clerk open up a cage and put the cat in. The cat sniffed its new home for a bit, and smelling food and water, it watched the clerk intently. It ravenously drank from the bowl, then tried the food. The clerk turned his attention to Alpha when he was finished setting the emaciated cat up with the immediate needs.
“Jeez, he's in a state. How long has he been without care?”
“That I can't tell you. Look, I need you to tell me something. Do you know the last time Kid Purge was in here?”
“Hmm...” the clerk stared down at the ground, thinking hard. “Can't say for sure. About a week ago? He wanted to get more food for his cat, so it's not like his cat should have ran out of food.” The clerk paused a moment, looking back up at the cop. “Did his awful mother do this?”
Alpha shook his head. “I doubt it. The kid would have kept her from doing that. Thank you for doing this. If you see him again, let me know.” The clerk watched as the cop left, heading towards the candy store next door.
Alpha greeted this clerk, who was surrounded by customers who all were clamoring for something sweet. He tried looking to see if he could find a dark purple tuft of hair in that mess, but it was mostly lighter shades of purple that obscured the clerk. He had to wait for all of them to finishing paying and go, leaving the candy store clerk behind the desk looking rather exhausted. He had just closed the register when Alpha approached him.
“Hey, Cop. What can I get for you today? I'm all sold out of the extra sweet mints. If you saw the large crowd leaving, that's what that was all about. Never putting candy on sale like that again...” The clerk shook his head and looked at the cop again, noticing the somewhat serious expression on his face. “You're not here for some candy today, are you?”
“Sorry, but I'm not. I was wondering if you could tell me the last time you had seen Kid Purge.”
“Hmm... I saw him passing by with that woman he calls his mother about a week ago. I was gonna give him a free sample of some new candy I got, but she tugged him on. He's visited a lot less since being with her, I noticed. When he does come, he's usually by himself because of her. Anyways, why do you ask? Did something happen to him?”
“No, nothing important. Let me know if you see him.”
“Still in the back of the mall, right?” Alpha nodded. “Okay, will do.”
“Have a good day.”
“Thanks, you too.”
Alpha turned around, frowning. There were still a few more stores to check for the kid. He approached each clerk who ran the store, and each of them had said the same thing. They had last seen the kid about a week ago, QB with him. It seemed he needed to look at the security tapes next, but before he could do that, he had to let the Beta know what was going on. Maybe he might know something as well.
He let out a long sigh and prepared himself to travel to where that Purge was currently at. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Purge nearby.
“Purge.”
“Oh great. What happened now?”
“The kid's gone missing.”
Purge snickered. “Good. Maybe she'll start treating him better now that he's gone. Tell me, does she know? What kind of state is she in? Oooh, I hope she's freaking out.”
Alpha didn't seemed amused by Purge's words. “She's missing too, Purge. I visited their place; the cat was starving and there was dust everywhere.”
“So? Maybe QB was trying to kill his cat again. You know how she is.”
“The kid would have stopped her, or he would have gotten me to stop her. The place didn't look like someone had been in there for a few days. Purge, have you ever seen dust in QB's place?”
“I wish I hadn't seen the inside of QB's place.” At Alpha's stare, he continued. “No, I haven't. So what if there's dust? Maybe QB's finally let herself go.”
“That seems unlikely. Have you heard anything from him? Did he tell you if he needed to go anywhere, or anything?”
“No? Why are you asking me all of these things? He's QB's responsibility now, you should be asking her these questions.”
“Believe me, if I could, I would. But I can't find either of them. And you're his Beta. You ought to know where he is or what he's up to.”
“Have you checked the surveillance tapes?”
Alpha shook his head. “Not yet. I was about to, but I felt that I should let you know, so that you can help me and start looking for him. If you find QB, that would be great too. Seeing as the Universe hasn't gone to shit yet, they're probably together; find one and you'll be able to find the other.”
Purge was silent for a moment. “...And what if I find out that he's dead, or been dead? How do we know that I'm not the new Alpha already, huh?” He grinned at the thought of being the most powerful Purge in existence, his powers increased as he would now manage all of spacetime.
The cop shook his head. “You would know if you were. All of us would know.”
Purge looked at Alpha, his grin falling. “How so?”
“You just would. Trust me, I've been in your position. I know how it feels.”
“If you say so...”
“Look, I'll send you a message if I find anything. Just... keep your eyes peeled and maybe QB will hopefully show up to harass you. She likes doing that.”
“Oh Morodia. I hope she doesn't.”
“This is one situation that you would want to, Purge.”
“Fine, fine. So what, you just want me to look into all of the different galaxies? Do I need to look into different times as well?”
“No. I think the current time should suffice. Just look hard for them, okay? You know how upset the kid will get if something happens and he can't be with QB.”
With that, Alpha left Purge, returning to his office in the back of the mall. He went to the security videos room, and sealed the room off from the passage of time. It wasn't a difficult task for him, and he began the long, arduous task of watching the past week's video footage in the span of a few minutes. To cut how long it would take, he picked footage that was outside the stores that the kid frequented. He was seven days' back when he noticed QB and the kid walk out of the pet store, the bags the kid carrying disappearing when QB snapped her fingers. He watched as they went off camera, and looked through the security library for the other stores, dated around the same time as this one. It was the toy store one that he had noticed them disappear.
He placed a hand around his chin, thinking. There was something off about that footage. He slowed it down, playing it in normal time, and rewound the tape. He watched carefully.
The QB on the film had stopped suddenly. Her left hand pushed the kid behind her; he had looked up at her, but complied. Alpha paused, scanning the film. He couldn't see what QB was looking at, but he knew that she would only do that if she felt the need to protect him in the mall. It was unlikely that his former friend had escaped tiny jail-- he had seen him there earlier today, before he started this investigation. Granted, his 'friend' would have likely snuck in and out, but he was certain that he would have stayed out.
Alpha resumed the security feed. QB didn't move much, but the kid peeked his head out every so often. The small boy suddenly hid himself behind QB again. Alpha saw QB grip the child's hand. Whomever she had been looking at had approached her, that much was sure. Then, as if the feed had been shoddily edited, the kid and his adopted mother disappeared. One second they were there, the next gone. Alpha had to rewind it and watch it several times to make sure that he wasn't missing anything, slowing it down as far as he could to pinpoint the exact second they disappeared. He couldn't tell if QB had teleported her and the child away, or if they were taken by some unseen being.
He frowned, and double checked the area that they disappeared. The cop turned off the monitor, and unsealed the room. He felt exhausted from having to watch so many days in a row, but time had only stopped inside the room for a few minutes. He rubbed his eyes, and proceeded to head towards the toy store. Once Alpha reached where he last saw the pair, he used his time controlling magic again. This time, instead of stopping it, he reversed it, throwing himself back in time. It was easier to do this as an observer than as someone who would be actively a part of it, and it was the only reversal time magic left to him after the kid took over as the next Alpha, though he was still in training.
A scene played out before him. He watched as a tall stranger, who didn't appear on any of the video feeds, approached the kid and QB. The man wore a pinstripe suit with curled shoulders, and had black hair. He watched as the man spoke and lit a cigar. Alpha repressed a shudder as he watched, feeling as though he knew who that stranger was associated with.
QB avoided answering the man's questions,and Alpha glanced to her when enough time had passed. It was almost time for them to disappear, but the thing he noticed was the floor surrounding woman and child. It had turned black, shadowy, and several inky arms reached up through the floor and began to pull the pair down. One went for QB's face while another grabbed her free hand, keeping her from using her magic. Alpha watched wide-eyed as they sank through the floor, a building wave of horror and panic coursing through him as he became certain of the stranger's alliance. The stranger sank through the floor shortly after. The mall continued on, unaware of anything that had happened, or that their new Alpha had just been kidnapped.
The cop closed his eyes, just barely focusing enough to will himself to return to normal time. No one gave him any strange looks; that is, until he began running back to his office. Alpha wasted no time in grabbing the shrink ray and using it on himself. He hurried into the tiny purge jail, towards the cell that his former 'friend' had been in.
The yellow-eyed Purge looked up at Alpha, feigning shock on his face. “Well well well. Isn't this a surprise. I didn't expect to see you in here for another week or two. What's the rush, Alpha? I'm not going anywhere.”
Alpha ignored this Purge's giggles, and walked over to him. He grabbed him up by the straitjacket and pushed him into the nearest wall, the anger plain on his face. “Where are they?!”
“I'm sorry, but I simply don't know who you're talking about, friend.”
Alpha punched him in the stomach. “You know damn well who I'm talking about. I saw a 'friend' of yours kidnap the kid and QB.”
The imprisoned Purge coughed, and his coughing turned into a laugh. “Oh, you mean Maxwell? Lovely chap, he is.”
Alpha kneed him in the stomach. “Keep talking. What the hell is your 'pal' going to do to them?”
“A little bit of this, a little of that.” That earned him another hit, this time to the back of his neck, causing the prisoner to fall to the cushioned ground, in a mixture of glee and pain.
“So touchy today. Was them leaving without you enough to make you mad?”
The cop glared at his prisoner, and kicked him in the side, albeit with less force this time.
“Oh fine. He's taken them on an all-expenses paid vacation to one of his private islands. I'm sure that stupid whore will love it there, and the kid will love all the little critters there. Bunnies, birds, lots of trees. I've spent some time on his islands, reaaaal nice place. So relax, Cop. They're in good hands.” And the prisoner broke into giggles, laughing at his former friend.
Alpha shook his head, repressing his rage and desire to continue beating him up. “What's going to happen to them?”
“Hm? Oh, well, nothing really. They'll just live out the rest of their days on the island, that's all. You don't need to worry about it. They might die a few dozen times or so, but they'll stay alive until they're grey and old--”
“WHAT?!”
“Oh I'm sure it won't affect the kid's sanity at all. Or maybe it will! Hee hee hee, I wish I was there to see. You know, Maxwell's a good fellow. He taught me a thing or two.”
The cop glared at the prisoner. “I'm done talking to you.” He turned around to leave, but the prisoner's voice kept him back.
“You know that they're gone, right? Completely gone. Maxwell hasn't lost a game to anyone. You're never going to see them again.”
“We'll see about that.”
“Oh, go ahead. Hold out hope. But I know Maxwell, and I know you. And I'm telling you, you'd do well to give them up now. Find yourself a better girlfriend, Cop, one who'll treat you right. The kid's slut of a mother isn't worth your time, or any Purge's. Don't you know that?”
“If I didn't already hate you as much as I do right now, what you just said would have been worth it. If the kid wasn't so attached to her, I wouldn't care what would happen to her. She's an annoyance to all who see her. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go find them.”
Title: Your Apologies are Sins
Rating: PG-13
Notes: takes place between this, this, and this
Purge was sitting in his hospital bed, his mind a whirl with his recent memories. The nurses had told him that he had been through a lot, and that he had been unconscious for a few days as they went to helping him heal.
There was a calender nearby on the wall, the only way he felt confident about telling time in here. A nurse would come in every morning when it was time for his morning treatments and tick off each day. Purge looked at it now, and counted the tick marks from when they said he was brought in. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven... Seven days. It had felt like longer to the incapacitated rogue, but he knew that was part of what had happened before.
Memories of laughter played through his head, his life ebbing in and out as his captor played with him like some sort of toy, the sick grin on his face showing that he was doing it for his amusement, that he could end it at any time he wanted, because he was useless, absolutely useless, useless useless useless--!!
He groaned, grabbing onto the side of his head. He wanted the thoughts to stop. He hated them, absolutely abhorred when his memories of that awful event came back. He couldn't even remember much before that, just bits and pieces. So strong was the event in his mind that it made it difficult to remember before it. He knew this place, had been in one of its rooms before, but he couldn't remember exactly why. He remembered that there were others, like him, that made up its staff, but none had been his caretakers since he first woke up, throwing the equipment at him. He was certain now that that had been a dream, simply because he hadn't seen any others like him yet. And he was glad of it. He didn't want to see him. He didn't want to think that there were people in the universe who looked like him.
It took the sound of knocking at his room's threshold for Purge to pull his attention to outside himself.
When he looked up, he glared. He saw the person who did this to him, but in a cop's uniform instead of a trenchcoat. The person looking into the room had a remorseful expression on his face, but that did nothing to soften Purge's opinion of him. It was his fault that he wound up like this. He had been there, had often stared down into his face, his yellow eyes meeting his. But that was when he noticed that he didn't have yellow eyes. The glare Purge gave did not lessen, but he no longer felt the need to attack as soon as he made a move.
“May I come in?” The person at the door spoke quietly. It was almost difficult for Purge to hear what he asked, and when he did, he gave no indication of a yes or a no. The “cop”, for Purge didn't believe that he truly was one, and perhaps was some sort of trick of his abuser, walked in and took off his hat. He kept a respectful distance from Purge's bed. Purge continued to glare at him, unamused by this lookalike, this doppelganger.
“...I'm sorry, Purge. I'm really really sorry.”
Purge still glared. What was he sorry for? He was almost certain that the copycat had been involved! Why else would he look like that bastard that tortured him?
“...I didn't know what had happened until afterwards. The kid told me as soon as he could. If I had known, I would have gotten you myself.”
“...”
It looked as though the “cop” had more to say, but he shook his head and sighed, cursing under his breath. He put his hat back on, tugging it down firmly. “If you need anything, let me know.”
Purge watched him walk out, and waited a moment before letting his body untense. He couldn't help the shivers that came up his spine afterwards, or the tears that came down his face. He clenched his fists, angry at his reaction, and at the appearance of this “cop”, some sort of lookalike of his tormentor. It was all a psychological trick. He was trying to get to him still. Purge knew it was that. He wasn't going to let him fuck him up anymore. If he saw anymore of those copies, he'd set them all straight. Purge wasn't going to be that bastard's toy anymore.
I s2g though, if it wasn't for kid purge, qb and douchebagel would probably be allies.
Or fuck buddies. He's powerful and as a mobster/lead mafia dude he'd have to have some charisma, right? then again just that he's powerful and a manipulator and good manipulators have got some way with words that would intrigue
Point is, thank God Kid Purge exists to prevent any of that from happening.
Title: Wonderful
Rating: PG-13?
Notes: ....I have no words for what happened, this was the result of thinking about future interests. You can check the tags for the full story. Timeline wise, this is sometime after QB returns and reunites with Kid Purge.
“You've sunk really low, haven't you?” The speaker was none other than Alpha's former friend, the corrupted Alpha that came before him. He saw him sitting in a chair, one leg propped up against his knee. He had an elbow resting on an arm of the chair, and his head was resting against his knuckles.
Alpha narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. His former friend saw it as an invitation to continue.
“Sleeping with that woman, I mean.”
Alpha scoffed, and shook his head. Was that all that he was being bothered about? “My personal life stopped being your business when you turned against us all.”
The corrupted one laughed. “I was always against you; you just never realized it until the very end, Cop. So tell me, what do you think you can gain from it? Did her lie really fool you?”
The seed of doubt was quickly sown.
“....It wasn't a lie.”
“No? Are you sure? Don't you think it's a little odd that she comes back from who-knows-where, claiming that she can have kids now? How many species do you know that can suddenly have children at such a late age in their life?”
Alpha was silent. It did seem a little odd, he would have admitted, had the person he was talking to wasn't a lying, manipulative bastard himself. ...Still, the woman did have a history of lying. She was clever, manipulating, and when it came to interacting with him, there were few things she had stated clear interest in.
“And even if she wasn't lying, do you really think that having children with her is such a smart idea? They'll have her genes. She'll make sure of it.”
“That's enough.”
“She's just using you, old friend. She just needs some poor, pathetic, lonely fool to help her out, and you're the biggest fool out there. I would know-- I personally picked you for that particular reason. Your naivety.”
Alpha now glared at his conversation partner. “Get out. I don't know how you're here but I want you out.”
“Huh. I never knew how much you actually wanted kids.”
“There's a lot of things about me that you never really wanted to know. Now get out and leave me alone!”
“She's not going to stick around for you to see them. You'll never even get to know what they'll look like. She'll leave you, once she's got what she wanted. That's what she's done to so many other guys. What makes you so different, hmm?”
“I SAID GET OUT!”
Alpha sat up in bed, sweat on his skin and his breathing rapid. He put his hands on his knees and rested his forehead against them. His blood was throbbing in his head, and he had to consciously think to slow down his heaving chest. On the bed beside him, he could hear the woman stir.
“What's wrong, Alpha?”
He shook his head, trying to clear away the image of his former friend laughing at him. That bastard's stuck in a black hole and there's no way he could have known.
“Nothing. It was just a nightmare.”
“Oh stars.” He could hear her head fall back onto the pillows. “That's good,” she said with all the empathy that could be spared of one who had absolutely no cares for the world.
Alpha lifted his head up and looked at her. “No, it's not.”
She sighed, and pulled herself up to sit next to him. As she spoke, she brushed her blonde hair away from her face. “Okay, fine, it's not. Did you want to tell me about it?”
“He was in my dreams.”
“Okay... And? If it was just a nightmare, then it means nothing. You've both confirmed that he's in a black hole, correct?”
Alpha nodded. “Yes, but, QB, you've got to understand something here. I haven't had a dream like that in a very long time. It was new. Somehow he found out about this.”
She shook her head, more in skepticism than anything else. “Alpha, you and I both know that that's not possible. Maybe it's just your own guilt taking form through him in your dreams.”
“He's still fucking with me, QB. I don't know how, but he is. There's no way in hell I would have had a dream like that. I can still hear him laughing, like he's right here in my head.”
It was plain to her that he was already starting to freak out. His eyes had widened when he spoke, and his manner of speaking had gone from calm to paranoia. The sweat on his chest had nothing to do with the temperature in the room. As she continued to watch him speak, he began to shake. He was looking away from her, with his head between his hands now, palms pressed against his temples. His eyes saw far off, as if he was still seeing his dream. So QB did the first thing that came to her mind. She put both of her hands on his cheeks, and gently turned his head so that he could see her.
“Alpha,” she said, her voice calm but in control. “Look at me.” She saw his eyes dart around, as if it was fighting the command. Eventually, she saw them settle on her, and the fearful look began to ease. His eyes stared down, but slowly they came up to rest on her own.
“Do you see me? Do you see my lips move as I speak?” She felt him nod in her hands. “Good. Listen to me, Alpha. It was just a dream. He's not here. He's not fucking with you. He has no way to know what any of us are doing unless someone told him, and there's no one to tell him but us. Do you understand?”
He nodded, and she could see that she had said the right things to calm him. She gave him a smile, and leaned in to kiss him. He repositioned himself so that he could face her more comfortably. His arms wrapped around her body, keeping her close once the kiss was broken. QB rested her forehead against his, the smile on her face genuine. Alpha, on the other hand, now felt the questions raised in the dream as if they were his own, and it was plain that now, instead of fear, Alpha felt apprehension and a tiny bit of guilt.
“QB... You haven't lied to me since you returned, have you?”
She lifted her head and leaned back a little so that she could examine his face. “No, Alpha, I haven't. I see no reason to need to. Why?”
“So you didn't lie to me when you said that you could have children now? It wasn't just an excuse to have sex with me?”
She's confused by the line of questioning. “No... I would have fed you a much better lie if I only wanted sex from you.” Her fingers caress the back of his neck. “Why are you asking me these things now?”
“...Because of my dream. He said that you were lying about your ability to conceive and that you would leave with them if it was true.”
The confused look on her face disappears, replaced by one of relief. She shakes her head at him, her fingers pausing briefly in their work. “You have nothing to fear from anything that dream told you. Ignore it. I know well enough that you would desire to raise any child that you create; given your abilities, I would be hard pressed to find a way to hide myself and it from you.”
He smiled at her, comforted by her words. This time it's he who kisses her, his hands pulling her head towards him, fingers locking into her hair as she warmly receives his lips.
“Thank you, QB,” he says as he lays down again.
She begins to settle down next to him. “Is there anything else that you wish to ask?”
He lifts the sheet so that it's over them once more. QB props herself up on her hands so that she can look him in the eyes should there be anymore questions.
“Just one more thing.”
“Hmm?”
“Was I really that good?”
Her smile is wide; she laughs, and leans down towards him. The conversation is paused; the sound of her lips on his is all that can be heard for a moment. When she parts, she rests her head on his chest, tucking one arm against his side and placing the other across his stomach. His arm wraps around her back, pulling up the sheet and then draping around her.
