Internverse (RC9GN AU) [Name Subject to Change]
Lovely timezone, my dreamers!
So, I blame the constant brainrot I have somehow developed for a ridiculously dead fandom (but we continue to exist lol). The idea, however, is not entirely my own and I do have to give credit where its due (it simply wouldn't be possible without @7-inches-of-satanic-panic having made a post about it and i simply decided to write something for it!)
Now, to explain this AU- canon divergent storyline- it mostly follows McFist and Viceroy (it was Viceroy pfft) coming up with a new plan on capturing the ninja which leads to them creating an internship program in an attempt to unmask the city's 'vigilante'. By the power of well-placed plot logic, and because well, it'd honestly fit the theme- Randy's accepted as an intern and begins working at McFist Industries as he's using the opportunity to figure out the evil duo's next steps but of course, the question remains: what happens if he gets caught?
Unable to easily back out, Randy is left having to complete the internship and if he happens to be enjoying himself a little, that would be a lie- what are you talking about?
Now everything after this is my own interpretation!
Everything takes a sudden turn because Randy isn't exactly the most qualified, but at the same time- i feel he does have some range of skills that McFist and Viceroy could be interested in. ADHD! Randy taking an interest in math for instance? Absolutely, but now he's literally interning for his archenemies and for the time being, the Sorcerer isn't as major of a villain as he would be in the canon; anyway, moving on-
Randy doesn't really seem to find anything amiss and mostly spends his time interning under Viceroy as McFist is, well, McFist- but things get interesting when he (Randy) ends up in the radar of McFist who's a bit suspicious and comes to the conclusion that Randy might be the Ninja due to the type of slang he uses- (which becomes dismissed by Viceroy because apparently Randy is a bit clumsy, and how could someone like that ever be the Ninja, amirite? /lh)
Though I also like to imagine at least Randy and Viceroy bond because, well, who wouldn't be slightly interested in the new technology Viceroy's developed for video games? Honestly- this might be partially inspired by me having read other AU's where Viceroy sort of adopts Randy and I will get my dues with this pfft, but anyway-
At some point, things get tense because Randy mysteriously vanishes when a robot attacks the city, and now has to come up with a plausible excuse to why he left McFist Industries-
(author's cut: i might either write this as a long one-shot or it's going to be a multi-chaptered work where it explores dynamics a little bit more and may gain more 'lore' behind it so to speak)
Headcanons + Thoughts
~ To fit the theme a little, Randy is something of a math prodigy- though it's not something he made an effort in showing before and it's due to this he's accepted into the internship program
~ Personally the program is only meant to last the course of a single month since it's mostly to unravel the Ninja's identity, but things kind of... derail- because Randy does have his skills and Viceroy's curious
~ Randy is peak ADHD in this; I can cover everything about it in a separate post (but basically- he can't sit still for longer than five minutes and is always fidgeting with something)
~ McFist isn't a total idiot and he suspects something strange about Randy, but it's mostly him realizing that Randy uses the same sort of slang as the Ninja- even attempting to bring this idea to Viceroy, though it's not enough
~ All of the expenses are paid for- including lodging in order to make the internship seem more legitimate (and it is, it's also a ploy to capture the Ninja but no one needs to know that)
~ Bash and Randy? We'll see where this goes, but they'll definitely have interactions with Bash being McFist's stepson and well, Randy's interning so they're bound to see each other repeatedly
~ the Sorcerer isn't an overarching element in this as he would be in canon, but he might get cameos- or it's something introduced in the second half of the series to keep things interesting, genuinely we'll have to see
~ if there is going to be reveal, I honestly want the suddenly dawning realization that the Ninja is a teenager- that it's not something to be taken lightly, and while McFist may honestly ignore it, Viceroy certainly will not (and that's all I'm saying on the matter right now)
~ what lesson am i going to be using for this? i'm honestly on the fence of whether i use a preexisting one, or if this is going to be something entirely new Randy's facing-
~ for the sake of how things are going to run, Randy's family is absent during this- i do think he either lives with another relative (half-credit to @7-inches-of-satanic-panic since it's possible it could be an aunt acting as his surrogate mom? or the hc i've talked about before- that his parents are just constantly working and busy, and tend to neglect Randy a lot)
Under-the-Cut Information (+ Thoughts)
I am definitely treating this as a more lighthearted story, but there's going to be serious elements because there isn't a single way that Randy's completely fine being the Ninja and sure, he does love it, though there's got to be an emotional toll happening he isn't realizing (we've seen this in canon, it isn't out of the realm of possibility)
I do want to say that I am using neurodivergent and LGBTQ+ headcanons and elements in this piece, and if that's going to be a problem- please, find something else to read
I'm going to explore the depth of Randy's personality as he genuinely should've gotten more development and I felt his character had a weird... switch during the second season-? Like, it still felt like him but he also could be a massive jerk for seemingly no reason and then regret his actions as if this isn't the most adhd coded kid i have ever seen in my life, it would explain a lot
might play around with character designs? i'm not sure yet honestly-
currently the au will be titled intern randy au until further notice, so if you want to follow the story- the tag is #internrandyau
That is all I've got for now!
Mod Danny (They/Them)