Imagine a fic of moments in Bruce’s childhood and youth where he suffered and then similar moments in which he either a) did better with his kids or b) helped his kids through moments he had to handle alone.
For example (and an already wildly popular idea I believe) drawing the parallel between Bruce and Dick after just having lost their parents.
Bruce holding onto his parents dead bodies. They have gone cold an hour ago, but he can’t leave them. He mustn’t. He will never get the picture out of his eyes. Watching and hanging on to his parents in a sort of haze. Not able to look away. Not able to call for help. Just clinging to them.
Ending up falling asleep on his father’s non breathing chest and waking up to reporters taking pictures of him. Immediately having to give a statement to the police about what happened.
The parallel with Dick holding onto the broken bodies of his parents. Chaos all around him but not paying him any attention. Everyone seemingly having forgotten the child who just watched his parents die. Their screams of horror forever scorched into his mind.
And Bruce - just for a moment - is back in that alley. He decides he can’t let this go on.
So while Bruce cried on top his parents for hours Dick was grounded and comforted by a stranger with knowing eyes within minutes.
Bruce thinks he was still too late. He should have protected the boy from seeing it. He should have held his hands over the kids ears to stop him from hearing their screams. He failed that, but he can protect him from the cameras when they inevitably come.
Putting his thick coat onto the sobbing child. Shielding him from the cameras with his body.
Not even a single photo was taken of Dick that night. And the police only got a statement hours later and only with a social worker present.
—…—…—…—…—…—…—
So a fic just made up from moments like this with all of his children.
Or of situations where he was just a better parent to his children in a situation than Alfred or Lesley to him when he was in a similar one.
Like Lesley not going to any of his piano recitals and Bruce showing up to every single one of Jason’s theater performances and even some practices.
Or Alfred scolding and punishing Bruce for not eating a particular type of food, for example beans, by not making any food without beans for a month straight vs Bruce having a giant excel spreadsheet for all of his children’s dietary preferences and updating it regularly
Maybe training his kids vs his training during his travels from his mentors.
Like him getting a beating for making a mistake during training vs him calmly explaining any of his kids their mistakes and offering insight in how not to make the same mistake again(or a similar one)
Just intentionally or unintentionally Bruce giving his children a better childhood/youth than he had.
And maybe ending on a chapter of the kids finding all of this out. Or maybe not ever finding out until Bruce is in the time stream and sorting through his old diaries and stuff.
Notes: Yuu is gender neutral and as such they/them pronouns are used, not beta read, fluff, slight angst, slightly ooc. Riddle has a fever in this fic, descriptions of sickness are limited and are not in detail but I still wanted to give a heads up for anyone that is sensitive to that particular subject. I wanted something a bit more platonic for Riddle, hence the romance isn’t as strong as in the Jade x reader fic, but I hope Riddle fans enjoy this nonetheless! Riddle was one of my reasons for looking more into TWST when I first heard about it, so it’s safe to say he means a lot to me. I hope you all enjoy!
Twst x reader masterpost
Wc: 1,584
Finals were coming up as was the end of Yuu’s first official year at Night Raven College. So much had happened in just that short span of time that it felt overwhelming to remember it all sometimes. What mattered was the present, the horrible overblots of the past were but a distant memory, not to mention no one had even overblotted since winter break! This had to be a new record!
What mattered most was receiving good grades on their finals, as the headmage promised to upgrade their phone plan from ninety minutes per month to unlimited if they received all A’s on their finals or in turn, made it within at least two of the top 50 test scores for finals. Which seemed highly unlikely considering mages such as Riddle and Azul attended the school. Plus NRC students were known to cheat on occasion, even if Yuu studied with all their might, they might get bumped down a few places because of a cheater.
As a result, Yuu had requested studying sessions with the top student in all of Night Raven College, Riddle Rosehearts. Despite being the smartest student, Riddle was rather helpful and never turned down a student who honestly wanted to improve their grades. Not only did he often tutor Deuce and Kalim, but he’d even study with students aiming to try and take over his rank as top student such as Azul. As such, when Yuu asked if Riddle would be willing to help, he agreed without hesitation.
Today was their third study session with the top student, they’d be focusing on the history of magic today and alchemy. While Yuu didn’t have any magic of their own, they were expected to remember alchemical formulas and ingredients regardless of their lack of ability to do anything with them. Seeing as Riddle had been such a big help already, Yuu decided to make him a dessert as a thank you for all the help. After attempting to read through the Heartslabyul rule book and only making it to rule two hundred and twenty eight ‘flowers in gardens must never be picked on Wednesdays’, you figured that you’d just avoid making a tart as to avoid the same mistake Ace made all those months ago.
Knowing Riddle affinity for anything strawberry, you decided on vanilla strawberry cupcakes, which while difficult to decorate, weren’t that hard to actually bake. With their cupcakes in tow and their book bag in another, Yuu set off to Heartslabyul and soon enough entered the labyrinth-like dorm. After what seemed like longer than usual, Yuu entered the lounge, not many students were taking up space there. Either due to them being busy studying in their rooms or at the library. The kitchen door opened a moment later as a familiar ginger man walked out, holding a cup of steaming tea.
“O.M.G! It’s been awhile since I’ve seen you around here! What brings you here? Your freshies are on flamingo duty today soooo…”
“I came to study with Riddle.”
At this statement, Cater makes a face, almost as if what the Ramshackle student said was most peculiar. Yuu half expected Cater to suddenly blurt out something along the lines of, ‘rule 637 states that students can’t study on Saturdays from 1 to three pm!’ But instead he merely sighs.
“Did he not tell you?”
“Tell me what? Is he busy?”
Cater shakes his head, a sigh escaping his thin lips a moment later.
“Riddle is like, sick. Like, really sick. He got a cold so he’s resting for the day. He really didn’t cancel on you?”
“No, I wouldn’t have come if I knew he was resting…”
Shortly before leaving to the hall of mirrors, Yuu had sent Riddle a quick text to make sure things were still on for today, in which Riddle liked the message before stating that he was still available to tutor Yuu. And yet according to Cater, he was rather sick.
“Well like since you’re already here…”
Cater motions for Yuu to hold out their hand, only for him to place the saucer and teacup into the prefects hand a moment later.
“You can cancel your study session and give him some tea! Well I’ll be seeing you!”
Soon enough the bouncy Heartslabyul student disappeared from their sight, leaving Yuu alone. With no other option they immediately headed to Riddle’s room, making their way to the door before making a soft knock on it. After a few seconds of silence, Yuu could hear a soft groan on the other side.
“…Come in…”
A weak voice called out, hoarse from coughing no doubt. As Yuu opened the door to Riddle’s room, she found him at his desk, a thick blanket draped over his shoulders, a small trash bag filled with used tissues, and a box of them on his desk. Despite his apparent cold he still had a textbook open on the desk, sniffling as he mumbled to himself.
“The best way to harvest mandrakes…ACHOO!”
He quickly grabbed a tissue and sneezed into that, blowing his nose a moment later and dropped the now used tissue into his bag full of them as Yuu walked over to his desk, placing the tea next to him. Slowly he turned to look up, staring at Yuu with a tired expression before his sleepy eyes widened, his nose red from his cold and all the blowing.
“Yuu! I’m sorry, I haven’t looked at the time in awhile I forgot…don’t worry, we can get to studying right away-”
He sucked in a heavy breath before turning away from the prefect, coughing hard into his elbow before turning back to them.
“I have masks if you’d feel more comfortable studying with a layer of protection or we may do a call…”
“Riddle, you need to rest. You look horrible…”
Instinctively, Yuu’s hand went towards the dorm leaders forehead, pressing against the soft skin and frowning at the red head.
“Riddle you’re burning up bad. You must have a fever. You really need to rest.”
He grunted softly, looking away with one of his hands clenched into a fist as his body shook lightly.
“I’m. Fine. Whatever I’m dealing with can be handled once finals are over.”
“Riddle…”
Moving their hand from his forehead, Yuu pulled the dorm leader into a sudden hug. Instantly he tensed up under their touch, though before Yuu could pull away, he slowly moved one hand to hold them back.
“…You’re going to catch whatever I have.”
“I don’t mind…Riddle. I know finals are important…”
“They’re the most important thing in my life as of this moment.”
“Your own health should come before any test.”
“I can’t fall behind, I can’t…”
Yuu tenderly pet the back of his hair as the dorm leader sniffled again, this time clearly in an attempt to hold back his tears as opposed to trying to provide relief to his nose.
“You won’t fall behind…You’ve been an excellent student since your start here. I’m sure the professors could make accommodations if you’re still sick. But you won’t be able to perform well if you’re sicker than a dog.”
“…Trey said the same thing…But I…If I don’t do well then what example does that set for my students? I’d be a failure!”
His voice kept getting quieter and quieter the longer he spoke, Yuu attempted to pull away briefly from the dorm leader in order to grab the tea so he could soothe his clearly raw throat, but seeing as Riddle clung tighter to them as they tried to pull away, it seemed it would be for the best if they stayed close to Riddle for now.
“…Riddle, you wouldn’t be a failure. You’re still human at the end of the day, you need to rest sometimes…I know it must be upsetting to get so sick right before finals, but you didn’t plan this. It just…happened. Life is cruel sometimes, but we still have a month to prepare. If you rest now then you should have more than enough time to study.”
“…What if I don’t?”
Riddle looked up from his friend's shoulder, tears beading at the corner of his eyes, clearly distraught just by the idea of missing valuable study time.
“…You will. I promise. And…until you're better, I’ll study for you, catch you up on any material you need help with. For now, you just need to focus on resting.”
“…Do you really think I’ll be better in time?”
“I’m sure of it.”
Slowly Yuu helps the dorm leader to stand, guiding him over to his large bed and helping him to settle down in it. They walk back to the desk and return with the tea.
Riddle takes a sip, humming at the warmth before he allows for the prefect to help him drink the rest of the cup.
“…Yuu?”
“Yes?”
“…Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?”
“Yeah, I can do that.”
Gently taking one of his hands into their own, Yuu stayed by Riddle’s bedside as he slowly drifted off, his expression slowly becoming more peaceful until it was completely gentle. They weren’t sure if he would be better in time, but bottom line he needed to rest. For now, Yuu would do the hard part for him while he recovered. In his sleep he’d occasionally squeeze their hand, the softest smile on his face as he allowed himself to rest. Just by that expression alone, Yuu had a feeling he’d be okay.
In a game leading up to the playoffs, Oscar piastri hits and has a good play, up until it all goes wrong as Lando Norris watches from the dugout
—————————————————————————
“God damnit!” Charles slammed his helmet down on the dugout bench, before swiftly sitting down and putting his head in his hands. He had just struck out, Lando chuckling to himself, briefly watching him scowl and mumble to himself, before turning back to watch the field. With Charles just striking out, they were now at 2 outs, with Oscar up. Lando watched intently from the dugout, more intently than anyone else on his team, other than maybe the coaches. He and Oscar had come to the team around the same time, himself playing shortstop and Oscar playing second base, they were destined to become as close as they had become. The opposing pitcher cocked his arm, then threw with no swing from Piastri, ball. Lando sighed with relief and clapped.
“Good eye Osc!” He shouted, elbows resting on the rail of the dugout. He felt someone shift closer to the right of him,
“I think you would fuck him if you had the chance” Alex snickered, recieving a smack to the back of the head from Lando, watching as Oscar recieved a strike.
“Stop projecting you and George’s love life onto me! I'm just supporting my teammate you muppet!” Lando shook his head and turned his attention from Alex back to Oscar. Anyone with two eyes would be well aware of how close Alex and George were, tipping the edge between ‘very good friends’ and ‘homosexuality’, but Lando didn’t judge. He watched as Oscar tensed up to hit again, as the pitcher released the ball. With a swing, a crack swept through the air, Oscar had hit the ball out into centerfield. Lando jumped up farther up the fence and cheered the younger on, with most of the team following. Oscar ran the bases as quick as he could, getting waved past first by the coach as the opposing teams center-fielder caught the ball and threw it to their second baseman. Oscar kept sprinting, with his teammates yelling different variations of “GO!”. Out of his peripheral vision, he watched the ball approach closer, so he slid. He slid to the base as their second baseman stepped back to catch the ball.
CRACK
He had stepped with his full weight onto Oscar's ankle, and Piastri stayed down for the play.
“Oh fuck.. OSC” Lando yelled in panic, as he watched his best friend throw his hands over his face, visibly in immense pain, with the second-baseman bending down and waving over the medical team. Lando watched his head coach, Alonso, and the athletic trainer following quickly behind. Time stopped for him, whatever the hell that had happened on that field, it sure as hell wasn't good. Oscar had sat up, grimacing as his ankle was assessed by Alonso and the trainer.
“ Shit, that looks bad” Carlos had come up and Lando’s left at some point, but he didn’t pay any mind to the spaniard. More various medical team members had come out by this point, with Oscar being prompted to stand up, with people he couldn’t name on each side of the aussie. He was slowly pulled up to his feet, whispering various curses under his breath as his arms were put over the staff's shoulders. He hobbled off the field, keeping all his weight on his left leg, his right being bent to avoid putting pressure on it, using the teamd staff members as support. He was visibly distressed as he was clapped off the field by the audience and both teams. Lando jumped down from the side of the dugout, rushing over to the stairs to prepare to help the injured. They reached the stairs, Piastri hopping down them and meeting Lando at the ground, still being supported by the athletic training staff.
“Its broken, I-i know its fucking broken.” Oscar stammered, before being led into the locker room. Lando just watched him go by, along with the rest on the team, before hearing another baseball crack off a bat. Ollie Bearman was now on second base, in place of Oscar, and Pierre had just hit a homerun. Lando couldn’t go and support Oscar, there was still a game to play, and a game to win. They were now up 2-0, top of the 6th,and they had a job to finish.
It was final out, Hamilton was put in as a closer, but all Lando could think about was Oscar, thinking about the worst the injury could bring. Lewis threw, the bat was swung, strike. They had won the game. Lando, followed by the rest of the team went to the pitchers mound, dapping up Lewis, trying to be as happy as possible while he still kept glancing at the locker room entrance.
“Go check on your boy” Lewis hugged the shorter and nodded at him, Lando nodding back before sprinting toward the dugout, the crowd team too busy with their celebrations to notice his absence. He ran right in the hall, before quickly turning into the medical room before bursting in. He was met with a very shocked looking Oscar, who was now in a hoodie and sweatpants, and athletic trainer, Kim, due to the door being slammed open.
“How bad?? Are you okay??” Lando walked up to Piastri, seeming more stressed than the one with the injury.
“I have to go to the hospital to get an X-ray, it's probably broken.” Oscar's grip on the medical table tightened, glancing down at his ankle, Lando frowning at the response.
“I can go grab your stuff when I change, meet me at the car and we'll go.” Lando spoke before bolting off to grab him and Oscar's belongings. Oscar sighed and slid off the bench, still not daring to put weight on his potentially broken leg. Using the crutches that Kim had given him, he shuffled to Lando's car. Even with Lando having to change and grab both their things, he had beat him to the car in the parking lot. Oscar staggered to the passenger side door, being met with his first issue. He tried to get the door open, but couldn't without losing a crutch and falling flat on his face.
“Lando, get the door please.” He mumbled to the man currently loading their bags into his car. Lando smiled at the other before grabbing the door, allowing for Oscar to get in before taking his crutches and putting them into the back seat, circling to the driver's seat of the car. Lando pulled out of the parking lot and started driving towards the hospital.
“Are you in pain? You seem fine” Lando glanced at the other who was now glaring at him.
“What do you think, let me start wailing, yes im in agony right now, and might freak out if they don’t give me some form of pain killer when im there.” Oscar flatly stated, with his elbow on the door and head resting on his hand. Lando made the drive quicker to the hospital, a few minutes later making it there and pulling into a spot. He quickly got out of the car and rushed to the other side, grabbing the crutches and handing them to Oscar who had already opened the door and swung his legs around, Lando only just noticing he couldn’t even get his shoe on his injured foot. Lando closed Oscar's door for him before they made their way to the front desk of the hospital. It wasn’t long before they were called back into a room. Oscar sat on the medical bench as Lando sat on the chair right next to it. The aussie pulled his pant leg up, anticipating the doctor asking him when he or she came in, revealing the swelling and bruising that was already occurring from his ankle to the bottom third of his leg. Lando grimaced.
The doctor came in, bringing a wheelchair to go get X-rays of the ankle, leaving Lando in the room alone with his thoughts. What if this puts Piastri out for the season? That's his partner in crime, he's helped bring the team to so many victories, they can't lose him right before playoffs. He must be in so much pain right now. Lando felt horrible, imagining how upset Oscar must be, but refusing to show it. It could easily be a season ending injury. Time must’ve flown by while Lando was thinking, because he was disturbed by Oscar being brought back into the room with the nurse saying “ill be back in with the results” before swiftly leaving.
“Did they give you anything for the pain?” Lando questioned as Oscar hopped onto the bench.
“Not yet, they wanna rule out surgery before they do..” He played with the edges of his hoodie sleeves, head resting against the wall. Lando patted the other's thigh.
“Even if this does rule you out for the year, it just means you come back stronger next year. That's how you are, you always come back better. And I can even be your nurse around the apartment.” He winked along with the last line, earning a kick from Piastri’s good foot.
“I mean…yea… but we’re on track for the world series. I wanna be there, I wanna play. This sucks.” Oscar groaned, running a hand through his already messed up hair. Their conversation was quickly interrupted by the doctor.
“So your results came back, you have what's called a lateral malleolus fractured. Good news is it's non-displaced, so you don’t need surgery. But the bad news is, you're going to need to be in a walking boot for 4-6 weeks depending on how recovery goes ” Oscar sighed, Lando nodding and looking at him, feeling more guilty than ever. He was definitely out for the year. The doctor left to go get the boot, and Oscar hit his head into the wall behind him. Lando looked at him, not sure what to say to comfort him. Lando hadn’t had a injury like this before, but he coukd imagine he’d be freaking the fuck out if he was in the aussies position.
“I'm sorry Osc, I really am. I’ll be the best nurse you’ve ever seen when we go home, they might even hire me here I'll be that good” Lando tried to lighten the mood, receiving a light chuckle from the other.
“It’s frustrating. If he had just looked where he was stepping this wouldn’t happen. But now im out for the foreseeable future because he wanted me out that bad” Oscar snapped, crossing his arms right before the doctor came back in. He held a grey walking boot that would reach about 2/3rd up Oscars shin. The doctor compression wrapped his ankle before teaching Oscar how to wrap his own ankle and how to use the boot before putting it on him. Oscar straightened his leg, examining the boot he’d now be stuck in for at least a month. The doctor prescribed him painkillers before saying his goodbyes and leaving the room. Lando offered his hand, which Oscar took to get off the bench, before hesitating to put the boot onto the floor. Lando looked at the clock for the first time that night, 11:47, when did it get that late? Lando looked back at Oscar, who was now hobbling towards the door of the room, which Lando was holding open. They, slowly, made their way out to Lando's car, with Oscar awkwardly trying to walk in the boot.
“I think all the pharmacies are closed right now, i’ll go first thing tomorrow morning, I have ibuprofen at the apartment if you want that.” Oscar quietly nodded, putting his hands into his hoodie pockets. Oscar was visibly upset, understandably so, his season was already over, being on track for one of the best second basemen of the year, but his run was now abruptly over because of one bad play, one misstep.
“Do you wanna get ice cream or something?” Lando offered as they approached a red light, Oscar trying to figure out how to sit comfortably with the boot.
“No, I'm tired, I just wanna go home and lay down, and not want to die” He chuckled. Lando rolled his eyes and turned to the road their apartment complex was on. He turned into the parking lot, parked, and claimed he’d get their bags tomorrow, before they made their way inside into the elevator, and to their apartment. Oscar beelined for their couch, flopping down and taking the boot off, getting a few pillows and elevating his ankle onto them. Lando came over and handed him an ice pack, making a second trip to bring him some painkillers and water, which the injured quickly took.
“Thank you, hurts a lot..” Oscar laughed it off as Lando planted himself on the other side of the sofa, turning the TV on.
“Any suggestions?” Lando glanced over and asked.
“Yea, let me see the end of the game, after my leg got crunched.” The aussie said, laying farther back into the cushions of the couch. Lando laughed and put on the game highlights. Oscar knew his situation sucked, and god he couldn’t be more pissed off, but he’d make the most of it, he would come back stronger, and he’d be his teammates biggest fans while he was out. During the replay, Oscar looked at his phone, the team group chat blowing up.
Formula Team GC
12:23
George Russell
Oscar are you okay?
Max Verstappen
that didnt look pretty ill be honest with you
Kimi Antonelli
yea i hope its nothing bad 🥲
Pierre Gasly
hopefully its just bruised or something minor?
Oscar Piastri
My fibulas broken, im out for the year
Alex Albon
how many times has lando offered to be your sexy nurse 🤨??
Lando Norris
im gonna mill you alrx istg 🖕🖕
Oscar laughed and put his phone down, looked at the very red Lando next to him. He felt his phones buzz with everyone's “sorry” and “that sucks”. Oscar would get through this. The team would win that world series with or without him. And he would be the biggest cheerleader.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
This is more of a comedy with some angst and hurt/comfort when Jon has a breakdown
Also I totally couldn't make environmental whump that wasn't environment themed. I had to. XD
Summary: They keep each other safe. It's what they do.
“Hey, Roy, are you okay?”
“Uh, yeah. Yeah.”
Roy hears Johnny chattering, feels his fingers touch his forehead as he patches him up. Even in his daze, Roy feels comforted by Johnny’s touch, the knowledge that Johnny is looking out for him. God knows he’s done the same for Johnny countless times.
They keep each other safe. It’s what they do, part of their unspoken agreement.
“You’ve gotta be careful, Roy,” Johnny chides him in that casual tone, “This is a dangerous job.”
Roy laughs at that. They both know the dangers, but today they’re safe, and today that’s enough.
Febuwhump 2024 | Day 13 | Prompt 13: “You weren’t supposed to get hurt.”
Rated: G | Words: 1781 | Summary: An afternoon of exploring takes a slight turn. [Character Focus: Omega, Wrecker, Tech, Echo, Hunter]
“Please, Hunter!” Omega wheedles, trailing behind Hunter as he walks down the narrow corridor of the Marauder. He practically trips over her when he turns to search another shelf for his stash of migraine medication.
Hunter bites back the irritable tone that wants to coil around the words, “It isn’t really a good day to go exploring, Omega.”
“It’s never a good day,” Omega grumbles, crossing her arms and scowling holes into the durasteel floor. It’s times like this that she inadvertently gives her best imitation of Crosshair.
A deafening crash rattles the ship. Hunter winces against his sound sensitivity.
“Wrecker! I told you to be careful with that!”
“No, you just said to pull it out. That’s what I did!”
“I said to pull it out carefully.”
“You should speak up if it’s that important!”
Hunter sighs, looking down at the still pouting child at his side. “You know what,” he says, “I think it is the perfect day for you and the boys to go exploring.”
Omega’s head snaps up with a glowing smile. “Really?”
“Only if you promise to take Tech and Wrecker with you,” Hunter says.
“What about Echo?” Omega asks.
“Sure, if he wants to go along.”
“Don’t you want to go?”
The headache gnaws on his brain matter. “I’ll stay with the ship. Just in case.”
Omega gives him a playful salute before bounding away to inform her brothers of their impending exploration. Hunter watches her go fondly before resuming his search for his pain meds.
<<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>>
“What is this flower called, Tech?” Omega asks, kneeling in front of a flower with curling, orange petals dotted in black speckles.
Tech kneels down next to her, scanning the plant. “This is an auratium flos,” he says. “It is known for its bitter aroma.”
Omega leans forward and sniffs. She makes a face. “Eww. I thought flowers were supposed to smell nice.”
“That is dependent on the purpose of the flower,” Tech says, standing up.
“Can I pick one?” Omega asks.
“I don’t know why you’d want to, but I suppose it is alright.”
Omega looks over at Wrecker, who is distracted by the large walking stick he found. “Wrecker, you should smell this flower. It’s called an auratium flos! It smells really good!”
Tech opens his mouth to contradict the obvious falsehood, but Echo elbows him.
Wrecker ambles over and allows Omega to hold the flower up to his nose. He takes a deep inhale before reeling back in disgust. “Ugh! You think that smells good?”
Omega squeals with laughter, delighted by her prank.
“You did that on purpose? Why you little…” Wrecker drops his stick to scoop Omega up and tickle her, sending her into gleeful hysterics.
Tech grins. “Ah, that was cleverly done,” he says to Echo.
“And to think you almost ruined it,” Echo chuckles.
Omega wiggles out of Wrecker’s grasp, climbing up onto his shoulder and perching there, an arm wrapped around his head. “Go that way,” she says, kicking out her foot to point.
“Yes, ma’am,” Wrecker says with a rumbling laugh. He retrieves his walking stick and they begin again down the trail they’d found through the jungle. Tech said it was a path regularly traversed by a species of deer, likely leading to a water source. They’d decided it was their mission to find the end of the trail.
As they walk, Omega points out everything that catches her interest, prompting Tech to offer his research or expertise on the subject. Wrecker uses his walking stick to whack at branches and vines that hinder their path, while Echo hangs back a few paces from his enthusiastic siblings, watching their backs and enjoying the sound of their endless chattering.
An hour into their trek and they hear the babbling sound of water tripping over stone.
“The water source!” Omega cries, pushing herself up to peer through the trees. She teeters dangerously on Wrecker’s shoulder, but before Echo can warn her to be careful, Wrecker reaches up to steady her.
“See anything, little captain?” the giant asks.
“No,” Omega says, “but it sounds close. We should be careful.”
Tech hums an affirmative sound. “As this planet is largely unoccupied, there are not any maps that give information on smaller geographical formations, such as streams.” The splicer edges his way to the front of the line. “I should lead until we determine its location.”
“Like a little stream could hurt me,” Wrecker grumbles, but doesn’t argue the point further.
They walk a few minutes more before Tech holds up his hand to sign them to stop. “Something is wrong,” he says.
“What do you mean?” Echo asks.
Tech turns. “Wrecker, if I may borrow your branch?”
“It’s a walking stick,” Wrecker says.
Tech rolls his eyes and holds out his hand. “Fine. Your walking stick.”
Wrecker relinquishes his treasure, and Tech holds it in both hands. He pokes around the ground in front of him. “Does the ground feel strange to you, Wrecker?”
“Like what?” Wrecker asks, bouncing a little to test the ground beneath his feet.
Suddenly, he and Omega drop from sight with a muffled, tangled scream.
Echo steps forward in alarm, but Tech holds out his hand for him to stop. “Don’t move!”
“What the kriff just happened? Where are they?” Echo demands, trying not to sound as panicked as he feels.
Tech lowers himself to the ground, lays flat on his stomach, and stretches out to look down the hole Wrecker and Omega disappeared into. “We are not on solid ground. We are on a tree canopy.”
“What?”
“It seems we inadvertently, and quite literally, walked off a cliff. The jungle is so dense, we didn’t notice that it was not solid ground beneath us, but the top of a tree. I noticed that the sound of the stream went from in front of us, to below us.”
“Where are Wrecker and Omega? Can you see them?”
Tech nods. “They appear unharmed.”
“Thank the maker,” Echo breathes.
“Indeed,” Tech agrees. He carefully pushes himself up. “Now we need to figure out a way to get down to the others.”
“Down? Shouldn’t we try to get them back up?”
“Inadvisable. The best course of action will be to join Wrecker and Omega on the forest floor and navigate a way back up the cliff.”
Echo sighs. “Fantastic.”
<<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>>
“Are you okay, ‘Mega?” Wrecker asks.
Omega opens her eyes. She hadn’t even realized she’d squeezed them shut. “Um, my wrist hurts, but I’m okay.”
Wrecker scoots closer to her. “Let me see,” he says.
She sits up and holds out her throbbing wrist for his inspection. He takes it carefully in his large hands, prodding gently. She winces.
“Just a sprain,” Wrecker decides. He reaches into his pack and pulls out a strip of bandage. “We’ll make you a nice sling to rest it in.” He ties the ends together and slips it over Omega’s head, helping her cradle her injured limb in its fold.
“Wrecker, Omega, status report,” Tech’s voice says through Omega’s comm.
Omega unclips it from her belt with her good hand. “We’re here. I sprained my wrist, but we’re okay.”
“That is a better outcome than we could have hoped for under the circumstances. A fall such as that could have resulted in much worse,” Tech says.
Wrecker stands up slowly, as if expecting the ground to drop from under him again. Omega thinks it is a fair assumption. He prods at the ground experimentally with his boot. “The ground is really soft down here…that’s why it didn’t hurt when we landed on it, but at least it’s real this time.”
”Yes, it seems that you and Omega have found the jungle floor.”
“‘Found’ is a generous way of putting it,” Echo mutters in the background.
“Echo and I are formulating a plan to get down to you. From there, we will seek out a way to get back up to higher ground.”
“Roger that,” Omega says.
Wrecker helps Omega to her feet. She turns in a circle, taking in the dim surroundings. It isn’t exactly dark; however, the light only pierces through the awning of trees in thin shafts, illuminating little bits of the world around them in a golden glow. It’s almost magical.
“It’s beautiful down here,” Omega says.
“Look!” Wrecker points. “There’s the stream we were looking for!”
Omega grins. “I guess we finished our mission after all.”
<<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>>
“I don’t like this plan,” Echo says.
Tech sighs. “So you’ve mentioned. Several times.”
”Why can’t we call Hunter? He could bring the Marauder and pull us all out of here.”
“You are suggesting we admit to Hunter that we quite literally walked off a cliff with a child in our care.”
“I’d rather he hear it from us than the two storytellers down there later,” Echo grouses.
A pause. “That is actually a very valid point.”
“I always make valid points.”
“Tech? Echo?” Omega’s voice pipes through their comms. “What’s taking so long?”
”We are considering our options,” Tech replies promptly.
“I think they’re just scared,” Wrecker’s voice taunts.
“Incorrect. We simply don’t have the appropriate gear for a direct plan. We have to work with the resources at our disposal.”
“Scaredy tookas,” Wrecker cackles.
“I’ll have you know that I actually have a plan, but it is Echo who is resistant,” Tech declares.
”Hey! I’m just trying to keep us from breaking our necks.”
“Well, can we hurry it up? Omega and I are starting to get hungry.”
“Let’s just call Hunter,” Echo pleads, eyeing the less than reliable contraption Tech had constructed.
“Fine,” Tech relents with a long sigh. “We’ll call Hunter.”
<<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>>
“Do you want to explain to me again how you let Omega fall off a cliff?” Hunter asks.
Tech corrects him. “She did not technically fall off a cliff. She fell out of a tree.”
“That you didn’t know you had walked onto. And then let her fall through.”
“Correct. But in our defense, the tree’s canopy was mostly sturdy enough to withstand the weight of a normal sized clone. It was Wrecker and Omega’s combined weight that caused them to break through an otherwise admirable barrier.”
“I barely got hurt!” Omega adds helpfully.
“You weren’t supposed to get hurt at all,” Hunter sighs.
Omega pats Hunter on the arm. “We will be more careful on our next exploration.”
”That isn’t to say we weren’t being careful this time,” Tech puts in quickly.
Hunter swears that he and his siblings are magnets for trouble and danger, it seems to follow them at every turn. They always get lucky in the end.
But what will happen when that luck runs out?
END
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I decided I'm going to make another multichapter Helluva Boss story, this time showing Blitzø going to therapy and him learning to let go of his self-hatred, come to terms with his feelings for Stolas, and also move on from his mom's death.
