RvB Fanfiction: Hartford Wash/CT
Superhero!AU. Agent Washington had a hard life, even after all of the Sigma bullshit. Now, he must not only work as a veterinarian by day, but now he spends his nights fighting villains and more or less baby sitting his sidekick. But when Connie enters his life, he can't help but connect with her and fall head over heels for the woman. But Connie is falling into the darkness, and it's up to Wash to either go against all he stands for; or find a way to stay with the love of his life. ~Hartford
[Here's a quick list of peoples ages-names/powers/hero names/mentor:]
[58-Leonard Church/Extreme intelligence, Alpha's father/The Director/None]
[26-Leonard L. Church/Endless amount of bullets in his pouch, can't shoot for shit though/Alpha/The Director (Deceased)]
[24-Lavernius Tucker/Uses Energy Sword, no powers otherwise/The Alien Whisperer (Or AW for short)/Alpha]
[23-Michael J. Caboose/Super strength, mentally retarded though/Train of Thought/Agent Washington]
[22-Kaikaina Grif/Extremely attractive towards men and lesbians, easily distracted/Little Sister/Private Negative]
[24-Dexter Grif/Invulnerability, extremely lazy/Private Negative/Sargent (No longer)]
[25-Richard Simmons/Very attentive, bit of a kiss-ass, great with all computers/The Maroon Soldier/Sargent (No longer)]
[38-Matt Sarge/Can build almost anything in short amounts of time, killer temper/Sargent/None]
[23-Franklin D. Donut/Great throwing arm/Pink Rookie (or Lightish Red Rookie)/Sargent]
[25-Frank DuFresne/Can heal almost any wound, but has no idea which ones are which, causing problems/Medic (Doc)]
[25-Lopez Dos/Can fix almost anything mechanical, half robot/Lopez The Heavy/None]
[29-Sheila Cruz/Computer hacking, strong feminist/F.I.L.S.S]
[27-Allison Texas/Cloaking, Increased strength (Not SUPER strength, but close)/Agent Texas]
[26-David Washington/Electromagnetic Pulse, suffers from severe PTSD/Agent Washington]
[33-Reginald Wyoming/Temporal Distortion, can't completely control power, it only protects him or anyone he loves dearly/Agent Wyoming]
[29-Sean York/Healing Unit, also hacks things, but extremely sarcastic/Agent New York]
[28-Shana Dakota/Domed Energy Shields, can be easily defeated thanks to fights with North during missions/Agent South Dakota]
[28-John Dakota/Domed Energy Shields, can be easily defeated thanks to fights with South during missions/Agent North Dakota]
[32-Matt Maine/Super Strength, completely mute besides small growls/Agent Maine NOW The Meta (Villain)]
[29-Jen Carolina/Super Speed, takes role very seriously and hates being treated as lesser/Agent Carolina]
[27-Samantha Connecticut/Holographic Decoy, has soft side for The Insurrectionist/Agent Connecticut NOW C.T. (Villain)]
[(I made up a few for the AI's in order to not have too many repeating powers)]
[32-Matt Maine/Super Strength, completely mute besides small growls/The Meta WAS Agent Maine (Hero)]
[27-Samantha Connecticut/Holographic Decoy/C.T. WAS Agent Connecticut (Hero)]
[27-O'Malley ?/Teleporting, rage gets in the way often/Omega]
[29-Gary ?/Computer Hacking, joking nature gets in the way often/Gamma]
[25-Mark Delta/Logical Strategist, refuses to fight/Delta, is still called Delta after joining heroes]
[7-Burnie Theta/Can judge if someone is lying or not, trust gets in the way often/Theta, is still called Theta after joining heroes]
[30-Elijah Sigma/Controls all of the villains (Mostly), Fire Balls, ambition gets in the way often/Sigma]
[27-Leonard Epsilon/Mind Control, extreme PTSD/Epsilon]
[28-Eta/Deceased, nothing more is explained]
[28-Iota/Deceased, nothing more is explained]
[29-Brandon ?/Guns... lots and lots of guns, has soft side for Agent Connecticut AKA C.T./The Insurrectionist]
[24-Andrew D. Kaboom/Makes and uses several bombs, self-conscious about weight/Andy]
You arrive home late, as usual, which means it probably isn't really 'late' anymore but you still call it getting home late. You pry open the door to your tiny apartment, groaning as you struggle to push open the damned door. After a few seconds, you sigh, reverting to rather dumb ways of getting the door open.
"Michael!" You yell, hoping to God that your sidekick decided to visit without asking first... again. "Could you give me a hand here? Doors jammed again!"
In an instant, Michael J. Caboose is at the door, easily opening it due to his increased strength. He smiles when he sees you, obviously having waited for quite some time for you to arrive home. You sigh, biting back anything rude you might say to Caboose, seeing as you kind of have a major soft spot for this kid, plus, he's a little too innocent for your choice words from the English language. You heave your way inside, going right by Caboose before face planting onto the ugly, grey couch in your ugly, grey living room. You hate your apartment, so much, but you don't have the time or money to bother with moving.
Michael smiles at you, not really catching onto the fact that, once again, you've had a really rough day at work, and you are NOT in the mood to deal with any bullshit. You eventually roll over, meeting Caboose's baby blue eyes with your own grey/blue ones. You were told by Nana that you have your mothers eyes, but you're still not sure, you have zero idea on what your real mom and dad looked like. When your were only two, your mother and father died in a car accident, leaving you with your grandmother. She was a very kind woman, never very strict, always needed you to help around the house, ever since you could walk.
You miss her dearly, but you've been told by long distance family members that your grandmother is in a better place. She better be, she deserves only the best in your opinion. You finally return to the real world, escaping your ever running mind to see that Caboose is getting bored, hopping from foot to foot and looking around for something to do. You hear a stomach grumble, you have no idea if it's yours or Caboose's, but either way, dinner needs to be eaten soon. You soon sit up, sighing deeply as you try to wash away the feeling of your job for just a bit, in order to maybe relax for once in your life after the incident.
"Caboose... I think it's best if we don't go on patrol tonight." You say after a few minutes, not meeting Caboose's eyes as you rub at your own pair. "I've had a long day, I'm not sure if I'm capable of staying awake for patrol, much less any encounters me might have."
"Awwww." Caboose whines, and pouts as he looks at the floor, wiggling his toes dully. "But tonight will be my first as a superhero." He mumbled.
You're tempted to slap yourself as Caboose reminds you. Oh shit, right, tonight you had promised to take Caboose out for his very first patrol/possible villain fight. You had completely forgotten. Well, no, you can never completely forget, not anymore at least. Thanks to Epsilon's experiments on you, you're now more or less forced to remember everything ever said to you as well as everything you've ever seen. Problem is; you have severe PTSD, and it usually makes you have panic attacks when you try and use your powers to recollect old memories or old facts that you've heard being said before.
You attempt to rub away any fatigue in you as you rub your forehead, deciding that you'll just have to tough it out tonight. "Alright, Caboose. We'll go out for patrol tonight, we'll even grab some food while we're out. Just... try to go easy on me, 'kay? I'm tired from work."
You have no idea if Caboose heard anything other than 'we'll get food' and 'patrol' in that sentence, but either way, he looks, as Florida would put it, pleased as punch. Dear God, you've GOT to stop spending so much time with those other heroes... okay, you can't help it, you'll always be seeing them, probably until you die. You only have gotten to know them because they have all gone through alot of rough superpower shit, just like you. But no, you decide to leave those memories at bay for now... you don't want to risk another panic attack...
You silently decide that you won't tell Caboose about the panic attack you had at work, you decide it's much better if he remains innocent and unknowing of all the real shit that's happening to you.
The air is cold and crisp on your thin body, that's only covered by a rather thin sheet of armor that your buddy Carolina got made for you, it even helps you use your Electromagnetic Pulse power, the only other power you have than the memory bullshit. You look to Caboose, who can't possibly sit still as he hops around in his cute little costume, munching happily on the fries from the Happy Meal he talked you into getting for him for dinner. Even you must admit, Agent Washington, that you indeed spoil this man rotten.
After a few minutes of simply looking over the city from your rooftop, you realize how dizzy you are. You shake it off, no, Caboose has trained too hard and has waited too long for this night for you to just ruin it by calling it quits. You've dealt with worse, Wash. Get over the pain and get through it, for Caboose. You look around, suddenly noticing Alien Whisperer and Alpha on a rooftop not far from yours. You grin, you have a completely dick move at the ready that will solve all your problems...
"Hey, Caboose, have you ever met a really nice guy called Alpha? He has a sidekick as well, calls himself Alien Whisperer. Wanna meet them?" You ask, smiling brightly as Caboose nods happily. "Perfect. Come on, let's go!"
Okay, so dumping Caboose on Alpha and Alien Whisperer was a dick move for you to pull, but seriously, you need to get home and rest. Besides, you trust Whisperer and Alpha not to hurt Caboose, the most they'll do is yell at him, and you know that Caboose won't take that personally. The most you're worried about is getting home, the only reason this is a problem is because... you gave your keys to Caboose. He had been intrigued by your numerous cat themed key rings, so you had let him carry the car keys... and now, Caboose was somewhere else with Alien Whisperer and Alpha.
You groan to yourself, realizing all too quickly that you'll be making a very dumb and inconvenient phone call tonight... York better shut his mouth about this one.
"Sup, Wash?" York says as he pulls up in the alleyway, opening the passenger door for you to hop into. "Did you get lost in the big, scary city? Needed uncle York to come get you?"
"Shut. The fuck. Up." You growl out, glad that it's not raining yet as you buckle in, glad your cape is long enough to wrap around yourself and not get in the way. "If I knew anybody else, I would've called them. Now, please drive me home, I'm tired and just about ready to faint."
York shrugged, already driving in a completely different direction. "York? Where the Hell are you taking me?" You ask, looking alarmed.
"My place." York explains, grinning at your angered expression at the news. "Oh relax, I'm not leaving you in that shithole of an apartment tonight, you need a better bed than an old, lumpy mattress."
"It's not lumpy." You mutter childishly, crossing your arms in an I'm not pleased fashion. "And besides, you'll have Carolina over there. I'm not sure if I should interrupt any mind blowing sexual activities you two might have while I'm there."
York didn't seemed affected by your words. "We won't do it tonight... heck, I'm having a party right now at my place, everybody's gonna be there... even CT."
You were just about to demand that York should drive you home, but you stop just short. CT? She would be there? Well, now might be a good of time as any to explain that you may or may not have the dorkiest crush ever on CT, AKA Samantha Connecticut, the hottest girl you've ever seen in your young life. You have no idea why you haven't asked her out yet, but you're pretty sure your 'friends' are currently betting on when you will start dating her. Suddenly, for some reason, sleep isn't as appealing as it once was.
The distinct sound of hip-hop music invades your ears as you stand there, leaning against the whitely painted wall with a coke in your right hand, staring off into space. The music seems to bounce off the walls, getting louder and louder, or quieter, you can't really tell right now, your mind is too clouded with the distinct possibility that someone may have put liquor in your soda. You, Agent Washington, watch as you best friend York, hits on Agent Carolina. Everyone you know is here, well, almost everyone, the guys you all call 'The Blood Gulch Crew' isn't here, probably doing their own things.
You hate parties, even as a young teenager, you hated them. It was always too loud, too annoying, too dangerous. You briefly remember that you lost your virginity at a party once, you think you were nineteen, a freshman in college who happened to score while hammered. You don't remember it very well, you could, but you don't want to, for all you know, it could've been rape that you replaced with an enjoyable encounter with a complete stranger you never got the name of. You look around, eyes scanning the room as you take it all in.
Everyone is oddly in costume still, probably in-case there's an emergency that might need their involvement. You watch carefully, seeing North and South having some kind of discussion with Wyoming and Florida, York is still hitting on Carolina, everything seems fine. Suddenly, she invades your sights. Agent Samantha Connecticut, your current crush, the chick who uses knives as her main weapon. She looks great, even in her heavy metal armor of a dark brown variety. She reminds you of the Earth, the texture of mud on your bare legs as you run around in the rain as a ten year old in the backyard of Nana's house.
Before you can get lost in those memories, CT speaks, her voice attempting to hide it's truly timid and small nature with a tougher exterior. You see right through it. "Hey," She says, acting nonchalant as she stands beside you, you notice the small can or Mountain Dew in her hands, held tightly and well-guarded. "How's everything with you?"
"It's going well." You say, not telling her about the panic attacks, about the days and days of no sleep, about the young sidekick you recently hired. You don't want to trouble her with your issues, she doesn't deserve it in your eyes. "How about you, everything alright?"
"Yeah." CT says, sipping awkwardly on her drink, it feels like there are thousands of miles separating you in a long distance relationship, not a mere foot. "Everything's cool. Got a job, nice little coffee shop at an old mall."
"Sounds refreshing." You comment, not meeting her dark brown eyes.
A beat passes, the current song is replaced with the next track. You hear York chuckle, Carolina groans, Wyoming huffs, Florida giggles, North stutters, South grins. Everything is so bitter-sweet, all at once. "I got a cat." You finally state, taking a swig of your coke that you're now certain has alcohol in it. Did you pour it in? Maybe.
"Whats it's name?" CT asks, looking a bit interested.
You wonder if she remembers how much you love cats. How, when you were locked away in those cages by Sigma and his lackeys in an unknown laboratory, you would talk about cats and what you liked about them. That was forever ago to you, a different person, a young man who used to laugh at York's jokes, who played cards with Wyoming, who sang music all night with Carolina. That young man is dead, he died when Epsilon tortured him for two weeks straight, replacing that young, naive man with Washington... a man who'll never forget who he once was.
"His name is Hartford." You say, not missing a beat, You don't let yourself get lost in the past, not when you can stay here, with CT, with the people who helped you survive the torture and monsters.
"Hartford?" CT repeats, looking highly amused. "Isn't that a city in Connecticut?"
You barely hide a blush, well, no, it shows, but you pretend that it doesn't. "Yeah. Thought it would be a nice name, reminded me of you. I haven't seen you in awhile now, I think it was March, one of York's other parties?"
"Yeah," CT says, nodding in agreement. "I think we talked for a bit, something about you getting a job at a vets office? You know... we really should reconnect some time." The way she says reconnect... you have no idea if it's the drunkenness invading your mind, but you think that sounded just the slightest bit dirty.
"We should." You agree, finishing your coke quickly, praying for no side-effects. "Wanna go somewhere and talk?"
"Sure." CT says, following you into another room that you're pretty sure is the guest room.
You think that the parties over now, everyone will go home soon. But for you, Agent Washington, the party has only just begun for tonight.
This is so, so wrong in your mind. You shouldn't be doing this, sitting alone with CT (or Connie, would she let you call her Connie right now?) kissing on the guest bed. It's wrong, you know that. You're both single, sure, but you're just now realizing that neither of you are sober, not completely anyhow. CT isn't as drunken as you, you're pretty damn destroyed right now, but not enough to lose complete control. Your mind is in knots, mixing old memories with new ones. The intimacy of this situation brings back memories from Epsilon... the ones he put there.
You don't dare say it aloud, you keep quiet, save for the tiny groans in-between kisses with Connie. You're so tempted to pull back, to leave and claim that you need to think, but your need to have intercourse after so long is far stronger than your will, which is trapped by your drunken and fuzzy mind. Things get faster, she's kissing your neck, you're hands are rubbing her thighs softly. Oh God. This isn't how you wanted it to go between you two, you wanted it to be honest, sober, peaceful, hidden away from others. But you can't change this now.
It'll be a one night stand, won't you? You can't stand that, you don't want to be only for a night, you want to stay with her, marry her, have a family with kids and even a dog if she wants one. You think you're both cat people, but can't focus on that, you think that might count as bestiality if you do that. She's under you, kissing, bucking; you feel so damn guilty, so horrible, but you can't stop now. Whatever happens next is instinct, you think one of you turned off the lights at some point, but you can't remember who did.
After that first thrust, everything is out of your hands.
The morning you awaken is hot and humid, a rather horrible thing to wake up to, especially with a hangover. You sit up, your bare chest hot and sticky in the open air. You look around, grey/blue eyes scanning the area. To say you remember anything is a lie, you can't hardly remember your own address. Suddenly, a small creak sounds from the guest bedroom's bathroom, you stare, watching as Connie exits the toiletry room, a towel hanging loosely around her thin waist. You suddenly remember everything, but it's mostly thanks to your photographic memory that just now decided to boot up.
"I'm sorry." Is the first thing you spit out, wrapping the blanket that covers you're lower regions more around yourself, trying to look more decent.
"Don't be." Connie says, her eyes hold no amount of anger, just... regret. That can't be good for you. "It was my fault too, guess I drank a little too much last night. Look... I'll call you later, 'kay?"
You nod, watching her quickly dress in some of Carolina's clothes (They're way too big on her) and leaving. After a few minutes, you slowly crawl out of bed, not bothering to shower off your crimes before dressing in the clothes you had worn under your costume last night. You pack your suit and weapons into a bag before throwing it over your shoulder. You give the room one last look before closing it on the way out, heading down to the kitchen. Connie is gone, hadn't even said goodbye, and by the looks of it, no one has yet to clean up the place.
The living room is a disaster, there are drinks stains, salsa stains, and other odd looking spots on the carpeted floor. The couch is turned over, where you see that Wyoming and Florida are asleep under, snuggling by the looks of it. South is off to the side, resting her head on the wall, hardly awake, her brother is wide awake and without a hangover, seeing as he's sworn off drinking for years. York is in the kitchen, cooking breakfast for anyone who bothered to stay, Carolina is there too, off to the side sipping on a cup of coffee by the looks of it.
"Morning." You mutter out lamely, entering the kitchen and plopping into a chair, fatigue with a mix of serious hangover still rocking your world.
"Morning, princess." York jokes, grinning at you as he sees your disheveled hair and tired eyes. "Looks like someone was a busy bee last night."
You blink, sorta like a lazy tabby cat. "Was it South?" You ask jokingly, but your voice croaks a bit. You're pretty sure you're slowly getting sick with something.
Carolina rolls her eyes, smirking at you. "Don't play dumb, David. We all know what went on last night between you and CT. So... you in love or was it nothing special?"
"Is there a word for 'hopelessly-in-love-but-never-getting-laid-again?'" You ask, rubbing your eyes as you sit up. "Because if there is, than that perfectly explains how I feel... besides the hangover."
"That's what you get for drinking like a college freshman." North says, smiling in an almost evil way at you. "Didn't the doctors who helped you warn you about drinking? Hangovers are alot worse with your powers, could trigger something."
Carolina suddenly seems concerned. "Triggers? Would it tell us where the AI are?"
"I doubt it. Even if Wash's flashbacks reveal stuff, they won't reveal whats currently happening to Epsilon, just what he's seen before and implanted into Wash. If anything, it'll lead us to old laboratories." North explains, shrugging nonchalantly. "Let's hope for nothing though, flashbacks in general are pretty damn rough."
"No kidding." You mumble, re-entering the conversation. "I'm gonna head home soon, 'kay?" You stand, ready to leave at any moment.
"Need a ride, lad?" Wyoming asks as he wakes up, Florida yawning awake beside him. "Don't need you getting in an accident, now do we?"
You shrug. "I'll be fine." You say, but smile softly none-the-less. "Thanks for the offer though, I'll call you all later."
"Bye." York says to you, just as you walk out the door.
You catch a cab home, and collapse as soon as you get in, slightly surprised that Caboose isn't there to greet you. You remind yourself to call Alpha later, either Caboose left on home to his house or is spending the night at Alpha's place. A soft meow is heard as you enter, and you can't keep from smiling, despite your troubled mood. Hartford enters like he always does, full of sass and a need to be appreciated. You crotch down, picking up the Main Coon with a huff, seeing as the cat is massive compared to most cat breed.
Hartford seems pleased, rubbing his cheeks against your face with a continuous purr. He must have missed you. Just to be sure that you fed him last night, you check his food bowl. It's empty. You sight, setting Hartford down as you go to the cat food bag on your cupboard. You yank it down, spilling a few pieces of the kibble on the floor, which makes your head hurt from the slightly soft sound. You fill Hartford's bowl, rubbing the felines back as he dives right in, choking down food faster than a speedster. Which is pretty fast, considering you've seen a speedster eat before.
You call in for work, explaining that a family matter has come up, which is a lie, considering your only family left is Caboose and Hartford. You and Caboose are cousins, amazingly, yet look nothing alike... save for the fact that Caboose at least has a shade of blue color for his eyes. A loud thump on the door makes you jump, immediately answering to see... Alpha? You blink a few times, seeing that the man has Caboose with him, who looks half-asleep beside him, leaning on the door frame. You really hope that Caboose didn't get into trouble... again.
"Washington, about time you fucking got your ass home, I've been calling you for, like, two hours!" Alpha yells, glaring daggers at you with no remorse for your current hangover. "Seriously, we need to talk, man."
Instead of telling Alpha about your hangover or really acknowledging him in the first place, you look to Caboose, eyes filled with concern for the younger man. "Are youokay, Caboose? Was Leonard nice to you?"
Caboose nodded happily, looking completely unharmed, to your thankfulness. "Hello, Agent Washingtub. I have had a fun time with Church, he is my best friend!" He explained.
"Sounds good. Why don't you two come in, mind the cat." You say, motioning for Leonard and Michael to enter your apartment. "If you smell anything weird, that's just Hartford."
The two men scuttle in, Leonard immediately plopping onto your couch with little to no respect, not even bothering to take off his shoes. Caboose takes a seat next to him, trying to get as close as he can to the older man. You, still suffering from a massive hangover and dehydration, take a seat in the old armchair you inherited from your Nana, one you remember her resting in all the time. You remember her so well, she had had more energy to take care of you as a small boy, but by the time you were a teenager, she had been getting too old to keep up with you.
But you had always been a good child to her, after Nana got too old to really do much, you took over doing the chores, cooking, and cleaning in the household. You remember how she used to just rest in this chair for hours, calling you over every now and then from whatever you were doing to help her stand or to fix the television if it was acting up again. You break out of those thoughts, refocusing on the two men you've allowed into your apartment. Leonard looks upset, wearing only a cobalt hoodie and blue jeans, his glasses on slightly crooked.
"You alright there, Leo?" You ask, using the pet name that you know for a fact Agent Texas used to use on Leonard. "You seem a bit tense."
He gives you a long look, and you immediately turn to Caboose. "Hey, Caboose, why don't you go and get something to eat, you can hang out in my room until me and Leonard here are done talking about boring stuff." You say, giving the young man a kind smile. "You can even pet Hartford, but please don't break his back... again."
Caboose nods happily, taking off to go play in your bedroom. You then turn to Leonard, who crosses his arms as he avoids your steady gaze. "Mind explaining why you're acting all shy? Usually you'd be going on and on about how my apartment is shitty and smells like cat piss."
"Look... how old is Caboose?" Leonard asks, meeting your eyes with his dark green ones. "I'm just curious here, man."
The question catches you off guard, and you have to hope to God that you're not stuttering. "Well... he's about twenty four or twenty five now, why, is something wrong?"
"No." Leonard says, adjusting himself in his seat shyly. "Just... wondering..."
"Okay, I know by now that I'm a shitty liar, but even I can tell that you're keeping some kind of shit from me, so how about you tell me whats eating ya'h?" You ask, leaning forward in the chair with the look of a concerned father.
Leonard sighs, and you really means SIGHS, and gives you a long, spacious look. "Fine, you've got me, I've got some shit I just realized and I'm not sure how to fucking fix it. Just answer me this; if you knew something was wrong, and that if you try to attempt at something, that it'll get somebody hurt... would you still do it?"
You stare at Leonard L. Church with a lost expression, not because you're almost certain of what is bothering him, not because you remembered that Caboose is a homosexual and Leonard might be too; but because that question speaks to you like nothing else. You've experienced it last night, having slept with CT, despite the obviously tense consequences. You've experienced it through Allison, who's memories once warned her not to leave him, but she still left him behind and went off to war, leaving him to take care of their ten year old daughter alone.
Both memories could see darker outcomes, one saw an orphaned daughter and a heartbroken father, the other saw the loss of a friendship. Either way, both fragments went for it, Allison disappeared in the war; you had sex with your best friend. Now, those consequences have manifested into something else. The Director tortured and his victims and lost hope for a future, but you, Agent David Washington, still have time, time to make things right. You can still survive this ordeal... you just need to try now. You stare at Leonard, eyes full of passion and longing.
"Yes." You finally say, your eyes never leaving Leonard's face. "I'd go for it, I'd risk anything sometimes, even it's a terrible and horrible decision, with my track record... I'd probably fuck it all up. But I'd do it."
Leonard nods, as a wave of peace and quiet echoes through your tiny apartment, not even the meowing of a cat can be heard. But of course, nothing ever lasts for you other than depression and broken memories.
Both you and Leonard shoot up as your phone buzzes, with the ring tone you installed for York. You answer, standing up and leaving the room quietly. "Hey, York. What's going on?" You ask, leaning on the wall in the hallway carefully.
"Trouble." York says, and it's only now that you realize that explosions and screams are playing off in the background. "It's Sigma and Gamma, looks like they're really trying to make a scene. Me and Lina are trying to take 'em down, but it's getting rough out here. We need back-up, I've already got most of the Blood Gulch crew getting over here along with Wyoming and Florida. Shit, gotta go, Lina's in trouble."
You snap off the phone and toss it aside, blasting into the room. "Hope you've got your costume, Leonard. We've got trouble, it's Sigma and Gamma this time!"
Leonard nods, pulling off his hoodie as he starts to get dressed, you turn to the hallway you were just in, to see Caboose holding Hartford in his large arms, staring at you curiously. "Is there a mission, Agent Washington?" He asks.
"Yeah." You answer, walking by him with your backpack in hand to go get dressed. "Get dressed, Caboose. It's about time we show you what real villains are like."
Even as you head out the door three minutes later, ready for action, you know that your mind is far from the up-coming fight. You're mind is on Connie, who you pray is okay, somewhere safe and away from danger.
"Lina, are you okay!" York screams as he crotches beside Carolina, who lays knocked out before you and him. "Oh my God, she needs a doctor!" He cries.
"Go." You say, reloading your sniper rifle, painted grey and yellow like your armor. "I can take them for awhile, besides... we've got Train Of Thought this time, they'll have no idea what hit them."
York nods, slowly scooping Carolina up in his arms as he exits the scene, probably to get medical professionals to save his fiance. You turn towards where Caboose is, blue tights and all, mask in place. "Caboose," You say, staring into his masked eyes carefully. "Bring those fuckers down; let's show 'em who's boss."
Caboose nods, jumping onto a car as Alpha stands beside, trying his best to use his infinite bullet sniper rifle to hit Sigma and Gamma, but only about a fourth of them actually hit. "Alpha!" You yell, jumping on top of the minivan to join them duo. "I need you to distract Gamma for as long as possible; I've got a little payback in mind for Epsilon."
"But... Epsilon isn't here." Alpha points out, looking around as if to check that he's not mistaken. "It's only Sigma and Gamma... guess we should be glad that they didn't bring Delta, that fucker is cool but... Jesus, he's wrapped around their fingers."
"I know, I know!" You shout over an explosion, glaring under your helmet at Alpha. "But if I'm here, Epsilon will show up; it's how it fucking works between us. If you see him, warn me, I'm gonna do what I can until that bitch shows his face."
Alpha nods, firing off a few rounds next to Gamma's feet, getting the glowing man's attention. "Hello, Alpha." He says, voice robotic and dead of emotion. "Would you like to hear a joke? Knock, knock."
The rest of Gamma's speech blur as you dive around, looking around carefully. You're at town square, where Sigma and Gamma had decided to try and blow some shit up, obviously wanting to draw a scene. As many of you that were available answered the called, much to your relief, seeing as you, Alpha, Caboose, York, and Carolina definitely need the back-up. North and South are using their shields to protect civilians, but out of the corner of your eye, you see that North has somehow managed to capture the youngest of the AI villains; Theta.
You remember Theta, he and Delta are the only ones in your mind that still have a chance at life. Delta is pure logic and decisions, but God, did he and York make one Hell of a bond in the labs, they'd always be chatting when they were sure that Gamma and Sigma wouldn't overhear or know. Theta was just a sweet, innocent child. He and North had bonded, resulting in North swearing that he'd rescue Theta from his life of crime, and if so, you wouldn't be surprised if North adopted the kid.
You snap out of it, suddenly looking to where you see him... Epsilon. "Sup, Wash." He says, voice exactly like Alpha's, so much so that it's almost disgusting to you; how dare this man try to act like him. "Whoa... you guys got fucked up out here." He exclaims, whistling dramatically as he looks around. "So.. how're you."
"Enough of this." You say, standing at full height as you reload your sniper rifle, pointing it at Epsilon with anger plaguing your heart. "I'm taking you in, Epsilon. I'm done with you ruining my life and driving me insane."
Epsilon puts his hands up in mock surrender, backing off a step, after all, he knows that you might make good on your threat to blow his annoying head off. "Easy, easy! It's cool, we're cool, man! Hey... you seem out of it, and don't call bullshit, because, dude, I can tell when you're fucking wrecked, I've seen the inside of your head and I know how you tick."
"It's none of your business!" You yell, glaring harder at Epsilon as you click the safety of your rifle off. "Hands where I can see them."
Epsilon wiggles his fingers, chuckling at you darkly. "Oh man... you've got it bad, dude! So, who's the unlucky lady? Carolina, South? No... it's totally CT, ri-" You cut him off, slamming your fist into his jaw with a sickening crunch.
Let it be said now that you have zero restraint when it comes to Epsilon.
"So, you wanna play it that way, huh?" Epsilon asks mockingly, pulling a loaded sniper rifle off his back with a huge grin on his face. "Okay... let's play it that way." He draws towards you, sniper rifle level with yours as you retake your previous position.
You face each other, a beat passes. Kids are crying in the background, mothers are screaming, fathers are dying, and all the while, you and Epsilon stare at each other with overly focused expressions, looking for a fracture or trigger in the other. This is the anatomy that makes up you and Epsilon, you know each other more than anyone else, you know the others quirks, secrets, insecurities, feelings... it's encoded into both of your skulls. But the thing is; neither of you can ever win. It'll always be this way, he might trigger you until all you can of is Nana and her dead cats, you might throw him behind bars for a week or two, but it'll always end up the same. Always.
Your feet guide themselves, throwing you forward with amazing accuracy as you fire off at Epsilon, only for the other to duck and send your feet out from under you. You roll into a crotch as soon as your ass hits the ground, punching upwards at Epsilon as the other draws near. He blocks it, taking you arm and swinging you over his shoulder. You take this chance to land a kick into his face as you pass by, hearing a sickening yet evilly satisfying crunch and yelp attached to the hit. You both face each other then, both swinging around to face each other.
Epsilon's mouth and nose are dripping blood like crazy, you can see easily where you busted his lips from your boot ripping it. His eyes are bloodshot, looking for any weakness in you. Your hangover has passed, to your happiness, but extreme exhaustion has replaced it, and that shows more than ever as you struggle to stay upright, the need to just curl up in a ball on the street and rest is extremely appealing to you now. You resist it, deciding to just glare at Epsilon, your gun facing his temple.
"Checkmate." You mutter, feeling all kinds of dizzy, but you hold it at bay. "It's over Epsilon, I'll be seeing you in court soon."
Epsilon shrugs as the police officers nearby handcuff him, guiding him towards a police car. "Whatever, see you later lover boy! Text me about her, I gotta tell the guys about it!"
You growl, flicking him off before turning around, taking in the scene carefully. The Dakota's are long gone, along with Theta, who you're pretty sure has been taken by North. That wouldn't surprise you, the guy has been trying like crazy to get Theta adopted by himself, and to top it all off, Theta wants to be North's son. Too bad Sigma's got a tight leash on the little guy. You look around more, Florida and Wyoming are busy helping a bus load of kids off of a crashed school bus, Alpha is helping tend a few cuts on Caboose, Alien Whisperer is calming down an angry mob, and finally, the Reds are busy arguing as they help look for survivors or the battle.
Fatigue bites at you again, and this time, you struggle alot more with keeping it back, especially as you see a massive crowd of paparazzi guys coming at you, cameras and notepads at the ready. They swarm you, leaving little room to run, argue, or even sneak away in some kind of chaos. This is what you hate about being a superhero; not the powers, not the villains, not even the troublesome sidekicks... it's the goddamn press that makes you wanna kill yourself sometimes.
"Agent Washington!" A woman with cherry red hair calls out, pushing her way to the front to shove her microphone in your helmet covered face. "Any comments on the latest attack on town square?"
"I suggest the city stays wary for a few weeks, until this all blows over." You say, receiving a few nods. "Just keep off the streets at night for a little while, don't want anyone getting hurt or kidnapped."
A man, looking to be in his early twenties, steps through the crowd to hold his mic out to you, curiosity in his youthful eyes. "Sir, could you tell us why the villains Sigma, Gamma, and Epsilon would attack town square, what are their motives?"
"Probably to get our attention. As for their motives, I've no clue. That's enough questions." You say, attempting to leave, only to be held in place by the crowd.
"Sir, just one more question!" Another man asks, followed by numerous other reporters trying to run forward and get some information out of you. "Please stay, Agent Washington!"
You struggle your way through the crowd, holding back a yawn as you approach Caboose, who the crowd only now notices. They flip out, after all, new, young superheroes are always perfect bait for front page stories. "You, sir, what is your name?" A woman asks Caboose.
"My name is Train Of Thought, that is what Agent Washingtub told me!" Caboose exclaims, smiling at the lady happily. You just know that he'll be a press favorite.
The woman smiles, knowing already that Caboose will be pretty easy to get talking. "Train Of Thought, what caused you to become Agent Washington's sidekick? Is he a relative or friend, possibly a brother?"
Before Caboose can blab about you two being cousins, you step in, stepping in between the reporter lady and Caboose. "I'm sorry, but we should really be leaving now. That's enough questions for one disaster." You gently grab ahold of Caboose's hand, nodding at Alpha. "Come on, let's go back to my place."
"Agent Washington!" A man starts, but you and Alpha quickly share a glance and throw down a few smoke bombs each. no offense to the press, but you seriously need to get going, otherwise, Caboose will keep you there all night.
When you arrive home, you don't even bother to take off your costume, immediately collapsing onto the couch with a loud and annoying moan. Alpha slowly pulls off his own costume, throwing on his own pair of clothes. Alien Whisperer ended up following you guys, resulting in him now resting in your Nana's old chair, his costume long gone, allowing his long, black dreads to flow freely from his scalp without the blocking of a hood. Caboose enters after Lavernius, plopping off his mask and cape happily, taking a seat on the floor as he snaps on the TV, putting on Steven Universe.
By the time you wake up, it's been three hours, and to your surprise, everyone is still here and watching a movie, you recognize it as Mulan. Lavernius smirks at you as you awaken, groaning loudly as your eyes adjust to the darkness of the room. The darker skinned man chuckles at your demeanor, staring at you from his seat in the chair. His feet are propped up on the coffee table, and if you weren't still so damn tired, you'd tell him to get his goddamn feet off of there, but you're too tired to be bothered with that.
"Hey, Sleeping Beauty." Lavernius says, shaking your shoulder as you sit up. "Some chick stopped by, I think it's CT, man."
You nod numbly, then shoot up. "Wait, CONNIE IS HERE!?" You yell... more like shriek, but you'd never admit that outloud. "WHY DIDN'T ANYONE WAKE ME UP!?"
"Thought you might need the sleep, Wash. Didn't think we did that hard, guess I was wrong." Comes Connie's voice, she's in the hallway's door-frame, leaning on it as she stares at you, dark brown eyes looking at you with an almost... sad look? You're not perfectly sure. "Anyways, we need to talk... let's go outside."
You nod, and you follow Connie outside, walking into the parking lot with her to an old, rusty brown pick-up truck that you don't recognize. "Um... who's car is this?" You ask, staring at it curiously.
"Doesn't matter, I need you to get in." Connie says, even opening the backdoor for you. "We need to go somewhere."
"Not until you tell me whats going on." You say, crossing your arms stubbornly. You need to know whats going on with Connie, why she's acting so distant, so bothered. "Just tell me whats going on, I'm your best friend, Connie. You can tell me anything."
Connie just stares at you, looking almost sorry. "I keep telling you, stop calling me Connie!" A cloth suddenly covers your mouth, and recognize the smell that reaches you as chloroform, and you can't keep yourself from breathing in during your desperate struggling.
Even as you black out, you can still hear Connie's voice, like a distant alarm going off, but not quite. "From now on... call me CT." She whispers, and everything fades to a steady color of darkness.
When you finally start to come to, everything feels oddly surreal. You open your eyes, looking around carefully, until your eyes meet those of CT. You stare at her, her brown hair still short and sassy, yet she's mostly in her costume, save for the helmet. She looks so sweet and kind, but memories from earlier hold back your affections and blind them with a sudden anger. You keep from trying to lash out, opting to glare at a man beside CT, who has his arms around her middle. You hate this man, this creature, who has dared to hold the woman you love so softly. Reality hits you like a freight train.
All of a sudden, your heart is broken. You had put faith in her, you had loved her so much, had even slept with her! But now... all of that love was wasted, she had handed herself over to someone else. Maybe though... maybe she has, maybe she's his prisoner! You shake away your fears of losing her, replacing it with hope that CT can and will still love you. Suddenly, the man notices you're awake, and glares at you like you're some kind of wild, terrible animal. You glare back, grey/blue eyes filled with rage and jealousy. You'll fight this man if you have to, anything to protect CT.
"I see you're awake... Washington, right?" The man asks, looking you up and down as his glare is replaced with interest filled eyes. "I expected you to be... taller. Oh well, thanks for keeping my lover here company until I could come get her."
You turn to CT, eyes wide with shock. "Connie... what is he talking about?"
Connie takes a deep breath, barely even facing you, most of her being hidden in the mans embrace. "It's... a long story."
"I've got time." You claim, locking eyes with her, leaving no room for her to argue.
CT takes another breath, looks away. "Well, it started three months ago. I had been on a mission by myself, trying to track down The Insurrectionist. I had been hearing rumors, and, well... I finally found him. But, somehow, I guess we sorta... fell for each other. We couldn't keep away, no matter what we tried. After awhile, he offered to help me take down the AI, in exchange, we'd try and start a new life together."
"You mean to tell me..." You begin, voice slowly rising as you glare evilly at the man you now recognize as The Insurrectionist. "That you decided to just join this... this monster, in exchange to take down all of the AI!?"
The Insurrectionist gives you an almost sorry kind of look, you're tempted to spit on his boots, but you hold back from doing so. "We have a way to shut them down; permanently. At the push of a button, we can destroy all of them. The people will be safe, now one else will have to die at their hands!"
You halt... all of the AI? At the push of a button? Images of both Theta ad Delta run through your head, Theta is just a child, an artificially made child, but a child none the less. Theta can still grow up, he can be a person, he feels things. Delta... he saved York on several occasions from losing his mind, kept you all sane at times, he could've let you all rot, but he claimed that helping you all was the 'logical' thing to do. No. If they go through with this... Theta and Delta could die, heck, the other AI will die, no one deserves to die such a terrible death, just to be deleted from existence.
"I can't let you do this." You whisper, voice darkened and filled with remorse for the AI Units. "CT, just listen to me! This... thing, it'll kill all of the AI Units. Theta, Delta, Sigma, Gamma... they'll all just... stop. They'll die. North has Theta, CT! If he suddenly drops dead... it'll destroy North, he'll blame himself. God, CT! Just... don't do this to them, they deserve a second chance... at least, Delta and Theta do..."
Connie stares at you, brown eyes filled with remorse, sadness... and even a bit of anger. "I'm done with everyone treating me like a goddamn child. I'm old enough to take care of myself, I can make these decisions without anyone's help! I'm sorry, Wash. It's over." She starts to walk away, and it's only now that you realize that you're in an old warehouse, an escape helicopter ready for take off nearby. "Goodbye."
"CT!" You yell, struggling in the chair you're tied to, trying desperately to let out a Electromagnetic Pulse, even just a tiny pulse. But you can't, you can't shut down the ship with a spark, you're panicking too much for it to work. "CT, please, come back!"
A crash sounds nearby, and you look up, seeing Agents Texas and Carolina there, both half way through an argument as they fight over who will be able to stop CT and save you. "Guys, they're going for the helicopter, they're gonna kill the AI!" You scream out, but it's caught on deaf ears.
Carolina jumps down, you're kinda surprised that's she's on her feet again, but then again, you have no idea how long you've been out, could've been days or even weeks. "Stop right there, CT!" She yells, pointing a pistol at CT and The Insurrectionist, her stance strong and all-powerful. "Put your hands where I can see them."
"Not a chance." CT whispers, suddenly, you watch as she points her throwing knife at you. You know that if she tosses it at you, you'll be dead in an instant. "One more step, and Wash gets it."
"CT..." You trail off, eyes wide as you stare at Connie from your position in the chair, unable to stop her. "Why?"
"Why?" Connie repeats, turning away from the two agents to face you. "WHY!? Because, everyone I've ever gotten close to is the same, even you! Every five minutes it's 'are you okay, Connie?', 'why aren't you answering me, Connie?', 'why couldn't you stop them, Connie'? I'm so sick of it all! Well here I am, and this time... I'm not going to shy away and be scared."
The ring of a pistol being fired through the air meets your ears, and for a second, you, David Cooper, think you're dead.
But no, you look around as the next second passes, as your eyes fall to the ground, seeing a terrible sight. The Insurrectionist has CT in his arms, where she lies dead, blood oozing from the hole through her chest plate and into her delicate heart. Everything feels surreal again. Carolina screaming at Texas, Tex claiming it was the only way, The Insurrectionist getting away, blood staining your hands when you get free and crotch over CT's motionless form... it's all so surreal. You hear sirens coming from the distance, Tex and Carolina telling you to act like a regular civilian when they come, but nothing really reaches your ears. All you can see is Connie, skin cold, body limp, soul gone.
A month later and you haven't changed much. You can still close your eyes and see her, standing there, smiling at you and calling you short, even though you're a head taller than her. You remember her so clearly, like Nana, but you haven't felt this lost and alone before. The funeral had been all of the heroes, wasn't public, just a small, quiet get together to remember and cherish her memories. By then, to your surprise, North managed to legally adopt Theta, and had brought him to the funeral. Theta seemed glad to be away from Sigma, now living with North, but you have a feeling that it's not happily-ever-after for them just yet.
As for Delta... he showed up too, and as far as you've heard from Carolina, he and York may or may not be working on something to stop Sigma and Gamma, but you have no clue what it is yet. After the funeral, to your complete surprise, Alpha and Train of Thought hooked up, now going steady from what you've heard from everyone... including the media. You're currently sitting in your bedroom, in a new apartment, with Hartford seated on your lap, purring happily to sooth you're sadness. You admittedly cried after CT died, alot actually, but now it's mostly just silent remorse, staring at nothing in particular as your mind gets lost with memories.
Even as you start to get used to the idea that CT is gone, the full blow hasn't quite hit, but you hope it'll be soon, you're getting a bit impatient. York had admitted something to you during the funeral, that Hartford wasn't placed on your doorstep on accident as a tiny kitten, but CT had secret stopped by awhile back and left the kitten there, as a present.
"She loved you, Wash." York had told you at the funeral, a hand on your shoulder as you had stared at her wooden, closed casket.
"I know." You had whispered, and had turned away after awhile, Hartford in your arms as you left that day.
Hartford is all you have left of her, the last thing she ever gave you. Sure, you have three of her old hoodies, an old Starbucks cup she left once, and even a few of her old CD's, but most of all, you have Hartford. He's all you have left, all you'll ever have left. But one day, he'll die. The day he dies, you'll get another cat, and name it after a city in Connecticut, just like Hartford. You'll keep her memory alive, even if it hurts so badly to see her alive in your mind, you'll keep thinking of her and remembering her. As long as you remember her... than at least then, she's never really gone.
[A/N: I'm gonna be in so much trouble for writing the saddest thing I could for WashCT Weekend, but here it is, please don't murder me! Will definitely do more stories for this AU in the future, already got three planed out, one of North trying to raise Theta, one for York and Delta's broship, and one for Church and Caboose's romance. So, I guess, look forward to it! Sorry this is so long, have no idea how to do a read more yet! Please reblog, like, and comment on it, would really make my day!]
