Chapter Text
Chapter 2
Brimmy Stimmy really gets me going in the morning
Aquaman[08:23]: What was that explosion?
Explosion Queen[08:23]: Don’t worry about it!
Aquaman[08:23]: I’m quite worried actually.
Riftboy[08:24]: shes testing her Showstopper as she does EVERY MORNING
Explosion Queen[08:24]: I DONT CARE ABOUT YOUR BEAUTY SLEEP BLUE HAIR EMO BITCH
Riftboy[08:24]: DID KILLJOY BLUE BALL YOU AGAIN EXCUSE ME FOR COMPLAINING
Empress[08:27]: @ Mother, Raze and Yoru were fighting in the cafeteria. Treat them.
Mother[08:27]: ‘Were’?
Empress[08:28]: They should know better than to come near my oatmeal.
Mother[08:30]: Please do not incapacitate other agents no matter how annoying they are.
Aquaman[08:30]: Brimstone, I am starting to have second thoughts about joining this group.
Brimstone[08:31]: Perfect, because Yoru and Raze are gonna guide you on a scouting mission today! Have fun!
Riftboy[08:31]: SHE STARTED IT ASK ME WHAT I DID WRONG NOTHING THATS WHAT
Brimstone[08:31]: Oh look! Your hands work fine! Good enough to point and shoot!
Toaster (not broken) [08:31]: I know Brimstone from three realities, and none of them are this sassy.
Rich baguette lookin ass[08:32]: I think it is a nice change, no? Monsieur Brimstone is always so tense! It’s nice to let loose.
Brimstone[08:32]: Who asked
Rich Baguette lookin ass[08:32]:...
Cypher[08:33]: I have a confession to make.
Mother[08:33]: What did you do, Cypher?
Cypher[08:33]: Are you aware of Sova’s super strong vodka?
Arm Day Enthusiast[08:33]: you didn’t.
Cypher[08:34]: listen it was just so quiet lately no one was doing anything—
The Hunter[08:34]: ты тупица я тебя убью
Cypher[08:34]: I think I should start running.
Colonel Sanders[08:34]: bro got so mad he switched keyboards you are fucked
Mother[08:35]: Did you spike anyone else, Cypher?
Cypher[08:35]: @Lab Rat, have you drunk any water today?
Lab Rat[08:35]: A full bottle. I was just about to refill it.
Cypher[08:35]: And nothing tasted weird?
Lab Rat[08:35]: No.
Cypher[08:36]: That was a whole bottle of 60% vodka.
Lab Rat[08:36]: I’m going to help Sova kill you.
Stargirl[08:36]: you mean to say Viper isn’t able to get drunk? This is good news, good news indeed!
The Hunter[08:36]: NOWHERE TO RUN
Viper growled as she set down her phone and inspected her bottle carefully. Taking a careful sip, she could indeed make out the faint taste of vodka. It was definitely easy to miss, due to her incredible tolerance for alcohol. One bottle wasn’t too much, but it was the strongest alcohol in the base. She’d have to pause her experiments to observe any changes in her behavior, but she was confident that she wouldn’t be too affected.
She heard someone sprint by the door screaming, followed closely by another set of heavy footprints. The latter was cursing heavily in Russian, and paused when they caught a glimpse of her.
“Oh, Viper! Lovely morning!” said Sova, jogging in place. “I’m off to assault Cypher! Would you like to assist?”
“No thank you, Sova. Give him a good kick for me,” Viper sighed, pumping her fist in the air. “I’ve gotta make sure I’m okay.”
“In that case, I’ll be back when I’m done to check on you!”
With that, Sova ran off, ignoring Viper’s words of protest. She wasn’t so incapacitated that she needed a babysitter. But having someone to close down the lab for her would be nice, because Viper was sure she’d be incapable of working the rest of the day. Unless she wasn’t affected at all, which would make itself apparent in her next human interaction.
The door remained wide open for the next half hour, with various agents walking by. She’d seen Killjoy and Raze trying to sneak off somewhere quiet, with Brimstone not two minutes behind. Meddling old man. She’d seen Jett and Neon blasting through the halls yet again, probably with an absurd amount of money on the line again. Jett would have to be enrolled in Gamblers Anonymous. That girl could easily gamble away their entire budget if left unchecked.
The clock pointed to 10 o’clock, and Viper felt her senses returning to her. She slowly got to her feet, albeit somewhat shakily. That wasn’t good, but if her mental facilities were all working as intended, she could resume her experimentation with the help of another agent. Maneuvering her way across the lab, she grabbed an alcohol level testing kit and pressed a yellow button to summon Killjoy. She would not risk jabbing herself in her current state.
Ten minutes passed since she pressed the button, and Viper began to grow frustrated. Why wasn’t the girl responding? They’d agreed the buttons were only to be used for emergencies, and thus must be honored. Viper picked up her phone and fired off a text, because there was no way she would call her if the engineer was in the middle of something with Raze. She was met with silence for another five minutes.
‘I’m going to have a talk with her once I am recovered,’ Viper thought with great annoyance. ‘I need someone to close this lab up, and Cypher is probably incapacitated for a while… What are my options?’
There was no avoiding it; Viper would have to find a different agent and ask them to close it for her. Sova had promised to return, but who knew how long that would take?
Just then, Viper caught a glimpse of Fade walking by slowly, the girl's head on a swivel. She called out, “Fade! Can you come here?”
The girl leapt a foot into the air, her scared eyes turning towards Viper. She nodded and walked in, closing the door behind her. Taking a seat next to Viper, she then asked, “What do you need?”
‘What the hell happened to her?’ Viper thought. Shaking her head, she replied, “I’ve been intoxicated by Cypher, as you might know. I have a resistance to alcohol, but my body isn’t used to Sova’s vodka yet. That’s why I’m not drunk, but my body is shaking. As a result, I need someone’s help to close the lab for me.”
“Is it difficult?”
“Not if I’m helping you. Of course, if you don’t want to do it, you can fetch Sage, or someone else of the like.”
“No, I’ll do it,” Fade mumbled, standing up. “What’s the first step?”
“Just start by corking the test tubes and then putting them in the rack; I want to work with them again later.”
As Viper continued to instruct Fade, she noticed the girl still remained as tense as she was when she had walked in. Viper knew she was seen as intimidating by some of the younger agents, but she really thought that Fade of all people wouldn’t be so terrified. Was that the reason she had appeared so scared walking by the lab? But that didn’t hold up, as Fade was still on high alert, seemingly listening for something.
After roughly half an hour, Viper felt comfortable in the work Fade had done and declared it complete. With those words, Fade practically bolted out of the lab, but froze in the doorway. She slammed the door shut and began breathing frantically, looking around with desperation.
“FADE! GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE!”
“Jett, calm down! She didn’t do anything!”
Viper quickly understood the situation. She moved her chair back and gestured for Fade to hide under the desk. The nightmare wielder leapt across the room and slid under the desk, just as Jett, Phoenix, and Neon burst through the door.
“Viper! Where the hell is Fade?!” Jett yelled, ignoring Phoenix and Neon’s pleas. “That bitch stole my knives!”
“And we’re telling you she didn’t!” Neon cried, pointing at Phoenix. “He did!”
“You two are just covering up for her! I saw her stupid Nightmare, it was there!”
“Jett, shut the hell up,” Viper said sharply, eyes narrowing. It had the desired effect, as the wind user fell silent. “I haven’t seen Fade. I’ve been shut in this lab all day thanks to Cypher. She hasn’t walked by, at the least. Meanwhile, you need to calm down. Whatever Fade might have done, your reaction is nowhere near appropriate.”
“Ask me if I care!”
“I don’t give a damn, frankly,” Viper said coolly. “You will leave this lab, go to your room or any other quiet place, and leave Fade the hell alone until someone else finds your knives for you. Understood?”
Jett growled, before turning on her foot and stomping away. Neon and Phoenix let out a collective breath and gave Viper grateful looks. Neon began, “She’s been like this since her last mission with Fade. She’s looking for any excuse to fight with her. We asked the others on that mission, and Fade carried it out with great results. Jett shouldn’t have any reason to be mad, they had an eye on her all the time.”
“Last night, I stole her knives to give to Yoru. She only found out this morning, so how the hell could she have seen Fade’s Nightmare?” Phoenix continued. “It’s been months since Fade did all her shit, and Jett’s the last one upset. Even Breach got over it! Even I did!”
“Did you really, Phoenix?” Viper asked. No response.
Viper sighed, and tapped at her desk. Taking the cue, Fade emerged from beneath the desk, avoiding eye contact with the two duelists. Their faces bore expressions of fear, but the two composed themselves almost immediately. Viper observed curiously at the interactions in front of her; Fade was still just as tense as she was when Jett was tailing her, while Phoenix and Neon looked incredibly uncomfortable.
“I see… well then, off you three go,” Viper declared. “The lab is closed, and I have to go yell at Killjoy.”
“Killjoy and Raze are busy right now…” Neon mumbled.
“I am aware. I’m deeply upset and do not care what I walk into right now,” Viper elaborated. “Fade, you’re welcome to come back here whenever you like. It’s nice that you have friends now.”
Fade spluttered some nonsense as Viper walked away, stopping just outside the lab door and listening in. The silence was immensely heavy.
“So, um… sorry about our psychopathic friend?” Phoenix offered awkwardly. “I’m really sorry bruv, I didn’t think it would turn out like this.”
“Yeah, we need to have an intervention for Jett or something…” Neon sighed. “Well, I’m hungry. Let’s get breakfast?”
Viper heard only two sets of footsteps before a third slowly joined them, Fade’s voice softly speaking, “I haven’t eaten for three days, I could really go for some eggs right now.”
Maybe Viper would have to take Neon’s suggestion and hold an intervention.
Chamber sat at his chessboard, patiently awaiting his next opponent. Cypher was out of commission, so no one was willing to take him on yet. Usually, people only bit when Cypher trounced Chamber, thinking the Frenchman to be an easy target. It never got old. But today, it left Chamber sitting at the table alone for hours. He could leave, sure, but that was less fun than watching everyone else.
For instance, Sova and Cypher had indeed run through the rec room earlier, the hunter swinging wildly with his bow, seemingly forgetting about the range he possessed. A few frantic shouts and crashing noises later, Sova had emerged, dragging the info broker behind him. He was bearing a very broad smile, which didn’t make sense. Unless beating up Cypher was very fun, in which case Chamber would have to try.
Breach had arrived not five minutes later, inquiring about said hunter. From what Chamber gathered, there was a poker night every now and then, and Sova had to bring the set today. Chamber had offered his own set, but Breach claimed that they couldn’t be trusted with something so valuable. He was probably right, seeing as Phoenix and Jett were included in the participants. They had yet to repay him for the suit they’d ruined.
Around lunchtime, Astra and Harbor had dragged Yoru inside (they must have returned from the scouting mission), trying to get him to speak to Skye. The riftwalker was protesting furiously, a deep red blush seated on his face. The other two were egging him on, and Chamber had by now painted a fairly decent picture about what was going on. If only Yoru would stop being such a tsundere, he might find success. But he’d never listened to Chamber’s advice, so it was really his own fault.
Just as Chamber was drinking his evening tea, Jett stomped through the room. She seated herself at one of the computers around the room and booted up CS:GO, a game the agents found themselves playing often to escape the reality they lived in. Given her mood, it was clear the girl wanted to destress herself with some competitive fun. What a terrible idea. Indeed, Chamber watched curiously as Jett progressively got worse as the game went on, even triggering her to the point where she jumped out of her chair and left entirely. He wasn’t sure what she expected, queuing comp like that.
After that incident, Phoenix, Neon, and Fade all came into the room. A new trio, for sure. Fade was forced into the seat across from Chamber and made to play. While Phoenix and Neon cheered her on from the sidelines, Fade slowly grew into the game and put Chamber in multiple disadvantageous positions. The Frenchman smirked at the prospect of a new future opponent, but settled for ending the game right there. He congratulated Fade for pushing him to those limits, and offered her his card for later contact if so desired. Phoenix and Neon gaped in awe at the rare golden card, something Chamber only gave to a select few. Chamber figured he’d have to lock that card once Phoenix and Neon told Fade it was also a credit card.
“My apologies, my friend. I hope I haven’t kept you waiting long?”
Chamber blinked and shook his head. Cypher was standing in the doorway, a bandage wrapped around his head. It looked strange, given that he constantly wore a mask, but no one questioned it. Chamber merely gestured to the board and responded heartily, “Not at all. I’ve been quite entertained despite your absence. Maybe you should anger Sova more often!”
“I think it was worth it in the end. I have footage of Brimstone dancing in his office with his shirt off, which should make for some great blackmail.”
“You are indeed a madman, ordure sournois .”
Now that the sun had finally set, it was time for KAY/O’s worst nightmare: poker night. The game itself was fun, sure, but it really ignited each of the agents' competitive spirit to an incredible degree. Last time, Sage had to extract a knife out of Phoenix’s shoulder. And to make things worse, Viper was joining this time. Curse Sova for extending the hand of friendship to her.
“KAY/O, what’s the tab like?”
“Jett is 500 credits in debt to Phoenix. Since it’s been an entire week without payment, that number has risen to 550 credits,” KAY/O began. “She is also banned from playing more than five games tonight as a result of last week’s actions. Meanwhile, I am owed ten thousand credits from Breach, five thousand from Yoru, and six thousand from Brimstone. To avoid that situation again, I will not be playing this week, but merely moderating. That is all the outstanding debts.”
“YOU DAMN CARD COUNTING TIN CAN—”
“Thank you, Breach. Let’s get set up then. Tonight's participants are: Sova, Viper, Jett, Phoenix, Breach, and Brimstone. Yoru and Skye will be joining us at a later time, and they are bringing Harbor with them. I estimate we will complete one game before this happens,” KAY/O announced. “We’ll be playing a standard game, no limit. Any house rules?”
“Can we bet favors?” Jett pleaded. “I’m running out of money!”
“Pay Phoenix and we’ll talk.”
And so, KAY/O sat all the participants down and shuffled the cards. He passed the deck to Sova, who then dealt them out to each player facedown. Viper and Phoenix, seated to his left, placed a few chips in the center, totaling 750 credits. Afterwards, everyone took a peek at their cards. Here, games were given away instantly.
Jett had a terrible poker face, so it was clear she had a terrible hand at the moment. Breach and Brimstone were both glaring at each other, not really revealing anything. Phoenix was laughing his ass off immediately, but he was notoriously good at lying. And finally, Sova and Viper were just staring without a trace of emotion on their face. Perfect, two people who could just terrify you without trying.
Jett merely called, nervously chuckling as she did so. A bold move, but she must be feeling desperate. Breach raised the bet by 2000 credits, prompting Brimstone to match it instantly. Phoenix had gone slightly pale, but matched as well and leaned back casually. Sova merely sighed and folded immediately, not even attempting to bluff his way through. Viper, on the other hand, was finally bearing a smirk on her face as she matched. The turn having come back to Jett, she folded and sighed heavily, her head slumping on the table in defeat.
“I will now reveal three cards,” KAY/O declared, dealing three cards face up. He really should have banned Jett earlier than five games, but the deed was done.
“Damn it…” Phoenix muttered, glancing furtively at his cards. “Brimmy, you’re bleeding.”
“Tell me what he’s got, fireboy!” Breach crowed. “I’m gonna win tonight!”
“Hey, KAY/O, that’s his fault, right?” Phoenix asked. “He should’ve been careful.”
“That’s correct, but you aren’t allowed to tell anyone else. Play on.”
“Well then, I’m going to bet 5000!” Phoenix declared. “Gotta get those new shoes!”
“What the hell kinda shoes are you buying?” asked Jett incredulously. “There’s like ten thousand credits in here!”
“Make it twenty,” KAY/O added. “Brim’s out, and Breach and Viper called.”
“On round two?!”
Indeed, the pot was unnaturally large for a game this early. Everyone must have incredible cards, or guts of steel. KAY/O wasn’t sure he wanted to be here for the aftermath. He added another card to the center, causing the room to immediately fall silent. Phoenix’s jacket caught on fire. This was no longer a game of mere poker. This was a game for pride.
“Phoenix, you’re up,” KAY/O reported. “Go on.”
“I’m going to check. Not worth it.”
A sudden change in pace for Phoenix. He’d been confident up until now, but with just Breach and Viper remaining he had to play it safe. Viper was sporting a rare grin, and Breach was sporting a rare frown. Did they switch personalities? Was it safe to be here for the aftermath? Should Sage be summoned?
“Raise 200.”
“Call.”
“Fucking hell, fine, call,” Phoenix growled. “Flip that fourth card.”
KAY/O flipped the fourth card. Breach threw his cards on the table (face-down, of course) and slammed his head into the table. Skye was gonna have to fix that again.
“Count your days, Phoenix,” Viper crowed as she pushed in the rest of her chips. “I’m going all in.”
“You are joking .”
Phoenix’s cards immediately lit on fire. He quickly blew them out and tossed them to the floor, stomping on them to ensure the fire was out.
“Fold.”
Viper quickly got to her feet and threw her cards on the table, revealing a 10 of spades and a 2 of hearts, and declared, “Get fucked .”
The room burst into chaos, and Phoenix had already leapt across the room to tackle Viper to the floor. Breach was trying to sneak away with some credits, which prompted Brimstone to attempt to break his arms. Jett was beside herself with laughter, struggling to breathe as she watched Phoenix lose in such a grand fashion. Sova was trying to calm everyone down, but to no avail. A poster was set ablaze, and it looked like the table was about to go next.
‘I’m never doing this again,’ KAY/O thought as he snuck out of the room.
“Yoru, why aren’t we going to poker night?”
“Sage and Reyna texted the group. Everyone except Jett landed in the infirmary. I’m not sure how much of that was between themselves, and how much was Reyna. Either way, it’s best to find something else, yeah?”
“And for that reason, you’ve taken me to the roof alone.”
Skye observed her surroundings as Yoru floundered about in front of her. A picnic basket atop a checkered blanket, candles decorating the edges, a telescope near the edge of the roof… Did Yoru just want to spend time with her?
“Look,” Yoru began, inviting Skye to take a seat. “Astra wanted to have a watch party. I don’t know why she worded it that way, since it's just stargazing… but I wanted to enjoy the view without her or Harbor. And I thought perhaps you’d find it interesting. If you’d like to leave, that’s fine, Astra and Harbor will be here in half an hour—”
“Yeah, sounds good to me! So, did you cook any of this?”
She’d already begun sorting through the basket, pulling out a few items and setting them aside. Yoru clearly didn’t expect her to accept, and quickly sat down next to her. As he explained who cooked what, Skye watched with a smirk on her face.
She wasn’t blind, or stupid. She’d have to be, in order to not realize how Yoru felt about her. It was fun to mess with him, to see him get so flustered when he thought she wasn’t looking. It was very sweet of him. It made sense that he didn’t want to show this side of himself to anyone, because it defied the very core of his outward appearance. Others would point out that he was extremely shy when it came to his own feelings, which meant that he often came across as closed off and cold.
As she looked at the flustered mess in front of her, Skye really wondered how anyone could say that.
“You bake?” she asked as she picked up a strawberry pastry. “That’s cute.”
“I took it up recently after Phoenix and Jett bugged me to bake with them,” the riftwalker explained. “You’d think someone with fire powers would know how to cook even remotely. It’s a nice pastime.”
She took a small bite, and let out a very satisfied ‘mmm’ noise. She quickly devoured the rest of the pastry and declared, “That was delicious! You’ve gotta do this more often, I’m sure everyone would love them!”
Yoru was taken aback by the compliment, and blushed and replied, “I don’t really have a reason to give them to anyone but you.”
Skye’s eyes lit up with glee at those words, while Yoru’s eyes widened in panic as he realized what he’d just said. He opened his mouth, probably to try and come up with some rationalization to what he’d said, but Skye had already thrown her arm around him and ruffled his hair vigorously. The riftwalker protested heavily, but to no avail. He swiftly retaliated by jabbing at her sides, causing her to convulse violently.
The two ended up wrestling for at least two minutes before Harbor and Astra kicked the door to the roof open. They froze in place, their positions slightly compromising. And by that, Skye had ended up on top of Yoru, mere inches away from his face, currently grabbing his jacket as though she would rip it off. Astra snapped a photo.
“”Bad time. Got it. Have fun!” Harbor said cheerily, looking to escape as soon as possible.
Yoru screeched assorted Japanese curse words before throwing Skye off of him and dashing towards Astra, who threw the phone to Harbor. As the riftwalker chased the new guy around the roof, Skye fell to the floor and rolled about with laughter, Astra joining her shortly.
Cans of beer were cracked open as Yoru eventually calmed down (only when Astra ‘deleted’ the photos), and they eventually were treated to Astra’s watch party, which just meant a performance with her radiant powers. It wasn’t every day one could see Orion the Hunter actually hunting something after all.
Sova would come to the roof the next morning for his daily workout, only to find the four sprawled out on their backs and very clearly wasted, with the roof being left in tatters.