Chapter Text
Chapter 1: Fate Is A Funny Thing
[ Canary Islands, Spain - 5 days prior]
Shadowsan stood before the Faculty, shoulders stiff, arms behind his back, and face devoid of emotion. He appeared calm and steady on the outside, but inside, his mind was reeling. He had brought a baby (a baby??) back to an island full of thieves and home to a criminal organization that he himself was also part of. What had he been thinking? Clearly he hadn’t been. He let out a short breathe in exasperation. What is done is done, he grimly mused.
Shadowsan stared each of the Faculty members dead in the eyes. Though he may regret his unruly and frankly, unwise decisions, he would not let it show. Their faces were a mixture of vague amusement and mild irritation. It was clear they weren’t exactly expecting to become a daycare all of the sudden. He let his eyes slowly fall to the young child crawling all over the table. She babbled and giggled, waving her arms around in a strange pattern.
Shadowsan didn’t know the first thing about caring for a child, nor had he ever really cared to learn. Now though? Now he wished he at least knew the basics of child care. For crying out loud, he didn’t even know the damn kids name. (Granted, when he went out on a mission to take out an ex super thief, he hadn’t exactly been expecting a baby to fall straight into his hands.)
The girl’s eyes met his for a moment, and he was temporarily awed by their clarity. They shone like diamonds on a sunny day, blind trust evidently written within them. She laughed at him, with a gummy, toothless smile on her face. A pang of anxiety struck his heart. What would the Faculty do? Surely they wouldn’t hurt an infant, right? However, he chose not to voice his concerns, and kept to himself, kept to the shadows. He didn’t want to give them another reason to be angered by his naive and childish behavior.
“Ugh.” Shadowsan glanced up once more to see the disgusted face of Countess Cleo. Ever since the arrival of the child, The Countess had made no attempt to hide her distaste for her. “Why on Earth would you bring this thing back to the island?” Though Shadowsan had truthfully never been fond of children himself, he couldn’t help but feel his blood start to boil.
“Well, now what was Shadowsan supposed to do?” Another thing Shadowsan had never truly been fond of was Coach Brunt, but in this case, he couldn’t help but feel relieved at her stepping in. She may be obnoxious and difficult to get along with at times, but the woman certainly had the biggest heart out of anyone on the Faculty. Except for maybe Wolfe.
Professor Maelstrom rolled his eyes, expression lacking any hint of humor. “What we always do with loose ends.” Now that made Shadowsan’s blood run cold. He knew Maelstrom had a few screws loose, for lack of a better term, but even the mere idea of harming a child seemed much too far. It’s not like she could truly do any harm after all, right? She was nothing more than a baby.
“The child is far too young to have any memory of anything which could compromise us in the future,” Bellum pitched in. For the second time since he had arrived, the young thief let himself breathe a sigh of relief.
Cleo shuddered. “But what do we feed it?” It. “And who will clean its…” She trailed off, looking ready to vomit. Shadowsan couldn’t say he felt sorry for her. A child was no object.
Shadowsan eyed the girl as she stuck something in her mouth and drooled all over it. It looked to be a device perhaps? Definitely something belonging to Bellum. Again, he was certainly no child expert, but he was sure that that was not something a child should be chewing on.
A gasp sounded from the doctor. “My pocket protector!” So he had been right. Well, at least partially.
“Well, well, looks like lil’ lambkins is a natural-born thief.” The Texan cooed.
“Just like her father.”
A tense silence rang through the air, a reminder of who the child was causing the atmosphere to shift. It unsettled Shadowsan.
After a moment, Maelstrom spoke up once more. “With proper rearing, she could make a fine operative one day.”
Another beat of silence.
“It could, but we aren’t some daycare.” Cleo huffed, nose scrunched in disdain. “I for one refuse to take any part in looking after that thing. I’m not a babysitter,” She gagged, acting as if the baby had personally offended her.
Brunt rolled her eyes. “Ever dramatic, aren’t you?” She sighed. “I suppose you do raise a fair point though.”
“You suppose??”
Brunt glared at her. “We don’t exactly have the time to care for a child whilst teaching and running this place. We have capers to plan after all.”
Bellum nodded. “True. I suppose we could always hire someone to look after her though, could we not?”
“And who do you propose would do that, Bellum?” The Professor buts in.
The doctor sighs in defeat. “I don’t know.”
Maelstrom smirks back at her for a moment, delighting in his temporary win, before his face falls once more. He turns back to Shadowsan. “I do believe this matter is settled then. Shadowsan, get rid of this child, or we will. One way or another.” There’s a glint in his eye that suggests that this is no joke. The young operative gulps.
Shadowsan bows his head, and steps forward to scoop up the child. He walks out, only sparing one final glance back. He halfheartedly hopes that one of them will call out, and decide that yes, they do in fact want to raise and train the girl, but none of them say a word. Not even Brunt, who wears a frown, disappointment visibly dawning every feature of her face. And so he looks forward, and marches out the door.