Work Text:
"There is just no way you can stay here, Lila! You- you don't belong here anymore!"
Herb's hands were balled into fists as he marched into the room. He was trembling all over, face growing purple.
Lila didn't pull her weapon out this time, didn't shout in frustration. She didn't even look up from the screen. Mangled bodies lay scattered around the infinite switchboard. They did the talking for her, and Lila was bled dry of things to say.
"Lila, please," Herb begged, his clammy hands clasped tightly together as though in prayer. "If you do not leave, we will have to take drastic action, and you know I hate taking drastic action."
"Then go ahead." Lila rolled her head to the side to look him in the eye, her cheek resting on her knees which were pushed up against her chest. His figure shook in her vision, blurry and distorted. "Take me out if you're so desperate."
"Lila?" Dot spoke up, still hovering by the door. She sounded even more nervous than Herb had, voice shaking.
"You won't, will you?" Lila mumbled. She span the chair around to stare up at them through heavy, aching eyelids. She could hardly hold her head up, it felt as though her whole body was burning, but it was an odd, far-away feeling. Like she was sensing it through a tunnel. Everything was so far away. She heard herself continue, "you guys are screwed and you know it. You're really going to kill one of yours in the state that you're in? Me, of all people?"
Not as bled dry as she thought, it seems.
"One of ours.. You of all-? Lila." Herb's eyes widened, hands held up towards her, "Lila, Lila no, You are not one of us! You.. just killed about a dozen people to get in here, I- I really think you're pushing your luck here."
"They were shit, anyway, you've got me. I'm irreplaceable and you know it, that's why I'm still sitting here, right?"
Herb shifted from foot to foot, looking back at Dot hopelessly. The woman stepped up to stand cautiously behind her. "Lila," she said softly, her eyes darting up at the looping scene on the screen. "Lila, honey, please leave. We'll drop you off wherever you would like. You can not stay here-"
They weren't going to give way, she considered. Lila pushed her face up against her knees, utterly exhausted. Fighting was one thing, she'd enjoyed the thrill of breaking in, killing the guards. She hadn't prepared, hadn't given it much thought at all, she was just going along with her instincts. This was different, this was painful. She wished they'd just fight her.
"Please!" Lila shouted suddenly, staring up at Dot with wide, bloodshot eyes. The woman stumbled back in shock, hand to her chest. Lila had never acted more like a child in her life, terrified and desperate. It was humiliating but she had to work with what she had, like she'd been taught. She took in a shaky gulp of breath as more tears sprung from her eyes. "I'll be good. Please, just, let me work for you. I know you're desperate and I'm good. I can be good, so just let me stay here. I have nothing else," she begged. Lila had never begged for anything before.
Dot's eyes were fixated on the screen, watching an alternative Lila's body crumple to the floor of the barn, over and over again. She softly exhaled through her nose, looking back at Herb. The man looked just as lost as she was. She turned back to Lila, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. Lila knew they, at least, if they didn't take her in they couldn't kill her. Couldn't stomach the thought of taking out the Handler's only child. It wasn't Lila they were afraid of.
"Let's... let's get you cleaned up, alright? We can talk about this more when you're calmer."
Lila abruptly stood and pushed past her, storming out of the room. The two remaining just stayed standing in bewilderment.
-
It couldn't possibly be that easy, of course. It's not as though you can just camp out in the Commissions headquarters and take up any job that pleases you, especially after everything. That would just be bad for business. However, that's exactly what happened.
"I'm good for it!"
"Lila, we only took you in so you could rest, on account of-..." Herb stammered awkwardly, "point is, we thought you'd be out by now. Please leave."
"I don't want to leave, I want to do this! Drop me anywhere and I'll just come back. Or I'll wipe the rest of your pathetic little team out, your choice."
"Lila, do not threaten me. You're already halfway there anyway, so it's an empty threat."
Lila blinked, staring at him, "what?"
Herb sighed and leaned across his desk to hold her gaze, "you can't keep killing people when things don't go your way."
"Yes I can, watch." She suddenly stood from her chair. Herb cowered back, hands held up in surrender. Lila just laughed, "See? You're scared shitless of me. What are you gonna do, Herb? You gonna fight me?"
"I'll get a team in here, they'll-"
"Then do it!" Lila shouted, slamming her hands down on his desk. He flinched back again.
Herb gulped and looked down, "I don't want to resort to that and you know it, Lila."
"No, you don't. You know why? Shall I spell it out for you?" She was shouting now.
"Why do you even want in on this anyway?" Herb asked, standing his ground. He studied her face for a moment before realisation dawned on him, "is it because of-?"
"No." Lila crossed her arms, her tone firm. "I told you. I'm bored and this is my job, I'm not leaving, I'm not going anywhere else. I have nowhere else to go. I'm earning my keep aren't I? You don't even have to pay me Herb, I'm doing this shit for free."
Herb shook his head, "I can't believe that, Lila. I can't. You're tricky, I know that. You don't do anything for free."
Lila was fuming now. She leaned in, pushing herself up against the desk so their faces were inches apart. "You don't know the first thing about me, Herb," she growled. Her eyes were practically black, lifeless. Herb shrank back in his seat.
"Lila, we can't-"
Lila pulled out a knife, pressing it against his throat. "LET ME FUCKING DO THIS!" She bellowed furiously.
Herb was trembling, nodding stiffly. He gasped out for breath as Lila pulled the knife away. "People need to stop doing that, it really isn't fair."
Lila raised an eyebrow.
Herb sighed, ducking his head down, defeated. "If I let you on this job, will you stop? Will you calm down?"
Lila grinned, standing back, "yes, I will."
And it was that easy. Before she knew it, Lila was out, swinging a briefcase by her side. (Accompanied by a partner, of course they'd never let her out by herself. Shame he was so clumsy. Fell into the river. 'no don't go looking for him I sorted it out already, Herb.') They'd been sent to hunt someone out on account of 'suspicious activity'. She found that interesting. The Commission could be ruthless but she'd never known them to wipe out a guy for simply being a weirdo. Nevertheless, she was intrigued. She knew exactly who he was the second she saw him, having gone through a considerable amount of files and research, for her own personal reasons. They'd given her a rundown of places he was most likely to be found, which was more of an off-hand comment than anything. "Pick a surrounding bar, he'll be there. He never strays far."
She found herself staring up at the mansion in amazement, looking back down at the address two or three more times. The year was 2008, and it seemed as though somebody REALLY fucked up.
"Hey!" A voice made her turn, not bothering to wipe the smirk off her face.
"Jesus, you're year accurate, aren't you?" Lila snorted, raising an eyebrow at the young man before her. "Bit stereotypical though, is this a joke?"
"You have ten seconds to get off our property. We're not signing right now."
Lila wasn't listening, her eyes falling down on his red uniform. "Oh, shit," she covered her mouth with her free hand, laughing at him. "No shit? You're the dick from the billboards. I thought that was an April fools thing."
"What are you talking about?" The Sparrow barked, straightening up as though to intimidate her. "I'm Number One. I suggest you get your ass out of here before we make you."
"Yeah I've been hearing that a lot," Lila shrugged, unfazed. "Say, you know any good bars around here? Though, actually, you don't look old enough to drink."
"Bars?" He questioned, "you sure you're not drunk enough?"
"Just point me and I'll be out of your hair," her eyes flicked upwards towards the heavy bangs which practically concealed his dark eyes. The rest of his black hair fell in layers just before his shoulders. "Though that might be hard.."
One hissed irritably. He brushed his bangs from his eyes, showing off his chipped black nail polish. "They're scattered around, just keep walking and you'll find one. You don't need me to hold your hand, do you?" Lila wasn't sure if he was wearing makeup or if his eyebags really were just that bad.
"No, thanks, that'll be all." Lila winked, turning to leave before suddenly pausing. "One more thing."
"What?!"
"You see a kid?"
One blinked, squinting at her in annoyance. "Do I see a kid?"
"Yeah. Freaky, jumpy little thing, wears a uniform a bit like yours. You can't miss him." She hunched her shoulders up to her chin, stuffing her free hand into her pocket, "stands like this."
"I don't know any freaky kids. Now get out before I make you."
Lila scoffed, turning again. "Alright, whatever." She walked away without another word, swinging the briefcase as she went.
She spent the afternoon wandering around the streets, passing through bar after bar until her feet began to burn. Eventually she stopped by a bench to rest, flexing her aching wrist while she muttered irritably to herself. Of course, she thought. Nine out of ten of the bars weren't even open and she had nothing else to work from. They'd only sent her out to shut her up and get her out of the building. Her patience was thinning rapidly and she could find herself growing angry, she'd been under the impression there would be more action, more bloodspill. She could use a good thrill, and killing off the odd Commission grunt didn't seem to do it for her anymore. She considered going back to the academy. It was very possible they'd have knowledge. Even if they didn't, she was bored and the thought of being alone with her head made her feel sick. She almost found herself wishing she hadn't killed off her companion.
She pulled her leg up as a fat brown cockroach crawled across her foot. It tumbled onto it's back, legs waving helplessly in the air. "Eugh, gross!" She stamped down on it hard, leaving a mess of cockroach bits on the pavement. Not long after, another came wandering up to investigate, she promptly squashed that one out too. It wasn't until a third emerged from under the bench when she started to become suspicious, ducking down to look beneath her. A swarm of cockroaches were squeezing through a hole in the ground, crawling over each other to make their way out from the bench. Lila gagged and jumped back, practically squatting on the bench. She watched as they moved down the street, all following in a straight line. She lifted herself from the bench to tag behind them, walking alongside the bugs with the briefcase still clutched in her hand.
They disappeared through an alleyway, marching in unison down the narrow cobbled street. She followed with avid curiosity as they wandered down stone stairs, leading into another, even narrower alleyway. "Alright, you little shits, are you actually going anywhere?" She muttered after several minutes, glaring down the steps at the cockroaches. They crawled until they came to a manhole, squeezing through a gap between the concrete and the cover. Lila's eyes widened, laughing from the sheer ridiculousness of it all.
"Right, well if you think I'm going down there then you're sorely mistaken," she told the bugs, though she continued down the steps, crouching down by the manhole to get a better look. After another minute or so of watching the endless swarm of bugs slip through the gap, she spoke again, almost defensively. "I'm not going down, alright? You can't make me. You can't make me."
A few seconds later she stood, then bent to lift the cover up. She stared down into the dark of the hole, trying to make out the bugs in the lack of light. She stayed frozen, thinking.
"You know they can't hear you, right?" A sudden voice startled her from behind, almost causing her to fall forward down the manhole.
She stumbled back from it, back still turned to the stranger as she composed herself, "no?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow at the ground. "How do you know? Did you ask them that or just assume?"
"Cockroaches don't have ears. They have no use for them, they use their other senses, such as sense of smell or touch," they told her matter-of-factly. Something about his tone of voice, the way he spoke down to her, pissed her off.
Lila scoffed, "what are you? The cock expert?"
The voice chuckled, "just a man who likes to learn. May I ask what your business here is?"
Lila turned to face them, a snarky comeback already cooking, before freezing. Her eyes widened at the sight of the chimp before her. Her expression quickly settled into a satisfied smirk. "Hello, Pogo."
Pogo huffed as though annoyed, "that's Dr. Pogo to you. May I ask you again, what is your business here?"
"You don't own the alleyway, I don't need to explain my business to you, but if-"
The chimp held up a hand to interrupt.
"What?" Lila furrowed her eyebrows, searching his tired eyes.
"Yes I do," he told her.
Lila shook her head in disbelief, "what?" She repeated, "what are you saying? Spit it out."
"I own this alleyway. In fact I own the whole street. You're on private property."
Lila span on the spot, looking around at the dingy area, most of the buildings were rundown or straight up dodgy, every surface caked in dirt and moss and dried up puke. "No you don't. You don't, do you?"
Pogo smiled, eyes glinting playfully. "No, I don't"
It was Lila's turn to huff now, raising an eyebrow. "Wow, funny," her tone was dripping in sarcasm as she walked up to him. "Jokes aside, monkey man, I'm here for you."
Lila didn't hesitate before bringing out her gun, ready to fire. Pogo was quick to kick it out of her hands, the bullet just missing him. The gun itself smacked against a nearby wall and fell with a clatter. The corners of her lips turned up excitedly as Pogo got into fighting stance. "So, it's like that then?" She smirked, before lunging forward.