Chapter Text
Adora had been travelling through the Crimson Waste endlessly, with no luck so far. She hated it here. It was too warm during the day and too cold during the night and rough sand had now gotten inside her clothes and literally everywhere. But the money would be more than worth it.
When she first received the offer, she was... sceptical. After all, both this place and the wanted criminal had a quite vile reputation. She was planning to turn the job down. But few hours later, the price on the bounty's head increased even more, multiplied by two. She had no idea who had that much money to offer or why this person was worth it but only a fool would say no to that amount of money, even if it included a not quite nice trip to this damn wasteland. There was no denying it, this place was nasty, but she would be swimming in money after this. She clung to that thought for comfort.
That's all she had, really. The thought of money, a lousy map, a pouch of coins to bribe people, her sword and some vague information. She now wished she had hired a crew. Or at least someone to navigate her through this mess. Instead, she now kept walking on her own, hoping that she wasn't far from an inn that her target was said to work with.
She had heard a lot about her bounty, Catra. Hair raising stuff. She wasn't sure how many of them were rumors, but Catra had sure made a name for herself in the criminal world and beyond. Most of Etheria knew her by now, even if it was just from all the "Wanted" posters with her face plastered on them. Adora would be lying if she said she wasn't even slightly intrigued by her reputation and the fear her name caused.
She spotted a compound of small buildings in the horizon. Finally. Adora put one foot in front of the other and kept walking, her eyes fixed on the destination and her thoughts fixed on the money. A sense of eagerness filled her, motivating her every step. She could do this. She would do this. And then she would leave this hellish place behind.
"This is really bad. Could there possibly be a worse time for this to happen?" Catra was pacing back and forth, her hands behind her back. She couldn't believe this. They were only a couple of weeks away from taking over control of the Fright Zone, a huge and very profitable expansion, just for this to happen now. The price on her head had increased drastically, it was now twice the previous amount. She was in real trouble now and it would cost her greatly.
"It's adorable how upset you get at the slightest misfortune." Double Trouble said from the corner and Catra shot them a glare that would fry some people on the spot. This was really not the time for their bullshit.
"DT."
"Yes?"
"Shut up" she snapped. They only smiled at her in return. Skies, they were annoying. But Catra would find few people in her life as talented as them and they had proved themselves to her more than once. She hadn't realised at what point she had come to so confidently trust them but it was well established that she did by now.
"Technically, Catra is correct. There isn't a possibly worse time for this to happen." Entrapta explained, weirdly enthusiastic. Equally annoying as DT at times but equally useful too. "The only thing that kept people from going after her and claiming the money of the bounty was fear of both her and the Crimson Waste. But with such an amount offered, a lot of people will no longer hesitate to come after us. Every Bounty Hunter worth their name will be on their way here by now. The fastest of them probably arriving shortly. We will be endangered, our profits will reduce and we'll probably lose our allies-"
"Fine, we don't need them anyways, we never did. Skies, I'm sure Shadow Weaver is behind this in some way. That snarky bitch has always hated me, from the moment she took me in and trained me to the moment I left her to rot while I pursued actual success. That's why, isn't it? She saw me reaching a high her worthless ass never could and decided to take me down. Well, she can try. We've never let things like this stop us and we're not about to start." Catra ranted, running a hand through her messy, untamed hair.
"We'll have to postpone our plans boss, won't we?" Scorpia asked. By far Catra's most loyal work partner, her second in command and a good friend too, when Catra felt like admitting it. Scorpia was her oldest of allies and had sticked with her through thick and thin. Catra nodded at her.
"I hate to admit it but yes, we have little choice. I'll contact Leonie and her squad for extra security. And we'll collect our monthly shares of that stinky inn early and then we will lay low for a while." She decided.
"So we are letting that stop us in a way." Double Trouble concluded.
"No! Just a minor step back that will slow us down a bit, nothing more!" Catra insisted, outraged. "Nothing more." she repeated, more calmly this time and she meant it. She had gotten used to getting what she wanted through the last few years of success but she had a rough life before that. She knew how to survive. She would survive this. She would come out on top. No matter what.
Adora entered the inn trying to keep a low profile and not meet anyone in the eye. She could more than hold her own, but there was no point in starting fights in foreign territory. She headed to the bar for a drink, skies knew she needed one after that trip.
She was still drinking when something-or rather someone- caught her eye. Cat-like features, wild hair, red clothes and a black leather jacket and looking exactly like in the posters, Catra entered the inn. There was a menacing feline grace about her, Adora thought. The people around her eyed her warily. So, news of the money had reached the Crimson Waste. Adora could see them silently questioning wether they should risk attacking her, claiming the money. But no one made a move, they just went back to their cards and drinks and whatever it was they were doing. Great, they were either all cowards or Catra was really as dangerous as she seemed.
She approached the bar confidently and whispered something to the barkeeper. He left and returned shortly with a big lizard man in toe. The owner, Adora assumed. They exchanged a few words and then he passed her a pouch, clinking with coins. At that, Catra just got up and left.
Adora waited a moment to not give herself away and then followed her. This was easier than she expected. If she was being honest, luck seemed to be on her side as well, Catra basically popped in front of her and she also seemed to be short on allies after the huge bounty increase. She could do this. Catra took a sharp turn and Adora quickened her pace, afraid to lose her in the labyrinth of alleys.
Once she took the same turn, she found Catra standing a few steps ahead, her back turned on Adora. She didn't like this. Catra turned back to look at her and grinned as her appearance started to shift. A shapeshifter. Shit. How could she have been so undeniably stupid? To follow a famous criminal mastermind without a solid plan or any research on how she operates was against everything she had ever been taught. Maybe all the heat had gone to her head or something. Before she could process all that was happening, she felt a sharp sting in her back and darkness shortly overtook her vision, her legs gave in and she fell into agonizing oblivion.
She woke up on the floor, with her hands tied in a pole above her, the smell of dust surrounding her. Oh she had been such an idiot and that's where it got her. Kidnapped. She heard voices so she kept her eyes closed, pretending to be unconscious while she overheard.
"-won't offer as much help or protection anyway. Their loss. I will remember exactly how much they stood by me in times like this. I will make sure to repay them accordingly." a rough voice- Catra- said. "How can only losers like Leonie and Kyle stick by us? Ugh, how dare they all? This place was nothing before me. They were all nothing before me. Just a bunch of cowards and losers hiding from the outside world in the first trashy hellhole they could find. I'm pretty sure there was nothing but some tents and the inn when I arrived here. We made something worthwhile out of them and this is how they repay us?" she hissed.
"We know by now that money alone rules over them. And whoever your competitor and persecutor is, they seem to have a lot of money." a calmer, deeper voice noted.
"What, you're gonna betray me now too, DT? Gonna go crawl for money at the first offer like these pathetic traitors?" Catra challenged, her rage pouring out of her.
"Oh for better or worse I've placed my bets on you, darling. Plus, I truly believe you when you say we'll overcome this little obstacle and fry them alive." DT answered, still much calmer than Catra.
"Double Trouble means it, wildcat." another voice sounded "We've been a team for years now. This whole thing you've got going on is ours too. We'll not give you up so easily."
"Is this a good time to mention the prisoner has regained her consciousness?" a fourth voice asked. Ugh, shit. Could anything go smoothly? Adora opened her eyes and saw the group of four staring at her, a lethal gleam in Catra's unique heterochromatic cat eyes.
"What's your name?" Catra cut right to the chase, not wasting any time.
"Adora." she answered. The information didn't cost her anything and it seemed wiser to cooperate for now.
"Well, Adora, do you know why you're still alive and breathing?" Adora shook her head. She doubted Catra was actually interested in her name and she didn't hold any valuable information anyway. "Two reasons. One, my friend Entrapta there quite liked that shiny sword of yours and has some questions about it. But that can wait. The second reason is because I have some questions for you that you better answer. I'm sure you understand that perfectly fine, yes?" Adora nodded. She didn't like this at all. She was aware she was one wrong move away from Catra running her claws down her face or getting stung by that scorpion-like woman again. She would rather avoid both of these scenarios.
"Who upped the price on my head?" Catra continued sharply.
"I don't know. Someone reached out to me before the increase on the bounty but I didn't learn who, I swear. And I turned them down anyway. The reward changed after that. Maybe the crown decided that you're too much of a thorn in their side" she spit out.
"I doubt that." she snorted in return. "The crown hasn't given a single damn about the business of the Crimson Waste for years now. It's too far out of their territory and too much of a trashcan for them."
"Then why was there a price on your head in the first place?" Adora countered.
"Asking a lot of questions, aren't we?" she raised a brow at her and ran a hand through her messy hair. "Doesn't matter, anyway. What about the person who made the offer? What did they look like?"
"Beats me. They were hiding behind a hood and cloak." She responded honestly.
"Well, you're really useless aren't you?" Catra snapped at the lack of answers. "Entrapta you're up. Let's get over with this."
"What do you know about the sword?" Entrapta asked enthusiastically.
"Not much, I stole it from one of my bounties." Adora was lying of course but she was not about to reveal the true nature of the sword to a bunch of criminals, especially given that they were her enemies and captors. If only she could get to the sword...
"Then I'm sure you won't miss it." Catra was smiling in a very menacing and slightly disturbing way that froze Adora's blood. "You won't have much use for it now anyway. Just like we don't seem to have much use of you. Scorpia, do your thing. Let's wrap this up."
Adora tried to think of something to say, some information she could give up that they might be interested in but before she could find anything, Scorpia stang her and she found herself unconscious again.
She woke up back in the desert, in the middle of nowhere, still tied up and with nothing but her clothes.