TW// cussing, talk of being abandoned and last trauma, sleeping darts, dart gun, arguing, interrogation, shooting, passing out, being called bipolar as an insult mentions
I think that's it?
Techno's POV
About an hour had passed of Fundy and I strolling around town. I ended up buying him a new hat that was black with some gold-ish trimmings, and ice cream. He obviously got cookies and cream, he never gets anything else. Who the heck likes cookies and cream? The only cookies and cream things that I will tolerate are Oreos and Oreo McFlurrys.
Fundy and I stopped in a shop so he could use the restroom, so I just strolled around the shop looking at things until he was done. As I was in the shop, I looked out of the large display window, seeing none other than that stinkin' hero, Crow, across the street. His wing that I had cracked was in a brace against his back, and the other one was loose. He was currently helping some old lady cross the street. L, nerd. Imagine being old.
I felt a tug on my arm.
"We can go now, Mister Blade!" Fundy said, smiling up at me. "Uh, yeah, yeah." I thought for a moment. "Hey, Fundy? You know that mean ol' hero that was at you and your dads home yesterday?" I asked. Fundy nodded. "He is across the street. He knows what I look like now, so, uh, we should probably go home, like, now."
Fundy bit the inside of his cheek.
"Stupid bird man. Ruining all the fun." He huffed. "That's the spirit, kiddo." I patted his head.
"Now, you leave first and I'll follow a good distance behind you. I'd be sees us together he'll probably think I kidnapped you or something." I said. "What if he sees you?" Fundy asked. "Look; I don't care what you see or hear, run home. Don't you dare come back for me, I can manage myself." I said. Fundy nodded, a slightly upset look on his face. "I'll be fine, though. Now get."
Fundy left the shop and stared down the street back towards the lab. After about thirty seconds, I left as well. I could see Fundy about fifty feet ahead of me, and it didn't look like I was following him or anything.
I looked to the side, seeing Crow speaking with the elderly lady. He glanced up when he felt my eyes on him, and we made eye contact. I quickly turned my head, shoving my hands in my pockets and looking around, anywhere but towards Crow. I hoped he didn't recognize me from the short amount of time he was looking at my face.
I glanced back that way, seeing he was gone. I exhaled, a tad nervous. When I looked back ahead of me, I nearly bumped into the man himself, who was now just directly in front of me.
"Jesus! Oh- christ, you scared the heck outta me, old man!" I said, trying to laugh it off and keep walking. A few people around looked surprised by my words, shocked that I had just called the number one hero old directly to his face.
"I recognize you." He said blankly. "Oh, boo. I've kicked your old butt, what, three times? Four? I'll do it again if I have to keep 'you know who' safe." I folded my arms over my chest. "You've beat mine, but have you beat his?" He asked, pointing to the other side of the street.
I looked, seeing that 'Duck' hero holding up some sort of gun just a split second before there was a pinch in my side. I flinched, seeing what looked to be some sort of dart sticking out of my lower torso. I could feel the energy draining from my body and my vision blurred.
Then I opened my eyes and was in a small, concrete room. A metal table was in front of me and I was sat in a metal chair.
When I noticed my legs and arms were tied to the chair, I immediately was filled with a slight panic on 'where is Fundy, did he make it home?'
"Good morning." I heard. I looked into the corner of the room, seeing Crow sat in a metal chair identical to mine, seemingly polishing the dart gun that brought me here. "Not gonna say 'hi' back?" He asked. I remained silent. "Hm. Alright."
He stood up, setting the gun on the table and opening the large metal door.
"He's awake now." He said to someone, opening the door wider as that nerd 'Duck' walked in. "Boy are you the person I wanna see right now." I mumbled to myself, rolling my eyes. "What was that?" He asked. "Nothing." I shot him a nasty grin.
"I guess let's just start on why exactly you're here." Crow said. "That would be preferred. Hey, how long have I been out? Did you make me miss my shift? If I get fired it's your fault, old man." I glared at him. "What? N-No? I guess you haven't missed your shift? I mean, you've been out for like three days, where do you work?" Crow asked. "God- heck, man. If I go unemployed I'll be pissed at you."
"Ok...let's get down to business. Quit distracting us." Duck snapped. "Watch your tone, you water bird." I rolled my eyes, grinning to myself as I hoped I was getting on his nerves. He exhaled, cooling his rising anger.
"Where is your partner? He never seems to be around when you are." Crow said. "My who..?" I questioned. "Your partner!" He repeated louder. "Oh, sorry, I'm not currently in a relationship." I cleared my throat, holing in my laughs. I knew exactly who he was talking about.
"Not- fuckin- Not a romantic partner! Who do you work with? What's his name?" Duck asked, annoyed. "I work with me, myself, and my brooms and mops." I said.
"Oh my fucking god..." Crow exhaled. "You're so complicated. The guy you work with! The scientist!" He said. "Ohhh! Him!" I laughed, acting stupid. "You mean my boss. We don't work together, I work for him. I'm just his janitor/mechanic. I make sure the place is kept up." I said.
"So...you not his bodyguard? Or partner in crime?" Crow asked. I shook my head.
"Tell us what you know about him." Duck demanded. "Ugh, where do I even start? Well, he leaves his dirty laundry everywhere." I breathed in to keep talking, when I was stopped.
"No! You fuckin- no! Are you dense? What does he do? Does he experiment on things? Where does he hide them?" Crow asked. "I can't tell you where he hides them, but I can tell you where he hides his journal if you want."
"So he does experiment on things?" Duck confirmed. "Well, no. His cat was being dumb and knocked over a vile a year or so ago and then licked it up and turned all weird so it's kept in a...hold on, why am I telling you this?" I asked.
"What's he like?" Duck asked, messing with his shirt as if he was nervous to ask. "You'd know if you hadn't abandoned him." I replied. Crow looked over at Duck, confused. "Oh, you don't know! Water bird and my boss used to be friends but then water bird left him to become a hero, or whatever you consider yourself." I said.
"I left him because I actually knew what I was doing with my life! He just wanted to sit around and smoke all day. Yes, I left him, he's a bipolar manic."
"He has his bad days but he's not a bipolar manic! He's the way he is because of you! You leaving him was his last straw. I can tell by the way he acts sometimes that he's had other shit happen that's caused it all, but you were his ice breaker. You were all he had back then." I said. "Do you even remember his name?" I asked. Duck looked down at the floor. "Wow. That's real generous."
It was quiet for a few moments.
"What is your boss's name?" Crow asked, clearing his throat. "What's does the media call him?" I replied. "They call him The Mad Man, but the heroes call him Soot, because that's what we've heard you call him."
"Great, well, I'm not giving you his name." I said. "Whys that?" "Because it's a lot heckin' easier to find everything out about someone when you have their name."
Crow nodded.
"Dad..?" I heard a small voice say from the entrance of the room. The three of us looked, seeing a blonde boy with blue eyes, maybe nine or ten years of age. He looked like a raccoon. "Tom, what are you doing here? I told you to stay in your room." Crow said. "I-I was...wondering if I could go to Toby's place and stay the night...since you seem pretty busy to make dinner." The boy said. "Yes, you can go, just- just don't ever come down here again, ok?"
The boy nodded, glancing at me.
"You're not hurting the pig man, are you?" He asked. "No, Tom, no. We aren't. Just go, we can talk later."
I used this time to free myself from my restraints on my arms. I leaned, ripping the leather with my tusks to free my dominant hand. I then did the ones on my other hand and on my legs.
I quietly picked up the dart gun, leaning back in the chair, just waiting.
"Ok, I'll go now." The boy said, looking over at me and then back at Crow. "And the pig man has your gun, by the way." He said, then disappearing around the corner.
Crow and Duck quickly turned around right as I shit one into Duck's side.
"Shit!" He yelled. "Oops." I shrugged. Duck began to stumble before collapsing.
"You fuckin-" I stopped Crow. "How old is he?" I asked. "Wha- I'm not gonna-" "Please, it not like I'm gonna do anything."
Crow looked at me for a moment.
"He's nine." He said. I nodded. "You know, my boss has a kid just a couple years older than...Tom, whatever you called yours." I said. "He...He does?" "Uh-huh. He's eleven. Sweetest little boy I ever met." I said.
"How does your boss take care of him? A kid shouldn't be around someone so unstable." Crow said. "My boss isn't unstable. He's perfectly normal. Sure, he likes to mess around with illegal chemicals, but he's a great guy." I said. "And he's an even better parent. The kid gets three meals a day, he has toys and clothes, and they spend a lot of time together. My boss is never too busy for his own kid." I said.
"If he's not unstable, why does Qua- Duck call him a bipolar manic?" Crow asked. I exhaled. "Because my boss has his bad days. He has his triggers. The two that I've caught onto is death and the mention of his past. I personally think he went through some stuff when he was younger, but you didn't hear that from me." I said.
"What do you mean by 'bad days?'" Crow asked. "It's complicated. They can vary. I'll just walk into a room and he'll be pacing and shaky and sweaty. He'll be mumbling incoherent words to himself. God save you if you try to touch him when he's like this. I made that mistake just once." I laughed under my breath, then sighing. "I guess that's why Duck calls him that. Because of how his mood can change from normal to a insane asylum patient in just a few hours."
It was quiet for a moment.
"By all means, though, keep doing your job. Keep trying to arrest him. He lives for the thrill of it, and I like to fix the things you blow up. I'm not being sarcastic." I said. Crow nodded.
I then stood up, setting the dart gun on the table.
"Shoot me in the back if you want." I said, turning to leave. I walked up a staircase and hopped through the first window I saw. I was in the middle of town, in an almost penthouse on the bottom level.
I then started my decent through town.
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