Armitage hated this.
He watched stiffly, several paces behind, as Ben carried the little monster he'd decided to adopt on his shoulders. To say she gave him the creeps would be an understatement. Her eyes were no longer vacant, now a bright and piercing blue that Ben had apparently liked so much he named her for them, so that was one improvement. That was about all that had improved, though. She was still dirty, and carried her syringe in her hand like it was a beloved toy, her gaze eerily serene as she stared at their surroundings.
Creepy.
Blue sat up straighter with a start, and some wild part of Armitage's brain wondered if she could read his fucking mind, before she thrust out a grubby finger straight ahead. "I smell ADAM, Ben!"
Ben frowned, looking up at her and holding more tightly to her legs so she didn't topple over. "You smell it?"
"Makes sense. So they don't go drainin' saps with old blood," Armitage muttered. "Might as well let her do her thing. She can give that ADAM to you. Keep you supplied."
Ben grimaced, looking unsure. "I made her better though, didn't I? Why does she still want to do it?"
"That'd be the mental conditioning," Armitage sighed, looking around anxiously. He had an odd feeling, like there were eyes on them. It made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. "Just let her down, Ben. Ain't gonna hurt no one. They're already dead."
After another moment of hesitation Ben sighed, reaching and lifting Blue off of his shoulders before setting her on her feet. She grinned eagerly, grabbing onto three of his fingers and dragging him along, her other hand still clutching her glinting syringe.
"You seem to know an awful lot about all this," said Ben, still allowing himself to be pulled. Armitage clenched his jaw as he kept his eyes forward, avoiding Ben's searching gaze. "Thought you were just a nobody living in the slums?"
"A nobody sure, but I ain't stupid," Armitage retorted, sounding a bit more impatient than he'd meant to. Ben was catching on alarmingly quick. "You've been around as long as I have, and you meet some people."
"I guess so..."
Blue let Ben's fingers go as they approached a corpse, grinning excitedly as she dropped to her knees. Armitage grimaced and averted his eyes as she stuck the long needle into the poor bastard's chest, pressing the trigger and extracting bright red ADAM from his blood. Ben seemed unable to look away, even as his face went a little white.
"Gods, why?" he asked softly, and something odd pulled at Armitage's heart. "Why little girls? Why... any of this?"
Armitage let out a rough breath through his nose, his eyes anywhere but Ben as he made a show of looking out for Splicers. He opened his mouth to give a half-assed reply but froze, blinking as he noticed a security camera pointed straight at them. He swallowed thickly, a slight chill running down his spine. When he moved a little closer to Ben, the camera followed him.
Snoke had his eye on them, after all. Trust him not to believe Armitage could handle the job alone.
"Armitage? You okay?"
Armitage looked away from the camera, faced with Ben and Blue both staring at him, the former looking puzzled while the latter just stared blankly, a vial full of ADAM in her hand. Christ. Armitage had no idea what the hell Ben saw in that thing.
"I'm fine, Ben. Drink that, and let's keep movin'."
He watched as Blue held out the vial to Ben, smiling brightly like she'd just picked him a flower on her way home from school. Armitage supposed the feeling was similar, on her end. Ben took the vial from her carefully, a grimace on his face as he turned it over in his hand.
"I don't know if I like this stuff, Armitage. I don't know if it's worth it."
Armitage could have sworn he felt the eyes of the security camera on his back, and clenched his teeth as nerves flipped his stomach. "You need it to get outta here, Ben. Like I said, just a little won't hurt ya."
"I know, I remember, but this seems like more than-"
"Dear, would you kindly drink the stuff so we can keep goin'?"
Armitage felt a bit sick as Ben stopped speaking at once, opening up the vial and downing the contents in three long gulps. He looked away, not wanting to see that look of confusion on Ben's face when he came back to himself, like he wasn't sure what had possessed him to comply. Armitage had to admit, he was beginning to wonder that himself. Snoke hadn't exactly been forthcoming, his explanations almost certainly intentionally vague. 'He's a science experiment, kid,' he had explained. 'Just like those baby frankensteins. Don't concern yourself with the likes of him.'
Easier said than done, Armitage mused, frowning to himself as he watched Ben take Blue's hand once more.
"Thank fuck. The bathysphere station is just up ahead."
"What about Blue?" Ben asked, frowning. "We need to get her back to Phasma."
Armitage sighed, lifting his eyes to the ceiling. "Look. There's a vent inside the station, we can stick her in there before we get in the sphere, yeah?"
Ben pulled a face, looking down at the kid still hanging off of his hand. She just smiled brightly up at him, still humming one of the weird songs the little freaks were always singing. After a bit of deliberation, Ben nodded, and Armitage tried to quietly release the breath of relief. Almost there.
They pressed forward toward the bathysphere station, keeping their eyes out still for Splicers. It was dark in this part of Rapture, and wet, the steady drip of the many leaks in her walls keeping them tense. Blue didn't seem as affected, though, skipping along and singing as if she hadn't a care in the world. As if the crumbling city around her didn't affect her in the slightest.
They came upon the station, finally, and Armitage's heart began to race. He took a few deep breaths, trying to keep his head long enough for Snoke's plan to come to pass. Well, one part of his admittedly convoluted as shit plan - Provoke Andrew Ryan.
He approached the console, pushing the lever to release the bathysphere, trying it a few times to make it look good before letting out a low grunt.
"Shit. It's not workin'. I need you to go up to the control booth and flip the switch. That'll give the whole station power."
"We need to send Blue home," Ben reminded him firmly, making Armitage's eye twitch.
"We'll stick her in a pipe once we get the bathysphere workin'," he snapped. "Happy? Now go on."
Ben scowled at him, his shoulders squaring up. "You don't have to be an asshole."
"You wanna sit around here ticklin' our arseholes until one of Ryan's goons finds us?" Armitage asked him sharply, still tense as that feeling that he had eyes on him still lingered.
Ben crossed his arms stubbornly, and Armitage opened his mouth to continue arguing. He got a look at Blue's creepy eyes, though, welling up and shining with frightened tears at all the shouting and seeming to pierce him straight through the chest. Fuck's sake, what was happening to him? He took a deep breath through his nose, getting his temper somewhat under control.
"We need that Bathysphere workin', so we can both get outta here," he said, slowly and calmly. "So just...get up there, quick, and flip the switch."
Ben stared at him for a moment longer (Armitage could have sworn he was doing it to make him sweat), before nodding curtly, his lips pursed as he held out his hand for Blue again. She sniffled once and stepped into it, wiping her eyes with her free hand as she used the other for balance. Once she'd clamored onto his shoulders, Ben set off.
Neptune's Bounty was one of the more decrepit parts of Rapture, it's infrastructure weakened from multiple bombings that occurred in the area on the New Year's uprising. Hadn't been their guys, though, Snoke had assured him of that. The goal had always been uprising, not mass murder. Trapping people in the city was more Ryan's deal, not Snoke's.
Armitage hadn't realized he was chewing the inside of his lip, hard, until it started to bleed a bit.
"It's really falling apart back here," came Ben's voice over his radio. Still clipped, but that was to be expected. "We're moving quick, but it's a lot of climbing over shit."
"Story of Rapture," Armitage snorted. He caught sight of a security camera, pointed straight at him just like the one before. He stood up a bit straighter, eying it warily as he lifted his chin. "Just keep movin', Ben."
There were several minutes of silence, Armitage bouncing on the balls of his feet and tapping his fingernails on the bathysphere release console. They needed cutting, he realized inanely. He swallowed thickly as he swore he could hear the whir of the camera lens slowly zooming in on him, a bit of sweat prickling his hairline.
All at once, the lights went black. Armitage tensed, his head whipping up toward the control booth. This was it - Ryan was retaliating. He held his radio close to his mouth as red emergency lights began to flicker to life around the station, casting his surroundings in a dim glow. All part of the plan, but he grimaced as the alarms sounded as well, that was bound to attract some trouble.
"You blow a fuse up there?!" he called into the speaker, keeping an eye on the dark corners of the station. "I can't see a damn thing in that booth!"
"I don't know! I hit the switch and everything just-!" Ben's line went dead.
Armitage frowned, a niggle of unwanted worry at the back of his mind as he wondered if the guy had been set upon by Splicers. He only had a moment with it, though, as he found what he'd been anticipating - forms crawling over the walls, Splicers skittering into the station like insects as they were drawn by the blaring alarms. Armitage pulled his shotgun, setting his teeth as he prepared for a fight. Before he could loose the first shot, though, a worrying hum began to prickle his ears, causing him to flinch a bit. After a moment of looking around frantically for the source he realized it was the bathysphere, the whole damn machine groaning and beginning to vibrate so violently it sent the water it rested in slapping up against the dock.
Before he could register that running might be a good idea, the thing burst into flames, and he was thrown off of his feet.
For a moment he was airborne, and the world was silent save for a dull ringing in his ears. Then he hit concrete, skidding and tumbling several feet and tearing up his back and arms. He landed on his stomach, gasping as he found the wind knocked from his lungs, returning only to be choked by the dense billows of black smoke filling the station. He coughed and hacked, pushing himself up onto his knees. He couldn't see much, only a faint outline of his own hands braced on the ground, hindered by the dim light and the slowly thickening haze. He grunted as he felt hands clutch him underneath his armpits, yanking him to his feet.
"-tage, come on, stand up!"
Armitage blinked, his eyes burning, hearing the voice in a steadily rising volume as if he were coming up from underwater. He could faintly make out Ben, with Blue right at his heel. They both had their mouths covered with their collars, and Blue's eyes were streaming a bit.
"We need to go, come on!" Ben cried, shouting to be heard over the alarms.
Armitage stumbled as Ben spun him toward the exit and shoved him until he began to run. He followed the example of covering his nose and mouth with his shirt, finding it easier to run when he could breathe. The three of them escaped the bathysphere station, leaving the raging flames and the choking haze behind.
One thing Rapture's disrepair was good for was providing plenty of hiding places. If Armitage thought he'd mastered the art of finding shelter, however, he had nothing on Blue.
"This way, Ben!" she stage-whispered, holding onto a couple of Ben's fingers as she led them down dark, winding halls Armitage wouldn't ever be caught in alone.
He didn't have it in him to protest, though, the pain in his body growing worse the longer they walked. By the time Blue had found them a nook in a blasted out hole in a wall, he was nearly sick with it. He crawled in after her and slowly lowered himself to sit, starting to slide down the wall for support and gasping harshly as that just aggravated the scrapes. He opened his eyes when he felt pulling at his shirt, finding that Ben was quickly unbuttoning his shirt.
"What're you doin'?" he asked around teeth gritted tightly from pain.
"Getting a better look. You got blown up, or did you forget?" Ben told him dryly.
Armitage rolled his eyes, grunting as he sat forward and allowed Ben to push his suspenders off of his shoulders and peel his shirt away. It brought deep blossoms of blood along with it.
"No, I didn't forget, ya' twit."
He was distracted by Blue bringing a hand up to her mouth with a soft gasp, her eyes going wide. He pulled a face, put off by her the more time he spent around her. He didn't know what to do with her when she acted like a child, like an actual living being.
"Your friend is bleeding," she murmured, gazing up at Ben with worry pinching her forehead.
Ben nodded slowly, glancing at her briefly before sighing in frustration. "Yeah. I don't...I don't have anything to-"
"I'll be right back," she chirped, snatching up her syringe from where she'd left it on the floor. "I'll get stuff to help!"
"Wait, Bl-"
Before Ben could finish the sentence, the little girl had scampered back out into the dark hallway, the soft pitter-patter of her little feet echoing in the high ceiling.
"Finally, let's move, before she comes back," Armitage grunted, only half joking.
Ben pursed his lips at him, giving him a hard look before taking one of his hands, turning his arm over slowly. "Woof. That looks like it hurts."
That was one way to put it, Armitage scoffed to himself. The burn wasn't as bad as it could have been, but it was still damn ugly. Flushed skin and blood, and the damn sting was so sharp it was about all he could focus on. The burn spread intermittently up his right arm, the very worst of it on his forearm and the tip of his shoulder. The rest was minor, the skin irritated more than anything, and bruised to shit. The rest of him felt like he'd been hit by a truck, though he supposed that getting thrown halfway across a large room and landing on concrete wasn't much different.
"You scared me," Ben told him quietly, his jaw still set tightly. "Thought... I thought something much worse had happened."
Armitage looked up at him, meeting his eyes with confusion. "Scared you? What the hells were you scared for?"
Ben sighed sharply. "I don't know, Armitage, I guess I didn't want you to die, or something."
He opened his mouth to reply, but nearly had a heart attack as scuffling sounded over Ben's shoulder. He reached for his shotgun with the hand Ben wasn't holding onto, though he dropped it once he realized it was only Blue, crawling back into their hiding place. In her grubby hands she held a white box, a red cross emblazoned on it's face.
"Oh, well done, Blue," Ben breathed, taking it from her. "Are you alright? Did you get hurt?"
"I'm fine," she promised, smiling proudly, like she had when she'd given Ben the ADAM vial. "Will that help, Ben?"
"Yes, it will. Thank you," he smiled, reaching to ruffle her hair. He frowned to himself as she went to settle down in a corner, finding a loose bit of rubble and kicking it around as if it were a toy ball.
Ben opened up the first aid kid and, despite it's dirty exterior, the bandages and antiseptic inside were nearly pristine. He pulled out the dark bottle and tan roll of material, though he looked around and put the bandages back inside when he found no clean place to put them. He pulled his lips in between his teeth as he worked to unscrew the cap on the antiseptic, his brows still pulled down into that thoughtful expression.
Despite Snoke's warnings not to get close to him, Armitage couldn't help but find him fascinating. The way that he wore every emotion on his face and seemed to always be intently considering something.
"Noticed the kid is startin' to speak more," he noted, just for something to say. For some reason, he kind of liked talking to Ben. "Sounds more normal, too."
"Mm," Ben agreed, nodding slowly as he began to gently wipe away blood from Armitage's forearm. Armitage grit his teeth so he didn't make a sound. "Maybe she'll get better, the longer she doesn't have that thing making her sick."
"Maybe. Still, wouldn't mind gettin' her back to Dr. Frankenstein as fast as possible," Armitage snorted.
Ben didn't bother responding to him, instead glancing at Armitage's bloodied shirt and pulling a face. "You can't put that back on. It's ruined now."
Armitage snorted. "Am I supposed to walk 'round tits out, then?"
"No, you jackass. We need to find somewhere to get clean and hopefully find some extra clothes. Is there running water still?"
"Aye," Armitage nodded, hissing slightly as he was caught off guard by a particularly painful pour of antiseptic. "Most of the bathrooms and nicer apartments still have it."
The man's hands were soft, Armitage noted. Calloused on the ball and tips, but still soft and gentle. He tried to ignore how they warmed his skin as Ben repositioned him, turning him so he could get to the wounds on his back. It was all Armitage could do to suppress the shiver as those hands rested on his bare waist, pulling him a bit closer.
The pleasant feeling was over as quickly as it had come, as the burn of more antiseptic caused him to arch slightly.
"Fuck me runnin'."
"Sorry."
Armitage could have sworn he heard a smile, but didn't bother to look over his shoulder to check.
It was silent as Ben finished his work, wrapping Armitage's torso, shoulder, and arm up tight with bandages.
"So," Ben said, snapping the first aid kit shut once more. "Where's the best place to get cleaned up around here?"
Armitage sat up, still feeling quite sore but significantly better now that he didn't have open wounds scraping up against stiff cloth to worry about. "Farmer's Garden is near by. There's apartments there. Might be able to find a nice shower."
"Okay, good. Blue needs cleaning up, too," Ben added, glancing toward her. She hadn't looked up the whole time they'd been speaking, but Armitage wasn't convinced she hadn't been listening. The kid still made him uneasy.
"Whatever you say, lad. Now, can we get outta this hidey hole? I don't wanna wait around any longer than we have to."
They crawled back out into the hallway, Ben now holding the first aid kit in one hand and helping Blue onto his shoulders with the other. As they walked, Armitage squinted into the dark, trying to figure out where the fuck they were. Hopefully they would emerge from the blackness soon, and he could get them back on track. He wondered if the security cameras were working wherever they were, if Snoke still had his eye on them.
"It was Ryan," Ben murmured eventually, breaking the silence. "He overloaded the bathysphere. We provoked him."
Armitage nodded slowly, his heart racing just slightly. He really hoped his expressions were schooled as well as he thought they were. Ben kept getting a little too close to the truth for his comfort.
"I think you're right about that. See what I mean, now? Ryan's a tyrant. And now he's got his eye on you and I." Armitage only felt a little guilty as Ben fell silent, clearly unnerved. He pushed a little more. Just a little. "The only way either of us get outta here alive, is if we kill that bastard. He's made that clear."
Ben's adam's apple bobbed, his hands tightening just slightly where he held onto Blue's shins, keeping her from falling down.
"Well," Ben sighed quietly. "I suppose that settles that, then."