#but yeah gonna be difficult as hell to find that old dub since the new one completely replaced it everywhere | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

johnkrrasinski · 4 years

Text

𝐄𝐱𝐢𝐥𝐞

Chapter 2: Those Eyes Add Insult to Injury

full masterlist // series masterlist // commission open // support my work

Pairings: Dark!Steve Rogers (in future chapters) x Reader

Word Count: 2,554

Summary: Steve Rogers; a Hollywood A-lister and your clandestine occasional hookup. Best friends since childhood, but people change and friendships fall out. Now you were merely strangers with benefits. What happens when one day you stopped being his doormat to be a better man’s queen? The selfish Steve Rogers would not like it. How far is he willing to go to get his favorite possession back?

Warnings: smut, non-con/dub-con, dark Steve (in later chapter), angst, Steve Rogers is an asshole in this one, no redeeming qualities. (MUST BE 18+)

A/N: this series is dedicated to the lovely @belovedcherry who commissioned this story and developed the concept. thank you for being a friend when i truly needed it. i’m really glad that you trusted me to write this story for you. with all my heart, i sincerely hope you like it. this series will be updated everyday, there will be 4 more chapters ahead.

Several years had passed since you graduated. You and Wanda remained close despite the bustle of life would get in the way sometimes. She got accepted in Yale University and she chose to study Psychology. Maybe that’s why she and you got along so well. You both were humanitarians at hearts.

College was a lot more fun than high school but that also meant the bigger pressure would come along in one package. Nothing that you didn’t expect. You went into social study major to groom yourself for the future you had set for yourself. Life went along as methodically as you originally designed.

But fate was a comical thing sometimes. When it has settled its decision to place two people who have such a rich history in their past together, it would be inevitable and inescapable one way or another.

The past couple of years of high school, you and Steve were practically strangers who went to the same school. He never greeted or talked to you anymore in class and he abandoned every ritual you had in the good old days. He stopped calling or texting, he stopped answering and he stopped coming over.

He just… stopped knowing you.

There wasn’t a day that passed by without you pondering about where did it all go wrong? How did the fair-headed friendship that bloomed like the flowers in spring slip away as briskly as a bottle of wine? A million questions rushed through your nostalgic head and as the season changed, the gap between you and Steve kept extending wider and wider.

You didn’t even know whether he really went to college or not. Or perhaps, he decided to go straight into auditions and found himself a good agent who was willing to manage his career. You still remember when he was so eager to do whatever it takes to study in NYU but you assumed that things had changed since then. He was a different person, after all, maybe he had new plans to pursue his dreams. But of course, life deprecated its surprises being spoiled.

Who would’ve warned you that you would get accepted to New York University as well as Steve?

You didn’t know until you ran into him at a sorority party that you were reluctant to go at first because you were never that much of a party gal, but your roommate, Natasha coerced you to.

Natasha was a kind person but she could also be a little bold than you were used to. You were grateful that she was your roommate though, you were a little worried that you might have to live with someone who was mean or untidy, everything that Natasha was not. You could imagine the relief when you learned how organized and sensible Natasha was. You had a feeling that the friendship you and Natasha had was going to last a lifetime.

“My sweet girl, y/n, I love you but you really gotta put yourself out there, okay? Forget that motherfucker Steve Rogers. He ain’t shit. If you go to the party with me, you might actually find yourself a decent guy who’s a lot cuter than him and who will treat you right. Because if he doesn’t then I’m gonna kick his ass and he will think twice before cheating on you.”

“I’m not looking for a boyfriend, Nat. Besides, I don’t care about Steve anymore,” you lied. “It’s not even about him, I’m just simply not much of a partier.”

“Bullshit. You are now. Let’s go. I won’t hear any more excuses.”

So you had no other choice but to put on a simple dress and went to the party with Nat. There was no saying no to her when she had made up her mind. Plus, you thought it would be a good idea to familiarize yourself with the vicinity and your potential classmates.

You also wrote a new resolution in your invisible diary that you were going to expand your connection in college and socialize more. You were only really friends with Wanda back in high school. You also shared a few classes with Pete Parker who was nice and smart, despite being a little gauche sometimes and you would often talk to him but that was it.

You also lost your childhood best friend who knew you better than anyone else before Wanda did. It truly deteriorated your trust issues and that’s why it was difficult for you to insert yourself in social situations and just effortlessly talk with any stranger.

You stood in the corner with a red plastic cup in your hand that was still almost full of beer. You didn’t drink either so you had no idea why you even bothered holding it. Maybe it gave you a sense of comfort that you wouldn’t be totally alone in this party.

Natasha had asked you to dance but you knew you’d look like an untrained clown at a circus, so you refused to join her. Natasha was currently lost in the music, dancing with a guy named Clint. You had no idea who the hell he was but he seemed nice, and you knew that if Clint had bad intentions with Natasha, he wouldn’t stand a chance and you wouldn’t let him so you assigned yourself the job to watch over Natasha and bring her home safely in case she chugs down a little too much alcohol.

Your eyes wandered around the room, trying to recognize and learn some faces. It felt like you were the only lonely person in the room as the exuberant music faded into the background. Everything felt slow and steady until the person who just walked through the door made your heart stop.

It was Steve. Steve Rogers.

The person you had incessantly wondered about. You hadn’t seen him in over a year even during the gap between graduating and starting your freshman year in college. You were too occupied in moving out, spending as many time as possible with Wanda and your family and filling out college requirements. Steve would emerge in your mind every once in a while but you tried to erase him away as quickly as possible when it happens because you didn’t want to waste your time missing a ghost and someone who probably never spared a second of his life thinking about you too when you are surrounded with your loved ones for the last time.

You didn’t know when you were going to be able to see Wanda again. She was going to New Haven and that means, it would take at least at two hours drive to visit her so you cherished the last moments that you had with her. She was like a sister to you. You still talked to Wanda nearly every day through texts but you also didn’t want to intrude her study too much. Besides, you had your own duties too as a college student now.

So why did it feel like your lungs stopped functioning when you saw his gorgeous face and those familiar pair of cerulean blue eyes? He had a grin on his face as he walked in with five other college boys. You didn’t know who they were but you assumed they were his new group of nitwit friends. Steve was wearing a brown leather jacket with a black shirt underneath.

He walked to where the kegs were with the boys trailing him along like they were his security team. They joked with each other boisterously as if they owned the place. Typical. Nothing you hadn’t seen in high school. But you couldn’t avert your sights from Steve. You were too riveted by the fact that Steve was here, at a sorority party of NYU.

It couldn’t really be him, right? I mean, is this serious? You two really attended the same university? This must be a joke.

Your thoughts were quickly interrupted when Nat pat your shoulder with her energy still blazing from the dance floor. “Whew, that was fun but I need some drink now.”

You didn’t respond as your lips were still agape, not knowing what you were supposed to say to her.

“Y/N? You alright? You look like you saw a ghost.”

“He’s here.”

“What? Who?”

“Steve Rogers. The guy that I told you about.”

“Where?!”

You pointed in his direction where he was surrounded by a bunch of pretty girls in skimpy dresses now. One of them was groping his bicep shamelessly and Steve had his arm around her waist. She threw her head back as she laughed cheerfully at something he just said.

“You gotta talk to him! Have some closure.”

“What? What the hell am I supposed to say to him?”

“Tell him that you and him are through and maybe, throw a drink at him afterwards. That scumbag deserves it.”

“Nat, no! Are you insane? I don’t wanna cause a scene.”

“But you can’t just let him get away with whatever he wants, y/n!”

“No, let’s just go home and forget it, okay?”

“Alright, if you’re not gonna talk to him, then I will.”

“No, Nat! Stop! What are you doing?! ” But she was already approaching him with ardent footsteps and fire in her guts as she brazenly inserted herself into the middle of the scene.

“Excuse me,” she sarcastically greeted the group. “Yeah, hi, I just need a minute. Are you Steve Rogers?”

You followed behind her but you stood just a few feet away from the incident so that Steve wouldn’t see you. But you could see from over Nat’s shoulder that Steve had a perplexed look on his face. His eyebrows were furrowed and all the girls around him were staring at Nat like she was a crazy person who just randomly popped up uninvited.

“…yeah.” He answered.

“Oh, so you’re the asshole that my roommate has been talking about. Man, she really didn’t lie.”

“Excuse me?” The puzzled look on his face turned into an offended one.

“Yeah, my roommate y/n. Does that ring a bell?”

He was aghasted at the mention of your name. Before he was given a chance to answer, Natasha filled his silence with more of her venomous words. “You really have the audacity to show your face here, huh? I swear to you, the next time I see your irritable face again, I will make you regret for ever breathing in my direction, but for now, I think this will do.” She threw the beer in her cup onto his face, humiliating him in front of everyone who was entertained by the drama.

Steve wiped his face with his hand and he was too stupefied by the information that had just been dumped on him like a cold water. Well, it wasn’t entirely figurative though.

Before Natasha walked away, she sneered with a sly smirk on her face, “enjoy your party.” She shoved the empty cup to one of the girl’s chest as she reflexively caught it, with a flummoxed expression, her eyes didn’t stray from Natasha.

She walked away vauntingly from the flock towards you, “let’s go, y/n.” as she kept walking towards the entrance. You were still frozen in your spot as she was already going for the door. But before you could follow her, your eyes landed on Steve’s doused face as his eyes were already fixated on you.

For a moment there, there were only you and Steve and the intimacy of unspoken farewells and muted longing that were encapsulated in one bubble of silence that comes when two people understand each other. It was like the drawer of Steve’s things that he left with the memories and he never asked you to return came hurdling back like ocean waves and everything just evaporated in the ticking time.

There was no need for words because your eyes delivered more than both of your lips had in the past couple of years.

“Y/N?” He uttered your name. That was perhaps the first time he had called you in years. And with that, it was like every broken piece you had intensively woven back together ruptured and there was no safety net that would prepare you for this fallout.

He was bewildered by seeing you here and you had no clue what you were supposed to say. So you threw him a poignant smile, forcing yourself to put on an impassive facade in front of him. You were good at that, you had years of practice from all those times you found Steve making out with Janet in the parking lot. You wonder if they were still together?

You wordlessly walked away and joined Natasha to the front porch. Steve watched you turn your back on him, not knowing whether he should call your name again, follow you or he should just let you go. You on your way back home were filled with so many thoughts. You couldn't help but wonder, what would’ve happened if you had stayed and talked to him at the party? What would he say to you? Would he even care at all?

But on the other hand, you were relieved. It’s like, you truly got the closure Natasha said you deserved. Never in a million years, you would ever dream about standing up to Steve like that. Hell, you weren’t even brave enough to tell him how you feel back when you were younger. But may God bless Natasha and her parents for creating her, she defended you in a way that you could never do. And she showed you that maybe, it’s time you hold on to your promise that you vowed to yourself, that you were finally going to move on and bury him into your memory dump.

You were in college now. You had no time to wallow in sadness and heartbreak caused by a douche like Steve Rogers. So you made peace with the fact that it was probably the last time you were ever going to see him. You might run into him around college but you weren’t going to let it shake your ground. You unlocked the door of your dorm with a contented smile on your face as you sat on your bed.

Natasha instantly went for the small closet to change into her pyjamas but was briefly delayed by your mumble. “Thank you.”

“Pardon?” Natasha turned her head into your direction.

“Thank you. For doing that… At the party.” You smiled at her. You sincerely meant every word.

“I’d never let a man walk over a good woman like you, y/n.”

You nodded as she carried on with what she was doing. She went into the bathroom to wash herself off and you laid in your bed, feeling lighter than you had ever felt in years. Maybe she was right. It was time you realize your worth. You spent too many years doubting yourself just because Steve was too much of a reprobate to cherish you.

You closed your eyes, relishing in the comfort of your bed without fearing a ghost looming in your sweet dreams anymore now.

Letting tomorrow surprise you with whatever it has in store. Sometimes it involves a charming devil standing on the other side of your door with flowers in his hands and a wicked scheme to accomplish.

141 notes · View notes

duhragonball · 5 years

Text

Dragon Ball Z Movie 12: Fusion Reborn (3/6)

So Janemba’s messing with King Yemma, cutting off his authority over the boundary between the living and dead. Yemma knew this would have dire consequences for the universe, and we see that manifest on Earth, where dead people are suddenly back from the grave. For example, this family is at a cemetary to visit their grandfather’s grave, only to find him alive and well in his burial clothes no less. He’s not a ghost or any other sort of apparition either; he has feet and everything.

Elsewhere, an older man named Romeo has a similar experience at the grave of his deceased lover, Juliano. Or Julianne? I don’t know. You’d think they would have called her “Juliet” to play in with Romeo, except in the play they both died young. Here, Romeo survived, and he’s and old man.

But Julianne hasn’t aged at all in the past sixty years since her death. It kind of makes for an awkward reunion.

Incidentally, Romeo has a crucifix, so this marks the first official appearance of Jesus Christ in Dragon Ball. We’ve seen crosses and the name “Jesus Christ”, but this is an actual image of the Son of God Himself. “But Lord, why are there no footprints in the sand during the most difficult parts of the journey?” “Because that was when I Instant Transmissioned you, lol.”

Speaking of crosses, here’s Dracula, and I guess he was dead, until he came back today. But he still has a wooden stake in his heart, which... okay why does he want it removed if it’s not killing him? Why can’t he just take it out himself? Also, if Janemba’s powers are causing dead people to come back to life, shouldn’t Dracula turn back into a human?

Meanwhile, some horde of invaders on horseback marches through traffic. I think these are supposed to be Mongols, but I dunno.

They kind of get their thunder stolen when a second army of tanks shows up, let by Adolf Hitler. I mean, it’s not quite Hitler. His uniform is bright purple, and the real Hitler wouldn’t be leading a battalion of tanks into action. But this movie never bothers to give him a satirical name, like “Dunkoff Shitler” or “Adenoid Hynkel” or whatever. So I just refer to this guy as Hitler. Same as that vampire from a minute ago.

In any event, this guy’s obvious resemblance to Hitler is why his scenes were edited out in several countries, which have laws against depicting Nazi imagery. For what it’s worth, the movie doesn’t really lose much with these scenes taken out.

Also, there’s just straight up zombies running around, which I don’t really understand, since Hitler and Julianne are fully alive. But that’s the chaos of Janemba for you. He’s not purposely doing any of this. This is just the result of him cutting off King Yemma’s power to regulate the dead.

But don’t worry, folks, Gohan’s here and he’ll save the day, right after he finishes eating.

Goku may be dead, but his legacy lives on in his sons, Gohan and Goten. Chi-Chi doesn’t mind doing all the dishes from the boys’ meals, but she does miss her husband at times like these.

So Videl offers to help with the dishes, but Chi-Chi’s like, no way, you’re a guest in this house.

But somehow we end up with Videl doing the dishes in the next scene. This is one of my favorite animations in this movie. With the sound effects, I could watch a loop of this all day.

Chi-Chi is impressed, so she tells Videl that she’ll make a fine wife.

And Videl’s all “Marriage? Gawrsh!” This is adorable. She’s so worked up that she drops a dish.

But Chi-Chi doesn’t mind, because she still thinks Videl is cut out for married life. In the manga, Chi-Chi wants Videl to marry Gohan so she can get a chunk of that sweet, sweet Mr. Satan fortune, but in this movie, I almost feel like she’s proposing to marry Videl herself. “Marry me, Videl, so I may never have to wash a dish again!” “Wh-what about Gohan?” “What about Gohan?”

Then Videl breaks more dishes, but before she can clean them up, she gets a call from the Satan City Police, who inform her that the dead have risen and are overrunning the town. Also, they ask her to contact Great Saiyaman. Videl’s like “No problem, I’m at his house now. I think his mom is coming on to me.”

“Stay away from my mom, Videl.”

Meanwhile, in Otherworld, Goku and Pikkon’s championship match is interrupted when a giant crystal sprouts out of the ring.

The Grand Kai believes the disturbance is coming from King Yemma’s domain, and he sends Pikkon to investigate. But Goku doesn’t want him to go, since that would mean he’d win the tournament by forfeit. So the Grand Kai orders Goku to go with Pikkon, and that works out, since Goku can teleport there.

When they arrive, they find everything all messed up.

Yemma somehow contacts them from within the barrier around his domain, and he points out Janemba on the roof.

Pikkon tries to ask Janemba to cut the shit, but Janemba either won’t cooperarte or he can’t understand him. When Pikkon loses his patience, Big J flicks him into one of those floating jellybeans he made.

This catches Goku’s interest, and now he’s happy that they left the tournament for this, since Janemba seems like an even greater challenge.

Janemba seems to agree to tangling with Goku, so he suggests that Pikkon see to Yemma while Goku lures Janemba to hell, where he’ll be out of the way.

I’m not sure if there were already jellybeans in hell, or if Janemba brought a bunch down with him.

Otherwise, Hell has experienced its own bizarre changes. I’m not entirely sure what’s changed, since we only saw it twice in the entire run of the anime up until now, but I’m pretty sure all those humanoid-looking figures weren’t there before.

Janemba grabs a few and turns them into mini-clones of himself.

Goku thinks they look cute until they all start ganging up on him.

Fortunately, Goku can just beat them away with a few roundhouse kicks, and they all vanish. The bad news is that the big Janemba won’t be that easy.

Back on Earth, Gohan’s having tons of fun clobbering zombies.

Videl’s doing pretty well against them too, but the real question is: Why is this happening, and how do they stop it? Gohan isn’t sure, but he’s confident that it’ll all work out with the two of them together.

Videl’s charmed by his answer, but then--

Some jagoff intrudes on their moment.

Oh look, it’s this asshole. Yeah, Frieza’s back and he’s in this movie too, along with Dracula, Hitler, and Jesus. For those of you keeping score, that means Steel Ball Run, Hellsing, and Resurrection F were all inspired by this movie.

Frieza is surprised that anyone on Earth knows him by name, so Gohan unmasks to reveal that he was the kid with the bowl-haircut on Namek.

Videl’s completely smitten here. “Wow, he’s wayyy dreamier than his mom!”

So Frieza’s decided to kill Gohan as revenge for Goku defeating him. You’d think he’d be mad about Future Trunks killing him, but he was friends with Gohan too, so it still works. The part that doesn’t work is this punk-ass bitch running around in Movie 12 like it’s still Movie 3.

So Frieza sics a surprise army of henchmen on Gohan to soften him up. Of course, it makes perfect sense that all the top Frieza soldiers would be here, and that they’d still be loyal to Frieza, but there’s also a lot of Movie 1-5 henchmen too, and most of them don’t even know Frieza. Still it’s not hard to believe that they could be persuaded to join his side.

But Bojack seems pretty hard to swallow. Out of everyone in this scene, he’s definitely stronger than Frieza ever was, so why isn’t he calling the shots here?

Anyway, waves of henchmen, Frieza’s invincible, what will Gohan do now?

FREE-ZA FREE-ZA FREE-ZA FREE-ZA

Hadou ooana GALAXY Yudan wana PARASITE

FREE-ZA FREE-ZA FREE-ZA FREE-ZA

Obienaku wa warera min

DIE!DIE!DIE!

So yeah, everyone sees Gohan END Frieza with one fraggin’ punch, and they all turn chickenshit and run away. Even Bjoack, I guess, which only makes sense, because Gohan punched a hole through him in Movie 9.

Videl’s like “Wow, it’s kind of weird how all of these dead people came back to life, and presumably we can’t kill them again because they’d just come back, and yet Frieza was the only jerk in this whole movie who got exploded and stayed dead from all of this.”

Then Gohan does his victory poses, and Videl swoons off-screen. In the dub, they changed the ending dialogue to suggest that Gohan and Videl made out shortly after this scene, and Goten and Trunks saw it. It’s not in the Japanese script, but come on. How was Videl not al over this dude after this? We know it happened.

Meanwhile, Mr. Satan is punching zombies someplace else, and he’s pretty pleased with how well he’s doing, except there’s no one around to watch him in action, so he moves on to find his grateful public.

Fortunately, he won’t run out of zombies anytime soon.

Meanwhile, Goten and Trunks are helping out by gathering the Dragon Balls, They find the seventh one on a golf course.

But Goten gets hit with a golf ball while he’s there. Irritated, he decides to hide the ball to get payback on whoever sent it his way.

But he hides it in the hole, so the golfer thinks he made a hole-in-one and he’s sobbing with joy. This doesn’t have much to do with the movie, but what’s great about Fusion Reborn is that you can expand on almost any scene and make it part of the wider story. Maybe this guy’s a dead Frieza Soldier who got the call to mobilize and he said “Fuck that, if I’m alive, I’m gonna hit the links one last time.” Or maybe he’s just a regular dude, but the lady there is his dead wife, who’s come back to tell him that the accident wasn’t his fault, and it’s okay for him to move on with his life. Or they’re both alive, but the golf course gets destroyed by Cell during his epic battle with Tiencha.

Back at Capsule Corp. Gohan summons Shenron. For some reason, in the dub, she tells him he’s “the only one who can,” and I’ve never understood that. Maybe she means that Gohan’s the only one who understands the crisis well enough to make the right wish to Shenron, but she could still call the Dragon. She’s done it before several times.

It’s funny how this is the first time Goten and Trunks have seen Shenron, even though the plot of Movie 10 was them gathering Dragon Balls specifically to see Shenron. That’s how big a disappointment Movie 10 was. Meanwhile, Movie 12 is so awesome that it pays off ideas from other movies.

Videl might have wished for a handsome BMF with cool shades...

But Shenron can’t grant a wish that’s already come true. Let’s just pause here to drink in this majestic shot of Casual Friday Great Saiyaman.

...

Nice.

I’m just gonna put it here again. It’s great.

So Gohan explains the situation to Shenron and asks him to put all the dead people back where they belong, which Shenron says is a simple task.

But then he says he can’t do it after all. Goten complains, and Trunks silences him before Shenron can take offense.

Now, in the dub, Shenron gives a more thorough explanation. He can move the dead back where they belong, but with King Yemma out of commission, there’s nothing to stop them from simply coming back. I think that logic is strongly implied in the subtitles, but it’s not quite so clear. In any case, this is beyond Shenron’s power. It wouldn’t be if Yemma were on the board, but if that were the case, there’d be no need to involve Shenron in the first place.

So that leaves everyone feeling pretty dejected. The problem lies in Otherworld, and if Shenron and Gohan can’t fix it, then they’re out of options.

And while they ponder what to do next...

...Shenron awkwardly asks if there’s anything else he could do for them while he’s here.

37 notes · View notes

itsthejuggernautbitch · 5 years

Text

You Look Like Trouble (Morning Glory Wine - Cable/OC

Here’s chapter nine!

We’re almost done, y’all! The final chapter is already written, I’m just working on editing.

Also, I need to include a warning for this chapter. There's an action sequence that's grounded in a domestic situation. It's not graphic, but the situation is present. Please take care of yourself and skip over section three if you need to.

(And as always, not to be that person but if you’ve got the time and the inclination, kudos or a comment would be greatly appreciated.)

Taglist: @this-that-and-every-thing-else @ptite-shit @lesbianyondu@chromecutie @gallifreyangrandtorino @ra-ra-rasputiin @akihecko@bigstarlightkingdom @buckyjefferson @lenavonschweetz

The front lawn of the mansion was emerald green and perfectly curated, the short blades of grass waving in the breeze. It was early morning; the sun had just peeked over the horizon, casting the lawn in oranges and golds. It was a hot morning, too hot to be comfortable for any amount of clothing, but nevertheless everyone was in full costume and raring to get the day started.

Vivian stood on the front porch of the X-Mansion, staring out onto the front lawn. She was dressed and ready to head off to her shift at the clinic. She didn’t have to wear scrubs or a white coat anymore unless she just wanted to (she didn’t), so she’d chosen her usual civilian outfit of trousers and blouse. She was pretty sure she'd already sweat through her shirt in the mid-morning heat; the material clung to her back, sticky and wet.

At that particular moment, Vivian wanted nothing more than to take another shower and just crawl back into bed. She’d stayed in Cable’s room at the mansion for convenience (and booty) that night despite the fact that she still had weeks left on her apartment lease. It was far more comforting to hole up for the night in Cable’s small, cozy room than going home to her empty apartment.

She'd been coming home to a multitude of empty rooms for so long that she'd forgotten how lovely it was to have someone waiting for her when she walked in the door. She was willing to admit (not out loud) that in the few weeks since that first night alone with Cable, it had gotten quite difficult to come home to her empty apartment when all she had to do was drive out to the mansion where, more likely than not, he would be waiting. She'd done her best to balance personal space with her attempts at affection, but even when she chose not to make the drive out to the mansion, more likely than not, he'd be on her doorstep sometime before midnight.

Part of the team Wade had lovingly dubbed the X-Force stood on the front porch with her. Of the three big, scary men waiting to get the day started, Wade was the only one still struggling to gear up. He swatted at the back of his neck, searching for the connecting panel of the velcro strip meant to secure his mask in place. Vivian reached up and smushed the velcro strips together, then patted his neck and stepped back.

“Looks like you boys are all set,” Vivian said. She crossed her arms. “So who’s driving? Do any of you have a license?”

Colossus looked at his shoes sheepishly. “No need for driver’s license when you can’t fit in car.”

Cable shrugged. “I don’t exist here.”

“Yeah, no, that got taken away a long time ago,” Wade said cheerily, pulling out his phone. “Dopinder it is!”

Such a functional team. They’d get the hang of this X-Force thing eventually, probably. Maybe.

Vivian rolled her eyes. “Did you expect to walk back? You three big, scary dudes plus my skinny kids can’t fit in Dopinder’s taxi. Why don’t you just take the jet?”

“We wanted to go in more discreetly,” Colossus replied. He gleamed orange in the morning light. “But, in this case, perhaps the jet is the better choice.”

“Look, I don’t care how you do it,” Vivian said. “But you do have the access codes and a jet is a hell of a lot more official than rolling up in a taxi.”

Colossus nodded in agreement. “You make a good point. We will take the jet. Gentlemen, if you would follow me...”

Colossus headed out towards the back of the mansion, his skin gleaming brilliantly to the point of blinding everyone staring after him. Vivian shifted and picked at her fingernails before cracking her knuckles until they hurt. If there was anyone she trusted, it was these three, but she still felt nauseated at the thought of not going with them herself. But it had been so long since she'd trained for an active situation, she felt it was ultimately better to let the trained mercenaries handle ut.

“We’ll handle it,” Cable said, as if sensing her discomfort. Not that he had to sense it, exactly; her skin was ashen and he'd heard her knuckles crack light thunder. He leaned in for Vivian to kiss his cheek. "You have every right to be worried, but we're gonna have them back here before you even get back from your shift."

Vivian shrugged, twisting her hands nervously as she’d been doing all morning. “I’m not worried. Who’s worried?”

“You broke two mugs this morning, reversed it, broke them again, then accidentally reversed the dishes that I washed.”

Vivian sighed. “Alright, I’m worried. I just have a bad feeling.”

Cable had a bad feeling too, but he didn't want to admit that out loud to her.“What do you have a bad feeling about?”

“Jack’s smarter than he looks," Vivian said. "I don’t know, I just have a weird mom feeling.”

Cable placed his hands on her shoulders. He wasn't too much taller than her, but he was just tall enough to press a kiss to the top of her head. “Whatever’s causing the weird mom feeling, we’ll handle it - okay? I’m gonna get them back here.”

“I know, I know. I trust you.”

“I’ll call you when we’ve got them. Just go do what you do best and keep your mind occupied. Don’t stick anybody too hard.”

“Right, right.”

She watched him head out to find Colossus. He'd wrapped a thin scarf around his neck - she couldn't fathom how he could be remotely comfortable with as many layers of clothing as he had on (which, truth be told, wasn't that many, but Vivian was basically always hot). She ultimately presumed it was meant to cover the ropes if tech slowly creeping up the back of his neck, so she didn't mention jt.

As he walked off, Wade leaned into Vivian’s side. “I need a favor.”

Vivian turned to him. He always smelled like sweat and leather. “The undying gratitude can wait until after you get Shelly and Benji.”

“Nothing overly self-indulgent," Wade replied. He was trying to cheer her up, or at least keep her mind occupied. "A buddy of mine is gonna meet you at the clinic. Gunshot wound.”

“Is this one of your “mysterious buddy” situations where I don’t ask the name?”

“Kind of, but if you ask him who he is, he’ll probably tell you.”

“Right. Got it," Vivian said. "Please be careful, Wade.”

"Hey, don't worry about me. I can take a bullet." He poked the tip of her nose. "Now, you go have a great day sticking your fingers into people's wounds. Or whatever you want to stick your fingers. I don't judge."

---

Vivian parked next to the clinic in her usual spot - the one that had her name (misspelled) painted on the cement. She locked her tiny car behind her and walked into the clinic. The only person there other than the receptionist was a curious figure dressed all in black, holding his shoulder gingerly.

Vivian had seen some of Wade's shadier buddies on multiple occasions, but she was sure she’d never seen this guy before. In fact, she was a little surprised that Wade sent him to the clinic rather than asking her to run by and meet him at Sister Margaret's. But the clinic was in Queens - probably closer for whoever this guy was.

“You Wade’s friend?” Vivian asked.

The guy looked up at her. She could just barely see his eyes through the eyeholes of the ski mask he was wearing. “Yes, ma’am! That’s me.”

Vivian was taken aback. A mercenary calling her ma’am (who wasn’t Cable)? Unheard of. She motioned for him to follow her. “I’m Dr. Sharpe, if you'll follow me. Heard you’ve got a gunshot wound.”

“Following! And yes, ma'am.”

Vivian led him into a back room and closed the door gently behind her. The TV was blaring loudly in the corner - just the local news reporting on something bad, as usual. “Alright, show me whatever’s bleeding.”

He sat down on the exam table. Once again, Vivian was a little shaken by how young he sounded. “Yes, ma’am.”

The guy took off his shirt and tossed it onto the counter but kept his mask on. There was a bullet wound on his right shoulder with no exit - whatever the bullet’s caliber was enough to take a pretty good plug out of him but not enough to blow through his shoulder.

Vivian peered into the wound. “Well, you’d be in better shape if it was a clean hit. I’m gonna have to poke around a little bit to look, but depending on the location, I may not have to get the shrapnel out. Either way, it’s not going to feel good.”

“Whatever needs to be done. Just - I can pay cash. As long as I don’t put it on my aun- my insurance.”

Vivian laughed. “I’m guessing you’ve never done the backroom-doctor deal before. Don’t worry - Wade’s taking care of it.”

“Okay." Definitely a kid, then. He seemed relieved. "Okay. Good.”

Vivian pulled what she needed out of the cabinets and laid it all out of a tray. The kid shifted nervously, trying not to move his shoulder. There was no way this guy was over 21 - not with the musculature and voice.

She sat down across from him in her rolling chair. “Alright kid, how old are you?”

“What- I-?” The guy (kid) cleared his throat and tried to sound less nervous and squeaky. “I’m old enough, ma’am.”

“You couldn’t be older than sixteen,” Vivian said, staring him dead in the eye. She noted all the scars and marks on his exposed skin. “You've been doing… whatever you've been doing for a while, but haven't taken a real serious hit until now. Wait - are you that Spiderman kid?”

“Seventeen!” the boy said, sighing. “Yeah, yeah, I’m Spiderman. Now can you please get this bullet out of my shoulder? Accelerated healing doesn’t work if there’s still shrapnel.”

“Shit - I thought Wade was joking!” Vivian said. She gently tugged the mask over his head. “How’d you get roped in with Wade? I thought you were an Avenger.”

“Shoulder!”

Vivian rolled her eyes and pulled out a syringe filled with lidocaine. She shot his shoulder full of painkillers and waited for the solution to take effect. “He’s not getting you to do weird shit, is he?”

“No, he took care of something in Queens for me about a year ago. I got shot last night and I didn’t know who to call, so I called him.”

“Well, I’m the best backroom doctor you’ll find,” Vivian replied, checking his shoulder. “Numb enough?”

“Yeah.”

“Hold still. I’m gonna check the wound. Since the shrapnel is in your shoulder, it may not necessarily need to come out. Bad news is, you'll have to heal like a normal human, but I'll give you some antibiotics to help with that.” Vivian peered into the wound and found that she could see the tail end of the bullet close to the skin. “So what happened?”

“Guy shot me point-blank with a .50 cal. My suit absorbed most of it, but it still got through.”

“Must have been a strong suit. A .50 cal. will take your whole arm off.” She took a pair of forceps, took hold of the end of the bullet, and removed it as quickly as she could. The wound leaked, but she could see the skin knitting back together. “I’m going to give you a round of antibiotics anyway just to be safe. Don’t get an MRI without getting an x-ray first. It looks like I got the whole bullet out, but you never know.”

He moved his shoulder gingerly. “Thank you, Dr. Sharpe.”

“Anytime, Spidey.” Vivian placed a patch on his shoulder and taped it down. “Look, you seem like a good kid. Don’t let Wade get you into trouble, okay?”

“I won’t.” He looked up at the TV, face twisted in surprise. “Hey, he’s on TV right now! Oh, that looks bad. I should go help-”

“Wade’s on the TV?” Vivian looked around for the remote and turned the volume back up.

“Authorities have been called to the scene of what seems to be a hostage situation involving an adult male and two children. It appears that a team known as the X-Force have responded to the distress.”

“Where are my fucking kids, Wade?” Vivian asked to no one in particular.

"Sources have indicated gunfire but no confirmed casualties. No demands have been made yet."

Spiderman looked up at the TV with a certain amount of concern. “I should go help with that!”

Vivian shook her head and patted his back (on the side that hadn't been shot).“No, Spidey, that’s gonna be my job. But I’d appreciate you being on standby for when I murder Wade so you can take his place.”

The poor kid didn’t look like he knew whether to laugh or agree. Being a smart kid, he agreed. “Okay.”

“Take care of yourself, Spidey. I’m gonna go save my kids.”

---

“So, this is not going well,” Wade said, ducking behind a car parked in front of the warehouse.

“Ya think?” Cable yelled, ducking behind the same car. Jack had been firing out the door for some time now. Usually, they’d just barge in were it not for the fact that he had a second gun trained on both kids. “We need a game plan!”

Colossus leaned against the back bumper of the same car, peeking around the side every time the firing stopped. “I’d say wait until he runs out of bullets, but I’m afraid we’d be too late.”

A tiny black car rolled up beside them containing Vivian. She was not in a good mood.

“What the fuck is going on?” Vivian yelled, throwing open the car door.

“He already had a gun trained on them when we arrived at the house. Apparently something happened earlier and we walked in on it. He fled, we followed.” Colossus explained as gently as he could.

“What has he been saying?” Vivian asked, trying to peer into the half-open front door. The windows were all busted out, but she couldn’t see past the leftover dirty broken glass still attached to the window frames.

“Says no one can have them, if we get close, he’ll shoot, he’ll take care of his mutant kids himself. The works,” Wade replied. “Basic familial hostage situation.”

Vivian groaned. “Anyone got a plan? Hmm? Or are we just gonna stand here until one of those bullets actually makes contact?”

“I’ve got a plan,” Cable said, all-too-calmly. He’d reached the pinnacle of mercenary - cold, calculating, methodical. A perfect antithesis to Wade’s shoot-first method. “Deadpool and Colossus create a distraction and draw fire, since bullets won’t have any effect on them. Colossus may be able to de-escalate, anyway. I’ll sneak around behind the warehouse, go in through the back, and take him out before he hears me coming. Viv, you find a way to get up to the second floor and be on standby in case he fires in a direction we don’t want him to fire. You can put the bullet back in the chamber.”

“Works for me,” Wade said. He holstered both of the pistols in his hands.

Colossus nodded. “Agreed. I will try to talk him down.”

Vivian bit her lip. “There’s an AC unit around the side - should be tall enough for me to climb up onto the ledge to get to the second floor.”

Cable nodded. “I’m heading around back.”

The unit was directly under the end of a ladder that dangled into the open air. Vivian hopped on top of the AC unit with as little clanging and banging as she could manage. The edge of the ladder hung just within reach above the unit. She climbed the ladder and swung up onto the ledge, making a mental note to talk to Colossus about some serious training if they all made it out in one piece. She found a window out of the line of sight and crawled through it.

Jack was on the warehouse floor with Benji and Shelly, guns blazing. He had Benji tied to a column, still in his pajamas. Shelly was braced underneath one of Jack's arms.

Colossus and Wade both braced the door. Wade poked his head in just past the door frame. “Jack - this is ridiculous, just let them go.”

“Get back!”

“Come on, they’re your kids - you don’t want to hurt them.”

“I’d rather kill them myself than hand them over to you.”

“You really don’t want to do that!” Wade called back, poking his head past the door again. Another bullet whizzed by his head.

Vivian caught Cable creeping in the back out of the corner of her eye. He had yet to be seen by anyone else and she was still out of the line of sight. As Cable creeped in, Wade poked his head further past the front door.

“No, you don’t.”

Jack fired the gun trained on Benji. Vivian lashed out, freezing the bullet just before it hit the mark. She held steady just long enough to redirect the force from that distance. “Cable!”

“Send it back now! I’ve got them!”

Cable grabbed Shelly out from under Jack’s arm and shoved him just far enough into the path of the bullet that when Vivian sent it back, it caught him in the knee. He picked Shelly up and kicked the gun out of reach before untying Benji and sending him out the front door with Colossus and Deadpool.

Vivian climbed down the ladder and picked both of Jack’s guns up before leaning down over the man’s head. “None of this was necessary.”

“Get out of my face,” he said, spitting at her. “You took out my fucking knee cap.”

“You’re lucky I don’t take your head off,” Vivian replied, wiping the spit off of her shoe with the sleeve of his shirt.

“You gonna kill me?”

“You deserve it. But no - not in front of them. I’ll leave the cops to deal with you.”

“You can’t just leave me on the ground like this!”

“Watch me.”

Vivian slammed the warehouse door behind her. Colossus was directing the authorities into the building in a show of his usual responsibility. Benji sat on the ground at Wade’s feet, staring blankly at the sky and just letting the man fuss over him. Shelly was still firmly latched to Cable’s side. He stroked her hair and mumbled into her ear that she was okay, that everything was okay.

As soon as they caught sight of her, they launched themselves into her waiting arms. She let them cry, one on each shoulder, for the better part of two minutes before taking each one under her arm and directing them to her car.

“Let’s get you two somewhere safe,” Vivian said, motioning for Cable to follow her. Colossus trailed along while Wade caught up. “You’re both going to counseling first thing in the morning.”

Vivian put both of them in the backseat, then reached into the front to crank the car up. She shut the door and turned to Cable before grabbing him in a bone-crushing hug.

“Thank you,” she said, unwilling to let him go.

“Nothing to thank me for,” Cable replied, kissing the top of her head. “We’ll talk about it back at home.”

She grabbed Colossus and Wade in turn as they walked up. They all smelled like sweat and stress - unpleasant in the heat. “I’ll meet you three back there. I’m gonna go get them food.”

“We’re gonna go get their stuff,” Wade replied. “Then we’ll meet you back at the mansion.”

“Don’t case the place,” Vivian said, climbing into the front seat and shutting the door behind her. She rolled down the driver’s window. “On second thought - have fun.”

---

Vivian let herself into Cable’s room after she’d gotten Benji and Shelly settled in their respective rooms. She would stay the night again, and in the morning, she was going to get her stuff and set up her room at the mansion earlier than expected. She suspected she’d be spending more nights in Cable’s room than in her own, but it was far too soon to start piling her shit in his private space.

Cable looked up as she walked in. “How are they doing?”

Vivian flopped down on the bed, beyond exhausted. “They've both got counseling appointments in the morning. Benji seems comfortable enough in his room, but I guarantee Shelly won’t stay in her room tonight. She’ll be banging on the door in the next couple of hours.”

Cable fiddled with a gun over in the corner of a room, wiggling it apart so that he could clean it. A gun manual lay open in front of him on the table. “Maybe not. They could barely stay awake through dinner.”

“I could barely stay awake through dinner. I haven’t done that in years,” Vivian replied, stretching. Her arms were on fire, and she knew she’d be sore tomorrow. She really had to get on Colossus’ training schedule. “I can’t believe you’re not tired.”

He smirked, a rueful smile. “I’m used to it.”

“I know.” Vivian grabbed a pillow and pulled it to her chest. It was the pillow Cable usually slept on. It smelled like him. “What a terrible thing to be used to.”

“Yeah, it is,” he agreed, reattaching the gun parts after swabbing them with a soft cotton pad. “I’ll turn the light off if you want to go to sleep.”

“Please.”

Cable got up and padded over towards the light switch. He took a long look at her before switching off the light. Vivian had changed out of her work clothes and into a pair of pajamas, her hair piled up in a bun on top of her head. The circles under her eyes were worse than ever and it was barely 10PM. He flipped the light switch, leaving the room lit only by his desk lamp.

Instead of going back over to his desk, he crawled into bed next to her, back leaning against the headboard of the bed, and pulled her into his lap. She maneuvered so that her head rested against his abdomen, arms wrapped around one of his legs. He stroked her hair, nails dragging gently long her neck. She took his wrist and kissed the back of his hand, lips trailing along one of the veins.

“You need sleep,” Cable said. His hand ran across her shoulders, working at the knots of tension that he could find.

“Put me to sleep, then.”

He chuckled in her ear, running his hands up the back of her neck. “How about this: in the morning, after you get a full night’s sleep, I’ll make sure the door is locked and we’ll get the day started right.”

“And then you can take a shower with me.”

“That’s right.”

“Okay,” Vivian yawned, nuzzling into his leg. “Wake me up if they knock.”

“If they knock, I’ll take care of it.”

“That’s asking too much. You literally just met them this morning.”

“Doesn’t matter. If they don’t want me, I’ll come wake you up.”

Vivian didn’t say it, but in the thick haze of exhaustion, she caught herself thinking it. Those words. Those three terrifying words. She didn’t dare let that slip out, though. Not when they’d finally made progress. It was too much, too soon.

So instead, she went for the safer option. “Thank you.”

“You can thank me by sleeping.”

---

Cable had carefully extricated himself from Vivian’s grip after she’d finally gone to sleep and replaced his leg with a pillow. She didn’t know the difference; she was out like a light. He sat at his desk, tinkering with some weapon and a manual he was trying to interpret (he’d had to relearn a few things about past weapons). True to prediction, at approximately midnight came a soft knock at the door.

When the knock came, he pulled on a shirt and answered the door. On the other side of the wooden frame stood Shelly, hair disheveled from a restless sleep and eyes red. She blinked up at him blearily, her eleven-year-old brain working to comprehend what she was seeing.

“Where’s mom?” she asked, rubbing crusties out of her eyes. She carried a stuffed animal in one hand, obviously old and worn from use. It looked like a rabbit - or that it had once been a rabbit - but it was too old to really tell.

“Asleep,” Cable replied gently, “Like you should be.”

“I tried,” Shelly replied. “Water would help, but I don’t remember where the kitchen is.”

“Come on. I’ll get it for you.”

He guided her downstairs, treading lightly so as not to disturb anyone else. He could hear snores in several different rooms, mostly snores from people he hadn’t seen yet. Most of the other residents were gone during the day, so he didn’t usually run into anyone. He led her into one of the few tiny kitchenettes and grabbed a glass from an overhead cabinet, filling it with tap water. He handed her the glass and pulled out a chair at the kitchen table for her to sit at.

“Thank you, Cable.” Shelly took a sip and stared at him again. She had the same eyes as Vivian - wide and piercing, as if she could make you tell the truth just by staring at you. “Are you my mom’s boyfriend?”

He almost smiled. “We’ll talk about it in the morning, after you’ve slept. Now, finish that so you can go back to bed.”

Shelly drained the rest of her glass and left it on the table. “Just yes or no.”

“Yeah,” Cable replied. He took the glass and put it in the sink, making a mental note to come back and wash it in the morning. “Now, come on. Back to bed.”

#cable #cable imagines #cable x reader #cable headcanons #MCU!cable #deadpool #deadpool imagines #deadpool headcanons

19 notes · View notes