I was thinking lately about relations between Overkill and Midnight. I decided to write this little story.

It also includes a little headcanon about Christian Soldier. At first I'br tried to add certain dialogue between Overkill and Midnight, but i decided to tone it down, because I struggled with protrayal of Midnight's atheism.

Anyway, please, review!

Late night talks with your frenemy

"Glad you've made it." Overkill said, standing in the middle of the abandoned skateboard park. "I almost thought you won't come."

"And miss the opportunity to kick your backside? You wish!" Midnight stopped few steps away from the vigilante.

"You know the rules: no fire."

"And no weapons, Overkill." The dog pointed out.

"As you can see, I didn't bring any." Overkill spread his arms. "Besides, I can take you down without it."

"That's a funny joke you've just said. But let's not postpone your inevitable failure."

They exchanged stern looks and even growled at each other, before assuming the fighting positions. Midnight was the first to attack – he jumped on Overkill and deepened his teeth in the man's arm. Estevan didn't waste any time and immediately threw the dog on the nearest wall. The pain forced Midnight to let go but he quickly pulled himself together to try again. This time he aimed for the neck. But Overkill knew Midnight will make this move, and so he kicked the canine.

They were fighting for about half an hour. If someone was observing this fight that night, they would probably think Overkill and Midnight will soon kill each other, but the thing is – they were pulling their punches. Overkill was throwing Midnight hard enough to cause him pain, but not enough to cause any serious damage. Likewise, Midnight's bites were always shallow to not cut his opponent's throat. No matter how pissed off they were on each other, there was always this voice in the back of their heads preventing them from going too far.

Because Straight Shooter had to come back to Uncle Samson, and Onward had to come back to Christian Soldier…

Because they were on the same team and one does not simply kill a teammate…

Because as much as they hated each other, they hated bad guys even more…

Soon they found themselves completely exhausted. And so Overkill leaned his back on the nearest ramp while Midnight lied down next to him, breathing heavily with opened mouth. Overkill looked up at the starry sky and let himself be lost in this view. Once Midnight regulated his breath, he gazed up too.

For the first couple of minutes the two fighters weren't talking to each other. And in this silence between them, a lot could be conveyed. They liked it more than normal talking. But there were times when after another battle, they felt like chatting.

Midnight looked at Overkill and noticed almost immediately that the man seemed very somber. Something was obviously troubling him.

"So," The dog decided to speak. "what's the real reason for this pleasant meeting?"

Overkill looked down at him and raised eyebrows. Then he immediately moved his eyes on the space in front of them.

"Come on, kid." Midnight encouraged him. "There's obviously something on your mind. There is something you don't want to tell your boat and any of your new friends. So what is it?"

Overkill gave him another one quick glance before he came back to staring at view in front of him and finally spoke up:

"There is this girl… I think I might like her."

"Let me guess," Midnight began. "it's this little blonde that lately seems to follow you everywhere."

"She's not following me." Overkill pointed out with annoyance, finally turning his full attention to the dog. "We are working together."

"Sure, whatever you say, kid. Anyway, am I right? You like her?"

"Yes." The vigilante replied and Midnight was fairly certain that if it wasn't for the nightly darkness, he would see Overkill blushing.

"How is she like? My guess is that she must possess a saintly patience to put up with you."

"She's great." The man smiled to his thoughts. "She's smart, she's brave, she kicks ass and she's perfect in every possible way."

"But…?" Midnight asked.

Overkill's smile weakened and his gaze landed on the concrete surface right in front of his feet.

"My last girlfriend stole the codes to Flag Ship."

"Oh, yeah, Lint was a… well I would say 'bitch' but it would be an insult to all female dogs on the planet." Midnight commented.

Of course he knew how Terror got the codes. There was a really long time when he hated Straight Shooter for getting himself distracted by a pretty face, but after couple of fights, he realized that the kid must have felt like a fool now. Neither one of them was whole after what happened to their family…

"Anyway," Overkill went on. "ever since that time I've tried to stay away from women."

"Well," Midnight replied. "you know what Bob Marley said: 'No woman, no cry'."

"That's right." Overkill agreed, pointing finger at his interlocutor. "I thought: If I won't associate with any woman, she won't break my heart. For last twenty or so years it worked perfectly… And then came the Everest kid and this big blue idiot, and Dot, and now I'm fucked." He gave a soft sigh and continued, voice quiet, eyes on the ground: "When I'm standing next to her, I feel just like back then, with Lint." He put his hand on his left chest and squeezed it. "My heart is pounding faster and I actually want to touch her…" He stopped and moved his hand away. "But then I remember Lint and everything just seems tainted. Besides," He said in his more usual tough guy tone. "it's so stupid. I'm not a teenager anymore."

Midnight was staring at him for a couple of seconds, before he sat more comfortably, crossed his paws and rested his head on them.

"Do you remember how I joined Flag Five?" He asked after moment of silence.

Since he wasn't in Flag Five at the time, at first Overkill gave the dog a weird look before he finally replied:

"Chris found you in the lab."

Midnight felt tears coming to his eyes at the memory of his friend, but he pulled himself together. In the peaceful silence of the night, he went on:

"Before Chris, I didn't know what love is. For the human scientists working in the lab, I was merely a subject of their experiments. A mindless animal they could poke with needles and torture to satisfy their sick curiosity. So you see, kid, I didn't like humans very much."

Overkill didn't say anything and Midnight was happy he didn't.

"And then came Flag Five to put a stop to the lab."

"Hey, guys! There's something here!" The dog smiled to his memories.

"And I was found by Christian Soldier. Back then he seemed to me like a just another human who was going to hurt me. But he didn't."

"Sweet, merciful God, what those bastards did to you?!"

Strange man in red jacket and a helmet opened the cage and moved aside to let the black puppy out…

"What he saw in this lab was a poor, troubled creature that needed to be treated. And since I couldn't walk on my own, he tried to hold me in his arms." Midnight got quiet as he delved more into his memories. "I remember that my first instinct was to bite him. After all, for me it was another stranger reaching to take me… But Chris didn't mind it. He only looked me in the eyes and smiled, still extending arms towards me. Any other dog would consider the eye contact as a sign of aggression, but I was rather intrigued. You see, unlike the scientists in the lab, the man before me didn't grab me by the collar or sedated me in any way. He was just waiting for my move."

"And what did you do?" Overkill asked.

"I sniffed his hand and when after three minutes of waiting he was just standing in front of me, waiting for my reaction, I've decided to trust him. I tried to crawl to him, so he attempted to take me up again. He was very gentle, trying not to touch any of my wounds. He did, however, carefully wrapped his jacket around me so I would be warm. This was also new – someone being mindful of my discomfort…"

It was such a weird feeling… Being held by a human and for once not feeling threatened in any way. Midnight often missed those gentle arms…

"Chris treated my wounds and gave me home. He was walking me through the park, so I could see how world looks like. He was comforting me when I had a nightmare and petting me behind the ear when I was down. And when I started to talk, he taught me how to read and write. He even gave me a name. Thanks to him, I knew that not all humans are bad. Thanks to him, I know what love is."

Midnight hated that the memory of Chris was giving him so much pain. He hated that he couldn't think about his rescuer and best friend without thinking also about his senseless death. If he believed in God, he would at least had hope that Chris is in Heaven now. But since there was no god who would prevent good people from dying, Midnight comforted himself by the thought that Christian Soldier wasn't in pain; and that people were still remembering him.

Overkill stared at his companion in silence, probably not knowing how to reply to that whole story. There was probably a lot of things he would like to say about Midnight's honoring Christian Soldier's memory and about Good Intentions but he didn't say anything. Maybe he just didn't want to ruin the moment.

"You see, love at its core is about wanting good for the others." Midnight concluded. "It's based on compassion, respect and selflessness. And in relationship it always should be mutual. Just like I learned to trust humans because Chris showed me love, you might be able to trust again."

"I know." Was Overkill's quiet reply.

There was another moment of silence as the two former team members were sitting, deep in their own thoughts. And suddenly Midnight felt someone's hand on his back; a hand that started to pet him. Strangely enough Overkill's mechanical hand wasn't heavy. It seemed that Estevan put also a lot of effort into making his movement as gentle as possible. His hand wasn't human; it was hard and cold. Yet somehow it felt right.

"You miss him, do you?" Overkill asked, still petting his companion.

His hands weren't human anymore. They were just metal prosthetics, highly advanced but still just that. And yet they felt almost human; and yet they were reminding Midnight of Chris' gentle touch. And it was really fitting – a dog without his owner being pet by man without hands.

"Almost as much as you miss Uncle Samson." Midnight replied, his voice cracking.

A sudden realization hit Midnight.

"It's the first time you're petting me, you know." He said. "You never did that as Straight Shooter."

"Well, you never licked my face as Onward. And if you start, I may as well break your neck at this very moment." He replied harshly, but surprisingly enough, he didn't stop the petting.

"It's a shame, really." Midnight said suddenly. "I will never know how Straight Shooter's hand feels like. Now I will only know Overkill's."

Overkill stopped and took his hand off the dog. Then he rapidly stood up.

"Thanks for the fight." He said, not even looking at his opponent. "I need to go back, before Dangerboat sends someone after me."

He started to walk towards the exit. Midnight didn't move. He just called after him:

"For what is worth, they felt human."

Overkill stopped and turned around.

"I don't need your pity, mongrel."

"And I never gave you any, brat." Midnight smirked.

Overkill smirked back. Only then they parted ways.

The next day Dot came by and visited Overkill. She was obviously worried and displeased with vigilante's wounds, nevertheless she proceeded with treating them. Overkill didn't say much. He was too busy calming his heartbeat.

"Why can't you two just talk?" Dot asked, cleaning the large bite mark on his neck.

"We talk." Overkill replied. "After the fight."

"I know that some guys like to beat each other up and then talk like normal people, but it's still stupid. One of those days, you will be killed. And not in the blaze of glory but by a former mascot. Can you imagine lamer death?"

Overkill gave a small chuckle.

"As if this flee-bag was able to kill me."