Hello! I'm so much later than I normally am. I'm sorry! I ran out of reserve chapters and had to type this up from scratch. I got distracted last night playing with character images.
You wanna see them? Go to cassprincess DOT tumblr Dot com
You won't be sorry. I have a firePuck picture! 3
This chapter title is taken from Bruno Mars "Grenade", which is one of my new favorite songs. The whole CD is awesome, actually. Thanks as always for being the most awesome Glee fanfic readers ever. I'll see you tomorrow with a new action packed chapter.
Misfit Toy Hero Squad
Chapter 21 – "Tina'd Put Her Hand on a Blade For You"
Friendship is a miraculous thing. The speed can be planted within seconds. It can bloom into the most powerful and resilient tree in mere moments. It can be planted in the driest of dirt, the most harsh of conditions, the most inhospitable of environments and still, with the proper seed, it will flourish.
Once fully grown, it can carry the heaviest of burdens. Pain, death, betrayal. It doesn't matter. It will always be there, in the most surprising of ways, even when you least expect it to be.
"Are we all adequately prepared?" Rachel asked in her most professional tone as she surveyed her team carefully. The half-hour of preparation that Quinn had suggested earlier had been one of the best ideas that any of them had ever had. Gone were the dejected and depressed faces of the Gleeks and in their place were faces of determination, tenacity and hope.
"Sparky, I got so prepared that I can still feel my toes tingling," Santana smirked lazily, her hair clearly rumpled in the same manner that Artie's and Brittany's were. Their unholy trifecta was evidenced by the three of them with their pinkies linked. "Although don't be jealous, I'd still go and prepare the hell out of you, if you wanted."
"Back off, Ariel," Puck rolled his eyes, before settling in on Artie's blissful face and giving his bro a mental high five. Artie seemed to know what he was doing and his head bobbed up and down ever so slowly as a prideful grin broke out on his face. He looked to Rachel and could feel her thoughts straying into a quick recap of what Artie, Brittany and Santana had done in preparations for their little mission. He nudged her side a bit and raised an eyebrow before beaming his thought to her. You know, unless you could be persuaded a little down the line, if you ever get bored-
Highly unlikely, Noah. Rachel almost laughed at the idea, knowing that he had seen the same things as she had. She doubted she would ever get bored of that.
Still…I know Satan-a would be willing. Probably Brittany too. But you know that I was never really good with sharing, so…
"Stop doing that!" Tina smacked the back of Puck's head suddenly. She leveled a withering glare at his mask of sudden innocence and shrewdly assessed, "Rae's ears are turning red. You guys are thinking nasty thoughts again."
"Can you turn that part of your brain off for like, two seconds, Sex Shark?" Mercedes wondered ruefully. "We're supposed to be getting ready for the ultimate showdown."
"I'm so ready to punch Jerky in the face and see if his nose stays broken," Puck grinned happily to himself. He looked to Tina curiously and wondered, "It hurts every time you heal, right?"
"It's fucking insanely painful," Tina promised.
"Then I'm all good, either way there's pain," Puck shrugged.
"Are we blipping out?" Sam wondered, looking at the broken stair that would have lead them up to the McKinley gymnasium.
"No, we should conserve the group's energy," Rachel insisted. "We may need it."
"I got it," Kurt promised, staring at the machine that had been disabled by the government agents when they had rushed away from their capture mission. He focused on the machine and his very clear need for it to be working. Ten seconds passed before the stair creekily made its way down. He sighed and shrugged resignedly, "It's the best I can do. I wouldn't trust it with more than one person at this point. Finn?"
"Got it," Finn nodded, stepping on the lift before it slowly and shakily made its way to the top where the doors leading to their escape remained closed. Finn reached out his hands and pushed with all of his considerable strength, until a large popping sound suddenly echoed throughout the underground facility as he literally broke the doors completely, pushing the steel through the wood floors of the gym.
Once the echoing noise of broken wood planks clattering upstairs, Mike began stretching people up to the exit, as Sam began to fly everyone up one at a time as well. They were on the floor of the gym in no time and looked around warily. Becky rushed into the gymnasium, even though they were pretty sure it was a Sunday evening at that point.
"What the heck have you done?" Becky demanded angrily, looking down at the ruined McKinley High Titans logo in the middle of the gym floor. "Coach is not going to like this, guys."
"Sorry Becky," Brittany apologized sincerely. "We were stuck down there."
"Coach hasn't gotten in touch with me for hours," Becky revealed suddenly. "Are you guys going to go and rescue her?"
"That's the plan," Brittany grinned.
"Try not to get yourselves killed," Becky sighed in resignation before reaching for her Blackberry in her back pocket. She began thumbing through her contacts, anxious to find the proper repairmen for this particular situation. "Those mean government guys can't be too far away."
"Thanks, Becky!" Brittany waved goodbye cheerfully as the rest of the Gleeks waved goodbye as well.
"Are you guys really ready to go out again? I mean…our track record outside is pretty much disaster," Mercedes said to no one in particular as they began walking towards the emergency exits of the gym.
"We don't really have a choice," Quinn shrugged. "I mean, we weren't given a choice during the master planning session."
"We're going to be okay," Sam promised. "We're all going to be fine."
They still paused as a group, Puck with his hands on the door, hesitating for a second. They had been relatively safe under the school, that much was true. They had defended their new home well, with little effort on anyone's part but Stubbs. But when the people that were trying to protect them were in danger, well, that left very little choice. He pushed on the door and they were suddenly assaulted with the cool, crisp December air.
"No explosions yet, that's a good sign," Blaine nodded happily as they all walked out of the school, Brittany pushing Artie along with the group. "I mean, I thought there'd be heavy artillery waiting out here for us."
"You're totally jinxing it, shut up, Blaine!" Quinn hissed at the boy.
"No explosion yet," Blaine took another step. "Still not exploded." Another step. "Nope, all in one piece." Another step and he looked to Puck with a smirk, "Hey big guy, you feel fire around here from any explosions?"
"Nope," Puck smirked as Quinn glared daggers at Blaine in her trademark annoyance.
"Still good, no-" Blaine kept mocking Quinn's theory until she couldn't take it anymore and launched herself at him, her hands over his mouth as he kept trying to annoy her through muffled reassurances of there not being any explosions yet.
"No offense, Kurt, but I'm going to maim your boyfriend!" Quinn promised, her voice low and dangerous even though there was a hint of a smile playing at her lips.
"Leave the good parts," Mercedes demanded as Kurt suddenly became mute as his face turned a lovely tomato red. She pinched her friends arm as his eyes still became large and saucer-like.
"Nothing to explode here," Mike announced jovially, causing Quinn to let go of Blaine and chase him. She quickly discovered that it wasn't quite the easiest thing in the world to chase a person who could bend their whole body away from you.
"All good still, no explosions!" Brittany called out helpfully. She furrowed her brow when Quinn turned on her heal and went after her. "Why are you mad? I thought we were playing a game of find the explosion?"
"Clear of explosions, still!" Sam called out, his eyes lighting up in definite delight and anticipation as Quinn refocused all of her attention back to him, jumping on his back and wrapping her arms around his throat in a playful strangling hold.
"You're such a nerd!" Quinn accused with a happy giggle.
"We almost look normal," Rachel whispered to Puck. He smiled down at her in question and she shrugged, "I mean, we're just a bunch of kids leaving the school, goofing off. It's nice."
"It's normal," Puck nodded.
"I've never been normal before," Rachel admitted sadly. She shivered slightly and let her hands fidget with the end of her scarf. "It took becoming extraordinary to get to normal."
"YOU aren't normal, you're always extraordinary," Puck wrapped an arm around her, warming her up instantaneously.
"Cheesy bastard," Santana muttered from right next to Rachel. She slipped her hand over Rachel's and squeezed. "So, what do you say Sparkplug? I think we should set up a schedule. You like schedules right? I mean, they make you hot…"
"Being organized and prepared for any and all situations is very important to me, Santana," Rachel admitted, her voice slightly coy and flirty as she spared a glance up at Puck's amused and altogether suddenly annoyed visage. "I enjoy arriving promptly."
"Arriving," Brittany giggled before she bent down to whisper an explanation in a confused Artie's ear.
"THE VAN!" Mike yelled. He laughed and bounded towards the church van that was parked twenty feet away from where the Gleeks were. "Pastor Wen totally did us a solid, baby, he left us keep the van! We can drive to Jesse St. Bunghole's house now, right?"
"Asian drivers suck!" Puck coughed. A small, but powerful fist found the side of his face with an undeniable amount of force. "OW!"
Tina unclenched her fist with some amount of pain before shaking her hand and allowing the bones to fall back into place, "You have the hardest head, ever. I think you broke my knuckles."
"You broke your knuckles on his head," Finn clarified helpfully.
"I suppose you learn to make these distinctions after the first twenty times you accidentally broke something of yours by hitting something of Puck's?" Kurt wondered sarcastically of his step-brother. He hadn't been cohabitating with Finn long before he realized that the emergency room visits alone were the reason health insurance was failing in the United States. The rest of the Gleek's joined a ridiculously excited Mike at the van and Kurt scrutinized it carefully. He shrugged and looked to Rachel to report, "The van is totally functional and there are no bombs on it, so I don't see why we can't use it."
"Do you mean to say that its-" Blaine paused dramatically and looked to Quinn specifically his eyes turning slightly maniacal, "EXPLOSION FREE?"
"Once we're inside the warm van, I'm going to hold you down and pluck your precious eyebrows into thin strips," Quinn muttered. She looked around at the assembled group and demanded, "Why aren't we in the warm car? Not everyone's boyfriend is a furnace heater, Rachel."
"Oh you know, maybe because I died the first time by being thrown through the stupid windshield?" Tina scoffed. Everyone grew very serious and quiet very quickly until Tina rolled her eyes and laughed, "I'm kidding. It's freezing out here, let's drive, please."
Kurt mentally asked for the locks to pop and everyone clamored into the van. Puck hotwired the car for Mike and looked around at the twelve faces of the Gleek's, seeing that some were curious or surprised. He shrugged and said, "Uhm, I'm Puck? Have we met?"
"Let's roll people!" Blaine called out anxiously. "I could have been there and back like, fifty times by now."
"You should have more patience," Finn lectured sternly, giving his best glare to his step-brother's maybe boyfriend. "Kurt likes patience."
"If you don't stop talking right now, I'm going to make Tina break her hand on your face this time," Kurt hissed at Finn.
"I'm just saying," Finn shrugged at Kurt innocently until the boy looked away and he spared one quick suspicious angry glare at Blaine again.
Mercedes giggled besides Finn and poked at his arm. He wrapped an arm around her and swiftly pulled her closer to him on the bucket seat. They settled in quietly and observed the rest of the Gleek's who were blissfully unaware of the slight, innocent cuddling in the backseat of the van as they rumbled down the road. Tina was being a good sport and sitting in the front seat next to Mike as he drove down the road as carefully as possible, obviously not wanting to earn a permanent reputation as a sucky driver. Asian or not.
Puck had Rachel in his lap in the row behind the driver's seat. Santana was squished next to them, and Brittany was happily sitting in Artie's chair. Blaine and Kurt sat next to each other and right beside a still playful Quinn and Sam. They looked like they were just going to another school function. They didn't even resemble the group of supernaturally gifted young people that they were.
"Quinn?" Brittany asked suddenly.
"Yeah, B?" Quinn wondered as Sam placed tickling kisses on her jawline.
"Are we still playing that game?" Brittany wondered.
"What game?" Quinn furrowed her brow.
"You know…explosion?" Brittany shrugged. "Cause Artie just said there's going to be one, and I'd like to win the game."
"STOP THE VAN!" Tina yelled. She squeaked as Mike immediately complied. She took one moment to look back at everyone and barked out her orders in her most commanding tone, "Stay here, Quinn, force field the hell up!"
Tina hopped out of the car and stood in front of it as she squinted into the distance. True enough, a block and a half down the street were a line of black SUV's heading their way. She saw the streetlights glinting off of a small, circular metal object and she swallowed in sudden nervousness, but stood her ground as it landed in front of her.
"So that's what a real grenade looks like," Tina shrugged, before pulling back her leg immediately and kicking with as much force as she could muster. Thank God for all of those martial arts classes her dad made her take no matter how many times her five year old self had complained about it being completely stereotypical.
"What the hell is she doing?" Puck demanded, standing with Rachel awkwardly in the van as he tried to make his way to the door. He found that he couldn't make his way out due to the strength of Quinn's force field and he stared back at her, "Open up Fabray!"
"Tina said…" Quinn began, but was quickly cut off by the sound of the grenade Tina had kicked away from the van explode less than twenty yards away.
"MOTHER FUCKING FUCKER!" Tina shouted in equal parts annoyance and pain. "I'm gonna kick some government balls. Just wait until those bastard shitheads get close enough for me to fucking OBLITERATE their testicles!"
"LET ME OUT FABRAY!" Puck roared, as Mike squeezed his way past and started banging on the blue bubble that protected the van.
"Q?" Brittany questioned as Artie shook in his seat. She nodded in understanding and looked back at Quinn as she was clearly torn on following Tina's selfless request and helping out. "It's okay…she can't do it alone, even if she thinks she can…"
"Giddy up, fuckers," Santana said, pushing at both Puck and Mike to get out of the van and the bubble. "Time to kick some ass."
"Here comes another one!" Sam shouted as he stared into the distance.
Quinn's resolve broke and Mike was out of the van in an instant, bending his body so that it was next to Tina's. Puck followed quickly as well as Santana. Rachel followed and stood behind Puck, placing a hand on his back as they instantly came up with a way to deal with the grenade. He held a hand out and concentrated for one intense second before the grenade blew up prematurely in the air, a much better distance away than the first.
Santana pushed at one of the nearby fire hydrants and extinguished the flames that floated in the air before they could land on anything incredibly flammable.
"What are you assholes doing? I said stay in the fucking van!" Tina yelled, as she winced from the pain of her skin healing over her new burns.
"Tina?" Rachel questioned primly as Santana was still at work with the water from the hydrant, causing an icy slick to extend on the ground in front of them, offering them a booby trap of sorts.
"Yeah, Rae?" Tina huffed.
Rachel smiled and shrugged, knowing at that point there was only one language her friend would understand. They weren't leaving her face this alone. "Shut the HELL up!"
Thoughts? Theories? Questions?
Jesse will eventually be found and gotten to, promise. There's a little fun to be had before that though. I hope you enjoyed tonight's chapter. I hope to add more banners to my tumblr soon. Have a wonderful night and look tomorrow for...
Chapter 22 – "This Is A Dance For All The Heroes, Taking A Chance With One Another"