I come for Crosshair's neck.
Also, gotta love fourth wall breaks!

I abandoned Crosshair's gun and dove to the side into a sloppy shoulder roll, barely dodging Wrecker.

Great, more cardio! Except this time, instead of dodging a panther, squirrel monkey, and walking stick, I had to avoid a freight train! At least freight trains could only travel in a straight line and did not have good breaks. The trick, however, would be to stay out of its way.

It took him a moment to stop and turn but then he was charging at me again.

"Hey! C'mon man!" I protested, scrambling out of the way again. Sure, I liked the guy, but not enough to let him run me over.

Hunter stood to the side, arms crossed as he watched the scene unfold. "Wrecker, when you do catch her, don't break her."

"Asshole!" I yelled at him before shouting at Tech, "Tech! Little help!"

"He won't hurt you if he catches you! I think!" he yelped as he watched Wrecker gain on me.

"You think ?" I yelled, skidding to a halt and diving to the side again as Wrecker nearly caught me. "In case your goggles are smudged, this man is after me like a runaway freight train right now!"

"Just wanna get you back for kickin' my brothers!"

"Is there a non-violent way to get even for that?" I yelped, running towards the back of the ship. "Or is that a stupid question?"

"C'mon, Small Fry, I won't hurt ya bad!" Wrecker laughed, sounding like a supervillain.

"I am not small! I am a tall midget!" I retorted, dashing around the ship and sliding under the belly to cut back towards the trees. More dirt and grit stuck to me and stung my cuts but I had bigger issues right now. Rushing past Hunter, I growled, "You can stop this at any time you know!"

"I could," he acknowledged with a shrug as I charged past. "But I won't. This is rather enjoyable."

"To you !" I was running out of steam. "He breaks me, I can't hike!"

"Hmm, that's true." He paused. "I'll let karma deal with you for a bit longer," he decided as Wrecker barreled past him.

"I hope you step on a snake!" Scurrying up a tree, I kicked at Wrecker's hands as he reached upwards. "Begone! Go on! Git!"

He just laughed and continued to grab for my ankle. "Oh, come down here!"

Forget freight train, I had an overly excited rottweiler chasing me! I didn't sign up to be a squirrel! I tried to jump over Wrecker, but he abruptly turned and caught me in a near crushing grip, pinning me between two layers of hard armor. "Ack!"

"Gotcha again!" he laughed, holding me in the air.

Coughing, I noticed his grip was tight but not exactly painful. So, he had some control. Well that was a relief. I still did not enjoy this impromptu hug secession. His armor did not help matters, especially when he hugged me closer. "Ugh, I'd rather you run me over than cuddle me!" I complained, squirming.

"Then I'm holdin' you for the briefin'!"

"No! Tech!" I whined, looking over at the goggled trooper. "Help me out here!"

He raised his hands. "I don't think I'll get involved with this. Besides, you said yourself he'd get you back for kicking us."

"Excuse me for using self defense to defend my self !" I hissed, still wriggling in Wrecker's grip.

"You aren't getting out of his grasp, kid. Just give in."

I glared at Hunter. "No surrender, I die like a man."

"Cuddled to death isn't a very noble death, sweetheart ," Crosshair sneered at me, having recovered his gun.

"I will shove your rifle so far up your pretentious ass you'll be able to spit your shots!"

"Oh, I'm sure. You aren't in a position to be makin' threats." Crosshair stalked up to where Wrecker held me in the air. He looked me up and down before pulling the toothpick from his mouth and pointing it at me. "So, I'd watch your mouth if I were you."

"Go deepthroat a cactus, Twiggy!"

The various reactions of the men were hilarious. Tech winced and clutched his throat, Wrecker was completely silent as my insult sank in before he started cracking up, Hunter had a look of horror on his face, and Crosshair, for once, seemed at a loss for words.

I bared my teeth in a sneering grin. "Aw, what's wrong, Cross ? Cat got your tongue?" I laughed, lips still drawn back in a snarl. "If you think I'll take your bullshit lyin' down, you've got another thing comin', my guy. There's a reason none of the cocky boys in my senior class started shit with me, I came for their life. "

A smirk spread across his face. "Then I'll repay the favor, kitten ."

Oh hell no. Using Wrecker as a back brace, I rabbit kicked Crosshair in the chest and sent the sniper flying back off his feet. " Sweetheart I'll tolerate. Call me kitten and I'll drop your stick bug lookin' ass. Try me."

Hunter stepped forward, his expression reminding me of the second episode's start; Profoundly uncomfortable. "Wrecker, get her on the ship so we can explain what's going on."

"Ok, Sarge!" Wrecker yelled, heading to the ship. "You really are a feisty Small Fry!" he commented to me, adjusting his grip as he walked past a fuming Crosshair who sat on the ground.

"You're gonna make me go deaf!" I protested, leaning away from him.

"Er, it takes much more than that for you to go deaf," Tech chirped shyly as he followed, technical as always. "Besides, if none of us have gone deaf yet, you will not."

You don't have superhuman hearing , I thought bitterly as Wrecker carried me up the steps.

I had always dreamed of actually seeing the inside of the Havoc Marauder . But not like this. However, I resigned myself to my fate as Wrecker headed for one of the seats within the ship. Spinning around, he plopped down in one of the chairs. I wriggled, trying to get comfortable. Armor did not make for a good seat. Grumbling, I crossed my arms and rested them over his.

Crosshair stepped into the ship and gave me a condescending grin. "Comfortable, kitten ?"

Narrowing my eyes, I reached out and used a faint telekinetic shove to make him stumble. When he glared at me, I smiled sweetly. "Oops."

"I'll get you back yet," he swore, all but baring his teeth at me.

I chuckled, pretty sure I matched his laugh from the first episode. "Can't wait, Twiggs McGee."

Hunter stepped in. "That's enough for now."

Crosshair and I glared at each other but didn't make another comment.

Tech walked in and set his helmet on the console before walking towards the back of the ship. I grew tense when I saw him take the syringe out of a pouch on his armor, but thankfully he did not bring it towards me. Instead he vanished to elsewhere in the ship to most likely put it wherever they kept their pointy toys.

Glancing around, I studied the inside of the spacecraft, filing the information away for story purposes later. I meant for my originals to have a sci-fi feel... but I sucked at technology. Lots of multicolored lights covered the control panels and walls, and I wondered what some of them did. Was the Havoc Marauder like a spy car? Full of hidden secret agent tricks? It did belong to the Bad Batch after all. Tech had probably installed who knew what kind of advanced weaponry in this ship?

I glanced towards the cockpit, hoping they'd let me in there to investigate the controls. Hell maybe I could bother Tech to give me a tour around the inside of the ship. He'd probably love to chatter for hours about the different ins and outs of the ship.

As if on cue, Tech emerged from the back, carrying something else in his hand. Making his way over to me, he raised the canister. "Bacta." He gave me a shy smile. "Apology for... earlier."

" Why are we wasting our supplies on her?" Crosshair demanded of Hunter as the shaggy haired sergeant walked in. "After what she did to us, I say let her deal with the pain."

Tech came to my rescue. "We're the reason she's hurt."

Crosshair threw up his hands and walked out, probably to find himself a toothpick.

"Thanks, Tech." I glanced at the canister. "Gel or spray?"

"Spray, can you tilt your head to the side so I can reach the cut on your clavicle?" A small, mischievous grin accompanied his words, and I realized it was a strange test of sorts to see if I had a good knowledge of bones.

You are a strange little man, Tech . "Yeah, you can spray it on my collarbone." I mirrored his small grin and pulled the collar of my shirt down so he could reach it. I then had to hope my face wasn't as red as it felt as me got closer, bracing a hand on my shoulders to steady me.

Stomach, you'd better digest those damn butterflies this minute .

"Your ears are twitching again," he commented, an almost playful grin on his face as he sprayed my cut.

I hissed in pain as the disinfectant stung. Oh great, now there's a migratory swarm in my stomach.

"Her ears wiggle?" Wrecker asked, leaning to the side.

Irritable as another wave of pain raced through the disinfected cuts, I growled low. "You touch," I warned as he reached up to brush some hair back, "I bite."

He didn't seem to believe me, but when his fingers brushed my ear, I jerked my head to the side and snapped my teeth at his hand. Catching one of his fingers, I locked my jaw to keep a hold without biting his finger in half. He yelped and tried to pull it back but I growled and kept a hold on it. The odd tug o' war lasted until my tongue brushed his glove after which I quickly spat his finger out.

"Yuck! The hell your hand been?!"

Wrecker, meanwhile, shook his hand. "Sharp teeth!"

"I warned you!"

"Shadow, I can't administer this if you're moving around," Tech huffed, now holding my wrist to keep it steady as he moved on to my arm.

"Tell that to Wrecker!" I complained.

"Wrecker, I can't administer this if she's moving around."

Well well, the nerd has dry humor.

"I just wanted to see her ears move!" Wrecker complained.

"You'll see them later, she's going to lead us to the Vault," Hunter said from where he leaned against the console, arms crossed. He'd stayed quiet during the whatever-it-was between Wrecker and me, but I swore he looked amused.

Great... stuck with this for three or more days . I thought I'd been salty with the sailors but this... this was a new level of salt. I'd be saltier than the Dead Sea if this kept up.

Nevertheless, as Tech moved to my leg where a long gash stretched up the outside, I warned, "Tech, may want to move to the side. I've got one hell of a leg reflex and I don't want to kick you in the face." Salty as I was, I didn't wish the nerd harm.

"I'll note that," he remarked, shifting out of the way and grabbing my ankle.

Sure enough, the moment the spray hit the side of my leg I snarled in pain and jerked my leg. That burned like a bitch! Better than Tom pouring alcohol on your gash that time. What an idiot. A well-meaning idiot, but an idiot nevertheless.

"Don't worry, Small Fry, it won't hurt for much longer!" Wrecker chuckled, patting my head much to my annoyance. I could have let the one pat slide, but then he began to stroke it. "Soft!"

Absolutely not ! "Wrecker! No pets!"

"Your hair is soft like Hunter's!"

Cursing his tactile nature, I snapped as his hand again, causing hair to fall into my eyes. He'd learned from last time, unfortunately, and my teeth clacked shut inches from his finger. I hissed and shook my head to clear my vision. "Cease your antics!"

His arm tightened around my waist. "I'm not gonna hurt you!"

"I'll hurt you if you don't stop strokin' my damn hair!" I hissed, opting instead to try and bat away his large hand. That of course escalated quickly, and I soon found myself in a bizarre hand-slapping battle with Wrecker.

"No touchy!"

"But it's soft!"

"You can't even feel texture through your gloves!"

"It's fluffy!"

"That's not fluff, that's humidity!"

What even is my life ?

Hunter cleared his throat. "Hate to interrupt..." He gestured vaguely. "Whatever this is, but can you two pay attention?"

"I know what's goin' on, Sarge!" Wrecker protested, trying to grab and hold my arms down.

While Hunter looked quite amused at my unorganized slapping, he shook his head. "She doesn't. Stop."

Wrecker finally stopped and dropped his hand. To my chagrin, his hand landed on my knee. I shoved it off with a growl, but he flopped it back on. Thus, another battle had begun which consisted of me pushing his hand off and him flopping it back on my leg. The armored limb that still curled around my waist tightened more, his large hand pressing against my side.

His hands are warm, though. And he's muscular, but gentle when he wants to be. Probably would be good for cuddles without the armor!

Stop it, I hissed at the touch starved portion of my brain. It was bad enough that I was so touch-starved that if I had skin on skin contact with someone not in my immediate family I'd probably have an out of body experience, but now I was stuck with Wrecker who had the same grasp of personal space as a golden retriever puppy.

" Wrecker ," Hunter barked. "We do have a mission. You two can wrestle later." Ignoring my death stare, Hunter walked over and shut the hatch to the Marauder . "Kid, listen up."

Seeing the door shut made me twitch, and I grunted Wrecker tightened his grip. "Erf. Hey, I need to breathe!"

"I'm not holdin' you that tight!" he objected.

"I am all of five and a half feet tall, and you're what? Six six? Six seven? You literally have taken to callin' me 'Small Fry'!" I squirmed, kicking his shins. "You're worse than one of the sailors was when it comes to invadin' my bubble for cuddles!"

"Wrecker, let her go."

"What if she runs again?" Crosshair growled as he came back in, another toothpick between his teeth.

I showed him a single finger. "Suck my non-existent dick."

"She won't." Hunter locked eyes with me and raised an eyebrow. "Will you?"

Slapping Wrecker's arm again, I huffed, "No. I get it. I agreed to help, and I don't make a habit of going back on my word." I glared behind me at Wrecker. "I just am not a hugger."

Tech spoke up. "May want to get used to it. He'll probably do it again." He started to gesture again, alerting me to incoming trivia. "Did you know hugging is good for mental health and can help improve your immune system?"

"Also good for heart health and helps strengthen trust between people," I added with a snort. "You aren't the only one with a head full of trivia, Tech."

Tech frowned, brows furrowing.

Cute .

Stop that. You'll set off Hunter's senses and then where will we be?!

"Then... why do you not like hugs?"

"Don't you guys have a reason for chasin' me down and givin' me a cardio workout to last me the next week?" I grumbled. It was easier to say I didn't like hugs than try and explain that I had a sensory disorder that could cause me to become physically violent when my literal body reacted negatively to touch. I actually loved hugs, but I'd never know when the disorder would be set off. Sometimes it was, sometimes it wasn't. How could I explain something I didn't even understand? There was a reason my lab papers were always bullshit. I didn't know shit and couldn't explain shit. "Also, Wrecker, kindly release me."

Wrecker groaned unhappily and let me go. I hopped up, finally off that man's lap, and gave his arm a final swat before I leaned against the wall, crossing my arms. I looked Hunter over before meeting his eyes again. "You've got my full attention, sergeant."

Finally... it's been eight chapters since this story started . Time to find out what the deal is.