"you abominable hypocrite!"
● warning: racism—aka Brandy who is a warning of her own—and violent threats ●
Andi sat crossed-legged on a crypt in the cemetery, polishing her brass knuckles with the hem of her untucked, white button-down. They weren't the first Atypical Combat class of the day, so luckily the blonde had been able to get a heads-up from Zara and Diana about what to expect for their test.
So, she waited and listened. Not to Brandy, of course. The bigoted blonde never knew when to shut the fuck up. No, instead Andi did her best to drown her out and focus on the background noise, trying to listen for any subtle shifts. A crunch of a dead leaf. The shuffle of a shoe sole against the porous concrete. Anything but her obnoxious roommate.
But then Brandy turned her sights on Maria as she grew bored. Talking aloud hoping someone would pay her attention wasn't cutting it anymore. Now, the Dixie Mob leader wanted a reaction. She wanted a show.
"Just so you know," Brandy started, directing her words to the Latina beauty who laid on the crypt across from Andi. "I don't believe what they're saying." Andi's fingers stopped from their incessant polishing for a split second before continuing once again. The curly-haired blonde was obviously referring to the Chico rumors. "I know how much you loved him. Everyone could see it."
Brandy sat up and pulled down on the sleeves of her cheer uniform before addressing the new Soto Vatos leader once again. "I'll tell you the—the time when I really saw it was during that pop quiz..." Even from Andi's spot across from her, the platinum blonde girl could see Maria's head tilt in Brandy's direction. She could see the tick at the corner of her mouth, barely concealed by her elaborate Day of the Dead makeup. Even Saya stopped her rigorous practice to glance warily at the exchange. "'Cause I lay there, and I watched you give the antidote to everyone except Chico."
Brandy moved from her spot to lean next to Maria, looking down at her while the dark-haired girl stayed silent, not even meeting her eyes. "There you were," the blonde continued. "Sitting over him, as he was choking and dying, and you waited an eternity to give him that leaf. And I know you did that because you just... love him so much" Brandy's voice caught, mockingly choking up like she was about to cry, "I mean, what else could it be?" When Maria still refused to give the blonde anymore of a response, Brandy's voice grew hard again, biting. "What? You thought I was just some dumb hillbilly who couldn't put two and two together? My daddy thought it would be one of my brothers who took over killin' for the Dixie Mob. And he didn't think shit about me until they both got blown the hell up. Did I let his estimation define me? No. I stood up, took their place, and now here I am, poised to win the big prize."
Andi pursed her lips and pulled her hands away from her shirt, letting out three loud claps. "Oh, Brandy. You are a true hero." Her roommate looked at her with a sneer. "What? You're the one who happily rid this world of two neo-Nazi fucks! Thank you so much for your contribution to society."
Brandy recognized the sarcastic, mocking tone immediately, her stance growing tense took a step toward the other blonde. "Shut it, race traitor!"
Andi let out a borderline maniacal cackle at the jab. "I almost forgot how completely God damn stupid you are while I was away. Please remove that white, dunce cap of a hood for a moment and take a look in the mirror, you abominable hypocrite! Sure, your mind's a little twisted—probably from some cousin-lovin' not too far down the genetic line—but, holy shit, your libido did not get the memo on the whole 'I'm a raging racist!' thing. I'm sure daddy would be real proud of that," Andi finished with an exaggerated mimic of Brandy's southern accent.
Brandy's cheeks flushed with anger, her eyes narrowing at her new target—Andi—under the layers of blue eye shadow. "You fucking bitch!" she seethed, approaching the platinum blonde girl. Andi didn't know if she was expected to back down from the mad dog that was the curly-haired blonde before her, but backing down wasn't really an option for the Broughton girl anymore.
Andi hopped off the crypt with cat-like agility, striding forward with ease. She had faced much more threatening opponents and truly, Brandy was an ignorant little girl with anger-management problems and some major daddy issues. She was a sadist, of course, but Andi knew that she only had as much power as people gave her. And Andi wasn't giving an inch.
Brandy stood an inch or so taller than Andi when they met face-to-face. While the taller girl overcompensated, trying to intimidate the platinum blonde into submitting, Andi just stared at her. Andi wasn't glaring, instead opting to look at her with utter boredom. It was the cool indifference in the smaller blonde's eyes that almost sent chills down Brandy's spine.
"You better watch yourself," Brandy attempted as a last-ditch effort to send Andi scurrying away.
Andi cocked an eyebrow at her roommate. "And why is that?"
"You think I haven't noticed. You have no one. Not Maria, or Saya, or Simon... not even you're little Rats anymore."
"Well, Einstein, if you're were as observant as you claim to be, you'd know that I'm not alone. In fact, if anyone is poised to win the big prize, it's me. Let me make this clear—and feel free to spread the word—if you think about fucking with me or my crew," Andi lowered her voice to a whisper, tilting her head up to speak in Brandy's ear, causing her mess of curls to move slightly with Andi's every breath. "I will slit the throats of every bigoted crony you have and make you watch and anticipate the moment when I get to you... because I will save you for last. So, if you care at all about continuing your precious Aryan legacy, don't try me." She ended the calm, unveiled threat with a sweet smile, her icy blue eyes glistening with mirth.
Brandy gulped visibly and took a step back. Saya and Maria were still in their positions, watching the exchange with poorly hidden unease.
Just then the ninjas sprung from their hiding places and attacked the four girls. Maria took to slashing at them with her fans and Andi couldn't help but think back to that Las Vegas alley for a moment. No, she thought, no distractions.
Turning to the first ninja, she dodged a few wild swings of the bo staff he was wielding. By the third swing, she grabbed it and shoved it toward him, jabbing him harshly in the abdomen. As he staggered back, she broke his grip on the staff and pulled it from his grasp. Twirling it, she swung it and caught him behind the knee and sending him to the hard ground. He was writhing in pain for the moment so she turned her attention to another ninja that found his way between her and Brandy.
With a smug smile, Andi tapped the ninja on the shoulder with her stolen bo staff before dropping the staff when he wildly turned toward her. Before he could face her completely, she jumped and kicked him in the chest sending him careening back into the bigoted blonde girl who stumbled against his weight. He used Brandy to catch his balance and took a step toward Andi once more. She didn't hesitate to land a few vicious punches on him with her brass knuckles and then he was out cold.
A third ninja ran toward her and the platinum blonde jumped up onto the crypt she had previously been sitting on to get some high ground. When the ninja swung his bo staff at her legs to knock her down, she flipped over him and landed safely behind him. He hadn't even gotten the chance to turn around when she delivered a spin kick to his head, knocking him out. Two down for the count, she thought, now where's that first asshole.
Her first attacker was back in it, but not for long. She charged him, hooking her arm around his and spinning her body around him until her legs were locked around his neck. She dropped all her weight and he went sprawling to the ground one last time. To finish it off, she sent one last devastating punch to the nose to make sure he was down for good. Three for three!
She backed up, her adrenaline pumping, and took a breath to survey if there were any more ninjas she needed to take out.
Saya, who had practically dove head-first into the melee, had taken on three ninjas. When she went to take on a fourth, Brandy lunged forward into a split, tripping Saya and then knocking Maria aside afterward.
When all the ninjas were down, Master Zane strolled into the cemetery to dole out grades, the rest of the class filling in behind him. But, despite Marcus's inquisitive gaze on her, Andi's eyes met with a severe-looking woman standing away from the rest of the class.
Madame Gao.
Odin had informed her that a high-ranking member of the Guild was invited to King's Dominion to head the inquisition into Chico's disappearance. But, this was the first indication that Andi had that she was at the school for more than just placating a distraught El Alma del Diablo.
Gao's gaze had previously been surveying Maria and Saya intensely. Then, suddenly, her eyes moved to Andi, meeting the younger girl's stare. Andi didn't avert her eyes. Shying away was a sign of weakness, akin to waving a white flag of surrender or a dog tucking its tail between its legs.
"Okay, marky-marks—Maria, you get a C," Master Zane started, turning Andi's attention back to him. Maria seemed less than pleased about her grade and the platinum blonde girl tried to hide a smirk at her former friend's misfortune. "It was very pretty, but give me more, more, more with that slicey-slice. Saya, you took out three ninjas—another A. Snore. Andi, welcome back, your casual ruthlessness was sorely missed. Three ninjas means you got an A, congrats." Then, Master Zane moved to the last girl of the group. "Brandy... you fail."
"What?" the blonde let out disbelievingly. Andi bit her tongue as she barely restrained a laugh. She was sure her tongue was bleeding. "But I should get the best grade! I-I won! I-I took out the most of them! T-They didn't even get a handle on me!"
Master Zane shrugged. "That's true. But we're training assassins here, not pieces of shit." The whole class shuffled as they held back their smiles and laughter. At that moment, Andi forgot her anger at Marcus and made eye contact with him as they both smirked. The moment disappeared as quickly as it came into fruition as she turned her eyes away from him and back to her instructor. "Now, I realize you come from garbage people. You come out of the woods. You see a Mexican and an Asian. You get distracted, you attack them. But in my class, you act like a piece of shit... and you will fail."
The cemetery was silent after he spoke, that is until Madame Gao interrupted the exchange.
"Ideology is comfort food for the weak. In our work, you complete your mission by any means, or you die. Brandy is the clear victor." Gao and Master Zane continued to stare each other down.
Brandy piped up. "Finally! Someone who sees through the prejudice and favoritism at this school. Look," the blonde whispered to Gao, gesturing at Saya, "I'm not saying there's something going on between that one and Lin, but where there's smoke, there's daddy-issue sex."
Andi's lip curled in disgust at her roommate's insinuation. Again, Andi thought, What a fucking hypocrite?
"Sweetheart," Master Zane said, addressing Madame Gao once more. "I've been teaching this class for twenty years, and I—"
"Will change Brandy's grade to an A," the severe woman interrupted. "Saya should've seen the attack coming. Fail her."
Saya was outraged. "What?! No, that's bullshit. I earned that grade."
Master Zane tried to quell her worry with a dismissive, "Don't worry about it," but Madame Gao ignored him and stepped toward Saya. Saya watched her warily but was caught off guard when the woman grabbed her by the arm and shoved her down into a crouch, twisting her shoulder until an audible crack was heard.
Dislocated shoulder, a voice sounded in Andi's mind that sounded suspiciously like her mother.
Saya whimpered as Gao whispered something to her, but Andi couldn't hear it from her spot a few feet away. Gao pushed at Saya's shoulder one last time and another crack was heard. The older woman stood without issue, leaving Saya cradling her arm helplessly.
Andi tried her best to ignore the smug look on Brandy's face. Maybe I'll just have to follow through on my threat anyway.
Marcus filed through the students and teachers present to move to Saya's side. He brushed by Andi, the two glancing at each other briefly before he reset Saya's shoulder. Andi ignored the way Maria bristled at their interaction.
Andi couldn't care less if Maria felt insecure about the absolute minimal contact she and Marcus had. She was the one who snatched up the guy that her best friend liked. Maria would forever have to deal with the insecurity that came with knowing Marcus could drop her at any moment as he did with Andi.
As the students left class when the bell rang, Andi lingered behind. She was the last one to leave the cemetery when she noticed Gao stood to the side once again. The blonde knew she should've just quelled the urge to speak up and left wordlessly like everyone else, but she couldn't stand to see Brandy so sure of herself and so she felt the need to do something about it.
"Madame Gao," Andi called out to her. It was just the two of them, a situation that might be terrifying to any other student, especially after the display with Saya. "You said that 'In our work, you complete your mission by any means,'" Andi started and Gao nodded, waiting for her to continue. "Well, based on the knowledge of today's scenario, the mission for all four of us, was to take out the ninjas. Sure, each of us might have our own inclinations beyond that mission, a motivating factor that could turn us against each other. But, wouldn't it make more sense to complete the primary directive first—to destroy the ninjas—before we fight amongst ourselves. If we tried to do both at the same time, it would be like fighting a two-front war, which, historically, is a much riskier approach."
Gao eyed her as if she was piecing together a puzzle, manipulating fragments to create a bigger, more understandable picture. It was quiet for a moment as the older woman considered her words. "Interesting assessment. There are many factors that come into play. You mention motivation and prime directives. The truth is that while fighting the ninjas might have been the main goal for you, it could've been secondary for someone else. Someone like Brandy. If their main goal was to take you out, why not do it while you're distracted fighting another enemy. It's situational, something you must consider going into any fight. Sometimes your teammates are the ones you have to look out for the most. Would it have benefited Brandy to take out you or Maria or Saya one-on-one? Most likely not. Sometimes 'by all means' includes fighting dirty. You put morals aside and you fight to win."
Andi took in this information and almost sighed when she realized the lesson that Gao was trying to give her. "I understand." Because if there was one thing that Andi understood, it was to trust no one.
Madame Gao nodded at her. "You're Lorraine's daughter, aren't you?"
Letting out a light sigh, as Andi was getting super tired of people bringing up her mom, she smiled wryly, "Yes, I am."
"You fight like her," Gao commented evenly thought Andi could almost consider it a compliment. "You think like her," she added before walking back inside the school. After a few more minutes of soaking up the silence of the cemetery, Andi followed after her and started toward the cafeteria for lunch.
She almost made it to the main doors when she was stopped by a hand on her right shoulder. "Andrea, I need to see you in my office," Lin said quietly. The blonde furrowed her eyebrows at the older man but trailed after him without question.
Keeping him in her sights, she weaved through the crowd of students eagerly pushing their way to the lunchroom. She tried to ignore the rumble in her own stomach that reminded her that she only had a muffin for breakfast.
What could possibly be wrong? She wondered. I've only been back to class for a day!
Master Lin hesitated at the door to his office. "We have another new student. I didn't necessarily want to bring them on, but I was urged by the Guild to allow it." Andi nodded, understanding that Lin was under a lot of pressure from the Guild right now with Chico gone and Gao breathing down his neck.
"O-Okay," Andi uncharacteristically stuttered out. Lin's hesitance made her nervous.
He moved to open the door, a whispered apology under his breath. When the heavy wooden door creaked open, Andi looked past Lin apprehensively to see who was waiting inside. Gao stood behind his desk, her expression neutral and her hands behind her back. Then, Andi took in the person sitting before the desk.
"Hey, angel. I hope you didn't miss me too much. We're going to have so much more fun together," Abaddon quipped, a cruel smile stretching across his features.
I hope you guys like this chapter. This definitely gives a decent insight into how Andi changed while she was gone. She's still badass and kind of a bitch like before, but now she's a lot colder towards people and slightly more psychotic (remember, she was self-aware about that before). Her fighting while still having some callbacks to pre-Vegas (with her beloved brass knuckles) has definitely garnered a little more finesse after the intensity of life with Ouroboros.
Andi's interaction with Gao was not preplanned but I kind of love it. For someone who grew up very closed off and had more of an... I don't know, militaristic outlook toward the assassination profession, I see her and Gao having this tentative understanding with each other. Gao was forced into the life at a young age much like Andi was. That shit changes you. They're definitely gonna be interesting foils to each other going forward.
And finally, by popular demand, Abaddon is back and he's not going anywhere anytime soon. He'll be raising hell for our favorite students at King's Dominion!