Legal Disclaimer: I do not own Red vs. Blue or any of the show's characters. They are the rightful properties of Rooster Teeth.
Chapter Thirteen: Worlds Collide
"Let me get this straight," Leonard Church stated as he stared down the fidgeting teen in front of him, "Your power is pretty much detecting shit, right?"
Maybe Church was gruffer than he had needed to be considering that Matthews flinched at his tone. Plus, the other kid practically glued to the auburn-haired kid's side since they got there got up and stepped forward protectively towards the still sitting Matthews.
Church sighed. He was definitely not a people person. It wasn't his fault. They all sucked compared to how fucking awesome he was! Younger people especially were annoying enigmas to him. The cobalt-wearing man was fairly certain that, even if Freelancer's experiments hadn't fucked him over in that department, he had intentionally blocked all of his memories from when he was that age. It wouldn't surprise him if he had.
"Not only can I pick up on Specials and their abilities, sir," Matthews finally got the courage to say, "But I'm usually pretty good at telling when something around me is out of the norm too."
Antoine Bitters, the other kid Grif and Simmons had dragged into Church's place, scoffed, "Not like you ever use that to your advantage."
Oh, fuck no. Church could feel a migraine coming on as Matthews obviously flustered at the jab. He was not dealing with teenage relationship drama, at least not without taking Grif and Simmons down with him for bringing it into his house.
"Even so, that type of ability could prove quite troubling in the wrong hands." Sheila pointed out calmly to help diffuse the situation.
"Yeah, that's pretty fucking obvious." Church agreed as he briefly shot her a grateful look for the save, "It was really fortunate for everyone that Grif stopped those guys."
"Eh, they were ruining my me time anyways." Grif stated as if it were no big deal from where he and Simmons were standing in the doorway of the overly stuffy sitting room that Church was fairly certain his dad must have let his great-grandmother decorate from the look of the place when compared to his usual spartan aesthetic taste (but like fuck would he ever have the heart to change it: Gram Gram was awesome!).
Matthews turned around in his seat to once again shoot the heavyset man an adoring, grateful smile and Simmons immediately rolled his eyes at the way Grif seemed to soak it all in while also looking apathetically annoyed at the attention all the same.
"At any rate," and Church really wanted to have his head examined because he couldn't believe he was fucking suggesting this, "You probably shouldn't be heading back to your home just yet. I imagine if it was Charon who tried to grab you, those assholes have been monitoring you and know where you live." He swallowed down bile, "It…it might be better, safer anyways, for you to stay here. Or something."
"Oh, oh!" From where he had been sitting next to Sheila's translucent form, Caboose piped up excitedly at the possibility, "We can have a sleepover!"
Church felt his left eye start to twitch.
As Matthews pondered over the idea, Bitters stared evenly at Church with a knowing, speculative frown on his face, "Aren't you just going to use him too then?" He astutely asked.
Man, did this one have trust issues. And he was fucking smarter than the mutli-colored hair had led him to believe. Church supposed it was understandable, given the circumstances.
Plus he appreciated the straightforwardness, so he paid it back with a direct and honest response, "That would be entirely up to Matthews." Church told them, not denying the possibility.
Yeah, he would be lying if he said that the bespectacled kid's abilities wouldn't come in handy for missions and the like. Not to mention he wasn't running a fucking charity. But, still, he wasn't enough of a jackass that he would force someone into doing something against their will.
He was not his asshole of a father. Church was his own kind of asshole.
"I—it will be okay, Bitters." Matthews tried shakily reassuring his friend, "My family won't be worried…and…" His face nearly matched the color of Simmons' maroon-colored hoodie, "S—so long as you visit, I think…I think I'd be okay."
Bitters' face darkened considerably with the signs of a blush itself as he turned away from his friend with a fairly stiff nod. Unfortunately, his challenging gaze landed on Church instead, "You got a problem with that?" He demanded in an obvious attempt at covering up his feelings.
Church bit down on saying something incredibly snarky and sarcastic about getting the hose out should there be any kind of make out sessions where he could walk in on them, instead saying, "Not really, especially since you're pretty powerful yourself."
"Yes," Caboose agreed rather seriously, nodding his head, "If Bitters stays over too, then we can toast marshmallows without turning on the stove that I am not supposed to touch anymore and really don't ever."
…Church made a mental note to ask Sheila just how many fire extinguishers they had on-site.
Richard "Dick" Simmons was truly glad that the matter involving how to keep Matthews safe seemed to be settled. He noted that the nervous young man visibly relaxed in his seat, though the cyborg couldn't help how his own anxiety continued to spike as he replayed the past conversation over and over in his head.
What if Church was right and this Charon group was currently monitoring the apartment building that he, Bitters, and Matthews lived in? He had spent so long trying to avoid detection, and yet first Church showed up and now this!
Letting out a shaky breath, the redhead quickly turned around and dove into the hallway beyond.
"Sheila and I can give you a tour, starting with Church's rooms!" Caboose could be heard saying excitedly to the two teens behind him.
"Goddamn it, Caboose." Church muttered loud enough to be heard from outside the room.
Simmons took two or three large steps away from the still open door, the voices turning into muffled traces of sound as he tried gathering his spiraling thoughts into anything remotely coherent. He was more than just a tad surprised to realize that Grif had followed him out a second later.
The tan-skinned man stood beside him, casting a curious sideways glance his way, "You okay?" Grif asked in that typically nonchalant way he had, as if the answer wasn't really any of his concern.
Simmons supposed that truly was the case in this instance since it was his problem and his alone, after all. But he felt oddly grateful for the probably driven more by boredom than anything else gesture all the same. Grif's lazy presence helped to steady him and kept him grounded in the present instead of focusing on his ever building anxiety.
"Y—yeah. Course I'm fine!" Simmons let out a shaky, totally unconvincing laugh as he tried playing it cool, "It's just this whole thing with Matthews, and those guys being after him?" He gestured helplessly with his hands, "It's a lot to process."
"Yeah, their targeting a kid is beyond fucked up." Grif agreed, no doubt thinking of his sister.
Simmons relaxed at not having to admit to his other issue with the situation in light of how troubling Matthews' attempted kidnapping situation alone was, "Tell me about it."
…It hit far too close to home, in more ways than one. Thus Simmons' unease.
As if picking up on his thoughts after some odd minutes of silence fell between them, Grif spoke up, "Are you worried about them keeping tabs on your building or something?"
Simmons froze, both blood and energy thrumming through his veins and circuitry. He wondered just how much like an open book he so embarrassingly was if a relative stranger, or sort-of friendly acquaintance now he supposed, like Grif could pick up on that. His parents would have been so ashamed to see him like this.
Grif didn't seem to be waiting for an answer, frowning with a look in his brown eyes as if he was inwardly debating something. At length, he asked, "Wouldn't you want to stay somewhere else if you could? For the moment, I mean."
Simmons blinked, taken aback by the sudden and decidedly personal, for Grif, question. He was so caught off-guard by it that he answered truthfully instead of trying to play things off as no big deal, "I would." For a second, he wondered if Grif had used his power of influence, but decided it probably didn't matter either way given his own inner anxieties.
Grif nodded, as if Simmons' response somehow settled something for him.
"Go and pack whatever shit you need. Meet me back at that diner where we talked before." He wasn't looking in Simmons' direction anymore, instead fishing around in his pockets for a cigarette.
"Wha…?" Simmons was so shocked by the remark that his usual comments about how Grif was going to ruin his health with those kinds of habits fell by the wayside.
"I just don't want to hear any bitching about lack of sleep or whatever later on, all right?" Grif muttered before promptly heading outside to murder his lungs with a smoke.
It still took a few seconds for a dumbfounded Simmons to realize that Grif was actually offering him a place to stay.
Carolina slipped into the wreckage of the crime scene through a blasted out window on the second floor, completely unnoticed by the few remaining law enforcement members finishing their reports as she frowned at the absolute carnage that met her green-eyed gaze.
This lab facility had been housing a Special who had volunteered to remain there due to the volatile and unpredictable nature of their powers. It had been specially designed to withstand destructive blasts as a result. Yet it appeared to be just as gutted and wrecked as any other building might be if a large-scale explosion happened directly inside it.
The redhead's hand touched a burnt wall remnant, and she frowned as ash and plaster fell to the ground when she removed her fingers. A broken beaker or some other type of glass container crunched further underfoot as she landed on the cracked floor.
The Special who had lived here had put up one hell of a fight she marveled as her eyes trailed over to the blood splatter in the distinct shape of a body on the ground, surrounded now by police tape.
But the creature known now as the Meta, she refused to think of it as anything remotely connected to Maine anymore, was also incredibly powerful and absolutely ruthless in its attempts to steal powers in the vain hope that would somehow help to make it truly complete.
Carolina grit her teeth. The smell of blood, ash, and death would burn its way down her nostrils even if she held her breath for as long as she could. She hated how insidious so many of the Director's projects had been, and with this one still out terrorizing the city of Chorus…
Carolina was fast, but she always felt as though she was constantly one step behind in trying to correct the horrors that her father had brought to life.
That frustrated her beyond words. Especially after…
"This way!" A female voice that sounded oddly familiar commanded, and Carolina swore under her breath before flying up through a huge hole in the ceiling to the next floor overhead.
Concealed from view, she peered down as a reporter and cameraman clad in white and cobalt came into view to also look over the devastation of the crime scene. The former Freelancer recognized the woman as noted journalist Dylan Andrews, most recently from her coverage of the ongoing talk and fierce debates in regards to registering Specials.
The brunette in question frowned as she glanced over at the blood stain on the ground while her younger cameraman tried not to get sick from the sight, "This entire scene is almost exactly like the last one." Dylan remarked before turning her gaze to the dark-skinned man next to her, "Jax, are you filming?"
He nodded, his queasiness abating a bit as he started to chatter on endlessly to cover up his reaction, "Looks like the set of one killer horror movie." Jax remarked before frowning in thought, "But was it really a good idea to sneak in here? The police could catch us any second!"
Dylan smirked knowingly, "In that case, we can just bluff about how they left the door open."
"Well, technically there would have to still be a door somewhere here, but I think I get your point."
"Good." Dylan moved as close to the dried splatter as possible without messing up the surrounding police tape with a critical glance, "Right now, I want to see if there are any clues that were overlooked. Given how many of these accidents have been occurring and where, I have a feeling we're looking at something a lot more criminal in nature."
"Dun-dun-dun!" Jax intoned dramatically, causing the reporter to glare at him though he continued smiling brightly as if he didn't notice.
Carolina let out a small sigh as she pulled herself away from the hole. Now even more civilians were getting involved. Just perfect.
She left on a gust of air from the same broken window frame she had entered from earlier, not catching the rest of the investigative pair's conversation. Her mind was racing as she wondered just where next, or perhaps more accurately who, the Meta would strike.
No doubt Kimball would be informed of this incident again by the police. She should probably stop by her office to see what the private investigator thought of this particular event. A part of Carolina was still shocked that the woman had agreed to help her out at all given how abrasive she knew she could be when it came to serious matters like this.
Briefly, she also thought about checking in with Church and his team following how abruptly she had left the previous night, but she figured doing so would be pointless, as she doubted they would be having too eventful a time as it was.
Lavernius Tucker managed a good deal more self-control than most ever gave him credit for when he realized that he almost left his apartment a third time without grabbing his keys, still waiting for him on the kitchen counter. He didn't even swear out loud even though he so fucking wanted to as he ducked inside the space once more, still smelling faintly of the earlier impromptu Mac and Cheese breakfast, to grab them.
Jensen was already there, sitting beside Junior at the table as he tried to get through his homework early so that he could enjoy the rest of his weekend without any hassle. Where the kid got that work ethic Tucker never knew, but he felt a surge of pride at how awesome his son was all the same.
Thank fuck that it hadn't been a school day and Jensen had been available. He had gotten a brief message from Church about some sort of "fucking emergency" going on at his place and the dark-skinned man had been wary of dragging his son over there if his goateed friend was in the middle of having yet another stress-induced aneurism.
He almost didn't notice the concerned look in Jensen's eyes, the one that Junior was too engrossed in his homework to look up and see. Tucker let out a small sigh, not like he was a counselor or anything, before asking, "What's wrong?"
The tan-skinned girl started, having apparently been so lost in her thoughts that Jensen hadn't noticed his return. A blush crossed over her freckled features, "I—it's nothing, sir." She tried underselling what was bothering her, "I just…haven't heard from a friend in a while."
Tucker couldn't help but make a face. He had only met one of Jensen's friends before and, while he and Junior had inexplicably hit it off, something about the teenaged boy's mannerisms had annoyed him, "You wouldn't happen to be talking about that Palomo kid, would you?" He asked her, already suspecting the answer.
She nodded her head, a considering frown looming across her face.
He wracked his brain for the last bit of information he could remember about the usually always jovial teen, "Didn't he recently move to one of the classier districts with his family?"
If Tucker was remembering shit correctly, Palomo's mom had gotten a promotion or something and they had to relocate as a result to be closer to her new place of work. After all, Chorus was a pretty fucking huge city.
Jensen nodded, straightening the dejected slump in her shoulders as she tried reassuring him with a smile, "I'm sure he's still just busy from the move." She said, although whether or not she was trying to reassure him or herself, he couldn't say.
Tucker scoffed, "He'd definitely be an idiot if he doesn't get in touch with you again sooner or later." He tried reassuring his favorite babysitter, "I'm sure he's fine. Give him another week or so."
Jensen nodded, her smile growing even though the worry didn't completely fade from her brown eyes, "You're probably right. Thank you, sir!"
"No problem." Tucker reached out and rubbed the top of Junior's head affectionately, "Okay, I'm off for real now to see what's bugging your Uncle Church this time. See you later, little man."
Junior was still fixated on getting his homework done as quickly as possible, but he grinned up at his dad and waved with his pencil-free hand, "See ya, Dad."
With that, Tucker was out the door again, only pausing briefly in his trek to the elevator in front of Washington's closed door. He wondered if the former Freelancer would want to come with.
Thinking back on the dark rings under Washington's eyes and how tired his smile had seemed throughout their early morning breakfast together, he ultimately decided against knocking. It was probably better to let the guy rest for a change if all that heavy, delicious comfort food had finally helped him to get some sleep.
With a noticeably happy skip to his step at the thought, Tucker continued on his way.
The remains of the cigarette had long since been smashed underfoot, though Dexter Grif was still outside of Church's place and wondering just what had possessed him to even offer to have the redheaded nerd temporarily stay at his and Kai's place.
He couldn't help but wonder if he was getting too soft or sentimental or some other bullshit.
But the heavyset man just figured that it would be better in the long run for not only himself but for everybody else too if Simmons wasn't even more of a bundle of walking, anxious nerves. A hard feat considering that the cyborg always seemed to be on the edge of a breakdown. The guy really needed to learn how to just fucking relax.
Besides, he told himself, it wasn't like he didn't still owe the guy for saving Kai before during that fight with the Triplets. That was all Grif had to view this gesture as: simply returning a favor. Nothing more, nothing less. He nearly actually bought that.
Speaking of things he needed to repay…
He stepped even further away from Church's residence since he had no way of knowing just how aware either Church or Sheila could be within the vicinity of their home. Grif began walking in the direction of the diner where he had told Simmons he would meet him at later.
Even if he didn't really want to do this, he couldn't risk those guys going after him or Kai. He knew they were dangerous. He'd have to have been fucking oblivious to not get that when he had met them at the park earlier. After all, the two mercenaries had made a very clear point of letting him know that they knew exactly where Grif and his little sister lived should he decide to do anything to try and stop them. The threat to get him to comply so that everything could continue to be fine and dandy for himself and Kai had been pretty implicit.
Taking out his phone, Grif dialed the number that the one who had called himself Felix had given him, mentally debating just how little he could get away with actually revealing about what was currently going on.
Author's Notes: NO, GRIF, DON'T DO IT! XD …Between Grif and Washington, there are quite a few double agents at play at the moment, albeit quite reluctant ones. Makes me wonder just how things will play out once the others get wind of their actions?
Yes, I'm being silly and acting like I don't know yet just to avoid potentially spoiling something. XD I'm a huge dork like that. :)
Also, yep, the Palomo mention is going to be quite important later on down the road too. I have plans, my friends, I have them! *laughs maniacally and then goes into a coughing fit* XD
Next time in Specials: Tucker finds out that Church's "crisis" largely involves just having teenagers in his house, Doc and Donut share a moment together and discover a shared love of cooking for others, Grif shows Simmons where he will be staying over at his and Kai's place and then they have to bail Kai out of some trouble that she landed herself in. All with a surprise appearance by Caboose's "mysterious" big sister! :D
Thank you so much for reading! :D