AN: Somehow, in the process of making this fic, I have discovered my sudden liking for Blartie. But don't fret people, this is still first and foremost a Klaine fic. Blartie can have their moments some other time but that doesn't mean that I can't insert a couple of Blartie bromance in this story (like the intro to this chapter~).
Also, there's not much response to the fic which i kind of anticipated because of the gaming theme. So i'm asking you guys if you still want me to continue this thing. I have a story plan for this that reaches about 16-18 chapters with Kurt coming in the next chapter. So read on the chapter and help me decide with your reviews if i should still continue publishing this.
Chapter 3: Gift of Battle
Best dream ever, Blaine thought as he slowly woke up to consciousness. He rubbed his eyes and stretched his arms feeling rejuvenated form the long sleep he had. But his mind was now in full gaming mode as he remembered to set his flight decks and check his PVP.
That's when Blaine saw that he wasn't in his room but in the assigned quarters he had in the Hellicarrier in his 'dream.'
Major Inception moment, Blaine thought as he pinched his arm and felt the pain.
Suddenly, his room's door slid open and in came Iron Man carrying a tray with a glass of water and a shawarma.
"Good you're awake, B." Iron Man said as his mask slid away revealing Artie's face. "I was worried that the missions have taken toll on you. Here, eat up" Artie finished as he placed the tray in Blaine's bed.
"Breakfast in bed, how romantic" Blaine teased.
"I try my best." Artie laughed as he flopped down to Blaine's bed, creating an obvious dent in the mattress since he was in full armor.
"So this is really not a dream?" Blaine asked as he took his first bite of shawarma.
"Seems pretty real to me."
"I see." Blaine pondered more on the idea that he was really stuck inside the game. He was enjoying himself so far but he still wanted to know how to leave the game eventually and return to his real life.
"Wait, how did I get back in my room, anyway? Last thing I remember was arriving in the jet."
"Yeah. You were out cold the moment you crashed into your chair. I just carried you back here when we landed." Artie said.
"Thanks dude." Blaine mumbled as he chewed the last bits of his shawarma.
"No prob. And by the way, Commander Sue is lookin-"
"Tin can boy! Gelmet elf! Once you've controlled your heavily deprived hormones, could you finally make your way to the research wing? We're on an important save the world schedule here!" Commander Fury yelled as she went inside the compartment.
"Uggh, a few hours in and this room already smell of teenage angst and hair care products. " Fury continued her ranting.
"Well, what are you two waiting for? Let's move people!" She screamed again and this time, Artie and Blaine finally stood up and left the room.
Blaine followed Artie to another chain of labyrinth like hallways till they reached the Research wing of the ship.
"Welcome to the Research wing." Artie said as he pushed the door open and invited Blaine to enter.
To say it was huge was an understatement. The room they were in alone was almost the size of a football field. Numerous work tables, shelves and blue prints littered the room along with numerous mechanical projects from gadgets to weaponry. On the next floors stood laboratories that were probably used for conducting researches on medicine and other biological enhancements like mutations and radiation and understanding their possible effects on humans, krees, asgardians etc.
His attention was diverted though when he saw a familiar blondie with a certain resemblance to Draco Malfoy coming down the stairwell.
"Oh dear Lord. Jeff? Is that you?" Blaine shouted as he made his way to greet his former Warbler teammate.
"Hey Blainey!" Jeff greeted as he pulled the hobbit into a bear hug. "It's about time you visited us here."
"Wait, by 'us' you mean?"
"The rest of the Warblers, of course! We're S.H.I.E.L.D.'s scientific research team!" Jeff beamed.
"Seriously?" Blaine asked with obvious doubt. The only thing he could see the Warblers researching are new ways to divide harmonies, how to act like villains from and old cartoon and the damage rock salt can do to one's eyes.
"Why don't you just go upstairs and see for yourself Blaine. I'll just go check out what the engineers downstairs are doing." Artie said to avoid accompanying the duo. He still didn't (and probably never would) trust the Warblers after all the trouble they've cause to New Directions.
"C'mon then Blaine. I'm sure there are some familiar faces that are excited to see you again!"
They made their way up to the laboratories and indeed, Blaine saw his former troop trading in their tailor made red and blue blazers for white lab coats.
"Hey guys, look who finally decided to visit!" Jeff shouted for everyone in the floor to hear.
"Blaine! Nice to see you again." Nick said as he left his work station and made his way to the hobbit and his best friend.
"You too, Nick. But seriously, most of you struggled to pass Ms. Dafoe's Chemistry class, how could you run this thing?" Blaine asked.
"You mock us, sir!" Thad shouted from his work station.
"Not all of us are incompetent in the sciences Warbler Blaine; some of us even excel in them. You still remember me, right?" Another figure in a gas mask came to greet him, carrying a gavel sized model of Thor's Mjolnir.
"Oh my God. Wesley, you're here!" Blaine shouted as he saw the former captain (and only captain he respected) that graduated two years ago.
"In the flesh." The Asian said as he removed his gas mask. "Someone's gotta keep this messy bunch in order."
"Yeah, whenever we screwed up, he'd pound us with that gavel of his. My elbow still hurts from the last time." Jeff whined as he rubbed his elbow.
"You were about to mix some Silver Nitrate with some diluted Magnesium. That would have caused an explosion."
They started arguing and whining in front of Blaine and he just found it hilarious and familiar. These were the Warblers that he considered friends and to be with them made him remember of the good all Warblers he used to belong to.
Before Sebastian and Hunter came to picture, he thought
"Okay, I know I'm going to regret asking this afterwards but where's Sebastian? Or even Hunter?" Blaine asked the guys to break up their little scuffle.
"Oh, don't worry Blaine. They're not here." Nick reassured him.
"Yeah, Wes kicked him out!" Jeff said enthusiastically.
"Really?" Blaine asked the former captain.
"Of course. It just had to be done. I heard all about what they did to you and New Directions when I graduated and obviously, I'm not pleased with it. We Warblers operate with class, dignity and sportsmanship and those two and their tomfoolery do not belong to our ranks. They won't be coming back under my watch." Wes explained with the full confidence and power of a true leader.
"Glad to hear that then." Blaine said as he let go of the breath he didn't even notice he was holding. He was admittedly nervous with the idea of having those two have a hand in researching the tools he needed to do the missions effectively.
"Oh, I almost forgot. Our team already researched the Frag Grenade and the Health Kits for you so you could stock up in the store now." Wes added. "And the weapons division already researched the proper balance, form and weight for your katana. Just visit the store to claim it."
"Wait, how did you know that I wanted the katana?"
"We have footage of you electrocuting yourself in the store as you tried to get the katana. It was hilarious. I even made a gif out of it." Jeff said in his usual comical immaturity.
They're catching up with each other was suddenly interrupted when David came out of one of the labs in a hurry.
"Wes, the sample you sent us is reacting violently; I think you better check on it." David reported. "Oh hey Blaine, didn't notice you there! Did you grow taller? You're almost teenage size now!"
"Hahaha, very funny David. And what's going on? What's this sample?"
"Top secret stuff." Wes replied quickly. "Guess we better get back to work then, catch you on the flipside Blaine. Nick, get the XXL forceps we have. Thad, go the cafeteria and see if they could spare us more pig livers. David, do a full-on securities check and Jeff, get the chainsaw and please don't go Texas Chainsaw Massacre on anyone." Wes barked at the other lab coated Warblers on the vicinity as he dashed towards the laboratory David came from.
"Okay, I take it back. I don't think I wanna know." Blaine said as his brain tried to visualize what sample needed pig livers and a chainsaw.
"Good call. Now let's get out of here before things get messy." Thad told Blaine as he accompanied him out of the Research wing.
Blaine made his way back to the store to stock up on grenades and first aid kits as Wes advised. He made sure he had plenty of the latter since he still didn't want to find out what would happen if they ran out of hp in this game.
He lastly went back to the melee weapon aisle and picked out the katana he had his eye on from the start. He was thankful that the force field finally didn't act up on him. When he strapped the katana's sheath on his suit's belt though, he felt that electric surge come from his weapons.
Oh right, only two weapons at a time at my current level, he remembered.
He took out his needle gun and placed it by the ranged weapons' aisle and he noticed his silver counter rising, signaling that he sold his gun and he gained the silver for it. He then made his way out of the store, with the store's silver counter going down again to match his new purchases..
He travelled back to the flight deck since he wanted to do another mission to use up his saved up energy.
"Just in time, Agent. I was about to tell Black Widow to look for you." Maria Hill said.
"Sorry, did a little shopping. Make sure we have supplies for the next missions." Blaine explained.
"No worries, Agent Anderson, now your mission today is to go to Chinatown in Manhattan and help Captain America defeat the Hydra forces there lead by Baron Zemo. I must warn you though that the Power Armor was reconstructed and was spotted and the same area as well."
"It's alright Miss Clearwater, nothing our squad can't handle."
"Alright then, prepare for boarding. Good luck and by the way, Black Widow commenced training while you were sleeping, you'll find her new ability quite helpful in your battle against the Baron."
"Nice, you got Widow's Bite already?" Blaine asked Tina.
"Yep, it's fun to use. Finally I can do more than punch all those weirdos away." Tina smirked.
With that handy information in hand, Blaine climbed the stairs towards the jet closely followed by Artie, Tina and Mike. The atmosphere between the four was extremely better when compared with the past couple of missions.
The first thing that Blaine noticed when he saw the cabin was that the seats were all replaced. Instead of the traditional two seaters arranged in rows and aisles like those used in commercial planes that once occupied the jet, it now had four booths like the ones in Breadstix. They chose the nearest one to sit on and buckled up their seatbelts as the plane taxied to prepare for takeoff.
Blaine was positioned by the windows beside Artie so he saw the new plane that was parked beside the other MK 1 Sparrow they used the last time.
"When did we get a new plane for flight deck missions?" Blaine asked his heroes.
"Maybe last night? It was already there when I went out for my morning jog." Mike guessed.
"Don't think much about it B. Most of the changes like the seats in this plane are made by the game. "Artie added.
"Okay, wait, question time, you all believe we're in the game, right?"
"Pretty much. I mean, we've been in battles and we've worn the weird outfits. Mike wouldn't even wear purple and pink when I told him before and now he has no choice but wear that costume. And besides, if this was a dream then wouldn't it be weird if we're all dreaming this together?" Tina answered
"Not as weird as getting sucked into the game. But then do any of you guys remember getting sucked into the game? Because I remember seeing that flashing light coming out of my laptop."
"Nope, I don't remember that happening, B." Artie replied.
"Same here, maybe it's special for you since you're the agent?" Mike added.
"I guess so. That makes some sort of sense, I guess? Anyway, here's what's really bothering me guys. What would happen to us when we lose all of our hp? Do we somehow revive as well like in the games? Do we just faint or something?"
"Maybe. You've seen how our enemies go down. They just flicker like a hologram and disappear and ten bucks says that they'll just appear right back there just like in the game. Stop worrying too much Blaine, you lose an inch every time you do that, that's why you're short." Artie teased.
"For someone who's only taller than me by an inch, you sure like to bring it up a lot." Blaine countered to change the conversation. Truth be told, he still wanted to ask more questions but he just thought that they just couldn't provide the answers that can relax him. There's just a lot more going on within the game and the reason why this is all happening.
'I believe we're in the game because you are more inclined into believing that we are', Blaine recalled what Miss Clearwater told him yesterday.
He wanted to ponder upon it more but Chinatown already appeared on the horizon and he needed to focus on this mission first, especially since he still didn't want any of them to lose any of their hp to its max capacity.
The first few Hydra grunts they battled went down easily since Blaine utilized the class benefits to his advantage. Whenever there are bruisers at bay, he had Artie with him. When there were blasters, Mike joined him in shooting them down and when the infiltrators appeared, he trades Mike for Tina. The Hydra goons had no prayer for them as they got torched, pierced, slashed and punched into their flickering oblivion.
At one point, Blaine sent Tina to scout ahead and infiltrate their headquarters near Broome Street to get more information for their upcoming battle. Blaine really wanted to play things smart and safe. He couldn't afford a screw up since he still wasn't sure what the consequences will be when one of his allies falls in battle.
When Tina returned from her scouting mission, she brought with her a Crippler bomb with her which Blaine added to his inventory.
"Okay, here's the game plan, guys. You guys go back to the Hellicarrier and train up; I know that you two already leveled up from all those Hydra action we got. Tina and I will finish up here. Baron Zemo's a tactician so it's best that I have Tina with me."
"Okay, B, whatever you say. I'll send the jet back the moment we land on deck." Artie said.
"Be careful, okay? Zemo's got a wicked blade with him." Mike said to Tina as he pulled her in a tight hug.
"Blaine, take care of Tina for me. If she comes back bleeding and battered, I'll make target practice out of you. Got that?" Mike told Blaine with a smile though a quick look in his eyes told Blaine that he was pretty serious.
"I'll even wear a bull's eye if you want me to." Blaine replied.
With Blaine's reassurance, Mike finally joined Artie as they made their way back to the jet. While Tina and him made their way to Broome Street.
"So I'm guessing you and Mike are finally back together?" Blaine said to spark a little chat as they sprinted towards Broome Street using the shortcut Tina discovered.
"We haven't talked about that yet properly but we're getting there, I hope."
"He really loves you, you know." Blaine said as they turned another corner.
"Yeah. I know that." Tina smiled as she said those words. "Artie may have been my first boyfriend but Mike's my first love. And hopefully my last. And you wanna know something else that I know?" Tina asked.
"Humor me." Blaine said as they dashed towards another street, the Power Armor robot already visible from where they stood.
"I know that you and Kurt are the same. You may have struck a very rough patch but you'll get through it eventually."
Blaine didn't know what to reply to what Tina said and he was lucky that he wasn't given a chance to because Sam showed up again in his All American superhero attire screaming at them to hurry up.
"Nice to see you again Blaine, Tina, where's Artie?"
"I made him and Mike go back to the Hellicarrier to train up. It's just the three of us against Baron and that robot." Blaine answered.
"Awww, I missed out on the Chang man. Oh well. Guess it's time we take on the Baron then."
The trio confronted Baron Zemo and the Hydra Officer he had along with him. Blaine hoped that the Power Armor won't arrive for the battle but that just wasn't how the game worked and the killer robot appeared to protect Zemo just as Tina tried to shoot him with her new skill.
Sam followed suit in attacking the Power Armor who guarded their two other enemies. Blaine took out one of his Frag Grenades, ordered Sam to duck and tossed the bomb towards the Power Armor.
The robot then attacked them and tossed a slab of concrete towards Sam's direction. It connected but some blocked most of the damage. Baron Zemo and his lackey then stepped away from the robot and attacked them with their sword and firearm. Tina managed to dodge Zemo's slashes and then counter him with her combat reflexes. Blaine took a shot from the Hydra Officer but he didn't feel much damage due to his Kevlar jumpsuit.
They took down the Power Armor in their next wave of attacks which left them with the two smaller targets. Baron Zemo tried to slash through his nearest opponent which was Blaine. He parried off the villain's first slash but the next one connected in his arm, making him bleed.
"God, that hurts!" Blaine screamed.
"You okay, Blaine?" Sam asked as he deflected the officer's plasma bolts.
"Not really but I can take it." Blaine said as he winced at the pain. It wasn't a serious slash as he had anticipated but it still was an open wound and it was bleeding.
Not wanting Sam or Tina to get stabbed as well, he ordered all three of them to focus their attacks on Zemo. He quickly fell down after that and soon, his lackey followed him.
When the match was won, Blaine suddenly felt his wound healing. The gash started to close out till it became a scar till it vanished out of sight. His suit even mended itself.
"Guess that answers your question Blaine." Tina said as she noticed the fast mending process.
"Wait, what question?" Sam asked.
"I was wondering what would happen to us once our hp goes down to zero so obviously my question didn't get answered Tina. But it's glad to know that we recover fast from all our injuries." Blaine replied without looking as he still tested out his arm to see if it was in working order.
"Hey Blaine, the loot just dropped." Sam said as a small pencil case-liked shape package wrapped in tinfoil appeared.
Blaine picked it up and found that his guess was right; it was nothing but a shawarma.
"Oh, cool. I'm starving, can I have it?" Sam asked.
Blaine quickly tossed the snack towards the avenger who caught it with ease. It wasn't even ten seconds in and the shawarma was gone, eaten hastily by Sam.
"Waa" Sam uttered while chewing.
"Eww, swallow it down first, Sam. "Tina commented.
Sam chewed fast and soon enough, he had forked down the shawarma in under a minute. It even elicited a burp from the jock.
"That is both gross and awesome at the same time." Blaine said as he extended his hand towards Sam for a high-five.
"Tsk, boys." Tina muttered under her breath. "Anyway, we're heading back to the Hellicarrier once the jet comes back, are you coming with us, Sam?"
"Can't. I'd love to and all but I still have to patrol these streets. Plus, you have to recruit me properly before I can join you guys. "
"But you're freaking ninety cps, that'd take a long time! I don't even have your character yet back in my game. Can't we just tie you up in the ship or something?"
"Slow down there Blaine, I'm not into that kind of stuff." Sam laughed and Blaine reddened in embarrassment as he realized the other implication of what just said.
"Anyway, looks like you're ride's about to arrive." Sam informed them as the jet became in view. "Just go back here if you want to see me. And bring Artie and Mike the next time!"
"Sure thing, Sam. And you take care of yourself here, okay? There's plenty of Chinese restaurants here so don't starve yourself." Tina said as she hugged the blond just as the jet landed in their area.
Blaine then hugged his VP too before he made his way to the jet.
"Don't be strangers!" Sam shouted as the jet took off, leaving him in Chinatown alone again.
"Oh great, the young Burt Reynolds and her sidekick Lucy Loser are back." Commander Fury said in her own form of welcome.
"Now get out of there. We're wasting gas on you two. And you" Sue pointed towards Blaine. "You get your overly gelled out curls to the Research Wing. Your Pipz have something they want to show you." She added before she walked off.
"Remind me again why we joined the Cheerios?" Tina asked.
"Just take in all she says in one ear and let it exit through the other." Blaine told Tina. "Anyway, I'll head back to the Research Wing first, you go find Mike or Artie and do flight deck missions for a while."
Blaine didn't wait for a reply as he dashed back into the main building. If he's memory served him right, this was the time where they unlocked the Iso-8s to improve their stats.
Outside the doors stood Wes wearing a smaller gas mask than the last time; this one only covering his nose downwards.
"Good, I thought that woman who punched the host in our last Regionals tossed you overboard when she volunteered to fetch you." Wes said as he handed him another gas mask.
"What's this for?" Blaine asked, terrified at what could have happen in the laboratories.
"Just a precautionary. Nothing you should really worry about. "Wes said in a higher pitched voice, the one he used when he was lying. "Follow me Blaine and please, watch your step."
The labs and workshops looked pretty normal on first look, but then Blaine notice a few scorch marks by the walls and the claw swipes in the metallic handlebars of the main staircase.
"Do I wanna know what happened here?"
"I think it'd be better you don't. Right this way Blaine." Wes instructed as they made their way to an elevator shaft.
They stopped on the top floor that the elevator accommodated. When the doors opened, Blaine saw the laboratory dedicated for the Iso-8 Research.
"I've been informed that you're already familiar with what these things are, right?" Wes said as he picked up a small blue chip which was either to boost health or stamina.
"Pretty much. I'm just curious as to how you'll socket them into the suits."
"It's simple really. Your jumpsuit's already made to hold two of these at a time." Wes explained as he pointed out the 'pockets' in the suit where the rocks could be placed. "These rocks emit energy that amplifies different characteristics when they are near life forms. But the radiation it presents is also quite strong so we could only afford to slot two of them for now to prevent any permanent damage."
"Okay, got it. " Blaine said as he picked up the chip Wes was holding and placed it on his suit.
"That's all for now Blaine. We'll continue the research for the other types once we finish dealing with the issue we're facing right now. Just continue doing your missions so we can have funds to conduct the research. Commander Fury's not really happy with how the budget is being split."
"Yeah, she's like that even back in Mckinley. Just don't mind her that much. She's mostly bark with a few bites." Blaine said to reassure his former captain.
"I hope so. Anyway, Black Widow and Hawkeye are probably done with the missions you made them do. Why don't you go to the Finance District next? Reports from our computers say that Wrecker is, well, wrecking the place."
"Okay then, guess we have our own villains to face for now. Good luck with your situation, whatever it is." Blaine said as he boarded the elevator down and made his way back to the deck.
"Hey guys, new marching orders. Let's go to the Finance District." Blaine said as he saw his three friends near the jet they used.
"I was hoping you'd say that." Tina beamed. "M.O.D.O.K.'s there causing chaos and I'm your team-up partner for that one!"
"And I'll be accompanying her since M.O.D.O.K's a blaster." Mike added.
"Sure, why not?" Blaine replied, happy since this will be the first time he'll be partnering up those two in battle with the boss.
"Wait a minute B, I just remembered. This is the fourth mission right?" Artie asked.
"Yeah Viper, Whiplash, Zemo then Bighead." Blaine listed out, showing off the fruits of his addiction.
"And in the game, we get a free hero as a gift for finishing this mission, right?"
"Oh yeah, right! More incentive for us to finish this mission faster then." Blaine replied, clearly excited by the thought of a new hero joining them.
"I wonder who else we show up this time around." Mike added to the discussion.
The three heroes talked about it as they boarded the jet till they were about to land in the Finance District.
Blaine's mind was elsewhere though. Because he only had one person he wanted to see as a potential hero to recruit.
AN: And that's the end folks. Next chapter will pack more Glee characters appearing in the game including Kurt. So yeah, hit the review button if you still want me to continue this story.
That's all for now. Percival Jones, logging off.