Flug trudged down the street, coming home from work. Well, his current place of work. Had to keep paying rent somehow until the whole eBay of Evil thing took off. And both his light and internet bills were sure to stay at their high price so he needed that consistent cash flow. What, did he think he could just stay up all night, on his computer and building lethal weapons without his service providers noticing? No sir, he needed his internet and working on delicate machinery in the dark was not an option. That was just unsafe.

And he was working through the night. Because his "me time" had been abruptly interrupted by his overly critical boss. Twice now.

Twice before, this same week in fact, he'd called him to go check out a potential murder-site. Right when he got home. Maybe a few seconds after he shut the door behind him. Not long enough for him to get comfortable, but long enough for his dreams of being left alone (in his average home) to be dashed. If it had only been the once, he could've shrugged it off as coincidence. But it had been twice, within days of each other. It was far too planned for his liking.

He worried that there would be a third call today. It may be New Years Eve, but it wasn't as if places closed early or anything. It was feasible to assume they could still check out some old warehouses, out of the way motels, other places that if you saw two dudes hanging around you'd immediately think they were planning a murder. Or maybe a drug deal. Oh God, was Black Hat paying for Flug's food with drug money? Well, he supposed that was technically a step up from blood money. Maybe. Did Black Hat ever explain where his money comes from or how he maintains it when he doesn't seem to actually do anything? Is he just constantly robbing banks and no one believes them when they say a guy in a top hat and monocle stole their money like an old timey cartoon villain? Did he have a cape? And a thin, twirly mustache?

Flug chuckled out loud to himself, he could picture it oddly well. Black Hat, decked out in some old school cartoon villain get up. Shooting up saloons and tying ladies to the railroad tracks. He might have to doodle that later on, just because it was so strange and yet so fitting.

Assuming of course that he would be left alone tonight by said employer. Who had kept the Stun Gun, leaving Flug to start on another project. Hey, why start mass producing something when you don't even know if the first one works right? Flug wouldn't mind it so much if it didn't feel like Black Hat kept it because he didn't trust him with it or something. He had an entire night to go on a shooting spree, but he didn't! Instead he built the model plane Black Hat had gifted him. Which he was genuinely thankful for, if not a little surprised. He'd only told Black Hat about him and his dad building model planes together, what, once? And that had been weeks ago. It was practically the perfect gift for him though, he liked something that kept his hands busy and his mind preoccupied. Because for someone supposedly in a relationship, he sure jacked off a lot. Which only served to remind him of how much he craved physical contact. Specifically in private, where he only had to worry about his own reactions to it. And he'd been burying himself in his latest work trying not to think about it.

Flug took two steps into the building and immediately noticed the group of young adults hanging around near the mailboxes and having a very loud argument.

"What do you mean you don't know which apartment is his? Just look for 'Flugslys', I guarantee you no one else has that name!"

"They're by number, not name!"

"How did none of us get his phone number, we've been in the same club with him for like an entire year!"

"Actually, I think it's been closer to two."

"Miguel you aren't helping!"

"Is he even home?"

"Uh, hey guys."

Tesoro, Miguel, Hector, and Luis swiveled around so fast Flug wouldn't be surprised if one of them got whiplash. Their eyes were blown owlishly wide, and they had the exact expression of being caught with one hand in the cookie jar after being explicitly told they couldn't have any more cookies.

"What are you doing?"

"Flu- I mean, Rocinante! Hey!" Tesoro loudly exclaimed. "We were just in the neighborhood and Hector here remembered that your apartment wasn't too far, so we thought we'd just pop in and say hi, how are you? Just check up on you, you know?"

"Then we realized we didn't know which apartment you lived in." Luis very helpfully chimed in. "Or if you were doing anything for New Years, so, yeah."

"Uhhh, ok. You guys wanna come up or-"

"Yeah, that'd be great! I mean, if you don't mind."

"No, I don't mind." Flug said, leading them into the elevator. Internally groaning because now he had company. "I'm just getting back from work."

"Cool. Uh, Radioshack, huh? Guess you really got a way with technology."

"It's what I'm good at."

They were all quiet as they rode up to the third floor. Tesoro was smiling widely, trying to lighten the mood. The guys just stood around trying not to make eye contact. Didn't mesh well. Flug wondered why they'd come here. They'd obviously come intentionally, he suspected it had been Tesoro's idea. Miguel and Hector had the exact same Why did we let her talk us into this? look in their eyes. It was possible that it was just a well-intentioned surprise visit, albeit a very poorly-planned one, but Flug suspected there were some ulterior motives here. Tesoro had said they'd stopped by to "check up on him".

Oh God, please do not be here to talk about what happened.

"So, this is it," Flug opened the door. And remembered about that tiny little detail of all his work just being plain out in the open. "S-Sorry about the mess. I've been kind of uh, kind of busy lately."

"Whoa," Hector said, maneuvering around to take in the full scene. "Busy doing what?"

"Oh, you know. Work, putting together my class schedule for spring, my, um, my b-b-boyfriend..." Oh shit should he be saying that so casually? Was he sure they already knew? C'mon, they had to know. Right? Perhaps he shouldn't refer to his boyfriend as something he's doing. "And then there's this. My little...passion project thing I got going on."

"What is this?" Miguel picked up one of the parts scattered on the table.

"That's the head. I'm thinking I'm gonna have to restructure the whole thing to get it down to the size I want. There just isn't enough room for the circuitry and camera as it is. If I widen it, maybe toss out the jaw, use a more reductant metal, it could work. I don't know, I'm just skimming my textbooks from last year."

"So you're building a little robot?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Don't tell me we're losing you to the Robotics Club?" Tesoro teased. "I mean, I know having your own butler-bot would be nice, but think of all the variety we offer!"

"Butler-bot..." Flug repeated, considering an entirely new design. Based more off of objectivity than intimidation. Hmmmm...What if he gave it wheels? With treads so it could run smoothly on carpet as well as wood or tile. One wheel in the center might be better to balance the weight.

"Wait, you aren't actually switching are you?"

"Huh? Oh no, I'm not." Were they actually worried they might lose him as a member? Did they care about him or something? He barely spoke to them, even in their club. Which he was currently suspended from, he remembered. "Damn, I didn't even ask if you guys wanted anything. Something to drink? I think I have some chips."

"No thanks, we're good."

"What kind of chips?"

Oh yeah, Luis was here. Man, he was almost as quiet as Flug was. Flug rummaged through his nearly bare cupboards. "I got...Fritos."

"That's fine."

He handed off the chip bag and grabbed himself a soda. He needed something to do. Other than talk. "So, what's up you guys? Got anything special planned for New Years?"

"We were just gonna go out, get something to eat, have a few drinks, that kind of thing." Tesoro said. "What about you? Got any plans?"

"No, not really. I was just going to stay in, maybe watch the countdown on TV. That's about it."

"You and Black Hat aren't doing anything?"

"No, he hasn't mentioned anything or even asked me about it."

"How is he, by the way?"

"He's fine."

"Yeah?" Hector asked, making himself comfortable on the couch along with Tesoro and Miguel. "Cuz I heard the two of you were kind of...not fine."

Yep, they wanted to talk about what happened. Lord have mercy.

"Yes, he's fine. I'm fine, he's fine, we're both fine. Just trying to move on."

"That's good." Miguel said. "Life goes on, you just gotta put the hard times behind you."

"Mmmm hmmmm," Flug took a long sip of his soda. "I've been keeping myself occupied."

"Yep, I guess this is kinda what you gotta do since you got suspended from the club huh?"

He sighed. "Yeah, pretty much. Too bad I won't be able to build my own exo-suit with you guys." He was honestly pretty bummed about that. Just imagining what great practice that would be...

"It's a real shame, I wanted to see your Doc Ock rip-off."

"Hector!"

"Nah, it was totally going to be a Doc Ock rip-off." Flug smiled. "Go ahead and say it."

"Yeah, but imagine all the good that could be done with something like that." Hector said. "Imagine how much easier search and rescue operations would be if you could just lift over ten tons of debris like nothing? And with the four arms, you could save multiple people at the same time. Hell, why stop at four? Double it, triple it, outfit an entire team if you can. The people who could actually do it themselves don't, so we gotta find ways do it ourselves."

Fair point, anyone with the strength to do something like that is using it to fight villains and destroy things. The "important" work. While seeming to forget about the damage they cause and the daily lives they interrupt. If so much government money wasn't going to rebuilding and refortifying, they might be able to afford equipping rescue squads with such technology. Though, even the ordinary people who were trained well enough to use such things in active combat zones always went to join the real fight. Sure, there were heroes who were out there genuinely trying to help people, but they never seemed to be many, and they didn't get so much as half the glory or funding as their counterparts.

"And the ones who do never shut up about it."

"Ain't that the truth?" Miguel put his feet up on the coffee table. "It's like, 'Ooooh look at me! I could be going head to head with Quetzalcoatl or Metauro, but I'm hanging back to help out the little guys! Aren't I just the best?' It's kind of bullshit."

"They say they're here to help us, but as soon as it stops being about them they stop caring." Tesoro said lowly.

"Or they complain when you aren't completely dependant on them and can actually do shit yourself."

"And when we do it ourselves they just nitpick everything," Flug said under his breath.

"Right?" Tesoro leaned forward, swatting away Miguel's shoes. "It's always 'It's too dangerous for you! Leave it to the professionals!' Well, what about when we are the professionals? We built these things, but we're expected to just hand them off to someone who already has superpowers!? You don't think it might be more useful in the hands of someone who might not be able to defend themselves on their own? Someone who needs the help?"

"If we can build something capable of stopping superhumans, I wouldn't say we need help."

"Yes, exactly!" She leapt up. Then froze, with a rather embarrassed look on her face. "Oh...oh jeez, I'm sorry. I got a little carried away there, he he he!" She twirled a few of her auburn curls around her finger. "It's just kind of a hot button for me, you know?"

"Tess, girl, we all know." Miguel said. "You act like we aren't all in the same boat here."

She sat back down next to him. "Yeah, I guess we are."

Well, kind of. Except they were in it to help people, and Flug was in it to hurt them. But he understood their frustration perfectly. There were times when it was hard to find an ordinary role model on either side, the Gifted stole the show so often.

"So, do you wanna come out with us?"

"What?"

"We told you; the basic plan was to go out, eat, drink, and ring in the New Year white-girl-wasted." Miguel said proudly. "Since you're not doing anything, you want in?"

Flug didn't know how to respond to that for a few seconds. "...Just us five?"

"Nah. Josué, Cristian, Rodrigo, Monica, Carlos, Natalia, Tomas, a few others. We're all going to meet up."

Rodrigo, Monica, Natalia, Tomas. Four Gifted people. Who'd known Aurelio Cruz. Possibly more, Flug wasn't sure how many other people counted as "a few". Or how many of them would be Gifted. What did they think about his actions? Even if they didn't turn up, it was just another uncomfortable social situation that he didn't want to be stuck in. He hadn't been able to enjoy his time at home, the threat of being summoned by his master keeping him alert. Black Hat hadn't called him yet, so he might be off the hook for the night. It was a holiday after all. A night possibly all to himself. He'd been building this Hat-Bot prototype for nearly a week, maybe it was in his best interest to set aside a few hours and rest his mind.

He was thinking of a way out of it. Just saying, I'm not interested but thanks? HA! FOOLS! As if something that obvious and perfectly acceptable would occur to Rocinante Flugslys! He couldn't possibly decline just because he didn't feel like going! That might be perceived as slightly rude! No, he needed an excuse! He needed something far more convoluted and unnecessary! Hmmm, was it too late to fake an injury? Nothing serious, but maybe he could pretend to trip and sprain his ankle or something?

He got a phone call. Oh! Maybe it was Black Hat! Maybe he was just late this time for some reason and Flug could say, Oh well, my boyfriend made some last-minute plans! Super last-minute! You understand! So sorry! Maybe next time! and be done with it.

It was not Black Hat.

"Hello Rocinante! How are you?"

"Hey, Mamá. I'm fine. What's up?"

"Oh, I was just calling to see if you had any plans for New Years. I thought you might be out with friends or maybe your new girlfriend-" Oh yeah he lied and said he had a girlfriend now. What was the fake name he had given? "-but if not, you know how your Tia Rebecca is! She managed to convince Adrián and Esmeralda to visit Abuelita Luz, so of course Juliana and Mateo are getting dragged along! Tio José might be going, so your cousins Enrico and Charlene might be there too! You and Enrico always got up to the craziest things as kids, do you remember?"

"Yes, I remember."

"There was that one time, I think it was Enrico's 12th birthday, you were screaming because he kept trying to climb out on the roof-"

"I told him those wings couldn't support his weight!"

"HA ha ha yes! Yvette was about ready to strangle you both for that! But he always believed in you, just like us!" Oh God he wasn't sure he could stomach putting on another happy face so soon for his family. He loved them, he loved them so much he was willing to put himself through such pain to make them happy. He wanted to be the person they all thought he was. The good boy with a quirky hobby and so much potential.

But he just couldn't do it today.

"A-Actually, I did get invited to go out with some fr-friends." He said, choosing the lesser of two evils. At least this way there was less lying and more straight omission of the truth.

"Well look at you! Finding yourself a girlfriend and going out with friends! I told you that school would be perfect for you!"

"Yeah..." He said, trying not to let on how conflicted he felt about this entire conversation. He covered the phone and whispered to his friends, "Can we get going now?" They nodded. "Yeah so Mamá, we're kind of going out to eat, like right now."

"Oh of course! Don't let me keep you! Have fun! I'll call you later mi guapo hijo que amo tanto!"

Mom, oh my God. "Yeah I love you too. Bye."

"Bye bye!"

With a repressed over-dramatic sigh and the heavy weight of delaying the inevitable squarely on his shoulders, he turned back to the people on his couch. "So, where are we going?"


After an awkward and stilted dinner, which Flug ate in its entirety to ensure he didn't get too drunk, it was time for the hard part of the night. Drinking and socializing. God, why? Surely there was a better way to punish him for his sins. He could only sip tequila and refresh social media for so long. He'd seen this cat video about five times now, and it had stopped being cute past the second viewing. Quite a feat, no? How bad a mood do you have to be in to find cats ninja-jumping off walls unentertaining?

He was confused when he saw Black Hat calling him. It was much later than he usually called. Was something up? He excused himself as politely as he could manage and snuck off somewhere quieter.

"Flug, where are you?" What was with that haughty tone in his voice?

"Some, uh, friends from my club invited me out for New Years. Eating, drinking, that sort of stuff. Why?"

"Oh...I was just curious. That's all."

What was with the odd pause? "Did you-" He hung up before Flug could finish.

...What was that about?

Flug shrugged it off and went back to his seat. Black Hat did weird things sometimes, he guessed he just had to get used to it. Things like casually breaking in to Flug's apartment, or buying deadly venomous snakes to keep as housepets. Or that tiny little detail of trying to take over the world via monopoly logic. Capitalism bitches! Fuck the police, I have money!

It hit him mid-sip. He was such a goddamn idiot. Black Hat could've been his ticket out of this!

Why was he only now realizing that he could've told Black Hat "Hey, I'm really not enjoying myself here, if you wanted to show up and maybe steal me away for the night I'd be okay with it"? It could've been so simple! He could've told Black Hat where they were, he could show up nonchalantly (either, OH hey what are you doing here? Or, I invited him to join us, is that ok?), and they could just discreetly separate as the group got drunker. It had worked with Julio, it would've worked here!

Huh. Julio. He wondered why he thought of him right now. Well, it was New Years Eve, he guessed it had been kind of a big night for them. And it did seem like the past was coming back to bite him in the ass lately.

He took a longer sip. In all honesty Flug could probably just leave on his own at any time. He doubted anyone would really notice. Just go to the bathroom, fake another phone call, slip outside when no one's looking, and go. Hail a taxi. Call an Uber. Call Lyft. Call Black Hat. Call his mom. He had options.

But instead of any of the above, he was probably just going to sit there until everyone else decided they were done.

And they only had an hour or so left to go before midnight. Their big group of over ten people. Taking up the booth in the back and then some. He really didn't want to be here. He didn't want to be out right now, drinking and chatting and hanging out like your average college student. He'd much rather be locked up indoors, continuing to work on his Hat-Bot prototype. Maybe put a bit more thought into that little butler thing someone had joked about. OOoh, he should run that by Black Hat. He'd probably like it, he already dressed and carried himself like he was hot shit. He'd probably love a little robotic servant obediently at his heels.

Oh yeah, another thing he could be doing instead of being here! Indulging in his own guilty pleasures. He was developing a preference for the audio hypnosis over the videos, though there were a few that aroused him enough to get him to subscribe to the channel. It totally didn't have anything to do with the command to subscribe to the channel. He'd only done it right when he was told to because it was fun to play along like that. Same with any other command he may or may not have complied with. He was just pretending. Just enjoying himself. Matter of fact he could be watching that exact video right now. But instead, he had to go and get a life. With friends he didn't care about and a significant other who didn't even exist.

Well they did exist, but they were tall, dark, and evil. Not to mention a man. Not exactly things his parents wanted to hear.

So he didn't tell them. Not about this one, and not about the one who had been wirey, bright, and fearless. A cheeky little hot-shot who wouldn't be put down by anything.

Except maybe a plane.

You know, maybe he should just get drunk off his ass. Maybe it would make hanging around a bit more tolerable. He definitely wasn't having a good time sitting around listening to other people talk. About this and that, what they were taking in the spring, whatever shows and movies had come out recently, a few things he missed as he was cleaning his glasses on his shirt and trying to look busy.

And then, bullshit. Extremely unpleasant and inevitable bullshit.

"So, Flug." Natalia asked between shots (the girl could do like ten in three seconds, it was wild). "How you been? Are you, like, okay?"

Ah fuck, he wasn't buzzed enough for this. "Yes. I'm fine."

"You sure?" Josué, one of the members from his club, asked. Flug was actually surprised he heard him, he was all the way on the other side of the booth. "Cuz, you know, it's totally fine, if you're not fine. Lot of us ain't fine, not really. It's fine."

"Yes, thank you, but I am fine." Next round he was definitely upping the ante. Some of these nosy assholes had to be a designated driver, right? They were too disgustingly good to just leave him behind. If they cared so much, they could make sure no one slipped anything into Flug's drink again.

"Yeah but, are you really?" Hector questioned. Dear God why? Why why why? "No one would blame you for not being fine. What happened to you...really sucked."

Flug resisted the urge to scream out Yes, thank you Hector, I WAS THERE. I WAS THE ONE IT HAPPENED TOO.

Flug was on the verge of completely losing his patience. "Yes, really, I'm-"

"HE'S FINE! HE'S PERFECTLY FINE!" Tesoro drunkenly shouted, practically launching herself out of Angeles and Cynthia's arms and forcing herself between Flug and Hector. The girls made their way around to the other end of the group, Flug guessed that after helping Tesoro to the bathroom, they were done. She continued, still very much intoxicated. "Didn't you guys hear what he did to that son of a bitch-ass? Our mans doin' great." Very clear distinction Flug noticed; all the ordinary people like him and Tesoro chuckled at what she'd said, all the Gifted people like Natalia and Monica did not. They looked like they thought that at any moment they'd need to flee in terror.

"Yeah...about that..." Byron spoke up. "You really shouldn't have done that."

"Yeah, and someone shouldn't have fucked up my boyfriends car." Flug said spitefully. "We all did things we shouldn't have."

Ooooooh fuck, people were sweating! Rodrigo was either trying to drown himself, or trying to slip into an alcohol-induced coma to get out of this conversation. Either way he wasn't saying shit. Natalia and Tomas both averted their gazes. What? Did they think that just because he was fine, he wasn't still mad? Oh you can bet your ass he was still mad.

"You're completely right, Flug," Said a girl whose name Flug couldn't remember. Carmen? Catarina? No, Catarina was the one with the laser eyes. This was the one with...uhhh... "We all did things we shouldn't have."

"I didn't do shit," Tomas muttered.

"We all did things we regret," She continued. "But that's in the past. It's New Years! We're supposed to be thinkin' about the future, you know?" She lifted her glass up like she was giving a toast.

"Alright," Another one of Flug's clubmates relented. Crisitan was his name. "I'll keep drinking to that."

"Yeah, yeah, wasn't that what you were saying earlier?" Miguel asked Flug. "How you just gotta move on?"

"Something like that," Flug muttered, hoping someone would buy the next round already. He wasn't getting through the night sober. Heh, no one was if the sheer number of people emptying their bottles was anything to go by. Except maybe Natalia, but that was on a technicality since her metabolism didn't really allow her to get drunk. At least not as easily as the rest of them.

"So, any New Year's Resolutions?" That same girl asked. Catrina? Carla? It felt like he was getting further and further away but he was sure it started with a "C". "Anyone?"

"Drink a little less, smile a little more," Miguel said, slumping down in the booth. "Learn to let go without getting fucked up."

"Maybe get a girlfriend, finally." Carlos chipped in.

"I wouldn't mind dating a little more myself," Angeles added. "I don't remember the last time I went on a date."

"You free next Saturday?"

"It'd be great to go one semester without nearly failing a class," Byron traced circles onto the table. "Maybe I should only take one or two at a time."

"You know what I've always wanted to try? Shawarma." Cynthia said. "Anyone know what shawarma is?"

"It's like, sheep or something, right?"

"Biiiiitch I don't know."

"Me neither but I am down to get shawarma with you."

"Sweet."

"Is it sweet?"

"What about you, Flug? Any resolutions?"

"Maybe I'll finally get around to telling my parents I'm gay. I mean, everyone else knows so, might as well huh?" Yeah, now he could tell them that he'd been lying to them. May as well tell them about Julio as well. And all the people he murdered. Why the fuck not, right? What did he have to lose other than their love and support and concern and money and the rest of his family and everyone else he had to lean on in the event of the unthinkable? He drank some more.

"Whoa whoa whoa, your parents don't know yet?" Miguel sputtered.

"No."

"Like, did you just figure it out with Black-"

"I've known for years," He sternly cut off Angeles. "Just...they might not wanna hear it, you know? And I-" Oof, gonna throw up, gonna throw up. No, wait, nevermind, he was fine. "I never really found a good time. Tonight sure ain't it, I know that much. Not when even my grandma was going to be there."

"Wait, is that the only reason you came with us? So you didn't have to see your family?"

"Let me tell you something, Hector. Sometimes in life you gotta just take a deep breath and ask yourself 'What am I willing to put up with today?'. And my family just doesn't make the list right now, ok? I put on a happy face for Christmas, and that's it. I got no more in me."

"You should probably tell them-"

"Or what, Monica? Or what? You'll tell them behind my back like your buddy Aurelio?"

The entire group shut up. People froze mid-sip. One guy nearly choked. The empty glasses and bottles Tomas and Monica had been levitating suddenly crashed onto the table and floor. Which caught the attention of everyone nearby, making them all shut up and turn to see what happened. Even the remaining bar atmosphere wasn't loud enough to drown out the complete and utter silence coming from their little spot in the back. Someone, probably too drunk to stop themselves, slurred, "Oh shit he fuckin' went there." He wanted to say...Rodrigo? Rodrigo turned himself invisible immediately after, so decent money that it had been him.

"You kids ok?" Someone called out from the bar.

"Never been better!" Flug called out. "But can we get a trash can over here? And another round? Who's buyin'?"

"I think you've had enough-"

"No, I don't think so," Flug went around among the shards of broken glass, hunting for anything undamaged and drinkable. "Not by a long shot."

As one of the staff members came over with a broom, a bucket, and a surplus of towels, Flug decided he'd get the next round himself. A lil' something for everyone. Why not? He worked at a dying electronics franchise just waiting for his evil sugar daddy's business venture to take off. Ol' Mr. Moneybags swore up and down that he had connects and it was for sure gonna work so why the fuck not?

Hold up...

He's an older guy with a ton of money, he bought Flug pretty much whatever he wanted, he didn't really ask for much in return besides Flug's lifetime loyalty and occassionally a lil' "no strings attatched" sexual attention, he was perfectly willing to wait and keep the money rolling until sex happened...oh fuck he is my sugar daddy.

Rocinante Flugslys had a sugar daddy.

He broke down laughing. Laughing and laughing and maybe crying a little but he was drunk so don't think too hard about it. He certainly wasn't going to. He wasn't going to think about it at all if he could help it. And help came in the form of his next bottle of tequila. Boy he hoped he wouldn't remember this tomorrow morning. He did not need another layer of this confusing convoluted insanity that God must've thunk up while high.

"And what's so funny?" Someone asked seriously. He wasn't sure who.

"E-E-Evil sugar daddy," he sputtered out, still laughing. A few people sitting around him chuckled along, most likely trying to picture it. He wondered if anyone else was just imagining Black Hat. Black Hat in a fur-lined coat, with a skull-topped cane, a feather coming out of his top hat, and about six gold rings. Wait, no, now he looked like a pimp.

"Ok, if no one's gonna say it, then I will." Jason stood up. His buzz cut and sheer height would probably make Flug nervous if he were sober. "You fucked up, Flugslys."

"Honey, that's all I've been hearing about it since I did it." Flug sassily replied, drinking heartily.

"Well you're gonna hear it again. Aurelio is a fucking asshole, we all know that, and we know because we're the ones who deal with him on the daily! I ain't saying he didn't do nothing wrong, but man, you really fucked everything up for everyone, you know that? He might let you be for a minute, but he's just gonna take it out on us meanwhile."

"That ain't my problem."

"It will be when none of us decide to help you out,"

"Bitch, wh-why the fuck would I need your help? You all run for cover the second you see him! Meanwhile the second I see him, it's fucking on! I just whipped out a gun and it was all MMmmm ¿¡que dices?!" He sang loud and off-key in a painful falsetto. "Mmm ¡¿que solo quisiste LO MEJOOOORR!? Claro que sí, Mmmm ¡¿que diCEEEEES!? Mmm ¡¿que fue para LA MAJOORRR!? ¡Claro que sí!"

"¡Claro que sí!" Tesoro screeched along.

Tesoro you are officially my favorite person out of everyone here, Flug thought while he chugged a bit more.

"Yeah but like, for real, watch yourself little dude." another guy called out from the other side of the booth. "Lio ain't the type to just let shit go."

"Oh you guyssss." Flug moaned. "I know. I know I know I knooooooow. I I know I know I know I know know know know know know knowknowknowknowknow I knooooooooooooooooooooooooooow. I did a bad thing. I know it. But, and listen carefully here, that bastard deserved it and I don't care."

Shooting Aurelio was the best thing he'd done all year, and yet everyone kept telling him he shouldn't have done it. Yes, he understood that it had made actually killing the man rather difficult, but understand this: IT FELT AMAZING! This man, who he'd been enamoured with for years, had been completely at his mercy. Aurelio Cruz, the human puppeteer, had been utterly helpless against him. He'd bested a man everyone thought untouchable. All these superhumans were terrified of him, and yet Rocinante Flugslys, all brain and no brawn, motherfucking REKT him. Fear me, assholes. FEAR ME!

"Ok yeah, maybe he deserved it, but you don't think you might've overreacted just a tiny bit?"

"No, no I don't. He needed to pay for what he did and I knew damn well no one else was gonna make him. I wasn't going to just let him get away with it."

"Oh my god, are we supposed to take this guy's whine fest seriously?" One of the other Gifted girls spoke up. "'Whaa whaa whaa, people know I'm gay now and I'm dating Abe Lincoln! Worst. Thing. Ever!' Grow the fuck up, honey. Your dirty little secret would've came out sooner or later."

"You don't get to decide that!" He screamed at her. "You don't get to decide who I come out to! You don't get to decide who knows my personal business! I decide that! No one else!"

"Oh boo hoo!" She snapped back, everyone between them sinking back into the booth to avoid confrontation. "When are you going to have to deal with him again?! Is he in almost all your classes?! Do you see him everywhere you go?!"

"I do!" Tesoro shouted, with a lot more energy than Flug would've imagined. "Ever since he touched me I jumped every time I heard the lab door open! Every time I turn a corner I think about, 'What if he's right there!?' I don't know where his classes are and aren't! I got no way of knowing if he's around or not! And you're tight with him Bianca! Ya can't be trusted!"

"Oh I know you did not-"

"No, she's right!" Miguel flew to her defense. "You were right there with him when it happened weren't you?! And that's why Rodrigo ain't turned back yet isn't it?! You helped the bastard!" All eyes flew to the empty chair Rodrigo had pulled up. A few quick pats to the space revealed that Rodrigo wasn't even there anymore. He'd snuck off, who knew how long ago? How would they find him?

"Ok yeah, they did. Aurelio even tried to get me to spread it around," Natalia admitted, trying to talk the group down. "I wouldn't do it, but not everyone can really say 'no' to him. Or like, they don't feel like they can. Most of the time, he's not...that bad. He can be cool. But he can also be pretty...not cool. People are scared of the guy. And, yeah, they're not completely wrong to be. You might think you know what Aurelio Cruz is like when he's pissed, but you don't. You just don't."

"Are you scared of a puppeteer, Natalia?"

"Not as much as these guys," She said jokingly, earning her a few dirty looks. "Mostly I just kinda feel for him, you know? Look, growing up Gifted, it's not as fun as it looks. We got problems same as everybody else. I'm just a speedster, I don't have it as bad as some of the rest here, but no one's life is perfect."

Perla flung herself off the guy next to her. "Tell me about it! You know how, how many Playboy Bunny jokes I heard as a *hic* a kid? A lil' lil' kid?" She continued drinking herself into a stupor. "Learnin' to fight was the only way my mom let me outta the house..."

"And you're damn good at it!" The guy said with gusto. His name might've been...Juan? The hybrid didn't respond, just slumped back over onto his broad shoulder.

"So...you're sayin' he's got it rough?" Flug asked, trying very hard not to vomit. "That...does not excuse what happened. Like...at all."

"And I'm not trying to excuse it. Just, like, explain it. Everything happens for a reason, even a bad one. He's under a lot of pressure-"

"Girl, we're all under a lot of pressure!" Miguel butted in. "You know what it took just for me to get here? The rest of my cousins got to go play fútbol and baseball, while I crammed every second of the day. Before school, between classes, after school, on weekends, over the break, I worked and worked and worked my ass off. So excuse me if I take one night off every once in a while to be a stupid kid and rot my brain." He took a big gulp of his drink. "It's the only real break I get anymore."

"Amen to that." Carlos raised his glass, along with a few others around the tables. Flug decided he could drink to that too, and toasted along with them. He guessed he wasn't the only one who needed to shut his mind off after all.

"Oh, how sad, your hard work paid off." Tomas said sarcastically. "You know what I spent all my free time on? Guitar. And drums, and piano and absolutely anything to do with music because that's the only thing I've ever wanted to do. But I'm telekinetic. So of course I have more important things to be doing."

"Ah c'mon, Tomas," Monica slapped the back of his head. "Telekinetics, speedsters, elementals, you're common types. Ain't nothin' special about being special."

"Yeah, so I gotta be better than every other one out there."

"Goddamn am I the only one happy to be here?" Natalia quickly downed three more shots. "Like, I know I act all carefree and shit, but it meant the world to me when I got my acceptance letter. No one really expected all that much from me, so I was stoked."

"Mmmmmmmmm me too. No one thought I could actually go here, ya know? One of the best an' all that." Tesoro said, her head propped up with one arm. She traced the moisture from her drink limply. "I was psyched that I got in. An' now here I am, smokin' and drinkin' and throwin' it all away cuz I don't know what to do anymore."

"Ah what? Girl you're going places. You know that."

"Yeah sure, but where?"

"Whaa?"

"I came here, just kinda cuz I could. I didn't have no plan. All I knew was, I had to go. All I evvvvvvvv'r heard was 'go to college, it'll open soooooooooo many doors for you, doesn't even matter what you study,' so...I worked hard, made it here, and now I dunno what to do. I guess I'll end up working at some lab, bein' second to some show-off with a shiny superpower like all of you!" She grinned lopsidedly, throwing her arms around Flug and Hector. "Not like I can just quit now, after all I done just to get here. I can't do that to my mom...my dad...my lil' sis..." She slumped over, resting her head on Flug's shoulder.

Well, wasn't that scarily similar to his own situation? Flug never wanted this either. Any of it. Oh he was smart enough to be here, his whole life was a testament to his intellect and technological genius, but he never wanted this life. He wanted to fly. He wanted away from all of this. Why else had he joined the Air Force, when the path of education was so easy and open to him? It was what his parents had wanted for him. Oh yes, he had his little hobby and he ate up all this aviation stuff, but wouldn't he be better suited to putting his real talents to good use? Wouldn't that be best for him? He could really make something of himself if he just refined his craft a bit further. And just look at the alumni roster of this Universidad. His name could be there someday, alongside people who changed the future. Who changed the world. If he just applied himself, he could probably attend with a full academic scholarship. Maybe schedule an appointment with the guidance counselor and see if there was anything that could be done to get a few of his language arts and literature grades up? Numbers and formulas he understood perfectly, sentences and grammar and articulation however eluded him. As was probably shown by the stuttering problem he'd developed, and how deeply closed off he'd become from his peers. Wouldn't hurt to try and work on his social skills either.

So he left. He put his foot down and left. Applied to the Air Force, even though he could go literally anywhere else and be safe and secure and studious, because he wanted to fly planes. And if it did anything for his body and self-esteem, that was a bonus. Turned out it did, because that year of training as a cadet was simultaneously the best and worst gym class he'd ever had. Oh it was hard, it had bruised him up harder than anyone else ever could, but it was the best shape he'd ever been in and would probably ever be in. Not to mention his cute boyfriend right by his side, getting just as toned and developing muscle. Complimenting him on the little progress he made. He was far better with a firearm, and in the air.

Til he crashed again. And oh how it burned.

"We're all under a lot of pressure." Flug continued drinking.

"Yeah, an' what about you Mr. Plane Crash? Are you as miserable as the rest of us?"

"Pretty much. I'm just here because the Air Force tends not to take you back when you and your buddy crash a plane and end up killing over twenty people. That and I fucked up my eyes. It was probably mostly the killin' people part." Well now, that required a good hard chugging to keep those memories buried in the past where they belonged. When he emptied his bottle and faced the group again, it was to a bunch of wide-eyed stares.

"Bruh what the fuck?"

"Yep. There's just, so...so fucking much back there," He shook his head, pointing behind him. God he had a headache. "Trust me, you don't want any of what I got inside me."

"Shit, you right. I don't." Hector said, getting up and heading towards the bathroom.

Flug just laughed. "I never knew we were all so fucking depressed! We should've came out sooner!"

"Yeah, yeah you totally should've!" Tesoro proclaimed, unsteadily sitting upright. She jabbed him harshly in the chest. "I never knew yyooooouuuuuu were gay. But, I promise, it won't change a thing."

"Promise?"

"Mmm Hmmmm," She held up a pinky, breaking down into giggles. "An, and if anyone gives you AAAAANNNNYYYYYY more trouble, you just tell me! I dunno how to fight but I swear I will throw down for YOU!" She flung her arms around crazily, with no coordination. Wow, even he could do better than that. "You an' Black Hat shoulda came to me, I'd have given that bastard one for messin' with you two, and one for that crap he tried to pull on me!"

"Yeah, me too!" Cynthia raised a fist in the air. "Fuck that guy!"

"Y'all are some damn fools," Jason shook his head.

"Oh like you wouldn't punch him in the face if you could."

"I mean..."

Flug just had to laugh, Jason you fucking hypocrite. He turned to Tesoro. "You know, your name really suits you, Tesoro."

"You too, Rocin..." She slumped over again, going almost completely limp.

"So I really am a useless old donkey?" He asked her drunk and unresponsive ass. "Gee, thanks Tess."

Ok, that might not be exactly what "Rocinante" meant, but, semantics.

"Not to be devil's advocate again, but," Natalia took another four shots. "You see what the rest of us deal with, and compared to him, we're nothing special in the slightest. The bar is higher for him than it is for us. We're a dime a dozen, he's one in a million. So, the guy's kind of perpetually on edge."

"If he's one in a million, that would mean there's 7,500 others just like him." Cristian drunkenly stated.

As everyone let that sink in, Flug turned it over in his head. Something didn't seem right about that. Was he...was he just dividing by the total world population? Oh God dude, that was so inaccurate it hurt. Flug dipped his finger into what little condensation was left on his bottle and tried to round the numbers. Ok so, less than half, 45% was a good estimate...roughly 3,000,370,000, divided by a million... 3,375. Give or take a few, what, thousand? So out of all the Gifted people in the world, there were potentially about 3,375 people with the same abilities as Aurelio Cruz. Sure, it didn't sound like a lot on a planet of over seven billion, but the thought of over three thousand Aurelio's walking around was pretty terrifying.

Suddenly everyone was screaming, making Flug (and a few others) jump in their seats and frantically look around to see what was up. And get terrible motion sickness in the process.

It was the countdown. 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1!

As everyone was toasting, because that's what you do, Flug faintly heard someone somewhere ask if anyone had grapes. Oh yeah, the grapes. Guess he wouldn't be having the best luck this year. Ehhhhhhhhhh...whatever. Flug pulled out his phone, really more just to have something to do.

"You gonna call your boyfriend?" Someone asked.

"Nah," Flug said. It was loud. He felt dizzy. "Text will be fine." Assuming he could type actual words.

"How is he?"

"Oh JESUS would you people stop!?" Flug screamed out. "Stop asking how I am! Stop asking me how Black Hat is! Just stop stop stop!"

"We just wanna help-"

"I know, but goddamn is it annoying! All I want is to just life my fucking life! I had to hide at home, I had no one at school, I lost whatever I could have had as a pilot, so I then I come here, an-an-and Aurelio's here, th-then this madman in a top hat shows up and, and, and..." His eyes were tearing up, and he felt like he'd lost the ability to speak. Which is debatably a good thing, since he was about to say And then this madman in a top hat shows up talking about how he wants to rule the world, and I sold him my soul and am going to work for him for the rest of my life, and now I'm pretending to date him for the sake of not arousing suspicion, which completely backfired, but we're still going along with it cuz maybe we do kind of like each other?

Flug rested his head on the table. It smelled bad. And felt wet. His phone was right next to him, so he figured he may as well send that text to Black Hat. He limply raised an uncooperative hand and fumbled around on the touch screen. He wasn't sure if what he sent was legible, but he sent Black Hat something.

"I think I'm gonna go get some air."

"Yeah, me too."

"Anyone want a smoke?"

"Sounds good, let's go."

"Can you help me take Perla to the car? I think we're callin' it a night."

"Fucking pussies." Flug said loudly. "All that power and you don't do shit. You're all gonna be great heroes someday. For sure."

"You think anybody ever asked us if we wanted to be heroes?"

Flug guessed not, but once again, not his problem. He had plenty of his own, he wasn't adding any unnecessary baggage anytime soon. He could barely handle his own issues, how was he supposed to handle theirs? He turned his head, looking off at the bar. Seeing this one couple, wrapped around each other. Kissing, petting, squeezing. Might be moaning, he was too far away to hear. All...publicly. God he was starting to feel some kind of way. Like...sick. He felt kind of sick.

"Wow, look at them go." Someone next to him remarked. Flug wasn't sure who. He didn't really respond, he just continued staring. "I've never kissed anyone for New Years." Flug kept on ignoring them. There was something familiar about the intense way those two were going at it. So passionate and unhindered. Like no one else in the world existed but them. "You ever had a New Year's kiss, Rocinante?"

-And suddenly he was back there, watching the fireworks, hands intertwined and sitting side by side. For the first time, Rocinante didn't have to question if Julio was being serious, or if he was just playing around, or if he really meant it, or anything. The look on his face made it clear. His usual half-smile and that little playful gleam in his eyes were both absent.

"N-No." Rocinante managed to cough out. He coughed because he had no other way to really play it off. Putting his high school days behind him and being determined that the stutter would remain a distant memory. "No, I never have."

Julio tilted his head mischievously, a shadow of a smirk on his lips. "Really? A tall, smart cutie like you has never rang in the new year with a kiss before?"

Oh God he called him smart and cute in the same sentence. Hopefully his mad blush would be obscured by the fireworks. Ooh, a red one! Perfect! It'll look like glow from that! "No."

"Well then," Julio leaned over. "Can I be your first?"-

"Hey man, did you hear me?" That same person tapped him on the shoulder a few times. Flug finally looked up to see who it was.

"Oh heyyyyyyy Luis." He greeted him drunkenly. "What's up?"

"I was asking if you've ever kissed anyone for New Years."

"Once, a couple years ago."

"What was his name?"

"Julio."

"That's a nice name."

"Mmmmm," He groaned. He rubbed at his eyes. He really didn't feel well.

"Was he one of the people you killed in the Air Force?"

"Nnnnnnnooo." Flug groaned. "Just...maimed..."

"Did he deserve it?"

"Not really. I didn't mean to. I feel kinda bad about it."

"And everyone else?"

"Oh, I meant to do that..." He admitted. "...Mostly..."

"We should really hang out more."

"Ehhhhhhhhhh..." Why was everyone so drawn to him these days? Could he go back to his life pre-Main Character status? "So...what's up with you?"

"Not much. I just figured now was a good time to get your address again."

"Huh?"

Luis laughed a little. "Well, you aren't driving yourself home. And neither is Hector, he's been puking in the bathroom for the past ten minutes."

Flug laughed so loud he nearly puked. Ugh, his body felt like trash but he was in a pretty good mood, all things considered. "Man, like...have you reeeeeaally been here this whole time? I can't, I can't remember you doin' or sayin' shit since we left my apartment. Are you even drunk?"

"I don't drink. But I have been here this whole time."

"You don't drink?"

He shook his head. "I learned a long time ago that me and alcohol just don't mix."

"Like...how though? How can you just sit here with the rest of us not drinkin'? How you do that? Don't people just shove drinks in your face anyway?"

"People don't really notice me if I don't want them to," He said, smiling strangely. "It's a gift."

"Can you teach me how to do that?" Flug asked. "Cuz I'd fuckin' love to be under ev'rybodies radar right now."

"I bet you would. You and your boyfriend."

"Ahhhhh, you aren't gonna give me shit for that too are you?"

"No, not at all. I couldn't care less about your love life."

"Well thank God for small miracles."

"I do care about what you did to Aurelio though."

"Fuck. Man, I've heard it from my boo, I've heard it from fuckin' Super Friends Jr over there, I'm done. I did what I did and you know what? I'd do it again."

"You got me all wrong Rocinante." He gave him another odd smile, and leaned in close to whisper in his ear. "Between you and me, he deserves every terrible thing you could think of." Luis grabbed one of Flug's arms and lifted him up. "Now, let's get you home."

"T-Tess!" He yelled, latching onto his drunken friends' limp arm. "We-" Oh no, threw up in his mouth a little. Ew. "We gotta take Tess!"

Luis stopped. "That's right, she went back for you, didn't she? Then we won't leave her. Hey Nat! I think we better start rounding these guys up!"

"Who- oh. Yeah, good thinking. C'mon guys, time to go!" Natalia zoomed inside and out, making sure everyone was accounted for and no one was left behind. What a good friend.

"C...Carolin!" He exclaimed. "Aaaaaaaah, that was bugging me! That's her name! Carolin! The one who makes everything go all glitchy!"

"Oh her, she was a real problem in my demonstration." Luis said, struggling to carry both Flug and Tesoro on his shoulders.

"Guess to take care of her, you gotta do things the ol' fashioned way," Flug slurred, leaning his whole weight onto Luis.

"Yeah...I guess you do," Luis managed to choke out as he somehow got all three of them outside and into a car. He left for a few minutes to find Hector and Miguel and drove off.


Translations:

mi guapo hijo que amo tanto! = my handsome son I love so much! (Spanish)

MMmmm ¿¡que dices?! Mmm ¡¿que solo quisiste LO MEJOOOORR!? Claro que sí, Mmmm ¡¿que diCEEEEES!? Mmm ¡¿que fue para LA MAJOORRR!? ¡Claro que sí! = [My weak ass attempt at translating Jason Derulo's "Mmm Whatcha Say?"] MMmmm whatcha say?! Mmm that you only MEANT WEEEEEELL!? Well of course you did, Mmm whatcha sAAAAAAY!? Mmm that it's all for THE BEEEEEEEST!? Of course it is! (Spanish)


Notes:

Sorry if it was a little hard to keep track of who was who. But I hope you enjoyed!

And if you're reading this on Sept. 5th, it's my birthday! And I'd just love some comments :)