It took Flug longer than it should have to realize that he wouldn't be able to just pass out. He had figured that just being drunk meant he'd lose consciousness eventually, but failed to take into account that he'd lost his natural internal clock that told his body "Hey, it's time to sleep,". In his alcohol fueled haze, he remembered he did still have a case of beer given to him by his cousin Enrico for Christmas, and that it had been chilling in the fridge for almost a full week. The only trouble was floundering his way from the couch, where he'd collapsed as soon as Luis set him loose in his apartment, all the way to the fridge.
He wondered, as he attempted not to roll onto the hardwood floor of his living room, if the only way he'd ever be able to sleep off a night of drinking would be to drink himself into unconsciousness. Because as it stood, he didn't see how else he'd be able to accomplish that. He wasn't able to sleep off his hangover naturally. But wouldn't getting drunker just make it worse when he finally woke up? What was he supposed to do, just lie there and wait for the alcohol to work it's way out of his system?
He remembered, after maybe an hour or two, that supposedly coffee helps to sober up. Hey, Flug has had worse excuses to fill his coffee pot. Drunkenly and drowsily (yeah, he still got drowsy, you figure that one out) getting up and stumbling to the kitchen, trying his hardest not to spill any water or precious coffee grounds, was not fun and he promised himself he was going to make a genuine effort to curb his drinking. The absolute last thing he needed in his life was to become an alcoholic. There, now he had a New Years resolution: Do not become an alcoholic. Far more realistic than coming out to his parents. Mmmmm, just the smell of the full pot of brewing coffee wafting through the air made him feel a bit like himself again. Finishing it made him feel even better. A few pills in his system and he felt perfectly normal, ready to go on with life.
For a few days, things were calm. He went to work, he went home, and he had no interactions with other human beings until he went back to work. Finally, a return to normalcy. Although normally he supposed he wouldn't be building a mini-robot prototype right in his apartment all night, but that was more something from his old normal. The one where he slept and ate regularly and shamefully semi-cyber-stalked Aurelio Cruz on late nights. Each time swearing it was the last, and each time knowing it wasn't. Huh. When was the last time he'd checked in on him? He thought it may have been...around the time he first met up with Black Hat at Cafe Triste? Wow, it had actually been a while. It felt like it was such a long time ago, that night Black Hat had asked him out for coffee and changed everything.
Well, perhaps it would be more accurate to say that Flug calling him back changed everything. The ball really got rolling the second he started actually entertaining the idea of going along with his mad plan for world domination. So much had happened in such little time as, what was it, two or three months now? Some of it he was actually kind of happy about. He didn't miss sleep much, he was learning to control his sensations, he could never have imagined in his wildest dreams that he'd ever be able to go up against Aurelio Cruz. Much less be victorious!
Flug was trying to think positively. So, he probably wouldn't be able to finish what he started anytime soon. He was, as Black Hat said, going to take the time to learn how to do this whole "villain" thing right. He would have his revenge, when he was properly prepared to enact it professionally. Flug also thought that there might be a possibility of things being...sped up a bit? As people had mentioned on New Years, Aurelio wasn't the type to just let something like this go. He wouldn't let Flug get away with making him look vulnerable and weak. And if Aurelio started to become more of a threat (annoyance) to, say, Black Hat's plans...whatever they may be...might not the man be willing to take a risk and end him sooner? He was actually kind of hoping Aurelio would try something, put himself right in his crosshairs. He was having such fun daydreaming scenarios of Aurelio's demise, it was pretty much his new favorite past time when work got slow. He wondered if it would be anything like what he imagined. He supposed he was going to find out, once Black Hat found a good place to take kidnapped people to kill them.
Oh, speaking of that, Black Hat was waiting for him outside his place of work.
Flug honest to God did not know how he was supposed to react to that. Should he be frightened? He'd suspected Black Hat was more than well aware of his part-time workplace for a while now, so this shouldn't be all that surprising or scary. It was just...why was he there? He'd never done this before. Why was he doing it now? What was the reason? Was he trying to scare Flug? Why would he do that? Was he mad or something? They hadn't so much as texted since New Years (a very short Feliz Año Nuevo and nothing more). Black Hat had never done anything like this before. He'd always called ahead, or established that he was going to show up at whatever time/place. They'd made a system, and they'd both stuck to it. Comfortably. Predictable. Securely. And yet there Black Hat was, calmly leaning against his rental car, staring right at him, parked directly across the street, physically impossible for Flug to miss as he's walking out the door with one earbud in already.
It wasn't easy to tell, but Black Hat didn't look especially happy. He didn't exactly look angry either, though Flug didn't think his expression would be any easier to decipher when he got closer. He couldn't help but feel it had something to do with New Years. Like...he didn't know, Black Hat had some issue with Flug not updating him on his social life? Was he offended that Flug didn't ask his permission before going out? Was Black Hat expecting him to be available at every hour of the day? Everytime he snapped his fingers? Well, someone was taking the "Master" role a bit seriously, weren't they?
And what's a spineless twig to do but cross the street and ask, "Have you been waiting long?"
"No, not at all." The man twisted his neck, producing some horrendous cracking sound. Oh God please don't do that again that noise is just bad. "I thought it'd be quicker if I picked you up here instead of from your apartment."
"Yeah, yeah it saves some time." But you couldn't have sent a quick heads up text? Call me? Something? Anything!?
"The place I have in mind today is a bit closer than the last ones, so hopefully it won't take as long this time." He was already going around and opening the passenger side door for Flug.
"That's good." Although he felt that wasn't really saying much. Flug wasn't too reassured with Black Hat's demeanor either. Perhaps this was just what he was like when things got serious? Well, that's a good thing, isn't it? That he took it seriously? Would Flug really want to spend the rest of his life working under someone who didn't take it seriously? Maybe he was just put off that he hadn't found a place that fit whatever inane criteria he had.
"Hungry?"
"No, thank you." Flug would really prefer to just get this over with and go home. He didn't want it being any longer than it needed to.
"Music?" Black Hat was already messing around with the car radio.
"Yeah, that'd be nice." Flug wasn't really in the mood to talk all that much, so music was an immensely welcomed distraction. Though Black Hat didn't seem to be able to find anything he liked and settled for something Flug didn't recognize or particularly care for. Then again nothing stood out to him either, so he wasn't going to complain.
Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhh he didn't want to talk, because he had no clue what to say, but this song wasn't doing its job of drowning out the silence properly! Flug tried to just stare out the window, observing the outside world quietly as they drove, but his eyes kept drifting back to Black Hat. Who wasn't so much as sparing a glance at him! At least, not that Flug noticed. He also hadn't touched him like he used to. Which Flug should probably be appreciating, since he still wasn't sure exactly how physical he wanted to be with Black Hat, but it was just something he did so often that the absence of it was strange.
And with the already strange vibe Black Hat was giving off, Flug just couldn't find it in him to relax.
They came to a stop at a red light. Driving past them were a bunch of old restored cars. Things from the 40s or 50s, maybe? All driving in a line like they were together. Maybe they were all in the same group? The same group of people who like to buy and fix up old cars? They all seemed to be different models, though nothing Flug could name. He didn't know much about them but he could still appreciate the workmanship.
Then they saw it. The sixth or seventh car in line.
"Hello," Black Hat said, eyeing the car as it drove past. "Is there a car show in town?"
Flug was more of a plane guy than a car guy, but even he'd admit that the car was nice. It was an old classic car like the others, he still didn't know the specific type, low to the ground and painted this gorgeous shade of black that had such a nice sheen to it. It also seemed to be the only one of the line up with any sort of backseat, making it look kind of boxy in comparison to the others in the line up. Or maybe it was the trunk. It seemed to be pretty spacious.
Note to self: Do not be surprised if Black Hat turns up one day in that exact car with nothing but an evil grin as his explanation.
"You liked the black one the best, huh?" Flug asked, trying to do something about this uneasy silence between them.
"Yes," Black Hat said with a menacing grin. It actually kind of helped Flug relax. There was the Black Hat he'd grown accustomed to! "It's a station wagon, not the best in terms of speed or handling but they have a lot of cargo space."
"Enough to fit a person?"
"Multiple."
"It was the perfect color for you,"
"You really think so?"
"Yeah. Um, what was that thing you said before? About having specific tastes, or something? I think that car would really suit you."
"I think you're right," Black Hat clamped a hand on Flug's shoulder. Ahhh, implied references to criminal activity and toeing the line between platonic and romantic interaction! Normalcy! "I think that might be just what I've been looking for."
Black Hat flashed him a smile, just for a second before he had to turn back to the road. For some reason, it made Flug feel funny. Like Black Hat was talking about him and not the car. Or maybe as well as the car. It wasn't exactly a bad feeling, just...why did this keep coming up when they talked about cars? Weird.
At least the drive was a little less tense.
Black Hat had been telling the truth, this place was closer than the previous ones had been. It had only taken maybe 35 minutes to get here. Though Flug was a little confused by the location. Yeah, Black Hat probably knew what he was doing (he damn well better if he was going to go around taking souls and making unsuspecting college students his hench-people for life), but Flug couldn't help but question it sometimes.
"Isn't this place a little, uhhh, crowded? Won't other people be around when we're...you know?"
"Not if we come after hours."
"Aren't there cameras? Or like, alarms?"
"Not here," Black Hat grinned, stepping out. "Usually you'd look for places that had those little bits of extra security, but in our case, the less eyes on us the better."
"Makes sense," Flug said under his breath, following his boss. Ok, sure, he could see a storage unit being a decent makeshift murder dungeon. They get their own lock, they're inconspicuously hidden among other people, anyone in this dingy place could probably have their silence bought with either Black Hat's pocket money or the threat of death at the hands of Flug's inventions. And like he'd said; soundproofed, sterilized, surgical. This wasn't going to be some filthy little hole in the wall, it was going to be the testing area for their lethal weapons.
Well, if Black Hat liked what he saw it would be.
"Hey," said a large man by the entrance. "You the guy who called?"
"Yes," Black Hat said smoothly. "I just want to make sure it's big enough for what we need before I make a decision."
"Yeah yeah, you said so before. We got five units available, if location matters to you."
"Point them out."
"We got numbers 3, 5, 11, 16, and 20."
"Twenty's all the way at the back?" Black Hat pointed down the line of units.
"You got it."
"Show me that one."
The man lead them off. Hopefully not too concerned with whatever they needed the space for. Or what they might keep inside. Or what was with The Dandy Man over here. Hopefully he, as well as everyone previously, would just assume that Black Hat was a) very eccentric, and b) insanely particular for whatever reason and not think too hard about it. He motioned to Flug. "And who's he?"
"I'm, um-"
"He's my partner." Black Hat said simply. In a tone which seemed to imply that it would be in everyone's best interest to leave it at that.
The man seemed to look Flug up and down out of the corner of his eye, but he kept his mouth shut. Flug had to wonder what he thought that term meant. As well as how exactly had Black Hat meant it? Like...business partners? I mean, you could say they were in business together, but being that Black Hat was the established boss, well, they weren't exactly partners. So then, had he meant romantic partners? That was supposed to be their cover story, and Flug supposed he was okay with Black Hat insinuating such to total strangers. In a very online comic "I GUESS!" kind of way. Partners in crime? That might be the most technically correct way to look at it. Though it wasn't like people just casually said that so that couldn't have been it so-
Why on earth could Flug not go two damn minutes without over-analyzing something to the point of mild panic?
The man opened up the storage unit, snapping Flug out of his internal mental breakdown. "So, it's about 200 square feet. You can fit a car in here, a small boat maybe, two or three rooms worth of furniture and then some. Any large equipment you might need to store away, you could probably get it all in there. Might have to take it apart but hey, so long as it fits, right? Fluorescent lighting, it's own electricity, power strips' in the back," He pointed off, allowing the two of them in to explore. "You're free to drive on through, just be mindful of everyone else. It's all concrete, so it's sturdy. Very secure."
"Mmmmm," Black Hat hummed, eyeing the walls critically. The flickering fluorescent light hanging from the ceiling made a slightly annoying buzz that Flug tried to ignore. Not having a clear idea of what would make this place stand out from the rest, Flug flitted his gaze around aimlessly. He acted like he was checking the space out, totally imagining all the stuff they could set up, in the back of his head wondering if this place could provide enough power to build a more accurate prototype of a Hat-Bot. Make it the exact size he wanted, get a perfect example of how it could be. Much easier to see what works and what doesn't at full scale right from the start. Also much easier to estimate total production costs and time required for the armada Black Hat wanted to have. Which, in all honesty, was exactly what Flug wanted to create. A perfect fleet of giant destructive robots. It was like he was making his childhood dreams come true! But with more hats.
"Sooooo..." Flug leaned over towards Black Hat. "What do you think?"
"Good amount of space," He said softly, Flug assumed it was so the guy showing them the place didn't overhear much. "Only one entrance, if the vents aren't too big. Concrete on it's own is good to muffle sound, and we can line it with other things to decrease what little might get out. The lighting strikes me as a bit cliché, but I really do want to hurry up and get started. It'd also be convenient to just drive up and unload all our things right here."
"Yeah, yeah, better than having to carry everything in from parking."
"Mmm hmmm," Black Hat turned towards the entrance, where the man still stood. "Are there any limitations to what we can store here?"
"So long as you're not trying to live out of it, or keep living things in it, you're fine."
Black Hat looked to Flug. "Well, that won't be a problem. Would there be any issue if we, say, modified it a bit?"
"What do you mean?"
"Maybe change the lighting fixture, attach a few things to the walls, hang something from the ceiling, I don't know, paint? We might be using this a while."
"I mean..." The guy rubbed the back of his head, and seemed to dart his eyes back and forth between the two of them. "We try and give everyone their privacy. We don't really inspect the units, unless we get a complaint, so as long as you're not doing anything illegal I guess it's fine. As far as the painting thing goes, I mean, it's your space as long as you're paying for it. You can do whatever you want, so long as it doesn't bother anyone. Just be discreet, I guess."
"Oh, we will be." Black Hat said. Flug silently agreed. Yep. They'd be very discreet. And they would totally not be doing anything illegal here. No sir.
"So you like what you see?"
"Yes, yes I do. I'll take it."
"Great," The man clapped his hands together and rubbed them eagerly. "Just come on back with me and fill out all the forms and such. First months' half-off."
They followed the man back to what Flug guessed was the main office. He and Black Hat talked a bit more, legal stuff or something, Flug was more preoccupied with how things were moving forward. Oh, the suspense has been killing him! He was glad Black Hat had finally settled on a place and now they could start to prep their little kill-room. Which meant that soon, they'd be testing the Stun Gun. He was so relieved that they'd finally found a place. Things were actually happening!
He let Black Hat take care of the paperwork, not really listening to what was being said. Flug just kind of paced in the background of whatever was going on over there. Black Hat knew what he was doing. If Flug needed to do anything, Black Hat would call him over. The man went to the back for some reason, maybe he needed to get more papers or something. Flug wondered what he should do now. Black Hat was just leaning back on the countertop, braced on his elbows, not looking at anything in particular. Should Flug say something? Like what? Hey, we finally got ourselves a torture chamber, partner! High five!
Oh yeah, that. Now was a good time to ask about that.
"So..." Flug swung his arms around to release some of this nervous tension building up inside. "Partners."
"Huh? Oh. Yes, I like that term very much."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. It's ambiguous, and invasive to ask about. No one really asks what you mean when you say it unless it becomes actually relevant. Unless perhaps someone's a huge idiot and asks like it's any of their business."
"You don't need to tell me that. I'm gay too, you know."
Black Hat was silent for a second. "Actually, I'm pansexual."
"Oh." Flug stopped pacing. "Oh, that's...um...that's being attracted to all genders, right?"
"It's closer to gender not being a factor, if that makes sense."
"So it's more, like, 'whatever,' for you?"
"Something like that."
"Oh. Ok. Thanks for telling me."
"That's it?" Black Hat flashed a wry smile. "No, 'Why didn't you tell me sooner?' or anything?"
"Didn't really matter sooner," Flug shrugged, smiling gently back. "Sorry I just assumed."
Black Hat waved him off. "It's fine."
Well...okay then. Flug was feeling pretty good about today. They'd found a decent place to make a murder dungeon, yay. He and Black Hat were partners, the term...open to interpretation. Black Hat was pansexual. Hey, neat. Flug wasn't sure if he'd known anyone pansexual before, he hoped he didn't say something ignorant. Well, Black Hat would surely tell him if he did. Oh man he hoped he hadn't said anything stupid before, without even realizing it.
What he did realize was that Black Hat had been expecting him to react...badly. No, 'why didn't you tell me sooner?' The way he'd looked when he'd said that, like he'd been expecting he'd have to explain not coming out earlier. Had previous partners acted like that? Like he'd been hiding something that changed who he was? Or rather, how they saw him? He'd expected Flug would do the same? As if his sexuality had anything to do with him as a person? Shouldn't he know Flug better than that? Was that really what he thought of him?
Well...that might not be the reason exactly. Maybe it wasn't that he expected Flug to act that way, but he was prepared for it. Just in case. Because you never are 100% certain that someone won't act like that. Like you were hiding something. Like you have to come out right when you meet someone. Even your own family aren't guaranteed to be accepting and understanding, and yet they expect you to take that chance. Flug now thought that he should just be appreciative that Black Hat came out to him and now try to focus on not being unknowingly prejudiced. It wasn't like being gay exempted him of that.
He should be respectful of his...partner...he's been respectful of him after all.
Flug walked over and leaned back on the countertop next to Black Hat. He wondered if it would be okay if he, say, rested his hand near Black Hats. Or would that be weird? Would it be weird to just let his hand kind of reach over near his, not holding it no certainly not. But if Black Hat just so happened to move over a few centimeters and Flug just so happened to end up kind of holding his hand, would that be weird? Surely not! They'd done much more than freaking handholding why would that be weird? They'd kissed and groped and Black Hat's tongue had spent a considerable amount of time in Flug's mouth so why the hell would it be weird to hold his goddamned hand!?
Maybe because they'd sort of gone right to kissing and things beyond, and had skipped over little things like hand holding. At least, while alone. In public, they had started to act a bit...closer. Hell, Black Hat had basically escorted him everywhere after the incident during Finals Week. He'd offered his arm, and Flug had taken it. He'd walked together with him, holding onto his arm...and his hand. They'd already held hands! Wasn't that how Flug's hand had gotten hurt? They'd been holding hands, they saw Black Hat's car, they both got fucking pissed and Black Hat had squeezed really hard and hurt Flug's hand. They'd already held hands! No big deal! Matter of fact, it had happened twice! He'd done it at breakfast! Black Hat had just reached out and held his hand! Sure, he'd indirectly kind of threatened him too (or maybe he just always seemed vaguely threatening), but he'd been holding his hand and that was the thing Flug was freaking out about right now! Wait, Black Hat might've done it even earlier in their relationship (oh God that word again) as well. Like around the time they gotten acquainted at Cafe Triste. They'd held hands plenty of times before! There was nothing special about it at all!
So why was Flug still so hesitant to reach over and initiate it for once!? Black Hat had done it, multiple freaking times, why couldn't Flug? Why couldn't he initiate stupid little things like that!? It was goddamn hand holding, nothing more, and no one would even see it! Wasn't that Flug's big issue with public displays of affection? Someone seeing? No one would, that was for sure! I mean, the more he waited the more likely someone would walk in and see it so if he really wanted to do this then he better do it now before the moment was gone! If he wanted to hold hands with his pretend-boyfriend so badly why couldn't he just do it!?
Oh...oh yeah. Black Hat was just his pretend-boyfriend. It was all a ruse. Everything was just an act to serve as their cover story. Sure, the line blurred a bit here and there, but there was a line. Wasn't there? Would holding his hand be crossing that line? If Flug did that right now, would that be...wrong? Would he be getting too into their little scheme? It would probably be fine if they were in front of people, strangely enough. If Black Hat gave him any sort of weird look, Flug could claim that he was just acting like he thought normal boyfriends did. Black Hat had said there was little point in being private about things anymore, and that may carry over to the next semester. Either way, it gave Flug a way out of it. In case he was going too far. It was just for anyone who might be watching. Just to convince anyone who might be suspicious that they were a perfectly normal couple. They were all alone right now, why put on a show if no one would see it?
The man came back, both Black Hat and Flug signed whatever pieces of paper were put in front of them, and all there was left to do was to take Flug home.
"Well, we got our own little kill-room now," Flug said as he got back into Black Hat's rental car.
"Yes, and it was about time, too. This place should suffice until our headquarters is complete. Or we find something better. It'll be far more convenient to handle these things from the privacy of our home in the future."
"I bet. It kind of makes me wish that one of us had a house right now."
"Ehhhh, neighbors would still be a concern. Though it is a little easier to explain away why a room in your home is soundproofed."
"Won't neighbors be a concern in Hatsville, too? Or are we going to be the scary hat mansion at the top of some lone creepy hill?"
"I'd be less worried about it in a town I owned. And what the hell are you talking about? We're not going to be on a hill. Is that from a movie?"
"Did all the paperwork go through?"
"Yep. You're looking at a man who owns a town." Black Hat grinned in a proud, fiendish way. The very expression of Be Impressed.
"Great, now it's just a matter of it being built."
"It will take a while," Black Hat admitted. "Are you sure you aren't hungry? You don't want to stop anywhere?"
"Sure. You pick. Whatever you're in the mood for."
Progress went slow. There was only so much Black Hat could stuff in the trunk (and backseat) of his rented prius. And he only showed up at Flug's place of work every other day or so. It was making Flug kind of antsy. He much rather preferred having whatever he needed at the ready and his hours unlimited so he could sit and work nonstop until he was finished. Just remind him to go to the bathroom and eat something every few hours and he was good. Maybe not healthy, but he'd live. He'd bring this up with Black Hat, if he had any sort of clue how to ask Why are we not spending more time on the murder dungeon? without actually saying Why are we not spending more time on the murder dungeon? He felt really weird about how anxious he was to just get it done, especially since Black Hat didn't seem to be in any huge hurry. Ironic, since he'd only settled on this place because he wanted to get started. And Flug couldn't think of anything else Black Hat might be doing, so what was the deal?
Come on Black Hat, what else do you do with your life besides villain-ing? What else do you do with your time? What do you have to do other than this? Actually, what the hell else did Black Hat do? Did he just hang around in his apartment with the black licorice rope of doom (a.k.a. Lil' Jack), waiting for something evil to do? Flug was tempted to ask that as well, but part of him didn't even want to know what Black Hat might get up to in his spare time. Wasn't much of Flug's business anyway, he was just his employee.
He wondered if Black Hat had found someone to kidnap yet. Targeting someone for that probably involved stalking them, didn't it? Learn their routine, decide when they'd be most vulnerable, start planning the actual abduction. Maybe that was what he did. Maybe he went out looking for potential victims. And sugar babies.
Oh God he'd hoped he'd forgotten about that.
Ooh, his phone dinged. Speak of the devil and he shall text you. At like one in the morning. Because, I don't know, he has insomnia?
I need to see you about the Stun Gun. Is six a good time to come by?
Oh so now he's back to asking when he should show up. Well that was good, wasn't it? They were getting back to normal, like Flug wanted. He responded, Yeah that's fine
Ok. Are you resting?
I mean, I don't think I can so much as nap so...
You could still do things. Didn't the contract say you could rest with meditation or something?
Yeah, or something. Oh God he could never tell Black Hat about the kind of videos he watched at night. It was just too embarrassing! And weird. Yeah, I could do that
You should. Keep your mind sharp.
You should be getting to bed too
I am in bed.
Flug was half-expecting Black Hat to send him some kind of casually sexy selfie to prove it. The other half of him was alarmed that he would apparently describe a picture of Black Hat in bed as "casually sexy". Luckily, no such thing was sent so he never had to face up to that thought ever again. In case Black Hat had been experimenting with poses, Flug premtively texted: Well goodnight Black Hat. There, that little conversation was shut down completely.
No reason to think about it (or Black Hat. In bed) any further.
None at all.
None. At. All.
Black Hat got right down to business and took the thing out of a pocket from inside his coat the minute Flug closed his apartment door behind him.
"I just want a quick refresher on how to use it. It's been a while since I've seen you do it and I need to make sure I know how to correctly."
"Oh, alright then. Hmmm, where to start?"
"How about with turning it on?"
Flug tried not to giggle out loud. "It's, ah, it's not like the ElecTrap where it needs to be turned on or anything. Well, I mean, this button over here is what will deactivate it once you're done, but other than that it just needs to be charged after you use it. Have you used it?"
"No."
"Then it should be good to go already. Just point and shoot like a regular gun. Deactivate when finished and pull the trigger again. No need for anything else."
"I see. I control how strong it will be with this knob, right?"
"Oh, no, that's for how many pulses, actually. Allowing for multiple shocks, even from a single hit. You change the voltage with these little buttons here, and it gives you the readout in amps up here."
"Alright, and what does it need to be set to when I'm securing our test subject?"
"About 100 milliamps. It should be set to that now. It's like the default."
"Ok." Black Hat said, eyeing the thing in his hand like he only now considered it a dangerous weapon. "So I shoot someone with this, and they will be paralyzed. Like before?"
"Yep. Just like with Aurelio."
"So then, I won't be able to touch them, will I?"
"What?"
"It seemed like you felt something when you punched him." Black Hat clarified. "You even said something about rubber gloves, I think? To protect yourself from the electricity?"
"Oh...oh yeah. Yes, uh, sorry, I guess I'd forgotten about that. Um..." Well shit. Now what? How were they going to do this if they couldn't transport their victim? How had this not come up before?! It immobilized people, sure, but if they couldn't so much as lay a hand on them without getting shocked, what was the point!? They couldn't just kill them right then and there! They couldn't do it just out in the open like that! What were they going to do?! How-
"Flug," Black Hat's voice shook Flug out of his little internal panic. "Do you happen to have any rubber gloves here right now?"
"Huh? Yeah, yeah I do."
"Could you bring them to me please?"
"Uhhh, ok." Flug said, trying to think of where he might've put them. He was sure he had some rubber gloves somewhere, he used them to keep from getting shocked when he was working with such high voltage electricity like the Stun Gun. And he'd probably been using them without even thinking about it while messing with the circuitry of the Hat-Bot prototype. Which meant they had to be... "Aha! Found them!" He held up the gloves and scurried back.
"Ah, good, good. These should work." Black Hat nodded to himself. Then he shot Flug.
Flug became aware of this after the sound registered, and sometime in between falling to the floor and actually hitting it. His next revelation was that his head and back hurt and his body as a whole felt weird. Kind of goosebumpy and so very stiff. He felt completely frozen in position. And that wasn't even the worst part. The worst part was the familiar buzz of electricity ringing in his ears and a slightly warm sensation somewhere on his midsection where (he assumed) Black Hat had fucking shot him.
Similar to before, it wasn't exactly painful, but it wasn't exactly comfortable either. Especially since this wasn't at all like before, where he'd set something up and voluntarily paralyzed himself. This was someone else, who's motives were questionable in the best case scenario, shocking him stiff without any kind of warning. Flug tried to get his feelings under control, to be able to use his Soulless Super Powers and block everything out so he could think with a clear mind. He wasn't completely in control of his breathing right now, the only breaths he was able to take were shallow and short, making it hard to calm down completely.
He heard the sound of footsteps, possibly, everything was slightly muffled by the electric current making his hearing all fuzzy. He assumed it to be Black Hat, coming closer and observing. That thought did not help his already concerned state of mind. Actually, saying he was "concerned" was putting it lightly. Hell, even "distressed" didn't feel like it was doing it justice. Black Hat briefly bent over and looked down at his face, not really having any kind of emotion, not helping Flug to calm down in the slightest. Not doing anything but sending Flug's mind racing trying to think of some kind of logical explanation as to what on earth was happening! Then Black Hat was gone, out of Flug's line of sight, and if Flug could hyperventilate he'd surely be doing that right about now.
He vaguely heard Black Hat making some kind of grunt or something. He still couldn't see him, nor could he feel anything other than the electricity keeping him frozen, but he guessed that perhaps Black Hat had tried to touch him? Grab some part of him, maybe? Oh God what was he touching? What was he doing!? What was going on!?
AAAAAAAAAAAANNNND now he was moving! He couldn't feel it but he could sort of see the ceiling changing slightly and furniture move out of the corner of his peripherals as he was (he assumed) lugged off to so other room in his apartment. OK! This was apparently happening! Well, now Flug could fully confirm that he had indeed made a weapon of evil! Because being held completely still against one's will and unable to so much as fight back as one is dragged off to an unknown location for unknown purposes, is absolutely terrifying. He could only imagine what must go through someone's head when it's done by a complete stranger in the dead of night on top of it all! Hell, that alone might be enough to give someone a heart attack. Would that count as a marketable feature? It can give people heart attacks! Not with the electricity, no, it's just that horrifying of an experience. Act now and get a second one half price! *with shipping.
Ok, the ceiling was about all he could really see and that was not giving him many clues as to where they might be heading. Was he still in the living room? Where was Black Hat taking him!? Ok ok ok, Flug just saw a door frame, so they must've gone through the hallway and were now...in Flug's bedroom, maybe? He didn't think this was the bathroom, and it certainly wasn't the kitchen. Flug didn't dare try and move on his own, it wasn't as if he'd be fast enough to get away in the event of...he didn't know, something that required him to flee for his life. This was Black Hat we were talking about here and sometimes Flug had no clue what to expect.
He was, however, slightly relieved when Black Hat deactivated the Stun Gun and Flug was able to move again. As well as breathe.
"Well, now we know that works." Black Hat said, scarily calm while Flug was left gasping on the floor. He peeled the rubber gloves off his hands. Which still had his usual gloves on under the rubber ones. "Good thing, too. Because if not, that would've made this thing practically worthless. How on earth did you think I'd be able to kidnap someone I couldn't touch?"
"I-I'm sorry?" Flug panted out, getting up on his elbows. He noticed he was indeed in his bedroom. "I g-guess I got so cau-caught up in making it lethal I-"
"Oh that's no problem, Flug." Black Hat knelt down to be at eye level with him. "I have no problem with you doing everything you can to make a real weapon. Until it comes at the cost of basic functionality. You created this originally as a device to immobilize and capture people. You can't say you've succeeded if you've only got half of the requirements."
"I-I-I'm s-sorry-"
"If I hadn't done this, what do you think would've happened if we'd actually used it?"
"I-"
"What would've happened, Flug? Tell me, what do you think would've happened if we'd gone ahead and tried to kidnap someone!?"
Flug flinched when he raised his voice. "I-I-I-ah-" He could barely think, let alone speak. It was taking all his brain power just to breathe! He couldn't tell what he was supposed to focus on- Black Hat shooting him with his own invention, how creepily nonchalant he was being about it, how he'd dragged him to his bedroom, why was he asking him so many questions? Why had he shot him? Why was he saying all these things? He sounded like he was scolding him, and some part of Flug thought what he was saying was true, but it wasn't fully registering. He felt like he'd done something wrong, but couldn't understand what. And now he was being asked to explain himself when he didn't even know what happened. Getting shot and dragged off like a fresh kill was already a shock to his senses, and now here he was being criticized for it. Wait, that might not be what's happening here. He had absolutely no clue what was going on anymore.
"Flug, this can't happen again." Black Hat said seriously, putting one hand on Flug's trembling shoulder. "If we hadn't caught this, we might've failed. We can't do that. Ever."
Flug gulped. Hard. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't-
"Flug, come here." Black Hat brought him close to his chest, which did stop Flug's pounding heart. Almost literally. Was he hugging him? After that!? "I gave you quite the scare, didn't I? I'm sorry about that. Are you hurt? Did it hurt you at all?"
"N-N-No," Flug sputtered out, still confused but able to respond to such a basic question. "Ju-Just, just when I h-hit the ground." He rubbed at the back of his head where he'd landed.
"That's all? Nothing else?" Black Hat lightly pet the spot himself. "It was painless?"
"Y-Yeah," Just scary.
"That's good. I'm glad you weren't hurt. Will you be able to fix this little design flaw?"
"I, um, I-I, I d-d-don't think-"
"Shhhhhhhhh, deep breathes, my Pet." Black Hat held him closer, stroking the back of his head and neck. Careful not to touch where Flug had crash landed. "Breathe, and then speak."
"I, ah, I don't think I can really f-f-fix it." Flug said, worried about how Black Hat would react to hearing that. "Cuz, you know, I based all the electric stuff off of a ta-taser. And, those are just one short burst, so this kind of thing doesn't come up, ever. I-I'm sorry, I didn't even think about it. I'm so sorry, p-please-"
Black Hat shushed him again. "Calm down, and be quiet. We know that the rubber gloves work, so we'll still be able to get our test subject. This is why we test things, Flug, so we don't run into problems like this out in the real world. It's not enough just to commit crimes, we have to get away with them, too. And that's the hard part. We can't make mistakes like this. ¿Entende?"
"I-I think so?" Flug replied cautiously.
"Good," Black Hat cooed. "Then everything can go on according to plan. We just need to finish our kill-room, and then we can proceed with the experiment."
"Can't wa-wait," Flug said, still uneasy about what just happened. And about how oddly...intimate Black Hat was right now.
"Come on now Flug, you said so yourself that it didn't hurt. Besides, you don't really feel anything anymore. You just imagine you do. Now get up." Black Hat offered his hand and helped the still shaking man to stand. "It's just like I told you, so long as you do everything I say, it will all go smoothly."
"Right, um, b-but if you do something like th-th-that again, can you warn me, please?" Flug looked up at him nervously. "I think I could handle it better if I just kn-knew it was coming. S-So I could prepare, you know?"
"Oh sure, no problem," Black Hat said easily. A bit too easily in Flug's mind. "But you know, if you consider these things beforehand, I won't ever have to do anything like this again."
"Yeah, ok, g-g-got it. It w-won't happen again, sir." Oh Flug would make sure Black Hat never had any excuse to pull something like this again.
"Glad to hear it." Black Hat gave him a great big toothy smile, drawing Flug's attention back to just how sharp his teeth were. Had any explanation ever been given for that? His phone beeped, some alarm or notification. "I have to go. I'll pick you up tomorrow so we can make some more progress on our kill-room."
"Ok. I d-don't work tomorrow so I'll be r-right here."
"Oh I knew that Flug." Yeah I had a feeling you might. "But thank you,"
Then he leaned over and kissed Flug before he could protest. Or do anything about it. Nothing big, it was just a peck on the cheek, that was all. No big deal.
But it felt like it was a very big deal.
"I'll see you then, my Pet." He grinned evilly as he strode off through the apartment like it was as much his as it was Flug's.
"Yeah, see you then," Flug mumbled numbly, reaching up to feel where Black Hat kissed him. Once he was sure he heard him leave.
What...what just happened? Why did it happen? Why did he do that? Well, Flug guessed he knew why. Why he shot him at least. Ok, so, there was kind of a little itty bitty design flaw that could've ruined absolutely everything. Something like that should be taken care of. Not sure the message needed to be hammered home quite like that but...ok...
I mean, the man's killed before. Obviously he had no qualms about using violence to get what he wanted, Flug shouldn't be surprised by that. Did this count as violence? Flug hadn't technically been hurt, really. He suffered the equivalent of, like, bumping his head. Or tripping and falling back on the floor. That was all. If there would be any bruises, they'd be under his hair or maybe on his back. Where no one would see them. But, but that was an if. If he was bruised by it, no one would see. If Black Hat had bruised him...no one would see...
Flug sat on the edge of his bed. His hands covered his mouth. He couldn't stop himself from running his thumb over the part of his cheek Black Hat had kissed. Like he thought he could erase it from history altogether if he just wiped the kiss off. Make it so it had never happened at all. Usually, he'd be fine with bruises where no one would see them. Probably because every time Black Hat had marked him up previously it had been...well, Flug had thought of it as an intimacy thing. Flug had liked when Black Hat bit him, hard enough to draw blood. And he'd held him hard enough to bruise him before. It had felt...passionate, he guessed he would say. Right on the brink of overwhelming, and that was something Flug liked. Even if maybe he shouldn't. It was one thing to toy with himself that way, it was another altogether to allow someone else to. Especially if he didn't trust them not to take things too far.
Though...Black Hat had consistently told him that he was allowed to say no. He'd stated outright that he had no intentions of forcing him into bed, and reiterated multiple times that he'd stop if Flug told him to. Flug was pretty sure he'd done exactly that. Dinner, making out, he went a bit father, Flug made it clear that he wanted to stop, he stopped. He went to kiss Flug, Flug stopped him, he didn't try again. He backed off. He stopped. Like he said he would. He'd repeatedly given Flug the chance to stop him, and when Flug used it, he obliged.
Except for...this time. This time, Flug hadn't been given any choice. Black Hat had just...done that.
Flug wasn't entirely sure whether he was thinking of being shot or being kissed at the moment. Maybe it was a little of both. It was certainly true of both. Black Hat hadn't given him any warning, he'd just shot him. Same for the kiss. He'd just gone ahead and done it. He'd just sprung those things on Flug without so much as a "Think fast!" Why had he done that?
Flug fell back onto his bed, staring at the ceiling and trying to apply logic to the situation at hand. Should a peck on the cheek really be on the same level as getting fucking shot? It wasn't even with a real gun, he wasn't hurt or anything! Just...shaken up. Yeah, that was it. He was just shaken by it, and was probably still feeling the effects of such a shock. Heh, shock. See? He was already laughing about it. No big deal. Yeah, it was just...still in his system or whatever. It really wasn't that big a deal. He was ok. He was fine. Just a bit shaken up. He'd get over it. He just needed to calm down and...think about something else! Anything else! He just needed to distract himself, and then, if it still bothered him, he'd just...deal with it rationally, of course! Yes! Rationally!
How the fuck does one rationally deal with their boss/Lord and Master (not even going to touch on being his Pet) shooting and paralyzing them with their own creation, and then scolding them for it not working quite like how they promised? Which was...slightly justified? Flug understood that it was a problem, and it really should've come up sooner, and it was something pretty important, and a lot counted on it working properly, so...
Why did he still feel so scared?
He took a deep breath in. In, hold it, let it out. Heh, maybe those videos were good for something more than just fueling the fire in Flug's pants. He supposed he could put one on. Maybe a brainwashing loop, or something that promised a blank mind. He'd love to have absolutely nothing going on in his head at the moment. Just something to clear his mind. Kind of literally. Black Hat had said he should be resting, that he should keep his mind sharp...
...He should really get back to work.
Translations:
¿Entende? = Understand? (Portuguese)
Notes:
Next time, Black Hat's P.O.V.! Are you as excited as I am?
