"Bring me the 4.5mm wrench."

Flug watched the Hat-Botler scooter its way over to the desk where he had laid out his wrenches from smallest to largest. He watched its neck and arms extend with stiff movements, reaching up and picking the smallest wrench. Once retrieved, its limbs retracted back to normal and it wheeled itself back to where its creator was standing. Flug took the wrench out of the things little claw-like fingers and after a few seconds it's shining yellow eyes dimmed, signaling it had gone into stand-by mode.

Flug went over and rearranged the wrenches at random.

"Hat-Botler," its eyes lit up again. "Bring me the 11mm wrench."

The little robot promptly went back to the desk just as it had before, briefly glancing at the new arrangement before selecting a tool and coming back. Flug inspected the wrench his invention had brought back and sure enough, it was 11mm.

The young scientist had an idea, something that would really show off what he had made here. This time instead of just rearranging his tools, he knocked them all off the table. They scattered, some getting knocked clear across the floor.

"Hat-Botler, bring me the 6mm wrench."

The Hat-Botler headed off in the direction of the table, but stopped in its tracks when it encountered the tools scattered across the floor. Its mechanical head turned to and fro, zeroing in on one that had flown off to the left. Its single tire rode easily over the two or three wrenches between it and the one it was after and it presented the correct wrench to its maker.

"Very good, now put everything away." Flug held out the case where he stored all his wrenches. The Hat-Botler complied wordlessly, picking up every wrench and putting them neatly in their correct place in the case. "It's only capable of simple stuff like this right now, but it is a prototype after all. Got to start somewhere."

"Right, right." Black Hat sat back in one of Flug's kitchen chairs. "With it assisting you, you'll know firsthand what needs to be improved upon."

The Hat-Botler scooted itself back over and presented the full case of wrenches to Flug. "Put it away." He said. There was a slight delay before the robotic servant headed off to the living room, where said case was usually stored. It could just be the vagueness of the command, but it also wouldn't hurt Flug to organize his living/work space a little better. "Its response time is quick and its speed is good, though I'd like it to move a little smoother. And of course I ultimately want it to be capable of much more than just retrieving tools for me. But I think it's enough for me to begin the next project."

"Good." Black Hat smiled. Even in the fairly well-lit kitchen of Flug's apartment he managed to look ominous. "When can you start?"

"As soon as I get my ElecTrap. At least I won't have to make that again from scratch."

"How long do you think it will take you to upgrade it into a lethal machine?"

"With the Hat-Botler..." Flug calculated the time he would save having both himself and his little robot working around the clock in the time he was home. "Maybe a day or two, depending on when exactly I get it. It's mostly a matter of increasing the voltage it's able to produce, so that's a lot of wiring and maybe a bit of restructuring. As well as redesigning the controller. Relatively light work."

"Very good." Black Hat stood up and stretched, producing a sickening crack that Flug pretended not to hear. "Do you need anything from me? Anything at all?"

"Just a few small things, mainly for the remote."

"I meant to get your machine back." Black Hat smirked.

"Oh no, no thank you. I got it." Flug smiled crookedly. He totally had this. It was going to be a piece of cake.

"Maravilhoso. Let me know as soon as you have it. I like keeping on top of things."

"Sure thing, jefecito." The Hat-Botler returned empty handed so Flug assumed it had put the case in its usual spot near the drawer where the rest of his tools were stored. It came to rest at Flug's side and went into stand-by mode after a few seconds of inactivity.

Black Hat smiled wider, breaking out into a big toothy grin. "How long should its battery last?"

"Depending on how much time it actually spends active, maybe I could stretch it into a few months? It goes into stand-by after a few seconds, so that'll save a lot of battery life."

"Doing all that you can to conserve I see." Black Hat braced himself on the table with one hand.

"Well, uh, I know that battery was pretty expensive." Flug looked away. "I want it to make it last, so you don't end up spending a bunch of money just for this one thing to work. I mean, there's so much more I'm going to need in materials and hardware. And I can't imagine how much I've wasted already." Flug grimaced, thinking back on his earlier attempts at a small scale Hat-Bot. He'd been able to salvage some of it for the Hat-Botler, but it was undeniable that the majority of it had gone to waste. "And this is hopefully the first of many, if it works well."

"Oh yes, I want them all throughout our future headquarters."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. It would certainly be better than hiring human staff of questionable trustworthiness. These could never betray us, could they?" Black Hat tilted his head to the side, showing off his teeth in a way that made Flug's heart seem to beat so much faster.

"N-no, never. And having to replace the batteries a few times a year would be cheaper than paying a full staff in the long run I'm sure."

"Yes, and with all that will be spent on production and restocking it's worth saving where we can."

"Right, yeah. Mmm hmmm."

"Is something else on your mind? You seem distracted."

"Oh no no, I'm just, uhhhh, thinking about when would be the best time to get my ElecTrap." Yes, that was it. He had nothing but work on his mind. Eyes on the prize as they say.

"The sooner the better I say." Black Hat grinned fiendishly again, looking positively bloodthirsty. "That one's going to be interesting to test out. I want something we can use and market as top of the line defense."

"Well, it is basically an electric mine."

"And I want to test it as such."

"Ok, so...how will we do that? We just plant it and wait?"

"We can't just plant it anywhere, Flug. It must be in a reasonably obscure location where we can observe and retrieve both it and the body without being noticed."

"Right right, of course."

"We may need some bait as well, in order to draw our victim." Black Hat stroked his chin, really making Flug take notice of how sharp his jawline was. Luckily he was staring off into space so he didn't notice how Flug was staring at him. "The question is what, and where."

"We, uh, we could also use its non-lethal setting as a means to get a victim. Like the Stun Gun, but remotely. For other experiments and stuff."

"True. Do you feel ready to try multiple kidnapping methods already?"

"Uhhhh, maybe I am getting a little ahead of myself." Flug admitted. "It's just, I have so many modes in mind-"

"I know, I know." Black Hat came closer, leaving the table to approach Flug more directly. "That's what I like about you. You come up with the most amazing variety. Capture, torture, instant death, anything a villain could want in their wares. I don't even have to tell you, it comes to you so easily."

"Oh, well...thank you, sir."

"But of course, my sweet."

"I, ah ha ha, I thought you didn't like sweet things." Flug looked away again, unable to stop smiling for some odd reason.

"For you, I make an exception."

They both laughed a bit. Flug tried to calm himself. Why was his heart racing like this? It was just Black Hat. Smiling amorously and calling him things like "my sweet." That was a new one. Flug guessed it wasn't all that far from things like "my darling" or anything else he'd called him before. No big deal. Why was he feeling so sweaty? Black Hat wasn't even doing anything! He was just...standing there. Right in front of him. So close he could just reach out and...and...

And do nothing because Flug couldn't even begin to imagine what it was he wanted to happen right now. Best to just move the conversation along.

"So...um..." Flug fidgeted a bit. "Have you found someone for us to practice on yet?"

"As a matter of fact, I have. I'd like to schedule our next date night a few weeks from now. How does the 23rd sound?"

"Sounds great. I'll, ah, I'll mark it on my calendar." Flug said jokingly.

"Good, so will I." Black Hat pulled out his phone. Flug did the same after a moment. "It will be similar to our last night out, except I will be demonstrating to you."

"I can't wait."

"Oh believe me, neither can I. Tell me Flug, how much do you know about anatomy?"

Is that an innuendo or is he being serious? Flug wondered.

He decided he'd assume seriousness until proven otherwise. "I...can't say I know much. The, um, biological sciences were never really my thing."

"Well then, we'll have a lot to go over. I'll be sure not to rush things."

"Thank you. I appreciate that."

"Think nothing of it." Black Hat waved his hand in the air between them. "Besides, it will be fun! We'll have a grand old time going over all the weak spots of the human body. Oh, and we'll be out for much longer this time. I fully intend to make the most of our victim."

"Cool." Flug said, like a dork. Why could he never think of anything more intelligent to say than cool?! "What, ahh, what exactly does that entail?"

"For one, an earlier start. I'll pick you up around nine o'clock, nine-thirty at the latest. Do you remember telling me you wanted to make Aurelio suffer for as long as possible?"

"Yeah."

"I will teach you everything you could possibly need to know to make his death as excruciante as you like." Black Hat smiled evilly. "We're not going to drag this out for days just yet, a few hours should suffice for our first time delving into torture. And we'll just progress from there, ok?"

"Ok. Yeah." Flug nodded. "I think I can handle that."

"I'm sure you can." Black Hat put a hand on Flug's shoulder, his mad grin lessening to something a bit more reassuring. "Under my guidance, you'll be ripping people apart in no time."

"I look forward to it, sir."

"You and I both."

Flug then became aware of the time and realized they better get a move on if he didn't want to be late for class. He rushed to put the Hat-Botler away before grabbing his stuff and running after Black Hat down to his car. Black Hat sped off in his usual manner, so they would probably make it to campus just in time.

"Sorry again for calling you over so early. I just figured I should show you the Hat-Botler as soon as possible, and since I'm working tonight and you'll probably be out stalking our next target...it seemed like the best time."

"You're not wrong." Black Hat yawned. "But let's not make a habit of this. I need my beauty sleep."

"Ah, right, sorry." It may have slipped Flug's mind how many hours of sleep regular people needed. Not to mention Black Hat must be staying out late keeping tabs on their target. Did he even have a class this early? "Now I feel like I should've made coffee for you."

"Ugghhh, that sounds so good right now. I think your caffeine addiction is rubbing off on me."

"It is not an 'addiction'! It's just...a force of habit."

"Mmm hmm. Your class gets out around 12 right?"

"Yeah."

"Would you meet me for lunch at Cafe Triste after?"

"That sounds good, yeah." Right after I get my ElecTrap.

Flug hastily left the classroom once Sr. Abel Fuentes dismissed them. He wasn't much looking forward to the next time they met. Their first speech was going to be their introductions. Where they gave a speech about themselves. He really had to fight not to groan out loud just thinking about it. He knew more or less what he was going to say, it was just a matter of getting the words off of paper and actually saying them that he was having some trouble with. God he didn't like this class.

But he was determined to try his best. At the very least he just wanted to pass and get his credits.

"Rocinante, hey!" said a voice from behind him.

"Oh hey Luis." He really hadn't seen much of him in class today. They were split further into pairs in their groups and Flug had gone over his first draft with some guy named Steven.

"Where are you going in such a hurry? Do you have another class after this?"

"Uh, yeah- Well I mean, not right after but...why do you ask?"

"Do you wanna grab some lunch? I know a great taco place."

"Oh! Uhhhhhh..." Flug thought fast. While grabbing lunch with Luis didn't sound horrible, Flug had more important things to do. That he couldn't talk about because they related to his newfound career path of criminal activity. "M-Maybe some other time. I'll, um, I'll see you next week. Bye." Flug ducked into the bathroom and hid in a stall for a minute or two. He felt a little bad about blowing Luis off with such a lame tactic, but he couldn't come up with even a semi-plausible excuse on the spot like that.

I have to do...stuff. Things. That are totally not suspicious at all because...reasons.

Flug facepalmed. His glasses dug uncomfortably into his nose. Why was he so bad at this? Why couldn't he just say he was busy? Why'd he leave it open with "maybe next time" like he wasn't going to just continually blow him off? Why was he hiding in the bathroom?

He didn't want to be hiding in the bathroom. He didn't want to be hiding at all. It was kind of embarrassing when he really thought about how socially awkward he was. He had negative social skills. He wanted to work on that, and at least be able to turn down an invitation to lunch like a normal person instead of just running away from the conversation.

But he still waited another minute to flush the toilet, washed his hands like he'd actually done something, and left. He promised himself he would keep working towards his goal of social competence.

He might be going towards it at a snail's pace, but he'd get there. One day.

Not five minutes later Flug stood nervously outside the large glass doors of the Robotics Lab working up the nerve to step forward. He wasn't allowed inside, but what were the chances of someone noticing if he just popped in for a minute or two to get something he left behind? The Engineering Club members had lockers reserved in the lab due to how much time they spent there, so he wasn't particularly worried about the ElecTrap being thrown away or stolen. Usually there was no problem with Flug leaving anything over break. Still, would it be suspicious for him to want his ElecTrap back? As well as his other projects? Would anyone even notice? Just in and out, within minutes, no one would notice. Yeah. It wasn't like they had posters that read "This guy isn't allowed in here anymore" with his face on them. He wouldn't even look out of place. Just had to put one foot in front of the other, act natural, and-

"Well, you just can't seem to stay away from me." Said a voice from behind him.

Flug jumped, nearly screamed, and almost spun in midair to see who said that.

"Oh, h-hey Luis." Flug relaxed. No need to be so jumpy. It was just Luis again. "What are you doing here?"

"Going to work on my exo-suit for the club." Ah, right. Their spring project. "I'm planning a full-body suit, so I gotta put in all the hours I can."

"Making a su-suit of armor?"

Luis laughed. "Yeah, something like that. What about you? What are you doing here Rocinante?"

"I'm just ahhhhhhhh, you know, hangin' out."

"Just hangin' out?"

"Yeah." Flug put his hands on his hips casually and looked around like he hadn't been staring at the lab doors in silence for who knew how long. "I'm not exactly allowed back in so..."

"Oh. You're not even allowed in the building?"

"No. S-S-Something about me having a-access to all that machinery after...you know." He smiled stiffly. Oh Jesús he had not been prepared for this.

"Ahhh, yeah, that makes sense. Guess they're keeping their eyes on you." Luis gave him a sort of sideways smirk. Flug laughed nervously in his attempt to stay nonchalant. "Must suck though. I thought we'd at least see you around."

"Uh, we?"

"Miguel, Manuel, Tesoro, me, you know. The whole gang." Ah, right. His friends. "It's gonna be weird without you."

"What do you mean?"

"You know, like, you've always been part of the club. Even if you were off on your own a lot, you were always there. It's gonna be weird to look around and not see you glued to a desk."

"Ha, yeah. I guess I can be kind of a wo-workaholic."

"Yep. Even when you have more caffeine in your body than blood."

"Oh God, you remember that?"

"Of course I do, I never saw anything like it. You could barely stand and yet you kept trying to finish...oh man, what was it?"

"I think it was that miniature EMP project we were doing." Oh, that took him back. The project had been to create small electromagnetic pulse generators with a range of six meters in diameter at minimum, the smaller (not to mention less conspicuous) the better.

"That's right, you got yours down to the size of a flash drive." Luis demonstrated with his fingers. "I think the smallest I could manage was around, like, cellphone size."

"Right, right." Flug pretended he remembered. He hated to admit it but he could only vaguely recall maybe one or two things Luis had made in the club.

"Well, I better get to work on my suit. Guess I'll see you in class." Luis waved goodbye and headed off towards the lab doors.

"Yeah, see you." Flug waved back, internally kicking and screaming at himself because NOW he sure as hell couldn't go in! What if Luis saw him? He just said he wasn't allowed inside! Why did he do that!? And Luis would tell everyone he ran into Flug and given how often everyone else was in there Flug would never get the opportunity to sneak in!

He needed to get in there and get his machine. But he couldn't go into the building. Hell, he got caught within minutes of standing around outside the building! Why was this so difficult, it should be easy! Just go in, get what he needed and get out. Why couldn't he just do that!? Flug could do something as simple as getting one of his own machines back by himself, couldn't he?

He knew he wouldn't be able to bring himself back here again. So how would he get his ElecTrap!? He couldn't even get near it! Man, he wished he wasn't suspended from his club right now. He'd have access to everything! His old inventions, materials, tools, an environment with proper safety gear should anything go awry, he could build a bomb and no one would suspect a thing!

He'd be perfectly inconspicuous, one nerd among many, whose comings and goings would go unnoticed by everyone.

Unnoticed...by everyone...

Flug balled his fists, worked up all the courage he could muster, and called out "Wait!"

Luis stopped right as he was about to open the door. Flug fidgeted a bit, but he didn't have much of a choice at this point. He refused to walk away empty handed. "Can I...can I ask you for something?"

"What's up?" Luis took a few steps back towards Flug. "You look pale."

Oh well you see it's because I have something very suspicious to ask of you. Flug thought. He took a deep breath in and tried to get out what it was he had to say. "Ok, so...f-follow me real quick please." Flug led Luis around the building to a small area with some benches. Not many people were around this side thankfully. "I, um, I can't go into the Robotics Lab...b-b-but I need my ElecTrap."

"That little bear trap-looking thing from last semester?"

"Yeah. I-I'm not going to do anything like what I did with the Stun Gun, I swear!" Flug crossed his heart, knowing he was going to do something far worse. "I just...need it for something. I can't tell you what, but if you could maybe g-get it out of my locker for me, I'd really appreciate it."

"Hmmmmm, ok."

"Really?"

"Yeah sure." Luis shrugged. "Why not?"

"Oh...well...thank you. Thank you so much. I can't tell you what this means to me. Uh, anyway, it should be right in my locker, locker number five. The combination is 10-40-03. Oh! And I'll need its remote control as well. It's small, black, and has a single button on it."

"Ok, I'll be right back." Luis calmly walked back to the large glass doors of the lab and went in. Wow, Flug wished he could be so collected. Even with Luis going and doing the dirty work he was still stuck in a state of mild panic. Every second Luis spent inside just made it worse. It couldn't have been longer than a few minutes and yet Flug could've sworn hours were passing. He knew it was physically impossible but he still couldn't slow his mind down enough to relax. It was nothing short of an eternity before Luis came out and strolled leisurely back to where Flug was waiting. He felt almost like a junkie spotting their dealer coming down the street.

"You g-g-got it?" Flug wrung his hands together nervously.

"I got the ElecTrap." Luis slung his backpack off and the two did their best at passing the goods between them discreetly. "And I think I got the right controller, but you tell me. Is this the one?"

Flug inspected the remote Luis pulled out. He sighed a great big sigh of relief. "Yeah, that's it. Thank you again, seriously, I owe you big for this."

"Don't mention it. Just treat me to lunch and we'll call it even."

"Oh, uh, sure. No problem." Flug zipped up this bag with his creations safe inside. "Like, right now or...?"

"Yeah, I mean, I think I can stand to have a little more than just an energy bar."

"Heh, I usually don't even eat. I just have coffee."

"Then we'll both be in for a treat." Luis smiled. "C'mon, it's not far from here."

"Alright then. Lead the way." Flug smiled a bit. He was just happy to have his ElecTrap. Lunch was probably the least Luis could ask him for after this.

"So, how's your introductory speech coming?"

"It's uhhhhh, it's coming." Flug rubbed the back of his head. "How about yours?"

"I'm still having some trouble picking what to say. Do you think it still counts as three different things if I talk about three different inventions?"

"Uhh, probably not. I think it's supposed to be more, um, you centered."

"They're a huge part of me. I put hours of my life into making them. Everything I've ever made has my blood, sweat, and tears in it."

"Maybe talk about that? Like, what inspires you? Where do you get ideas for your inventions?"

"Where do you?"

"Uhhh, they just kind of come to me, I guess. Sorry, that's not very helpful. Um, sometimes it's like I see a thing that already exists, and I just, like, put my own spin on it."

"Like your ElecTrap?" Luis nudged him playfully.

Flug laughed. "Ha ha, yeah. You already know I was going for an electric bear trap kind of thing with that. So what about you? Where did you get the idea for your exo-suit?"

"I guess...no, no it's stupid."

"What? What is it?"

"Well...do you promise not to laugh?"

"I promise."

"Alright, so," Luis paused, holding his hands up as if he was praying. "There's this...show that I like, and certain people in the show have these special uniforms that artificially upgrade their strength and stamina to superhuman levels. That's kind of what I'm going for; a seemingly normal outfit that's actually armor. And may or may not have some hidden weapons."

"Oh neat. What's the show called?"

"It's called, um, it's called Kill la Kill. It's a...foreign show."

Well that definitely set off Flug's radar. "What's it about? Sounds like it might be worth checking out."

"It's uhhhhhh, it's about this girl looking for her father's killer. She doesn't have a Goku Uniform, which is what those special uniforms are called. She has a 'Kamui'. Her father made it and it's kind of the same thing, but it's sentient and feeds off her blood. It's made from the same material and also transforms from a school uniform into armor. Oh yeah, this all takes place in this elite high school academy and other students have uniforms depending on their status in the school hierarchy. Regular students have no-star uniforms while the top students have three-star uniforms. And they basically lord over the weaker students to keep order in the school."

Advanced battle technology wielded by teenagers? Set in a prestigious high school with a brutally enforced social hierarchy? A young girl using her father's creation to avenge him? The obvious Japanese-ness of "Goku uniform" and "kamui"?

"Uh, Luis? This wouldn't happen to be an anime would it?"

He sighed. "Yeah. You got me."

"Oh, that's cool. I like anime too."

"You do?"

Flug nodded. "I mean, I mainly stick to comedies or sci-fi, I don't watch a ton of fighting unless it involves giant robots, but yeah. Have you ever seen Gurren Lagann?"

"Yeah!" Luis smiled wide. "Yoko was always my favorite character."

"I was always more into Kamina personally. Something about the shades and the sword I guess." And the abs. Can't forget the abs.

"Right, right, I got you. Um, I guess I should mention, if you ever do check out Kill la Kill, there's a lot of...fanservice." Luis paused for a few seconds as they stepped off of campus and onto the street. He messed with the edge of his beanie, right around the fringe of his curly black hair. "Like, even for anime it's pretty gratuitous. And most of the main characters are girls so...just so you know."

"Ohhhh." So it was one of those animes. No wonder Luis was so hesitant to mention it. "I see."

"There are a few guys who get the same kind of treatment," Luis led them down the street. "But if you're not into that kind of thing then you might not like it. I swear though, the actual plot gets really good after the first few episodes."

"Right." Yeah sure, the PLOT. That's why you watch it. This conversation just got awkward.

"So," Luis changed the subject. "Pokémon or Digimon?"

"Digimon."

"What? No."

"Yep."

"Pokémon has better games."

"We're talking about shows and Digimon was a better show."

"Pokémon has more movies."

"That's not fair, it was three specials edited into a movie."

"Excuses."

"Flug!" said a voice that he could only describe as "haughty". Flug and Luis turned around to see a very put-out Black Hat who was shooting a nasty look at Luis that said Who are you and where are you taking my Flug?

"Oh, Black Hat, I-"

"Why haven't you been answering your phone?"

"My phone?" Flug pulled out his phone and saw Black Hat had texted him. Like five times. He even called once. "Oh, my phone's on silent. Sorry about that. Uhh, what's up?"

"What's up? Where are you going!?" Black Hat demanded. "I've been waiting for you at the cafe! Did we not have plans!?"

"Oh s-sh-shit we did, I'm so sorry, I got hung up with that, uh, that th-t-thi-t-thing. That thing I had to do. I didn't realize I'd been keeping you waiting." He looked away and accidentally made eye contact with Luis. "Ah! Oh ye-yeah, um, Luis, this is Black Hat. Black Hat, Luis. He's f-from the Engineering Club, and in my p-pu-public speaking class. He invited me to grab lunch, and I kinda forgot we were doing that, heh heh. Sorry."

"Nice to finally meet you." Luis held his hand out.

Black Hat accepted the handshake, firmly grasping Luis's hand and making him produce a rodent-like squeak. He was polite, but Flug wouldn't say he was anywhere near friendly. "Ah, yes, I remember now. Same to you. Now Flug, if we could get going please?"

"Right, right," Flug turned to Luis, who had stepped back and was nursing his hand. "I'm sorry, it totally slipped my mind that I made plans with Black Hat. Can we just reschedule for next week? Right after class, I promise."

"Alright, but I'm going to hold you to that." Luis smiled through some obvious pain.

"Thanks wey, see you later."

Black Hat took Flug by the arm and led him back up the street to Cafe Triste. He still seemed unhappy with him. Flug continued apologizing. "I'm really sorry, it completely slipped my mind that we were getting lunch. And I didn't mean to get distracted by someone else, honest."

"Stop apologizing Flug, groveling will get you nowhere." Black Hat did not look at him as he moved on to the more important matter. "That thing you had to do. Did you succeed?"

"Yes."

"Good. I will have what you need by Saturday at the latest."

"Then I should be able to upgrade the ElecTrap by next Monday."

Black Hat nodded and they continued towards Café Triste in silence. Flug decided that unless Black Hat specifically asked how he got his ElecTrap, he would not tell him about Luis. At least not today. Not while Black Hat was glaring at everything he passed like he wanted to set it on fire with his mind. The way Flug saw it Luis could be a valuable asset, his man on the inside who asked no questions. Besides, they were former fellow club members and current classmates. Their blossoming friendship was nothing fishy.

And what were friends for if not helping each other?

Late Friday afternoon, Flug got to the café before Black Hat for once. It seemed like the thing to do when he was the one asking Black Hat to meet him. Not for any reason beyond keeping up appearances, maybe a little to make up for forgetting their plans earlier in the week. Besides, it wasn't as if he didn't enjoy Black Hats company. Or the waitstaff who kept him well supplied with caffeine.

Because of his new limitation in classes and club suspension, Flug was left with much more free time than usual. He didn't have a single class that was over two hours this semester. Sure they dragged, but the work wasn't overly time consuming. Ultimately writing papers took a lot less time than assembling inventions. It wasn't that difficult, he just didn't much enjoy the change from chronicling his experiments to discussing the nuance of a Hero's social media presence. Flug was pretty sure he could just scroll through Aurelio's various accounts and get the picture. Image was everything. Had to be perfect inside and out. Couldn't rise up the ranks if no one knew or cared who you were. Scrolling through a few apps as he awaited Black Hat, he noticed that there was still a remarkable lack of activity. His most recent post was about a week old, an instagram selfie with the caption Got my phone back, but still I remain in my gilded cage #selfie #gold #trapped #allthatglitters #green eyes. Oh Flug wanted to slap him with a brick. Was that all that happened for him, he lost his phone privileges? That was pretty pathetic for a twenty two-year old. Then again he had no job so it wasn't like he was paying for it. Regardless, that was not enough. That was not nearly enough.

Nothing would be enough. Not until Flug drew blood with his own two hands. But he could wait, all he had to do was wait. He was coming up with a beautiful plan. The more he thought of his inventions the more ways he thought of to use them against Aurelio. All the ways he could cause him pain, killing him slowly. Always having the option to end it quickly but never doing it. Taking his time. He could carefully explain everything to him, telling him what he was about to experience, watching the fear build in his eyes. How humiliated he'd feel to be utterly at Rocinante Flugslys' mercy of all people. This nobody, holding his life in his hands.

Gosh, he'd never be able to think of him again without wanting to make him scream, would he? What a change from his past fantasies, where Aurelio made him scream. Pleasurably, though there was usually some force involved. Flug wasn't especially proud of that. He knew that logically it didn't mean anything, it was just a fictional scenario from his mind and nothing more, but he sometimes wondered what he got into his head that made it seem so tantalizing. He knew it was wrong, but the thought of someone else doing it to him while he was powerless to fight back made him start to feel...hot. Imagining being forcibly moved in the ways he wanted, everything serving to give him pleasure, Flug being little more than an instrument for him to have his fun. How many times in the past had those thoughts carried him down into wet dreams?

Lately though, he thought more about being held down. Pinned down against the bed, unable to move, rational thought being drowned out by hot breath in his ear and a rough voice praising him. Saying he was taking it like such a good boy-

"Is this seat taken?" Asked a scarily familiar voice while the person it belonged to sat down without even waiting for an answer.

Flug was so caught off guard he completely froze, staring him down like a deer stares down a car.

Afraid as he was, he felt another emotion welling up from deep within him.

Rage.

He finally made himself speak calmly. "Yes, it is."

Aurelio looked off towards the wide windows facing the direction of campus. "I think we have some time before your sugar daddy gets here."

Flug choked on air. How dare he! "Black Hat is n-n-not my sugar daddy."

"No? You let old men screw you for free?" I WILL KILL YOU UNTIL YOU DIE FROM IT! "I thought you were at least smart enough to take him for all he's got. You continue to disappoint me."

Oh Lord, was he actually going to try this? Did he really think he still held any sort of sway over Flug? Flug couldn't care less if he "DiSapPoiNTEd" him or not! Flug resisted the urge to hit Aurelio in the face with his coffee cup, deciding to humor him until he left or Black Hat showed up. "What do you want?"

"To talk, that's all hermano."

Flug snorted. Talk about what? How much they hated each other? "D-Didn't I tell you to stay away from me?"

Aurelio sighed gently, making his lips flap. Fucking bastard rolled his eyes as well. "Something like that. And something about so many things you'd do to me if I didn't."

"That's right."

Aurelio sat back with his hands in his pants pockets. "So? What are you going to do?"

They held eye contact for a few tense seconds before Flug had to look away. Damn it. He couldn't do anything now. And certainly not in public again. He had to wait for a better time. When there would be less suspicion if Aurelio happened to suddenly go missing. He and Black Hat had to act as if they just wanted to move on from that whole ordeal back in December. They'd been hoping Aurelio would keep his distance when classes started back up, but it was becoming clear that wasn't going to happen.

"I can't wait forever Rocinante." Aurelio smirked a bit as he said Flug's name. "Rocinante. Do you know where that name comes from?"

"Don Quixote."

He nodded. "Correct. Do you know what it means?"

"Yes."

"Good. Because I have to say it fits you perfectly. Skinny, awkward, in over your head. Just like that old horse."

"The name is a reference to the horse's past as a rocín, and its future with Don Quixote. Like him, it is old and bumbling and not at all cut out for a knight errants work, but the name is meant to describe the horse's elevation from being a worn-out old working horse to a knight's noble steed. Which you would know if you had actually read the book instead of skimming the first result on Google." Flug was proud he got through that long explanation without stuttering once. "What, you think I never asked my parents why they named me that?"

To say Rocinante was an uncommon name was putting it lightly. Combined with his last name, he felt safe in saying he was probably the only Rocinante Ramirez Flugslys on the planet. Who else would have an Icelandic surname and a parent with an affection for an old Spanish novel?

Aurelio stared at him in contempt. "Funny that you should say that." He braced his elbows on the table and played with his hands. Flug's eyes lingered on them and their well manicured nails. He wasn't sure if they'd been that way in high school, he never dared to get so close back then. His eyes flicked from Aurelio's hands to his beautifully colored eyes boring through him.

"I have this theory," He continued. "That a person's name ultimately decides their fate. Your parents pick a name for you, they do all they can to make you grow into it, and you spend the rest of your life trying to live up to it. Whether you do or not, you are bound by your name."

Flug scoffed. "That's ridiculous."

"Is it? You don't think your parents had expectations for you from the moment you were born? You don't think they brought you up the way they did to fulfill those expectations? You don't think they named you based on what they wanted you to be?"

Flug squirmed uncomfortably. It was completely preposterous and yet, when he said it like that...it began to make a bit of sense. He'd admit he did feel as he got older that his parents expected certain things from him. And they'd raised him with those things in mind. They'd done their best to instill good morals and values in him, with varying results. Maybe it wasn't so farfetched to think they'd decided on his name hoping he would, like Aurelio said, live up to it. "You're still reaching."

"Maybe I am. But it gets you thinking, doesn't it?"

"N-No." He mentally cursed. Yeah, that sure sounded convincing.

Aurelio chuckled, which did not help Flug's slowly diminishing nerve. "You know, I've been thinking about this for weeks."

"What?"

"This. Seeing you again, talking to you. For someone who can barely get a word out you hold a conversation pretty well."

"Gee, thanks."

"Take the compliment, hermano. Otherwise I'll stop being so nice to you."

Flug burst out in shaky laughter. "Y-You have n-never been nice to me."

"I've been nothing but nice to you. Have you forgotten you asked me to demonstrate my power on you? I only obliged. I threw that party in your honor, to celebrate how well you did capturing everyone else." Aurelio chuckled menacingly, folding his arms in front of him. "You know, I actually liked you. You gave me new things to think about instead of the same questions over and over. I wanted to help you, and I thought you might be kind enough to help me in return. I thought you'd jump at the chance to see what I could do firsthand again. Do you not wonder what my actual limits are?"

Flug grimaced but remained silent. Of course he'd always been curious as to what Aurelio could do with his Gift if he really tried. Both scientifically and in...other ways. But if Aurelio thought that curiosity was enough after what he tried to do, he was gravely mistaken. How was that for "nothing but nice" huh? Was his head so far up his own ass he considered forcing himself on others a favor?

"It's strange..." Aurelio picked up Flug's spoon and began twirling it between his fingers. "...not knowing what you're truly capable of. Even frightening at times. I wouldn't expect you to understand. All I wanted was to know what else I could do. I just wanted someone who could help me understand myself, and help me practice."

"I guess I should've felt special that you wanted me to p-p-practice on."

"You'll be happy to know I've found someone else since we last spoke." Flug felt sorry for the poor bastard. "I'd be happy to show you how I've progressed."

Me too, Flug thought. When I'm good and ready. "Thanks, but no thanks. I've had enough of you. Go away."

"Already? We only just started talking."

"Yeah, well, Black Hat will be here any minute now, and-"

"And you don't want your boyfriend to see you talking to your old crush."

"Wha-W-Wh-What?!" Flug sputtered.

"You did say he was a jealous man. And he seems like such a brute under those fancy clothes and hat. You're right, it's probably best he doesn't see us talking. Wouldn't want him to get the wrong idea."

"W-What-what are you-"

"Did you think you were hiding it?" Aurelio arched his sculpted eyebrows mockingly. "The second you saw me you completely fell apart. You turned red as a tomato and I think you sweated through one of your shirts. I thought 'sweating buckets' was just an expression till I met you."

Flug felt the entire world gradually slow down until it came to a complete stop. All surrounding ambience seemed to fade away to an almost eerie silence. All he could hear or see was Aurelio in front of him.

"It was actually a little gross. Do you take a lot of cold showers, hermano?"

Ay Dios, that physically hurt. Flug's heart dropped like a heavy stone into his stomach. His stomach sunk like an even heavier stone further down to places he couldn't name. From there a remarkably hollow sort of feeling began to spread throughout his body. His hands started to shake, the only part of him that wasn't frozen in place.

"I asked if you were into guys because, well, it's rude to assume. Let it never be said I wasn't on my best behavior."

Flug balled his hands into fists. His best behavior? Was Aurelio forgetting the part where HE FUCKING DRUGGED HIM? Or when he did the ONE THING Flug asked him NOT to do? And while Flug did not have a "cRUsH" on him, he did have...feelings. Feelings he tried not to think about.

And Aurelio...Aurelio had known. He'd known! He'd known and he tried to take advantage! The disgusting son of a bitch! Even though Aurelio hadn't been able to really do anything, Flug still felt so used. It wasn't a true betrayal but it hurt. It hurt a lot. It hurt more than it should've and Flug hated it, causing himself even more emotional pain. Why couldn't he just feel nothing right now? Wasn't he supposed to be some sort of soulless unfeeling zombie!? Shouldn't he be able to just not feel these horrid sensations?!

"So you see, I was very nice to you. Probably nicer than I was to anyone else. It's not my fault you couldn't appreciate it. You could've gone far with me if you had played your cards right."

"Sh-Shut up." Flug's eyes stung. Oh no, no no no no please no. Not here. Not now! This couldn't be happening! This was not happening! He wasn't crying, he was...enraged! So much so he could barely speak! These were tears of anger! He was shaking with fury! "Just sh-sh-s-shu-shut-"

"Oh Rocinante, don't be like that. I know how good I look. And I have a decent enough idea of what I do to you. It's written all over your face. Really, it's actually kind of cute-"

Aurelio's face was then slammed into the table from behind. Black Hat didn't let go immediately, first he yanked him up by the hair and snarled "When will you learn, WE WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU!" before slamming his head down again and producing a very large and very loud crack. As well as a scream of pain. Black Hat yanked Flug up by the arm. "We're leaving."

"But-"

"We're leaving!" He commanded. Flug barely had time to grab his backpack before he was pulled straight out of the door. His coffee was left behind, what remained spilling across the table and onto the seat. Aurelio might've been shouting cliches such as "You better run!" but Flug wasn't paying him any mind anymore. He was more concerned with Black Hat. God he sounded pissed. Flug really didn't like being around Black Hat when he got like this. Even when someone else ticked him off. The malice was tangible in the air and Flug didn't want a single bit of it directed at him.

"Are you alright?"

"W-What? Yeah, yeah I-I'm ok."

"You're sure?"

"Yes. We just t-t-talked." Yes. Yes that was all. They just talked.

"What did he say to you?"

Flug looked away. "Do-doesn't matter. It w-wa-was nothing."

"That was not nothing. I only heard the last of it, tell me what I missed."

"A bunch of ch-childish insults and empty thr-threats."

"What specifically?"

"It d-do-doesn't matter, he isn't g-going to do anything."

"I wouldn't be so sure, he seems pretty fucking stupid." That actually managed to make Flug laugh a little. "And evidently he still thinks he can do as he pleases."

"He's an entitled brat who needs to be taught a lesson!" Flug blurted out.

Black Hat shot him a look. "Agreed. Now tell me everything he said so I can plan our date night accordingly."

"What?"

"I need to know what to teach you first." He said. The conversation paused as they got into the car. Before Flug even put his seatbelt on Black Hat demanded again to know exactly what Aurelio had said to him.

"It wa-was nothing." He repeated. He didn't like how his voice sounded. He sounded so hoarse.

"You would not be crying over nothing!" Black Hat hissed. He grabbed Flug harshly and brought them face to face. Flug hated this. He didn't want to feel this way. Aurelio didn't even do anything, it was all talk, Flug knew it. So why? Why was he crying? Why now, after it was over? Everything was fine, he was fine. Nothing had changed. Aurelio would die by his hands!

Black Hat held him by the chin and said softly but seriously, "I am your Master and you will tell me everything."

Flug tried to say again it didn't matter but everything came spilling out the second he opened his mouth. As well as all his feelings, unfortunately. It would surprise him if Black Hat understood a word he said through all his stuttering and snot. He felt so weak and powerless. Why did Aurelio still make him feel so helpless? He wasn't allowed to make him feel this way anymore!

"Come here, come here." Black Hat held him as close as he could in the car. "You handled that well, my Pet. You held your own against him for the second time now. Remember that."

Flug whimpered in his arms. "Y-Yeah. So wh-wh-why-"

"Shhhh shhhhh." Black Hat rubbed his back in a circular motion. "Do you know what the Achilles tendon is?"

"Huh? Um, no."

"It's something that connects the muscles in your leg to your foot. It goes right down the back of your ankle to your heel. If you slice it with a knife you can cripple someone to the point where they can no longer run. If you cut deep enough, they can't even stand." Flug wasn't sure why Black Hat was telling him this but he hung on to every word. "There are similar things in our wrists, things that if severed leave people unable to use their hands or fingers. I think that's what we'll start with. I'll start off your training by teaching you to incapacitate your prey quickly and efficiently. How does that sound?"

"That, that sounds g-good." Flug sniffled.

"Not good, evil."

"Ha, ri-right. Evil." Flug started to feel a bit better, reminding himself again that he'd have the last laugh. Everything Aurelio did would just make his death that much worse. Flug had a professional villain to guide him in the ways of evil. "I, I liked how you grabbed him by the ha-hair and hit the table with his f-f-fa-face."

"It was indeed very satisfying to do."

"Isn't that g-gonna cause trouble with the police though?"

Black Hat sighed. "Unfortunately, it very well might. But I do not regret it. I'll do it again if he ever tries getting near you. If they question you, feel free to embelezar what he said." Black Hat held on to him, until the sniffles stopped and Flug wiped the last of the tears from his eyes. Even after letting go, neither of them really let go. Their hands found each other and held on all through the drive to Flug's apartment. They said goodbye in the car and Flug walked himself up the stairs. Entering the dark space, he was at a bit of a loss as to what to do with himself. The ElecTrap and its controller were both partially dismantled on his table, all he needed was a few new parts and he could upgrade it to its Black Hat edition. He didn't feel like he could focus properly on schoolwork like this. There was too much going on in his head. What to do, what to do?

Stripping down in his usual manor and trudging into his bedroom, he plopped himself in front of his desk and turned on his computer. He contemplated what to watch for a few minutes before deciding to look up that anime Luis mentioned the other day. What was it called again? Kill the...something?

Well, the first few results showed a young girl in a fairly revealing Japanese schoolgirl uniform. That seemed promising. Flug clicked on the first episode and from the first few minutes everything was insane and over the top in typical anime fashion. As it went on he recognized some things Luis had told him about. Special uniforms that give you superhuman abilities, check. Elite academy with brutally enforced pecking order, check. Girl searching for her father's killer, check. The animation was really good and the nudity wasn't anything extreme by anime standards. And there were a couple guys whose toned physiques were shown off as well, so that was nice. Flug was starting to get into it-

Until he saw what the actual sentient blood-powered school girl uniform battle-suit thing looked like on the main girl. Flug was sure it had a name but he couldn't remember. All he could think of was Oh my God is that latex? Is she doing all of this in HEELS? Oh wow I didn't think it could get any tighter. At what point does this start being pornography?

Flug had never been more sure he was gay in his life. He was actually kind of uncomfortable watching this, like stumbling across a fetish you never knew existed and never wanted to know existed. Flug could say with absolutely no shame whatsoever that he felt zero arousal watching this scantily clad teenager swing around half a pair of giant scissors. Maybe he'd like it better on a man, but on a girl (and this WAS a HIGH SCHOOL GIRL here), it just wasn't for him. The story and characters were engaging, the Student Council in particular really caught his attention, but if all the major battles were going to be between nearly naked teenagers...the show just might not be for him.

Although...that tight, revealing, latex-looking outfit was all black and red...

Flug exited out of the screen, closed his laptop, and went to get his backpack. He was feeling much more capable of tackling his homework. It would be better to get it out of the way now and have nothing else to worry about over the weekend besides upgrading the ElecTrap.

Translations:

Maravilhoso = marvelous (Portuguese)

excruciante = excruiating (Portuguese)

rocín = a hack (Spansh)

embelezar = embellish (Portuguese)

Notes:

see you next month for the exciting continuation of Flug making friends and confonting his past