honorary titan fan week 2020 day 6: character redesigns. i decided to write a drabble about pre-canon argent getting something new to cement her style as truly her own.

Tattoo

"Pretty simple design if you ask me. You sure this is good enough? I mean, your tastes are-"

"Well, I'm not asking for chiding when I'm paying you to do it or I can take my business elsewhere."

The tattoo artist grimaced at Argent's sharp tongue. She supposed she had it coming. Critiquing a client's design was one way to lose that customer. She nodded as Argent smirked, crossing her legs and gazing at the variety of potential tattoo designs lining the walls in framed pictures.

The shop she had picked was as sleek as she expected. Cold, teal blue floor lighting caught her attention, and Argent shifted her gaze across the hardwood ground to the few carpets towards the entrance. She was resting in a leather chair, her back slowly inclining as the tattoo artist lowered her seat. Smoothing her wild locks of ebony hair off her cheeks, she clipped them behind her ears and sighed.

"So, right in the center-" The tattoo artist gently tapped the center of her collarbone. "-here?"

"Oh, no, right about here, please." Argent pointed half an inch lower. "Just make it symmetrical-" She glanced at her nametag. "-Phyllis. Huh. Wasn't expecting that to be your name."

"That's what they all say," Phyllis said, puffing out a sigh.

Argent chuckled under her breath and closed her eyes. It was her first tattoo, but she wasn't nervous. She had seen other friends get them without their parents' permission. They simply faked IDs and so did she. Although she tried ignoring the anxiety bubbling in her stomach, she maintained her cool persona and pretended she was somewhere warm and tropical rather than cold from the zealous air conditioning blasting around them.

Phyllis raised the pen, the deep red ink matching Argent's hair and eyes. "Since you want me to make it there, there's going to be some pain," she said, leaning forward and resting the tip above her silvery skin.

"It's fine. I'm a tough girl," Argent said, furrowing her brows.

"Okay. Kept still starting now."

Argent's fingers curled into her palms as the needle pressed into her skin. It felt like Phyllis was pricking every pore in that spot as she slowly dragged her hand upwards. Argent rubbed her lips together, her jaw tensing as heat spread across her chest. She tightened her grip on the armrests, doing her best to not squirm, knowing the consequences would be marring to her skin.

She felt Phyllis drag it through her, doing her best not to gasp or squeak. She didn't want to seem weak in front of her, especially considering she was New Zealand's newest hero. She had a reputation to maintain, one far, far away from the rich livelihood she had once known in New Jersey. She could take brief agony, for she had endured much worse.

"And done," Phyllis remarked, lifting her pen. She leaned back and procured a hand mirror from the nearby table. "That was shorter than I expected, but what do you think?"

Argent gripped the mirror and held it out in front of her chest. Three clean lines cut through her skin. Two vertical lines reached upwards and crossed at the tips. One horizontal line sliced through them. She was tempted to massage it to soothe the dull throb but quickly tucked her other hand to the lace frills on her skirt, not wanting to ruin Phyllis' work or her new look.

"A for Argent," she mused, nodding. "Perfect. It's as good as I hoped it'd be. Thanks, love."

"Thanks for giving me an easy job," Phyllis replied, taking the mirror back. "You rest. I'll get the receipt and aftercare products for you."

As Phyllis got up and hobbled over to another room, Argent tilted her chin to her chest and grinned. Her new identity suited her perfectly, and the small, glaring tattoo cemented it as her reality. She traced it an inch above her skin, deciding to come back for another tattoo when she healed, one that would certainly make her greedy oak of a father cry out in his prison cell.