Revenant Pov:
"I blame football for the situation I'm currently in. While the sport has many advantages, such as increasing endurance, it also attracts the attention of certain girls who enjoy getting into fights, except the cheerleaders at Seabrook High. This interest caught the eye of Panda Carmen Maria Delgado, a girl known for her tough reputation and whose father is the scariest person I've ever encountered, he frightens half of the wolf pack even when he's not wearing his clown mask. Right now, her father is angry with me because I unwittingly made a move on her during her cheerleading tryouts. This was part of his plan to learn more about me, as he intended to take me out himself. I feel that confrontation might happen much sooner rather than later."
Morning-Delgado Home
Having heard about the incident at the school and Panda being responsible, she was expelled for a week and had to continue her studies at home, while Mack could care less about his daughter's education since he knew she was interested in being a professional in taking out bounties and psychopaths. The one thing that he was focused on was Panda's fascination with the zombie boy, Revenant. He'd asked Brit to take Panda to the Big House while he wanted a private talk with the zombie boy. The two were right now in the kitchen with Revenant sitting down and Mack staring at him while holding a cup of water in his hands.
"I'm glad that you told my parents about this conversation you wanted to have with me. Helps to know that if anything happens, it won't be good for anyone."
Complimenting Panda's father for not attempting to try and kill him since Rev knew that if anything happened to him, the Jones would show no mercy to Mack despite him being a professional killer. Taking a moment to drink from his water, he placed the cup on the table, leaving the zombie boy anxious about what would happen next.
"I don't get it."
Mack broke the silence between them as Revenant didn't know what he meant since it could mean anything. The boy was unsure of what the father meant by the words but kept silent since he was the guest in his house and didn't want to upset him any further.
"My daughter can be an airhead whenever she tags along on my jobs trying to prove herself as a Body Bagger. However, after you handled that hunt back on Halloween. The squirt has it in for you. I don't get it."
He briefed him on how Panda was clueless back in Terminus and always got him in trouble when it came to them working together. However, it suddenly changed once they stopped going after bounties and Panda's attention focused on the zombie as well as trying to get him to notice her despite already being in a relationship.
"I don't myself sir. Honest, it's usually my friend Zed who gets the spotlight since he's the athlete. I did play football but that was an entirely different business."
Mack confronted Revenant, highlighting how he was the opposite of Zed when it came to popularity, with everyone looking at him with excitement. Mack already knew of Revenant's reputation; there were whispers about his hunt for Revenant, indicating he had accomplices tied to the job of taking out the zombie, who were just as important as he was.
"Business. I was a man about that before I became a father, and I've also been forced by my daughter to learn what it's like to be a Body Bagger. So tell me this: why should I let her hang around you?"
Mack questioned, cracking his knuckles as he squeezed his hand slowly, demonstrating his potential for aggression. Revenant recognized the gesture, understanding Mack's protectiveness over his daughter, as well as his desire to keep Panda close.
"You're not threatening me to stay away from her; you're threatening me to stay with her,"
Revenant replied, quickly grasping what Mack was implying based on the look in his eyes. Despite both having the same green eyes, Mack's gaze was focused and emanated a lot of hidden aggression, concealing a side of himself he didn't want anyone to discover. Mack stood up from his chair and walked over to a desk, seemingly wanting to show the zombie something. Revenant felt anxious, fearing it might be a weapon, but his nerves eased when Mack revealed an old photo of an infant Panda, smiling innocently.
"Her mother hated me when she found out what my business was and told me to stay away from Panda. But you've already seen how determined Panda is to get what she wants."
Mack explained, revealing how fractured his family was and how Panda yearned to understand what Mack's life had been like. The zombie felt torn; he didn't know whether to feel sorry for Mack or upset that he couldn't hang up his knives and simply act like a father. It was clear there was no sign of change, as Mack seemed content with his lifestyle.
"And what if I say no? What if I say she needs you more than she needs me?"
Revenant questioned, challenging Mack's commitment to taking on the responsibility of being a father rather than a hired killer. The atmosphere in the room shifted from subtle tension to hostility as they glared at each other, each prepared to react if the other moved first.
"Then I guess we're going to have to find a way to handle this problem like men. Won't we?"
As the zombie responded to the question, Revenant was caught off guard by how quickly the human flipped the table in front of him. He fell out of his chair and noticed his necklace slipping off his neck. Looking up, he saw Mack wearing a clown mask and attempting to stab him. However, Revenant quickly defended himself, blocking the knife attack from landing on his face. The two were at a standstill, each exerting their strength as Mack pushed the knife downward while Revenant held him at bay.
"Despite you being a violent man. You're still Panda's father, so I can't hurt you. But that doesn't mean I can't protect myself!"
Yelling at him before Rev grabbed Mack's wrists and hurled him into the living room as the father crashed into the television set. Getting on his legs and going to rush for his necklace to arm himself, Revenant was struck with a chair that came from Mack as he brought out another one of his knives to face the zombie.
"You're not pulling off that supernatural crap in my house. If you want to fight, then you do it like a Body Bagger."
Mack instructed him before throwing the knife by Revenant's side so he'd arm himself in their fight. The zombie looked to his side and saw his necklace at the side inches away from him but knew that it wouldn't help since he was dealing with an experienced fighter. Having no choice but to take the knife, he got back up and stood in a protective stance while looking at Mack.
"I'm not a Body Bagger. I'm just a zombie that doesn't fight without a reason."
Revenant replied to Clown Face as the two commenced with their knife fight with the two avoiding fatal blows but were able to cut one another. While the zombie had the advantage of being smaller and not as big as Mack, it didn't help that he knew how to wield the knife better than he could.
"This is your reason. Not dying, not trying to get killed by someone who won't care about taking your life."
Mack informed him how he wouldn't care for what would happen to him if he'd taken Revenant's life. They continued to fight one another in the hallway where the father pressed him into the wall and was about to punch his face. Only for the zombie to shin-kick him in the stomach before throwing him through the wall that led into the bathroom. Seeing how Mack had destroyed the sink, Revenant wasn't able to react to the human using it as a weapon and slamming it against him.
"Cheap shot. Guess I know where Panda gets it from since she's good at defending herself as well as playing dirty."
Complimenting the dad as he throws the knife near Mack's head making him move away. It was the right moment for Revenant to punch face before throwing him into the shower, the father didn't back down as he grabbed the shower head's hose wrapped it around Revenant's neck, and began to strangle him.
"Playing dirty is how you survive in the outside world. While you and everyone feel safe here, there are a lot of bastards out there who need to be handled. Panda didn't understand it when she forced herself into my line of work. Which is why you're going be keeping an on her!"
Instructing the zombie about how he'd protect her the same way he does for Wynter. Continuing to feel the metal hose wrapped around his neck squeezing tightly, Revenant started to feel his zombie side coming out as lifts himself as well as Mack off from the ground and used the gather as a battering ram. He charged through the other wall where they made their way to the backyard and collapsed onto the grass. Out of breath and taking their time standing, Rev and Mack stared at each other covered in bruises as well as seeing if one of them would call it quits.
"It's your responsibility! You may have promised your wife to stay away from Panda, but she didn't promise that! She wants to be with you because you are the only family member she has left. I lost my parents to this place when I was a child!"
He shouted at Mack about what he'd lost in the past that made him different from everyone in Seabrook and why he didn't have an upbeat attitude like everyone in town. The father could see he was telling the truth and holding himself from continuing the fight.
"I've done some things I'm not proud of myself since I came to Seabrook. But that doesn't stop me from owning up to what this place stands for, acceptance. So you're going to continue being Panda's dad. Or I'm going bring down this house on you, literally."
Revenant threatened Mack about ending the fight brutally if it meant he'd stop acting like a Body Bagger and act like a father. The human could see the anger from the young man and saw how he meant what he'd said making him see reason. It left him to laugh at how aggressive Revenant acted to the point where he fell to the ground at what Revenant had told him.
"Damn. You're quite annoying when you get serious, at least you can back it up with your fists."
Responding to Rev's threat at him being a father then a professional killer. Waving his hand over to the zombie to come over since he was finished fighting, the two looked over at the destroyed house taking a moment to relax since they had come to an understanding.
"It's too late for me to drop my knives and be like everyone in Seabrook, I can't stand those bright clothes. But what I'm willing to do is not give Panda a hard time since she wants attention. Other than that, we can continue this session if you want to make another suggestion."
Questioning the zombie if he had it in him to suggest another idea for him he could settle living in Seabrook by going to another round with him. Revenant said nothing since the house couldn't handle another roughhousing, much like themselves since the two would take each other out with how aggressive they could be in a fistfight. For now, Revenant could hope Brit was handling Panda at the Big House since he couldn't imagine what she was doing there.
Later-Sentinel's Big House
Having been taken to the location where Sentinel kept the creatures that came to Seabrook to cause trouble for its residents, Panda was in a room looking at Wynter since the werewolf was both fascinated and upset that she made a car to impress her and Revenant. Meanwhile on the other side of the room was Brit along with Mercy Sparx and Brit watching the conversation between the girls.
"Not trying to take sides here but you have to give the girl credit. That car of hers was awesome, I loved how it flipped several fire hydrants on the way to school."
Mercy responded to the vehicle that Panda and Goon made during the Valentine's Day dance which resulted in her driving around town and crashing into numerous objects which resulted in property damage. Sadly, Brit had to help pay for it which would cost several assets in Sentinel such as maintaining the electricity to keep the place from falling apart.
"Can we focus on ensuring that Wynter doesn't try to hurt Panda? The last thing I want to do is explain to her father, Clown Face, why his daughter ended up in a doggie bag."
Brit asked the two people who were looking at Wynter, who felt conflicted about her emotions at that moment. The last time she had seen someone go out of their way to impress someone else was when Zed made a banner to welcome Addison back from cheerleader camp. Panda looked around the room unsure if something was about to happen to her.
"This feels awkward. Right?"
Panda broke the moment of silence between them since Wynter had the choice of inviting the Hispanic girl into her relationship with Revenant after Wyatt informed her when he took a joyride across Seabrook with Panda and Goon the second.
"Not to be rude since that whole 'car' idea was amazing and the most exciting thing to happen at Seabrook High for a while. But why exactly do you like my zombie? I thought you'd want to forget him after you couldn't get the bounty on his head."
Wynter questioned the Latina girl about her interest in Revenant due to how there wasn't any value to him after the money on his head was diminished when Baba Yaga went after the one responsible for putting the hit on him in the first place. Seeing how Wynter was asking her in an honest tone, Panda decided to tell her the truth without showing any attitude or trying to act tough.
"He reminds me of this boy who I thought was cute but a jerk who tried to use me to take out a killer. He was a Body Bagger like my dad but unlike the both of them. Rev's fun to hang around with and doesn't act serious all the time, plus. It's hard to forget that small dance we had back when I came to the school."
Panda told the werewolf about having trouble forgetting Revenant as well as their first meeting which involved dancing and fighting. Wynter wanted to growl at her for bringing that up since that's how she and Revenant met, them doing a dance and her tackling him to the ground when he caught a football. Restraining herself from barking at Panda to show that Revenant was hers, she continued to act like an alpha in front of her rival.
"Do you really like Rev?"
She asked Panda if her feelings for Revenant were not just a fling since the last thing Wynter wanted from Revenant was getting upset about handling a girl who was messing around for the fun of it. Panda nodded at the werewolf at despite being a troublemaker and reckless around everyone, the girl was serious about being interested in Revenant. Wynter stood up from her chair and made her way to Panda which made the others nervous as to what she was about to do.
"Wyatt reminded me about an old werewolf rule that a couple can accept another partner if they can support the two. And seeing how fun you are and making trouble, I wouldn't mind if you decided to be with us."
Wynter explains how they could have a polyamorous relationship which made Panda surprised at what she was suggesting. Excited to see how that could happen, Panda watched how nervous Wynter was acting as well as asking her to stand up in front of her.
"Panda. Welcome to our pack."
She greeted her before licking Panda's nose which surprised the Latina girl along with the others who watched how the wolf girl accepted the outsider to her and Revenant's relationship. Panda blushed at how Wynter licked her nose but smiled all the same before giving the werewolf a hug to show her gratitude.
"We're going have an awesome time being together! I'm sure there's stuff you can show me since you're a werewolf, while I can show you some skills of mine when I was on the road with my dad. He's going to love having you around since you're not afraid of getting your claws dirty."
She replied to being a part of her and Rev's relationship in how they could spend quality time fighting people. It made Wynter smile since she enjoyed getting into trouble on some occasions, only to take it easy when it became overwhelming. The two decided to talk amongst themselves leaving the trio watching to take a moment to allow them to talk in private.
"There goes the neighborhood. More importantly, there goes Revenant's sanity since he's going be dating a girl who's trigger happy."
Brit responded to Wynter's decision to accept Panda since the Sentinel leader took a chance to look up Panda's file which was similar to Mack Delgado's. Also known as 'Clown Face', they were responsible for taking out numerous hitmen and criminals back in their Terminus, their former home before coming here. Before they could have a conversation on how this new relationship could work out for the two, they heard the door knocking from the side as it opened up to show Revenant and Mack with bruises they'd given each other back at the house."
"Don't ask."
The two responded with questionable looks on their faces about how they settled the issue of Panda being attracted to Revenant. The two looked through the window where they saw Wynter and Panda already becoming friends as well as talking about activities they could do together.
"Congratulations. You've started a pack, and Panda's a part of it."
Brit informed Rev about what happened before coming in as Mack saw the look on his daughter's face at being happy. Not the type of happiness when it came to her taking out thugs and criminals but honest happiness that didn't involve violence. The zombie stood in the room nervous about walking in there since he'd be spending quality time around Panda if Wynter thought she was now okay, taking a moment to collect his thoughts and enter the room. He made his way into the room where the girls were as they noticed the zombie walking in.
"Hola. I guess my dad already accepted you into the family."
Panda greeted him and noticing how the bruises on his face expressed having a talk with Mack which indicated they'd find a way to handle this issue. Deciding to talk amongst themselves about moving forward, seeing how the atmosphere was getting mushy. Mercy decided to leave due to how there was too much peace within the room. The fruitpire decided to join her since he wanted time to have a private talk with her without Brit or anyone around them.
"So far everyone who decided to visit Seabrook had intentions of killing Revenant or checking out why Seabrook had become the center point of supernatural incidents. The people you work for have you handling them, I can presume that you staying here indicates we're getting new visitors who might not be like the others."
Nightwing questioned how Mercy could leave Seabrook since there wasn't anything keeping her here and could leave at any time. The demoness smirked at him trying to figure out her and the associates she was working for, more or less about the attention that Seabrook was getting every day.
"Yeah. The people I work for know about what's happening here and are forcing me to stay here since the zombie needs help. I've been told about him and Zed's little trip to hell for the chance to avoid being her new guests. And make no mistake, those two are going get visited by some real bad people. One's already on the way, and she's looking to make Seabrook her plaything."
Mercy warned the Bat about the meeting Zed and Revenant had with Lady Death. It drew the attention of someone who wouldn't mind coming to this small town to create discord and chaos for their amusement. As a result, Mercy was forced to stay in Seabrook, given that many residents were living peacefully without any issues with one another. Deciding to let Nightwing ponder who might be arriving, the fruitpire shifted his focus to restarting training sessions. This time, it wasn't just with Revenant and Wynter, but also with others who would eventually need to do more than just talk if they wanted to protect Seabrook. The threat that Mercy described would be unlike anything they had faced in the past. For now, he decided to let the young adults be until it was time to prepare for the latest visitor to Seabrook.
