Winter Whumperland Day 2: Krampus (Sensory Overload)

Winter Whumperland Day 2: Krampus (Sensory Overload)

Fandom: The Batch Batch

Summary: Hunter is sent to meet the leader of a cartel so they could take the cartel down. However the meeting place was one of the city's most popular bars and well, Hunter doesn't do well in crowds.

    Hunter wasn't ready. He hadn't expected to be told to meet such a prominent cartel member at such a bright bar. It was crowded, people bumping into each other on the dance floor and a million different conversations happening all at oncs.

    Every now and again the batch would be assigned to more civil cases. Most of the time the other party would agree to help in the war effort if someone helped them in a civil dispute.

    This time, a wide spread drug cartel was getting out of hand on a back world planet. Hunter had been instructed to meet with the owner of the cartel with a deal that was too good to refuse. The rest of the batch was to hold onto the fake drugs the Republic had been trusted with.

    When the man walked into the bar, Hunter almost wasn't sure it was him. He was a human and stood at about 6'2. He had a tan completion. His hair was short and a dark shade of brown and he wore a very put together outfit consisting of some black dress pants and a lavender vest with a loose, but nice fitting, black jacket. He had a matching lavender pocket square and pocket watch.

    Hunter sighed. He knew this man would be a piece of work. He seemed impossibly nice as he walked towards him. "You must be Hunter, right?" His voice was smooth.

    "Depends, who's asking?"

    The man chuckled. "You're tense. Henry is asking." He sat down and waved over a waiter. "I'll have a dry martini and get my friend here a dark and stormy."

    Hunter tried to listen around him. It was so loud. Not that he wasn't used to loud, but this kind? This kind of loud was new. There were women screaming as 'thier song's came on. There were pushy men asking those same women to go home with them.

    Drinks clicked as some group in a corner were celebrating an engagement. Henry was talking up the wayter, trying to talk hims way out of paying his tab that day. The bright lights hurt Hunter's eyes. They changed from color to color without a pattern or a warning.

    And it was loud. To loud. The clone couldn't think. The bar smelled so strongly of alcohol and of cheap perfume. It was overpowering. Focusing felt almost impossible.

    "Look at that woman. I need to feel her up and soon." Some man said.

    "Ahhh! Girl! Give him a chance! He is so into you!" Someone said. "

    Drinks clicked and one glass shattered. "I knew you'd been fucking her! That it I'm leaving!" "Baby please!"

    "Hey girl, wanna dance?"

    Loud music drowned out most of these conversations to everyone else. But not Hunter. He listened to every crude comment some man made about the women at the bar. He hears every bit of drama and every happy memory.

    It was overwhelming. He physically shook his head slightly to try to clear him mind. "Something in your mind?" Henry asked. He took Hunter's hand and handed him his drink. "We can talk about the deal later. Now, we drink!"

    Hunter took a sip of the drink. Not his style. He wasn't supposed to drink anyway. It didn't take long before Henry was done with his first drink. "We need to talk about the deal. That's what I'm here for" Hunter pushed.

    "Come on Hunter, relax. Our deal will be made but let's take some time. Maybe I'd like to know you a bit first. Where's your family from?"

    "Here."

    "Oh? Never got to get off this rock."

    "Nope."

    "Well mine are from Coruscant but that just seems boring now."

    "You know me, let's get this deal done."

    "Not so fast, let's dance maybe you'll meet a girl, or guy, if you swing that way." Before Hunter could fully comprehend what he said or disagree, Henry had pulled him onto the dance floor.

    'Kriff.' Hunter tried to go back to the table. He tried to avoid everyone. It was already too bright and too loud. Now the smell was harsher and now there were bodies in the equation. And he couldn't have his armor.

    Normal clothes weren't bad but when there are people all around you, armor would have made Hunter more comfortable. Instead he was in nicer black pants and red shirt with a less nice black shirt. It was hot so he had put his hair into a half up bun.

    Someone bumped into him and their drink spilled slightly onto his sleeve. A loud Twi'lek girl yelled "sorry" and kept dancing with her friend. The drink was sticky, making the jacket cling to his arm a little.

    That was it. Everything was too much. The lights were too bright, the smell too strong, the people who kept touching him, the sticky drink on his sleeve, and the noise. The noise was the worst part. It was too loud, it was to fucking loud.

    The man needed a way out. He couldn't breathe. There was too much. The thought of the mission pressed in his mind. Hunter needed to find a way back to the table. He looked around at the sea of being, all having a good time.

    Henry danced with some girl. He noticed that Hunter looked lost and excused himself. "Hey buddy!" Hunter jumped then looked at him. "Why don't you come chat this girl up?! Maybe she'll even let ya-"

    "The deal. Now." Hunter's voice was shaking but his tone was stern.

    "What are you, afraid of fun?" Henry chuckled. "You seem nervous." His voice dropped. "Something you're not saying?"

    "Come to the table and find out."

    Henry smirked. "You know how to get attention." He flowers Hunter to the table.

    When they arrived, the clone wanted to sink into the chair and hide. Instead he sighed and sat down. "It's getting late. Take this seriously."

    "Okay okay, but what is your problem?"

    Hunter wayed his opinions. He had to give him an answer. "I don't do crowds. Too many people."

    "You know, we can leave. I'll take you back to my place and-"

    "No. We finish this here. Do you want the drugs or not?" Hunter kept his head tilted down. He looked back up and watched as Henry looked around.

    "Alright, let's seal this deal. You have the stuff around or?"

    "My guys are just waiting for my word." Hunter stood but was pulled back into his seat.

    "If I learn this is a set up, so help me you will never see the light of day again. I won't kill you but you'll wish I had. It would be a shame, you're hot." Hunter pulled out of his the man's grasp.

    "Don't do that again." Henry stood and smiled.

    The music got louder as a voice came over the speakers. It said something about happy hour starting. Before Hunter could think to stop himself he slammed his hands over his ears. The lights changed more frequently and the occupants of the bar got louder.

    "Let's get out of here." Henry grabbed Hunter's hand and led him out of the bar. It took being outside and a few feet away from the bar before the clone even realized he was outside.

    Hunter felt stupid. How could he let the enemy drag him out of the bar like that? How could he be so overwhelmed by something so simple as a bar? He was a soldier, a crowded bar should be nothing.

    "Where are your buddies? I'll get my girl to bring your money. You really can't stand crowds can you?"

    "They'll be here and no, I can't."

    "Well you know what, that's fine. Not like you need to be around them anyway. Hey, let's wait over here."

    Hunter listened to his surroundings before walking over to the corner the man led him to. Now they wait.

Whumptober Day 10: "You Said You'd Never Leave."

Fandom: The Dragon Prince

Summary: Soren had to leave his family. For his sanity. A different way his conversation with Claudia could have gone.

    Soren never expected to leave his family. He never wanted to be be like their mother. But here he was, standing in front of Claudia. "I'm sorry." As he got ready to leave she stopped him.

    "You can't go" she cried.

    "I have to! You saw what Dad did. He was really going to turn me into a monster. I don't want to be a monster!"

    "You said you'd never leave!" Claudia screamed.

    "What?" He asked.

    "When mom and dad got divorced, when mom left, you told me you wouldn't leave me too!"

    "I have to Clauds and I hate myself for it, but if I don't leave-. Look Dad doesn't care about me, you saw what he was going to do! I don't like who dad's become, who I've become! I can't stay. I can't do it to myself anymore. I'm sorry."

    Soren didn't want to go back on his word. He hated going back on his word. But he was young and dumb to make that promise. Staying basically meant killing himself. That's what it felt like at least.

    Claudia looked devastated. She searched for words but couldn't find any. Soren started to turn away but stopped. Was he doing the right thing? Was he really going to leave his family behind?

    He looked back one more time. Would this be the last time he would be on the same side as his sister? Would she be okay?

    Soren could sit there with all of his questions until he decides to stay or he can walk away and leave everything behind. He sighed, "goodbye Claudia."

    Then he walked away. Claudia was yelling and crying for him to stay. She swore that their father cared about him and that he would have been fine. She screamed that he was breaking his promise to never leave.

    But Soren knew it was for the better. He knew he made the right choice. Even if he had to break a promise.

AI-less Whumptober Day 11: Drowning

Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug

Summary: An akumatised villain tries to drown Cat Noir.

  For being a Cat, Cat Noir enjoyed being in the water. When he expected it at least. But when Dark Cupid threw him into the water, he wasn't very happy about it.

    Kim loved the water. Adrien guessed even being akumatised couldn't stop that. When the villain came into the water was when Cat Noir felt he had a problem.

    When Dark Cupid grabbed his shoulders and kept his under the water, he knew he had a problem. He couldn't call on Plagg. He couldn't speak.

    Adrien started to panic. Calling on Cataclysm wouldn't help as long as he was below the water and couldn't use his power up. As he struggled, Dark Cupid kept him in his grasp.

    Water started to make its way into Adrien's lungs. He kicked and scratched but nothing worked. Ladybug had been a no show. She had told him the day before that she wouldn't be able to help him for the next few days becouse of a family event.

    His eyes hurt from the water. The world was becoming blurry and it was harder to fight the man. Adrian was terrified. He could feel everything. The water burned his lungs. Dark Cupid's nails stabbed into his shoulders.

    Cat Noir couldn't fight anymore. His energy was gone. As he started to wrap his head around the thought of death he felt Dark Cupid's grip loosen. Kim fell into the water and then grabbed him. He took him to the side of the river.

    "Oh fuck" he whispered as he looked at the hero. "I'm so sorry."

    Adrien coughed. He threw up the water and looked at Kim. He looked ready to cry. "It's not- your fault."

    "Are you okay?" He looked like he wanted to help him.

    "Yeah" he coughed out. "Are you?"

    Kim looked at his arms. "Yeah, it's not a big deal."

    Adrien fought through the fog. He watched as Kim tried to grapple the fact that he had almost drowned him. "Let's get that taken care of." He tried to stand. "I'll call an ambulance."

    "Okay." They waited in silence. When they got there, Cat Noir explained what had happened. They checked out Kim and before they got to Adrien, he was gone. They looked but decided to leave it. He was a hero, he could take care of himself.

Winter Whumperland Day 6: Jack Frost (Amnesia)

Fandom: Star Wars The Bad Batch

Summary: After a reg attacked Hunter, he finds he can't remember anything.

  When Hunter woke up, he couldn't remember how he had gotten to this white room. He wasn't sure who these people around him were. He didn't remember anything.

    "Hunter, you're awake!" The tallest  man yelled.

    "Don't yell." The man that talked looked robotic.

    Someone stood nearby. He looked worried but didn't say anything.

    "Who are you?" Hunter asked.

    He watched the tallest man hold back tears. "I'm Wrecker, your brother. Do you not remember?"

    A man with the glasses walked to the other man's side and put a hand in him. "Hunter hit his head extremely hard when he was attacked. Amnesia is not a surprising result."

    The man in the corner spoke up, "I'm going to kill the mother fu-" he was interrupted by the man with glasses.

    "That won't help." He sounded robotic, like his voice should belong to the cyborg standing by the tallest of the group. Still something was comforting about it.

"What's going on?" Hunter asked as he tried to sit up. He noticed how bright the lights were and laid back down for a minute. His head hurt. "What happened?"

"One of the regs hit you with the butt of their gun" hissed the gray hair man.

"Regs?" Hunter wasn't sure why that stood out the most. "What?"

"Let's introduce ourselves. I'm sure it's not very fun being surrounded by a bunch of people you don't know must be unpleasant. I'm Echo. I work with you."

"Alright." Hunter sat up this time. He looked around and shook his head. "Where are we?"

"This is the Kaminoan cloning facility. It is also our home. I am Tech, one of your technically millions of brothers."

"Don't break him" the gray hair man spoke.

"I'm Wrecker! I'm one of your brothers too!"

"Yeah I remember you saying that earlier." Hunter tried to make sense of the knowledge he had. He was a clone. That wasn't the most surprising part. What surprised him the most was how many clones existed. Why did they exist? What purpose had they been made for?

The others looked at the gray haired man, trying to get him to say something. When he didn't, Tech took over. "This is Crosshair. He is also a clone. We are your batch mates and work with you. Echo joined after being turned into that."

Hunter tried to look at Echo. "Okay." Slowing the group explained the war and how he was a sergeant in the army of the Galactic Republic. They explained some of their relationships with him and how they grew up together.

For a long time Hunter felt empty. These people around him had so many memories of him but he barely knew who they were. He watched them grieve over a man who he didn't know; over a man he had been.

It took time. Recovery always takes time. The clone that had caused the trauma to Hunter was never punished. The Kaminoans didn't have the time. Hunter grew strangely close to some regs, despite never liking them before.

The batch started to think he would never remember who he was before. But with never remembering, Hunter could forget the blood and death he had seen before. He could forget all the ways the regs had done them wrong and he was growing a relationship with some of them. He seemed happy.

Then he remembered. Slowly, Hunter had been getting back little memories. Small things like short memories from when he had been younger. But one day he just knew who he had been before.

It had been months. The memories were overpowering. Hunter felt confused and lost. He felt both frozen and on fire. The memories of who he once was seemed like a distant lifetime ago. He remembered he had liked red more then blue and how he hadn't liked lemonade, even though he loved it now.

It was strange. It felt like he was a completely different person now. Hunter liked talking to the regs, or at least most of them. He had known a life that wasn't on a battle field, even if he was preparing for war. His biggest problem had been the regs and not the droids on the other side of the war.

The first thing the man did was tell Echo. He had grown closer to him then before. Soon he told the others. They seemed overjoyed to have their Hunter back but Hunter wasn't so sure. He still liked lemonade and the color blue more than orange juice and red. He still wanted to be friends with the regs he was around.

As time moved on, Hunter got used to being himself again. He felt more confused then anything. At first he wasn't sure that he wanted his memories back. All the death and destruction his two eyes had seen was overwhelming. But he got used to it.

Hunter finally felt normal again. After months and months of not knowing who he was and not know what to do with who he had been, he grew to like the person he was now but also who he had been. He liked knowing about his brothers and who they had been. He learned to cherish his memories. After all, nothing is permanent.

AI-less Whumptober Day 9: Scar Reveal

Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug

Summary: After a fight Adrien is left to try and hide a nasty laceration that later becomes a scar.

    Adrien looked at the giant gash in his arm. "Hate to tell you but that's gonna scar, kid" Plagg flew in front of him.

    "Tis but a scratch." He looked at the laceration. It went from the middle of the back of his hand to his elbow. Blood flower down his arm. It dripped onto the floor. After a moment of shock, Adrian ran to his bathroom and grabbed a towel. He slammed it down onto his arm.

    "Can you grab the disinfectant from the cabinet?" He asked, shacking.

    "Didn't think it was that bad, did you?" He said as he grabbed the bottle from the medicine cabinet.

    "No." He kept his left arm on top of his right. The pressure hurt but it was better than passing out.

    When Adrien Adrien removed the towel Plagg hissed. "You might need to get that professional taken care of."

    "I can't." He rushed out of the room and scoured his room trying to find the small sewing kit that Marinette had given him.

    "Found it!" He stumbled back to the bathroom and placed the kit down quickly.

    As he opened it Plagg opened his mouth. "That's not safe" he said.

    "I know. He grabbed the disinfectant spray and sprayed down the needle as well as the thread. Before Plagg could stop him, the needle was in his skin.

    The boy cried as he sewed up his arm. It hurt more than he thought it would. Plagg stayed by his side until he finished.

    The only thread Adrien had was black. It stuck out against his pale skin. He cleaned up the outside of the wound, hiding the towel under his skin. He'd get rid of it later.

    Adrien looked at his handy work. "It could be worse." He grabbed the bandages from the cabinet and wrapped his arm in them.

    "True, you could be dead." He joked.

    The hero moved to his bed. He laid down and fell asleep.

    School was interesting. For the first week, Adrien felt like he hit his arm on everything. He tried to find ways out of gym.

    His friends noticed and tried to make his life just a little easier. Nino kept grabbing his bag before he could and taking it to his next class. It made him smile. Marinette made him some baked goods almost everyday.

    As Cat Noir, Plagg changed his suit to keep the skin tight aspect from hurting him. Instead it was like a loser fitting turtleneck with green accents. When Ladybug asked he just said he was just cold.

    Taking the stitches out hurt. He wasn't sure how so Adrien just cut the strings and pulled them out. After that he rewrapped his arm and hand. Slowly it started to heal to a point he didn't need to wrap it.

    Nathalie wanted to ask why the teen kept getting tea tree oil but decided it had to be some popular new skin care trend. Why would she complain about him having a skin care routine?

    As the weather started to warm up, his friends started to notice the long sleeves and gloves more. They weren't sure how to approach him. He couldn't just be cold anymore. They were concerned about him.

    When Adrien finally took off the gloves he had to get used to covering his hand in foundation and setting spray. He knew eventually the scar wouldn't be as intense.

    The jacket stayed. Nino decided he needed to know. What if he'd been hurt? What if he'd been hiring himself? Whatever it was, he needed to know.

   "Hey Adrien, meet me in the boiler room?" He nudged him.

    "Sure. When?"

    "Now's fine. It is lunch after all!" He grabbed his hand and dragged him to the boiler room.

    "So, what do you need?" Adrien asked confused but sweetly.

    "Is everything okay man?" He asked. "if you need to talk about something -"

    "Yeah everything's fine! What made you think that it wasn't?" He said nervously.

    "It's just that, you've been wearing the jacket for a bit and it's starting to get to a point where it's definitely too hot for that."

    Adrien looked away. "Yeah everything's fine. How about we go get lunch.?"

    "Yeah, let's do that." As Adrien started walking, Nino pulled on the back of the jacket pulling it off. Alya and Marinette came out from their hiding places. It seemed cruel, what they were doing, but in their eyes it had to be done.

    Adrien just stared at them. "What the heck?" He shouted. He tried to hide the large scar that stained his arm.

    This couldn't be happening. What if they realized where it had come from? He'd have to give up his place as Cat Noir. A world without being a hero seemed to feel like a trap. His breath caught just thinking about it.

    "Woah" Nino said, staring.

    "How did you-?" Alya asked.

    "I don't- I don't want to talk about it."

    The scar was long. Beside the almost straight line were smaller dots.

    Marinette thought the wound looked familiar but didn't think too hard about it. "I'm so sorry Adrien, we should have just left you alone."

    "Yeah, we're sorry." Alya grabbed the jacket from Nino and handed it to him.

    "We just wanted to make sure you were okay." Nino looked down.

    "I'm fine. I'd be a lot better if you hadn't done that." He sighed, "just don't tell anyone. Please."

    Nino and Alya nodded. "we promise." Marinette looked at him, "is there anything we can do to make it up to you?"

    "Just please don't mention it."

    "You know there's no shame in a scar right?" Nino said, leaning the group out of the boiler room.

    "I know I just don't want people to say anything." Adrien sighed. "it's just easier this way." He slipped the jacket back over his shoulders.

    "Maybe you'll be able to take that jacket off soon. It's not their business anyway." Alya opened the door, holding it for them.

    Adrien thought about that night. Only the villain had been there and Ladybug was a no show. "You know what, it'll be fine." He brought the jacket into his hands.

    "If you're sure." Nino led them back to the cafeteria. All eyes were on him as soon as he entered the room. People came up to him to question what had happened but he danced around the answer. They would get an answer out of him at some point. If not the kids at school, the press.

    It didn't take long before it was on social media. Adrien watched as his ride appeared and sighed. His father's reaction was the one he feared the most. But it didn't matter, it would come eventually. So when he entered the car after saying goodbye to his friends, he just sighed. "Let's get this over with."

Merry Whumpmas Day 2: Broken Bone

Fandom: Miraculous Ladybug

Warning: Violence

Summary: Adrien reserves a nasty wound by Monarch.

  Being a super hero was fun. Especially in the snow. Nothing ever made Adrien question that. Sure the injuries weren't fun but everything else was great. But there were some moments when being a hero wasn't so fun.

    Like when your tibia is sticking out of your leg.

    Adrien just stared at it. It hurt. It hurt a lot. Tears fell from his eyes and he protested some of the pain. Adrenaline kept the rest away. He could only think about one thing, Monarch.

    It never seemed to be a good day when Monarch showed his face. Adrien would have known better. Most of the time fighting Monarch wasn't the worst, but this time, this time was different. This time he was stronger.

    Bones seemed weaker when they were sticking out of you. Blood surrounded the wound as Adrien looked around to see if someone could help him.

    There was no one there. No one but Monarch. The villain looked at the child in front of him and froze. For the first time he thought about what he was doing. Then he let his morality slide away as he started to walk again. When he was done with him, his leg would be the least of his problems.

     Blood stained the snow, the warm crimson liquid sinking to the grass. Adrien looked back at the villain. He started to try to back away but screamed in pain. He reached for his poll but couldn't find it in the snow.

    Adrien looked back at Monarch. He could see the hatred that grew in his eyes. It's ugly color shown though more than anything. Though they held a  familiar coldness to them, the boy decided to ignore it.

    "No where to run."

    "I think I can tell." Adrien sighed. He could do nothing but watch as Monarch walked until he was right in front of him. Then he prepared himself when he saw Monarch's foot coming down onto his leg. He could feel the boot on his bone.  

    Ladybug finally knew where he partner was. She never wanted to hear such a blood curdling scream again. It hurt to hear but not nearly as much as it must have hurt him. She ran across rooftops and swung down into the court yard they were in.

    Adrien laid on the ground. The bone was now back in his body but it was also shattered. Blood spilled much quicker from the wound and tears fell much harder.

    "Hold on Cat Noir!" Ladybug screamed.

    The next few hours were a blur. Adrien watched Ladybug fight Monarch until police arrived. He remembered being in an ambulance and telling the paramedic that no one could know who he was. Getting to the hospital made him panic a bit more.

    He remembered the sound of his bone breaking and when it had been forced back into his flesh. It had been horrible.

    Hospitals were bright but Adrien knew he needed to be there. He tried to figure out what to do about his identity but as they started to talk about surgery those thoughts subsided. He would just have to worry about it later.