#455 - Smirk - Time is a Thief - BtVS/DCU

[lightning-skies.livejournal.com]

Title: Time is a Thief
Fandom: BtVS/DCU
Prompt: 455 - Smirk
Words: 631
Warnings: None

Xander was able to admit to himself that he was terrified as he lingered in the hall and watched XL Terrestrial exiting the Headmaster’s office. The kid was sheet white, which was a feat for someone who physically resembled a little green man from space. Brother Blood stood in the doorway to his office and watched him flee down the hall with a cruel little smirk. X felt a little bad about his traumatized condition, but was glad that he wasn’t in the kid’s position.

He had been searching for information on ‘The Light’ but had been paranoid enough to use other student’s computers and log-ins. He had double and triple checked that there was no way to trace his search and hacking back to him. Unfortunately, with Blood keeping a mind-altering eye on the student body, there was no way to add physical distance between himself and where he was hacking.

Which lead to the terror. XL was the third student whose accounts and/or hardware X had co-opted for his search that had been called into the Headmaster’s office and come out looking like they’d been put through a wringer. Whoever The Light was, they were good and had taken less than a week to physically track him down to within HIVE. The same HIVE that was supposed to be firmly under their mental control without even knowing it.

Brother Blood had the students building something, but X kept far out of it for fear that he’d give his still free-thinking self away. For once the HIVE was actually acting like a cohesive unit and it was the creepiest thing ever. Everyone had a slightly glazed look to their eyes.

Jinx and her team were hardly around. They’d been sent out three times in the last week to complete various unknown missions for Brother Blood. X had been too afraid to ask Jinx what the missions were, not knowing what might set off Blood’s control. It was horrible having to hold back what he said to her for fear of The Light. He could tell she was confused by his sudden reluctance to participate in their budding friendship.

He almost thought the increasing amounts of paranoid stress were getting to him when he looked across the cafeteria and saw a new student that his magical sight revealed to be Cyborg. Considering the amount of skin the typically half-man was showing, X figured he was in disguise.

Brother Blood was quick to open his arms to a new student when ‘Stone’ made a good showing of himself in combat practice. X supposed that there wasn’t much harm in adding to the student body when Blood had mental control of them all. He was assigned to join the HIVE trio’s team and made himself quite comfortable among the villains.

X watched Cyborg carefully as he snooped and made friends with the gossips. He was relieved to see that Jinx had picked up on his lack of interest and was casting speculative eyes in Cyborg’s direction. Knowing the hero would be good for her. He was a completely different type of person than her teammates or any of the HIVE students. Maybe he could show Jinx how the other half of the Hero/Villain spectrum lived and thought. X wanted that for her.

Jinx had become a villain not because she wanted to but because she felt that she didn’t have any other options. She was a walking bad luck charm and thought that it meant her only option was to go bad herself. X could see different though. She didn’t have the inherent cruelty needed to be a proper career villain. Even if she thought she was hard enough for it, if she ever did kill someone it would destroy her.