wars affected everyone differently. some left with physical injuries , others left with MENTAL injuries. && then there was the least common group of individual , so screwed up , that a war can only make them better , that could only make them have a change of heart. && piper fell in the third category. she had come into this line of work with physical && mental scars , nothing phased her anymore. && in a way , it sucked. ‘ it’s independence day , boys. ’ a bad imitation , but it brought out the lighter side of the brunette. this squad , rick && katana , they seemed to be the only ones who were able to see that side of her. they were a part of her , an arm && leg. her fingers stopped moving at his question , piper’s thoughts derailing. she had thought about it , once or twice , wiggling out from under waller’s command. but she never had long to think about it. reality always dawned back. ‘ when i first got here , i used to think that i’d leave at the first opportunity i was given. go away && maybe , be on my own. but i realized that , little by little , that i’d be unable to. ’ she moved her head to the side , looking at her colonel. ‘ not alone. i’ve been alone my entire life , && i don’t want to go back to that. if i alone was given the opportunity to get out of ARGUS , i wouldn’t take it. not without you , or the squad. it’s all or nothing for me. ’
The bridge of Flag’s nose wrinkled as a delighted laugh shook out of him toward Piper’s little reference. Fortunately, it was an old enough film for Rick to recognize the line–especially with how the agent tweaked her voice for effect. “Metahumans, psychos, mutants, witches, crocodiles, enchanted swords…” The man sighed, emoting the exhaustion already written on his features. “alien’s are just what I need.” It was a wonder how Rick was still standing, considering the shit he’d seen, and it just kept coming. He was kind of sick of surprises. The Colonel went still and quiet as he waited for Piper’s response. It came sooner than he had expected… part of Rick was grateful for that. She always seemed so dependable and consistent on her convictions. This was a quality Flag could respect. Regarding what Vigilante said, however, sparked an entirely different sense of admiration in the leader. He was caught off guard while Piper expressed her inability to take a more selfish road, but the explanation that followed left him quite somber and this showed in his hazel eyes. “… I gotcha.” That might have been a less than stellar response off the bat. Rick was known for those, but quickly made up for it, “You know I’m more than happy to have you… along with Tatsu, and the others–I think I can speak for them. You wont have to worry about going alone. Even if Waller’s program fails… we were always the most dependable part of this operation anyway.” The only dependable piece, as far as Rick was concerned. “I hope we can all move on after this..” He really did. It had been so long since Richard could sense-or desire-a brighter future. Survival was never guaranteed.
piper didn’t laugh often , or break into a smile she didn’t have a lot of reasons to. && she didn’t want to either. with the life they lived , with the way they handled things , she didn’t have time to be happy. but , sometimes , although it was rare , something would bring out a smile onto her face. && for a second , the big weight on her shoulders would fall , letting her breathe. but only for a second until her stone cold expression fell back onto her features. “ just me then. ” she didn’t mean harm to anyone , but , it did happen. it sucked for maybe a day , two if things got really personal && heated , but at the end of the day , piper never dwelled on the casualties. their missions were always to get as many people out as possible. that didn’t mean they’d get EVERYONE out. && she’d come to peace with it , which was the reason why she could talk about the loss of civilians so easily. more blood on her hands , wasn’t a big deal. they were already coated anyway. “ i’ll admit , good old fashion combat sounds good right about now. give it a few more days , colonel. GOTHAM never stays quiet. alien attack , or the joker does something stupid again. maybe some more villain wannabes. someone’s bound to slip up && we’re always the first ones there to clean them up. ”
Rick breathed out a low chuckle that could go unnoticed by inattentive ears, “Nah, I’m sure it’s not just you…” Though his crew was mainly a collection of human soldiers, the best in the business, who were taught similar ideals Flag knew regular dark thoughts like Piper’s must fill their heads from time-to-time. It was his leadership, boundaries, that kept operations on the straight and narrow, but nothing could channel freewill–not even Richard who showed his teammates due respect and attention. They all had their own view of the world, methods of coping, and were the closest thing to a family the Colonel still had on earth. They were the only kind of family he wanted. “An alien attack… that sounds like fun.” Flag snickered and ignored the slight jab he felt hit his chest. “Yeah… criminals are about the most dependable people you could get to know–outside of our troop, of course.” Rick seemed to hesitate, “If you could get out of ARGUS. Waller’s command. Go in to business with me or on your own, would you take that shot?” Part of the man trusted that Piper wouldn’t repeat this query to their crew mates.
piper looked down after the momentary silence that rick offered. it did seem like an easy question to answer , if you were a military man , born && raised like he was. && everyone knew , piper was anything but. no one knew the entire story , perhaps apart from waller , but that woman knew everything. she wasn’t one for boasting about her past. all they knew was that piper had once been an heiress to a once well set company && now , was fighting monstrous things with guns && hands. nothing in between && she liked to keep it that way. her lips curled into somewhat of a smile , shoulders raising in a silent laugh. she listened , his words swirling into her mind , endless thoughts surrounding them. he was right they fought for a better tomorrow , as cheesy as that may sound. they fought for the civilians to be able to smile && be happy , to be able to get drunk without a worry. they shouldered the burden so they didn’t have to. “ guess you got me there. but , don’t you sometimes wish the bad guys would target bars once in a while ?? the happy drunk citizens have to get on your nerves sometimes. ”
There was something refreshing in the way Vigilante shook with muted laughter. It was a sort of comfort Rick felt when Katana smiled too. These past ten months, there were fewer and fewer reasons to be bright eyed and bushy tailed, but such sights refueled the Colonel in a sense. Even while the present situation he currently faced was quite hopeless. Rick followed up with his own dry single huff of a chuckle that was more caustic than delightful, “’s a pretty dark wish, V. I take more pleasure in dealing with others myself. Nice and personal.” Before he could weakly laugh, Flag shook his head softly, “Naw… last thing I’d want is the bad guys hurting who I’m meant to protect–but it would be convenient for some to turn up now. With you and I in the building. Part of me’s always itching for regular combat.” It was difficult to come back to this civilized first world that is said to be ‘without war’ when the Colonel spent every year since he was sixteen on tour. Fighting, killing, repeating. For a soldier of Rick’s caliber, the only way to cope would be to go back. His first eight months here were honestly insufferable.
piper knew that the quiet never lasted , that nothing good came from it , from getting used to it. quiet before the storm ?? here , in their world, it was quiet before the APOCALYPSE. the only thing you could do was get as many glasses of alcohol into your system before it all came back around. maybe say goodbye to those you loved , but in the woman’s case , that wasn’t something she had to worry about. plain lips met the colt glass of the bottle , swinging it back to get as much of the liquid as she could possibly handle. ‘ we were all civilians && we all learned the hard way to grow some common sense. why can’t they do the same thing ?? ’ she reminded him , however her tone showing no signs of aggression or defiance. off or on duty , the soldier saw rick as her colonel his words were law && she respected them.
His gaze was on Piper before she presented him with a rather difficult question. It seemed simple to him, but he’d been brought up in this line of work–military–while the road Piper had to travel to stand before the man was less… traditional. The modest, amber, glass of whiskey showed up and Flag dropped his stare on the rim of it. The ripples that shook from the liquids center. “We’d face much more disappointment if we expected every person to be that smart.” Rick said to start, a bit of humor in his tone before he gave his preferred answer, “And… what I do every day is to ensure civilians don’t have to know what we know, face what we face… I’ll take the happy and ignorant drunks. It means I’ve done my job.” Though, many military would like to demand more respect, understanding–it wasn’t healthy to lay back and take the world, government, as they were with such indifference. Yet the Colonel still wouldn’t hold such impossible standards against the average citizen. He had plenty of other issues to lose sleep over day in and day out.
the pungent smell of smoke was a dead give away to RICK’S presence , her feigned smile falling once she gazed at him. ‘ you look like crap. ’ she said , the words slipping from her lips without remorse. she raised a slender finger towards the man who had served her beer , motioning towards her colonel’s direction. it was an unspoken command that whatever he decided to order , was on her. ‘ this bigbad city is nothing compared to the big && bad we’ve seen. ’ piper said , her posture slumped , aware of the sarcasm that came from his lips. ‘ wish they’d know that. it would make my day a HELL of a lot smoother. ’
“‘always do..” Just about, though that was a lie. Things had gotten better for awhile, just long enough for Flag to truly enjoy himself, settle in, but once that ever present shit inevitably hit the fan Rick slipped right back into his old habits. A skin he didn’t like to wear, but one that would protect his heart; if only he wore it as nicely as Piper appeared to. He ordered his usual tumbler of whiskey, one he’d be working on all evening as to keep his wits about him, but was never-the-less grateful for her small generous offer. Rick put out the cigarette in a tray at the counter, now that his small fix was satiated he wasn’t enjoying it much anyway. She was right about Gotham holding nothing against the lot when it came to their history. Damn was she right… “Yeah.” Rick agreed in a less than enthusiastic manner–more a sigh. “You gotta cut civilians slack… they don’t know any better.” Rick still struggled to socialize around normal people, but learned not to take things personal or hold it against them.
‘ mhm yeah , alright. i’ve actually got a better idea. how about , ’ piper cooed , turning her head towards the persistent man with a feigned smile , ‘ you go back to your friends over by the booth && tell them that next time they send someone over here , to make sure they’re ready to be missing a few digits. or their entire hand. ’ there was a sickeningly sweet venom that dripped from her lips as she spoke , watching as the man’s adam’s apple bopped up && down , slowly leaving the seat. ‘good boy. ’
“Hooph..” The Colonel hummed while releasing a breath of smoke. Rick appeared banged up, exhausted, because he was a combination of both. In spite of his heavy train of thought, Piper’s little display provided a much needed distraction–he was amused. “’good to know I don’t have to worry about you out here in this bigbad city..” He spoke in jest, sarcastic, quite aware that Gotham should be more afraid of her and Katana than the other way around. Any part of Rick’s crew was a force to be reckoned with. Gender wouldn’t blur that universal truth. “Fools out here don’t got nothing on you.”
