Doc is learning how to human, but Bdubs doesn't like that for some reason-

Xisuma has ~ANXIETY~

Zed has a sweet tooth and stole from... someone.

Tony finds it funny that Happy was scammed by a totally random child.

Quite peaceful, it was. Haha... not anymoreeeeee :)

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Waking up in an alley, out in the open, did set off their nerves sometimes. Joe and Cleo had joked about it a few times before, but this morning felt... different. Joe could swear he felt someone watching them all morning, and the feeling that something was about to go terribly wrong refused to leave. Bdubs had noticed how tense the two were, and tried getting a straight answer out of them, but neither could pinpoint why they felt so on edge.

"Maybe-"

"If you say it's Doc's fault, I swear-" Cleo sighed, mostly joking around. At the same time, his paranoia over the cyborg was starting to get on her nerves a little. Doc hadn't done anything wrong since he'd gotten there, he'd mostly stuck by Ren's side and asked about different things to people he'd started to get comfortable with.

"Alright, alright-" The small boy huffed. Joe glanced over at where Doc was. He seemed more on edge than usual... Maybe it was the planned break in routine. After all, they were doing something new today.

A small part of the city was being used for some kind of farmer's market type setup, and the group all had agreed it'd be worth checking out when they'd first heard about it. It was a bit past noon now, and they could all use some food, so now seemed like the best time.

"We can't get much though." Xisuma reminded everyone as they went. "We don't want anything going to waste because we couldn't finish it and it went bad."

"Just check for mold and it'll be fiiiiine." Zed chuckled.

"If it tastes weird, smells weird, or makes you feel weird, say something." Doc was somewhat thinking out loud, and once again had to be reminded that not everyone was trying to poison them.

The group stuck together when they first arrived, then they slowly split off into smaller and smaller groups. They were encouraged to get small, inexpensive things that made them happy, like bits of jewelry or small toys. After all, they didn't have much at the moment.

Iskall was the first to start getting things for others, getting a small wolf plush for Ren and a few small devices for Mumbo to pull apart to build whatever he pleased. Both thanked them and were clearly happy with their gifts. It didn't take long for everyone's guard to be lowered, thinking maybe whatever odd feeling from this morning was just from being tired.

Doc split off from the rest, looking through some of the stuff on sale. Something felt off... maybe he was just being paranoid again.

'Not everyone is out to get you... it's okay.'

Xisuma, Alex, and Ren had been trying to help him deal with... certain habits that had stuck with him since HYDRA, even if two of the three didn't know the full story. They assured him he didn't have to constantly look over his shoulder or ask if things were a test or distrust anything he was given, and on one hand it was nice to let his guard down, but... on the other, he highly doubted HYDRA was truly going to just let so many assets (especially powerful ones with so much information buried deep in his mind) just wander about the world.

But then again, HYDRA was supposedly destroyed... maybe he was safe. Maybe he was just being paranoid.

Doc smiled a bit to himself, looking at some little plushies for sale. But the sense of peace vanished once he stepped away from the stall and was grabbed by his left arm, being dragged into an alleyway, out of sight of the crowd and his friends.

"HEY- ... no- no, no NO LET ME GO-"

взятый. заново. Океан. усиленный. шесть. замороженный. двенадцать. навсегда потерян. два. Подарок.

.... Солдат?

Ren looked around for wherever Doc went, feeling... off. Something felt wrong, a familiar kind of wrong. 'C'mon dude- I'm sure Doc's okay- I'm sure everything is fine.'

He was just being paranoid, there's no way-

No.

Ren froze as he saw, not Doc, but the Creeper on a rooftop. He had the mask on, the hoodie and bandages he'd been given as a disguise were discarded, and he had a weapon in his hands. They'd found them. The werewolf's heart seemed to stop as the mechanical eye scanned the crowd... and locked on him.

'Oh no- no no no- Gotta warn the others, NOW-'

"Where's Doc? Shouldn't he be back by now?" Joe whispered to the Voids as he looked around for any sign of the cyborg. Before either of the two could answer, Ren collided with Alex in his hurry to get over to them.

"Wh-! Hey, Ren! You okay, did you find Doc?"

"There's no time, dudes- We have to find the others, now-"

Xisuma was startled by their friend's panicked tone, but was grabbed by the hand and yanked away before he could ask any questions. Alex and Joe exchanged worried looks before following. As they ran, Joe felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

Were they being followed? Is that why Ren looked so panicked? Is that why he kept glancing behind their shoulders? Is that why it suddenly felt like they were being hunted?

Joe looked up, and saw a figure chasing them from the rooftops, jumping between the gaps with ease and catching up fast.

Alex grabbed Bdubs as they passed by him, he and Xisuma starting to share Ren's frantic energy.

"HEY!? Wha-"

"No time, just run!" Ren shouted, turning a corner and taking the group with him. But someone landed in front of them. "Crap..."

"Doc?" Xisuma thought it was at first, but...

"Not right now..." Ren shakily moved to be between everyone else and the Creeper, who aimed his weapon at the five. "Run."

"What- No, we're not leaving you behind! What's happening?" Alex demanded, reaching into his pocket. Thank gods he hadn't ever left his staff behind, but... he didn't want to fight their friend. This didn't seem like Doc, even if they hadn't known him for long.

"Figures-" Bdubs muttered, glaring at the Creeper. He knew something was up.

"No- Listen, you don't get it- He's not himself, he will kill all of us if you don't go now-" Ren was surprised they hadn't already been shot at, but he didn't want to tempt fate (or the assassin) more.

The Creeper lowered his gun and charged at Ren. In a split second, Alex pulled out his staff to intercept him, smacking the super soldier across the chest and winding him. "Safety in numbers. We're no-"

Alex was cut off as the Creeper kicked at his leg, grabbing a knife and preparing to leap at the sorcerer. Xisuma rushed in, his gloves forming glowing shields to block the blow. "Doc, it's us!"

The look in Doc's eyes... this wasn't him. Whatever was happening, someone was messing with his head. Xisuma made a split second decision: wasn't going to let him hurt anyone, but he wasn't going to leave Doc behind either.

Ren paused, watching the Voids fight for a minute. Why couldn't he move? What could he even do? He glanced at Bdubs, who looked as shocked as he felt. If Ren didn't do something... Doc would wake up, either back with those HYDRA jerks or to.... No. Doc had the courage to save him and the others. Ren could at least try to do the same.

The werewolf bolted into the fray before he could second guess himself, grabbing the Creeper by the arms from behind. "Come on-"

He was surprised how hard the assassin had to fight against him to try to break free. The Voids exchanged looks before grabbing the dropped guns and throwing them into the garbage, trying to limit how much damage the cyborg could do.

As the four fought, Doc managing to break free and Ren helping the Voids fight as best he could, Joe felt... something from the cyborg. An overwhelming numbness... but under it was pain. Like he was trying to scream but no sound would come out, like he was tied down and trying to break free-

"Joe, look out!" Bdubs pulled the frozen boy out of the way of a thrown knife, one that would've gone right into Joe's shoulder had Bdubs not acted fast. He shook out of his daze, realizing he was holding back tears. "Holy- Wh- Do we get the others?!"

"I- I don't know-"

The two froze again, watching the Creeper charge at Xisuma after throwing Ren and Alex off himself, and X used the cyborg's momentum to throw him into a wall. Alex, moving to stand, threw his staff to his brother.

"Sorry, Doc-"

WHACK.

---------------

"-what now...?"

"-can't let him-"

Doc's head throbbed.

"-but he-"

"You said that-"

"-changed my mind... he's-"

He kept fading in and out of consciousness, hearing pieces of conversation but not quite processing them. Until...

"He's awake- sh sh sh-"

Doc's mechanical eye blinked on as he finally came to fully. "Wh... what happened..?"

He got a glimpse of the faces of the people around him, and they all looked... worried? Scared? It was hard for him to tell the difference. As he started to gain his bearings more, he noticed Bdubs' arm was wrapped up... and there was some blood on the bandages. Alex and Xisuma looked a bit beaten up, as did Ren. Joe looked tired, and his hands glowed faintly.

"You... what do you remember?" Mumbo asked carefully.

"In the market area... I- ... oh... oh no."

No. He swore he would never- No. That couldn't have- He looked at Bdubs again, who didn't have a trace of anger on his face for once. Was he scared? ... was Doc the reason why his arm was bandaged...?

"What did I do...?"

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:)

- CinnabonSys (HAS BEEN WANTING TO WRITE THIS SCENE FOR YEARS-)