Sure! It’s This One:

The Countdown | Hunter from The Bad Batch

Summary: When Hunter faces Hemlock for the first time, he gets put into a situation that he can't get out of.

Warning: mentions of death and injuries, medical assistance given in the form of painkillers, needles mentioned, gunshot wound and blood, traumatic read (be warned)

Pairing: Hunter x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 3k words

Type: Oneshot

Nothing had gone to plan. In an attempted rescue mission on Eriadu, Tech bravely sacrificed himself for the safety of the rest of the group with Plan 99. Now, back on Ord Mantell, the remaining members were left to deal with the aftermath.

Each of them sporting their own injuries after the railway car crash. All of them left to bear the weight of grief that consumed their every waking thought. None of them strong enough to push on any longer, especially being down a member.

In one of the booths, AZ was given the task of tending to some of Y/n's wounds. He injected a shot of a fast acting painkiller into the meat of her thigh, ignoring the way she winced at the feeling of a needle piercing her skin. He proceeded to wrap some gauze around an open wound which had already been disinfected.

In the background, Wrecker was perched on one of the stools at the bar. He kept his movements to a minimal given the extent of his injuries. He wore a brace around his neck which he managed to sprain in the crash.

"Here. This one's on the house," Cid spoke quietly. She slid him a drink.

"It won't help," Wrecker sighed, sparing a brief glance down into the cup.

"I'm sorry about Goggles," Cid confessed. "I always liked him."

"Yeah," Wrecker agreed. "Me too."

What drew Y/n back to her own reality was the feeling of AZ swiftly tugging and tying the gauze around her bicep. He swiveled back to glance over his work, coming to the conclusion that she was now fully attended to.

"You will need to rest if you are to recover quickly. That being said: all of your injuries are now accounted for and tended to," AZ said rather factually.

"Thanks," Y/n mumbled almost too quiet to hear.

The droid left her alone in the booth, heading into the backroom to check up on his other patients. Now, the three of them were all that remained in the front of the house.

In the midst of the grief stricken silence, Cid seemed to appear on edge. Her arms were crossed over her chest, but her claw like finger was tapping rapidly on her arm. It was like she was anxious about something. And Wrecker noticed it.

"What's with you?" Wrecker questioned.

"You know, I tried to look out for you boys. But you got too much heat on you. And you brought it here to my place of business," Cid tried to explain herself. "I had to make the best of a bad situation," Cid claimed.

Wrecker sat up a little straighter. "What did you do?" He growled.

"Sorry Muscles," Cid apologized in advance.

At this point, it was too late to do anything in retaliation. The front door opened to reveal a group of clone commandos with their blasters drawn. They tried to stun him, but he was able to put up a fight before being taken down.

By the time Wrecker's knees hit the ground, Y/n jumped out of her seat and yanked her own blaster out. She raised it to fire two shots at the troopers, striking one of them directly in the chest. Only problem was that it wasn't enough to take them down. They quickly stunned her too, but not before she was able to call out:

"Hunter!"

In the back office, Hunter had heard the fight his brother was putting up. He moved quickly in an attempt to get Omega to safety. He instructed her to leave the establishment through the tunnel system and to find Echo as soon as she could.

It was only when he heard his name being called that he felt his blood run cold and a chilled shiver dropped down his spine. He drew his own blaster, ready to put up the fight of his life despite his injuries.

With great caution, Hunter exited the back office with his blaster raised. He rounded the corner half expecting there to be more clone troopers headed his way. His steps were silent.

Upon rounding the last corner, Hunter caught sight of the scene laid out before him. There were ten clone commandoes standing behind Wrecker and Y/n with their blasters pointed directly at their heads. They were both kneeling on the floor in handcuffs. And Dr Hemlock took center stage.

"That's not very strategic, Hunter. You don't need to use your enhanced senses to know you're outnumbered," Dr Hemlock commented calmly.

The enhanced clone took a couple steps further in the room with his blaster still targeted. The surroundings clones kept their own blasters raised in defense, waiting for one wrong move for permission to fire.

"The Empire thanks you for your assistance," Dr Hemlock spoke to the trandoshan beside him whilst handing her a case of credits.

She took the case from him, but she avoided the glares coming from the two clones. She kept her head low and felt the strong sense of guilt weighing heavy on her shoulders.

"Our business is done. Leave," Dr Hemlock ordered. She obeyed immediately.

Hunter could only glare at her retreating figure before directing his gaze back towards the man in front of him. He refused to lower his blaster.

"Please. Consider your next move very carefully," Dr Hemlock directed. He threw a brief glance over his shoulder. "I would hate for this to end poorly for both of you."

"Hunter," Y/n spoke up in a tone of desperation. His ears perked up and his gaze shifted down to her. "Whatever he says, don't listen to--"

She was quickly silenced as a mechanical device was placed over her mouth by one of the clone commandos. She tried to protest in the process, but it muffled her words. It locked around the backside of her head, silencing her completely.

Now Hunter could practically hear the blood beginning to boil in his veins. His jaw tightened at the sight of those other clones putting their hands on her and he readjusted the grip he held on his blaster.

"Here is how this is going to go: You will lower your blaster and hand over Omega. And I will allow you to keep breathing," Dr Hemlock explained rather calmly.

"Omega's not going anywhere with you," Hunter claimed.

"Oh," Dr Hemlock sighed. He tipped his head to the side as if observing something odd. "Well, who knew clones were so paternal?"

Hunter's demeanor seemed to soften slightly.

"Fascinating," Dr Hemlock commented to himself.

Despite Hunter's orders to leave, Omega crawled through the vent system above the establishment with the droid trailing directly behind her. She came to the open vent, peering through the metal slats to watch everything unfold in front of her.

"I was saddened to learn of your friend's demise," Omega overheard Dr Hemlock. "What was his name? Oh yes...Tech," Dr Hemlock smirked.

Hearing that name only caused Wrecker to growl in pure anger. He struggled against the bonds around his wrists, but the clone commandos pressed the tips of their blasters into his sides. He ultimately forced himself to remain composed.

Dr Hemlock lifted his hand. One of the commandos proceeded to hand him a pair of broken goggles that unmistakably belonged to their beloved deceased brother.

"I'm afraid this was all I could salvage," Dr Hemlock ran his thumb over the broken lens. "Consider it a gift," he added.

Rather recklessly, Dr Hemlock tossed the pair of damaged goggles and the goggles clattered across the floor. They landed right in front of their leader's feet to which he only briefly glanced down at them.

"To lose one of your own, it must weigh heavily on you as their leader," Dr Hemlock was able to read him like a book. He knew exactly what his weakness was and he was going to keep pressing it until it broke him.

The clone commandoes roughly shoved their pointed blasters into the sides of the two kneeling on the floor. While Wrecker grumbled and growled at them, Y/n let out a soft whimper of pain since they pressed against the wound on her arm. The little sound she made was enough for Hunter's heart to clench.

"And if you don't lower the blaster now, you will lose yet another," Dr Hemlock gave him no other choice.

When Hunter directed their gaze towards them, Wrecker tried to shake his head as if to say 'no.' She glanced up at him with tears gathering in her eyes.

With some hesitation, Hunter began to lower his blaster in a slow manner. He raised his other hand in defense, lowering himself to the kneel on the ground. He placed the blaster down and reached for his brother's goggles, overridden with grief over his loss.

"Wise decision," Dr Hemlock complimented.

Now, two clone commandoes came around the two sides of him. They quickly brought his two hands in front of him, placing a secure pair of handcuffs around his wrists. The commandoes pulled him to his feet and kept him stationed there.

Another clone commando had gone into the back office in search of the young clone. He would return momentarily to report his findings to the doctor in charge. He stood at attention.

"Sir, the girl's not in the office."

"She's long gone," Hunter finally spoke up. "Like I said, Omega's not going anywhere with you."

"We'll see," Dr Hemlock said calmly and with a slight crooked smile on his face.

When Hemlock lifted his hand, a clone commando swiftly placed a small hand blaster into his grasp. He lowered his gaze to observe the weapon with care, tilting it from one side to the other. He clicked the safety on the side, removing the stun which caused Hunter to tense under the commandoes hold.

"You are going to tell me where Omega has gone or..." Hemlock's voice trailed off.

As if on cue, two more clone commandos quickly dragged the muffled hostage into the center of the room. They stepped back into line. The doctor pressed the tip of the blaster into the side of her head, forcing her to squeeze her eyes shut in fear.

In that exact moment, Hunter felt his whole world come to a screeching halt. The cold hand of fear began to grip at his chest, squeezing at his heart until it felt like he couldn't breath anymore. It made him seize up because there was nothing he could do to stop him right now.

"She dies," Hemlock explained plainly. "You have ten seconds."

He heard his own blood pumping through his veins, muffling any sound coming through his ears and leaving a sharp ringing sound in place. His gaze drifted down to stare into those helpless eyes, which were begging him to save her and also begging him to not say anything.

"One," Hemlock began. He refused to lower his blaster.

In response, Hunter forced himself to swallow the heavy lump lingering at the back of his throat. He didn't know what to do and he didn't know what to say. He ran through the possible outcomes if he played his cards right.

All the while, Hemlock only seemed to study his posture under a watchful eye. He could tell by his stance alone that he was trying to come up with a solution. From the way his throat bobbed, to how a single bead of sweat slid down his face, to how his hands shook slightly. All of that told him he was panicking on the inside.

"Two," Hemlock pressed. He enjoyed watching him squirm.

When Hunter glanced down at his blaster on the ground, one of the clone commandos took initiative to kick it far away from him. He was running out of options and he was running out of time.

"Hey," Hunter spoke to get her attention. He looked directly into her worried gaze. "It's gonna be okay. I'm going to get you out of this, do you understand?"

Despite her soft whimpers and tears running down her cheeks, she nodded her head understandingly. It pained him even more to hear how rapidly her heart was beating and how shallow her breathing had become. He sent her a weak smile.

"Three," Dr Hemlock was growing impatient.

"Listen," Hunter addressed him by shifting his gaze. "Talk to me. We can talk. Just put the blaster down. I won't negotiate like this," Hunter explained with a shake of the head.

"That's your choice," Dr Hemlock shrugged. He wouldn't relent. "Four."

A brief flash of fear overtook his senses. His mouth parted ever so slightly. He came to another solution. "Listen. S--She's already gone. I told her to go to Coruscant. It's a big enough city for her to hide in. You'll never find her ther--"

"She's not headed to Coruscant. Five," Hemlock easily called his bluff.

In response, Hunter jolted forward in his place in an attempt to lash out. The commandoes beside him were quick to retain him, holding onto his arms tightly. He glared at the man standing in front of him, feeling that strong sense of anger rising.

Now Y/n had to close her eyes because she couldn't stand to see him acting to reckless. She wasn't sure how this was all going to play out and she cursed to herself for feeling even the smallest amount of fear. The blaster pressed against the side of her head remained there.

"If you do this--" Hunter's voice trailed off. He was seething at this point. He clenched his hands into tight fists. "If kill her, you get nothing from me--"

"Six," Hemlock interrupted him.

"Listen to me," Hunter ordered roughly. He started to threaten him, which was another mistake. "The only way you're going to get what you want is if you listen to--"

But Hunter was unable to finish his sentence. The doctor quickly lowered his blaster to point it at her leg. He fired a single shot that went directly through the meat of her thigh. She let out a muffled scream and keened over slightly in her place, feeling the pain streaming through her leg almost instantly.

"No!" Hunter screamed and flinched upon hearing the loud blaster shot ring out. He jolted forward again, but was held back by the commandoes.

In the vents, Omega had to slap her hands over her mouth to stop herself from gasping too loudly. She didn't realize how she'd been shaking too, fearful of how this was going to play out.

"Seven," Hemlock counted calmly. He repeated it. "Seven."

The doctor knew exactly what he wanted and he wasn't going to change his mind about how he was going to attain that information anytime soon.

The room fell silent once again. The only thing that could be heard was the soft muffled sobs coming from her. She squeezed her eyes shut in hopes of blocking out the pulsing pain in her leg. A few loose tears slipped down the sides of her face. She tried to keep her breathing steadily, but it was becoming harder and harder with each second.

"Honey?" Hunter called out to her softly. "Honey, look at me."

She weakly lifted her head up to look at him. The loose strands of hair fell to frame her pained face. Her eyes were puffy and red from the crying. Her weakened state shown in her expression. She was loosing blood and would likely pass out soon if she didn't get help.

He blatantly ignored the doctor, which only seemed to irritate him more. Right now, Hunter tried to make it clear to her that it was just the two of them.

"That's my girl," Hunter sighed with a weak smile. He stared deeply into her eyes as if trying to communicate something silently. "You're going to be okay. I know it hurts. But I'm going to get you out of this."

"That's a bold promise to make, Hunter. I hope you can keep it for her sake. Eight," Hemlock reminded him of what little time he had left. He kept his blaster trained to the side of her head.

Realizing he was nearly out of options, Hunter squeezed his eyes shut as if he was trying to wake up from this horrible nightmare. He swallowed thickly, opening his eyes once again. He looked towards the doctor, silently pleading with him.

"Please," Hunter began to beg. "Don't do this. Let her go."

"Nine," Hemlock stood his ground.

Hearing this only made her start panicking. She could no longer control her breathing, beginning the initial stages of hyperventilating. Her heart was beating so loud that it blocked the noises coming from the room. The fear that she felt overtook her senses and bled directly into her thoughts.

And Hunter could tell she was panicking. So he had no other choice but to cave in.

"She's gone," Hunter confessed. "She's long gone. I told her to get out of here. I--I don't know where she went, but I am telling you the truth."

There was a beat of silence between them. The doctor studied him carefully as if trying to determine if he was telling the truth or not.

"Please," Hunter's voice cracked which showed his desperation and brokenness. His hands lifted in defense. "Don't hurt her. She's everything to me."

She smiled weakly upon hearing his words.

For a brief moment, Dr Hemlock contemplated his words carefully. He tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes to study him further. He slowly began to lower his blaster, which sent a wave of relief through the sergeant.

Hemlock lifted the blaster once again. "Ten."

The fatal shot rang through the entire establishment.

"NO!" Hunter's scream was louder than the sound of the body hitting the floor. He collapsed to his knees, keeping his eyes trained on the lifeless form in front of him.

In the vents, Omega had jumped back from the opening she had been peering through. Her hands shot up to cover her mouth once again. She squeezed her eyes shut to block out the sight she had just witnessed. The tears flowed freely from her as the reality began to settle in. She'd lost another member of her squad.

omg omg omg Diana please please please

Wait a second did you write Baby Holland or am I crazy

I wrote Baby Holland. Don’t worry. You’re not crazy.

I’ve got a bad feeling about this

if anything goes wrong in the bad batch finale and someone dies or all of them die it's going to be my 234th reason why

The Sergeant's Senator | Chapter 7

Summary: The day of the vote has finally arrived. As the senator prepares her departure to the senate, the assassin makes one final attempt which ends up causing more destruction than anticipated.

Warning: language, suggestive sexual content, assassination attempt, weapons used (guns and bombs), sniper/shooter/assassin mentioned, characters getting shot at, blood lose and major bodily injuries, slight language, somebody dying

Pairing: Hunter x Fem!Reader Senator

Type: Short Series

Word Count: 4.4k words

Series Masterlist

An agreement had been reached the following morning. Despite their growing feelings for one another, the sergeant and senator came to realize that they could never truly be together. Should it come out that they were a thing, they'd both be demoted from their positions and the sergeant would be decommissioned. Therefore, they decided the sever the connection altogether. And it was the most painful thing either of them had to do.

For whatever time they had left working together, they created boundaries with one another to prevent feelings from developing any further. The distance between the two was bound to cause a deeper longing to reunite. But they knew this couldn't happen and their time was running out.

In the morning, Senator Rayna made the decision to fill out the application form for a new escort. Signing her name had never been so difficult in her life and sending the form off to the guard only caused tears to well in the corners of her eyes.

There was no point in putting it off, especially since Echo knew about it and it would have only been a matter of time before the others found out. As the leader of the group, Hunter ended up breaking the news to them when they arrived that day. He explained that the senator sent in the paperwork and that they should be receiving new orders any day now.

The Bad Batch took the news with mixed emotions. While they missed being in action on the field, there was something simple about protecting a senator in a busy city. It seemed like Crosshair was the only one who was the most pleased with the news, muttering a "finally" under his breath.

The Senator of Coruscant had been standing near the back of the room, listening to the entire conversation with her head hanging low. Her heart never ached so badly then it did in that moment. She tried keeping the tears back.

The memories of their night spend together weighed heavy on her mind, wishing more than ever that she'd be able to have that again with him. Though it was highly unlikely.

After breaking the news, Hunter's eyes drifted up to gaze at the senator from across the room. Only Y/n was quick to look away in order to avoid any more unnecessary pain. He wanted nothing more than to reach out to her, to touch her arm and reassure her that everything was going to be alright even if they weren't there. But he just couldn't do it.

What drew Hunter out of his thoughts was when Echo went up to approach him. He saw the conflict behind his eyes and in his demeanor. He brought a reassuring hand to his shoulder.

"That couldn't have been an easy conversation for you two," Echo noted with a sense of concern in his voice.

"No," Hunter hung his head low. He pushed the pain in his heart away. "It wasn't."

"You really did care about her, didn't you?" Echo wondered. He tilted his head to the side slightly.

"Still do," Hunter acknowledged painfully with a shrug of the shoulders. "Just...can't do anything about it now."

With some hesitation, Echo nodded his head as if to say he understood where he was coming from. He gave his shoulder a couple pats, reassuring him that he'd get over this eventually. But Hunter wondered if he truly could.

Near the back of the room, Crosshair managed to sneak his way over to stand right beside the senator. He leaned back against the wall and cross his arms over his chest. His eyes briefly glanced up at Hunter from across the room, curious to what Echo was talking to him about. He struck up his own conversation.

"He looks miserable," Crosshair grunted. He pulled a single toothpick out of his box, popping it into his mouth to naw on. "Makes you wonder what kinds of things were said between you two yesterday."

"It was a private conversation," Y/n said sourly. She wore an evident frown on her face. "What was said is meant to stay private."

"It doesn't matter anyways," Crosshair shrugged off. "Because we'll be shipped off soon. And everything will go back to normal like how it always should have been."

His words sounded like they were laced with fire. The senator turned her body to face him, staring up at him with a slight look of shock on her face.

"You've never liked me," Senator Rayna pointed out. "From the moment you got here, I could only see the contempt behind your eyes."

"I don't just dislike you," Crosshair pushed off the wall to face her. He leaned down to be eye level and pushed himself forward slightly. With narrowed eyes, Crosshair spat out how he truly felt: "I despise you."

Upon hearing those words, Senator Rayna's face only dropped. A massive wave of newfound hurt sought to drown her and consumed her entire body. She felt the tears gathering in her eyes, which she tried to hide because she knew it would only bring him satisfaction.

"W-What have I ever d-done to you?" Y/n said through her tears.

"It's not what you did to me. It's what you did to him," Crosshair acknowledged. He tipped his head to gesture to his oldest brother from across the room. She turned her head to look towards the sergeant. "You made him weak and soft," Crosshair scowled.

The sniper took a step towards her, which only caused her to stumble over her own feet as she put distance between them. He towered over her to intimidate her. She hated to admit that it was working.

"If anything happens to you, I wouldn't give a damn because that would mean we'd finally be rid of you. Leaving this place will be the best thing to happen for this squad," Crosshair spat down at her.

"Crosshair," Hunter's voice called from across the room.

Neither of them turned their heads to address him, but they knew he was looking directly at them.

"That's enough," Hunter scolded.

For a brief moment, Crosshair and Y/n had forgotten about Hunter's enhanced senses, particularly his hearing. Their entire exchange hadn't gone unheard. He heard every word of hatred that came from his brother and he resented him for it.

Because the senator didn't deserve to be treated that way and if his brother had a problem with how he was acting, then he should have confronted him instead.

"We should get going. I don't want the senator to miss the vote," Hunter announced.

The senator didn't care about the speech she had given a week prior, the vote that was about to happen, or even the results that she worked so hard for. Her mind had been completely captivated by her sergeant that she couldn't have.

Without wanting to cause any further arguments, the Bad Batch proceeded to follow the senator out of her office. They followed directly behind her and would escort her to the vote. However, Crosshair and Hunter lingered behind for a brief moment until the room was completely empty.

In that moment, Hunter sent his brother a glaring look of disapproval and complete anger. His hands had subconsciously clenched into tight fists at his sides. He looked away and started heading towards the door of the office, but right as he met the threshold, Crosshair finally broke the silence.

"You fucked her, didn't you?" Crosshair's tone didn't seem to waver.

Upon hearing those words, Hunter stopped short in his steps. His shoulders began to tense up and his hands remained clenched. It was getting harder to him to not blow up. He didn't say anything at first.

His silence was enough of an answer.

"That's why this has been so hard for you. You got attached," Crosshair pointed out.

Slowly, Crosshair went to approach his the doorway in which his brother stood. He let out a small scoff, quickly glancing him up and down.

"Didn't think you had it in you. Hope you left her feeling satisfied," Crosshair spoke with venom in his tone. He threw another toothpick into his mouth before wordlessly making his exit. The sergeant was left alone in the room, but the weight of his guilt was ever present.

The hired hitman felt a single bead of sweat sliding down the side of his face as he hid behind one of the pillars in the sniper's nest. He clutched a small device in his hands, hanging his thumb over a solid red button. He waited for the perfect moment.

Unbeknownst to the Bad Batch, there were three hidden bombs scattered around the landing platform that they just walked out on. One of the bombs was hidden right underneath the airspeeder and had been activated a couple minutes ago. Any electronic frequencies from the bomb would remain hidden since it was attached to a vehicle that also emitted frequencies. The other two bombs were yet to be activated.

The sniper was careful to peer around the pillar; his gaze fell on the small group walking across the platform and heading directly towards the airspeeder. He pressed the single red button which activated the countdown from one of the other bombs.

In that exact moment, Hunter froze in his place. He held up his hand to stop the rest of the group. His eyes seemed to narrow in slight confusion as his hearing focused on the little faint beeping sound coming from the opposite side of the platform. He looked over his shoulder, settling his sights on the entrance of the building they just came from. He felt the frequencies radiating heavily from one specific area.

"What is it, Hunter?" Echo inquired.

"There is a bomb nearby," Hunter whispered under his breath.

"A bomb?" Wrecker repeated just a little too loud. He quickly looked around as if he magically spot it. He raised his own blaster a little higher. "Where is it? I'll take it out."

"Not your brightest plan," Crosshair said while rolling his eyes.

"We must calculate our steps," Tech pointed out. "Any certain movement could trigger it."

"Wait for my signal," Hunter order. He began to make his way through the group, heading back towards the center of the platform.

"Hunter," Y/n called after him. "I don't like this."

"Don't worry," Hunter reassured her with a small smile. "If anything happens, Tech will stay to protect you."

"Alright," Y/n agreed. "Just be careful."

With some hesitation, Hunter started walking back towards the entrance of the building. He had retrieved his own blaster from his holster and now held it up. He peered through the scope in hopes of spotting something. He waved his hand to signal the other members to follow him.

Now Wrecker, Echo, and Crosshair began moving towards the center of the platform with their own weapons raised. They scouted the peaks in the tower, searching for any sign of the sniper. Back near the airspeeder, Tech made sure to stand relatively close to the senator in case anything happened. He held his blaster in front of him.

Kneeling down, Hunter spotted the small beeping device that was tucked behind one of the pillars. He felt a tight knot forming in his stomach at the mere sight of an active bomb in front of him. He quickly called for Wrecker to disarm it.

Slowly, Hunter forced himself to rise to his feet so that Wrecker was able to get into position. He spun around on the heels of his feet in order to face the senator. He gave a single wave of the hand as if to say they had the situation handled.

Suddenly, Hunter could feel his heart dropping so fast in the pit of his stomach as his eyes landed on the same beeping device hidden underneath the speeder. He broke into a run, urging them to get down. But it was much too late for that.

The device had detonated, which sparked an explosion of destructive fire that consumed everything. There was a loud and echoing boom that caused ears to start ringing in pain. The shockwave that came from the explosion only pushed the others back to the ground. The bright red, yellow, and orange flames only grew as more fuel was added from the airspeeder. Cracks had begun to form on the platform and black smoke surrounded them.

Just as the device had detonated, Hunter had lost sight of the two people standing in front of the speeder. Their bodies disappearing in the midst of flame and smoke. Before he knew it, Hunter was lying on the ground having been thrown back from the blast. He rolled onto his side.

The sergeant groaned in slight pain. He held his arm up to shield his visor from the blinding flames. He did manage to find his footing as he stood on two shaky feet. He quickly turned around to find his other brothers behind him which brought a wave of relief over him. But that also didn't last long because the other two bombs detonated a second later.

The Bad Batch was knocked down from the force of the blast and debris falling around them. The pillars from the building caved from the destructive explosion, crumbling down and striking the platform with such force that it made deeper cracks. More clouds of black smoke swept around their bodies and the ash began fluttering through the air. The world disappeared underneath the veil of darkness, claiming the conscious mind of the sergeant.

The dust had failed to settle anytime soon. With the fire still burning steadily, a thick aroma of black smoke consumed the area. The platform could be heard groaning in pain because the supports holding it up had been compromised. It was only a matter of time before parts of the platform began to give way.

On the sidelines, Tech had to take a moment to gather himself. He had only just come to a second ago. Squeezing his eyes shut tightly, Tech tried to ignore the painful ache that consumed his entire body. His armor had done its job of protecting him from the explosion, but it had still grown hot to the touch from the flames.

Rolling onto his back, Tech's eyes drifted to the bright blue sky above him. He pushed himself into a sitting position, finally turning to address some of his surroundings. There was a small explosion on his left, which caused him to wince roughly and cower behind his arm.

"D-Does anyone copy?" Tech spoke into his communication system, silently praying that someone would hear his message. "I-I r-repeat: does anyone copy?"

The line remained silent much to his dismay.

Forcing himself to stand, Tech tried to use his helmet to scan the area in search for any remaining lifeforms. His visor illuminated the form of a red body underneath some heavy debris not too far away from him. He quickly made his way over to the body, mindfully avoiding the cracks below him.

Upon closer inspection, Tech had recognized the figure belonging to that of the senator. He knelt down beside her unconscious form, desperately searching for a way to lift the heavy debris off her body. Though Tech didn't ignore the fact that the side of her head was dripping with blood, having sustained a traumatic head injury. Right now, Tech just needed to get her out of there.

"If anyone can hear me, the senator is down. I repeat: the senator is down." Tech announced through the communication line though it came through super spotty to the others. As the other squad members came to their senses, the words 'senator' and 'down' were coming through their helmets.

Despite his efforts, Tech was unable to lift the cement debris by himself. He tried a couple times; He pulled and pushed with all of his might to move the huge chuck of pillar, but he wasn't the muscle of the group.

All of the sudden, Tech was able to hear a familiar groaning coming from the cloud of smoke beside him. The familiar figure of the biggest group member appeared to pierce through the smoke. He slowly trudged towards his brother while holding his arm and limping slightly.

"Wrecker!" Tech exclaimed. "I've never been more happy to see you."

"Yeah," Wrecker groaned in slight pain as he approached his brother. "Good to see you too, Tech."

The platform shook slightly under the added weight to that specific area. In response, Tech's eyes fell onto a large crack developing on the ground near them. He realized that the platform was beginning to fall away. He looked up at his brother with wide eyes.

"Watch your step," Tech ordered strategically. "This place could give away at any second."

With a firm nod, Wrecker made sure to watch his steps carefully and maneuvered his way over to them both. He quickly found a sturdy place to stand. He bent his knees and took hold of the debris.

"I'll lift. You pull her out," Wrecker explained. He counted down from three before lifting the heavy piece of cement upwards a couple inches. It was just enough space for his brother to pull the senator out.

Once the senator was secure, Wrecker slowly lowered the pillar back down onto the platform while being careful not to destroy the ground. He knelt down beside them just as Tech began scanning the senator with his data pad.

"How bad is she?" Wrecker inquired with a sad look in his eyes.

"Bad," Tech said blatantly. He typed something into his data pad. "She is suffering from severe internal bleeding and will likely succumb to her injuries if she does not receive immediate medical attention soon."

"We need to get to the Marauder," Wrecker realized.

In another part of the platform, Echo felt like he was reliving what he gone through years ago. The familiar aches and pains were almost too much for his body since he had been close to the explosion. He struggled to compose himself, standing to his feet slowly and shakily. He let out a low groan.

In a brief moment of panic, Echo turned his head to the left and to the right in a desperate attempt of locating the others. He called their names a few times, but failed to receive a response from them. He brought his hand up the the ventilator of his helmet, coughing slightly as he ingested smoke that failed to filter.

"I-If anyone..." Tech's voice cracked through the comms. Echo quickly pressed his finger against the side of his helmet to hear the message more clearly. "Sen-n--nator--d-do-own. M-M-Mauad--now," Tech called.

The only thing going through Echo's mind was how he needed to get to the Marauder. He quickly broke off into a sprint back towards the building with every intention of retrieving the ship from one of the other platforms. He shielded himself from the burning flames and rising smoke, risking it all for the mission.

"I'm o-on...my...way," Echo's voice spoke through the weak communication line.

Upon hearing the broken message, Tech and Wrecker breathed a small sigh of relief. They could rest easy for a moment knowing that help was on it's way and that another one of their brothers was alive. They glanced at each other before redirecting their attention back to helping the senator.

"Senator?" Tech spoke softly while gazing down at her. "Can you hear me? We need you to wake up."

But she hadn't moved.

All the while, Wrecker watched his brother's hands work quickly and skillfully. He had a handful of gauzes and serums from his pack. Pulling out his data pad again, Tech pressed a button which imitated a blue scan over her entire body. He didn't like the look of what showed up on the screen.

"Brain activity is dangerously low," Tech commented more to himself than anyone.

"W-What does that mean?" Wrecker worried.

"She's dying, Wrecker." Tech replied.

Without hesitation, Tech removed his helmet and tossed it to the side. He proceeded to take off his gloves next. His gaze shuffled down to the large gaping wound on the side of the senator's abdomen. The blood was seeping out of her body at a rapid pace. And Tech didn't know if he could slow it down.

"Wrecker," Tech called. He pointed to the leaking wound on her side. "I need you to apply pressure right here. Don't let up. It will slow the bleeding."

Carefully, Wrecker's large hands hovered over the spot. It took him a second before he finally gave into the internal conflict. He pressed his hands into the fresh wound in hopes of stopping the blood from flowing so quickly. He tried to ignore the way the blood seeped over his fingers. And he had to look away in fear of losing his stomach to the sight of gore.

In the midst of chaos, Hunter was slow to come back to his senses. His body was screaming in pain from the mere force of the blast. He shifted his hands underneath himself, pushing his upper body upwards slightly. His muscles shook as he did so; a small groan escaping past his filtered helmet.

With some difficulty, Hunter was able to get to his feet. He desperately searched for the others, but he couldn't see anything beyond the smoke and debris surrounding him. His senses failed him as well because he couldn't seem to pick up their all-too familiar smell. He called for them over the comms, but it seemed like his helmet was busted.

All of the sudden, a blaster shot came out of nowhere and lodged itself in the back of his right shoulder. The proximity of the shot caused him to stumble forward onto his knees. He grabbed his shoulder in pain, hissing at the sharp pain. He just barely managed to glance over his shoulder to spot the assailant walking through the black clouds of smoke with a blaster raised in his hand.

"I must admit: it hasn't been easy trying to take my target down. You're one hell of a soldier," the mysterious assassin spoke with a deep cynical voice behind his mask. He took a couple more steps forward until he was standing right above the clone.

"What do you want...a medal?" Hunter groaned in slight agony. He gripped his shoulder a little tighter in hopes that it would relieve some of the pain.

"Oh, I don't care about you." He knelt down in front of him, pointing the blaster directly at his face. "I only care about killing the senator and getting paid. I'm looking forward to cashing those credits in."

The assailant was taunting him. The anger and rage began to boil within the sergeant's veins, threatening to break loose at any moment. He held a stoic face, but was biting his tongue until he tasted his own blood. He wanted nothing more than to punch that stupid helmet off the guy's face.

All of the sudden, another random blaster bolt had whizzed through the air. The blaster shot smacked into the center of the assassins chest, sending him flying backwards until he was laying flat against the platform. The sergeant scrambled into a sitting position, shifting to glance over his shoulder. His eyes landed on the familiar sharpshoot pointing his rifle at the body.

For a brief moment, Hunter had never been more relieved to see his brother despite the risk he had taken in shooting the assassin down. He tried to rise to his feet while still holding onto his shoulder. However, Crosshair had joined his side and grabbed his arm. He helped him rise to his feet, double checking to make sure his oldest brother was alright.

"T-Thanks," Hunter said. He looked at his youngest brother with a small hint of pride in his eyes.

"Don't mention it," Crosshair scolded him with a serious look behind his eyes. "I mean it."

Together, Hunter and Crosshair made their way over to the suffering body of the assailant that was still laying on the ground. As they drew closer, Hunter was the first to step forward and kneel down in front of him. He pressed the bottom on the side of mysterious man's helmet, activating the trigger to retract the facemark.

What they both saw was shocking. It was a clone.

However, he wasn't wearing the typical clone armor; this style was coated in black and the mask had dark green eyes. They weren't even sure what generation of clone he would have been. His tactics were far from a regular clone. But he wore the face that millions of clones shared. This was something else, something new.

"This...complicates things," Hunter noted. He furrowed his eyebrows in slight confusion. They stood tall above him. "You're just a reg. Why are you trying to kill the senator?"

The clone assassin only let out a crazed laugh, which caused a few steams of blood to escape the corners of his mouth. His body was starting to succumb to his injuries, growing weaker with each passing moment. He looked up at the two enhanced clones, shaking his head slightly.

"L-Like I said, I was just doing a job to get paid."

"Who hired you?" Hunter demanded an answer.

"I'll never tell you," the assassin hissed. "You'll have to shoot me de--"

But the man was never able to finish that sentence because the sharpshooter had shot him once more to silence him forever. He silently strapped his rifle onto his back, turning to walk away and ignoring the look his brother was sending him.

At the given moment, Hunter was overwhelmed with a million different emotions. He wore a shocked expression on his face, not believing what his brother just pulled off. Not only that, but he was also incredibly taken back by the fact that he shot a clone without hesitation. He watched his figure retreat, but he called after him.

"What the hell were you thinking? Shooting a brother like that," Hunter gestured to the motionless body behind him.

"He's not a brother," Crosshair shrugged his shoulders. "He's just another reg. They're disposable."

"We didn't know anything about this clone. What his motives were, where he came from, or why he was trying to kill the senator," Hunter listed off. "He deserved to stand a fair trial," Hunter argued.

Upon hearing this, Crosshair stopped in the middle of his tracks. He threw a brief glance over his shoulder with a taunting smirk gracing his lips. He huffed.

"Starting to sound like your little girlfriend," Crosshair mocked.

"That's enough, Crosshair. You shouldn't have done what you did. You crossed a line," Hunter said through gritted teeth. His hands began to clench at his sides.

"You know...you should be thanking me," Crosshair replied. He was now turned to face his brother head on. "The threat is gone. Your girlfriend is safe. And we can finally leave this place. We completed the mission."

"You killed a clone," Hunter ignored him.

"I completed the mission," Crosshair corrected. The two brothers stared at each other with dangerously narrowed eyes, waiting for the other one to break first. But a familiar voice pulled them out of their internal war.

"H-Hunter...H--Hunter," Echo's voice broke through the communication system. "Come in. D-Do you read me?"

"I hear you, Echo." Hunter spoke while pressing the side of his helmet.

"I-I'm bringing the Marauder around now," Echo explained. The line was starting to get a little clearer and crispy as he spoke. "Tech says we need to get the senator out of here as soon as possible. She doesn't have a lot of time."

"Copy that," Hunter nodded. "We are on our way."

The ship was able to round the side of the building. The wind blasting from the engines was enough to push the clouds of black smoke away from the platform momentarily, providing a clear direction for where the others were on the opposite side. The ship was descending until it hovered right by the edge of the platform.

With great precision, Crosshair and Hunter began to make their way towards the group of others. They avoided the cracks in the ground, coming up beside their fellow brothers. The sergeant took a moment to stare down at the senator's motionless body, surveying her injuries carefully.

Though Tech was still working on bandaging up some of her wounds, Wrecker was still keeping his hands pressed against the gaping hole on her side. He made sure to avoid his sergeant's gaze, feeling a bit helpless in their failed attempt to protect her from harm. The sharpshooter was the only one brave enough to look directly at the sergeant with an all-knowing look in his eyes.

It was like Crosshair was saying it all over again to Hunter. Don't get too attached. Because this is what he'll get.

CHAPTER EIGHT HERE

Taglist:

@justhavingsomefun1 @totally-not-your-babe @jedipoodoo @gyllord @roam-rs @totallyunidentified @redheadgirl @mrcaptainrex @whore-of-many-hot-men @graciexmarvel @qweenrogerina @arcsimper5 @queenofspades6 @cadihyo @jediknightjana @elthoughtzos @lokigirlszendaya @sleepycreativewriter @moonwrecked @ravenclawbitch426 @waytoooldforthis78 @left-in-the-motel-bar @fic-force-99 @ayyyy-le-simp

THE SERIES IS ALMOST OVER! HOPE YOU'VE ENJOYED IT SO FAR.

Oh pleeease Beth Munson!!! That would be so super cute!!! 😍

I was married to that name! My only problem is that there is a Dad!Eddie Munson series out there and his daughter’s name is Beth in that one. I don’t want to make it like I’m stealing the name. Idk what do you guys think???

dianaaaa, it’s the cutest name

Right! And I’m thinking like the reader could really be into Princess Diana and it would be perfect! Thank you for voting!!!

This genre of Freddy Carter smiling like a proud little kid after filming the most gut-wrenching scenes in the entire show.

I find this scene interesting in that, even though Tech reacted very awkwardly when Phee approached to say goodbye, the fact that he was standing outside the ship all alone with his datapad (for no logical reason whatsoever) makes me think that he hoped she would come to say goodbye. And that when she actually did, he froze up.

NEVER MIND I JUST LOOKED AT YOUR MASTERLIST YOU DID WRITE IT OH MY G I LOVE THAT STORY SO MUCH BYE IM GOING TO GO READ IT ALL OVER AGAIN IM SO EXCITED

OH GREAT! THANKS