Team Building with Jack Landors (SPD, A Squad, #29, T)
characters: SPD’s A Squad (Z, Syd)
prompt #29: school
word count: 1100
rating: T
summary: "Do you have those pictures you took of me and you that night we were playing Twister?"
Team Building with Jack Landors (school)
by *Andrea
“I’m going to bed,” Syd announced from the doorway of the lounge. “The nightlight’s on. You want anything out of the room?”
Z looked up from her craft project to see Syd, makeup scrubbed off and rollers in her hair and a kimono-style robe wrapped around her tiny figure. The old fuzzy elephant hanging over her left arm had a little scarf wrapped around its head. Sometimes she thought Syd carried Peanuts around just to startle people, to make them question their assumptions, the way she did everything else: rich model working on her masters, pop singer joining an alien enforcement agency. Pretty blonde dating a transgender woman.
Sometimes Z thought she carried Peanuts just because she felt like it, so she did it.
The way she did everything else.
“Do you have those pictures you took of me and you that night we were playing Twister?” she wanted to know. “The compromising ones you were telling Sky about when Jack was gone?”
“Well, not in my pocket or anything,” Syd said, taking this as an invitation to come over and see what she was doing. “But I know where they are. Why? And where did you get that picture, because Sky is gong to kill you!”
“Or Jack,” Z said with a grin. “That’s why I’m looking for the ones of us. If there are picture on all of our doors in the morning, he’ll suspect someone outside of B Squad.”
“You’re putting that on his door?” Syd stared at the picture for a long moment, then looked up at Z as though just realizing. “You’re the one who gave those pictures to C Squad.”
Z shrugged. “I was the one with the camera,” she reminded her. “Caleb gave me some in return. Including this one.”
“You’re bad,” Syd said, in an admiring tone of voice. “I’ll see what I can find. Hold on.”
That was good. If Syd was in it with her, Sky would have fewer choices when it came to revenge. Unfortunately, Syd was also more likely to spill, but the tradeoff was a better prank. She was willing to risk Sky finding out who did it in exchange for getting the picture to Jack.
She couldn’t just hand it over, of course. Whether Jack knew anything about it beforehand or not, Sky would accuse Jack of setting him up--or, if Jack managed to argue his innocence, Sky would just ban the picture from all public display or discussion. If, on the other hand, Z plausibly made the picture a non-Jack-related bit of trickery, Jack would be free to tease Sky with it for the rest of the year. Possibly longer.
“Got them,” Syd declared, sashaying back into the lounge a few minutes later. “I have one of Bridgey, too. I’m sure he won’t mind.”
“It’s for a good cause,” Z agreed. “This way Jack can frame their first public display of affection as an engaged couple without Sky getting mad at him.”
“He’ll get mad,” Syd agreed. “Just not at Jack.”
“Hopefully not at us, either,” Z said. “Maybe we should go steal some of C Squad’s tape.”
Syd looked thoughtful. “Too bad there isn’t any way to pin it on Ally.”
“You’re just mad because she doesn’t wear your color seriously enough,” Z told her.
“She doesn’t wear it at all,” Syd complained. “She’s like the Orange Ranger. It looks so ugly with her jacket.”
“Her jacket is pink,” Z pointed out.
“That’s my whole point!” Syd exclaimed. “It looks terrible with orange! When she bothers to wear it, which obviously isn’t that often.”
“Maybe you should give her some pointers,” Z suggested, not really paying attention anymore. Syd could go on about this for a while, and it would give her a chance to find the right picture. Tape, though. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do about tape.
“Or I could just send you in as my proxy,” Syd said, and suddenly she was listening again.
“Wait, what?”
“I can’t believe I had to fight Jack’s proxy for my own brother,” Syd said with a sigh. “I thought being SPD would be more normal than being a celebrity. I mean, it’s just aliens and guns and little girls trying to take over the world.”
Z rolled her eyes. “Come on, princess. You won; I don’t know what you’re complaining about.” She had, too. They weren’t allowed to use their powers in the jousting ring, and Syd was better with a stick. Apparently she’d gotten an early start in self-defense at modeling school.
“We won,” Syd corrected. “And you know... sometimes I think that Mora must be really lonely. They won’t let her out of solitary, you know. She doesn’t even get to eat with anyone else. And she lost her doll during the battle for Earth.”
Z stared at her, uncomprehending. “Syd. She’s the enemy. You’re feeling sorry for her?”
“Well, you were the enemy too,” Syd remarked. “When we went after you and Jack in the market. You guys turned out to be okay.”
“Okay?” Z repeated. “And also, we didn’t try to kill you!”
“Oh, please.” Syd did the little head tilt that meant she remembered she was wearing rollers. “A few days on Grumm’s ship and I would have been ready to kill someone too. I mean, look at A Squad. They had a whole year to get over it, and it still made them crazy.”
“I wouldn’t exactly call surviving ‘Jungle Fury II’ a year to get over it,” Z said, eyeing her carefully. If she said a single thing about the lighting, Z was officially ending this conversation. “Besides, they weren’t evil.”
“Uh-huh.” Syd propped Peanuts up on the table in front of her and rested her chin on his head. “And how do we know Mora was?”
Z frowned.
“I think she should have a new doll,” Syd continued. “Do you think Jack would let me give her one?”
As the leader of A Squad, Z knew Jack had containment-level access. But she was pretty sure he wasn’t the one to ask about interacting with prisoners. On the other hand, she wasn’t sure who they should be asking.
“I guess Sky might know,” she said at last.
Syd picked up the picture of Sky on his “throne” with Jack sitting in his lap and waved it in Z’s face. “I don’t think Sky’s going to be doing anyone any favors for a while,” she said. “I’ll ask Jack in the morning.”
prompt #29: school
word count: 1100
rating: T
summary: "Do you have those pictures you took of me and you that night we were playing Twister?"
Team Building with Jack Landors (school)
by *Andrea
“I’m going to bed,” Syd announced from the doorway of the lounge. “The nightlight’s on. You want anything out of the room?”
Z looked up from her craft project to see Syd, makeup scrubbed off and rollers in her hair and a kimono-style robe wrapped around her tiny figure. The old fuzzy elephant hanging over her left arm had a little scarf wrapped around its head. Sometimes she thought Syd carried Peanuts around just to startle people, to make them question their assumptions, the way she did everything else: rich model working on her masters, pop singer joining an alien enforcement agency. Pretty blonde dating a transgender woman.
Sometimes Z thought she carried Peanuts just because she felt like it, so she did it.
The way she did everything else.
“Do you have those pictures you took of me and you that night we were playing Twister?” she wanted to know. “The compromising ones you were telling Sky about when Jack was gone?”
“Well, not in my pocket or anything,” Syd said, taking this as an invitation to come over and see what she was doing. “But I know where they are. Why? And where did you get that picture, because Sky is gong to kill you!”
“Or Jack,” Z said with a grin. “That’s why I’m looking for the ones of us. If there are picture on all of our doors in the morning, he’ll suspect someone outside of B Squad.”
“You’re putting that on his door?” Syd stared at the picture for a long moment, then looked up at Z as though just realizing. “You’re the one who gave those pictures to C Squad.”
Z shrugged. “I was the one with the camera,” she reminded her. “Caleb gave me some in return. Including this one.”
“You’re bad,” Syd said, in an admiring tone of voice. “I’ll see what I can find. Hold on.”
That was good. If Syd was in it with her, Sky would have fewer choices when it came to revenge. Unfortunately, Syd was also more likely to spill, but the tradeoff was a better prank. She was willing to risk Sky finding out who did it in exchange for getting the picture to Jack.
She couldn’t just hand it over, of course. Whether Jack knew anything about it beforehand or not, Sky would accuse Jack of setting him up--or, if Jack managed to argue his innocence, Sky would just ban the picture from all public display or discussion. If, on the other hand, Z plausibly made the picture a non-Jack-related bit of trickery, Jack would be free to tease Sky with it for the rest of the year. Possibly longer.
“Got them,” Syd declared, sashaying back into the lounge a few minutes later. “I have one of Bridgey, too. I’m sure he won’t mind.”
“It’s for a good cause,” Z agreed. “This way Jack can frame their first public display of affection as an engaged couple without Sky getting mad at him.”
“He’ll get mad,” Syd agreed. “Just not at Jack.”
“Hopefully not at us, either,” Z said. “Maybe we should go steal some of C Squad’s tape.”
Syd looked thoughtful. “Too bad there isn’t any way to pin it on Ally.”
“You’re just mad because she doesn’t wear your color seriously enough,” Z told her.
“She doesn’t wear it at all,” Syd complained. “She’s like the Orange Ranger. It looks so ugly with her jacket.”
“Her jacket is pink,” Z pointed out.
“That’s my whole point!” Syd exclaimed. “It looks terrible with orange! When she bothers to wear it, which obviously isn’t that often.”
“Maybe you should give her some pointers,” Z suggested, not really paying attention anymore. Syd could go on about this for a while, and it would give her a chance to find the right picture. Tape, though. She wasn’t sure what she was going to do about tape.
“Or I could just send you in as my proxy,” Syd said, and suddenly she was listening again.
“Wait, what?”
“I can’t believe I had to fight Jack’s proxy for my own brother,” Syd said with a sigh. “I thought being SPD would be more normal than being a celebrity. I mean, it’s just aliens and guns and little girls trying to take over the world.”
Z rolled her eyes. “Come on, princess. You won; I don’t know what you’re complaining about.” She had, too. They weren’t allowed to use their powers in the jousting ring, and Syd was better with a stick. Apparently she’d gotten an early start in self-defense at modeling school.
“We won,” Syd corrected. “And you know... sometimes I think that Mora must be really lonely. They won’t let her out of solitary, you know. She doesn’t even get to eat with anyone else. And she lost her doll during the battle for Earth.”
Z stared at her, uncomprehending. “Syd. She’s the enemy. You’re feeling sorry for her?”
“Well, you were the enemy too,” Syd remarked. “When we went after you and Jack in the market. You guys turned out to be okay.”
“Okay?” Z repeated. “And also, we didn’t try to kill you!”
“Oh, please.” Syd did the little head tilt that meant she remembered she was wearing rollers. “A few days on Grumm’s ship and I would have been ready to kill someone too. I mean, look at A Squad. They had a whole year to get over it, and it still made them crazy.”
“I wouldn’t exactly call surviving ‘Jungle Fury II’ a year to get over it,” Z said, eyeing her carefully. If she said a single thing about the lighting, Z was officially ending this conversation. “Besides, they weren’t evil.”
“Uh-huh.” Syd propped Peanuts up on the table in front of her and rested her chin on his head. “And how do we know Mora was?”
Z frowned.
“I think she should have a new doll,” Syd continued. “Do you think Jack would let me give her one?”
As the leader of A Squad, Z knew Jack had containment-level access. But she was pretty sure he wasn’t the one to ask about interacting with prisoners. On the other hand, she wasn’t sure who they should be asking.
“I guess Sky might know,” she said at last.
Syd picked up the picture of Sky on his “throne” with Jack sitting in his lap and waved it in Z’s face. “I don’t think Sky’s going to be doing anyone any favors for a while,” she said. “I’ll ask Jack in the morning.”