Watchmen Drabbles #2
Two more drabbles!
Title: Crown and Broken
Author: devlinnreiko
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Adrian Veidt
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters. All Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons work!
Summary: Two more drabbles of pre-story timeline.
Crown
“Hey Ozy!” the Comedian calls out to the kneeling figure holding a hand against the wound on his temple. The blood runs through his fingers before landing in a small dark puddle near his foot. Ozymandias looks up through squinted eyes, panting slightly, and glaring at the larger figure standing at the mouth of the alleyway.
“Here. Don’t want to be forgetting your tiara,” the man says with a laugh as he tosses the golden metal circlet towards Ozymandias; it bounces with a clang a few times, rolling in circles till it stops.
“I thought you would have pulled enough assassination attempts to know it’s not a tiara,” Ozymandias retorts as laughter echoes through the small, narrow space.
“My mistake; your crown since a pretty boy like you wants to go prancing around being a superhero,” the Comedian banters back shifting his armoured shoulder, not forgetting the few hits that the younger, agile man had managed to get on him.
“Not that either,” Ozymandias says as he picked up the piece of metal and pushes himself to stand.
“Heh. Whatever you say Ozy. I thought you were a criminal, not some crime fighting man I’d been hearing about on the streets. But then what do I know,” he replies with another bout of laughter and a dangerous, taunting grin before turning and walking out of the alleyway leaving Ozymandias standing alone, defeated, and aching.
Wiping the blood out of his eyes, Adrian moves a hand through his ruffled and blood-stuck hair, tracing the crown of his head; the abrasion causing him to flinch slightly. Sighing, he withholds a gasp of pain knowing a few ribs are bruised, if not broken. Limping, he lets a hand rest on the brick wall to steady him as he exits, all the while clutching his “crown” against his chest, knowing that he isn’t going to hang it up or let it go just because some man thought he wouldn’t be able to do his job.
Broken
The sound echoed through the halls, causing Adrian to look away from the monitors he was observing. Voices could be heard in the distance, which eventually compelled Adrian to investigate what had attracted attention.
Walking down the stairs leisurely, he watched as one of his aids moved down the hall with a slightly frantic pace. Raising an eyebrow a little curious now, he followed the direction the other man had gone. Ahead he could see two of his aids kneeling on the ground, huddled around something.
“Gentlemen, what is it?” Adrian asked as the two men turned and stood up to face him.
“Our apologies, Mr. Veidt. Bubastis was a little more enthusiastic and entertained by one of the creatures that managed to get out of the vivarium,” the smaller man said as he pointed to the broken clay vase that laid in pieces on the ground in front of the empty ionic column stand.
‘Eighteenth dynasty, Amenhotep I’, Adrian recalled as he stared at the pieces.
“Bubastis?” He murmured, hearing the low grumble to the left as the large feline lurked out of the shadows of a statue, an exotic and rare butterfly clinging to one of her ears. The modified lynx padded over to Adrian’s side, nudging his hand before staring at the pieces on the ground.
“We’re sorry, Mr. Veidt. We should have kept a better eye on her,” the other aid replied. Adrian raised a hand dismissing the comment.
“No need. Things from the past have been destroyed before. It’s only a matter of time,” Adrian said vanquishing any guilt that these men may have felt. “And Bubastis retains her instincts of play and curiosity. There’s not much you can do,” he continued, running a hand over her head as he watched the butterfly take off into the room.
“We will clean this up. Do you want the pieces preserved?”
“No, but you may deposit them in one of the gardens. They can still be useful there,” Adrian said smiling slightly before turning around, this time Bubastis following him back the way he had come.
“You ought to be more careful, girl. You’re not as small as you used to be,” he said with a smile as Bubastis made a low growl as if she acknowledged his comment. “Maybe I’ll bring some of the others back next time. I’m sure you would enjoy that. Keep you out of trouble,” he said before taking his seat back in front of the monitors. The lynx walked around before she decided to lie down next to the chair as Adrian placed a hand on her head. Her tail twitched and eyes scanned the ever changing screens, the flashes of light causing her to glance around distractedly.
‘Entertaining indeed,' Adrian thought to himself, a slight smirk appearing as he shifted his view to another screen.
Title: Crown and Broken
Author: devlinnreiko
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Adrian Veidt
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters. All Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons work!
Summary: Two more drabbles of pre-story timeline.
Crown
“Hey Ozy!” the Comedian calls out to the kneeling figure holding a hand against the wound on his temple. The blood runs through his fingers before landing in a small dark puddle near his foot. Ozymandias looks up through squinted eyes, panting slightly, and glaring at the larger figure standing at the mouth of the alleyway.
“Here. Don’t want to be forgetting your tiara,” the man says with a laugh as he tosses the golden metal circlet towards Ozymandias; it bounces with a clang a few times, rolling in circles till it stops.
“I thought you would have pulled enough assassination attempts to know it’s not a tiara,” Ozymandias retorts as laughter echoes through the small, narrow space.
“My mistake; your crown since a pretty boy like you wants to go prancing around being a superhero,” the Comedian banters back shifting his armoured shoulder, not forgetting the few hits that the younger, agile man had managed to get on him.
“Not that either,” Ozymandias says as he picked up the piece of metal and pushes himself to stand.
“Heh. Whatever you say Ozy. I thought you were a criminal, not some crime fighting man I’d been hearing about on the streets. But then what do I know,” he replies with another bout of laughter and a dangerous, taunting grin before turning and walking out of the alleyway leaving Ozymandias standing alone, defeated, and aching.
Wiping the blood out of his eyes, Adrian moves a hand through his ruffled and blood-stuck hair, tracing the crown of his head; the abrasion causing him to flinch slightly. Sighing, he withholds a gasp of pain knowing a few ribs are bruised, if not broken. Limping, he lets a hand rest on the brick wall to steady him as he exits, all the while clutching his “crown” against his chest, knowing that he isn’t going to hang it up or let it go just because some man thought he wouldn’t be able to do his job.
Broken
The sound echoed through the halls, causing Adrian to look away from the monitors he was observing. Voices could be heard in the distance, which eventually compelled Adrian to investigate what had attracted attention.
Walking down the stairs leisurely, he watched as one of his aids moved down the hall with a slightly frantic pace. Raising an eyebrow a little curious now, he followed the direction the other man had gone. Ahead he could see two of his aids kneeling on the ground, huddled around something.
“Gentlemen, what is it?” Adrian asked as the two men turned and stood up to face him.
“Our apologies, Mr. Veidt. Bubastis was a little more enthusiastic and entertained by one of the creatures that managed to get out of the vivarium,” the smaller man said as he pointed to the broken clay vase that laid in pieces on the ground in front of the empty ionic column stand.
‘Eighteenth dynasty, Amenhotep I’, Adrian recalled as he stared at the pieces.
“Bubastis?” He murmured, hearing the low grumble to the left as the large feline lurked out of the shadows of a statue, an exotic and rare butterfly clinging to one of her ears. The modified lynx padded over to Adrian’s side, nudging his hand before staring at the pieces on the ground.
“We’re sorry, Mr. Veidt. We should have kept a better eye on her,” the other aid replied. Adrian raised a hand dismissing the comment.
“No need. Things from the past have been destroyed before. It’s only a matter of time,” Adrian said vanquishing any guilt that these men may have felt. “And Bubastis retains her instincts of play and curiosity. There’s not much you can do,” he continued, running a hand over her head as he watched the butterfly take off into the room.
“We will clean this up. Do you want the pieces preserved?”
“No, but you may deposit them in one of the gardens. They can still be useful there,” Adrian said smiling slightly before turning around, this time Bubastis following him back the way he had come.
“You ought to be more careful, girl. You’re not as small as you used to be,” he said with a smile as Bubastis made a low growl as if she acknowledged his comment. “Maybe I’ll bring some of the others back next time. I’m sure you would enjoy that. Keep you out of trouble,” he said before taking his seat back in front of the monitors. The lynx walked around before she decided to lie down next to the chair as Adrian placed a hand on her head. Her tail twitched and eyes scanned the ever changing screens, the flashes of light causing her to glance around distractedly.
‘Entertaining indeed,' Adrian thought to himself, a slight smirk appearing as he shifted his view to another screen.