FIC: Who's your Superman? for inktrap
Author: red_squared
Recipient: inktrap
Title: Who’s your Superman?
Rating: PG
Characters: Brad Crawford, Schuldig, Naoe Nagi, Shinjou Kurumi and off‑screen Shinjou Kurumi/Hidaka Ken
Summary: Brad has grown accustomed to Nagi doing as he’s told, when he's told, for the good of Schwarz. When Nagi leaves, it’s time to start thinking about Side Plan B.
Warnings/Content: Nope!
Word Count: 900 exactly
Author's Notes: Takes place after the end of V5 of Side B. Written for inktrap who requested ‘Crawford, Schuldig and Kurumi (Aya and Ken entirely optional but appreciated) | Side B | Crawford and Schuldig show interest in the Human Interleukin. | Either gen or Anyone/Kurumi would be love!’. Thanks for the intriguing prompt -- it got me to finally read Side B :Db Thanks also to the fabulous lady_ganesh for her awesome beta work!
Who’s your superman?
Hey little sister who is it you're with?
Hey little sister what's your vice and wish?
(“White Wedding” -- from Billy Idol’s “Billy Idol”)
~~*~~
“I still get a migraine if I try to See as far ahead as I used to be able to. And I know you’re almost burned out, which - ”
“Don’t say ‘burned’,” Schuldig says, annoyed that his hand still automatically goes to his hair to reassess the damage, a full year after the Koua Academy.
“We won’t always be as lucky as we were yesterday,” Brad says. “They know we don’t have Nagi anymore, which means they’re not going to stop searching for us while we’re vulnerable.”
“Nagi’s not coming back.”
“He doesn’t need to. But he does owe us.”
~*~
“If you still worked with us, we wouldn’t need this,” Brad says.
Nagi passes the box across to Schuldig. “There are nine data drives on the Black Switch, and a -- Schuldig...”
“And a what?” Schuldig asks, pulling out the CD.
“It’s a user friendly interface. You might find it useful.”
Brad actually cracks a smile at that, and Schuldig reads his mind before facing Nagi. Dumbing it down for us? It’s not like they can’t run basic searches. Brad thinks Takatori doesn’t want us asking you for help ever again.
You can always ask, Nagi returns neutrally.
The little shit.
~*~
The first drive contains over a million files, each imaginatively labelled by the date and time it was recorded.
“Use the CD,” Brad says, before Schuldig can even verbalise a complaint.
“I don’t get paid enough for this,” he says as he loads the CD.
“So take another five per cent,” Brad says.
“You think a five per cent raise can -- ?”
“Not a raise -- another five per cent of our profit as your share.”
That means five per cent less of the profit for Brad, and such magnanimity is suspect.
“Are we actually going to get paid for this?”
~*~
It is only after he and Brad settle on eight per cent that the CD finishes installing the ‘user friendly’ interface.
Formatted in hearts, flowers, kittens and rainbows, the interface rapidly parses raw data into actionable intelligence, although even the simplest search takes a full ten minutes, and all while playing an obnoxiously cheerful tinny tune that evades all attempts at volume controls or muting.
And Schuldig would have had no choice but to ensure that the rest of the world suffered as he did, if Brad hadn’t come back to their London flat one afternoon with extraordinarily good news.
~*~
“You have all of our relevant files,” Nagi says.
“Then you don’t know?” Schuldig asks. He’d had to return half his raise to Brad to be the one to tell Nagi the good news. It will be worth it.
“Know what?”
“She has a boyfriend.”
“She doesn’t have a boyfriend, she’s under constant...” There is a resigned sigh. “Fujimiya, or Hidaka?”
Brad grabs the handset before Schuldig can share his thoughts on the matter.
Payback is all very well, Brad sends, but I don’t want him losing his temper and reducing London to a sheet of glass over the phone.
~*~
“Is he coming?” Schuldig asks after Brad hangs up.
“Not at my request.”
“If we can’t use the Black Switch to terminate any enemies who may still be out there, is Nagi going to help instead?” That had been their original arrangement.
Brad stops to think about that. “I don’t think so.”
“Then Takatori-sama is going to be pissed when we abscond with Hidaka’s girlfriend.”
“We won’t abscond. We’ll persuade.”
“That takes longer.”
“We’ll charge more.”
Reading Brad’s mind reveals... “Why do I see us buying clothes with the deposit?”
Brad smiles. “We’re about to have a wedding to attend.”
~*~
As easy as it was to track down the Black Switch, it is even easier to get her alone.
All of KryptonBrand is out at the same mission, and about to walk into the trap that Brad had foreseen two days ago.
“Your friends are in danger,” Schuldig tells her, noticing that her immediate thoughts are of Hidaka.
“Who are you?”
Schuldig is interrupted before he can reply. She knows that Hidaka’s an assassin, Brad sends wearily. Just stick to the facts and don’t piss her off. This one can snap your neck even if she doesn’t know it herself.
~*~
The Black Switch jumps out of the car and off onto the grounds as soon as Brad points to where a masked Hidaka is holding off a determined assailant.
“Time to find out what we’ve paid for,” Brad says, parking the car behind a reassuringly solid looking stone monument.
“So your plan is to see what someone does when the person they love almost dies? Again?” Schuldig hadn’t enjoyed it much when Brad had tried that with Nagi. And as for the attempt involving Sally and Farfarello...
Brad has the grace to look embarrassed when he replies, “But it works.”
~*~
Schuldig sits on the grass, watching Brad poke around what’s left of the deserted venue.
The Black Switch works as advertised, trusts them and comes with lovely accessories -- getting her to the wedding in time meant that they’d saved most of KryptonBrand as well, after all.
He’d still rather have Nagi, but today’s display sends a clear ‘do not fuck with Schwarz’ memo to anyone who missed it the first time around.
Not bad, for a week’s work.
“Help me move this,” Brad says, pushing at something cloth‑covered. “Underneath. The champagne should still be cold.”
And that was even better.
FIN
Recipient: inktrap
Title: Who’s your Superman?
Rating: PG
Characters: Brad Crawford, Schuldig, Naoe Nagi, Shinjou Kurumi and off‑screen Shinjou Kurumi/Hidaka Ken
Summary: Brad has grown accustomed to Nagi doing as he’s told, when he's told, for the good of Schwarz. When Nagi leaves, it’s time to start thinking about Side Plan B.
Warnings/Content: Nope!
Word Count: 900 exactly
Author's Notes: Takes place after the end of V5 of Side B. Written for inktrap who requested ‘Crawford, Schuldig and Kurumi (Aya and Ken entirely optional but appreciated) | Side B | Crawford and Schuldig show interest in the Human Interleukin. | Either gen or Anyone/Kurumi would be love!’. Thanks for the intriguing prompt -- it got me to finally read Side B :Db Thanks also to the fabulous lady_ganesh for her awesome beta work!
Who’s your superman?
Hey little sister who is it you're with?
Hey little sister what's your vice and wish?
(“White Wedding” -- from Billy Idol’s “Billy Idol”)
~~*~~
“I still get a migraine if I try to See as far ahead as I used to be able to. And I know you’re almost burned out, which - ”
“Don’t say ‘burned’,” Schuldig says, annoyed that his hand still automatically goes to his hair to reassess the damage, a full year after the Koua Academy.
“We won’t always be as lucky as we were yesterday,” Brad says. “They know we don’t have Nagi anymore, which means they’re not going to stop searching for us while we’re vulnerable.”
“Nagi’s not coming back.”
“He doesn’t need to. But he does owe us.”
~*~
“If you still worked with us, we wouldn’t need this,” Brad says.
Nagi passes the box across to Schuldig. “There are nine data drives on the Black Switch, and a -- Schuldig...”
“And a what?” Schuldig asks, pulling out the CD.
“It’s a user friendly interface. You might find it useful.”
Brad actually cracks a smile at that, and Schuldig reads his mind before facing Nagi. Dumbing it down for us? It’s not like they can’t run basic searches. Brad thinks Takatori doesn’t want us asking you for help ever again.
You can always ask, Nagi returns neutrally.
The little shit.
~*~
The first drive contains over a million files, each imaginatively labelled by the date and time it was recorded.
“Use the CD,” Brad says, before Schuldig can even verbalise a complaint.
“I don’t get paid enough for this,” he says as he loads the CD.
“So take another five per cent,” Brad says.
“You think a five per cent raise can -- ?”
“Not a raise -- another five per cent of our profit as your share.”
That means five per cent less of the profit for Brad, and such magnanimity is suspect.
“Are we actually going to get paid for this?”
~*~
It is only after he and Brad settle on eight per cent that the CD finishes installing the ‘user friendly’ interface.
Formatted in hearts, flowers, kittens and rainbows, the interface rapidly parses raw data into actionable intelligence, although even the simplest search takes a full ten minutes, and all while playing an obnoxiously cheerful tinny tune that evades all attempts at volume controls or muting.
And Schuldig would have had no choice but to ensure that the rest of the world suffered as he did, if Brad hadn’t come back to their London flat one afternoon with extraordinarily good news.
~*~
“You have all of our relevant files,” Nagi says.
“Then you don’t know?” Schuldig asks. He’d had to return half his raise to Brad to be the one to tell Nagi the good news. It will be worth it.
“Know what?”
“She has a boyfriend.”
“She doesn’t have a boyfriend, she’s under constant...” There is a resigned sigh. “Fujimiya, or Hidaka?”
Brad grabs the handset before Schuldig can share his thoughts on the matter.
Payback is all very well, Brad sends, but I don’t want him losing his temper and reducing London to a sheet of glass over the phone.
~*~
“Is he coming?” Schuldig asks after Brad hangs up.
“Not at my request.”
“If we can’t use the Black Switch to terminate any enemies who may still be out there, is Nagi going to help instead?” That had been their original arrangement.
Brad stops to think about that. “I don’t think so.”
“Then Takatori-sama is going to be pissed when we abscond with Hidaka’s girlfriend.”
“We won’t abscond. We’ll persuade.”
“That takes longer.”
“We’ll charge more.”
Reading Brad’s mind reveals... “Why do I see us buying clothes with the deposit?”
Brad smiles. “We’re about to have a wedding to attend.”
~*~
As easy as it was to track down the Black Switch, it is even easier to get her alone.
All of KryptonBrand is out at the same mission, and about to walk into the trap that Brad had foreseen two days ago.
“Your friends are in danger,” Schuldig tells her, noticing that her immediate thoughts are of Hidaka.
“Who are you?”
Schuldig is interrupted before he can reply. She knows that Hidaka’s an assassin, Brad sends wearily. Just stick to the facts and don’t piss her off. This one can snap your neck even if she doesn’t know it herself.
~*~
The Black Switch jumps out of the car and off onto the grounds as soon as Brad points to where a masked Hidaka is holding off a determined assailant.
“Time to find out what we’ve paid for,” Brad says, parking the car behind a reassuringly solid looking stone monument.
“So your plan is to see what someone does when the person they love almost dies? Again?” Schuldig hadn’t enjoyed it much when Brad had tried that with Nagi. And as for the attempt involving Sally and Farfarello...
Brad has the grace to look embarrassed when he replies, “But it works.”
~*~
Schuldig sits on the grass, watching Brad poke around what’s left of the deserted venue.
The Black Switch works as advertised, trusts them and comes with lovely accessories -- getting her to the wedding in time meant that they’d saved most of KryptonBrand as well, after all.
He’d still rather have Nagi, but today’s display sends a clear ‘do not fuck with Schwarz’ memo to anyone who missed it the first time around.
Not bad, for a week’s work.
“Help me move this,” Brad says, pushing at something cloth‑covered. “Underneath. The champagne should still be cold.”
And that was even better.
FIN