Fanfic > Tin Man > Of Apples and Freedom
Title: Of Apples and Freedom
Author:
general_nothing
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Zero with mentions of Az, DG, Cain, Jeb and the witch
Disclaimer: Still don’t own anything.
Warnings: Unless you’re freaked out by Zero being Zero, there are really no warnings.
Word Count: 1063
Summary: If worse comes to worse, he’ll be shot on his way out and that would save him the trouble of being tried, sentenced and killed at the hands of the O.Z.’s twisted version of a justice system.
A/N: Written for the Color Challenge at
tm_challenge . Prompt: Red. Special thanks go to
x_kennedy for late night im’s and Zero’s first name.
Just as Wyatt Cain had said to his son Jeb, about a week after the Eclipse, Xavier Zero is released from the tin suit that he’d been placed in and taken to the jail in Central City. He’s being charged with numerous things, from murder to conspiracy and is more than likely looking at death for his crimes.
But these thoughts do not sway Zero as he sits in the middle of his cell. Its dark, much like the cells in the witch’s tower had been, and damp, water dripping from the ceiling. They have obviously thrown him in the most decrepit of cells, in an attempt to add on to the punishment for his many crimes.
He does not mind the circumstances of his capture much; he’s been in far worse scrapes before. And he isn’t afraid of the upcoming trial and subsequent sentencing. He knows what’s going to happen and he’s made his peace with it.
What he is upset about, however, is the fact that while he is stuck in this cell, covered in dirt and always damp, Wyatt Cain is out there in the Real World, living the high life in the castle with that pretty little princess of his. Zero’s lip curls at the thought of the ex-Tin Man and the princess, the two people that, in his mind, have caused this entire mess.
He hates them. More than he has ever hated anyone in his entire life. More than he had hated Lonot before he had died because the Sorceress had been so reliant on him up until the point that he’d failed her once again. And then, then it was Zero that she relied on. Fifteen years working up to that moment and when she had turned to him and told him he was the new leader of the Longcoats, all he could do was smile. He was finally, finally where he knew he should be.
And now he is here. Zero stands and goes to the bars of his cage, peering to the left and then to the right. He can see a guard coming and for a moment, he plots a way out. But then he shakes his and realizes that he’d be shot before he even made it down the hall. The security here was doubled when Cain got word that Zero was being brought here.
There are ups and downs to this added measure of security. Downs because extra security makes it that much harder to plan or even execute an escape attempt. Ups because with so many guards it’s easy to hear the gossip that comes from Central City. It’s how he finds out that Wyatt Cain and his son and that head case and that Viewer were all given the highest medals of honor. It’s how he finds out that the older princess, the one that he’d spent so many years looking up to and fighting for, is slowly dying. The years the witch had inhabited her body had taken their toll on her. She is rotting from the inside out, the evil having had control of her body so long. At the moment, the youngest princess was working her hardest to bring her sister back from the brink of death.
Zero lets out a chuckle.
“Step back, Zero,” a guard says and Zero notices that it was the same one he’d seen coming just a moment before. Zero steps back into the shadow of the cell and watches as the guard struggles to hold a tray of food and find his keys to unlock the cell door. Zero rolls his eyes and has to hold himself back from making a break for it, telling himself that it’s just not time.
He waits as the guard sets the tray of food just inside the cell door, shuts and locks it and then walks away. When the guard leaves Zero’s field of vision he walks forward and looks down at the food. A bowl of watered down soup, a piece of bread and a cup of water. And, apparently he’s been a good little prisoner, because next to the bowl of soup is a bright, shiny, red apple.
Zero hasn’t eaten much in his time in the prison, either not needing to or not wanting to, he’s not sure. Probably more of the latter in some semi-desperate attempt to steal the thunder from Cain and the justice system. If he can die before they kill him, it will be like one last hurrah for him, one last way to beat them at their own game. He smiles as he bends to pick of the fruit.
He thinks back over the latest gossip that he’s heard as he bites into the apple. The crunch is loud and echoes the empty hallway. According to the guards (they are worse than some women when it comes to gossiping), the Tin Man who had caused Zero so much trouble was trying valiantly to court the princess. Zero’s lip curls again and his vision goes red as he thinks of the man he’d tried so hard to break getting his happy ending.
His thoughts race as he plots out his escape. He has no idea if it will work, but he’s willing to give it a try. If worse comes to worse, he’ll be shot on his way out and that would save him the trouble of being tried, sentenced and killed at the hands of the O.Z.’s twisted version of a justice system.
He wants out of here and he’s willing to do almost anything to do it. He closes his eyes and sends a silent prayer to the now dead witch before taking another bite of the apple.
He paces in front of the bars of his cell, plans racing through his mind, apple all but forgotten in the hand hanging at his side. He almost doesn’t notice the door swinging open slightly, thoughts of how he was going to make Wyatt Cain suffer racing along side escape plans.
Zero, he hears and he finally glances at the door.
He is free.
Author:
general_nothing
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Zero with mentions of Az, DG, Cain, Jeb and the witch
Disclaimer: Still don’t own anything.
Warnings: Unless you’re freaked out by Zero being Zero, there are really no warnings.
Word Count: 1063
Summary: If worse comes to worse, he’ll be shot on his way out and that would save him the trouble of being tried, sentenced and killed at the hands of the O.Z.’s twisted version of a justice system.
A/N: Written for the Color Challenge at
tm_challenge . Prompt: Red. Special thanks go to
x_kennedy for late night im’s and Zero’s first name.
Just as Wyatt Cain had said to his son Jeb, about a week after the Eclipse, Xavier Zero is released from the tin suit that he’d been placed in and taken to the jail in Central City. He’s being charged with numerous things, from murder to conspiracy and is more than likely looking at death for his crimes.
But these thoughts do not sway Zero as he sits in the middle of his cell. Its dark, much like the cells in the witch’s tower had been, and damp, water dripping from the ceiling. They have obviously thrown him in the most decrepit of cells, in an attempt to add on to the punishment for his many crimes.
He does not mind the circumstances of his capture much; he’s been in far worse scrapes before. And he isn’t afraid of the upcoming trial and subsequent sentencing. He knows what’s going to happen and he’s made his peace with it.
What he is upset about, however, is the fact that while he is stuck in this cell, covered in dirt and always damp, Wyatt Cain is out there in the Real World, living the high life in the castle with that pretty little princess of his. Zero’s lip curls at the thought of the ex-Tin Man and the princess, the two people that, in his mind, have caused this entire mess.
He hates them. More than he has ever hated anyone in his entire life. More than he had hated Lonot before he had died because the Sorceress had been so reliant on him up until the point that he’d failed her once again. And then, then it was Zero that she relied on. Fifteen years working up to that moment and when she had turned to him and told him he was the new leader of the Longcoats, all he could do was smile. He was finally, finally where he knew he should be.
And now he is here. Zero stands and goes to the bars of his cage, peering to the left and then to the right. He can see a guard coming and for a moment, he plots a way out. But then he shakes his and realizes that he’d be shot before he even made it down the hall. The security here was doubled when Cain got word that Zero was being brought here.
There are ups and downs to this added measure of security. Downs because extra security makes it that much harder to plan or even execute an escape attempt. Ups because with so many guards it’s easy to hear the gossip that comes from Central City. It’s how he finds out that Wyatt Cain and his son and that head case and that Viewer were all given the highest medals of honor. It’s how he finds out that the older princess, the one that he’d spent so many years looking up to and fighting for, is slowly dying. The years the witch had inhabited her body had taken their toll on her. She is rotting from the inside out, the evil having had control of her body so long. At the moment, the youngest princess was working her hardest to bring her sister back from the brink of death.
Zero lets out a chuckle.
“Step back, Zero,” a guard says and Zero notices that it was the same one he’d seen coming just a moment before. Zero steps back into the shadow of the cell and watches as the guard struggles to hold a tray of food and find his keys to unlock the cell door. Zero rolls his eyes and has to hold himself back from making a break for it, telling himself that it’s just not time.
He waits as the guard sets the tray of food just inside the cell door, shuts and locks it and then walks away. When the guard leaves Zero’s field of vision he walks forward and looks down at the food. A bowl of watered down soup, a piece of bread and a cup of water. And, apparently he’s been a good little prisoner, because next to the bowl of soup is a bright, shiny, red apple.
Zero hasn’t eaten much in his time in the prison, either not needing to or not wanting to, he’s not sure. Probably more of the latter in some semi-desperate attempt to steal the thunder from Cain and the justice system. If he can die before they kill him, it will be like one last hurrah for him, one last way to beat them at their own game. He smiles as he bends to pick of the fruit.
He thinks back over the latest gossip that he’s heard as he bites into the apple. The crunch is loud and echoes the empty hallway. According to the guards (they are worse than some women when it comes to gossiping), the Tin Man who had caused Zero so much trouble was trying valiantly to court the princess. Zero’s lip curls again and his vision goes red as he thinks of the man he’d tried so hard to break getting his happy ending.
His thoughts race as he plots out his escape. He has no idea if it will work, but he’s willing to give it a try. If worse comes to worse, he’ll be shot on his way out and that would save him the trouble of being tried, sentenced and killed at the hands of the O.Z.’s twisted version of a justice system.
He wants out of here and he’s willing to do almost anything to do it. He closes his eyes and sends a silent prayer to the now dead witch before taking another bite of the apple.
He paces in front of the bars of his cell, plans racing through his mind, apple all but forgotten in the hand hanging at his side. He almost doesn’t notice the door swinging open slightly, thoughts of how he was going to make Wyatt Cain suffer racing along side escape plans.
Zero, he hears and he finally glances at the door.
He is free.