A/N: The concept for this story is someone shaving a subordinate's head regularly as punishment. The two will end up in a romantic relationship despite this. This is abusive behaviour in normal life but is treated less seriously in this as it's the concept for the story. Skip this one if this triggers you.
Written: 2015, revamped 2023
There are many times in anyone's life when they wonder how they got themselves into the mess they were in. For Brendan, the answer was simple. He hadn't said "No" to Liz. His friend's stubbornness made it easier to follow her mad plots, leading to problems and headaches. Liz got him into trouble consistently.
This time involved an alien swinging from a net in the tree before them, a familiar and increasingly pissed-off alien. Larsen snarled and spat, cursing at them in his language.
"Hi, Larsen," Brendan waved a hand awkwardly, turning to Liz. "Liz, when you said you had a plan, this wasn't what I pictured." Larsen didn't appreciate his plans being messed with. Last time, he'd promised not to go easy on them if they tried again. Brendan would not have agreed to help if he knew Liz was going after Larsen again.
"Hush," Liz said, unconcerned.
Larsen's eyes narrowed at their interaction. He stopped cursing and signed. Some of his glamour faded, his normally blonde hair turning to its natural green hair. His talons hooked into the tops of the net with an almost tired expression. The hairs on the back of Brendon's neck rose.
"I'm starting to get angry now," Larsen warned, his eyes locking on Liz. "Let me out, and I might take mercy on you,"
"You're not getting out of that so easily," Liz grinned boldly and full of fire. She thought she'd won here. Brendan's eyes flickered to where Larsen's grip tightened and the wire tensed. "You can stay hanging there for the rest of the night and leave Vicky alone."
"Liz," Brendan hissed, trying to warn her not to antagonise the alien. Her tone was all brash victory that they hadn't achieved yet.
"Look! Bren, we want him to stop bothering Vic. If we leave him trapped for a while, we can make a deal with him to get him to leave us alone," Liz growled in a mock whisper to remind Brendan why they were doing this dangerous thing in the first place.
Larsen could hear ridiculously well, so whispering, hoping he wouldn't hear, wouldn't work.
"Honestly, of all of Victoia's friends, I could tolerate you two the most. You weren't too bad on the eyes," Larsen said darkly, hands clenching and unclenching. "Just a shame I have to dispose of you."
The growl rumbled over Brendan's skin and set goosebumps down his back. It wasn't a joke or a threat. That was a promise. He grabbed Liz before she did something, but she slapped his hand off, rolling her eyes at him. Brendan remembered the look in Larsen's eyes. He'd run out of patience for them. The first few attempts to get Larsen to abandon chasing after his chosen target had amused Larsen, but this time might genuinely be a step too far.
"That net is reinforced with iron to stop your abilities," Liz said, head high and unnerved by the threats. "I did my research this time!" Because the first time she attempted something like this, she hadn't.
"Admirable," Larsen said, tone lighter. "But your research wasn't correct."
He raked his talons over the iron mesh, and it cut neatly. He landed on the ground gracefully, dusting off his suit and fixing his cuffs.
"How?" Liz said, looking considerably less confident.
Brendan grabbed her shoulder and pushed her backwards. They got maybe three steps before the net whipped in front of them, blocking their path. The pressure behind them grew.
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Scribbles and Drabbles
General FictionA collection of one-shots/drabbles that I have written over the years. Hopefully some will get to be turned into full stories one day but for now, this is somewhere safe for them to sit.
