Lastland AU: Cybersteam

Cryptid Hunters

"There they are!" Iris pointed excitedly up ahead.

What...? Still dazed, Storm had just enough time to look up when she saw large, hawk or eagle-like wings fluttering in the darkness above. Her jaw dropped. The wings were countless shades of black and brown with gold glistening between. The wings' owner was a girl with long, stringy, brown hair. Her skin was the same color, and she had vitiligo, skin different shades of brown, similar to her wings.

"Hey, guys!" she whispered waving down at Iris and Storm. A sling hung from her arms. In that sling was another girl. She was shorter, more compact, and her hair was much shorter and lighter, almost orange instead of brown. She wore a green hoodie, blue jeans, and sneakers. The girl with the wings, meanwhile, wore a long, flowing, brown dress with bits of gold jewelry and dust on her skin for a bit of shine.

"Sup?" The girl in the sling saluted Iris and Storm. "The name's Lauren. Lauren Caldwell." When she got closer, they saw a few piercings on her face, and the edges of tattoos poking out of her shirt. She also wore a beanie, and a cyber gun rested in her lap.

"And I'm Morgan, Morgan Ray!" While Lauren sounded casual and laidback, Morgan sounded prompt and cheerful. Storm was heavily reminded of Iris. What was it with these magical girls and their cheery attitudes?

"Got a big one for ya today!" Iris laughed breathlessly as she cocked her head over her shoulder. As if on cue, the hydra screeched in the distance.

"I'll say," Morgan blinked in surprise, large, powerful wings beating steadily. "I wonder, could we call it "tri-dra", since it has three heads?"

"Woah! What the—?!" Lauren sat up in her sling, adjusting a digital monocle around her eye as she cursed in surprise. Morgan and Lauren were Cryptid Hunters, though, so capturing wild and magical creatures was their life's work. After taking an identification scan, Lauren launched herself from Morgan's sling, drawing her cyber gun as she led the way on foot back towards the ship, and the angry hydra dragging itself out of it.

I could've carried you over and used the momentum of the sling for an attack! Morgan wanted to cry out to Lauren at first, but Lauren was already running away. Her fairy partner could only sigh and shake her head. And you say I'M the one that needs to think more!

She dropped the sling to free up her hands as she flew after Lauren. They weren't aiming to kill the hydra, just capture. The realm was balanced, but only because all of its regions were so imbalanced. The Cyberpunk region was not a good home for a hydra. But there were other places. It would take more than strength and wit to subdue the hydra long enough to transport it, though, and that was where magical Morgan came in.

While Morgan flew after Lauren and the hydra, calling upon her control over the Earth element, Iris and Storm fled the opposite direction, back to the hovercar, slinging the Heart of the Phoenix between them as they sped away down a neon road back to the heart of the City of Glass.

"Storm...? Storm!" Iris called out to Storm, but her voice was distant and muffled. Storm was still in a haze, with the hydra, floating in a sea of darkness. Was this what it felt like to be a ghost? Ghost...

Shoot! The psychic damage must've been worse than I realized...! Iris bit her lip. They were back in the city, and Iris was trying to ask Storm if they needed a hotel for the rest of the night, or if she could keep driving. Storm's lack of an answer was an answer.

ooo

The next time Storm's eyes opened, she was staring up at a dingy, hotel ceiling. Ew. What happened...? She sat up slowly, wincing.

"Hey..." A soft voice right beside her ear made her jump. "Oh, sorry, sorry." The voice chuckled quietly. "Didn't mean to scare you."

"Iris!" The name came back to Storm in an instant.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Iris winced, assuming Storm was mad at her for how the hydra fight went. "But we got the Phoenix Heart!"

Storm, however, didn't care about the gem. "What about you, Iris. Are you all right?" The question surprised both of them, but before Storm could embarrassedly mumble a half-baked excuse, Iris unwittingly gave her one.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine! You suffered a psychic attack, but it was concentrated, so you got the full blast of it while I was... fine..." The purple-eyed girl bit her lip. "Sorry..." That had been the plan from the start, but Iris hadn't realized that Storm would be so affected by what the hydra showed her. Iris was desperately curious, but she wasn't stupid enough to ask.

Storm, meanwhile, distracted herself by looking at her new surroundings. THIS setup? Then she realized there was only one bed.

"I panicked!" Iris looked away, flustered. She was sitting in a cushioned chair by the bed, tiny enough that she could curl up on it. "I don't regret it, though. You needed the rest. And I don't care whether you think so or not!" she added quickly. "It's not softness, it's pragmaticism! We all need rest. Untreated injury or sickness can be lethal. So can sleep deprivation, or deprivation of any other sort of care. It's not being weak, it's being smart!"

Eventually, with a sigh, Iris clambered into bed with Storm. At first, Storm tensed up, but then she forced herself to relax.

"Thank you," she muttered gruffly, silently thanking her lucky stars that her back was turned to Iris.

"You're welcome," Iris replied. Storm cursed her unlucky stars as Iris' low voice brushed across the back of her neck. "I enjoy taking care of you, you know? I gotta be a good patron, after all." While Iris chuckled to herself, Storm felt her stomach pitch.

It wasn't the first time she'd forgotten the exact nature of her relationship with Iris. In the past, Storm laughed at the thought of anyone as small and peppy as Iris being a protector—let alone to someone like her—but lying with her now, Storm was starting to understand...

"I... Thank you," she repeated, awkward, unsure of what else to say.

Iris laughed, breath ghosting across the back of Storm's neck again. "Don't worry, Storm, I won't bother you more."

No... Wait. Storm fought the urge to roll over, or reach behind herself, as she felt Iris settle, but she managed to restrain herself.

As if reading her mind, though, a moment later, Storm felt Iris move a little closer to her again. They were not touching, but it was as close as Iris could get without doing so. It filled Storm with peace, a foreign sensation, but one she secretly hoped would persist for years to come.

Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. She smiled in satisfaction when Storm finally went limp with sleep. It's long overdue...

Only once in the night did Iris stir, exchanging rides with Morgan. Knowing their hovercar would be traced by Masquerade, Morgan took it off Iris' hands and left her and Storm with a real horse. The night of peace would not last, and they had a quest to continue in the morning!

AN: Based off 2 more of my OCs, Lauren and Morgan, the human and the "Earth-bending" fairy, who are both Cryptid Hunters (which was mostly an excuse for me to have more animal/monster OCs, including a flying wolf-snake I call Rowdy the Rackus, who would've been Lauren and Morgan's pet/friend/team mascot).