The Bad Batch: One Shot Collection

BBAW Day Five

This was inspired by Unhinged Vaderkin Prompt collection by Sinvulkt (Wakare) on Ao3.

Technically this fits perfectly under the descriptions of being safe for work, but considering the insanity of it... :)

PS: I know this has nothing to do with Vaderkin, but when I saw Sinvulkt's amazing prompt idea, my brain just took it and went wild xD

PPS: I know nothing about wings, so I'm probably talking nonsense, but I did try. :3

Warning: Torture. Not major, but still present and a fairly predominant part of the plot.

~ Rivana Rita

When the Empire comes to Pabu, Hunter sends his brothers through the hidden exit point and stays to cover for them. He's fully willing to take whatever it is the Empire has in store for him, but that means a little more than he realized.

Hunter knew he'd be captured again. It was inevitable, but someone had to stay long enough for Crosshair and Omega to transport Wrecker out. Doesn't mean he was ready for being captured, or Hemlock's operative – who, Hunter quickly realizes, is even crankier than Echo on his worst days – to drag him to his ship.

"You are the only lead to your squad I require," he says, and Hunter's far too aware of the other troop's blaster's aiming at him to try anything.

"I won't tell you where they are," Hunter replies, "I wouldn't even if I knew."

The CX shoves his shoulder to make him board the ramp. He alternates wildly between being overly talkative and extremely quiet. It's almost unnerving.

Everything about these operatives unnerves him. Crosshair was terrified of them, and he might be a pessimist by nature, but he wouldn't be afraid senselessly.

The CX hits a button on his armband – he has the controls for his ship there, and that makes it far easier to control when he doesn't have to cross half the island to find it, and far more difficult for Hunter to escape – and this time, it brings some sort of... device off the wall. It's a table, a – oh, stars, no.

He thought he'd have longer. He honestly thought he'd have a chance at escape before it got this far. Should've thought that one through a little better, but what matters is that his family is safe. Or, what's left of it.

The guards pin him face down onto the mechanism and Hunter's getting a very sinking feeling he knows exactly what it is they're about to do to him. It would be hard not to, when he saw Crosshair again. They never knew the details. He hadn't asked, and he doubts his little brother would've been able to say a word about it, either. Before Tantiss, before Kamino, before everything, his wings used to be a silvery gray, his flying feathers streaked a mix of Echo's blue, Hunter's brown, Tech's gold, Wrecker's orange, and in the end, even a small newly growing sparkly gold for Omega.

Their flying feathers are based on the colors of the wings of whoever they love. Of whoever it is they're meant to spend their lives with. They define who they are.

Crosshair had – he lost all his feathers sometime. They were still growing back in, even the silver of his own, their softness shaggy and small. They looked dead. Unhealthy. His multicolor series were – they were coming in, too, their colors intermixed in all the wrong ways, and the ones for Tech were slowly fading to black. AZI said they'll heal, minus the ones for Tech that will never come back and shouldn't even be there, but it'll take time and him bonding with all of them.

Omega had said she saw him right after it happened. She'd never seen wings that looked like that in her life.

Hunter's best guess is they were torturing him. Why, he doesn't know, but Hunter can't imagine losing his wings and ability to fly. His flight is all that keeps him grounded when he falls, and it happens a lot. It's a silly little thing, but he's terrified of falling, and flying is part of who they are.