The Bad Batch: One Shot Collection

Back From The Dead

Author's Note: I know, this is a bit of a different kind of horror, but I've had this idea in my head for a long time. <3 This is for Day 5 of Haunted Clone Week.

~ Rivana Rita

Getting captured by the Empire on Tantiss was basically a guarantee, though Wrecker did not expect to see his thought-to-be-dead brother there.

His chest is on fire. Wrecker groans softly before he even opens his eyes. That creature clawed him up really good. He hurts so bad everywhere. Between that and the – electrospear... he still hears Crosshair's faint, muffled screams in his head. His little brother. They were trynna help each other, and then...

The room is dark. Wrecker can't see much. He turns his head left, blinking and trying to see what he can make out. Not much. He's strapped to a table, and he sees a small, dark armored form on another table beside him. Crosshair? It kinda looks like Crosshair. He looks tall and thin, so not Hunter.

He turns his head the other way, slowly and discretely, pausing when he sees someone. One of Hemlock's operatives? Looks like it.

What's he doin' here?

The helmet fixes on him. "You're awake. That's good."

"Who are you?" Wrecker demands, glaring up at him.

The visor lifts to look at Crosshair, then Hunter. "Your sire," he answers shortly.

"A what?" Wrecker asks, confused and a little panicked. He doesn't know what that means. It sounds vampire-y. Wrecker doesn't know anything about vampires, really, except that Crosshair is one. He has fangs, and he's creepily drawn to blood. He'd been pacing and growling when Hunter tried treating Wrecker's claw wounds.

His chest still aches badly.

The CX pulls his helmet off, and Wrecker's mind stops working entirely. He knows that face. He would recognize that face anywhere from where he last saw his older brother as he fell on Eriadu, as Wrecker tried and failed to catch him.

Dark eyes vacant and wild instead of soft and filled with affection.

Wrecker stops breathing.

"Tech," he croaks, tears flooding his eyes.

He can't think about anythin' else. Doesn't really care about anything else, actually – that Tech is alive is enough.

Wrecker thinks he always knew.

He thought about it sometimes. Tech just dying never seemed right. He couldn't've died cuz he fell off of something. He wouldn't. That just wasn't possible.

Tech sets his helmet down on the edge of the bunk, glances around the room, and touches Wrecker's shoulder. He looks uncomfortable.

Wrecker twitches back when Tech leans over him. "What're you doing?"

"Turning you."

Uh...

Tech's hand is on his shoulder pauldron, and he leans down, sinking his fangs into Wrecker's neck. He twitches, wincing at the sting.

"This isn't really snuggly if you wanna feed," Wrecker protests. It's strange, but he wants to because it's always nice when Crosshair does it and he misses Tech so bad. It's his fault Tech is here, anyway. He should've saved him.

But why does it burn so much? It never did when Crosshair bit him.

"Why would you believe I want to snuggle?" Tech pulls back just as fast, licking his lips off and staring down at him.