“This is still a terrible idea.” Finn rolled his eyes as Dr. Swineheart stood in the sterile glass doorway, clipboard full of discharge papers in hand. The frown visible through the man’s scraggly beard told Finn all he needed to know, consternation and irritation clear as the sunlight through the open window behind him. Judging…

The familiar hospital ceiling blinked back at him, vanishing in between every slow flutter of his eyelids. Off-white acoustic tiles with recessed fluorescent lights buzzed with that same distinct drone above his head. It was just loud enough to be annoying but not bad enough to be painful which meant he was either still alive…

…and his goddamn chest made him suffer for it. He skidded back, barely managing to stay upright as air left him in a harsh wheeze. The heat was almost as bad as the pain. Almost. He didn’t have much to compare it to, nothing he could remember at least, but a Kyoto summer felt like…

The sound of screams hit his ears again. Blue eyes blinked slow, eyelids dragging like sandpaper with each flutter. Dark red flowed out around and in front of him, pooling into the hardwood and already seeping into the grain. The same dark red he could feel sticking to his cheek. Another blink — sluggish and…

Wrought iron was strong… But not that strong. Not against the raw power that was Cursed Energy, at least. The gate shrieked against hinges frozen stiff, the noise high and teeth-rattling as Finn pushed the rusted barrier aside. It only took seconds of effort, molars set tight and red sneakers firm on cracked pavement, until…

“Christ…” She clicked her tongue at the joke in front of her. It was a joke, and the worst kind, too; the kind that was in no way funny to her. The fact she had to keep pretending this was anything even close to a real investigation was doing terrible things to her blood pressure.…

The release paperwork was a mountain all its own, a mountain that Finn was happy to not have the authority to deal with. Mountain or molehill, Emma proved she could handle all parts of her duty as she finished it all by that same afternoon. “Officially cleared of all charges, Mary M.” Finn clicked his…

To view this content, you must be a member of ZFighter18’s Patreon at $5 or more Unlock with PatreonAlready a qualifying Patreon member? Refresh to access this content.

This town… His fingers tapped out a beat, some half-remembered pop-punk riff, against the hard metal casing that hung dead-center atop his chest. This town is fucking insane, I swear to God.It was one thing that they were on day seven of a kidnapping case — a whole three grueling days into Mary Margaret’s personal…