Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

??? ??, ????, 11:32 AM, ???, Texas

“Mhm! This is delicious Mommy! What did you put in this?”

“Well Little J, when you're older, and when you can reach the toaster, I’ll tell you how to make it.”

“I’m big enough to reach it, Mommy.”

“If you use a chair, maybe. Just wait one more year, I’m sure you would have grown tall enough to reach it then.”

“Do you think you can make this for me when I go to school?”

“Only if you do well, okay?”

“Okay! I promise that I’ll do my best!”

“And what do you swear it on?”

“If I don’t… then… I don’t get any for a month!”

“Hehe~ That’s my Little J."

Chapter Text

May 23rd, 2027, 10:11 AM, Base, Commander’s Office

“You called for me, Commander?” Brooklyn asked upon entering his office, with Howe following behind her.

Seated behind his desk, he nodded and wrote, “Yes, I have a special assignment for you, given your expertise with diplomacy. ”

“Oh? What is required, Sir?”

“Recently, some of the girls here have been practicing their athletic capabilities, and that got me thinking. Next year, the Summer Olympics are being held in Los Angeles, and I was thinking you might be able to participate in some events. ”

“Interesting proposal, Sir. I have yet to deal with anything of this specialty… What is my objective?”

“I’ve already contacted the International Olympic Committee, and they’ve agreed to send a team of representatives to Los Angeles. They want to see what you girls are capable of, and want to know any modifications needed to the events or time schedule. I want you, and a group of others, to help convince the representatives to add you girls into events. I trust you to work out the details of what is permitted. ”

“Understood, Sir. Now… who to bring to California—”

“California?!” a voice shouted from the office doorway. Looking over, the head of Vanguard peered at them, her eyes glimmered.

“As in where—”

“Comic-Con—” Reno joined in, her head just popping up underneath Vanguard’s.

“And the set of Casablanca are!” Casablanca added, appearing below Reno.

The Commander, Brooklyn, and Howe looked at each other and to the other three out of confusion as to where they came from.

“Yes…” Brooklyn cautiously confirmed.

In an instant, the three of them dashed towards the light cruiser.

“Take us with you!” they demanded of her.

She backed away from them, needing some space to think if they could actually help her with this mission. Howe thought the same thing, and leaned over to Brooklyn to help her with this sudden conundrum.

“I think you should bring along someone that will most likely actually help you with this,” she quietly suggested to Brooklyn.

“Agreed. And I have some in mind, but one is a risk in themselves…”

“Do I want to know who it could be?”

“I’ll tell you once these three are gone.”

Nodding, Brooklyn turned her gaze back to the Commander.

“Well, Sir. It appears I have the majority of the group assembled, if you permit them to accompany me,” she announced.

Shifting his attention to the three, the Commander wrote, “Vanguard. Reno. Casablanca. Can I trust you three to actually help Brooklyn with this assignment? ”

“Yes, Sir!” they all responded at the same time.

“I trust you all to do so. ”

“When do we leave, Sir?” Brooklyn questioned.

“You are permitted to leave as soon as possible, but it seems the representatives won’t arrive until the 30th, so you have time to prepare. ”

“And estimated length of this mission?”

“It’s hard to say. They didn’t give me how long this could take. To be on the safe side, I’ve booked you all for four weeks at a hotel, the Biltmore, on the 28th. You have four rooms to share amongst the group. ”

Leaning over to the Commander, Howe asked, “How much did that cost you?” Yet she only received a look that said, “I don’t want to say” written all over.

“A month, Sir? That seems quite a long time for talks,” Brooklyn questioned.

“Well, you could also consider some more leisure time for the team if you get the job done quick enough. That seems good, right? ”

“Yes, Sir,” she responded, before turning to the three going with her. “Girls, pack all essential items. Prep for the maximum duration. We leave on the 27th.”

A mixture of whoops and yeahs erupted from them as they hurried out of the office, wanting to pack their bags with everything “essential”. As they left, Brooklyn still remained.

“So, Brook, who else did you have in mind?” Howe asked now that they were gone.

“The first two are Baltimore and Eagle. Both are physically impressive, and Eagle can provide insight to our medical procedures if that ever arises,” she began.

“I see. ” the Commander wrote out, agreeing with why she wanted to bring those two. Yet when he looked at her, he could tell something was off. She looked like she was contemplating something.

“Brook? Is something wrong? ”

“It’s the last person I want to bring…”

“And who might it be?” Howe continued for the Commander.

“Eugen…”

Howe and the Commander just stared at her blankly, not too sure how to process this response.

“I know it’s an odd request, but she is a superb diplomat. She’s able to get what she wants with her words alone.”

“I don’t doubt her abilities, I’m more concerned that she’ll do something to those poor representatives than anything else. But if you want to bring her along, then you’re permitted to do so. ” the Commander allowed her.

“Thank you, Sir. Is there anything else I need to know?”

“Not that I can think of at the moment. I’ll let you know if anything comes up. Dismissed. ”

And with that, Brooklyn headed out the office to prepare for her trip, and to inform those that weren’t there for the meeting about this mission. Thus leaving Howe and the Commander alone.

Moving over to John, Howe gently hugged him from behind, and rested her head on his.

“This will be a nice reveal to the girls, Love,” Howe softly said.

“What? The purpose of this mission, or that we’re a thing now? ” he responded, placing a hand on her’s, looking up to her, and giving a cheeky smile.

However, between the 10th and now, 99% of the base had come to learn that these two were a couple. This information was first leaked by Ash, who told her non-META counterpart about this, and it trickled down from there.

“The mission, Silly!”

“I know. ”

The two just remained in each other’s presence for a while, wanting to stay like that for the rest of the day. After some time, John gently moved over to his computer, and started to look through his schedule for the day.

“Something wrong?” Howe asked, now slightly moving off to the side.

“I’m just checking what else I have coming up for today. ”

“How come?”

He didn’t respond immediately. Rather, he held up a finger and continued to scroll through his schedule. After a minute, he turned to her and wrote, “Because I’d like to take you out on a date today. ”

Chapter Text

May 23rd, 2027, 3:15 PM, Base, Outskirts

After a few hours of working, John and Howe walked towards the cliff near John’s house; both enjoying the atmosphere. It was beautiful at the moment, a few clouds dotted the sky, with a nice breeze keeping them cool as the sun shone down on them.

On one hand, John was carrying a picnic basket. Inside was a blanket, a few sandwiches, beverages, and cookies he had bought earlier that day. In his other hand, he held onto Howe’s, their fingers interlocking with each other.

Both had changed into more casual wear, having changed before heading to the cliff. Howe wore her gifts from her sisters, the red sweater with white button-up shirt and jeans. She decided to wear black sneakers instead of the heels for obvious reasons. John also wore a white button-up, with jeans, and dark gray sneakers that faded into light gray near the toes.

“A little nice picnic date, John? Sounds lovely,” Howe said as they finally crested the top of the cliff.

“I thought that something simple would be a nice start to this little venture we’re on now. ” he wrote back.

After letting Howe read it, he took the blanket out, and unfolded it onto the ground. He then took a seat first, and placed the basket on his left before extending a hand to Howe. Once she was seated on his right, he reached inside the basket to acquire two sandwiches and two bottles of water; giving one of each to Howe.

“Thank you, Love,” she gave her gratitude before biting into the sandwich. While it wasn’t something on the level of George’s cooking, and nothing will ever be, she did find it appetizing. It was a standard BLT, nothing really special there. The only real noticeable thing was the mayo, which had a hint of garlic and black pepper in it.

“Very interesting flavour,” Howe appreciated upon finishing her bite. “I’ve had my share of BLTs before, this one was quite different because of the mayo. How’d you make it?”

“I just mixed some mayo with grated garlic and black pepper. It was a recipe Mom shared with me. ” John answered her. But his face didn’t show one of pride, rather one of remorse.

“Something wrong, Love?” Howe asked, noticing his expression.

“No. ” he reassured her, but had his gaze shifted away and down to the ground.

Reaching over to his left hand, Howe gently grasped it.

“Love, if something’s bothering you; you can always talk to me, alright?”

John responded by nodding, before laying his head on her shoulder. He then closed his eyes, and enraptured himself in her presence. Smiles both grew on their faces as they listened to the waves quietly crash, John slowly exhaling as if he was releasing some hidden pain away.

The two could have stayed like that for the rest of the afternoon, simply relaxing on each other’s shoulders, and having the nice weather as mufflers to the world outside of them. But then Howe remembered something.

“So John, what was that thing you sent to your family? You said that one wasn’t that important, but there was something that was to happen two and half weeks from then. Well, it’s been two weeks; I think now’s a good time to say what it is, no?”

Leaning off her shoulders, he took another bite before writing out, “Alright, alright. I wanted to keep this a secret from everyone for a while, but I think I can let you know now. I invited my sister over so I can show her around, and celebrate her birthday on the 29th. ”

Howe gasped at the prospect of meeting his sister. “Oh what wonderful news! When is she going to arrive?”

“I think they said she was leaving late on the 26th, so she should be arriving maybe in the morning after. ” he said before pausing. “ Didn’t Brook plan to leave on the 27th? ”

“Hmm… I think she did. What are the chances of that?”

“Well anyways. She’s going to be staying in my guest room, so you all shouldn’t have anything to worry about. I also have a few suggestions for her when she’s here, such as sights, people, stores, all that stuff. ”

“You planned well, then.” Howe said, but the mentioning of “planned” caused her to remember something.

“John. A while back, I talked with Belfast after the beach day we had because she looked confused then. When I asked her what was wrong, she said that she suspects you had completed preparations for the day without the assistance of the maids. Is this true?”

John just looked away, giving Howe the answer she needed.

“Love, you can’t do that to yourself. You’ll die from being overworked. Why would you do that to begin with?”

“I wanted everyone to have a good day out with the stress of work. ” he wrote back, his face slightly turned away from her out of shame.

“You say ‘everyone’, which also means you, John,” she said, grabbing his hand and lifting both of their hands in front of them. “Your well-being is something that should not be overlooked, no matter how good your intentions may be. And the maids would have loved to help you out with the work. Have you thought about it from their side? Take Dido. She’s always worried about you abandoning her, so imagine how she felt when she wasn’t able to help her master with the work…”

John solemnly nodded his head in understanding. “Yeah, I see your point. ”

“Don’t do something like that again, yeah?”

He responded by placing his other hand on top of her’s; before nodding once again, this time with more conviction behind it.

“Hehe~ Thank you, John. Now, let’s continue this date of ours, shall we?” she said, taking another bite from her sandwich.

Down below on the shore, a figure watched up at them, their body shrouded in a dark flowing jacket — covered head-to-toe in metal. Neither John or Howe knew that they were being watched by this person.

Chapter Text

May 23rd, 2027, 7:10 PM, Base, Commander’s House

In John’s house, he and Howe were currently relaxing on the couch, listening to some classical music. Howe was in John’s arms, enjoying the warmth as they laid there together. They had finished their picnic date an hour ago, but both still wanted to be with each other for a little longer before they would have to depart. Of course, they would see each other tomorrow, but shush, don’t interrupt their moment.

“I had a fun time today, John,” Howe commented, shifting a little to get in a more comfortable position. “Looks like I’m gonna have to step up my game when we have our second date.”

“I look forward to it. ” John replied, smiling as he showed her the tablet. “Though, I do regret one thing on this date. ”

“What’s the matter, Love?” she concerningly asked, turning to look at him directly.

“Still can’t think of a nickname for you. ” he sheepishly answered, his cheeks flushing red.

Howe just giggled at his silly trouble. “I’m sure you will come, I don’t mind waiting.”

Her phone then thrilled, indicating that she had received a message. Looking at who it came from, it was George who was contacting her. Opening the message, it said: “Dinner’s almost ready, say ‘hi’ to the Commander for me”, indicating she knew full well where she was currently.

“Looks like this is where we depart, Love,” she said, releasing herself from his embrace. “George also said ‘hi’.”

“Alright. ” John somberly wrote out, enjoying this extra hour he had with his girlfriend. Both of them rose up from the couch, with John escorting her towards the door.

Opening the door, Howe took a few steps out, before turning around and giving John a quick kiss on his left cheek. The surprise assault on his face causes him to grow crimson, freezing in place from sheer shock.

“See you tomorrow, Love,” Howe said, waving her hands and walking away. John only numbly waved back, still thinking at the sudden affection.

After standing there for a few seconds, he shook himself free, and looked down the path for two reasons. One was to make sure nothing happened to Howe as she made her way out of sight. But the likelihood of something bad happening to her is very minor, except for maybe tripping. The second reason was to make sure she was out of sight, as he was going back up to the cliff. Taking a chair, he headed up the path to the cliff, and started to look through his music. He still felt it was too embarrassing for him to reveal this little habit of his, even though Howe already saw him do this.

Once up there, he set up, and continued to scroll through his playlist. He usually did this to help his mind capture the emotions he was feeling that day, so he was searching for some cheery songs. Eventually he found some, and shuffled amongst them.

At the same time, Howe was walking down the streets, reminiscing on her date with John. Suddenly, her phone thrilled once more. She was expecting to see a message from one of her sisters, but instead, she was greeted by an app notification.

“Oh right…” she muttered to herself, remembering which app this was.

One week earlier…

“Howe!” a voice called out to her. Turning around, Howe saw that it was Helena META quickly walking towards her.

“Oh, Helena. What can I do for you?” she questioned, doing a small errand for John.

“May I see your phone?” she requested.

“I see why not,” Howe obliged, taking her phone out, and handing it to the META.

Once she had it, she started to fiddle with it for a while, until handing it back to her.

“Okay! Do you remember that bush we hid in a few weeks ago?”

“Yes…?” Howe cautiously asked.

“Good!” was all she said before handing her something else. “Place this device in there.”

Looking at the device in her hand, she saw that it was a gray box, with an antenna sticking out of the top, and what looked like a meshed circle on one side of it.

“What is this?” she asked, but when she looked up, Helena had already disappeared. “How does she do that?”

Looking back at her phone, she saw that a new app had been installed on it. The app was literally called “Title Pending”, and when she opened it, she saw a gray screen that had white text saying, “Awaiting…”. Left pondering, Howe made a quick stop at the bush, placed the device there, and continued on her merry way.

Later that same day…

Howe was currently sitting on the edge of her bed, Charles laid on her lap, being petted. She had finished having dinner with her sisters, and played an intense game of CATAN, with Wales winning the game. So now she just wanted to wind down, and think about what the next day would bring her.

Next to her, her phone thrilled. Not expecting anyone to message her right now, she looked at the message to see it was an app notification.

“Ready!” was all it said. Cautiously, she opened the app. When she did, low music started to play through the phone’s speakers, but she recognized it. 

“It’s Eurobeat!” she quietly exclaimed to herself. “This one is… ‘Seraphim’, the same one from the first time.”

And she could only think of one person playing this song at this time of the day.

“It’s picking up what John’s playing!”

Back to the present…

Smiling to herself for this strange gift Helena META gave to her, she took out a pair of earbuds, and listened to John’s song.

China Gal, won't take me where you go

Tired of mere fantasy

You are the star I survive by in the night, so

let me reply here for all you do to me

Please wait a minute please wait a moment

Please don't go away

I need to tell you, I need to show you

Why I can't let you go

Your mind is painted with anger but your heart is clear to see

So, never hide it, oh, never fight it, render all your burdens on me

China Gal, I can't live without your love

I'll guide your heart with my soul

I can't shake this per-rem-i-ni-ti-on (premonition) that

This is the first time we've ever loved before

China Gal, won't take me where you go

Tired of mere fantasy

You are the star I survive by in the night, so

let me reply here for all you do to me

It was a very uplifting song, something that made both John and Howe smile whilst listening to the song. The cheeriness encapsulating how they felt today.

As she walked back with an ever-broadening smile, a figure watched her from the roof of a nearby building. It made no attempts to do anything else, but silently followed behind her from above, until she was out of town. When the figure could no longer follow her, it made its way to the outskirts.

Chapter Text

??? ??, 2027, ??? PM, ???, ???

Initializing Systems…

Checking for Software Updates…

Systems Complete…

Establishing Connection…

Helmet View On…

“Hey, in there! Everything good so far?”

“Hmm… I think we can make those adjustments…”

“Hmm? What? Yeah, no, she said that the right arm isn’t registering her movements some of the time, so she was wondering if we can fix that up.”

“Yeah, he said it was fine when he was testing it out.”

“Of course that could be the issue, but I would like to think our technology would have made that factor insignificant.”

“Maybe we should get him to test it out again?”

“Alright, adding that to the list… For now, we’d like to test out the Weapon System. If you would like to follow me to the range.”