Hey guys, remember Skyside? Yeah, me neither. But this is set sometime before that goes into full-swing and such. Orch's thing was nifty, so I thought I'd make my own.

Operation Druid Surprise

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Somewhere in the city of Inside, an apartment burns, the only light for miles in a particularly desolate part of the Red Zone. Not too far from the scene, but just far enough to elude suspicion, HazMag presses a comm device to his ear with one hand, as the other casually presses the barrel of a revolver into the chin of an especially miserable-looking man kneeling at his feet. He doesn't even bother looking at his unhappy companion, either too occupied with his call or confident that his kneeling captive isn't capable of mounting anything but the most feeble of resistances at this point. Though his prisoner is neither bound nor gagged, he's right; there isn't a single thing the hostage could do at this point.

"Toxic Avenger to Whorehouse 13, reporting. The runaway meatball is secure. I repeat, the runaway meatball has been secured. And with that out of the way, let me just say that you have got to stop sending us on missions like this, sir. Over."

"What? Which is the meatball, and who is the...Oh! Oh okay, misplaced my notes for a moment. Anyways, what are you talking about, you said loved wetwork, Haz!"

Haz grits his teeth and narrows his eyes. "This isn't wetwork, sir. Over."

"Oh really? And here I thought kidnapping a rogue MagClone and bringing him back home before he can make things evenmore politically unstable for us was the textbook definition of wetwork. Save your tears for someone who cares and put the cowardly spaghetti on the phone, Haz."

"It's 'runaway meatball', sir. Stupid codenames and bull**** jobs like this are exactly the problem; you're not taking this seriously, sir. Over."

"I think I put more than enough effort into indulging your stupid army boy obsession as is, Haz. You do remember that I could stop your heart any at time I want, right? With nothing more than a thought. A thought, Haz. If I feel like giving you crap assignments that aren't the least bit fun or serious, there's not a goddamn thing you can do about. Now quit whining and put Dr. Godlark on the phone."

Haz practically growls at that, so irked is he by Magtok’s stubborn refusal to keep to assigned codenames. He decides to take his temper out on Dr. Godlark's face by abruptly shoving the communications device at it. The good doctor hesitantly accepts the walkie-talkie, terrified of what might happen if the gun-toting psychopath were agitated further. It's been a while since he used one of these; he's not entirely sure he's holding it the right way. Is this the right button, or-?

"H-hello?"

"Doctor Godlark, glad you could join us! I am so sorry about what happened! Your gene therapy notes were going to change the world! To see them all go up in smoke with your apartment...and such a nice apartment too, that's-"

"It wasn't that nice. The insects in the walls weren't anywhere near as social as the one's you got back at the Cave. Your representative tells me I'm to be relocated to a new place shortly, anyways."

Magtok chuckles. Humor, even in the face of overwhelming despair and hopeless defeat. A common coping method amongst his kind. "That's right, we've got a lovely little villa up in Skyside for you! Fully stocked laboratory, automated security watching you constantly, cute intern girls to boss around, the works. We have important projects planned for Skyside, and only your unique mind has what it takes to make them a reality! It'll be just like home, only better!"

"Minus the black bags shoved over my head in the middle of the night and the fires set to my every worldly possession, I presume?"

"You have my word on that," the other cyborg replies, with an implied giggle or two in his tone.

The kidnapped physician rolls his eyes. Like a MagClone's word has ever been worth anything, especially when given so freely like that. "Magtok?"

"Yes?"

"I would like, for a change, for my science to be used for the betterment of Nexus-kind."

There's a lengthy pause on the other end of the line, before a significantly less mocking reply follows. "You have my word on that as well."