A hotel in Sandusky, Ohio | Monday Night

[knife_bender]

Diego had made a promise to Annie to not hurt The Deep. He fully intended to keep that promise. However nothing was said about not watching while other people hurt The Deep. It was a loophole, and he knew it, but one he fully intended to take advantage of.

She probably shouldn't have told him that the asshole got transferred to Sandusky today.

He hadn't fully explained to Steve why he had brought Five along to their little adventure, but he figured the situation would explain itself soon enough.

"Okay, so, I figure we pretend Five is a fan," Diego said as the elevator dinged to let them off on the upper floors. "And we're just his exasperated guardians letting him meet his hero."

He said 'guardians' like he didn't know he would yet again be mistaken for Five's father. At least Steve also now had to deal with being one of Five's dads this time.

[For a few!]

Comments

[apocalypsehow]

"That's doable," Five said, looking around the place like he was checking for entry points and potential weapons. Because of course he was. "Smarter that I thought you'd come up with."

There was that loving familial attitude

[grenadesandohana]

"Wow, our kid is a jackass," Steve said.

That tracked, honestly.

[knife_bender]

"Look, Five, Steve already knows you so well," Diego said. "This'll totally be believable if anyone stops us."

[apocalypsehow]

Five gave him his sweetest, and quite frankly most terrifying, smile at that. "Thanks, pops."

[grenadesandohana]

Steve was slightly creeped out by that smile.

"And then we have a chat about boundaries?" he guessed.

[knife_bender]

"I'm sure some talking will happen, yeah," he said. "Talking is the only thing I can do anyway."

Sigh, stupid promise.

"Just remember the guy has, like, impenetrable skin. Annie said he's a shit fighter though."

[apocalypsehow]

"Just his skin? That's still doable," Five said. "Do I have to pretend I don't have powers again?"

Because that ruined his ability to teleport away while getting the last word.

[grenadesandohana]

"You have powers?" Steve asked.

[knife_bender]

"Yeah, dude, all of my siblings have powers," Diego said. "That's why we were adopted together."

Except for Vanya. That was a mistake.

"You can use your powers," he said to Five. "Nobody is going to believe or care what he says for awhile, go nuts. But don't kill him."

[apocalypsehow]

"Good," Five said with chirpy good cheer over being given almost free rein here. "You're special forces, right?"

Because that'd help.

Also, what the fuck, Five?

[grenadesandohana]

"I'm a SEAL," Steve said, nodding. "What do you have in mind?"

[knife_bender]

Diego really appreciated Steve rolling with Five being a murderous child. This is why he brought him along.

"I'm going to need someone to hit him in the face with something."

[apocalypsehow]

"Doable," Five assured him. "Shame that waterboarding wouldn't really work here."

[grenadesandohana]

"Because of his swimming thing and not its rampant illegality, right?"

Steve was figuring out how this worked pretty quickly.

[knife_bender]

“The first one,” Diego replied. He stopped in front of a door, and listened for a moment. “Well, someone is in there.”

Good. He had the feeling Deep couldn’t really show his face in public right now, but there had still been the chance that he was off in disguise getting shitfaced somewhere.

[apocalypsehow]

Five did the politest thing he'd done in ages and gestured for Diego to knock for them. Mostly because he was trying to get into character of am impressionable child.

It was... not working.

[grenadesandohana]

"You look like a tax attorney in knee socks," Steve muttered. "Look more...giddy or something."

[knife_bender]

"You don't want to see him giddy," Diego mumbled, knocking on the door. "Usually that means he's stabbed somebody."

[shitty_aquaman]

There was a brief pause -- those with perceptive hearing might note the clank of bottles and the sound of a zipper -- before there was some disgruntled cursing from the other side of the door and it opened.

"I thought I told you assholes to leave it at the front desk. I'm not signing another fucking pizza box," The Deep greeted everyone, getting that all out before actually realizing he was addressing a child and subsequently lapsing into confusion.

He had looked better. He had a day's or so worth of untidy beard growth, and it was obvious that he had not been sleeping, but that he had been drinking.

[grenadesandohana]

There was a plan and it was a...it was a plan, but as soon as this asshole was in front of him, Steve planted his feet and punched him right in the eye.

The Deep was probably used to it? Or should be, in Steve's opinion.

[apocalypsehow]

"...wow, I would have put money on Diego doing that," Five said with a thoughtful little nod.

[knife_bender]

He would have if he had been allowed to, but he was going to have to live vicariously through Steve and Five.

"Get him inside," Diego said, not even planning to touch the guy in order to be able to completely keep his promise. "Be a shame to be interrupted by a cleaning lady or something."

[shitty_aquaman]

"What the fuck?" The Deep was bent over with his forehead in his hand like that was going to help. He stared in disbelief at Steve, and then Diego -- the kid was the outlier here, and he couldn't quite figure out what he would have done recently to deserve being punched?

Like, he had just moved here.

[grenadesandohana]

"In, or I punch you again," Steve barked in his best putting-up-with-no-shit Navy Commander voice.

[apocalypsehow]

Five rolled his eyes, teleporting behind the Deep and further into the room. "Good sound insulation in the walls," he remarked.