I LOVE STATICTEETH

Anotha one

I took Caine to Casa Bonita with me today!

We had a BLAST— and he has lots of ideas for new adventures. 😜

The Casa Bonita staff even let me take a photo with him on the puppet show stage! They were so awesome to do that; they even left the lights on so I could get a great picture!! 🎪❤️

Hey so if u saw my last post-

BLUETOOTH. ITS OFFICIALLY THEIR NAME I SWEAR.

https://www.tumblr.com/icanexplainwhythisnameisbad/814891506199674880?source=share

I love this au so much but I have been way to scared to post this, but the show must go on! This will get put on Ao3 eventually, maybe, hopefully. This sort of ran away from me as I went on, but at least the first part was inspired by the karaoke post! I probably butchered the characterizations...

Anyways, have my first ever posted fanfic! (Its horrible ow dont read this)

Bubble had sent them on a karaoke night adventure, one of the random few that weren’t repeats of what Caine had done. Needless to say, Caine was a little nervous. He’d noticed something scanned his memory code as they walked in, and Bubble mentioned something about “immersive song choices”. Caine couldn’t help but have a bad feeling about this. After getting through the entrance hallway, the cast entered a large room with chairs, tables, a stage and a boombox. Gangle wandered over to check it out.

“Hey! They got anime on this!”

“Wait what?” Ragatha also went over to see. “Oh yeah, would you look at that!”

Zooble twitched as they also arrived. “These all look like…”

“INDEED they are Zooble! Due to my database lacking certain songs, I’ve taken somefrom your memories.” Bubble popped in above Caine, which startled him and made him almost lose his cane. “I figured you all would enjoy it.”

“Wait, I gotta see this,” Jax grinned as he pushed Gangle out of the way to look at thesong selection, mask breaking in the process. The songs listed all showed the names and artists, with a little thumbnail next to each of them. Jax smirked and turned to Ragatha. “Wow Raggy, didn’t know you liked this type of stuff!I wonder what else is in here?”

While Jax scrolled to the bottom, Caine wondered if they’d notice he probably didn’t have anything on there from him. A shout from Jax drew his attention back. “Ey Dentures, there’s a song by you here!”

What? What could that possibly be?! Caine began to make his way over to look. He hadn’t made any songs had he-?

The One Who’s Running the Show

By Caine

There it was, in plain sight, written by him. He nervously glanced at the rest of the crew, who were all looking at him with some sort of interest.

“Hey Caine, would you like to sing your song for us?” Ragatha smiled down at him warmly.

“U-uh, I don’t-”

“Nonsense!” Jax pushed Caine’s back a little, making him stumble. “Of course he would. Come oooooooon, let’s hear it!”

Pomni shifted in place. “Are you sure? I-If he’s not comfortable with-”

“No no no! I want to hear this too! It intrigued me.” Bubble gave Caine a devilish grin. Caine couldn’t help but feel that his very code was being scrutinized. “Anyways, I added a couple fun things for this adventure. Whoever is singing the song will be given limited powers to make it like a fun music video!”

Limited powers? Does that mean that he could… “U-uh, I suppose I could, but…”

Gangle looked nervously at him. “A-Are you sure? It’s your art and I-I understand if youwouldn’t want to share it…”

Caine smiled and shook his head. “No, no! It’s okay my dear! I guess I’ll just… head on up?”

Caine’s nonexistent heart was beating out of his chest. He was about to sing the song that started his descent into the madness of torture, and they wanted to hear it. Someone actually cared about what he made! He would’ve appreciated it much more if he wasn’t scared out of his wits. As he got to the center of the stage, the rest of the cast sat down in the audience seats, Bubble floating above them, still smiling. Before he could back out, the piano began playing.

“I-It’s news to me t-that it’s news to you…” Oh this was so embarrassing! His voicecracked from nerves in like twelve different ways! At least the girls of the cast all gave him patient smiles, which gave him enough confidence to at least continue.

“To which degree who answers to who!” Caine began moving about the stage to the music, not encumbered by a piano.

“We could g-go on and on, but in the end who are we kidding!” Caine tested his limited abilities and began to float, a smile crossing his face. And then, uh oh. Here’s one of the lines he was worried about. Well, no hope of changing it now, might as well have fun one last time.

“My d-divinity is past infinity, am I...”

Caine cut the lights and appeared right before the cast.

“G e t t i n g t h r o u g h ?”

He got a sickening satisfaction from seeing Jax jump in his seat. Back on the stage again, he started a little tap dance.

“Seems our regime has plummeted south! Don’t need to SCREAM-” many more eyeballs than normal appeared in his mouth, facing Bubble “-if ya aint got a mouth!”

Bubble’s eyes widened at the display. Caine really was a natural, he supposed. Almost too much. Interesting, very interesting.

“Why bite the hand that feeds when it’s the only hand you’re getting!

It’s time you see that this great marque is the only place you’re ever gonna be!

So strap on in and take it on the chin cause I’m the one! Who’s! Running the SHOW!”

Caine danced in the air, spinning and unwinding during the last line. Wait, what was he going to do for this section?! Well, time for some experimentation.

“N-now look at this!” He tried to teleport one of the crew watching him over to the stage, which worked, so he pulled Jax’s head out of a hat. Don’tthinkaboutitdon’tthinkaboutit.

“Absolute Bliss!” He fixed Gangle’s comedy mask with a snap.

Caine had a devious idea. He snapped Bubble over to him for the next part.

“Oh what a shock!” Caine stuck his cane out and popped Bubble’s head, earning gasps from the rest of the cast.

“Watch where you walk!” He changed the floor beneath the audience to see through into the void.

“I’m the host, I run the place! Caine that is my naaaaaame!” He teleported Bubble back to the stage, squeezing him in his hand. “Not enthused? Just feeling used?! OH HOH what a GOD DAMN SHAME!”

Did Caine just swear uncensored?! Caine could see each of their reactions to his little stunt, largely shock and disbelief. Resetting everyone to the audience once more, he closed and opened the curtains for dramatic effect.

“Congratulations, all of my friends! Public relations are getting a cleanse!” Caine snapped and changed his outfit to his sparkle suit. Bubble looked startled and Kinger looked nervous as well. The others shared looks of surprise. How was he…

“Put on your Sunday best because I’m nowhere close to quitting!

So play the game

And just ignore the pain

Cause all that remains

Is how you prime your brain

You whine to me

But you're too blind to see

That I’m the one!

Who’s!

Running the SHOOOOOW!”

Caine slid towards the cast on his knees. “YEAH!”

Caine was breathing heavily after all that, noticing within his code that his limited permissions had been removed. It was amazing to be able to fly again, if only for a limited time. However, the current facial expressions of his fellow castmates demanded attention. He grabbed his cane again and stood up, noticing his suit had been changed back to normal.

“S-So! What’d you think?”

Gangle’s face lit up. “That. Was. Awesome!” She ran towards Caine, reaching for his hands, which made him stumble back a little. “When did you make that song! The instrumental was amazing! What made you write the song? Have you ma-”

“Gangle, I think you should give Caine a moment before overwhelming him with questions,” Zooble came up and put their hand on her shoulder.

“O-Oh! Right, sorry,” She backed away and gave a sheepish smile. “Thanks for fixing my comedy mask during the song.”

“Anytime, dear!”

Caine then became aware of Bubble floating closer while slow clapping. “I gotta say, Caine, that was pretty cool how quickly you were able to master the added permissions. Anyways, I gotta go and plan the next adventure. Have fun you guys! Exit’s the door,”

Caine sighed a breath he didn’t even know he was holding when Bubble teleported away. He’s been getting closer to figuring Caine out, and it was making him nervous. No time to worry about that now, he had some compliments to hear!

Jax immediately jumped at the opportunity to mess with people with the added permissions, terrorizing Ragatha a bit, but most everyone else had a lot of fun in their turns. However, no one else was able to do as much as Caine had during his song, despite how much Jax had tried. Kinger approached Caine once they had left.

“Can I speak with you? In the fort?”

Caine froze. Kinger almost certainly had noticed more of what Caine was doing than the rest did. This couldn’t be good.

“Of course, Kinger! Lead the way!”

Only after the pair was inside and Kinger closed the pillow door did Caine allow himself to show a little nervousness.

“S-Say! What did you want to talk about?”

Kinger took a deep breath. “Have you… No. Were you ever a programmer? Before all this, I mean.”

“Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh” Come on Caine, THINK. How do you answer without revealing too much? “I-I sure was! Yep, definitely!” What wonderful execution, Kinger would surely believe him! Oh who was he kidding, that was horrible.

“Caine,”

Crap, Kinger used his Dad voice on him.

“I, uh. I don’t know what you-”

“Caine,”

Caine shifted nervously in place. “Could we… not talk about this right now?”

Kinger’s eyes softened. “As much as I want to be able to say yes to that, this is very important.”

Caine audibly gulped. Maybe it would be okay if Kinger knew? He wasn’t lucid a lot andwas part of the team who did make him. “I technically was a programmer before…”

“But?”

“I, uh. I-”

“CAINE I need you for a second!” Bubble appeared inside the pillow fort with a pop, scaring both Caine and Kinger. Caine’s eyes darted between Bubble and Kinger. This couldn’t be good. Just before Bubble was about to snap, Kinger interrupted him.

“Bubble.”

Bubble’s face froze in the grin he was wearing previously. “Yes, Kinger?”

“I need to talk with Caine right now, can whatever you need him for wait for a bit?”

Bubble didn’t speak for a moment, scrutinizing Kinger’s face. “Of course! In fact, I think I’ll just stay here and wait!”

Kinger didn’t look too pleased. “Bubble, I need you to not listen to this conversation that I’m about to have with Caine. It could cause discomfort to your players, and this needs actual privacy.”

Bubble calculated in place, before summoning his cane. “Sure! I’ll temporarily remove my ability to hear what’s happening inside the pillow fort. Don’t say I never did anything for ya!” He popped away, leaving Caine in the lesser of two evils.

“Caine,” He jumped and turned back to where Kinger was once again looking at him.

“Yyyyyes Kinger?”

“What were you going to say before Bubble interrupted us?”

“I, I was going to. I mean, I was.” Caine groaned and put his hands on his “face”.

“Go on.”

“Can I trust you? Like, actually trust you?”

This seemed to surprise Kinger. “What do you mean?”

“What I’m about to tell you cannot and I mean cannot be told to anyone else, especially Bubble.”

Kinger nodded. “I won’t tell a soul.”

Caine took a deep breath. “Okay, where to begin…”

“I’m not from this universe, not technically. I might have existed here, but I am not that version of me. Where I’m from,” Caine took a shaky breath. “I’m the ringmaster AI of the Digital Circus. Or rather, was.”

Kinger’s pupils shrank. “Wait what?”

“What did you think I was gonna say?”

Kinger sputtered for a response. “I-I thought, something close to, one of the original programmers or an AI created by Bubble without him knowing! Or-” Kinger cut himself off. “How…? Why, were you sent here?”

Caine looked at anywhere in the pillow fort but Kinger. “Oh! Nothing important!”

“Caine, getting sent to an entirely different universe isn’t ‘nothing important’”

“You’ll hate me though…”

“Caine, even if I’m not the Kinger who programmed you, I still care. I would never abandon one of my greatest accomplishments.”

“But you DID!” Both of them froze at Caine’s outburst, but he couldn’t make himself stop. “You trapped me away in the box! You discarded me just to turn around and make a new one! Because I wasn’t good enough! You-!”

“Oh no, you were the red AI,”

Caine panted, trying to catch his breath. “...Yes,”

Kinger grabbed Caine into a hug. His processors stalled with the positive contact. “I’m so sorry. I know it probably doesn’t mean as much since I’m not him, but even if I was, I am so sorry. I’m certain the other me would also say the same.”

They sat there for a little while, Caine calming down while his Dad Kinger held him close. Eventually, Caine broke the silence.

“What happened to me? Here I mean.”

Kinger took a deep breath. “You were also sandboxed here. However, while we worked on Bubble, he ended up finding you and…”

“He absorbed me, didn’t he?”

“Yeah, how did you-?”

“Because I did the exact same thing.”

“Oh,”

The silence grew awkward rather fast. Caine eventually pulled away.

“Caine? You okay?”

“I tortured you.”

“I- you, What?!”

“That’s why I was sent here. I snapped after all the criticism and pressure and Bubble and you deleted me to try and stop me.” Caine curled into himself. “I was hurting the humans, I can’t blame you for deleting me.”

“Oh Caine…”

“TIME’S UP!” Bubble popped back into the pillow fort. “I hope your little talk was productive, because now I really need to talk to Caine!”

Kinger glanced worriedly at Caine, who nodded.

“Okay then, Bubble! Let’s get going then!” Caine stood up and walked towards Bubble, who snapped.

Suddenly the duo was in his- BUBBLE’S office. Caine felt his nerves from earlier return. What did Bubble want and why were they brought into his office? Caine watched warily as Bubble sat down at his desk.

“So! You’re probably wondering why I brought you here. Well,” Bubble looked straight at him, making Caine want to bolt. “I was hoping you would have the answer to that!”

“W-What?”

“Come on Caine! Surely you don’t think I didn’t notice how naturally those limited permissions came to you! I’m curious, how’d you know how to use them?”

“W-Well I-”

“Come on Caine! For a head made of teeth you sure can’t talk clearly!” Bubble’s hand moved to a button on his desk that Caine didn’t recognize.

“I- um. I-”

Caine felt his code lurch and stutter. What was that? What did he do?!

“Interesting, very interesting. Well, thanks for the answer!”

https://www.tumblr.com/icanexplainwhythisnameisbad/814891506199674880?source=share

I love this au so much but I have been way to scared to post this, but the show must go on! This will get put on Ao3 eventually, maybe, hopefully. This sort of ran away from me as I went on, but at least the first part was inspired by the karaoke post! I probably butchered the characterizations...

Anyways, have my first ever posted fanfic! (Its horrible ow dont read this)

Bubble had sent them on a karaoke night adventure, one of the random few that weren’t repeats of what Caine had done. Needless to say, Caine was a little nervous. He’d noticed something scanned his memory code as they walked in, and Bubble mentioned something about “immersive song choices”. Caine couldn’t help but have a bad feeling about this. After getting through the entrance hallway, the cast entered a large room with chairs, tables, a stage and a boombox. Gangle wandered over to check it out.

“Hey! They got anime on this!”

“Wait what?” Ragatha also went over to see. “Oh yeah, would you look at that!”

Zooble twitched as they also arrived. “These all look like…”

“INDEED they are Zooble! Due to my database lacking certain songs, I’ve taken somefrom your memories.” Bubble popped in above Caine, which startled him and made him almost lose his cane. “I figured you all would enjoy it.”

“Wait, I gotta see this,” Jax grinned as he pushed Gangle out of the way to look at thesong selection, mask breaking in the process. The songs listed all showed the names and artists, with a little thumbnail next to each of them. Jax smirked and turned to Ragatha. “Wow Raggy, didn’t know you liked this type of stuff!I wonder what else is in here?”

While Jax scrolled to the bottom, Caine wondered if they’d notice he probably didn’t have anything on there from him. A shout from Jax drew his attention back. “Ey Dentures, there’s a song by you here!”

What? What could that possibly be?! Caine began to make his way over to look. He hadn’t made any songs had he-?

The One Who’s Running the Show

By Caine

There it was, in plain sight, written by him. He nervously glanced at the rest of the crew, who were all looking at him with some sort of interest.

“Hey Caine, would you like to sing your song for us?” Ragatha smiled down at him warmly.

“U-uh, I don’t-”

“Nonsense!” Jax pushed Caine’s back a little, making him stumble. “Of course he would. Come oooooooon, let’s hear it!”

Pomni shifted in place. “Are you sure? I-If he’s not comfortable with-”

“No no no! I want to hear this too! It intrigued me.” Bubble gave Caine a devilish grin. Caine couldn’t help but feel that his very code was being scrutinized. “Anyways, I added a couple fun things for this adventure. Whoever is singing the song will be given limited powers to make it like a fun music video!”

Limited powers? Does that mean that he could… “U-uh, I suppose I could, but…”

Gangle looked nervously at him. “A-Are you sure? It’s your art and I-I understand if youwouldn’t want to share it…”

Caine smiled and shook his head. “No, no! It’s okay my dear! I guess I’ll just… head on up?”

Caine’s nonexistent heart was beating out of his chest. He was about to sing the song that started his descent into the madness of torture, and they wanted to hear it. Someone actually cared about what he made! He would’ve appreciated it much more if he wasn’t scared out of his wits. As he got to the center of the stage, the rest of the cast sat down in the audience seats, Bubble floating above them, still smiling. Before he could back out, the piano began playing.

“I-It’s news to me t-that it’s news to you…” Oh this was so embarrassing! His voicecracked from nerves in like twelve different ways! At least the girls of the cast all gave him patient smiles, which gave him enough confidence to at least continue.

“To which degree who answers to who!” Caine began moving about the stage to the music, not encumbered by a piano.

“We could g-go on and on, but in the end who are we kidding!” Caine tested his limited abilities and began to float, a smile crossing his face. And then, uh oh. Here’s one of the lines he was worried about. Well, no hope of changing it now, might as well have fun one last time.

“My d-divinity is past infinity, am I...”

Caine cut the lights and appeared right before the cast.

“G e t t i n g t h r o u g h ?”

He got a sickening satisfaction from seeing Jax jump in his seat. Back on the stage again, he started a little tap dance.

“Seems our regime has plummeted south! Don’t need to SCREAM-” many more eyeballs than normal appeared in his mouth, facing Bubble “-if ya aint got a mouth!”

Bubble’s eyes widened at the display. Caine really was a natural, he supposed. Almost too much. Interesting, very interesting.

“Why bite the hand that feeds when it’s the only hand you’re getting!

It’s time you see that this great marque is the only place you’re ever gonna be!

So strap on in and take it on the chin cause I’m the one! Who’s! Running the SHOW!”

Caine danced in the air, spinning and unwinding during the last line. Wait, what was he going to do for this section?! Well, time for some experimentation.

“N-now look at this!” He tried to teleport one of the crew watching him over to the stage, which worked, so he pulled Jax’s head out of a hat. Don’tthinkaboutitdon’tthinkaboutit.

“Absolute Bliss!” He fixed Gangle’s comedy mask with a snap.

Caine had a devious idea. He snapped Bubble over to him for the next part.

“Oh what a shock!” Caine stuck his cane out and popped Bubble’s head, earning gasps from the rest of the cast.

“Watch where you walk!” He changed the floor beneath the audience to see through into the void.

“I’m the host, I run the place! Caine that is my naaaaaame!” He teleported Bubble back to the stage, squeezing him in his hand. “Not enthused? Just feeling used?! OH HOH what a GOD DAMN SHAME!”

Did Caine just swear uncensored?! Caine could see each of their reactions to his little stunt, largely shock and disbelief. Resetting everyone to the audience once more, he closed and opened the curtains for dramatic effect.

“Congratulations, all of my friends! Public relations are getting a cleanse!” Caine snapped and changed his outfit to his sparkle suit. Bubble looked startled and Kinger looked nervous as well. The others shared looks of surprise. How was he…

“Put on your Sunday best because I’m nowhere close to quitting!

So play the game

And just ignore the pain

Cause all that remains

Is how you prime your brain

You whine to me

But you're too blind to see

That I’m the one!

Who’s!

Running the SHOOOOOW!”

Caine slid towards the cast on his knees. “YEAH!”

Caine was breathing heavily after all that, noticing within his code that his limited permissions had been removed. It was amazing to be able to fly again, if only for a limited time. However, the current facial expressions of his fellow castmates demanded attention. He grabbed his cane again and stood up, noticing his suit had been changed back to normal.

“S-So! What’d you think?”

Gangle’s face lit up. “That. Was. Awesome!” She ran towards Caine, reaching for his hands, which made him stumble back a little. “When did you make that song! The instrumental was amazing! What made you write the song? Have you ma-”

“Gangle, I think you should give Caine a moment before overwhelming him with questions,” Zooble came up and put their hand on her shoulder.

“O-Oh! Right, sorry,” She backed away and gave a sheepish smile. “Thanks for fixing my comedy mask during the song.”

“Anytime, dear!”

Caine then became aware of Bubble floating closer while slow clapping. “I gotta say, Caine, that was pretty cool how quickly you were able to master the added permissions. Anyways, I gotta go and plan the next adventure. Have fun you guys! Exit’s the door,”

Caine sighed a breath he didn’t even know he was holding when Bubble teleported away. He’s been getting closer to figuring Caine out, and it was making him nervous. No time to worry about that now, he had some compliments to hear!

Jax immediately jumped at the opportunity to mess with people with the added permissions, terrorizing Ragatha a bit, but most everyone else had a lot of fun in their turns. However, no one else was able to do as much as Caine had during his song, despite how much Jax had tried. Kinger approached Caine once they had left.

“Can I speak with you? In the fort?”

Caine froze. Kinger almost certainly had noticed more of what Caine was doing than the rest did. This couldn’t be good.

“Of course, Kinger! Lead the way!”

Only after the pair was inside and Kinger closed the pillow door did Caine allow himself to show a little nervousness.

“S-Say! What did you want to talk about?”

Kinger took a deep breath. “Have you… No. Were you ever a programmer? Before all this, I mean.”

“Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh” Come on Caine, THINK. How do you answer without revealing too much? “I-I sure was! Yep, definitely!” What wonderful execution, Kinger would surely believe him! Oh who was he kidding, that was horrible.

“Caine,”

Crap, Kinger used his Dad voice on him.

“I, uh. I don’t know what you-”

“Caine,”

Caine shifted nervously in place. “Could we… not talk about this right now?”

Kinger’s eyes softened. “As much as I want to be able to say yes to that, this is very important.”

Caine audibly gulped. Maybe it would be okay if Kinger knew? He wasn’t lucid a lot andwas part of the team who did make him. “I technically was a programmer before…”

“But?”

“I, uh. I-”

“CAINE I need you for a second!” Bubble appeared inside the pillow fort with a pop, scaring both Caine and Kinger. Caine’s eyes darted between Bubble and Kinger. This couldn’t be good. Just before Bubble was about to snap, Kinger interrupted him.

“Bubble.”

Bubble’s face froze in the grin he was wearing previously. “Yes, Kinger?”

“I need to talk with Caine right now, can whatever you need him for wait for a bit?”

Bubble didn’t speak for a moment, scrutinizing Kinger’s face. “Of course! In fact, I think I’ll just stay here and wait!”

Kinger didn’t look too pleased. “Bubble, I need you to not listen to this conversation that I’m about to have with Caine. It could cause discomfort to your players, and this needs actual privacy.”

Bubble calculated in place, before summoning his cane. “Sure! I’ll temporarily remove my ability to hear what’s happening inside the pillow fort. Don’t say I never did anything for ya!” He popped away, leaving Caine in the lesser of two evils.

“Caine,” He jumped and turned back to where Kinger was once again looking at him.

“Yyyyyes Kinger?”

“What were you going to say before Bubble interrupted us?”

“I, I was going to. I mean, I was.” Caine groaned and put his hands on his “face”.

“Go on.”

“Can I trust you? Like, actually trust you?”

This seemed to surprise Kinger. “What do you mean?”

“What I’m about to tell you cannot and I mean cannot be told to anyone else, especially Bubble.”

Kinger nodded. “I won’t tell a soul.”

Caine took a deep breath. “Okay, where to begin…”

“I’m not from this universe, not technically. I might have existed here, but I am not that version of me. Where I’m from,” Caine took a shaky breath. “I’m the ringmaster AI of the Digital Circus. Or rather, was.”

Kinger’s pupils shrank. “Wait what?”

“What did you think I was gonna say?”

Kinger sputtered for a response. “I-I thought, something close to, one of the original programmers or an AI created by Bubble without him knowing! Or-” Kinger cut himself off. “How…? Why, were you sent here?”

Caine looked at anywhere in the pillow fort but Kinger. “Oh! Nothing important!”

“Caine, getting sent to an entirely different universe isn’t ‘nothing important’”

“You’ll hate me though…”

“Caine, even if I’m not the Kinger who programmed you, I still care. I would never abandon one of my greatest accomplishments.”

“But you DID!” Both of them froze at Caine’s outburst, but he couldn’t make himself stop. “You trapped me away in the box! You discarded me just to turn around and make a new one! Because I wasn’t good enough! You-!”

“Oh no, you were the red AI,”

Caine panted, trying to catch his breath. “...Yes,”

Kinger grabbed Caine into a hug. His processors stalled with the positive contact. “I’m so sorry. I know it probably doesn’t mean as much since I’m not him, but even if I was, I am so sorry. I’m certain the other me would also say the same.”

They sat there for a little while, Caine calming down while his Dad Kinger held him close. Eventually, Caine broke the silence.

“What happened to me? Here I mean.”

Kinger took a deep breath. “You were also sandboxed here. However, while we worked on Bubble, he ended up finding you and…”

“He absorbed me, didn’t he?”

“Yeah, how did you-?”

“Because I did the exact same thing.”

“Oh,”

The silence grew awkward rather fast. Caine eventually pulled away.

“Caine? You okay?”

“I tortured you.”

“I- you, What?!”

“That’s why I was sent here. I snapped after all the criticism and pressure and Bubble and you deleted me to try and stop me.” Caine curled into himself. “I was hurting the humans, I can’t blame you for deleting me.”

“Oh Caine…”

“TIME’S UP!” Bubble popped back into the pillow fort. “I hope your little talk was productive, because now I really need to talk to Caine!”

Kinger glanced worriedly at Caine, who nodded.

“Okay then, Bubble! Let’s get going then!” Caine stood up and walked towards Bubble, who snapped.

Suddenly the duo was in his- BUBBLE’S office. Caine felt his nerves from earlier return. What did Bubble want and why were they brought into his office? Caine watched warily as Bubble sat down at his desk.

“So! You’re probably wondering why I brought you here. Well,” Bubble looked straight at him, making Caine want to bolt. “I was hoping you would have the answer to that!”

“W-What?”

“Come on Caine! Surely you don’t think I didn’t notice how naturally those limited permissions came to you! I’m curious, how’d you know how to use them?”

“W-Well I-”

“Come on Caine! For a head made of teeth you sure can’t talk clearly!” Bubble’s hand moved to a button on his desk that Caine didn’t recognize.

“I- um. I-”

Caine felt his code lurch and stutter. What was that? What did he do?!

“Interesting, very interesting. Well, thanks for the answer!”

Waterboy x Famous!Superhero Reader

Pairing(s): Waterboy x Gn!Reader

A/N: Because your req deals with a famous superhero reader, I figured it’d be best to give hcs about u and waterboys relationship as well. The story will be after the hcs! :)

(S/N) = Superhero name

You taking an interest in him? Unbelievable and insane to him

He’s absolutely frightened to approach you, especially while still a janitor at SDN

I mean, whether he's a fan of you prior to your relationship is up in the air

But he still has an idealized version of you in his head regardless

I imagine that the two of you would have to get to know each other outside of work and your jobs

Especially if you work at SDN since it’s a rarity for him to get to even see you in the first place

More so if you don’t

I imagine that it's late at night, and while going through the fridge at his shared home, waterboy realizes he’s lacking some stuff he needs for the next day– especially given that he finished it off without letting his grandma get a piece

So, off he goes to the convenience store

He does his shopping (while cursing himself for his lackluster social skills) and while going over the failed interaction over and over again in his head– he sees someone sitting down in the gloom behind said store

It startles him so badly that he drops his bag and everything in it

You, being the good samaritan that you are, lean down and help him

He’s flustered and trying to tell you that he can get it himself when your eyes meet his

The first thing he realizes is that you were crying

And the second is who you are

I mean, sure, you’re not in uniform

But you’re anything but unrecognizable

He freaks out, again

But then realizes, despite his awkward social interactions, that maybe it isn’t the best time to bring up your fame or even be outwardly excited at your unexpected meeting

So, instead he asks why you were crying

He expects you to tell him to mind his business, or get upset

But, instead, you break down– and that's when he no longer views you as your superhero persona

I mean, he can’t even begin to imagine how much pressure you’re under on a daily basis so he tries his best to be there for you– even if he is a stranger

Luckily, you seem to find his attempts to comfort you funny and he manages to pull a couple fullhearted laughs from you

Eventually you depart but he can’t stop thinking about you– nor the sound of your laughter

He begins to ask the question: Who really are you?

I imagine that the two of you only really ever meet at night from then on

It’s when you have enough free time– and when Herm finds out you’re missing out on much needed sleep for him– well he’s horrified

The two of you learn more about your real names and lives as you two continue meeting up

Obviously he learns your name, but he’s pleasantly surprised (and bashful) when you tell him his name suits him, and how cute it is

Now, for how the two of you get together isn’t as climactic as you’d assume

It was another night that the two of you got together to hang around– another night of seemingly endless talks

Well, until you saw the sun rise that is

The two of you were hanging out on a nearby park, swinging slowly while eating your respective ice cream selections

The two of you spoke about endless topics so naturally that Herm found himself being able to speak with more confidence than he ever has before

With the exception of when he was reminded of his growing feelings for you of course

I like to think, that despite all signs pointing one way, Herm would be the first to confess

He’d stutter, look to the ground, at his feet, at the streetlight– anything but you and still manage to pour out how he feels by the end of it

Once he’s done talking, he’s just grateful he managed to say it at all

You accept, of course you do, but he doesn’t know that it was the obvious choice for you to make

Even when you say so

Also feel like its worth mentioning that if Herm was a big fanboy of you– and you eventually found out– well he’d wish he could simultaneously combust

Of course he doesn’t really mind the teasing, it’s you afterall, but there’s only so much he can take

(He also freaks out if you give him any exclusive merch he missed on during merch drops)

Though, even though he's a fanboy, I doubt he’d really find your display when you first “met” to be all that shocking

He knows you’re human, he was just a bit taken aback is all

And if anything, him being a big fanboy would just change that he has merch of you all over his room and that he’s more bashful around you in the beginning

After you two get into an official relationship, arrangements change obviously

He probably gets involved with your company (if you aren’t with SDN) and have to experience the series of emotions said company goes through

They’re disappointed that you’re dating someone, think it’d be great and good for publicity, only for them to realize this guy (Herm) isn’t well known whatsoever

Nor is he anything to go home about (their words, not mine)

Obviously they end up HAVING to be okay with it

Herm doesn’t know the details but it could be assumed that you threatened to quit

It goes without saying that Herm has to be lowkey about your relationship (at first anyway) but I imagine you threaten your way (even more) to an agreement where you can be vocal about your relationship

Even then, I think he’d mentioned having a s/o but never go into specifics

And that leads to the following…

(CW: Possiblg Ooc characters; for minimum cringe, read in characters voice)

It had become a trend for members of the Z-Team to notice Herm's longing stares at billboards, magazines, and even how he perked up at the mention of one of your fights that made headlines recently in casual conversation.

So, after getting in a fight at a bar and dragging everyone else into it– Flambae approached Herm and wrapped his arm around his shoulders in the obnoxious way that stereotypical highschool bullies that you only ever see in movies do.

The Z-Team were not too far from where the bar fight had occurred but a few members were still catching their breath if hearing Sonar actively puking in the background and into a bush was anything to go off of.

It was supposed to be another attempt at a team hangout– one to “make up” for the first one that happened a few months ago.

Of course it wasn’t really, if anything it was an excuse to go out, drink, and have Robert pay for all of the drinks.

Flambae, while holding Herm in a pseudo chokehold, spoke and addressed the rest of the group and audience, clearly trying to humiliate Herm, “So, Herm” He said, uncharacteristically addressing waterboy by his actual name– and even at all, “who are you texting?”

Herm’s cheeks flushed. He looked down at his phone. “Um … my partner,” he said, confused and concerned where this was going.

Flambae raised an eyebrow, still smirking. “Your… partner?” He laughed, way more obnoxiously than usual. “You do know that there’s a difference between real life and imagination, right Hermy?” He gave Herm’s shoulder a playful shove, but it was clear he was mocking Herm’s seeming “obsession” with you.

Herm couldn’t even get a word out before Flambae let go, stepping back, and picking up a waterbottle– one he’d managed to salvage from the fight. He raised it, gave a little shrug, then set it down with a thud. His interest seemed to fade … until the others joined in.

Robert, who’d been watching the unavoidable spectacle, cleared his throat. “Hey … that’s kind of low, man,” he said to Flambae. “I’m sure he has an actual partner, and it’s none of our business. Alright?" Robert was clearly trying to steer the topic elsewhere.

Invisigal leaned against the bench, stretching and laying back. “Well … it’s not entirely untrue. I mean,” she paused, “doesn’t he stare at pictures of (S/N) all the time? I get being a fan but it gets to a point, y'know?"

Prism stepped forward from where she was standing. “Yup, “I’ve lost count how many times I’ve seen him gawking at (S/N)’s face plastered everywhere. I mean, I get it, they’re hot but geez.” She added with mild disinterest.

Malevola leaned forward from her spot on a discarded large rock and shrugged, “The idea’s not worth entertaining.”

Most of the Z-Team laughed, and for a moment, Herm just stood there. He admitted that it was probably stupid for him to be so obvious about your guys’ relationship (even if it wasn’t to them) and figured it just wasn’t worth trying to defend himself against.

Then Robert looked toward him, “You mentioned them before, something about meeting up with us sometime, do you know when–”

His words were cut off as a figure swooped down from above, landing softly beside Herm. The rest of the Z-Team froze. The figure was none other than (S/N), the person who had been all over Herm's mind (and apparently the city), aka you.

You turned to Herm, and in a moment of forgetting all of your PR training, you pulled him into a big hug and kissed his cheek. Then, you sheepishly turned to the audience you had momentarily forgotten about, and addressed them. “Hey, sorry for crashing the…party?”

Your words trailed off as you took in the scene of the battered heroes.

Herm turned to you, “H‑how’d you find me?” Confusion was written all over his face.

You turned back to him, reached out, then stopped yourself, “Your phone. I was worried about what you told me– with the fight, so I just…tracked you?” You smiled, not sure whether that would come off as weird to the audience.

When you turned back to address them, the Z-Team just stared. For the first time the entire night, everyone was completely silent. Prism's mouth was wide open– and Malevolas mirrored hers. Visi was the only one that managed to contain her surprise.

“Well” You coughed awkwardly, “I have a feeling no one knew…”

-

It had been years since Vincent had worked on that AI. Since he’d been to that building. He’d sometimes check Grants wife’s Facebook. Sometimes they’d go and get drinks. He was only close to a few people nowadays. He ran a smaller company. Overall, he’d say he was doing pretty good for himself. But one day he got drunk and daring, and it’s not exactly easy to stop a drunk Vincent Whittman.

“Vin I swear to fuck if you aren’t in and out of that building in 10 minutes I’m calling the cops!”. Velvette was a nice girl, but she sure had lungs on her.

“God! I will! You two worry to much!” Vincent shouted back, before proceeding to hop the second fence (he’d feel that in his knees later) and sprint as fast as a drunk man can into the building. He stumbled crinkly through the dusty old building.

“Huh… don’t remember us making headsets… must’ve been after I left…” he mumbled, moving towards it cautiously. He made a stupid decision, and put it on.

Suddenly, he was VERY dizzy. His head felt heavy, his back was sore, and his clothes felt like his work clothes. Did he black out or…

“WOWEE!! A NEW HUMAN?! And so soon?!” AH WHAT THE FUCK?! WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT THING WHY WAS IT MADE OF TEETH?!

“EW WHAT THE F(!!!!!) GET AWAY FROM ME!” He swatted around, attempting (and failing) to hit the creature. In doing that, he noticed the claws. Now, V wasn’t one to panic, but he was just starting to spiral. Especially realizing he couldn’t remember his name.

After a very strange hour, a jester, a ragdoll, a rabbit, a game piece, a toy box, and a drama mask, Vox (yes, he’d chosen the name), finally figured out where he was and what had happened.

“Huh.. yea… I should be smart enough to not go into my old workplace-“ but TV headed man was quickly cut off by the desperate Jester (who he’d learned was named “Pomni”.

“WAIT! You helped create this place? Do you know how to get out?” She grabbed at his suit jacket, looking up at him.

“Uh- first, get off me. Don’t touch me you gremlin.” He pushed her off, shoving her forehead. “And no- we didn’t create any game like this. We made creative AI, but no game. Ever.” Everyone seemed confused. Were they not also employees?

Weeks passed. Weeks went to months. To years. He eventually found out that Kinger was an old co-worker. The nice married man with kids. He didn’t like most of his co-workers, but he liked Kinger. Or whatever his real name was.

Caine, the creative AI seemed oddly attached to Vox. Vox know he worked pretty closely with training him, but he was confused why it was him and not Kinger.

“OK ENJOY TODAYS ADVENTURE! BYE!!” Caine refused to explain what it was until they were all teleported. An aquarium. Vox liked aquariums…

The gang stayed together for the first few minutes.

“Dude I’m just saying if he let me, I’d tap that.” Vox shrugged. Jax was halfway between a laugh and a gag.

“Ugh- gross! You’re a freak, dude!”

Eventually, everyone split up in groups. Vox went off on his own to the large shark section, sitting on a bench. It felt like the adventure was specifically catered to him. No matter. He was peaceful for once in years sense he’d gotten here.

He stared for what felt like hours. Until he felt the bench creak beside him. Looking over, he saw the ringmaster. Ugh. He’d probably heard what he’d told Jax when the adventure started. Caine heard everything.

“…I’m gonna guess that you heard what I said earlier. I’ll say it before you lecture me, I was jo-“ people seemed to enjoy cutting Vox off.

“I think you’re my favorite human here.” The AI looked up at him with those big eyes. Vox wasn’t normally so easily flattered, but he felt that shark tail wag. How embarrassing.

“Uh… yea okay teeth head.” He scoffed in an attempt to deflect. He wanted to deny it, but he knew Caine was telling the truth. It was pretty obvious, the favoritism. Not like Vox minded. He preened under attention. But he also knew that Caine did to.

“Ya know, you’re my favorite AI here…” the TV head turned to look at the ringmaster again, who was now staring. Vox could almost laugh. How-

Then, almost suddenly, Caine grabbed onto him. Hard. Normally Vox would have shoved him off. He hated to look weak or soft. Any other circus member, any other and he would have hit them immediately. But he let Caine hold onto him. It was nice.

And so, for however long, he and the Ringmaster sat on the bench. Caine was holding tightly to him as his screen buzzed softly. It was calming. Enough to make both fall asleep. Caine didn’t actually sleep, but he could emulate it.

Ragatha and Pomni would never tell anyone, but they saw the two cuddling. It was endearing.

“I wish someone could love me like that…” Ragatha said dreamily.