The Bad Batch: One Shot Collection

The Domino Batch

"We always win," he replies brightly, "So we're gonna. But good luck retaking yours. Maybe you can try being a wrecking ball too."

"...I don't think that would work," Droidbait replies dryly, "But we'll see." He doesn't have the enhanced strength his little brother does and he's not really one for smashing things anyway. But still.

Hopefully they will be able to pass their retake of the test.

And if they don't, they'll definitely be seeing a lot more of the 99s for a long time.

***

Fives even has to reluctantly agree that there's no way this dump of a squad is making it to the front. He doesn't want to believe it, but sometimes, the truth is just... nasty. So here him and Echo are, heading to speak with General Shaak Ti when he, entirely unexpectedly, nearly walks right into a familiar tiny cadet.

Tech jumps, looking up, datapad clutched in his hand. He backs up with some sort of muted explanation.

"Oops," Fives blurts, "Sorry. I didn't see you."

"Where are you going at this time?" Tech inquires curiously, looking up at them.

Uh, ditching their squad. That's what. Not that he's telling the kid that – they're not telling anyone and he's admittedly really ashamed by it. He's actually fairly certain even the kids would be unhappy about it. They seem oddly loyal to each other. He likes it. "We're just going to talk to the general. What are you doing?" Fives asks instead.

"I take late classes sometimes," Tech answers, which Fives doesn't buy at all. "But I am relatively confident you are not telling the full truth."

"I don't think you are, either," Echo replies.

"The twins said your squad was struggling," Tech replies bluntly.

"You came to find us?" Echo asks, confused.

Fives is lost, too. Why would he care? Tech is, well, their squad is different, but he adores them.

"Partly," Tech answers, "What do you need to see the general for?" He's so tiny, barely half Fives' size, but has a brilliance that none of his brothers do. He's... adorable. Not that Fives would ever tell them or anyone that.

"We were going to request a squad transfer," Echo has to go and blurt out.

Fives glares at him.

Echo shrugs.

"Why?"

"If you haven't noticed, Domino Squad isn't managing to exist very well," Fives says dryly.

"I can see that," Tech replies, "But my squad only has four of us, and we make it."

"But we're not you," Fives points out.

"We are not, but Wrecker and Crosshair are twins, just like you both are." How did he know that? "And we may fight with each other, but they will always stay with us so we can solve our problems together."

"Nice for you to say," Fives grumbles, "Your leader doesn't keep dropping his lead role and running off on his own." They've been fighting from day one. Most squads aren't this bad. The Dominos are just, well, dominos.

Tech frowns a little, maybe hurt. Fives feels instant guilt. Hitting his own squad members, sure. They're annoying. But the Bad Batch are tiny. They're still cadets. And they really don't deserve the brunt of his rage or stress. "Maybe you should talk to him?"

Fives scoffs. "Yeah, good luck with that."

"Deserting your squad won't help your brothers," Tech argues, following as they keep heading down the hall. "It won't help them."