"Limited to ones' Imagination" - DC Fanfic

The night shift was slow.

Alex sat behind the counter, leaning on one elbow, absentmindedly scrolling through his phone while sipping on a cold soda. The convenience store he worked at was practically empty, save for the occasional night owl stumbling in for a pack of cigarettes or a late-night snack.

It was peaceful, in a way.

But then—the door's bell chimed.

Alex looked up, expecting another random customer. Instead, he saw Margaret.

She wasn't her usual self.

Her usually pristine business attire was slightly disheveled, and her makeup was smudged—likely from crying. She carried herself slower than usual, her steps uncertain.

And, most tellingly, she had a bottle of whiskey clutched tightly in one hand.

Alex's eyebrows shot up. Margaret wasn't a heavy drinker, at least not in his experience. She came by often, sometimes after long days of work, chatting idly while picking up small snacks or coffee. They'd talked enough for him to know she was a tough woman, sharp as a blade. Seeing her like this? Something was very, very wrong.

Without a word, Alex walked out from behind the counter and gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

"…You okay?"

Margaret sniffled, her hands trembling slightly as she tried to take another sip from the bottle.

"Not really," she admitted, voice raw from crying.

Alex glanced around. There weren't many people in the store, but he knew she needed privacy.

"Come on," he said, gently guiding her toward the backroom.

Margaret didn't protest.

Inside the small break room, she sat down heavily on the worn-out couch. Alex grabbed a bottle of water from the mini-fridge and placed it in front of her before sitting across from her.

For a while, neither of them spoke.

Then, Margaret let out a bitter chuckle. "Cheating scumbag… and a traitorous friend."

That was all Alex needed to hear to put the pieces together.

Her husband cheated on her… with her friend.

Alex frowned. He wasn't the type to stick his nose in other people's personal lives, but Margaret wasn't just some random customer.

She was a friend.

And friends didn't leave each other to suffer alone.

"…That's rough," he said, voice calm but sincere.

Margaret scoffed, rubbing her face. "Understatement of the century."

Alex stayed with her for hours, listening, offering the occasional sarcastic remark that managed to pull a weak chuckle from her.

Eventually, she calmed down enough to eat something, so Alex grabbed a few snacks from the store and handed them to her.

"On the house," he said, winking.

Margaret frowned. "I can't just—"

"If you don't cheer up, who am I gonna see every day?"

Margaret blinked, caught off guard. Then—for the first time that night—she actually smiled.

"…You're an ass."

"I try."

She let out a small laugh, shaking her head. As she stood up, she grabbed the snacks, holding them a little tighter than necessary.

"…Thanks, Alex."

"Anytime."

With one final nod, Margaret left.

But Alex?

He had work to do.

Once the store was empty again, Alex exhaled deeply.

Then, his body warped.

A digital hum filled the air as his form shifted, shrinking, twisting—until he stood taller, slimmer, and distinctly… mechanical.

Glitchtrap.

A sickly golden, anthropomorphic rabbit suit, his grin permanently etched in place, empty black eyes flickering with faint digital static.

Alex stretched, his voice distorted as he chuckled. "Well, let's see what's going on in her life, shall we?"

Then—he vanished.

Inside the Digital World.

Alex materialized within a void of neon circuits and endless data streams.

He was inside his own phone.

With a flick of his wrist, he pulled up a connection to the internet, letting it guide him toward Margaret's personal device.

It took mere seconds before he was inside her phone.

From there, it was easy to access information—but what he found surprised him.

Margaret wasn't just some ordinary woman.

She was a high-ranking politician.

And not just any politician—one with a strong focus on child advocacy.

Scrolling through her files, social media, and recent projects, Alex found something even more personal.

Margaret had been pushing for a specialized school for autistic children—not to "normalize" them, but to help them become functional members of society at their own pace.

And the reason?

She had a son with autism.

A child she had raised with Robert—the same man who had just betrayed her.

Alex felt something stir inside him.

It wasn't pity.

It was understanding.

Margaret wasn't just a victim of betrayal. She was a mother trying her damn best to make the world a better place.

And yet… she was alone.

Her only real friend had been Mary—the same woman who had stabbed her in the back.

Alex let out a long, distorted sigh. Or at least, the closest thing a digital virus could manage.

"…Guess I know what I have to do.

Alex's form flickered as he accessed a new function.

Something unique to him.

Because what nobody knew was that when Alex transformed—

He didn't just gain the body.

He gained the knowledge.

And right now?

He had William Afton's genius-level intelligence at his disposal.

With a thought, he activated a high-level digital function, something Afton himself would have killed to master in life, sadly he was probably dodging the M.X.E.S program to notice—

Mind Duplication.

His consciousness split into two.

Two separate but linked versions of himself.

One would stay here, in the physical world.

The other?

Would remain inside Margaret's phone.

The second Alex understood immediately.

"Stay with her. Keep her safe. Help her."

The copy nodded, its form glitching slightly before settling.

Then—it vanished into the depths of her phone.

Alex emerged from his phone, his form twisting back into his human self.

He was back behind the counter.

A second later, the store's bell chimed, signaling a new customer.

Alex chuckled to himself, shaking his head as he prepared for another mundane transaction.

Hopefully, Margaret would be okay.

And if she wasn't?

Well… she had him now.

'Jeez that's corny.'