#electromagnetic clutch parts

[mokulule]

A Pinch of Salt - part 3

First | Masterpost

John couldn’t believe he was doing this, listening to the bloody kid. The cigarette hung forgotten from his lips. Every instinct told him to hunt down the kid and get him out of there; he’d seen enough dead kids to last him several life times.

Yet here he stood, counting down the minutes with a watch in hand. A spectral storm was dangerous, it could hurt a lot of people, attract even worse things. The plan was sound.

The end justified the means.

He felt sick.

There hadn’t been any screams from the kid (yet) - just the feeling of the malevolent energy moving further away. As long as it was moving away the kid had to be moving too.

Time was up and John was running. Kid was not getting a second longer than he’d asked for. It took him a minute to reach the plaza.

He spun around taking in the space. The central installment, which would have been some kind of fountain had it been finished judging by the exposed piping, was kinda in the way.

John huffed in annoyance.

This was clearly not gonna be the prettiest binding he’d ever done, just circle and a sigil for each cardinal direction, but it’d have to do. He pulled out a compass and promptly grimaced at the way the needle shook from electromagnetic disturbance.

Yeah, so north was probably over by the escalators.

The malevolent energy had turned around and was now coming back. Kid better be alright or John would have to murder him himself.

Time was hastily running out. It was a bloody good thing John worked well under pressure. He’d barely drawn the last squiggle when he heard fast running footsteps. He looked up just in time to see the kid take a running leap off the first floor banister.

Fuck. John’s heart jumped into his throat. He was only halfway through a levitation spell when he realized he would be too late. He wasn’t fast enough. At best the kid would break a leg at worst he’d break his neck!

He braced himself and then- John didn’t believe his eyes- the kid ducked into a rolling landing jumping right back to his feet like some kind of bloody knock-off Robin.

“Ya nearly gave me a fucking heart attack,” John said clutching his chest.

“We don’t have time for that. Here they come!” Kid yelled as he ran over to him. And right he was, the storm burst into the room in a tornado of trash, tools and now gray dust - just great, it had gotten into a bag of cement powder.

It was John’s turn. Just as the storm entered the circle, John slammed his hands onto the circle and activated it. His hairs rose on end as the magic activated. The wind and dust slammed against the binding, but it held despite the less than ideal circumstances.

Time to do the banishment. John couldn’t wait to be done with this.

-

The hairs on Danny’s arms stood on end; so this was magic.

Danny knew magic existed. He’d been mind controlled by a magical scepter. He’d seen magic used and reality itself changed at the snap of a finger - heck Danny had wielded the Reality Gauntlet himself. But that was just it, wasn’t it? those were magical items. Objects of power that bestowed a certain set of abilities to the wielder.

It was real, but it was less real somehow, or rather more mundane. Not quite so different from the crazy things his parents invented and that was just science.

It was something quite different to see, to feel, the power in the air, the way pressure increased and his ears popped when he swallowed all because Trenchcoat held out his hands and said a series of strange words.

Danny could feel reality warping at this guy’s will, a point above the ghost where this world was growing thinner. He was making a portal right here, with nothing but words and will and whatever magic was supposed to be - something that had been his parents’ magnum opus, taken years of study and then not even worked until Danny stumbled inside, an unwitting sacrifice.

Would it have even turned on without him inside? Or had that been a little bit of magic too?

Danny laughed with an edge of hysteria. And here Trenchcoat made it look easy.

So much time spent - missed dinners and awkward school events waiting for parents that never came and they should have just found this dude instead.

Something caught his attention. At first he couldn’t tell what it was, but invariably he was drawn to the forming rip in reality.

Something was wrong.

Heat and sulfur stuck in his nose. A sense of dread pooled in his gut. There was something malicious about it. That wasn’t a portal to the ghost zone.

“Where are you sending them?” Danny yelled over the whipping winds.

“To Hell,” Trenchcoat yelled back, not taking his eyes off his task.

“Hell!” Danny squeaked in horror.

Trenchcoat spared him a bewildered glance. “It’s a banishing, kid. It’s what it does.”

Danny’s gaze shot from the portal to the ghost back to Trenchcoat. No, it was all wrong. The ghost was in pain and yes they were out of control but they didn’t deserve to be sent to Hell for it. Danny had to do something.

“Stop! You have to stop!” Danny stepped in front of the man hands raised almost in mirror, except Danny didn’t have anything as potent as magic at his disposal, not unless he wanted to reveal himself. He felt some of his resolve crumble at that thought. Danny still didn’t want to find out what the man had intended to do to him, had he not passed his salt test.

“Hell’s bells, kid! What are you doing?”

“You have to stop they don’t deserve this!”

“Kid, it’s out of control! This is how it’s done.”

Absolute certainty.

Danny wobbled. Clearly, he knew what he was doing, he was the real deal. Who was Danny to question that?

The ghost screamed in despair, cutting straight to Danny’s core. His lips pressed into a thin line. He met light blue eyes, held them, and then he took a step backwards - into the circle.

-

Am I being mean? A little bit XD Sorry I couldn't help it. I hadn't planned for Danny to do it quite like this in my original plan but he sure did it.

Thanks for the lovely comments on the previous part :D

You can subscribe the masterpost for the series here

[velvetwyrms]

Just an update about my GaaLee Alien!AU fanfic Falling Fast Through Fragmented Universes:

I’ve finished the second to last part of the chapter that was really important to the story! Only the last section is left to write and you all have a bunch of mini fics in one chapter to read through, nearing 9k words.

Thank you for your patience. It has taken a lot of planning to get to this point in the fic as it creates a lot of really fun setup for the main adventure! 🤩🥰

Here are some goodies you all, including story title reveals and a short snippet under the cut that I’m very happy with!

[Sidenote: Reblogging helps to share and support this project. This stops my hours of hard work from dying in your likes, let’s others enjoy it, and motivates me to draw and write more of this AU! <3]

3x story title reveals:

• Nightjar

• Pink Pumpkin Party

• Neji’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Snippet time: Nightjar

Holocene [Human] Era calendar year: 12,024. Beijing, China. 7:00PM.

Lee has an eyemask that when freshly washed and dried atop his boiler in the airing cupboard, is warm and soft and comfortable over Gaara’s eyes. The darkness underneath is all-encompassing, and the early evening hour means that the volume of the TV does not have to be turned down just yet. Lee had shown him how to use something called a YouTube on a whim before he left for work.

Currently Gaara was being swaddled by the music of a desert ambience video at dusk. Rushing wind and the harsh cries of birds settling down to sleep, shrieking owls, and the scuttling of animals over shifting sand, all greeted his ears like a gentle, familial kiss on the cheek.

Gaara could almost smell the sun-baked aridisol; herbal and dusty. Could feel the particles suspended within the air drying and coating his tongue, and the brisk, freezing temperature drop as the sun dipped below canyon walls. The electromagnetic pull within the softness of sand spilling between his fingertips like water.

It did not feel like an oasis when he was living on his home planet. Gaara was brought forth into his world through blood and through pain, and buried in his bones the old songs of his childhood were waking around him, as the desert came alive at night.

Homesickness floored him with longing so intense that it built as a deep ache in his chest. A raw, still-healing wound prying itself open and clutching at his throat with a sudden, choking despair that took his breath away.

It hurts.

It hurts in its nostalgia, in the knowledge that he will not be able to return to the chattering, trilling, howling environment of which he was born into. At least, not for now. Not for the foreseeable future, not unless he’s careful, but the risk is still too dire, too soon to act upon.

A familiar pressure awoke behind his eyes, shifted in his guts as Shukaku stirred within the embrace of his memories. Gaara could almost imagine it raising its head, sniffing at the air in confusion. His nerves fizzled with anticipation and he held bated breath, before it stretched out sharp, pawed feet and rolled over to settle back down into a deep and dreamless sleep.

Gaara was suddenly made aware of how lonely he felt. He half-expected the tears that welled, creating a film behind his eyelids, to dry out as he opened them, athough the material of the mask ruined the illusion just a little.

He misses his siblings, he misses the biome of his home, he misses his Sand with a soul-deep loss and desperation that he had only ever experienced as a grieving child, and then again in his late teenage years. Aside from the few essential items he possessed, his clothing and the book he carried in his small satchel, his Sand was the only truly meaningful thing that he had left from his homeworld.

He had carried it throughout his entire life.

And now it is gone.

In theory, he could create more. If he were to venture downstairs and cause some small amount of destruction, limited to whatever soil or stone was available from the reach of the main entrance of this block of flats. But it wouldn’t be the same. It wouldn’t smell of home; of clay and blood and iron, the minerals and dust of creatures long dead and eroded away, by the elements or by his own hand.

[scientific-dog]

Is JJ a Flying Polyp?

JJ FLYING POLYP PROPAGANDA

I am a Lovecraft fan and did you read his “The Shadow Out of Time”? I think that JJ has peculiar similarities to the Flying Polyp race.

(There, Flying Polyps were extraterrestrial race which devoured and exterminated another alien race named there as Yithians or The Great Race)

It’s just a speculation I made for fun, nothing special. Just compared two aliens. For fun.

1. I always wondered why no remains/prints of the Yithians were found anywhere (according to the lore of the story).

If the Polyps had the similar digestive tracts as JJ has, then there was nothing left of the devoured victim. Literally. They digest everything. No bones/cartilage/other hard parts for you, no waste products, they spit out metal or so as much as possible.

Devoured to nothing.

2. Returning to the first: the weapon of the Great Race against the Polyps. Polyps are only vulnerable to electricity. Jean Jacket, according to the canon, flies due to the electromagnetic field that he creates himself (obviously for this he has a special organ, I suspect it places somewhere on the sides and on the top like stingrays have), this is also why he interfered with the electronics. Let's say the Yithians used weapons that resonated/oppositely suppressed/something like that with the field of the Polyps. Then, if we consider JJ, these interferences not only deprived him of normal movement and they fell down, at least it could directly harm their organs, because if they flew due to this field, then it is clear that other systems of their body also depend on it. They could have been paralyzed by such a blow, or killed outright. That is, yes, this is indeed a very effective weapon against Jean Jacket

3. Polyps controlled the winds and other things. Well, everything is simple here: this is a beautiful metaphor for how JJ eats sand and creates winds and hurricanes. This is literally what he did in his spare time.

4. Polyps left huge marks on the ground (without touching it)

Idk, can we say that JJ has an image of a flying saucer? -> reference to crop circles -> back to the Polyp tracks? Maybe these traces are a consequence of the influence of the JJ’s electromagnetic field, which interacts to the surface sand when he flies close above the ground, like Chladni’s patterns

5. The polyps are semi-material and freely mixed through the air, and their shapes are indescribable.

Let's assume that the shape of a flying saucer is not necessary for the JJ-likes. In his open form, he indeed looks somewhat semi-material, and his body is very unusually shaped and truly indescribable.

And moving through the air is quite feasible for him thanks to the field + the fact that he is light.

6. But the saucer shape is already a modification, which allows him to quickly cut through the sky. Yes, exactly in the form in which he appeared in the end, he will not be able to fly quickly, this is the most non-aerodynamic form. But if he shrinks into a disk, it will be easier for it to fly at supersonic speeds. Let me remind you that he is probably very heavy, what makes a multi-ton predator need extra drag in an indescribable form. Plus it's easier to hide.

But the same Lovecraft had no talk of any plates. Well, yes, but they didn’t have to: there were a lot of them, you don’t need to hide or hunt, your crowd won’t drive you crazy

6. «…and of strange winds and whistling noises associated with them. And I thought of the tales, wherein the horror of great winds and nameless subterrene ruins was dwelt upon...» (quote from the story)

This is an addition to point 5 (winds).

But about the sounds: JJ has a very wide vocal range of sounds. In reality, they are whistling, clicking, grinding, etc.

«And all the while cold fingers of damp vapour clutched and picked at me, and that eldritch, damnable whistling shrieked fiendishly above all the alternations of babel and silence in the whirlpools of darkness around.»(quote from the story)

Those moments where JJ eats people are really similar. It creates a wind current to suck in the victim.

7. Flying polyps are an aggressive and predatory species. It is unknown how intelligent they are. Having no vision, they felt in some special way through any matter.

Yes, Jean Jacket is very aggressive. Fact. Especially if you make a visual contact with him. But even without this, he's crazy.

Yes, in the film's FD, of course, it is generally accepted that Jacket is just an animal. I used to think so too. But now it seems to me that his behavior is more aggressive than animalistic. At the very least, he did some things and clearly did them on purpose. Yes, destroying the Jupe’s show is an act of aggression. Drenching OJ's house with blood (intentionally! He deliberately vomited all over his ranch) is an act of aggression. Gobbling up a reporter and flying above OJ, while the guy is screaming inside Jeans' stomach is an act of aggression. And much more, as well as the intonation of some of its sounds. Yes, JJ is not a ruthless monster. But then he clearly went on the offensive and tried to show his dominance here. This also supports the first scene of the film with Gordy: the monkey lived calmly until he went crazy from the constant abuse and killed everyone. In fact, JJ demonstrates aggression only for the reason that your “attention” to him drives him crazy and he is mad, cuz that Jupe allegedly “deceived” him. That is, we clearly have awareness and he enjoys his “revenge.”

And he is mad by the fact that they are looking at him, it drives him into rage, just like Polyps.

Or how aggressively he behaved when he saw the ball. The whole bitch is exhausted.

Remark: I know that all the actions of JJ also can be explained that he wanted to lubricate his throat/hungry/etc but let it be, of course that’s all true, I just want to note that the fact that he are the horse decoy instead of real horse made him suffer from pain and made him aggressive, really agressive towards the person who “fed” him before and the whole crowd from the SLE only made it worse

8. Lack of vision in Polyps. Yes, it seems like the plates don’t even have glasses (but he still has something like eyes, but it’s still, like, and these “eyes” are well hidden)

[queen-of-deans-booty]

Goodbye Stranger: Final Part

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~2k

Warnings: canon angst and violence

Author’s Note: I do not own anything from Supernatural. All credit goes to their respective owners. Any and all comments on these are appreciated.

"Hey, what did you mean back there about Sam?" Dean asks once you're inside the basement of the building.

"It's difficult to say. It's something on the subatomic level and his electromagnetic field--"

"Okay, bottom-line it for me, Bill Nye. Is it lethal?" Dean cuts him off.

"I don't know." He takes a couple of more steps before stopping in the middle of the hallway. He turns to the wall and places his hands on it. "There's a draft. There's something behind there. Stand back."

You and Dean back up, and you use your magic to shield the children so that it doesn't scare them. Castiel uses his powers to crumble the wall into pieces, but your children aren't affected by this. With the wall down, you enter the dirty and dusty crypt. There are ancient artifacts lying everywhere, and everything is covered with dust and spiderwebs.

This could take a while, especially if you don't know what it looks like. You can assume it looks like the demon tablet, but you can't be sure.

"Dean, that's it," Castiel says, pointing to a box in the very back.

"How do you know?" you ask and walk closer to it.

"It's the only thing in here warded against angels."

Dean sets Joanna down and picks up the box, placing it on the table in front of Castiel. Joanna moves closer to you and grips your legs, and you place a hand on the top of her head to comfort her. Dean pries open the lid, and he takes out a large block of stone.

"Winner, winner, chicken dinner," Dean smirks.

"Good. Hand it to me, and I'll take it to heaven," Castiel says.

Your eyes snap to his, and everything in you is telling you not to hand it over to him.

"No, we will take it to Kevin so he can translate."

"Right. Of course. I'll take it to him right away. No time to waste."

Dean must sense that this isn't a good idea, so he hands you the tablet, and you take it in one hand since Maryann is in the other.

"He's not that far. I've been meaning to check on him and bring him some supplies."

"I can resupply the Prophet, Dean."

"Like hell we're giving it to you," you glare. "We don't trust you, Castiel. We're going to take it to him, and you're going to go back to your 'mission'. Isn't finding the other half of the demon tablet your first priority?"

"I can't let you take that, Y/N."

"Can't or won't?"

"Don't do this in front of your children."

"How did you get out of Purgatory, Cas? Just tell me how you got out of Purgatory. Be honest with me for the first time since you've been back, and the tablet is yours," Dean says.

"No, tell us who you'll be bringing this to once you have it. Don't think I believe you're doing this by yourself. You're feeding someone information, aren't you? You're acting exactly how you did when you were working with Crowley to find the Alphas. Who's manipulating you?" you whisper the last part.

Castiel is clearly struggling internally on this one. He wants to do the right thing and listen to you, but he's also trying to reject the person controlling him.

"What have you done to me, Naomi?" Castiel groans in pain, clutching his head.

"Who's Naomi? Cas!"

Dean places a hand on his shoulder, and the angel retaliates by backhanding Dean who is thrown into the wall.

"Daddy!" Joanna screams.

Your family is threatened, and you have to do something before the person controlling Castiel orders him to touch your kids. Your eyes glow a soft blue as you muster enough magic to slam Castiel into the opposite wall and away from Dean.

You grab Joanna's hand and quickly run over to Dean who gets to his feet. He takes Maryann from your arms, and he scoops Joanna into his arms so that both of his girls are with him.

"Get out of here."

"I can't leave you alone with him."

Castiel groans and gets up, wiping the dust off his trench coat.

"It's my turn to protect you. Get them out of here."

As you turn to face Castiel, your eyes shine brighter than ever with your magic. Blue magic forms at your fingertips, and you're ready to do some damage on the angel for hurting your husband.

"No one threatens my family," you growl angrily.

Castiel charges at you, but you slam balls of magic into his stomach, using a powerful fist infused with magic to hit the side of his face. He goes toppling to the ground, and your magic encases him so you're able to manipulate his whole body. You slam him into the same wall as before, watching as he crashes through it and into the other room.

Before you have time to react, Castiel teleports behind you, and he backhands you so hard that you fly into the wall behind you. The angel tablet falls to the ground, out of reach from you. You crack the wall when you hit it, and you groan in pain. Dean struggles to take out his gun and fires at Castiel knowing it won't have any effect.

The angel turns to face Dean with a deadly look in his eyes. If you don't do anything soon, he will hurt your kids and your husband. If you're going to defeat him, you have to tap into the power of the Sapphire Witch.

It says that the Sapphire Witch can utilize Order Magic, allowing mastery of spells capable of manipulating and/or reconstructing reality and the very fabric of existence, and bring about order to the cosmos.

The rest of the journal does go into great detail about the capabilities the Sapphire Witch has, but they're all rumors since no Sapphire Witch has achieved that level of power before. Apparently, the greatest Sapphire Witch can warp reality however she sees fit.

If you're going to defeat the angel, you have to tap into the magic that's only been a rumor.

You push yourself to your feet, and you think about how scared Maryann and Joanna look. You think about how Dean struggles between fighting his friend and protecting his kids. Your magic covers every inch of your body, and your eyes glow the brightest they've ever been, including the whites.

As easy as a single thought, you use your magic to create another one of you, right in front of Castiel. He pauses and looks behind him to see you standing there as well. Your magic can create the illusion of multiple yous, so you continue with the pattern.

There's three of you, now four, now eight, and you go until there are about twelve of you all staring at Castiel with a deadly look in your eyes. All twelve of you create your magic into whips, and you whip at Castiel so that your magic hooks onto his arms, legs, hands, and any place they can go.

Castiel struggles to escape your magical hold, even while using his own powers. He realizes now that you're meant to be much stronger than any angel ever created... even archangels themselves. Maybe you're not on the level of God or Amara, but you could be with determination and practice.

"Get out of here!" you struggle to say since this is taking a lot out of you.

Castiel sees his window of opportunity when you show your weakness, so he musters up enough strength to yank on his right arm, sending five clones of you crashing at his feet. He places a hand to their heads, using his powers to kill them off. Once dead, they mist away since it's your magic to hold the illusion.

You don't have enough time or strength to create more versions of yourself before Castiel kills all of them but you. You're too distracted to see him marching up to you, and he grips your throat so tightly that you can't breathe.

The magic in your eyes dies down as you struggle in his grip.

"Get... out... of... here... please," you struggle to say to Dean.

"Mama," Joanna cries loudly.

You must have some power still left in you, and with the combination of hearing your daughter call for you, is enough for one more trick.

You place your hand to Castiel's temple, and you send a shock of magic through his head. His eyes shine the same color as your magic before releasing his hold on you. You fall to the ground in a fit of coughs.

Castiel is seeing his worst fears come to life, but you know he will come out of this soon. Dean turns to leave, but then he thinks about you and he knows he has to stay. While you're still down, Castiel reaches for the angel tablet that has broken out of its shell. As soon as he touches it, the tablet shines bright orange, and Castiel shines bright white.

You shield yourself from the white light, and Dean does his best to shield the light from his kids. Once the light dies down, Castiel is standing there with tears in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry."

You get up and run over to Dean who brings you into his arms. Using that much magic wore you out pretty good, but you're not going to show Castiel that.

"What the hell just happened?" Dean demands.

"An angel named Naomi has been feeding me orders. She's the one who wanted this tablet in the first place," Castiel reveals.

"So, this 'Naomi' has been controlling you since she got you out of Purgatory?"

"Yes."

"What broke the connection?" you ask.

"I don't know. I just know that I have to protect this tablet now."

"From Naomi?"

"Yes, and from you two."

"From us? What are you talking about?" Dean asks. Within a blink of an eye, Castiel and the tablet are gone. "Cas? Cas! Damn it. Are you okay?"

"Dean!" Sam says as she rushes down the stairs into the crypt. "Hey, where's Cas?"

"He's gone. What about Meg?"

"We have to go now."

Dean has his children still in his arms, and when you go to follow the brothers, your legs give out, and you fall to the ground. Using that much magic took a lot out of you, and you haven't gotten your strength back.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm so tired," you sigh.

"Go, I got her," Sam says.

Dean runs ahead without you, and Sam scoops you up bridal style. He rushes up the stairs and over to the car just as Dean finishes strapping in his kids. Sam doesn't have time and places you in the front seat while he jumps into the back. You look back to see Crowley with a beaten Meg next to him.

They're talking, but you don't know what they're saying.

Suddenly, Meg uses an angel blade and stabs Crowley in the shoulder, but Crowley is one step ahead of her. He grabs the blade and turns it so that the tip of the blade is turned to Meg. He stabs Meg in the chest, killing her instantly.

You smile knowing that she won't ever be a problem for you. You wish you could have killed her, but seeing it is second best.

"Thank God," you mutter tiredly.

"What happened?" Dean gives him the basic breakdown while you close your eyes. "I mean, Cas touched the tablet, and it reset him to his factory settings or something?"

"I don't know, and I don't care. All I know is that he is off the reservation with a heavenly control behind the wheel. Listen, man, I can't take any more lies from anyone."

"Yeah, I'm really sorry. I should have told you. I just wanted to believe I was okay. I don't know," Sam sighs.

"Well, you heard what Cas said. That first trial hurt you in ways that even he can't heal. Sammy, I need you to be honest with us from here on out, man."

"You're right. I will be."

"Sweetheart, are you doing okay?" Dean asks and looks over at you.

"Yeah, I just used too much magic. I'll be okay. How are the kids?"

"Doing fine," Sam says, smiling at his nieces.

"What kind of magic was that? You did something you've never been able to do before."

"I saw how scared the girls were, and when Castiel hurt you, I had to do something before he hurt them, too," you whisper.

You've always had the power to do great things, you just need to work on controlling it better.

x

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[robinastrea]

The Breakups (Part 3/4)

Date: July 21, 2015 Age: 17 Characters Mentioned: Ryder Astrea, Skylar Clarke-Iz’an Description: This series goes through how each of Robin’s past relationships ended. (See this post)

“Hey, baby, long time no see,” Harley answered the door, a smug expression on his face when he saw who it was.  Robin watched the erkuss basically do a full-body scan, and then settle his eyes on the newest addition to his appearance: his earrings.  “When did you do that?”  Harley asked, incredulously.

“Oh, uhm, a couple days ago,” Robin squirmed.  “It was a spur-of-the-moment decision,” he said as a lie.  He’d ordered the kit and planned to pierce his own ears for weeks.  But he didn’t know what answer Harley wanted to hear.  His boyfriend looked to be considering these words, then without warning, he reached his hand up to Robin’s ear and used his electromagnetism to sharply pull the earring. He gave a smirk at Robin’s reaction to the pain.

“Ouch, what the fuck--” Robin clutched his ear.

“Relax,” Harley sneered, then stepped back to offer Robin to come inside.  “Do you want to hang out?  Or did you just remember you had a boyfriend and you came over to do your monthly check-up?”

His ear was throbbing, and he did want to go home now, but the taunt worked.  “I came to hang out,” he answered stiffly,  “If that’s all right.”  Harley nodded with a smirk, and Robin crossed the threshold into the apartment and walked the familiar path to his room.  A large amount of trashed comic books, food wrappers, and dirty clothes littered the floor, which made Robin’s eye twitch, but he said nothing, deciding to sit on Harley’s unmade bed and pull out his Gameboy Advance from his backpack.  Harley wasn’t far behind, and he shut the door behind him.

His boyfriend usually talked quite a lot, but he was being suspiciously quiet, and Robin knew something was on his mind when he moved to sit at his desk chair instead of on the bed with him.  “What?”  Robin asked while still looking down at his game, willing Harley to get on with it.

Harley grabbed a pen and started clicking it over and over, squinting.  “How did you get your ears pierced?”

He supposed it made sense they were still on this topic.  “I did them myself,” Robin answered.  “It wasn’t painless by a long shot, but it was pretty easy.”

“Hmm,” this answer didn’t seem to surprise Harley, but he did seem much deeper in thought.  “Did Ryder get their ears pierced, too?”

“Yeah.  Why?”

“No reason,” Harley said quickly, setting to disassembling and reassembling his pen.  Robin was curious, but he waited without speaking while playing a bit of his game, while knowing Harley hated silence and would want to fill that silence with words.  And his hypothesis was correct.  “I bet…” Harley said carefully, “That Ryder looks really good with earrings.”

“Uh.  Yeah, definitely,” Robin finally looked up with a questioning tone, wondering why Harley was saying this.  It could have simply been a matter of observation.

Harley was not looking at him, but gave a short laugh.  “Maybe even better than you do.”

Robin paused.  He must have misunderstood what his boyfriend said.  He moved to the edge of the mattress.  “What is that supposed to mean?”

Harley raised an eyebrow, “Oh, I just mean that Ryder is the cuter one out of you two.”  When he saw Robin’s expression of disbelief, he snorted.  “Come on.  I figured you knew this already.  You’re hot, of course, but you’re just not at Ryder’s level.  You don’t need to get upset over this.”

He felt his face instantly burning.  “Is this something you’ve always thought?”  Robin asked stiffly.

Harley only shrugged.  “Well, yeah.  But listen, it’s not a big deal, all right?  I already said you’re hot.  And I said yes to you, didn’t I?  So, let’s just forget I said anything.”  He reached over to slide his hand to the inside of Robin’s thigh, but he moved over and out of his reach.

“So, you’ve just been settling for me this whole time?”  Robin asked, hating how pathetic he sounded.  “If you like my brother so much, why not just say so from the beginning?”

“Yeah,” he gave a roll of his eyes.  “Because I was going to say ‘No, I can’t date you, but I think your brother is cute.  Hey, do you mind setting me up with them?’  I mean, there’s nothing wrong with you, so I went for it.”  He shrugged.

Robin had been waiting for a genuine reason for them to break up, and well, here it was.  But he wasn’t prepared for how hurt he would feel, and how sudden it was.  He was shocked, sure, but it was quickly turning into anger.  “I think that we’re over,” he said, feeling himself grow cold, while pulling his bag strap over one shoulder and standing up.  “Please…lose my number, and don’t talk to me at school,” he turned to leave, but was pulled back when he felt a force tugging on the zippers of his backpack.

“Come on, Robin, don’t be so dramatic.  You’re really going to give us up like that?  Over nothing?”  He felt Harley come up behind him and take his wrist, but Robin easily wrenched it away.

“Yes, I really am,” Robin answered with a narrowing of his eyes.  “And you know what the stupidest part of this is?  If you had told me exactly that from the beginning, that you thought Ryder was cute instead and you needed help with talking to them, I would have done it, no question.”  But he was secretly glad it was him who had to deal with someone like Harley for a boyfriend, now that he was finally thinking about the events of the past month or so with a clearer head.  “Maybe think about that.  Goodbye, Harley.”  He left without pausing to stay for his reaction.

After smoothly walking out of the erkuss’ room and apartment, he broke into a sprint and couldn’t get to his own house fast enough.  Robin darted up the stairs and to his bedroom, then shut his door and locked it.  All of it: the past month or so, his first kiss, having sex for the first time…it felt like a waste.  He fell onto his bed and pulled the covers over himself.  Telling Sky or the rest of his family what had happened, telling Ryder, didn’t feel like an option right now.

[skatoautomotive]

What Is a Clutch Plates? Uses and Types

Nowadays, traffic has become the new normal, with a surplus of cars on all roads. Ever ponder how a car moves like a person on the road?

Vehicles do, in reality, serve an important role in people's needs on an everyday basis.

Because it provides a connection between the engine and the gearbox, the clutch is one of a car's most important parts. Let's discuss the definition and types of clutch plates here with Skato Automotive, the top motor vehicle and tractor clutch plates manufacturer in India.

What Is a Clutch?

Mechanical devices called clutches are used to move power from one rotating shaft to another. They provide power to systems, machinery, and rotating assemblies across different industry sectors. The type of clutch used varies according to the demands and limits of the application.

Types of Clutches

Clutches come in a variety of designs, some of which are described here.

Diaphragm Clutches

The clutch of this kind engages by applying pressure on the pressure plate. The conical spring's diaphragm makes up the clutch. Attached to the finger or crown-style springs is the pressure plate.

Centrifugal Clutches

This type of clutch connects two concentric shafts to generate centrifugal force. The semi-centrifugal clutch also uses spring force in addition to centrifugal force.

Sprag Clutches

"Sprag clutch" is the term used for a one-way freewheel clutch.  It works in a manner similar to a roller bearing, but non-revolving asymmetric figure-eight-shaped sprags or other parts that permit single-direction rotation are used in place of cylindrical rollers.

Friction Clutches

Friction clutches are based on the notion of friction. Friction arises from the contact between the driving and driven component shafts, transferring rotational energy from one to the other.

Fluid Clutches

Fluid clutches are flywheels that use a hydraulic fluid to transfer torque from the driving to the driven component.

Single-Plate Clutch

One of the most popular types of clutches in cars nowadays is the single plate clutch, which has just one clutch plate.

Multiple-Plate Clutch

This multi-plate clutch transfers power from the engine shaft to the gearbox shaft of the car using a number of clutch plates.

Electromagnetic and Electro-Hydraulic Clutch

Through the use of electric clutches, electrical energy is converted into mechanical energy. An electromagnetic field is generated when electricity flows through an electrical power source. The clutch is then engaged by dragging a pressure plate into the electromagnetic field.

The Use of Clutch in a Car

You can use the clutch in cars to change the speed without stopping the engine. You can also disconnect the engine from the wheels. This is advantageous since the engine keeps running even after the wheels stop. To get your car started, your gearbox and clutch work together.

Final Thoughts

Many premium automotive employ a variety of clutches, these could include the likes of dual clutch car systems and more.  Skato Automotive – India’s top premium car clutch plate manufacturer offers reasonable rates on used automotive. If you have doubts about which type is in which car & tractor comes with which clutch, we will help you out there as well!

[truckac]

Demystifying Your Truck's AC Compressor Clutch: How It Keeps You Cool

The AC compressor clutch is a crucial component in your truck's air conditioning system, and it plays a vital role in ensuring your comfort during hot summer days. In this article, we will demystify the AC compressor clutch, explaining its function, operation, and significance. We'll delve into the nitty-gritty details of how this essential part works to keep you cool while you're on the road.

Know the Basics

What is the AC Compressor Clutch?

The AC compressor clutch is a mechanical device located at the front of the AC compressor. It engages and disengages the compressor with the engine's power, allowing your truck's AC system to function when needed. In simple terms, it's the switch that controls the flow of refrigerant and, consequently, the cooling of the cabin.

How Does the AC Compressor Clutch Work?

When you turn on your truck's air conditioner, an electrical signal is sent to the AC compressor clutch. This signal activates an electromagnetic coil within the clutch, causing it to engage with the AC compressor. When engaged, the clutch connects the compressor's drive pulley to the compressor's rotor, making it spin and compress the refrigerant gas.

The Role of the AC Compressor Clutch

Ensuring Efficient Cooling

The primary purpose of the AC compressor clutch is to ensure efficient cooling. When the clutch is engaged, the compressor is active, and the refrigerant is pumped through the system, cooling the air inside your truck. This process helps maintain a comfortable temperature in the cabin, especially on sweltering summer days.

Preventing Unnecessary Wear and Tear

The clutch's ability to engage and disengage the AC compressor is also essential for preventing unnecessary wear and tear. When the air conditioning is not in use, the compressor remains disengaged, allowing the engine to run smoothly. This reduces the load on the engine and prevents it from working harder than necessary.

Adjusting the Temperature

The AC compressor clutch also plays a role in temperature control. By adjusting when and how the compressor engages, it can help maintain a consistent temperature in the cabin. This prevents the air conditioning system from overcooling and ensures that you stay comfortable throughout your journey.

Extending the Lifespan

Another significant aspect of the AC compressor clutch is its contribution to the system's lifespan. By allowing the compressor to disengage when not needed, it prevents constant operation, reduces wear, and extends the overall lifespan of the AC system.

The Impact of a Faulty Truck AC Compressor Clutch

The AC compressor clutch is a critical component of the truck AC unit, responsible for engaging and disengaging the compressor to regulate the flow of refrigerant and control the temperature inside the cabin. When it malfunctions, it can lead to various issues:

Loss of Cooling: The most noticeable effect of a faulty AC compressor clutch is a loss of cooling in the cabin. The clutch is responsible for engaging the compressor, which pressurizes and circulates the refrigerant to cool the air. If the clutch doesn't engage properly, the AC system won't work effectively, resulting in inadequate cooling.

Reduced Fuel Efficiency: When the AC compressor clutch is constantly engaged or disengaged due to a malfunction, it can put an extra load on the engine. This can lead to decreased fuel efficiency, as the engine has to work harder to compensate for the inefficient AC operation.

Overheating: If the compressor clutch is stuck in the engaged position, it can cause the compressor to run continuously, potentially leading to overheating of the AC system components and the engine. Overheating can damage the AC system and result in costly repairs.

Strange Noises: A faulty clutch can produce unusual noises when it tries to engage or disengage, such as clicking, grinding, or squealing sounds. These noises can be disturbing and are a clear sign that there is an issue with the AC compressor clutch.

Increased Wear and Tear: The constant engagement or disengagement of the clutch can accelerate wear and tear on the entire AC system, leading to the need for more extensive and expensive repairs over time.

Electrical Issues: Some AC compressor clutches are controlled by electrical signals. A malfunctioning clutch can cause electrical problems, affecting other vehicle systems and potentially leading to further complications.

Inconsistent Cooling: A faulty clutch may lead to inconsistent cooling in the cabin. You might experience periods of cold air followed by warm air, making your driving experience uncomfortable.

Overpressure or Underpressure: The malfunction of the clutch can disrupt the proper regulation of refrigerant flow, which can result in overpressure or underpressure within the AC system. This can damage components and lead to costly repairs.

Repair vs. Replacement: Which is best?

When dealing with a faulty truck AC compressor clutch, whether to repair or replace it depends on the extent of the damage, the age of the clutch, and the cost-effectiveness of the solution. Here's a breakdown of factors to consider when deciding between repair and replacement:

The extent of Damage: The first consideration is the extent of damage to the clutch. If the issue is minor, such as a loose component or a worn bearing, a repair may be a viable and cost-effective option. However, if the damage is extensive or the clutch is severely worn, replacement might be the more practical choice.

Age of the Clutch: The age of the AC compressor clutch plays a significant role in the decision-making process. If the clutch is relatively new and the rest of the AC system is in good condition, repairing it may make sense. On the other hand, if the clutch is old and showing signs of wear and tear, a replacement could be a better long-term solution.

Cost of Repair vs. Replacement: Compare the cost of repairing the clutch to the cost of replacing it. In some cases, repairs may be more affordable, but it's essential to consider how long the repaired clutch is likely to last compared to a new one. If the repair is only a short-term fix and the clutch is likely to fail again soon, replacement may be the wiser choice.

System Compatibility: Consider whether the replacement parts are readily available and compatible with your truck's make and model. If you have difficulty finding the right components for a repair or if the system is outdated, replacement could be a more practical option.

Warranty: If your truck's AC compressor clutch is under warranty, it's worth checking the terms and conditions. In some cases, a warranty may cover the replacement of the clutch, making it a cost-effective solution.

Overall AC System Condition: Assess the overall condition of your truck's AC system. If the compressor clutch is just one of many issues in an aging and inefficient system, it might be more cost-effective to invest in a complete AC system replacement to ensure long-term reliability.

Professional Assessment: Consult with a qualified automotive technician or mechanic to inspect the clutch and provide recommendations. They can assess the specific situation and provide expert guidance on whether repair or replacement is the best course of action.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the AC compressor clutch is a vital part of your truck's air conditioning system, working silently to keep you cool and comfortable on the road. Understanding how it functions and its role in temperature control and system longevity is essential for ensuring a trouble-free journey.

At TruckAC.com, we're your go-to source for A/C compressor clutches. Our lineup includes top-quality OEM options from Denso, Seltec/Valeo, T/CCI, and Sanden, catering to a wide range of air conditioning needs, whether it's for light-duty or heavy-duty applications.

[qocsuing]

Advantages and applications of Tube Filling machine And Sealing machine

Advantages and applications of Tube Filling machine And Sealing machine

Tube filling machine and sealing machine is advanced equipment for sealing plastic pipes and aluminum-plastic pipes. It uses the thermal shock effect of the plastic tube produced by the ultrasonic sealing transducer and quickly melts the adhesive. The tube Filling machine And the Sealing machine does not need to add any additives, even if the surface is contaminated, it will not affect the sealing effect. Next, let's take a look at the advantages and applications of the Tube Filling machine And Sealing machine. Here are some answers.Get more news about tube filling and sealing machine,you can vist our website!

First, the servo motor controls the filling, and 8 nozzles are filled at the same time. Second, the Tube Filling Machine And the Sealing machine can achieve fast cleaning, fast adjustment, and step-less adjustment of the volume cylinder speed. The tube Filling machine And the Sealing machine is suitable for filling different specifications and different liquids. Third, the filling volume only needs to be adjusted once, each volume cylinder is fine-tuned, the filling accuracy is high and the consistency is good. The contact material part is 316L stainless steel and silicon rubber, which meets the GMP standard. Fourth, the filling piston-cylinder adopts imported geared motor step-less speed regulation, which is suitable for aqueous liquids and viscous liquids. Fifth, imported electromagnetic clutches and brakes eliminate inertia and high filling accuracy. Sixth, the man-machine interface communicates with the PLC. You can debug the device and change the type with simple settings on the screen. Seventh, bottling, positioning, filling, and discharging are all automatic. If the bottle is not in the correct position, the bottle is blocked, or the filling tube is not inserted into the bottle during filling, the equipment will automatically protect and continue to operate after troubleshooting.

Tube filling machine and sealing machine is mainly used to fill ointment or viscous fluid materials into aluminum tubes, plastic tubes, or composite tubes. Then seal the end of the tube. The Tube Filling machine And Sealing machine adopts a new type of stainless steel butterfly valve dosing pump and a screw fine adjustment device. In addition, the Tube Filling Machine And Sealing machine is widely used for filling, sealing, and batch number printing of aluminum tube packaging products in cosmetics, toothpaste, ointment, food, shoe polish, adhesives, etc. Tube Filling machines And Sealing machines can also be widely used in product packaging in medicine, daily chemical, food, chemical, and other industries. Such as ointment, adhesive, silica gel, AB glue, skin cream, hair dye, shoe polish, toothpaste, and other liquid or paste-like materials filling and sealing.

[my-123]

Iron Powder Market Research by Key players, Type and Application, Future Growth to 2032

The global iron powder market stood at US$ 6.18 Billion in the year 2022 and is expected to reach US$ 10.26 Billion by the year 2032 at a CAGR of 5.2% between 2022 and 2032.

Iron powder’s particle size does vary from 20 to 200 micrometers. The powder is available at the commercial level in 3 kinds – atomized powder, reduced iron powder, and electrolyte iron powder. Electrolyte iron powder holds the largest market share due to stability, purity, and monetary advantage. It’s actually at par with traditional iron salts as well as chelates used for the fortification of food and water.

The other applications include soft magnets and welding in electromagnetics, wherein both – DC and ac are addressed. The iron powder does play an important role with respect to recycling of the industrial chemicals. As such, it is used in pharmaceutical and steel plants. Intake of iron is prescribed for those who are anemic. Regular intake of iron also helps in boosting immunity.

Particle metallurgy alone accounts for the majority of revenue, especially in the automobile sector. Iron powder finds its way as a filler in friction materials-oriented applications like automotive OEMs and aftermarket brake pads with clutches. They are used in the production of sintered parts; which cater to engines and transmissions.

Download PDF Sample Copy of Report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-9599

Competitive Analysis

Mimete S.r.l. (based out of Biassono, Monza, Italy), in November 2020, did release two iron base powders – Duplex MARS F51 and Super-Duplex F53. These powders would be addressing demands from power generation, oil & gas, and aerospace verticals about additive manufacturing. Manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, and Volkswagen do produce components and parts by making use of additive manufacturing technology. These measures are expected to keep the hopes high for the iron powder market in the forecast period.

Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd., in October 2020, did develop a power magnetic core to cater to axial gap motors. This core gets derived from die-pressing soft-magnetic iron powder into a 3D shape.

KEY SEGMENTS

End Use:

Aerospace & defence

Automotive

Oil & Gas

Medical

Others

Type:

Unalloyed

Alloyed

Insulated Iron powder

Manufacturing Process:

Physical

Chemical

Mechanical

Atomization

Electro deposition

Reduction

Decomposition

Pulverization

What does the Report scale through?

The research study is based on end-use (aerospace & defense, automotive, oil & gas, medical, and others), by type (unalloyed, alloyed, and insulated iron powder), by manufacturing process (physical (atomization and electrodeposition), chemical (reduction and decomposition), and mechanical (pulverization)).

With rising demand for automobiles, the global iron powder market is expected to grow on an accelerated note going forward.

[imaginedreamwrite]

Of Ash & Dust

Part 2: Stultitia hominum

The aged metal walls and tainted reddish-orange colour of rust garnishing the beams that had once been the foundations of a vast, perhaps not great morally, empire, had encompassed the area like a decrepit blanket.

It offered neither comfort nor warmth, nor had it offered anything but the dim and aged style of lighting that had suited them well enough back in the days of their triumph.

It was in the clutch of a room, something spacious and large with the rust eating away at metal, and the chain-linked barriers keeping small cells away from the openness of the room you had remained in.

The cells were no larger or more spacious than would be allotted for a man to stand with hunched shoulders. There had been support posts that had been worn down or eaten away, either made for a bed or some kind of cot, though neither would have been comfortable.

Or so you surmised, judging by the state of the rest of the room.

You had gained little ground in the manner of finding out what this facility was meant to do, having accessed a few files under the names of project Insight, Deathlok and Centipede; however, most files were either corrupted, inaccessible or destroyed.

As for the two men you had discovered in the crypt chambers, the files you had been able to access had spoken of their lives in the 1900s to the last records in the years of 2015/2016. You had gained access to almost every detail of their lives to a certain point, and it was these facts that you had been studying since you had left their cryo-chambers for the inner workings of the facility.

“Alert.” The autonomous voice had spoken in your ear through your comm. “Fifteen minutes until the cryogenic freezing is reversed.”

“Fifteen minutes,” you tapped your comm twice to bring forth the holographic display of files and databases you had accessed while you were here in the decrepit facility, even in the short time you were in this room and selected the two files on the men that had been frozen.

“Steven Grant Rogers was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1918. Joseph and Sarah Rogers, a soldier that had died in the First World War and a nurse that died in a TB ward.” You had extended your hand for the file and tapped twice, bringing up facts that you had already known from searching earlier.

“James Buchanan Barnes was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1917. He was born to a wealthy family, George Barnes and Winnifred Barnes. James Barnes had four younger sisters, the only one known was Rebecca Anne Barnes.”

There had been matching pictures of the two men in olive green uniforms, the matching colours and structures having belonged to the 107th division, although there was a clear difference in rank between the two men. One, Steve Rogers, was a captain and had been labelled Captain America, while James Barnes was a sergeant.

“Both men had been thought to have died in the war.” You hummed and slowly pushed yourself to stand, the holographic files moving with you, shifting as you had shifted to always remain in front of you.

“But it was revealed in 2011 and 2014 that both men respectively were still alive, both frozen at some point.” You dusted yourself off and reached into one of your pockets, feeling around for a small device that was akin to an electromagnetic field, the device providing you protection from the men if they had come out hostile.

You didn’t know what to expect, you didn’t know how they would react upon coming out of cryo, and while it was certainly a practice that had been used many times before, the machines these men were in had been archaic at best. The machines now were much more compact and streamlined and had far fewer side effects than these machines.

“Ten minutes until the cryogenic freezing is reversed. Your droid chirped in your ear, communicating your timeline in a pleasant yet artificial voice. “Ten minutes-“

“Threat level?” You questioned, closing the holographic database and returning your frontal vision to normalcy.

“Scanning and analyzing threat level.” Your droids voice had fallen short again, the quietude of the abandoned space was chilling.

There was nothing around you to take notice of, nothing but the sound of your footsteps and breathing. There was no sign of life in this abandoned facility, nothing but the remnants of some organization with hidden or depleted documents that could have given you insight into their business.

There was nothing but the lost touch of HYDRA, the stamped names written on walls and metal cages that were being eaten away by rust and the harsh bite of time.

It was eery.

“Threat level detected, the potential to be high risk if not armed. Be advised that Captain Steve Rogers was altered DNA and Sergeant James Barnes has an artificial limb that is made from some unknown metal.” Your drone had given you the warning, a quick-fired advanced notice that was coming before you had to go back and deal with the two men in the chambers.

“Thanks for the heads up.” Your departure back through the facility was marked with stilled silence and the sound of your breathing.

It was a look into the past that was long forgotten and left behind, the marred and eaten metal that would have once been pristine and sharp. The steel that would have been perfected and carried strength in its conception was now broken and bent, marred by time and the weight of the years inflicted upon it.

It was a captured image and look at the world before the ragged and toxic clutch of time, of Stark and his tyranny.

But maybe it was more than that. Maybe it wasn’t just the clutches of time and the weariness of the world shifting around the places of the past, maybe there was a ravaged fight that had taken place to further destruction.

Maybe it was natural; maybe it was manufactured.

“Five minutes.” The drone had given you another alert just as you had made your way back to the chambers, the cryogenic freezing nearing completion.

With the mix of processing gasses and chemicals almost dissipated, you were given a better look at the two men who were trapped inside. There was little blocking your view of the men seemingly bound together in this frozen state, the two men frozen in time in chambers of the past world.

The man on the left, you could see, was Captain America judging by the tactical suit he had been wearing that was kept as safe from the clutch of time as the man himself had been.

His suit was dark blue and reinforced with padded shoulders and protective materials around his shoulders and chest. There was a clearly outlined white star in the middle of the chest that had been greyed, likely before he was frozen.

The uniform was further broken up from the blue chest with a background of greying white, and thick, faded, red stripes that had been drawn down from the chest piece until the waist. The same shade of faded red was seen in a few pieces on his arms, pulling the whole tactical uniform together in a conceptualization of the American flag, in some way.

“Captain America.” You had set your hand against the glass, feeling a soft yet steady hum from the machine. “Which means-“

“The Winter Soldier,” the drone had cut you off, delivering a new accessed patch of files that had come without the time frame allowed for you to read it before the process was complete, “is Sargeant James Barnes. “

“The Winter Soldier,” you stepped before the other chamber and gazed at the man behind the barrier, studying his features with the same intensity that you had studied the captain with, “is the Sergeant.”

Unlike the man, who was with Sergeant Barnes, the Winter Soldier had not had a tactical suit like the Captain.

Instead, he was wearing a thickened deep black jacket that was reinforced internally with the left sleeve cut off displaying the sleek metal arm that had been branded with a red star on the shoulder. You could only see an inch of his bottom half, you could sparsely make out the appearance of some kind of militarized cargo pants that you had surmised carried the same strength as his jacket.

His hair was long, brushing against the nape and bottom of his neck, the curtains of hair falling into his face, with stubble dusting his cheeks and neck, the beginnings of a beard adorning his strong jaw.

Both of the men were beautiful, both of the men were tall and had cut imposing figures.

There was no indication of what the Winter Soldier was, or why the name had been given to him, nor was there any indication that he was any more of a threat than his friend was.

“One minute.” Your drone was hovering, the green light continuously scanning the chambers as you waited for the men to be out, to be freed from the cryogenics.

“One minute.” You had stepped away from the chambers and grasped the device you had meant to have readied sooner, and pulled it out of your pocket.

You had turned the small orb over in your hand before you felt the small trigger button on the top of the smooth orb. You flexed your finger and pushed the button in to initialize the safety device, receiving a series of small vibrations before you knew to let it go.

As the orb had fallen to the floor and rolled a few inches away, a pulse akin to electromagnetic technology had started to radiate from the metal, surrounding the area in a safety net that would render most weapons useless. If they had attempted to physically strike, the device would administer a mild shock that would debilitate them where they had stood.

The start of a gentle hiss that had begun pouring out from the bottom of the chambers had arisen with the end of the freezing process. You were readying yourself, preparing yourself with a few electrostatic disks that were usually used to neutralize potentially dangerous high emittance emergency sirens of buildings.

You had discovered and learned that those same discs could be used in self-defence if someone had tried to attack you while you were unaware. The discs would emit a pulse that could bring grown men to their knees without a fight.

“Process complete.” The drone’s green radiating light had ceased and the device had flown back to your palm, the small little thing compressing back into its travel size, leaving you alone with the men to witness the top and bottom half of the separating and allowing the two men to finally be earthed after so many years after being frozen.

You waited and watched with bated breath as the last lingering effects of the cryogenic freezing had dissipated and the two men had started to come back to the real world. There was a moment when you felt as if time had stopped completely as if you would never feel the shudder of your breath or the beat of your heart.

There was nothing to kickstart your heart or lungs back into functionality again until you saw their eyes fluttering open, the start of the two men coming back to the waking world.

“They look like they’ve seen better days,” POGO had claimed, precariously scurrying across the floor as he crossed the room back to your side, climbing up your leg to your shoulder, “old relics.”

“Steve-“ the first spoke, stumbling from the chamber with a thick and hoarse cough coming from his mouth. His hands, both flesh and metal, had rested on his knees while he gathered himself.

“Buck-“ Captain Rogers was next, almost as worse for wear as they both had been heavily afflicted by the years and decades spent inside the frozen chambers.

They had yet to notice you, yet to pay you any mind. You had remained as still as possible as they, and their bodies, had started to get used to the immediate release from the cryogenic chambers. You had studied them, watched them as they stood close to each other, and had finally and truly recognized how physically imposing they were.

Both men were over 6’2”, both as broad as they were thickly built, with the sheer impressive size and muscular strength making you second guess having not prepared better.

“Hi-“ the sound of your voice greeting them had elicited a reaction of proactive fight instincts, and the resulting jerk of their bodies had done exactly what you hadn’t wanted.

The pulse of the device you had set up for your protection and the disks POGO had carried himself, had brought both men to their knees within a single moment. They were dragged down, rendered unable to move and you had reacted just as quickly, with a swift kick of the orb that was pulsating, the field was cut out and you were able to approach.

“Shit! I’m sorry, I didn’t think you would react like that. Are you okay? Are you both okay?” You crouched in front of them, the two of them still reeling from the pulsation that had rendered them unable to move.

“Where the hell are we? What the hell was that?” Sergeant Barnes had hissed, holding his flesh hand against his side, his jaw clenching with every breath.

“Shit, I think you’re hurt. POGO-“

“I have located three different first aid kits nearby under some rubble. Would you like me to grab one?” Your robotic friend had hopped from the ledge he was at to approach, tilting his head.

“Where the hell are we? Where is Stark?” Captain Rogers asked with tentative aggression, slowly starting to rise again. “Tony Stark-“

“Tony Stark?” You furrowed your brows and eased back onto your heels. “Tony Stark is dead. He’s been dead for nearly a century and a half.”

There was silence, egregious and tense. It lasted a single moment before Steve Rogers had spoken in a whisper, shocked and at a loss.

“…how long have we been cryogenically frozen?”

Permanent Tags List: @jennmurawski13-writes @beardburnsupersoldiers @daydreaminginthechaos @rebekahdawkins @supraveng @bookfrog242 @old-enough-to-know-better73 @valsworldofcreativity @rainbowkisses31 @loveitorleaveit20 @alexakeyloveloki @socalgem1124 @mogaruke @dreamlessinparis @frisky975 @dispatchvampire @hereforbuckyandsteve @jesgisborne @fairybnha3 @hallecarey1 @tang082646 @mrslokibarnesrogers @deputy-videogamer @posionivy0061 @loving-life-my-way @kaylamcd2000 @mercyy98 @undecidedsworld @rootcrop @whatinthestyles @slutforsteve @cornmousequeen @rededfoxy @yagurl-snow @glimmering-darling-dolly @patzammit @buckymydarlingangel @missusbarnes-rogers @andy-is-gay @nervousfandom @rileyloves5 @emi11ie @carelessreadersstuff @readingandwritingandreading @cynic-spirit @inkedaztec @gh0stgurl @mansaaay @cats-and-sheep @pono-pura-vida @seitmai @teambarnes72

[startrekandberryrolls]

More Footman John x Eloise content for all of us who are bizarrely invested in this ship. However obscure it may be. Love y’all and let me know if you’d like me to keep writing them :) they’re a welcome reprieve from electromagnetism assignments.

Orange Daydreams

John had never tasted an orange before.

It was a simple truth, he supposed. A product of his birth and social standing. The working man couldn’t afford such luxuries. Men like him weren’t meant for exotic fruits and flavours, his father had told him one day. It’s easy, when you’re young, to believe things like that. It’s easy, when you’re young, to feel so small.

It’s why the perfect, bright sphere in his mistress’ hand interested him so. How she played and fidgeted with the fruit, fingers pressing in and out, searching for whatever give in the peel she could exert her anxieties upon. Vaguely, he wondered if oranges bruised. Like other fruits. Like he did.

“Have you ever had one before?” She asked, breaking the nervous silence of the past minutes spent in tight lipped distance.

“My lady?” He sputtered as thunder boomed through the sky, snapping his eyes up from the paths traced upon the skin by her slim, uncalloused fingers and hands. John would never admit to liking the juxtaposition of his hands to hers. Their scars and size and masculine make; how they’d swallow hers.

“Oranges- John.” She sighed, pushing waterlogged hair back from her eyes. They’d been caught in an unseasonably severe summer lightning storm not an hour before, both seeking shelter in the dry recluse their carriage could provide. It wasn’t proper, him being in here with a debutant, all alone. But Eloise had never been one for propriety, it’s why she talked with him so liberally now.

“I- I can’t say I’ve ever tried one.” He admitted with a grin, pulling off his soaked powder wig in acquiescence to their shared understanding. The roles they dared to temporarily shed, though he paused at her face of surprise.

“Apologies-“ began the footman, believing himself to have overstepped. Quickly, though, she stopped him.

“No- John- I just have never seen your hair before.” She admitted with whatever crumb of sheepishness the hard headed Eloise Bridgerton would ever dare to let shine through.

“I do suppose it’s time to cut it.” He chuckled, liking how his chest tightened at her mention of his name. How sweet it sounded coming from her lips. It was an indulgent kind of notion, the kind he almost always pushed aside. Kept inside. To hide and rot deep inside of him. He was not in a social position that permitted such a daring, the urge to lean in; men like him weren’t meant for those kinds of flavours.

“No-“ she spluttered suddenly, “it’s nice- well- you- look nice- or your hair does. John.”

The footman just blinked mischievously. “Your charms only worked on the printer boy, I’m afraid.”

That was a lie.

Eloise blushed at that, tossing the orange at him in mock indignation, clutching her chest in feigned disgust and shock. “My charms work on all, I’ve been told.”

She noticed how he’d caught it quickly, smiling at the speed of his instincts with short satisfaction she didn’t quite understand. The man was an enigma at times, but Eloise liked the mystery a good puzzle could provide. Really the only difference between him and Whistledown, from what little she’d been able to learn about John, was that he was a man.

It may have been something she noticed just a bit too keenly at present, both wrapped in soaked clothing, pressed tightly in a carriage meant for only one. Her form pressed tightly against his broad shoulders. Some part of her she had yet to really understand liked the flipping in her stomach that reality caused her to feel. Another part of her was scared as to why she felt the burn to lean in closer. He was a curious man, but her emotions remained even more undefined and bizarre.

“May I try a bite?” Asked the footman, almost sheepishly. It would have been so had he not possessed this certain air of nonchalance about him- a certain flagrant bravado. His voice was stained halfway flirtatiously from the hidden secrets of his heart that still leaked through. That he liked her body pressed to his too.

“Of course- you can have it you know- JOHN!” She exclaimed, letting out a laugh as he bit into the fruit with a face of confusion, frustration and disstate.

“God- it’s bitter.” He mumbles around the bite he tried to rip away.

“You’re supposed to PEEL it. Really John, I thought you to be a smart man.” She smiled in a way that sent his stomach into knots and sweet shambles. Then she snatched it from his mouth and his heart dared to almost explode. Her fingers just brushed the bottom of his Cupid’s bow, featherlight and soft. It ignited him.

“Like this- though you’ve mangled some of it.” Chided Eloise playfully, expertly stripping the bitter, bright skin away. “You can rip it into segments, you see.”

Cautiously, he extended a hand to take some, breath catching at the way her fingers ghosted over his own. What kept him alive, in that half second of contact, was the hope that she felt this too. That her heart ran away from her in these moments, that she looked at him as he did. Like he looked at the sun; blinded and forbidden and dangerous but the brightest damn thing that he ever did see.

Hoping to stifle the thoughts, he bit down on the half, crescent shaped moon. Letting the juice he hadn’t expected burst in a sweet, gentle sour wave on his tongue.

His lady laughed at the expression that first taste alighted in him. The way the juice dribbled down his strong jaw. Some primal part of her told her to kiss it away. It was a thought that shocked her. John, though, stayed lost in thought. In his mind this tasted as she would. Full of zest and life and the smallest bitter undertone. Sour and sweet, new and cool on his lips. A flavour he had once sworn never to know.

That was the day that John knew. The day something clicked in his soul. That this girl would always haunt his daydreams.

[draconic-ichor]

In the Steel Steeds Heart

Chapter 50: Hello Stranger

Warning: strong language, sexual themes, violence, weapons/guns, blood/gore, trauma, major character death, angst

Summary: A stranger enters the village and becomes the most unstoppable force the Lords have ever faced…

Feedback appreciated, 18+.

Heisenberg saw the fire from the factory, black smoke billowing up from the village. His hopes of a villager being capable enough to be of any use was evaporating like dew under the morning sun.

So it was very surprising to feel someone around the corner while he was snooping around one of the Dimitrescu storerooms. Their metal made them vibrate heavily to him, pausing to take the cigar from his mouth.

Expecting a villager, he didn’t give them the courtesy of looking them in the eye as he rounded the corner.

“Well, well…” ,he tamped out the butt of his cigar under his boot, “Didn't think anyone was left! You must be pretty tough, huh?", throwing up his electromagnetic shielding: it was in part for show, part just for good measure as he could feel the other was armed. He didn’t fancy digging a bullet from his gut at the moment.

But the voice that reached his ears was strangely, American: “Who the fuck are you?”

His head snapped up, eyes meeting blue ones. He’d seen those eyes before, but sadly only in photos.

It’s him…Ethan Winters.

He thought almost excitedly. “Oh-“, tilting his head a bit he spoke with more interest, “You're not local! Even better."

He saw the telltale twitch of the other’s muscle, the shift that he was going to try something stupid. With a flick of his gloved hand he sent a thin piece of piping careening at the other.

It lodged in Ethan’s abdomen, the man crying out as it sank in a good inch. But the bastard stayed on his feet!

Heisenberg laughed, exhilaration bubbling up from his core, sending more metal to force this man to his knees. Just before the last piece heavily collided with the other’s head, Heisenberg spoke with the lightness still in his, “Mother Miranda is gonna love you!"

He saw the other go limp, unconscious.

Heisenberg walked forward, metal falling. He looked down at the blonde, kneeling. He rolled the man over, pulling the pipe free of his abdomen.

He watched as the weeping hole began to seal itself, the blood becoming thick and scar tissue already forming. He titled his head curiously.

“Hm…” Heisenberg brought the pipe closer to his face, dipping in his head. His tongue swept over the crimson liquid. He let the taste settle in his mouth for a long moment, mulling things over.

It seemed…there was much more to Ethan Winters than any of them suspected.

Dropping the pipe, Heisenberg reached down and grabbed the man’s face. He forced the other’s head up so he could get a better look at him.

“You’re a cutie.” Heisenberg smiled feraly, “Got everyone all excited.” He let him go so he could cuff the man’s hands. Straightening, he threw the connected chain over his shoulder, beginning to drag the other.

He knew he had to unwillingly share his prize with the others, grumbling under his breath.

Hours later~

The phone rang shrilly, echoing around the apartment. Juniper looked up worriedly, clutching Kolt tighter as the little boy began to warble out.

Heisenberg burst through the door moments later, breathing heavy after he sprinted the way to the elevator. His eyes connected with hers for a moment before he swiftly went for the phone.

“Yea?” He answered, trying to force his voice even.

“Heisenberg.” Miranda’s voice echoed steely in his ear.

His stomach dropped.

“I need you to check on Alcina. She hasn’t reported back in hours.” The comment came through the phone.

He almost scoffed, “Why do I need to check on her?! She’s a big girl.”

“Silence.” Miranda snapped, “Ethan Winters was in her castle during her last report, I need you to go and assess the situation. You are the most capable of all my children.”

Heisenberg paused: Winters was alive?

“I’ll do it.” He finally spoke.

“Report back, try to locate her flask.” She spoke before abruptly hanging up.

Heisenberg stood like stone for a long moment before slamming the phone down.

“He’s alive…” he murmured.

“Who?” Juniper chirped.

“Ethan Winters…” Heisenberg looked far off, eyes darting around as he did calculations in his head, “He survived all my traps…”

Maybe…he can help?

Heisenberg added silently.

~

His boots crunched porcelain, echoing loudly through the empty halls. The castle was deathly quiet. Heisenberg sniffed the air, the smell of blood and death heavy. There was so much broken pottery and glass it seemed as if someone went out of their way to shatter anything worth shattering.

But the worst part was the crushing silence: no click of maids heels, no booming steps from the bitch or even buzz from the daughters. The halls were void of all life.

“Hell…” Heisenberg murmured, taking a cigar from his pocket, “That skinny little bastard can really do a number on a place.”

As he went on he saw bits of calcified dust here and there. That was worrisome. It wasn’t until he entered the freshly crumbling remains of the tower that he finally came to a halt.

His pale eyes widened, his cigar falling from his teeth and ashing against the grimy floor.

A massive mass of calcified flesh made up the tower floor like a grisly statue. The center of the mess was just crumbled rubble but he could easily see claws and jaws of a blood thirsty dragon.

He’d never seen his sister’s mutant form but it didn’t take a genius to know she was the only creature of this castle to make a beast of such magnitude.

And she was dead.

Dead.

It didn’t feel as good as he thought it would. To see her body, gray as ash, and sprawled across the castle floor. In all actuality it felt rather bad, leaving a sour taste in his mouth. He felt like stone himself, scanning the scene over and over again. He was acutely aware of two things missing, however.

Her crystal was stolen. The huntsmen’s prize, perhaps? And the little vial was also taken from its special pedestal.

“….Fuck.” He cursed.

~

After seeing what Ethan was truly capable of, Heisenberg began to watch him intently through the rest of the day. He sat in front of his monitors, smoking like a freight train, observing every move the man made. What started as a mild interest honed into an obsession.

He would murmur to himself, deep in thought. Juniper came up behind him with food, looking at the monitors over Heisenberg’s shoulders.

“He’s killing them…” Heisenberg commented, voice far away, “One by one…”

Juniper gulped, a fear curdling in her guts. She tried not to look at the monitors often, seeing a man do what she thought was impossible sent chills down her spine.

“He’s fascinating.” He whispered, grabbing the sandwich that was sitting before him.

That wasn’t the word Juniper would use.

“He’s everything we need.”

“What??”

“Look, he’s a powerhouse.” Heisenberg pointed at the monitor as Ethan threw a pipe bomb down Moraue’s monstrous throat.

Her heart went out to the fish man, knowing he wasn’t in his right mind and this whole ordeal seemed unjust.

“We need to convince him we are on the same side.” Heisenberg decided.

“You want to work with him?” Juniper tightened.

“Sure.” He shrugged, “If you think about it, he’s just like us.”

Her lips became a fine line, not able to find fault in his words. Ethan was just a desperate parent.

“Oh, oh.” Heisenberg’s face split, “Leys make contact, hm?” He switched cameras to what looked like the inside of Moraue’s television.

“You put a camera in the tv?” Juniper was astonished.

“When I fixed it, yea.” Heisenberg brushed away the comment, “Now shut the fuck up. I’m gonna talk to him.”

Juniper didn’t like the method he chose to shush her but his voice held no ill will.

Ethan picked up the last piece of the Raven key, fiddling with it to fit it together with the rest. While he was doing that Heisenberg leaned forward, flipping a switch to display his house crest over the tv static. He pressed a button and began to speak, “You're better off than I thought."

They saw the blonde almost jump, head snapping to look at the tv, "Who's that?"

“Oh come on, we just met a while back. Not that it really matters..."

“You're the last asshole in my way, aren't you?" They could hear a hint of a growl in the man’s voice.

“You've got fight, I'll give you that, Ethan. But what's the plan when you have all four flasks?" Heisenberg’s voice was almost silky.

“What are you trying to get at?"

“I could lend you a hand."

“Trying to get on my good side?" Ethan almost smirked.

Juniper had to stifle a giggle seeing Heisenberg tighten his hand into a fist and force his voice to remain level, “Don't get cocky. I'd kill you if you weren't worth the trouble..." When the other didn’t respond he went on, “There's a stronghold not too far outside the village. Go there, and get my flask. Do that, and you pass. First, head back to the graveyard."

Before the other could bite back a sharp comment he switched the monitor off.

Heisenberg huffed out, staring at the dark screen for a long moment. In the hours he watched the man his mind formulated a plan, a horrible plan. But in his long hours within his own skull it seemed so simple and foolproof.

“He didn’t say no.” Juniper pointed out hopefully, then asking, “So what’s your plan.”

The question seemed to snap the man out of whatever stupor he was in. His eyes lit up like they did when he was showing her a new soldat. He crossed the room in long strides, picking up his vial, the last left outside of Ethan’s hands.

“Im going to use these against that Bitch!” Heisenberg held out his vial almost excitedly, “I just have to convince Ethan that we are on the same side.”

Juniper looked confused, “…the vials?”

“No!” Heisenberg set it down, so he could easier talk with his hands, “I’ll get Ethan Winters, we’ll fix his kid, then we can use her powers against Miranda! It’s the last push we needed.”

Juniper was taken back, his excitement bewildering to her given the words she just heard tumble off his tongue.

“Karl…you want to use Ethan’s baby?” Juniper clarified, “Like a weapon?”

Completely oblivious to her reservations, Heisenberg almost beamed, “Yes, doll! This is what we needed! With his kid’s power we can mop the floor with that bitch!”

His plans fully settled in her chest. Seeing him so happy about the idea sent a shiver down her spine. They were desperate, sure, but this seemed much too far.

“We can’t do that.” Juniper blurted out.

Heisenberg stopped now, “Of course we can. That kid is powerful and after we fix it Ethan will surely help us.”

“It??” Juniper’s voice rose, “Karl, that’s a little girl. That’s a baby girl in that vial!”

Heisenberg shrugged away her comment, “You know what I meant…”

“No, you are trying to dehumanize her.”

“Oh fuck off.”

“Karl you seriously want to do this?” Juniper worried her hands a bit, stepping back.

His brows furrowed, looking her up and down. This was the answer they were looking for, their ace in the hole. He expected her to be overjoyed.

“I want to be free of that Bitch.” He was firm, “And that kid’s power is our ticket out of here.”

“What if that were Kolt?” Juniper’s voice wavered, looking down at her hands.

“What?”

“What if that were our little boy?!” Juniper met his gaze, emerald eyes like fire, “Would you use him like a weapon too?”

Heisenberg didn’t speak, looking tense and still. In that moment Juniper tore into him more, the fire in her belly consuming her.

“How far would you go, hm?” Papers and smaller objects began to float around the shop, “Would you use Kolt to be free?”

Her voice cracked, under the anger there was something else. Something deep in her heart breaking over the realization of just how far Karl Heisenberg was willing to go.

Heisenberg scoffed, “Of course I wouldn’t.”

“What’s the difference?!” Juniper almost screamed, the objects swirling around like a tornado.

“Don’t be stupid.” Heisenberg barked back, “I’d never use Kolt, this is different. We need that kid’s power. I’m doing this for us!”

“You’re doing this for you!” Tears streamed down her cheeks, “We have the metal army and our powers, you don’t need that little girl.”

“They might not be enough, shit!”

“You don’t know that.”

“You’re right, I don’t know!” His voice was almost desperate, “With that kid we can have a guarantee! Please buttercup, I just want to be free of all this bullshit.” He balled his fingers into his knotted hair, “I want out!”

The objects slowed, papers hanging in the air as Juniper walked closer. Heisenberg looked up, wanting comfort or at the very least understanding. But all he saw in her glassy eyes was a hardness.

“And will you be able to live with yourself afterwards?” Juniper asked, voice deathly quiet, “Will you be able to look your baby in the eyes and not see the one you exploited?”

“If I’m alive to do so, I’ll find a fucking way.” He bared his teeth, “I’m doing what’s necessary.”

The items fell, Juniper squeezing her eyes shut.

“I can’t stand by you if you go through with this…” she concluded.

He grabbed her wrist, pulling her closer. Juniper still looked away.

“We are in this together.” He hissed, “We’ve done some terrible shit for this revolution, and we’re not stopping now.” His voice was commanding, squeezing her tighter in his grasp, “I’m not about to loose everything right at the end because you suddenly got a fucking set of morals.”

There was a long stretch of silence between them, Heisenberg felt rigid. He released her, almost tossing her away as he did so.

Juniper stumbled to regain her footing, rubbing her bruising wrist.

He watched her with sharp pale eyes, wanting to take everything back and scoop her up. But he was much too bullheaded to do so. No, he dug his heels in ever deeper.

“Do whatever you want…” Juniper relented, “But I’m against it, and it’s not going to work.” She spoke the last words matter-of-factly.

Heisenberg snorted, “And why is that?”

“You said it yourself.” She met his gaze finally, green eyes sparking, “You’d never even think of using Kolt in such a way.”

“So?”

“So?” She mimicked, eyes narrow and face cool, “What in that brilliant mind of yours thinks that Ethan Winters would be any different with his own baby?”

He didn’t answer, standing almost stupidly. He squared his jaw and she could see the wheels turning behind his eyes.

She gave an exasperated chuckle, “Thought so.” She turned to leave, pausing to speak once more, “Good luck…”

[seasonschange-butpeopledont]

Everyday Heroes

Pairing: Marcus Moreno x F!Reader

Warnings: A few curse words, an explosion, implied injury, depressed reader, minor character death, grief, and a bit of pining

Word Count: 3,364

Author’s Note: This got out of hand and apparently I only know how to write hopeless pining. Do we agree that Marcus gives off Clark Kent vibes or am I alone in this?

Summary: The three times you discovered Marcus Moreno was a hero. 

Taglist Form - Masterlist

When you’d left the house that morning, the heels you wore had seemed like a great idea. 

You were headed in for your first day at your new job and you wanted to make a good impression by wearing what you perceived to be your most professional outfit. You’d made it to the coffee shop down the street from your apartment with minimal difficulty, though you were certain to have blisters on your feet by the end of the day. Thankfully, your receptionist position meant that you would spend the majority of your day more or less chained to the front desk, answering phones, taking messages, scheduling appointments, and greeting visitors. 

You didn’t know much about Vil-Tech. You’d googled them before your first interview, of course- you weren’t a total idiot and you’d never dare show up unprepared, especially when you needed this job so badly- but your search had yielded only a few results. Most of what you’d found had been articles from the newspaper. The researchers at the lab had, apparently, recently had some success in clean energy technology. Protons, neutrons, particle accelerators, electromagnetic fields… You knew nothing about it, really, but it sounded impressive. And clean energy had to be good, right? When they’d hired you, it hadn’t seemed like a big deal that you knew next to nothing about the company itself. They were only looking for a receptionist, after all, not a scientist. If they’d wanted you to know exactly what was going on in the floors above you, you were sure that they would have let you know. 

With your coffee in hand, you made your way towards the Vil-Tech building. All in all, it seemed like the universe was on your side this morning. You’d woken up early enough to make yourself look decent. Your favorite barista had made your coffee just the way you liked it, and it even looked like you would be early for work. 

And then it all seemed to happen in slow motion. 

The upper half of your body was already moving forward, even as the heel of your shoe remained firmly wedged in the sidewalk crack. You felt the coffee sloshing around in the stainless steel travel mug in your hands, threatening to douse your crisp white blouse in the steaming beverage. You blindly threw your hand out in front of you, bracing yourself to hit the concrete and thinking to yourself that this was just one of those days when this might as well happen. 

But the harsh impact you’d prepared yourself for never came. 

It had taken you a moment to process that someone had caught you. Someone with impeccable reflexes, it seemed, as not only had they rescued you from taking a humiliating fall in the middle of a busy sidewalk, but they also managed to save your coffee without spilling a drop. To say that you were impressed by the feat was an understatement.

But when you looked up at your savior, you were damn near speechless. 

“Are you okay?” He asked, his dark eyes finding yours from beneath his black-framed glasses. And, other than the approximately thirty-seven heart attacks you’d had in the span of 2.5 seconds only moments before, you found yourself nodding in confirmation. 

“I’m fine. I… Thank you,” You breathed out, a warm, tingly feeling spreading out from your chest and right down to your toes. Gods, he had the most beautiful eyes you’d ever seen. He appeared to be somewhere in his mid-forties, and wore a leather jacket with his slacks and tie, a combination you’d never quite seen before, but decided suited him quite well. 

“Are you sure? You look a little dizzy,” He noted. His arm was still around your waist, and you were grateful for it, because you didn’t quite trust the integrity of your knees at the moment.

After a few moments, which had exceeded the socially acceptable amount of time to moon over a stranger while clutching their remarkably toned biceps for dear life by a long-shot, your brain finally seemed to catch up to the rest of you, and promptly flooded your thoughts with embarrassment. You released your death-grip on his arms immediately, trying to maintain your dignity as you yanked your heel from the concrete crevice in a distinctly unladylike manor. All the while, the handsome stranger remained right there, dutifully holding your coffee and trying his best to hide the amusement in his eyes with a polite smile. 

Taking a deep breath and smoothing out your outfit, you nodded at him once again. “I’m fine,” You said in what you hoped was your most composed voice. He promptly handed you your coffee, and you swore you felt electricity when his fingers brushed against yours. 

“Glad to hear it,” He remarked, “That would have been a nasty fall.” 

“Nice save, Clark,” You joked, attempting your most charming smile. Were you flirting? Could you even consider this flirting?

“Clark?” He repeated, his eyebrows raised in curiosity. 

“You know, Clark Kent… with the glasses and... lightning-fast reflexes… saving me from an incredibly embarrassing moment?” You explained weakly. It wasn’t as if you’d never spoken to an attractive man before, but it seemed that the universe was decidedly not on your side this morning after all.

“Superman?” Another smile found its way to his face. He seemed flattered by your comment. “My daughter loves those comics.” At the mention of his daughter, your eyes quickly darted down to his left hand. There was no wedding ring there, but it was clear that there had been one there in the past. 

“Well, your daughter has excellent taste. And we could all use a few more heroes in our lives, right?” You sighed wistfully, before adding, “Thank you, by the way.” 

“It was no big deal,” He assured you. “I’m always happy to help a pretty lady in need.” 

You laughed quietly at the last part, finding the cheesiness of it adorable. You weren’t quite sure why you were still lingering on the street corner, except that you couldn’t quite bring yourself to walk away just yet. He seemed equally as reluctant to part from you, both of you grinning shyly at one another as you soaked in the meet-cute moment. Right up until his eyes fell to the ID badge clipped to your bag, that is. 

“Is that a Vil-Tech badge?”

There was a hint of disappointment in his tone that you couldn’t quite assign a cause for. It wasn’t the question you were expecting. You’d expected him to ask your name, or maybe offer you his, but you could practically see the gears turning in his head by now, so you humored him.

“Yep,” You confirmed. “It's my first day. I’m just a receptionist, though…” 

He nodded slowly, his eyebrows pinching together. He didn’t even try to hide his frown. What was it about Vil-Tech that seemed to bother him so much?

“I’m really sorry, but I’m running late for work,” He said finally, nodding in the direction you had just come from. He turned his attention back to you, his eyes staring into yours as he spoke with the utmost seriousness. “Good luck on your first day, and… Look after yourself, okay? Vil-Tech might not be what you think it is.” 

And with that, he brushed past you, seemingly in quite a hurry as he disappeared into the crowd and left you standing there, disappointment sinking deep into your bones. 

You didn’t even get his name. 

***

You didn’t see him again for a month. 

Not that you often thought about him or his dreamy eyes and ridiculously charming smile or his strong arms around your waist. And definitely not that you sometimes idly wondered where he was and how his day was going while you were grocery shopping or stuck at the laundromat. 

Okay, maybe you did. 

Maybe you went to that same coffee shop every week day, hoping that you might bump into him again. 

And maybe you sometimes imagined those eyes staring into yours and arms around you in situations where you weren’t making a complete fool of yourself. 

You felt silly for being that girl. The one who falls hopelessly in love with strangers you pass on the streets, with anyone who thinks that anyone who so much as holds the door open for you could be your true love. You were a grown up, for goodness sake. You weren’t supposed to believe in that kind of thing anymore. 

But it was those ridiculous daydreams you found yourself caught up in when a team of Heroics stormed into Vil-Tech on a Tuesday afternoon. 

“I apologize, sir, but Dr. Pershing is out of the office today…” You sighed, listening to the supplier ramble on and on about the importance of Dr. Pershing returning his call. You had already scribbled the message down, along with his name and phone number. “Yes, I’ll be sure to give him the message.” It was difficult to hide the exasperation in your tone. 

“That’s what you said the last time,” The man snapped. “Pershing didn’t return my calls for a week. I don’t know why they can’t hire someone who knows how to take a message properly. God knows they’ve got the money for it.” 

You tapped the tip of your pen against the notepad on your desk, feeling a lump beginning to form in your throat. “I apologize, Mr. Wells. I’ll make sure that Dr. Pershing gets your message as soon as he returns.” 

“You’d better,” He grumbled, before the line went dead. 

You let out a slow breath, easing yourself back from the edge of tears. It had been like this all morning. The scientists in the building were off at a conference for the week, leaving you behind to copy down messages and field angry phone calls. 

Stan, the elderly security guard, if you could call him that, offered you a sympathetic smile from his post by the door. You returned it weakly.

Closing your eyes, you tried to think of something else. Brown eyes, charming smile, strong arms. You repeated it like a mantra. Electricity. The feeling of safety. That warm, fluttering feeling in your stomach, and a rush of calm. 

When you opened your eyes again, you found Stan staring slack-jawed as the Heroics sprinted into the building, announcing to you, Stan, and the maintenance staff that you all needed to clear the building immediately. They offered no explanation for their frantic demands, but when a guy in spandex and a cape tells you to go, you go. You were sure that, whatever it was, you’d be able to catch the reason for the strange event on the news later that evening. You’d watched them destroy city hall enough times from the comfort of your living room to be sure that you wanted out of this building as soon as possible. 

But, given that this was your first call-the-Heroics-level emergency, it seems that your idea of immediacy was a bit different from theirs. In the time that it had taken you to grab your jacket, shove your laptop in your purse, and sling the bag over your shoulder, you had already been tackled to the ground by some idiot in a tactical vest. 

You don’t remember much about the explosion. 

You’d later learn that Vil-Tech Labs dealt in more than just technological innovation. The research they’d been conducting while locked away in the uppermost floors of the building, all of that gibberish involving the off-site particle accelerator you’d read about, was both sinister and invaluable. Rather than letting the Heroics get their hands on their files to uncover their plans and stop them from being set in motion, they’d decided to set off an explosion in their own goddamn building. And thanks to that ‘idiot in a tactical vest’, you were one of the only survivors. 

But in the meantime, while you were lying on your back in the middle of the lobby feeling like you’d been hit by a train, you were clueless about the nefarious action of the company you’d spent the last month working for. The only thing you could seem to focus on was the pain in your head from where you’d smacked it against the tile flooring, and the weight of the fully grown man on top of you that was currently restricting your breathing. 

You must have hit your head even harder than you thought, because there was no way in hell the man who’d been starring in all of your daydreams for months was here, now, on top of you, with katanas strapped to his back. You refused to accept that as a reality. Would he even remember you? Why would he? Apparently, the man you’d developed a  stupid little crush on was a superhero. He probably helped people all of the time and you were just another-

“What the fuck?” You finally hissed, gasping for air. The air was smokey and it stung your eyes and nose when you inhaled. 

His breathing hitched slightly when you looked up at him, the look of fear clear on your face. “You okay?” He asked, still hovering above you as he pushed himself up on his elbows, careful to avoid the shattered glass that now seemed to cover every flat surface in sight. 

“I’m… reasonably certain I’m not dead,” You replied, an edge of panic in your voice, which was a bit shakier than you would have liked. “What’s happening? I don’t- I don’t understand- Where is Stan-” You coughed, your lungs burning. 

You idly wondered how long you had before the building started to collapse, its structural integrity surely compromised by the explosion. Of all the ways you could die, being buried alive was up there with the ones you dreaded the most. Your growing panic must have been obvious. 

“Hey, calm down,” He reassured you. “I’m going to get you out of here. You’re going to be just fine.” 

The room was still spinning when you felt yourself being scooped up into his arms, the edges of your vision growing more and more fuzzy with each breath you took. 

“We have got to stop meeting like this, Clark” You murmured. You swear you feel, rather than hear, a laugh rumble in his chest just before the world goes dark. Maybe he did remember you after all. 

***

It’s only a little more than a week later, long after you’ve woken up in the hospital and been discharged, that you find yourself sitting in the coffee shop down the street. It’s a Thursday morning, and you’re staring blankly into your vanilla latte. 

You aren’t sure why you’re up so early. The doctors had ordered you to take it easy, and it’s not like you had a job to go to anymore. You could have slept in, made your own coffee at home, and stayed curled up on your couch watching Netflix and hiding from the rest of the world like you had been for the past week. You felt horrible that you’d been associated with a place like Vil-Tech. You should have known that something was off about the place, but you’d never realized it, never bothered to look into anything when things seemed off. You felt so stupid for it now. Were you just as bad as the rest of them? Sure, all you’d done was answer phones for them, but…

Stan, your only friend at Vil-Tech, the kind man who had shared half of his sandwich at lunch with you more times than you could count and always had a smile for you when he greeted you in the mornings, had never made it out of the building. You supposed that you should consider yourself lucky that the Heroics had saved you, but the loss of your friend and the knowledge that Vil-Tech was certainly not what you thought it was, had shaken you. 

You’d felt different when you woke up this morning. Like, maybe, leaving your apartment and getting some fresh air wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

Your favorite barista had smiled sympathetically when you walked through the doors. You must have looked as bad as you felt. Considering you hadn’t showered since you’d gotten home from the hospital, you were sure that you were quite a sight. 

“Good morning!” She greeted, mustering up her cheeriest demeanor for you. “The usual, right?”

You nodded, not quite making eye contact as you handed her your card to pay. She quickly waved you off. 

“It’s on the house today, hon. And I insist that you take this chocolate chip muffin. I’ll make you feel better.” 

Your heart ached at her kindness, the act almost forcing tears in your eyes once again. That was the thing that you realized over the past few days. The Heroics were great, but there were plenty of everyday heroes out there as well. Sometimes it was Ashely the Barista, who scribbles a smiley face and a compliment on your cup on the mornings that seem particularly rough. Sometimes it was Stan the Security Guard, who offers to teach you sudoku on your lunch breaks. And sometimes it was a stranger you passed on the street, who catches you when you fall. 

You sat down at a table in the corner of the coffee shop, your vanilla latte and chocolate chip muffin sat out in front of you, untouched for the moment. You didn’t usually sit down to have your coffee, but you had nowhere to be today, and you were finding that you appreciated not being alone for a while. 

You heard the bells above the door jingle, signaling that a new customer had entered the shop. You looked up to see a man with dark hair and a familiar leather jacket walking towards the barista to place his order. You listened closely as he gave his name for his order, though you’d heard it plenty of times on the news this week. A smile tugged at the corners of your lips for the first time in over a week.

Marcus Moreno, your own personal Superman. 

You hadn’t meant to stare, but it was undeniably strange to see the man who had saved you not once, but twice, doing something as mundane as making his morning coffee run. After he paid, he turned towards the groupings of tables and chairs, searching for a place to sit while he waited for his drink to be ready. When his eyes landed on you, you raised your hand in a small wave. You were nervous about how he’d react to seeing you here. You had no doubt that he recognized you this time.

You weren’t exactly sure what the protocol was for meeting a real-life superhero again after they had saved your life. Were you supposed to pretend not to know each other? Should you have paid for his coffee? Did you make a public declaration to name your first born child after him?

To your surprise, he simply smiled back at you with the most heart-stopping, breathtaking smile you’d ever seen in your life, and returned your wave. It was as simple as that, you thought. Marcus Moreno, the superhero with katanas at this back and a team of Heroics at his side, the closest thing to Superman you’d ever met, was impressive. But Marcus Moreno, the helpful man with a kind, beautiful smile and warm, friendly eyes, whose mere existence had never failed to cheer you up? He was magnificent. An everyday hero, indeed. 

He made this way through the crowd and over to your table, gesturing to the seat across from you as if to ask for your permission to sit down. You nodded, feeling a sense of warmth blossoming in your chest. The same way you’d felt when you saw him for the first time. The same feeling that you’d been dreaming about for months. 

Hope, you realized. 

“Hi,” He greeted. “I, uh, I never caught your name. I’m Marcus Moreno.” 

As you gave him your name, you decided that maybe you could start by just saying thank you. 

General Taglist: @theravenreads @marshmallowtraver @computeringturtle @adikaofmandalore @pascalisthepunkest

Marcus Moreno Taglist: @xjaywritesx​

[depressedacadamia]

Sore Losers

A/N: This was meant to be a simple one shot but I couldn’t help myself and now it’s a twoshot because I’m extra af. I hope you enjoy it and please comment!

Summary: Percy and Annabeth are both the most competitve people to ever exist by far. So when they both lead teams in a match of Capture the Flag Paintball edition, a very fun game ends up becoming a battle. Annabeth and Percy also happen to be the biggest pair of sore losers out there. 

Word count: 3.8K

Tagging: @showtunesandsolangelo

Chapter I

Let it be known that Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase were both the biggest pair of sore losers on this side of the Atlantic. You’d think that a large group of teenagers at a paintballing park would cause a lot of trouble. Yes, yes they would indeed. But not nearly as much trouble a group of traumatised teenage demigods could cause.

They had 1 rule- don't use any powers.

However, the demigods were never really much good at following rules.

Percy promised Annabeth that his team would win and Annabeth, unable to help herself, boasted back how amazing her team were going to be. It was quite obvious how their fatal flaws- hubris and loyalty- were going to be their downfall in a game of paintball.

“Oi! You two stop flirting and get on the damned bus, would you!” Piper shouted from the window seat with Hazel to her. The yellow bus was warm due to the sunny weather outside and it smelt like teenagers.

“We aren’t flirting!” Annbeth protested violently as she threw her sports bag over her shoulder while climbing the steps. Percy, being the gentleman he was, took the bag off her shoulder and carried it for her- not that it was truly hard.

“Even I can tell that you’re flirting,” Leo called out from the back where his fingers idly fiddled with some copper wire, a battery and a nail- it seemed like he was making an electromagnet.

“Can you blame me if Percy thinks his team is going to win Pipes?” Annabeth turned around in her seat.

“That’s because we are going to win,” Will commented with a hint of sarcasm from the side of the bus where Percy’s team sat. Nico, who sat next to Reyna and was on Annabeth’s team, was more invested in fidgeting with his rings until Will spoke up.

“Says you, traitor,” He snorted.

“Death boy, it’s a game. You chose Annabeth's team- it would be unfair if we were on the same team. Besides, If anything, I should be upset. You chose Annabeth's team after I chose Percy’s!”

Nico refused to answer, his arm clinging to Reyna who barely took notice and smirked at the boy’s ego’s.

“How sad must it be that you genuinely believe that you will win?” Reyna was about to sheath her spear when Hazel put her hand on hers.

“Reyna! We aren’t allowed to bring weapons. We need to prove we can beat them without weapons!” Hazel argued.

“Having second thoughts over there?” Frank called out from beside Jason. Hazel stuck her tongue out at him- he pulled a funny face in return. While these two were considered the most mature, when they were talking to each other, they were no better than 5 year olds.

The venue was huge. It was like an abandoned forest with upside down vehicles, camo everywhere and at least 3 places to get perfectly shot in the head- not that it was allowed. There was a specific reason behind the demigods choosing to go paintballing- they were never trained to use guns. It was something that none of them were familiar in, thus they were all at a completely fair level. Had they been sword fighting, they would have all destroyed each other. They had to pull on protection suits- which were also camouflage.

“Okay, this is to capture the flag but in paintball. You’re all familiar with capturing the flag- the only difference here is instead of our regular weapons, today we have these peculiar things…” Calypso trailed off slightly.

“Guns,” Hazel and Nico finished off together. The entire squad gave an alarmed look at them saying Why in the name of Hades do you know that? In sync, they both replied.

“World War 1,” Hazel sighed.

“Hitler,” Nico grunted, kicking at the floor. A couple of scattered snorts came from the group who could not picture them in the 1900s.

“Enough enemy mingling! Comrades, let us unite to beat the Owls!” Percy commanded his group comedically. Nico raised his eyebrow at the communist joke while everyone laughed slightly.

“I see you’ve learnt something in History- let’s find out if your seaweed brain can figure out how to surrender shall we?” Annabeth challenged as she took steps towards Percy, her hands resting on her hips confidently- Her hubris was showing. She half expected Percy to slip his hand around her waist or try and show off like she did but instead, he turned to his team and began frantically whispering.

The game was so on.

“Okay, this is it. We go in, storm the boys and capture their flag,” Annabeth decided.

“And don't forget to shoot as many of them as you can!” Piper added and the group happily agreed.

“Okay Comrades, Mission ‘infiltrate’ the owls is about to end- when we meet at what I like to call No man's land, we shall take their flag while they attempt to take ours. Will, guard our flag- the rest of you, position ourselves in the formation we discussed earlier. Jason and Leo, you’re my backup soldiers if I’m down,” Percy announced. The boys nodded and prepared for the plan.

Annabeth was crouching, gun in hand with Hazel behind her. Annabeth's blonde hair made her stand out a bit whereas Hazel had a greater advantage- from a vantage point, one wouldn’t even be able to see her. As Annabeth approached through the clearing she froze. Up ahead was a dangerous place. No bushes, no trees, no cars- she’d be totally exposed to whatever Percy was plotting. She did not doubt that he had some person watching this area, ready to release fire on any enemies. Annabeth was going to wait, she crouched by the bush before the clearing and kept her gun pointed and her eyes on the lookout.

She was about to move when paint balls began exploding all around her. The sound ricocheted in her ears and the droplets of paint remained floating about in the air. The boys had planned an ambush! Annabeth knew she had 2 options- retreat and play defensive or attack and play offensive.

“Hazel, you’re in charge. Nico, you’re coming with me. Make sure Reyna is still guarding the flag!” She whisper- shouted as she began running across No Mans Land with Nico trailing close behind her. He may or may not have been using his powers to bring shards of earth encased in shadows to protect himself and Annabeth from the shower of paintballs heading towards them. Nobody really needed to know- besides, he was forbidden from using death powers, not earthly ones.

“Nico, I hear something,” Annabeth warned. The sound of crackling and rushing water surrounded them.

“It’s coming from the creak…,” Nico mumbled.

They both made eye contact, agreeing on a time to run. 3 ,2 ,1- Now! They began sprinting, dodging the rocks and the flames which were scattered across the field. The other team were really going all out and being ruthless. Leo had set half of their frontier on fire that was only being controlled by the fact that Percy had a lot of water coming in from the creak preventing the fire from spreading too far. Flashes of light came striking down on the trees, causing crackles in the trees. There were echoes of thunder rumbling throughout their section and the smell of carbon monoxide slowly rising into the air.

The tree that had been struck by lightning was causing an awful mount of crackling, a bit too much for comfort. It wasn’t until the distinct sound of a tree snapping did Annabeth and Nico realise that the tree in front of them was falling.

Directly. Onto. them.

Back at Annabeth's side of the frontier, Hazel had decided to play dirty and get powers involved. It was only fair, was it not? Piper, Reyna and Calypso were all very happy to oblige to this. They had restructured their battle plan with Piper guarding the flag and using her charmspeak if necessary. Hazel, Calypso and Reyna were at the front, using their powers to their advantage. Reyna had not decided to use her empowerment- it wasn’t necessary and it was never comforting knowing she had made her friends feel brave; she felt like she was manipulating them whenever she did use it.

“So Hazel, what were you saying about not using weapons?” Reyna raised an eyebrow as she impressively pulled out her spear of imperial gold, glimmering in the sunlight. Hazel who sheathed her Spatha simply shrugged.

“Calypso are you ready?” Hazel asked, slightly concerned- she didn't want to overwork her so quickly after she had only just started to get her magic back.

“You think I’m going to let Leo win?” She scoffed slightly as she raised her hands slightly, the magical aura around them visible.

“We have a battle to win,” Reyna announced.

Nico grabbed onto Annabeth and closed his eyes. She felt herself slip into the darkness with Nico- the moment was awful. Dark, cold and creepy whisperings surrounded her. She did not want to know how Nico was able to do that. As he pulled them out the shadows, Nico dropped to his knees, trying to catch his breath. His eyes looked significantly tired post- shadow travelling.

“Don’t tell Will, he’ll go crazy if he found out that I shadow travelled,” he said weakly, his hand clutching his ribs. Annabeth slowly helped him up to his feet, only one gun still with the both of them- Nico had dropped his when he had to shadow travel them.

“Nico, I’ve got another plan if you’re up for it,” Annabeth offered. She leaned over and whispered her strategy. The corners of Nico’s lips twisted upwards into a cruel smile- cold and menacing. Was this plan extremely dangerous if one part went wrong? Probably. But Nico decided he liked the idea of winning too much to really care.

He dug his feet into the ground again, pushing every ounce of energy into controlling the shadows. He needed to keep this accurate- too much and Hazel’s side of the field goes dark, too little and Percy’s team will be able to see what's coming.

Slowly, shadows covered every inch of Percy’s field. Nico and Annabeth were grasping onto each other, Nico was holding onto her for strength while Annabeth was staying with the only person who could control what was happening. The only light that was visible were the fires ignited by Leo but by now, they were weak. All they had to do was wait for a figure to light up their hands- all the members would flock to the light, except whoever was protecting the flag.

“What just happened?” Percy yelled as he followed the stream of water that led to the fires.

“Someone’s using their powers… probably Nico, I can hear whisperings and these shadows are really cold!” Leo responded, lifting his hands up to signal his location to his teammates- though that may have not been a good idea. A giant flash of light came striking down to the ground again and the loud rumble of thunder came soon after, only adding to the creepiness of the game.

“It’s definitely Nico using powers which means he’s somehow gotten through our borders,” Jason gritted out. They all looked at each other agreeing to search for the son of Hades.

“Nico, you can summon the skeletons now, right?” Annabeth asked as she supported Nico on her shoulder. Feebly, Nico nodded while trying to summon some of his own strength. His skin which had almost returned to it’s olive hue was now close to a deathly pale. Annabeth could feel his cold fingers and slightly shivered- it was like holding a corpse. The ground started cracking, the earth splitting open as a skeletal arm reached out, climbing into the real world. Within a minute, Nico had summoned enough skeletons for the plan to work.

Annabeth knew what had to happen next- she would either run after the flag or go drive the remainder of Percy’s team far back enough so that her team could attack them from behind. She cherished the idea of getting the flag, a truly victorious moment, but she knew that if she went after the flag, she’d be sending Nico who seemed as fragile as glass right now to go fight 4 of the most powerful demigods. She decided to take her chances- hopefully whoever was guarding the flag wasn’t too hard for Nico.

“Nico, here take the gun and go after the flag. I will push back the other team.”

“I don’t need that- you’re going to be 4 against one, take it.” He batted his hand, refusing to allow Annabeth to hand over her gun to him.

“Nic-”

“-If you want to actually win this, you need your gun. You don’t stand a chance fighting 4 of them alone. Take the gun,” He managed to snap. Annabeth actually smiled at this. If Nico could give her snappy comebacks, then he still had a bit of strength in him. She kept her gun as she ran into the shadows, the skeleton army close behind.

“Does the other side look kinda funny?” Hazel asked, tilting her head to the side with her spatha in hand.

“It’s...it’s dark. I can't see anything there,” Calypso responded, slightly shocked.

What in the name of the gods was going on over there?

It seemed that the answer hit Reyna and Hazel at the same time- Nico! Not that they were about to admit it, but they were a tad concerned- you know, if you saw pure shadows just floating about, you would also be slightly concerned.

“We should move ourselves further up the frontier into No Mans Land. Annabeth must have planned something with Nico.” Calypso announced. They all agreed and moved further downwards, cautious for any ambushes.

“Oh Annabeth, aren’t you meant to be the smart one? You know, daughter of Athena?” Percy mockingly asked as she approached them, the shadows encasing most of her but not enough to go unnoticed. The skeletons however, were hiding perfectly in the dark.

“And where is the little shit?” Jason looked around Annabeth, trying to see if Nico had hid himself among the shadows- something that wouldn’t be too hard for him.

“Technically this is cheating,” Leo pointed out. Annabeth snapped her head towards him, still wondering where the skeletons were.

“We weren’t the ones who started it- if I remember correctly, you literally almost crushed us under a tree.”

“That was an accident,” Jason sheepishly rubbed his head.

“Don't think you can walk in here without being defeated, Wise girl.”

“If all 4 of you are going to fight me, I think all guns should be prohibited- does that sound fair Jackson?”

“3. All 3 of us. Frank has been… patrolling.” Leo rubbed his hands mysteriously. Annabeth wanted to gasp, they had been cheating from the beginning, using Frank as surveillance on them.

“Well since you were cheating from the very beginning, you definitely cannot use your guns,” Annabeth protested, enforcing her plan. The boy shrugged and threw their guns to the floor- Annabeth did the same but the gun was still close enough for… a change of heart. Fire raged from Leo’s hands, Percy had Riptide in hand and Jason had his Gladius, the charge of lighting running through it. Annabeth had to try to not visibly gulp- Where on earth were the skeletons? Here getting toasted was not part of the plan. She could only start to take them one when the distraction was set.

Nico forcibly pushed his foot one in front of another, searching for the flag. The entire half of the arena was covered like a blanket. The only light source being Leo’s fire and the occasional fires that Nico let loose through the ground to help him see. Up head, Nico could see another light source- did he just walk himself into a circle? He couldn’t see Leo or any fires. In fact all he really saw was light.

Light?

He trudged forwards, keeping to the shadows. As he got closer, he realised the light source was Will- his skin was the lightsource, literally. It was like he was watching a firefly for the first time- Will was glowing! No, focus Nico. The game, the flag. Capture it and reign victorious with Annabeth.

“Frank, dude, get off my shoulder,” Jason said. As the hand remained on his shoulder, Jason grew slightly agitated and turned around before jumping back and letting out a scream of surprise. Catching the attention of Percy and Leo, the skeletons began to close in on them. Now was Annabeth's chance. While the skeletons pushed them back, hopefully Hazel would have the team ready for an ambush on all sides.

“You’re very shiny today,” Nico commented.

“Well if you didn’t plunge us into semi- eternal darkness, I wouldn’t be a night light,” Will retorted crossing his arms.

“I’ve always wanted my own personal nightlight. Also now, I have an actual justification to call you sunshine- you’re literally glowing.”

“Quit laughing at me.”

“I’m not laughing at you… I’m just stealing,” Nico shrugged as he made a dash for the flag. Will scrambled for his gun but it was too late, Nico had pulled the flag into the shadows- the paintballs from Will’s gun had only hit the tree that Nico had once stood in front of. As Nico emerged from his travelling, the shadows that once covered the entire field started fading.

With their guns strapped to their backs, Hazel and the team made their way across No Mans Land- trying to avoid the shower of paintballs from the other side.

“You made a machine gun out of this?” Hazel asked in dismay as she dodged the fireball coming from Leo.

“I am Admiral Leo, of course I made a machine gun, Hazel.”

“Hazel, on your left!”

Hazel swiftly ducked a paintball coming her left which proceeded to hit Leo square in the chest. He groaned as he felt the bruise start to form across his chest. Saddened by getting hit, he fell to the ground dramatically.

“Oh I’m wounded! Tell Calypso I might not make it!”

“Tell her yourself,” a voice snorted. Jason and Reyna were both fighting- Jason’s gladius would come down harshly onto Reyna’s spear, who continuously tried to disarm him. When Jason came down again with his sword, Reyna twisted her spear towards the hilt and pushed the butt of her spear upwards successfully disarming the sword with a clatter from his hands. She placed her foot on the sword and kicked it backwards, away from Jason before she dropped her spear.

“Hand to hand?” Jason asked. Reyna did not reply and instead charged towards him.

Calypso was trying to not get set on fire- while Leo had been shot, he was not about to let her win so easily. Her magic could only do so much and it annoyed her that Leo was setting everything on fire.

“Calypso, don’t you have telekinesis?” Annabeth shouted nodding towards Leo as she dodged another slash from Percy. Calypso got the memo and closed her eyes, harvesting as much power as she could. Being an ex-titaness came with it’s privileges from time to time. She opened her eyes and flung her hands towards Leo. Easily, she threw him into the creek where he landed with an ‘oomph’ and a very loud curse word that will not be repeated.

Piper hated being the guard. Everyone was probably having a blast and here she was, away from the action. There was a buzzing noise that was annoying her and she really did not want to deal with it. She had one of her daggers clutched in her hand while the gun was slung over her shoulder. She had gotten so bored that she had resorted to talking to the crow opposite her who had just sat there. It would tilt its head every once in a while when she said anything that could be deemed controversial.

Suddenly, the crow flew towards her, as to rest on her shoulder but instead, went towards the flag. Nothing wrong there, just a crow going towards a flag. Afterall it wasn’t as if it was trying to pull it out of the ground. Just as Piper turned around to see what the crow was really doing, she caught Frank with his hand wrapped around the flag, smiling and saluting towards her as he turned around and ran, flag in hand. Piper swore she had run as fast she ever had in her entire life, trying to get her charmspeak to work. The panting did not help her.

Annabeth slashed her knife in Percy’s direction, missing him by a millimeter as he stepped back to avoid it. Riptide came back at her, instead of it going for a blow to the chest as she expected, Percy aimed for her feet. As he wanted, she tripped and fell but her knife was still in hand. Just as she was about to use it, Riptide was held under her chin- she could feel the cool metal of it as Percy smirked and lightly teased her neck with it.

“You know Miss Brainiac, you really have yourself in a bad position, giving up would be easy, wouldn't it?”

“Jackson, you are enjoying this too much. I think you’ve forgotten the point.” Annabeth grabbed Riptide and twisted it before roling backwards slightly and throwing herself forwards. The sword clattered to the ground making Percy pout slightly but he wasn’t disheartened. Annabeth backslashed towards Percy who grabbed her arm, rendering the weapon in hand useless.

Annabeth had one last plan.

She leaned forwards and pressed her lips against Percy. It was quick and daring and Percy certainly did not expect it. Their lips met gently- it was comforting, warm and soft. Their lips brushed and when she pulled away lightly, he could taste her chapstick.

“Ouch!” Percy yelped as he jumped away from Annabeth and let go of her wrist. She held the knife under his chin and winked at Nico who held the gun with the flag under his arm. There was a giant yellow splatter on his back.

“That's not fair!” Percy sputtered. “ You seduced me!”

“All's fair in love and war.” Annabeth winked.

“I’ve got it! I’ve got the flag!” Frank gasped slightly- mainly due to being out of breath. He looked at Jason who was on the ground, Leo who was soaking, Percy who had a massive paintball splatter on his back and then at Nico who was holding the flag.

“We planned this. To make you win. We were taking it easy on you guys,” Frank decided. All the boys nodded in agreement only making Annabeth's teams chuckle.

[countrymusiclover]

13 - Hero Recruitment

Part 14

Iron Stone masterlist

9 months ago

"Anthony Stark I blame you!" I cry loudly at the hospital in the delivery room with Tony at my bedside.

The rest of the Avengers team are in the waiting room with Pepper and Rhodey. Tears fall down my face as I clutched his hand in my own before we hear a baby's cry. "Still blame me now, honey?" He cockly asked once the nurse handed me my babygirl.

The girl in my arms has brown eyes like her father and her baby hair on her head is my color. "I'm blaming you for the pain, but not for giving me her..." His fingers brushed back my hair that stuck to my sweaty forehead, kissing the crown of my head.

"I love you 3000. What should we name her?" He asks as our daughter yawned falling asleep in my arms.

Shifting my body on the bed I make room so he can sit beside me. "Love you 3000 too, Tony. I'm thinking the name Morgan Maria Stark."

Tony tilts my face up to his gently kissing me. "Perfect. Just like the two of us." I smile into the kiss at our family moment.

1 year has gone on since than. Pepper insisted she would take care of our babygirl when we have to run off and save the world. I agreed immediately, Tony also trusted her with the company so he let her watch her as well. Currently Tony and I are cuddled up on the couch in the tower, thankfully the team usually give us alone time seeing as we barely get any since Morgan was born. My head is resting on his shoulder with his left arm draped over my side. We're both in tea shirts and jeans. "So Jarvis informed me that today marks exactly 1 year since we got married."

Tilting my head up at him I inquired. "Oh yeah." He nods removing his arm to grab a small bag from beside the couch, dropping it in my lap with a grin.

"Tony you didn't have to suprise me." I playfully wine opening the box to see a silver bracelet like his. He clipped it onto my left wrist and says.

"It's voice controlled. Also synced with your iron suit, just a little something in case I'm busy fighting somewhere else or Morgan needs something."

Turning around to face him I jumped up in his lap kissing him gently. He puts his arms around kissing me back before we hear Friday announce. "Mr and Mrs. Stark the team is wanting to brief downstairs." Tony and I broke apart before he changes into a white dress shirt with a black vest thrown over and dress pants. He pulls me to my feet as I fix my shirt running my hands through my hair as we see Vision, Rhodey, Natasha and Steve sitting and waiting for us. He slumps down on the couch beside me when I lay my head on his shoulder. He groans resting a hand to his forehead hearing the team discussing about whether the Avengers do more harm than good to the world. "Tony.." Natasha spoke, he removed his hand from his forehead. "You are being uncharacteristically non-hyperverbal."

"It's because he's already made up his mind." Steve states. "Boy, you know me so well." He replies, pushing himself off the cough, rubbing his temple. "Actually, I'm nursing an electromagnetic headache. That's what's going on, Cap. It's just pain." He picked up a coffee cup on the counter. "It's discomfort. Who's putting coffee grounds in the disposal? Am I running a bed and breakfast for a bike gang?" Tony shows a picture of a dead kid killed by our hands making tears well in my eyes. "There's no decision-making progress here. We need to be put in check!" He rounds the table slamming his glass down m, crossing his arms over his chest angrily. "Whatever form that takes, I'm game. If we can't accept limitations, if we're boundary-less...we're no better than the bad guys."

"Tony, someone dies on your watch, you don't give up." Steve starts to say but I force myself to sit up straight, hands clenched into fists. "Who said we're giving up?" He stares me straight in the eye. "We are if we're not taking responsibility for our actions. This document just shifts the blame." Rhodey cuts in the conversation. "I'm sorry, Steve. That is dangerously arrogant. This is the United Nations we're talking about. It's not the World Security Council, it's not S. H. I. E. L. D., it's not HYDRA-" Steve cuts him off. "No, but it's run by people with agendas, and agendas change." Running a hand through my hair I groaned, feeling a headache coming on myself when Tony spoke up again, walking over to him. "That's good. That's why I'm here. When I realized what my weapons were capable of in the wrong hands...I shut it down and stopped manufacturing." Steve shifts in his chair. "Tony, you chose to do that. If we sign this, we surrender our right to choose. What if this panel sends us somewhere we don't think we should go, What if there is somewhere we need to go and they don't let us? We may not be perfect, but the safest hands are still our own." Tony sighed heavily, glancing my direction for some sort of answer from my delicate eyes. "If we don't do this now, it's gonna be done to us later. That's the fact. That won't be pretty."

Natasha comes to sit beside me on the couch. I'd decided to make her and Pepper godmother of Morgan if something were ever to happen to me. "Maybe Tony's right. If we have one hand on the wheel, we can still steer. If we take it off..." Rhodey directed with his index finger at her. "Aren't you the same woman who told the Government to kiss her ass a few years ago?" She kept going, taking her hand in my own. "I'm just reading the terrain. We have made some very public mistakes. We need to win their trust back." Tony points at his ear, completely surprised at her words. "Focus up. I'm sorry. Did I just misheard you...or did you agree with me?" She bites her lip, rolling her eyes in my direction as I shake my head playfully. "I want to take it back now." He waves his hands slapping them down on the armrest, beside me when I lean back on the couch. "No, you can't retract from it. Thank you, unprecedented. Okay, case closed. I win." I lay my head on the armrest feeling his freehand comb through my hair. "Let's get ready for the jet, Y/n." He whispered in my ear as I nod, getting up and leaving the room.

An attack was made by someone called the Winter Soldier. The Task Force commandeered our weapons but I still have access because of the new bracelet. "Romania was not Accords-sanctioned. Colonel Rhodes is supervising cleanup...Consequences, you bet there'll be consequences. Obviously you can quote me on that, because I just said it. Anything else? Thank you, sir." Tony spoke to someone on his phone as I'm leaning back in my office chair, legs propped up on the table. I'd changed into a business type outfit that is still comfortable, leggings underneath the skirt with light brown flats.

"Consequences?" Steve and Natasha entered the room. "Secretary Ross wants you both prosecuted. Had to give him something." Tony tilts his head in their direction. "I'm not getting that shield back, am I?" Steve asked when I flipped my hair over my shoulder. "Technically, it's the government's property. Wings too." Nat quipped back when I growled.

"The government shouldn't have control over our suit's, shields, and powers...because they'll only ever see them as one thing, weapons." I forced myself to my feet, palms on the table sighing heavily. "Weapons in our hands they fear...in my opinion we're right back in the US Capitol being prosecuted by Senators." Tony's gaze falls to the floor remembering the interview.

Steve takes a seat in my chair at the end of the long table. "I don't mean to make things difficult." Tony shrugs on his black suit jacket over his tux dress shirt and pants. "I know, because you're a very polite person." He rounds the table wrapping his arms around my shoulders trying to get me to calm down my anger. "If I see a situation pointed south...I can't ignore it. Sometimes I wish I could." Steve muttered but I replied leaning back into Tony's chest.

"No, you don't. If you ever do, you wouldn't be Steve Rogers." He tilts head down for a moment. "No I don't. Sometimes..."

Tony cuts him off, clenching his jaw at his friend. "Sometimes I wanna punch you in your perfect teeth." I nudge him with my elbow and he grunts back. "But I don't wanna see you gone. We need you, Cap." The boys started arguing over one another as I watched the video footage. "Are we sure that guy should be in the room with him, alone?"

The Task Force Director scoffs back at my suspicions. "Mrs. Stark. He's in a secure holding position." Seconds after all the power goes out through the building. Sure, secure building!

"Friday, get me a source on that outage." Tony wears his red sunglasses that have an AI feature inside like my bracelet. Bucky, the name of the Winter Soldier, escaped. Tony moves his hand over his right wrist creating his iron hand blaster attempting to attack him but gets thrown to the floor. I swipe my hand over my bracelet to see both hand blasters created. A blonde woman in the Task Force fights alongside Nat but gets taken down. Spinning on my feet I blasted directly at Bucky's face and he got thrown backwards. Yet he charges towards me, choking me out with his metal arm, my hands trying to put him away as my vision faded to black. But I groaned, blasting his arm with my iron hands which released him. I drop to my knees gasping for air, swiping my bracelet again for the iron blasters to go away. Idiot's holding our weapons from us.

36 hours.

That's all we've got

I'd changed into a tea shirt with a light jacket thrown over, blue jeans and tennis shoes, part of my hair pulled back with a hair pin once again. Tony told me we had to make a quick trip to Queens to grab a new Avengers recruit with video footage of swimming from building to building with webs that shoot from their hands. The recruit wears a red and blue outfit. I'd never seen anyone with spider-like abilities...and I've seen a lot of weird things lately. Tony knocks on an apartment's front door as I set my sunglasses on my forehead when an old woman most likely someone's mother or aunt opens the door. "Mr and Mrs. Stark?" She hangs her mouth open quickly opening the door and ushering us inside her small apartment. "Please, please come in."

Tony flips his sunglasses off directing to the woman. "Mrs. Parker my wife and I are here on matters regarding, uh Peter." I stick my hand out for her to shake, she does with a smile. "Y/n is just fine, Mrs. Parker."

She waves her hands at me, offering something from the kitchen. "Oh no I'm just his aunt May. Would either of you like something to eat or drink, I made meatloaf?" He accepted the food and I drank some MtnDew from a can. The three of us discussed what Tony coded as a 'Summer Intership'. before a young boy with brown hair entered the room halting in his tracks.

"Hello, Mr. Parker." Tony sits down his meatloaf as the kid stammered out. "What are you doing...Hey, uh, I'm Peter." Tony points his index finger at himself then at me. "Tony, Y/n. It's about time we met. You've been getting my emails, right?"

Aunt May looks to the boy, shocked. "You didn't even tell me about the grant. But you didn't tell me everything. What's up with that. You keeping secrets from me?" I simply take a long drink from my pop, eyeing my husband. She knows nothing of him being a superhero.

"I just know how much you love surprises. So I thought I would let you know...anyway, what did I apply for?" Peter sways on his feet. "That's what I'm here to hash out." Peter nods as I give him a weak smile.

"It's so hard for me to believe that she's someone's aunt." Tony's flattery voice met my ears causing my blood to boil. "Yeah, well, we come in all shapes and sizes, you know." May blushed and he clearly wasn't done bringing out his flirty charm. "This walnut date loaf is exceptional." Seriously Tony! Stop being a freaking flirt!

Peter raises his hand as I steadied my fists about to punch Tony is his ribs. "Let me just stop you right there. Is this grant got money involved or whatever, no." Tony explains not even looking my way as I bare my teeth together. "Yeah, it's pretty well funded."

"Wow!" Peter gasped at him. "Look who you're talking to. Can Y/n and I have five minutes with him?" Aunt May nods before I angrily follow him to his room.

Tony closes the bedroom door, locking it before I grabbed the collar of his shirt slamming him into Peter's closet door. "Uh! Y/n!"

He grunts before I slammed his back in the closet using my powers, glaring up into his brown eyes. "Never flirt with other women again, not even aunts. You said you wouldn't be a playboy anymore. Understand Anthony!"

"Y/n, I'm sorry. Alright it was a mistake. I'll make it up to you later..." He slowly nods his head eyeing what I can only assume is an embarrassed Peter, but I don't care.

I let my powers sink back into my hand, dropping his shirt to turn to Peter. "I'm sorry you had to see that. Can I - uh sit?" Gesturing towards his bed and he nods simply. "Anyway, look, um, I definitely did not apply for your grant..."

"Ah-ah. Me first. Quick question of the rhetorical variety. " Tony pulls out his phone showing the view footage of Peter fighting through the city. "That's you, right?"

Peter is quick to deny the question. "Um, no. What do you mean?" Tony flips his phone around keeping the video on play. "Look at you go. Wow, nice catch. 3,000 pounds, 40 miles an hour. That's not easy. You got mad skills." He sets his phone on the small desk as Peter runs to shut it off, still denying that he's a superhero. "That's all on YouTube, though, right. That's where you found that. Because you know that's all fake. It's all done on the computer."

Scanning his room I see a baseball bat laying next to me and an attic storage space closed above where Tony stands. "Yeah. Oh, you mean like those UFOS over Phoenix?" Handling him the bat he pops it down for the red-blue suit to fall down on a hanger. "Oh, what have we here?" Peter tries to grab it but I snatch it from the hangar, bouncing back on his bed.

"You're the Spider-ling. Crime-fighting spider. You're Spider-Boy?" Tony questions, Peter corrects him. "Spider-Man." Turning the suit over in my hands I think he could have a better design if he asked for one. "Anyone know you're a superhero?" I question Peter who just starts smacking a pencil on his desk.

"I don't believe this. I was actually having a really good day today, Mrs. Stark. Didn't miss my train, this perfectly good DVD player was just sitting there...and Algebra test, nailed it....nobody." He glanced my direction as I give him a sad look. He's just a kid, ontop of being a superhero.

Tony picks up the suit, examining it as he takes a seat beside me on his bed. "You know what I think is really cool? This Webbing." He pulls out a vial throwing it at Peter who isn't even looking at him, but somehow he catches it. "That tensile strength is off the charts. Who manufactured that?" Peter throws the webbing back at him. "I did." Impressive Peter. "Climbing walls, how you doing that? Adhesive gloves?" Peter shakes his head at the question. "It's a long story. I was..."

"Lordy! Can you even see in these?" Tony attempts to look through the small mask. "Ah! Y/n, I'm blind!" I pounced across his lap trying to snatch it but he rolls away from me, playing around as I couldn't help but not giggle. "Tony...give me...Ton!" He laughs at me smiling before Peter grabbed his suit from him.

"Yes, I can. I can see in those. Okay. It's just that when whenever happened, happened...it's like my senses have been dialed to 11. There's way too much input, so they just kinda help me focus." Tony shifts himself up, pushing with his elbows. "You're in dire need of an upgrade. Systematic, top to bottom, hundred-point restoration. That's why I'm here."

"Why you doing this, Peter?" I asked interlocking my fingers together, turning my head when Peter slumped down beside me. Tony switched to sit in the desk chair, staring at the two of us. "I gotta know, what's your MO. What gets you outta that twin bed in the morning?"

He draws patterns on his hand. "Because...because I've been me my whole life, and I've had these powers for six months. I read books, I build computers. Yeah, I would love to play football, but I couldn't then, so I shouldn't now."

I tapped my fingers against my legs, lightly smiling. "Peter I get it...because your different..." He turns his focus my direction confused. "I was just like you, having to hide who you truly are. Because people can't know you're different...A year ago I was terrified to make the tiniest mistake. " My watery eyes locked onto Tony who fiddled with his wedding ring, never taking his eyes off me. "That was until I found someone who wanted to protect people from danger...until you Tony. Until we joined this group of remarkable people with amazing powers of their own, the Avengers."

"Y/n...thank you..." Peter takes my hand in his squeezing it gently before looking at the ground. "When you can do the things that I can, but you don't...and then the bad things happen...they happen because of you." Tony leans forward in the chair finishing the sentence he clearly can't put into words because of something horrible. "So you wanna look out for the little guy, you wanna do your part. Make the world a better place, all that, right?"

"Yeah, just looking out for the little guy. That's all." Peter sighs rubbing his hands together when Tony got to his feet, pointing to the bed. "I'm gonna sit here, so you move the leg." I scoot down with Peter following my actions. "You got a passport?"

"No, I don't even have a driver's license." Peter says back to him. "You ever been to Germany?" Tony asked another question as I shook my head. "No." Peter says back.

"Oh, you'll love it!" Tony rests a hand on his shoulder. "I can't go to Germany." I bit my lip, playing the questions game. "Why?"

"I got homework." Peter rebuts causing Tony to get to his feet. "Im gonna pretend you didn't say that." while I'm cracking up in laughter, getting to my feet.

"No, I'm being serious. I can't just drop out of school." Peter faught an explanation as I twirled a piece of my hair smirking back at him. "Might be a little dangerous, Spider-Man."

"Better tell Aunt Hottie Y/n and I are taking you on a field trip." Tony places his hand on the doorknob but a web gets blasted onto his hand, keeping him there. "Don't tell Aunt May." Peter pointed his index finger warningly at him.

I gasped before smirking brightly at the young Parker. "Damn Peter. You're definitely an Avenger." Tony smiles back at me. "All right, Spider-Man."

Comments really appreciated ❤️