#hank gathers death on court

[theblackarticle]

#BlackArticle – Remember LMU's Hank Gathers 30 years after his tragic death on the basketball court | E:60 Follow on blackarticle.com! #BlackArticle X #ESPN

[dailyvideovault]

New video posted on: https://dailyvideovault.com/remember-lmus-hank-gathers-30-years-after-his-tragic-death-on-the-basketball-court-e60/

Remember LMU's Hank Gathers 30 years after his tragic death on the basketball court | E:60

[ahnsael]

Sorry, this is my thing today.

Kobe Bryant may have been adopted by Los Angeles, and may have adopted L.A. as his home, but...he was a Philly kid first. So to see Philly acknowledge him as an ambassador to the city seems right.

[winterscaptain]

immovable object.

Aaron Hotchner x Fem!Reader a joyful future fic

a/n: happy birthday aaron hotchner!! here’s a little something i cooked up, just for y’all who wanted to see something from aaron’s point of view. i figured a birthday would be as good a time as any to share a little bit of aaron’s head, even if it’s not his (actual) age this year. as always, i love to hear what you think! takes place au!november 2018

words: 2.3k warnings: language, implication of sex, light drinking/alcohol use

summary: “the years between fifty and seventy are the hardest. you are always being asked to do things, and yet you are not decrepit enough to turn them down.” - t.s. elliot

masterlist | a joyful future masterlist | ajf faq | requests closed!

Fifty. 

Aaron wasn’t sure where he’d be by fifty. He’d only had loose examples over the course of his life, as his father kicked it before he got to that point. But then again…

His father never appreciated what he had. Two sons, different to the point of extremity, a wife who loved him even through all his (many) shortcomings, and a big house in northern Virginia that he could afford with his very plush salary working on The Hill as a prosecutor. Nevertheless, he drank himself to death at forty-seven. 

So…

Where am I at fifty? 

He looks down into his lap, finding Caroline tucked into the crook of his elbow with a hand in her mouth while they sit in his armchair. She’s teething now, but she isn’t half as unbearable about it as Isaac. 

Isaac. 

Aaron scans the room, finding his son with Spencer and Hank at the formal dining room table. Spence has them both in his lap and reads aloud from whatever Russian novel he’s flying through. As Aaron listens closer, he realizes Spencer is translating as he goes, reading the book in English. 

Tolstoy should be fine for toddlers...right?

Another scan sends him to you, sitting on the floor with a bottle and a spit-up rag, Sophia snarfing down her afternoon snack like it’s her job. 

You find his eyes, double-taking a little. What?

Nothing. Aaron’s mouth presses into an amused little line. 

With a fond roll of your eyes, you turn back into the conversation with Sean and Derek. 

And that’s another thing. 

Aaron never expected to really have his brother in his life as an adult. To his surprise, it's a rather pleasant change of circumstance. Once he moved out of New York and back to Virginia, Sean really got his act together. The arrival of his second nephew didn’t hurt. At your behest, Aaron called him in Isaac’s first weeks, inviting him over to meet the new addition. He feels silly now, for starting a spat with you about it in the moment. It’s not easy, but it’s good. 

He’s the first one to admit that you did most of the heavy lifting, leveraging your similar age and propensity to draw flocks of the struggling and confused. 

Your Honor, I’d like to present Exhibit A in regard to struggling and confused - Aaron Benjamin Hotchner - before the court. 

He laughs down his nose at his own train of thought. Caroline fusses, but once she’s sitting up in his lap, one of his hands across the entirety of her chest and little belly, she’s happy. 

Will she continue to insist on seeing everything? Will she always be so quiet? 

There’s something about Caroline’s eyes, even as they continue to settle into their permanent color, that is inherently wise. He knows, logically, that Caroline and Sophia are near-identical, but neither of you have ever had any trouble telling them apart. 

If someone asked, he wouldn’t be able to articulate the differences. He just knows. 

Aaron almost startles when you appear at his side, Sophia freshly burped and smooshed against your shoulder. 

“You look pensive.” It’s a gentle accusation. 

Aaron snorts. “It’s my birthday. I’m allowed to be pensive.” He holds Caroline up for a minute and you accept the invitation, planting yourself in his lap. Sophia’s still in your arms, so it’s a bit crowded, but nevertheless, you swing your legs over the arm of the chair and melt against Aaron’s chest. 

The girls, of course, are delighted to see each other and make a happy, babbling pair sitting on your abdomen and thighs, watching all the action in the living room. 

Aaron presses a kiss to your head and just for another second wonders how he got so lucky. 

“Hey. Quit.”

He looks down, meeting your eyes. “What?”

You look at him, soft and affectionate. “You’ll never stop, will you?” 

“Probably not.” He adjusts again so he can cradle you in his arm while he keeps the girls stable with his free hand. “But that’s why I’ve got you.” 

“Unstoppable force meets immovable object?”

Aaron squints, making play at thinking. “Wasn’t that on our wedding announcements?” 

You huff a laugh and pat his chest twice. “Maybe it should have been.” 

Realistically, he knows he should be out socializing with everyone there to celebrate him and the fifty years he’s lived (only a couple of them in dog years), but he can’t bring himself to care. His cheek rests against your head, his fingers tracing patterns on your arm. Caroline has the other one of his hands, playing with his fingers (and putting those in her mouth, too) while Sophia sits back against him, threatening sleep. 

But really, nobody minds. They’re all having too much fun off the clock, with children of their own. Derek and Savannah lounge in the rec room, watching Tara, Sean, Will, Jack, and Henry play Mario Kart. Not far off is Kristy, wiping illicit frosting off her oldest son’s cheek before he rejoins the boys on the makeshift tournament arena. 

Matt, Dave, and Emily are gathered around the kitchen island, their wine glasses never far from their hands. JJ flits between the groups, her puttering instincts inescapable even outside of her domain. 

Luke and Penelope pretend they aren’t following each other from room to room, activity to activity. They are horrible actors, and Aaron wonders if the kid will ever pluck up the guts to do something about it. 

You didn’t. 

That doesn’t count. 

Yes, it does. 

JJ finally comes to rest beside Emily, propping herself up by her elbows as she sits backward on one of the barstools. “I’d never thought I’d see Hotch so happy.” 

Emily looks over her shoulder. What does she see?

She sees a man she’s known her entire career at the bureau, a man who hand-picked her to replace him when it was time for him to leave his post as unit chief, a man who lost almost everything and somehow found it again. 

She watches as Aaron says something to you, a wicked kind of humorous glint in his eye. She watches as you let out a loud laugh, accidentally startling your daughters in your lap. She watches as the girls process and pick up on their mother’s joy and start to shriek and clap. 

She watches Aaron live. 

“I dunno,” Emily says, finally. “I always thought those two might make it if they faced themselves.”

JJ humphs in the irony of it. “That’s a lot to ask.” 

“And yet -”

“- Somehow, they’ve managed.” JJ looks to her own family just in time to see Will taking advantage of the high ceiling, throwing Michael into the air and catching him. “It’s kind of funny, how things work out.” 

“I can’t believe he’s fifty.” Emily’s non-sequitur drops into JJ’s thoughts, which were rapidly devolving into the abstract. “It doesn’t seem right.” 

Dave taps Emily on the shoulder, reminding her he’s been there the whole time. “You’re in your late forties, I might remind you.” 

A kind of dissatisfied noise leaves her throat. “Thanks.” She turns, looking at him with a glare that could cut glass, but all in play. “Thanks for that.” 

“Just doing my civic duty.” 

Emily rolls her eyes and stands, wandering farther into the kitchen to pilfer a bag of animal crackers from the snack drawer. 

“Alright!” Penelope calls from the kitchen archway. “It’s time for cake!” 

That gets the attention of all the children in the vicinity who have experienced the unadulterated joy of Aunt Penelope’s buttercream frosting. 

Aaron tolerates the attention as you and the girls get shuffled (or in your case, shuffle yourself) off his lap. Emily takes Caroline while Savannah has Sophia. A quick glance finds Isaac on Dave's hip. With a little bit of a start, he realizes just how big his family is. They’re all here. 

For each other. 

For him. 

Soon enough, Penelope brings the cake - candles all lit (and no, there are not fifty of them - that was a hard no from the birthday boy) and places it in front of Aaron at the head of the dining room table. 

You kiss him on the cheek, distracting him while you put a ridiculous party hat on his head. You can almost feel his eye roll and you hear a few phone cameras click. Of course, shortly after, everyone starts singing at him - horrifically out of pace and key, but it’s perfect. 

He’s confronted with the back of a few more phones as parents and friends snap pictures out of habit. He reaches out to snag you around the waist and you end up half-sitting on the arm of his chair. 

You loop your arms around his neck, leaning into his side. “Make a wish.”

After one slow blink and a deep breath, he blows out the candles to whoops and hollers and baby shrieks. 

Your eyes snap up out of instinct, finding Isaac covering his ears and looking more and more alarmed by the minute. You toss another kiss onto Aaron’s forehead and quickly take Isaac from Dave, traveling down the hall with practiced haste. 

If he’s honest, Aaron forgot. He should have grabbed Isaac’s headphones from your office, but he didn’t. He should have warned his son about the loud noises and all the people before they overwhelmed him, but he didn’t. He should have remembered that his son needed more thought and attention than the others, but he didn’t. 

He hides his self-directed frustration well, but it doesn’t take long for him to make a quick and subtle escape. He knows the girls are just fine. Emily has Caro well in-hand and Savannah is always looking for an excuse to practice with the girls. She’s due in February, looking radiant and lovely. 

In a near-whisper, he calls for you and Isaac as he tracks down the hall on light feet. He hears you murmur, then Isaac’s voice: “Here, Dad,” guides him into your office, where you’re stationed on the floor under your desk. 

Isaac’s playing with the soft carpet chosen especially for him, his little fingers getting lost in the plush fabric. Aaron kneels down and rests his forearms on the ground, searching for Isaac’s eyes. 

“Hey, little man.” 

He hums. 

That’s a good thing. 

Aaron puts his hand on the carpet, about three inches away from Isaac’s. He can see it, but it’s not touching him, communicating his presence without sensation. 

You meet Aaron’s eyes over Isaac’s head. Not your fault. 

He shoots you a withering look. 

I’m serious, Aaron. You raise your eyebrows and shake your head. Not your fault. We’re okay. Your eyes flicker to Isaac before returning to Aaron. He’s okay. 

Aaron watches as you arc your body around him, getting close but not too close, running your fingers through the carpet on either side of him. Aaron wiggles his own fingers, sinking deeper into the blue shag. To his surprise, it calms him a little. 

Little Man might be onto something here. 

Eventually, Isaac leans back into you, and you slowly bring your hands to his hair, massaging his scalp with the tips of your fingers. You look at Aaron and nod once. 

He takes his cue. As always, he’s in awe of your command over Isaac’s needs. With a breath, and very quietly, he asks. “Are you feeling better, little man?”

His eyes still on the carpet, he nods. “Just loud.” 

“Yeah. It was pretty loud.” He looks up to the bookshelf, spotting his headphones on their charger. “Do you want to go back to the living room, maybe with your ears on? Or do you want to stay in here?”

The boy stills, thinking. In the two years he’s known his son, the turning of gears in Isaac’s little head enamors and amazes him. He can almost see their spokes behind his eyes. After a minute or so - 

“Living room, but only for a little while.” 

You kiss him lightly on the top of his head, where the band of the headphones rests. “Do you want your ears?”

He nods and Aaron rises, bringing the headphones back down. Isaac puts them on and wiggles a little where he sits. Aaron likes to imagine it’s his way of settling back into his body. 

Much to the surprise of everyone present, Isaac reaches out to Aaron. With soft eyes, he takes his son in his arms, letting him wrap like a koala around his neck and chest. 

The three of you return, finding everyone still milling about, eating cake, and sharing space together. Jack, catching sight of you, jogs over. “Is Isaac okay?”

You nod, brushing the hair off Jack’s forehead. “Yeah, bud. It just got a little overwhelming for a minute.”

It’s been eleven years of you and Jack, but it never gets old for Aaron. The way you are with each other - somehow balancing a parent-child relationship with a steadfast best-friendship - constantly surprises and warms him. 

Jack nods, circling around so he can get into Isaac’s eye line. He waves a little, and Isaac waves back, lifting his hand briefly from Aaron’s collar. Jack offers a fist, and Isaac reaches out to tap it with three of his fingers. 

Aaron closes his eyes, taking it in. 

+++

“So,” you say, tucking into bed beside him. “Fifty.” 

“So,” He doesn’t pull his eyes from his book. “Thirty-six.” He throws you a side-eye, immediately noticing the playful glint in your eye. “Don’t start.” 

You raise your eyebrows, the picture of innocence. “Start what? I’m just appreciating my loving and handsome and thoughtful and distinguished husband on his birthday.” You scoot and shift, straddling him. “Are you gonna let me?”

That gets his attention. Keeping his eyes on you, he markes his place and sets the book on his bedside table. “I might.” 

You lean down, pressing your lips to his, speaking quietly against his mouth, like a secret. “Happy Birthday, my love.” 

If anyone asked, Aaron loved his present. 

+++

tagging: @arganfics @quillvine @stxrryspencer @agenthotchner @wandaswitxh @hurricanejjareau @ughitsbaby @rousethemouse @criminalsmarts @shrimpyblog @genevievedarcygranger @ssaic-jareau @good-heavens-chris-evans @angelsbabey @writefasttalkevenfaster @venusbarnes @hotchsflower @ogmilkis @marvels-agents100 @hotchslatte @risenfox @mrs-dr-reid @captain-christopher-pike @dwellingsofrosie @pan-pride-12 @sunshine-em @jdougl-love @sageellsworth05 @dreila03 @forgottenword @aaronhotchnerr @ssa-morgan @buckybau @tegggeeee @abschaffer2 @ssacandice-ray @ellyhotchner @lotties-journey-abroad @mrs-joel-pimentel-23-25 @laneygthememequeen @violentvulgarvolatile @mooneylupinblack @ssareidbby @violet-amxthyst @zizzlekwum @lcvischmitt @qvid-pro-qvo @mandylove1000 @simsiddy @jeor @synonymforlame @roses-and-grasses @bwbatta @capricorngf @missdowntonabbey @averyhotchner @cevanswhre @joanofarkansass @infinity1321 @popped-weasels @evee87 @nuvoleincielo @spencerelds @ssahotchnerr @this-broken-band-girl @winqhster @reidtomestyles @hotch-meeeeeuppppp @the-falling-in-the-danger @nattylite49 @crazyshannonigans @softbibxtch @iconicc @mangoberry43 @andreasworlsboring101

[earnestly-endlessly]

Bridgeton AU!!!! yespleasethankskbye

Thanks for the ask @pinkoptics. I do love my period drama and when I watched Bridgerton I thought of all the ways I could cherik it. Now you can’t quite match the storyline entirely to the characters of x-men so I had to develop different ways to establish family connections and backgrounds. This is the idea I have currently, and it might change. The main idea of Bridgerton is there, but some of the characters are merged into others so that the characterisation makes sense. Also, this is A/B/O universe so those are the main differences. But I hope you enjoy what I have. 

Bridgerton AU

As London’s social season is fast approaching, Charles Xavier is about to make his formal introduction into high society at the annual Debutante Ball hosted by Queen Emma. Every year the queen hosts the debutante ball where young omegas of noble and gentry families are presented to the royal court. After being presented at court, debutantes are allowed to partake in all the exclusive social events of high society. More importantly, after their debut the young noble omegas are considered eligible for marriage. The season is anticipated by everyone in town, especially when the elusive secret columnist who writes under the pseudonym Lady Whistledown follows reports on the proceedings with her ever watchful gaze.

Charles Xavier is the only son of Brian Xavier and Sharon Marko nee Xavier. After Brian Xavier’s untimely death, Sharon is forced into marriage to Brian’s business partner and friend, Kurt Marko. Kurt Marko has a son Cain from a previous marriage (his wife passed away under suspicious circumstances but there was no proof of foul play). Cain is brutish and boisterous and terribly dim witted. He harbours jealousy towards Charles who is smart, well-read and friendly to all. Charles is also proud and ambitious. Together Kurt and Sharon have Raven who is very close to Charles and becomes overprotective of him.

Kurt Marko doesn’t care about his omega stepson’s societal status and is keen to marry him off as soon as possible. He has made an arrangement with Lord William Stryker II who has shown Charles great interest. Kurt Marko owes Stryker’s father hefty money as he has been spending the Xavier fortune on gambling and indulging his and his wife’s overly excessive lifestyle. By marrying Charles to Stryker’s son, he has solved all of his problems. His plan to marry Charles quietly off to William Stryker II is dashed when Charles receives attention and high praise from the queen herself at the Debutante ball. Suddenly, Charles becomes the most sought after omega of the season and every noble and single alpha is after his hand in marriage.

When Charles and the Marko´s are invited to the first social gathering at the Summers residence in Kensington Charles becomes hopeful of finding a suitable mate. Despite his independence and keen mind, Charles is also very much aware that in order to leave the Markos household he must find a suitable mate.

The Summers family lives near the Marko´s and are an unusually large family. Christopher and Katherine have eight children, Scott being the oldest of them. He has his eyes set on young miss Jean Grey who is also one of the more favourable omegas of the season. The Summers have four omegas to present for the debutante: Henry Philip ´Hank´, Alexander ‘Alex’, Anna Marie and Sean. Their three youngest, Katherine ‘Kitty’, Nathaniel and Gabriel are too young to be presented. Charles and Raven have been close friends with the Summers siblings since childhood. Charles is especially close to Hank who is awkward and doesn’t have the typical small stature of young noble omegas. Hank doesn’t want to sacrifice his studies and get married to a noble alpha. He wants a future in academia and spends most of his time holed in the library with his stack of books.

During the Summers ball, Charles is eager to be introduced to eligible alphas but realizes that Kurt has no intention of making his formal introductions. Raven is of no help either. As an alpha, Raven knows many of the alphas who have their eye on Charles and feels as if they would all take advantage of her brother. She even steers him away from the dashing Lord Azazel and the lovely Lady Braddock. There are also more disagreeable suitors such as Lord William Stryker II whose attempts of seduction are repulsive and aggravating. In his haste to remove himself from Stryker’s presence Charles accidentally stumbles into a tall, handsome alpha. In his desperation to get out of Stryker’s hands he attempts to engage the alpha in a conversation with no luck. It turns out that the alpha is rude, proud and standoffish. Charles deems his character altogether unpleasant though he begrudgingly admits that he is handsome, and his scent is pleasing. Thankfully Raven sweeps him away before he can make any more fool of himself. Raven explains to him that he just ran into Erik Lehnsherr, Duke of Hastings. Raven warns Charles of the Duke who is an acquaintance of hers. Despite her young age, Raven has tried to establish her place in the alpha community of the noble and gentry of London. In her experience the Duke is taciturn and aloof with no intention of marrying.

Much to his dismay, Jean Grey receives all the attention that night. This becomes even worse when the Summers family present their cousin and ward, Angel Salvadore, at the next ball who gains the attention of everyone with her beauty and charm. Little does the family know that she has secrets of her own that are best kept under wraps.

The days following the Summers ball Charles is called on by various suitors but Kurt Marko´s ominous presence and Raven’s forthright comments and criticism of the suitors repel most of them away.

Charles hopes that he’ll have better luck at the ball hosted by Viscount MacTaggert. At the ball, Kurt informs Charles that he has agreed to give Charles’ hand to Lord William Stryker II in marriage. Charles refuses to marry Stryker and storms off. As he seeks solace in the quiet rose garden, Charles is ambushed by none other than Stryker who attempts to take advantage of him. He’s instantly grateful when a tall, dark figure arrives in time to strike Stryker in the head and render him unconscious. Unfortunately for Charles, his saviour is none other than Duke Erik Lehnsherr himself and Charles reluctantly thanks him for saving him (though he assures him that he could have taken care of it himself). The Duke merely humors him and offers to escort him back to the party. Charles explains to him his predicament and Kurt’s acceptance of Stryker’s proposal on his behalf.

During Charles’ explanation, Erik halts him in his step and proposes an idea that is so absurd that Charles can’t help but laugh. Erik proposes that they pretend to court each other. With Charles on his arm everyone would believe that he has found his true mate and he would be free of the constant wooing of young, impressionable omegas. This would help Charles gain the attention of eligible Alphas of good standing, and to challenge his stepfather who has already promised his hand to Stryker. Unknown to Charles, Erik has made a vow to never marry and have children due to events from his past that involve his father Jakob Lehnsherr and his father’s associate Sebastian Shaw. Erik intends to end the toxic reign of his father’s and shaw’s influence by ending their legacy with himself. His last vow to his father was that he would never conceive children and involve an omega into the legacy his father left on his deathbed.

At first their arrangement goes exactly to plan. Charles’ new relationship with the Duke makes suitors seek him out at every ball and he receives severe calls a day from hopeful suitors. The whole affair draws the attention of the handsome Colonel James Howlett and the dashing General Steve Rogers (who harbours a scandalous secret that gets reported in Lady Whistledown’s column). When the queen herself invites Charles to tea at the palace she introduces him to her cousin Prince Warren Worthington III who shows Charles great interest Charles finally feels as if he can escape Kurt Marko’s clutches at last.

The only problem is that as Charles continues his ruse with the Duke…Erik, he starts to become fond of him. Once taciturn and cold, Erik seems to let his guard down when he is around Charles. As their charade goes on Charles begins to form a sort of attachment to Erik and finds that not merely does he seek his presence, but he looks forward to their chaperoned outings. Moreover, Erik gives him lingering, burning glances and subtle touches that makes his skin tingle. But Charles can’t harbour feelings for Erik when he has plenty of other suitors. Besides, Charles is sure that he doesn’t feel the same way about him. He probably sees him as a naïve, foolish omega with no worth.

Their whole charade takes a turn when lady Jean Grey witnesses Erik kiss Charles without an escort present in the maze by the Grey manor house. Jean Grey threatens to reveal the truth and Charles knows that it will ruin him and his prospects entirely. Raven challenges Erik to a duel since it’s her duty to protect her brother’s virtue. Charles manages to stop the proceedings before they go any further and pleas for them to stop, eventually begging Erik to marry him and end their foolish escapades. With reluctance Erik agrees to marry Charles. Raven is furious at Charles and claims that she can end this without Charles having to sacrifice his happiness and freedom. However, Charles is steadfast. Erik agrees to marry Charles but makes it clear that he can‘t and won‘t have children. In his desperation Charles agrees.

However, Charles does not know the reason behind Erik‘s refusal to have children and in the first weeks of their marriage he gives it no heed. Eventually, Charles finds out the truth and challenges Erik‘s decision which ultimately challenges their fragile relationship. Charles‘ belief that Erik was starting to care for him shatters which makes him question his growing feelings for him.

Their whole affair is closely followed by Lady Whistledown‘s column. Not only is the affair between Charles Xavier and the Duke the talk of town, but Ms. Salvadore‘s affair with young Mr. Armando Munoz who was believed to hold the affection of Alexander Summers. Things become even more complicated when Lady Whisteldown reports that Ms. Salvadore has a dark secret of her own.

[multiverseforger]

The character has appeared in several Spider-Man media adaptations over the years, including animated television series and video games. Dimitri Smerdyakov appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), portrayed by Numan Acar. IGN ranked the Chameleon as Spider-Man's 14th greatest enemy.[2]

Publication history

Fictional character biographyEdit

Dmitri Smerdyakov was born in Soviet Russia. In his youth, he became a servant and half-brother to Sergei Kravinoff, and later a minor associate of Gustav Fiers. Although Dmitri and Sergei were friends, Sergei was often abusive to Smerdyakov, leading to a combination of admiration and resentment towards Kravinoff. Eventually, Smerdyakov emigrated to the United States of America. As he had made a talent for himself during his youth by impressing his brother by impersonating friends and neighbors, he assumed an even more impressive disguise: the identity of Chameleon. During his first known criminal outing, he impersonated Spider-Man, though he was soon exposed and arrested. Shortly afterward, Sergei (now known as "Kraven the Hunter") came to America, and the Chameleon set his old associate's sights on Spider-Man.[10] Both men became long-time enemies of Spider-Man, part of his primary rogues' gallery.

The Chameleon inspired Kraven to begin hunting Spider-Man, inviting Kraven to dispose of the hero.[11] With Kraven, the Chameleon battled Iron Man,[12] and then confronted the Hulk.[13] At one point, the Chameleon disguised himself as Hank Pym, and robbed Pym's laboratory for documents to combat Virus Nine. While delivering the documents and a shrunken Hulk to HYDRA, he was encountered and defeated by Ant-Man.[14] The Chameleon disguised himself as the Torpedo and battled Daredevil.[15]

When his half-brother committed suicide,[16] the Chameleon became obsessed with making Spider-Man suffer for his failure to prevent this. He ingested a serum which made his face permanently featureless and malleable. He attempted to kidnap America's leading expert on superconductors, but was thwarted by Spider-Man.[17] He then kidnapped J. Jonah Jameson. He approached the Maggia for support to be New York's new crime lord, and formed an alliance with Hammerhead.[18] Disguised as a scientist, the Chameleon temporarily removed Spider-Man's powers. He allied himself with the Femme Fatales, the Scorpion, and the Tarantula to eliminate Spider-Man and the Black Cat, but escaped when his plan failed.[19]

The Chameleon's most ambitious play against Spider-Man happened when he formed an alliance with Harry Osborn as the Green Goblin. Before Harry's death, the Chameleon was told Spider-Man's secret identity could be found through Peter Parker, to construct androids of Peter's parents; the Chameleon later admitted that he went through with the plot to confirm once and for all that Peter was Spider-Man. The plan led to a psychotic breakdown for both Spider-Man and the Chameleon, Spider-Man briefly renouncing the civilian identity while the Chameleon is sent to Ravencroft Asylum.[volume & issue needed]��But when Doctor Ashley Kafka sneaks him into a basement to try to continue treating him in the belief that he was close to a breakthrough when the court were preparing to put him on trial, the Chameleon escaped and attempted to convince Spider-Man of actually a hallucinating writer who had suffered a mental breakdown after his daughter's death in a car accident but Peter managed to break through this deception due to his own strength of will.[20] The Chameleon's confirmation of Spider-Man's secret identity led him to try to attack Spider-Man through family and friends but this effort met with rather dismal results when Mary Jane Watson subdued him with a baseball bat.[21] Somewhere in between this and subsequent appearances, he appeared to have been destroyed by his nephew Alyosha Kravinoff; Alyosha later threw a Chameleon mask at Spider-Man's feet, referring to it as 'That weakling Dmitri' but apparently recovered, waking in a hospital.[volume & issue needed]

After tricking Spider-Man to the bridge where Gwen Stacy's death occurred, on the pretext of having kidnapped Mary Jane, he declared his own loneliness and love for Peter. When Peter laughed, he threw himself off the bridge.[22] He reappeared some time later in a mental institution, completely incapacitated, believing himself to be Sergei Kravinoff rather than his true self.[volume & issue needed] He later reappeared in his Chameleon identity as part of the Sinister Twelve villain team organized by Norman Osborn as the Green Goblin.[23]

After Spider-Man was unmasked, the Chameleon gathered a gang of villains called the Exterminators,[1] including Will O' The Wisp, Scarecrow, Swarm and Electro, and also blackmailed the Molten Man into his employ all in an effort to defeat Spider-Man and attack the web-slinger's family.[volume & issue needed]

However, the Chameleon was dealt a most humiliating defeat by May Parker's hands, when he attempted to trick May into believing he was Peter, then murder May. But May was not fooled by any means, and defeated the villain with a plate of oatmeal-raisin cookies laced with Ambien. The Rhino was also employed as part of the team up and later defeated Spider-Man only to be unable to collect payment from the Chameleon as he was already captured.[24]

After the "Civil War", the Chameleon showed up among the villains at Stilt-Man's funeral at the Bar with No Name where the Punisher poisoned the drinks and blew up the bar.[25]

The Chameleon next appeared in the newest incarnation of Super Villain Team-Up called MODOK's Eleven. In this limited series, it is revealed that he contacted A.I.M. the moment he was telepathically summoned by MODOK. He then allowed A.I.M. to send in their newest creation, the Ultra-Adaptoid, under the guise of the Chameleon.[volume & issue needed] Additionally, it was revealed in Super Villain Team-Up: MODOK's Eleven that his apparent insanity and demise years earlier were in fact well-crafted ruses designed so that he could fade into the background once more.[volume & issue needed]

The "One More Day" storyline ended with the removal of Peter and Mary Jane's timeline from all memories and no one knows Spider-Man's identity, including the Chameleon.[26]

The Chameleon returns to New York more sadistic and sociopathic than ever before. To complete his hired goal of bombing City Hall, he kidnaps Peter who works for Mayor J. Jonah Jameson. While posing as Parker, he tries to better his life, revealing that he always tries to rectify the problems in the lives of his "faces".[27] Using Peter's security clearance to get access to various materials, the Chameleon was poised to bomb City Hall before Peter escaped and thwarted his plans as Spider-Man. During the resulting confusion, the Chameleon escaped.[28]

Sometime later at an alley building during "The Gauntlet and Grim Hunt" storyline, the distraught Chameleon is met by Sasha Kravinoff and Ana Kravinoff who want his help in avenging Sergei's death.[29] Various follow up issues during The Gauntlet storyline show the Chameleon helping the Kravinoff family into creating an alliance of Spider-Man's enemies as well as Diablo.[30] First, he and Sasha managed to spring Electro from prison.[31] Then Chameleon approached Mysterio stating that he has friends that are "dying" to meet him.[32] When it came to the Grim Hunt part, he posed as Ezekiel in order to get close to Spider-Man to defeat and bring to the Kravinoffs in order to sacrifice as part of a ritual that will revive Sergei.[33] After Sergei is resurrected, the Chameleon states that the problem might stem from inward anger of being resurrected. He and the Kravinoffs discover Spider-Man's corpse, which turns out to be Kaine in Spider-Man's costume instead.[34] The real Spider-Man goes to take revenge on the Kravenoff family. Spider-Man soon arrives and pulled the Chameleon and Alyosha into the huge nest of spiders. Sasha realizes that the Kravinoff family wasn't hunting the spiders, but it was the spiders hunting them.[35]

During the "Origin of the Species" storyline, the Chameleon is invited by Doctor Octopus to join his supervillain team where he gets involved in securing some specific items for Doctor Octopus. He poses as Harry Osborn to trick Spider-Man by telling him that Menace's infant has died. When Spider-Man has been away, the Chameleon got the infant.[36] Doctor Octopus later talks with the Chameleon saying that the baby is the first of a new species. Using a lead gained when he took down Shocker, Spider-Man arrives at the Kravinoff Mansion where he captures the Chameleon who reveals that the baby is still alive and is in the Lizard's clutches.[37]

The Chameleon later becomes a member of Doctor Octopus's latest incarnation of the Sinister Six. He poses as Captain Steve Rogers in order to infiltrate an Air Force base.[38] The Chameleon disguises himself as a tribal chief when he and Mysterio pull off a zombie pirate attack on some natives.[39] Using robots of the other Sinister Six members, Chameleon and Mysterio pulled off this scheme as a diversion so that Doctor Octopus and the other Sinister Six members can infiltrate the Baxter Building to look for specific technology plans while the Future Foundation were investigating the more obvious threat.[40]

The Chameleon later poses as Klaw in order to infiltrate Intelligencia so that he can help the Sinister Six steal their Zero Cannon.[41]

During the "Ends of the Earth" storyline, the Chameleon was present with the Sinister Six when Doctor Octopus tells them about a master plan.[42] The Chameleon was present at Palazzo Senatorio at a summit where the world's greatest minds and the world leaders is carried out to discuss about Doctor Octopus's supposed offer to save the world with the Chameleon disguised as Al Gore. As Al Gore, the Chameleon states that Doctor Octopus would save them. Without a counter-argument, Spider-Man punches Al Gore and reveals to everyone present that Al Gore is actually the Chameleon in disguise. Spider-Man's new costume could detect which person is actually the Chameleon based on heartbeats. A transmission from Doctor Octopus states activating the Octavian Lens which are blocking the harmful UV rays from the sun in order to reinforce this offer. After letting the Chameleon go, Spider-Man secretly places a Spider-Tracer on the Chameleon so that the Avengers could follow him. They follow the Chameleon to the Mediterranean Coasts where the Sinister Six is waiting for the Chameleon. Using many of the stolen objects, the Sinister Six successfully subdue the Avengers leaving only Spider-Man standing.[43] After Spider-Man and the Black Widow escape with Silver Sable's help, the Chameleon suggest that since the Sinister Six's remaining members had each received their $2 billion and their criminal records expunged, they should just leave Doctor Octopus and his scheme. But they stay on board as that would make an enemy out of Doctor Octopus. The Chameleon later gets involved with Mysterio in tricking Spider-Man's allies into thinking they were destroying Symkaria, in order to give Doctor Octopus more time to complete the 200 satellites. However, the Chameleon is captured and the Black Widow threatens to reveal the secret behind his real face.[44]

Following the "Dying Wish" storyline, the Chameleon later fights Superior Spider-Man (Otto Octavius's mind in Spider-Man's body) and the Secret Avengers on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier.[45] The Chameleon ends up knocked unconscious and the Superior Spider-Man transports him to his hidden underwater lab where he ends up imprisoned.[46] The Chameleon, Electro, Sandman, Mysterion, and the Vulture are later seen as part of the "Superior Six" team. The Superior Spider-Man has been temporarily controlling their minds in order to redeem them for their crimes, doing this by forcing them do heroic deeds against their will which almost get some of them killed. Every time they are done being controlled, they are put back in their containment cells.[47] They eventually break free of the Superior Spider-Man's control and attempt to exact revenge, while nearly destroying New York in order to do so.[48] With Sun Girl's help, the Superior Spider-Man is barely able to stop the Superior Six.[49]

Following the true Spider-Man's return, the Chameleon attempts to drive Spider-Man insane as revenge for the Superior Spider-Man's earlier treatment of him. However, Deadpool switches costumes with Spider-Man, with the Chameleon unaware of this. He fails at driving Deadpool insane (as Deadpool is already insane), and ends up being shot in the leg by him. Both heroes (in each other's costumes) punch the Chameleon at the same time, knocking him out and later delivered him to the authorities.[50]

At the conclusion of the "Hunted" storyline, the Chameleon is revealed to be one of the attendees at Sergei's funeral as he is pleased that Sergei spared him from the Great Hunt. As he walks away, the Chameleon quotes to his dead stepbrother to sleep well and states "You needn't worry. The world is no longer your burden. Besides, there won't be much of it left soon...Not by the time I've finished."[51

[amuseoffyre]

Crossing Paths - 1687 – Marseilles

Notes: I hereby glare at @ashfae and @rocket-pool, who reminded me of this lovely lady.

1687 – Marseilles

The weather was beautiful and the town-square was thronged with people.

Aziraphale wove between the market stalls, peering about, searching for the woman he had been sent to find. She was certainly meant to be somewhere in the square, but humans were awfully good at wandering off when you least expected it.

Still, to look on the bright side, there were some lovely places to eat in Marseilles with marvellously fresh fish.

He paused when he heard a voice rising over the hawkers and traders. It was beautiful, soaring and ringing out. Trained, certainly, though not to a professional level, which was a tragedy. A voice like that certainly deserved a place on some of the finer stages of the continent.

Well, until his target appeared, no harm in going for a look, was there?

He followed the voice to the far side of the square. The young woman was standing at the centre of a growing circle of people and the moment he saw her, he smiled. There she was, the runaway Madame de Maupin. She was standing proud and confident, sword at her hip, breeches on her legs, and delight all over her face.

He approached, squeezing through the crowds, and listened as raptly as the rest of them.

When the girl swept into an extravagant bow and hopped down from the step she was standing on, coins rained into the cap at her feet.

“That was marvellous, Mademoiselle,” Aziraphale said warmly, as she gathered up the coins.

She gave him a cursory look, then smiled. “You’re a long way from home, Monsieur.”

“I beg your pardon?”

She nodded at his clothing. “More suited to the court, don’t you think?”

Aziraphale groaned inwardly. It wasn’t that peasant clothes were especially bad per se, but the finer ones were just so much nicer to wear. “Family matters,” he said as dismissively as he could. “My dear, I couldn’t help but notice what a wonderful singer you are.”

She laughed, tucking her coins into a purse at her belt. “And yet, you tossed no coin to buy my bread.”

“I can do far better,” he said. “Will you walk with me?”

She put her hand to the pommel of her sword. “I prefer, Monsieur, to do my business in plain sight. I am not one to be bought for… private business.”

Aziraphale blinked at her, then recalled her unfortunate background and the man who had made her into his amusement when barely out of childhood. “Oh! Oh, no!” He flapped his hands urgently. “Oh, Lord, no. Nothing like that. I only have a friend who might be interested in your singing.”

La Maupin raised her eyebrows. “And who might this friend be?”

Aziraphale beamed. “He runs the opera in the city. He is always seeking fresh singers, especially a talented one such as yourself.”

La Maupin blinked foolishly at him. “You think he would give me a position?”

The man would, even if it took a touch of divine encouragement. A voice like that was made to beautify the world. “I’m certain of it,” he said warmly. “Will you come with me to meet him?”

And for a moment, the young woman looked as young and giddy as a child. “Yes.”

  1689 – Avignon

It had been weeks since the secondment and at bleeding last, the end was nigh. Crowley’s target had finally showed up and, thank Satan, wasn’t in the consecrated halls of the convent itself. The place was wearing on Crowley like a nasty rash and she couldn’t wait to be back outside.

Crowley cleared her throat. “Scuse me.”

The young woman peered around the bundle on her shoulder. No fear, Crowley noticed. “Excuse me, Sister,” she snapped, walking on down the narrow corridor.

Crowley tilted her head. “Yeah. No. Not happening.” She trotted alongside the girl. “I mean, I know I’m meant to do a vow of silence of some rubbish, but I can’t help but notice you appear to have the body of the dearly departed Sister Agnes over your shoulder.”

That made her stop, turning to look back at Crowley. Stock-still and not even wobbling under the weight of a nun’s body. “I’m moving some supplies over to the convent, Sister.”

Crowley scratched along the edge of the habit. It itched like mad. “Rubbish,” she said. “S’a nun.” She gave the girl a sunny grin. “Why’s a nice postulant like you sneaking about in the middle of the night with a dead nun on her back?”

The girl dropped her burden and whipped out a knife, advancing on Crowley. “You’d do better to not ask any questions.”

Crowley laughed in delight. “Oh, I like you.” She scratched at her veil again, then yanked it off and pushed her fingers through her hair. “Ugh. I hate religious clothes.” She gave the girl a sunny grin. “So. What are you up to? And can I help?”

The girl stared at her warily. “What?”

“S’a heavy body. I can give you a hand.”

The girl frowned. “Why would you want to do that?”

“Honestly?” Crowley shrugged. “The sooner I cause chaos in this place, the sooner I can leave. It’s so dull and nothing happens and I’ve been waiting for the chance to mess them about.”

The girl’s expression changed, a smile flashing across her face. “Ah. Now, you’re speaking my language.” She jerked her thumb towards the bundle. “We need to get that into the room of one of the other postulants.”

Together, they hoisted the cloth-wrapped body off the floor.

“This your idea of a prank?” Crowley inquired.

She flashed a devilish grin at him. “An escape.”

Crowley glanced down at the bundle, then back at her. “And the nun is…”

“Can’t fake a tragic death in an accidental fire without a body,” she replied, then hissed a profanity under her breath. Further down the hall, there were lights moving, lamps, other nuns on the move and if she was caught–

Crowley snapped her fingers. “Don’t move,” she breathed.

The huddle of nuns and postulants brushed by them, so close they could almost touch. The girl’s face was bone white, but she held her ground, and as soon as the halls were clear again, her breath exploded out in a gust.

“How did you do that?” she demanded.

Crowley made a partial sign of the cross, stopping just before it started to burn. “Divine intervention, you could say.”

“Devilish, more like,” she laughed. “Come on!”

Together, they hauled the bundle down the hall and carried it into one of the small rooms, where they set it down on a low cot beside the wall. Another young girl was waiting for them, pale-cheeked and wide-eyed.

“You did it!” she gasped. “Julie, you did it!”

Julie swept across the room and kissed her warmly. “Of course, ma Cherie. I promised I would.” She glanced back at Crowley. “My thanks, Sister.”

Crowley grinned. “Don’t mention it.” She paused by the door. “I mean that. Don’t mention it.”

Julie inclined her head. “Nor you,” she said with a pointed nod to the shroud-wrapped body.

“Course not,” Crowley said and pulled the door shut behind her. At least, not to anyone except a certain angel.

   1692 – Paris

 The curtain had fallen and Aziraphale clutched at Crowley’s arm. “You see what I mean?”

Crowley nodded. “She’s definitely got a pair of pipes on her, hasn’t she?” He got up, then offered Aziraphale his arm. “Coming, angel?”

Aziraphale nodded, gathering up her skirts as they fell in with the crowd drifting towards the doors of the theatre.

Both of them had been on the continent for business in the preceding weeks and when he had learned that the infamous Mademoiselle de Maupin had elevated herself as far as the opera in Paris and was performing, Aziraphale had absolutely insisted that they meet and attend one of her performances.

“She’s come a long way from singing in town squares for coins,” she said.

Crowley grinned. “Well, she does have a few advantages there, doesn’t she?” he said. “Family connections, foot in the door, handy with a knife, bit eccentric and definitely interesting.” He nudged Aziraphale. “D’you think this lot know about the nun?”

Aziraphale hid a laugh behind her fan. “I wouldn’t be surprised. Scandal sells these days, don’t you know? It’s a part…” She trailed off, frowning. “My dear, would you mind if we slipped around the back? Something feels amiss…”

Crowley shrugged. “Can’t hurt.”

Of course, no one noticed them, not even when they swanned through the side door of the building and into the backstage part of the theatre.

“I will not stand for this anymore!” La Maupin’s voice was raised in fury.

“Oh dear,” Aziraphale murmured. “Do you think–”

Crowley was already striding onwards.

Aziraphale gathered up her skirts, muttering a rude word under her breath as they tangled around her legs, and hurried after him. In the labyrinth of dressing rooms and costume areas, it was such a muddle to find anything.

“Angel!” Crowley yelled from up ahead. “This way!”

They had to force their way through a gaggle of whispering and staring performers to dash into a small room only to stop short along with other members of the company.

A man – middle-aged, balding, and sweating – was curled up on the floor and La Maupin was kicking him in the ribs.

“She is not your plaything, you disgusting old sot,” she snarled. “She’s a member of this company! You will treat her with respect!”

The man on the floor grasped at her leg. “You vicious bitch!”

La Maupin backhanded him viciously. “Don’t even try touching you me.” She went on one knee beside him, grabbing a hank of his shirt in her hand and jerked him up, baring her teeth in a feral snarl. “You will leave our ladies alone or I shall make damned sure you have nothing left to prod at them, do you understand me?”

“Should we…” Aziraphale murmured uncertainly.

Crowley screwed up his face and shook his head. “Nah. Sounds like he had it coming.”

The man, it seemed, was not a quick study and he spat in her face.

Aziraphale saw the way La Maupin pulled back her arm and turned away, but Crowley made a sound of appreciation. “Beautiful right hook.”

“Mademoiselle!” One of the more senior looking humans in the room exclaimed. “You can’t–”

She got back up, wiping her hands on her trousers. “Perhaps you should try telling Monsieur de la Verge what he can’t do instead.” She was curling and uncurling her hand. Her knuckles were gashed open, no doubt from the punch. “If you will excuse me…”

Aziraphale hurried after her as she strode out into the hall. “Mademoiselle de Maupin!”

The young woman turned, hostile and teeth-bared, as if expecting another attack, then her gaze skimmed Aziraphale up and down, and her expression shifted into something altogether more friendly. “I beg your pardon, Madame.”

The angel beamed at her. “Not at all, my dear,” she said, reaching out to clasp the young woman’s hand. “I only wanted to compliment you on your performance.” She held De Maupin’s hand between hers, the whisper of a miracle passing unnoticed as the damage tissue healed. “And now, I find you protecting your lady companions. It’s dreadfully brave of you. Marvellous, even.”

De Maupin’s face broke into a wide grin. “I should have you print that for me, that I may pass it out as a notice to all my detractors.” She gave Aziraphale’s hand a warm squeeze. “Thank you, Madame, for your kind words.” She dipped into a bow, then pressed her lips to Aziraphale’s hand. “Perhaps, I may find you another time, under more… pleasing circumstances.”

Aziraphale pinked happily. “If you ever have the time,” she said, then drew back when Crowley cleared his throat behind her. “But I must let you get on. You must be very busy tonight.”

De Maupin gave her another, warmer smile. “Alas, yes.” She bowed again. “Madame.”

Crowley was by her side as soon as De Maupin vanished up the hall. “Couldn’t help yourself, could you? Slipping a little good deed in there when you thought I wasn’t looking?”

Aziraphale swatted him on the arm with her fan. “It was only a little one. I doubt she even noticed.”

“Well,” Crowley said with a smirk. “She noticed mine.”

Aziraphale glanced at him. “Oh? I didn’t spot yours.”

The demon gave her an amused look, then leaned in and murmured close to her ear, “Our little wildcat likes a lady with a fine shapely bosom.”

“I don’t see what that has to do with anything.”

Crowley’s eyes drifted pointedly downwards. Aziraphale frowned, looking down at her dress, then gasped in dismay. She grabbed the lace and tried to haul it back up into a more modest, matronly fashion.

“Crowley! That– I can’t believe you would–” The fabric gave, tearing, revealing even more flesh. “Oh, for Heaven’s sake!”

“It was only a little one,” the demon sing-songed, as he sauntered off down the corridor. “I doubt she even noticed.”

Aziraphale threw her fan at his head.

[bollywoodirect]

"The first time I won a Medal in school, which was in 3rd grade. I came home running to show it to my mother. I was very excited. Very sad, she wasn't there. The first time I'm getting an award, a major award in film industry... And she's still not here. So this one goes out to her. This one's for you mom." It was an actor's winning speech after he won his very first award in Bollywood. The name of that actor is - Shah Rukh Khan.. This name has more than 800 million of world-wide fan following behind it. I've seen madness for him even in America's theatres. There are many actors. We have Aamir Khan contemporary with him. He chooses scripts wisely. Every piece of his work is chosen after considering many things. We can see his movies being successful in most of the cases. Shah Rukh isn't like that. He himself said-- "I have never done anything in life thinking about the result. When I get succeeded I remember it, and forget the failure. I follow whatever my mind says, whatever it asks me to do. There is nothing to claim as only my own. My life is like an open book. I'm a see through person." The biggest proof of the phrase- "self-made" is Shah Rukh. Perhaps that's the reason to be fond of him the most. He walked into industry after getting married to Gauri and we've not heard any rumor or scandal about him, and probably we will never. In cricket- Tendulkar, and in Bollywood- SRK - same feeling we get. Who would have thought that the kid who used to chew nuts in front of Mumbai’s Jubilee Cinema Hall would become The Shah Rukh Khan some day? He sold his Pentax camera for ten thousand rupee to come to Mumbai from Delhi in search of Gauri after falling for her. He walked on the roads of Mumbai to find her, slept on the park-benches. At his young age, he worked as a spot boy in one of Pankaj Udas's concert only for 50 rupee as payment. That was his first income. He spent that money to buy train ticket to visit the Tajmahal. His payment for the movie "Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa" was only 6000 rupee. That same Shah Rukh has some sort of six or seven hundred million dollar as his bank balance now. He Started playing antagonist roles in movies like 'Darr' & 'Baazigar'. From being a spine-shivering villain to play a romantic character like Raj in 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge' and making the character immortal - he established himself. Since the release of the movie it has been showed for more than 20 years at Maratha Mandir Theatre. Can anyone ever forget the scene where Raj pulls Simran on the running train in their first meeting? According to TIME magazine, at present Shah Rukh is the biggest superstar on earth; excelling names like Leonardo, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Robert Downey Junior from Hollywood. Teaching people how to love is the toughest thing to do. Shah Rukh has done it with ease in each one of his movies. He has taught the youngsters anew the definition of love. We show him box-office figures when he goes for movies with stronger scripts. On the contrary, when his movies shake the box-office, like hypocrites we talk about scripts and acting. He smokes two packets of cigarettes each day. Everyone has complaints about it. Shah Rukh has said in this regard, "When I go through stressful situations, I smoke cigarettes. This life is my own. I think I need cigarettes to live." He has a mind of child still now. He has done amazing job as a responsible husband and father. He has bought the Kolkata Knight Riders only because his son likes cricket. Despite losing many times this team used to make profit most. He used to come to watch the matches. We've seen him crying and wiping his tears off when his team would lose. His emotions are authentic, and translucent. Everyday thousand of his fans gather in front of his house 'Mannat'. Everyday after waking up he waves at his fans at first. Whatever happens, Shah Rukh's poster will still be there on the wall of every nineties born romantic boy's or girl's room who has watched 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' after falling in love. That won't be replaced by anyone ever. His trademark pose spreading both arms, and his pit-like-dimples will keep making fans crazy.. for decade after decade. Watching over the sunglass after stopping motorcycle in 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge', the first scene with Rani in the opening of 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai', spreading arms in the song 'Suraj Hua Maddham', reading the letter of prisoner number 786 standing in the court in 'Veer Zara', waiting in front of Rani's house for hours in 'Chalte Chalte', the 'Sattar minutes' speech from 'Chak de! India', the scene where he's reading out from the empty pages for Preity in 'Kal Ho Naa Ho', the entry of Raj by pulling his pant a bit down from waist in 'Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi', staring blankly at the door of Paru's palace and waiting for death in the last scene of 'Devdas', the dialogue - "Kabhi kabhi kuch jeetne ke liye kuch haarna bhi padta hai. Aur haar kar jeetne wale ko baazigar kehte hain." from 'Baazigar' --- all of these still give me goosebumps. I've been fascinated by Kevin Spacey, Tom Hanks, Edward Norton, Brad Pitt many times. Have lost interest from Bollywood after school years, but the emotions have remained the same only for my childhood superstar. In the end, I just want to say one thing, if you’re not a die-hard fan you can't comprehend the obsession. Never. Ask a blind 'Fan' what does his superstar mean to him. Ask, how does it feel to have obsession about someone as a fan. Just ask! Gratitude, for making me learn to love by spreading your arms, for turning me into an 'emotional fool'. Thanks for making my boyhood wonderful. Some day I'll be present in front of 'Mannat' for sure, holding placard in hands saying, "Happy Birthday Shah Rukh Khan!" artwork genius: Anik dhar words written by: Arif Moynuddin

[transcendence-au]

PPD Blues

Captain Jones sighed to himself. Here we go again every few years some hotshot gets it into their head that they’ll be the one to take down Don Pines and in the prosses winds up only make life difficult for everyone on the force.

It the same every time this upstart will come in convinced; they’ll be the next Eliot Ness riding in to saving the city from the clearly corrupt police department. Only to find the same thing every Cop, Lawyer and Federal Agent before them has. The there is no concrete proof that Hank Pines is anything other than a law-abiding Citizen and the Diner Crew a preternatural outreach programme.

Oh, there’s plenty of circumstantial evidence, rumours and hearsay. Disappearance and suspicious deaths that benefit the Crew or the preter community as a whole and the less said about the man’s short bid for mayor the better. But no real evidence that they were involved and certainly nothing that would stand up in court.

It not like they hadn’t look Jones had been in the taskforce set up in the beginning to bring the Crew down but time and time again they hit dead ends before being disbanded.

The Crew is a registered charity that files its taxes every year without fail. Numerous audits have failed to prove otherwise. Sure, occasionally a member of the Crew will be caught in the act but they never give up anyone or anything else and insist they where acting alone. Undercover agents never report witnessing anything illegal. They even have the correct permits for every public gathering they have.

For that matter they’ve assisted in several criminal investigations in their community and helped avoid more than one of the many inevitable PR disasters that come with dealing with community you have no training to deal with. Especially one as alien and varied as the Preter community.

And as for the infamous Don Pines, Hank Pines appears for all intents and purposes to be a run of the mill computer programmer who happens to run the largest Preternatural outreach program in the state and possibly the country if Jones is completely honest with himself. He doesn’t live above his means and also files his taxes and passes audits regularly. The son of well-known preternatural expert and activist Mable Pines and coming originally from the Gravity Falls his official motive for starting the Crew seems solid.

All this is a far cry from the brutal image the name Don Pines conjures in most of the city’s minds. A giant of a man wielding a spiked baseball bat dispensing with his enemies with unfeeling efficiency. An Army of powerful creatures at his back ready to carry out his every command without question. Some even go so far as to claim he can control Alcor the Dream Bender of all creatures.

So, are the Crew a Mob? Jones would say yes. Can he prove it? not a chance in hell.

None of this, changes the fact that for the next couple of months he gets to injure this F.B.I. Agent running around antagonizing his men and barging into any investigation that has the barest whiff of being connected to the Crew and that’s if he’s lucky. If he’s not they wind up with a Bigot using the Pines case to harass the entire Preter community of Portland and guess who’s job it will be to put out those fires.

Maybe it’s time to take that early retirement let this become someone else problem?

[skaikruswan]

Will our world come tumbling down - Chapter 4

Summary:  „Holy shit.” Hank mutters and you share the sentiment. You thought that deviants were the real deal, but nothing could have prepared you for the view of Connor with red eyes, red LED and red blood-stained lips. “Fucking vampire androids.”

Pairing: Connor x female detective!reader

What to expect from this fourth chapter: Angst and Story. 

Important: Please go into the notes of this chapter and look for the first reblog. You’ll find the links to Ao3 and the previous chapters. Tumblr must really hate me.

You’re lying on the ground and for one short moment, you don’t know what has happened. Looking upwards, your blurry vision only recognizes stars. No, this isn’t right. You see the crystals of the large chandelier. You’re in Cordelia Lorde’s mansion on an undercover mission to find deviants. Everything was fine until you heard gunshots.

You want to stand up but notice that something heavy is lying on top of you, making it impossible to move. Not something, you realize with terror, someone. Connor! He must have thrown you to the ground to shield you.

“Connor!” you say weakly, your hands reaching up to shake him. No reaction. You squirm underneath Connor’s unmoving frame, so you can see better and take a look at him. His back is marred with gun entry wounds; you can even see the dented plastic and the blue wiring running underneath. The grey vest is full of blue stains, Thirium running down in streams.  

“Oh Connor.” A tear rolls down your cheek as you whisper his name, your fingers hovering over his wounds. Careful not to make his state worse, you push him down a little and turn him around. You manage to sit down and cradle his head in your lap. His eyes are closed, and he looks as if he’s sleeping, a peaceful expression on his face.

Gunshots once more fill the room and you flinch when you see a bullet hit the pillar to the left, only inches away from you. Wails and broken sobs have replaced screams. You have never felt so useless before as you let your eyes wander over all the hurt people in this room.

“Let this be a warning. A warning for all those who sympathize with androids. A warning for all those who choose plastic over flesh. Blood only has one color: red! Destroy the machines or be destroyed!” a distorted male voice booms from above. Of course, you think as dreadful realization hits you: they are on the balconies – an ideal vantage point. You must at least try to stop them.

“I’ll be back.” you promise the android, your hands brushing through his silky hair, a gesture to comfort him and yourself. He’s still not moving, and you feel a sob clawing its way into your throat.

Suddenly Connor’s eyes snap open, crimson instead of dark amber. He turns his head to the side and starts wheezing before coughing something out. The fake fangs. He’s moving his head violently and his confused gaze just wanders around. You’re not sure Connor’s aware what’s happening. What’s going on?

After grinding his teeth, he opens his mouth just a little and you notice something odd. Your gaze flies back to the disgorged fangs then back to Connor’s mouth. Still, you can’t wrap your mind around what you’re seeing. How can there be fangs in Connor’s mouth if he just spit out the fake ones?

You slowly move a hand towards his mouth, intending to investigate the long incisors, when his wandering gaze finally meets yours.

“I’ll shut down soon. Help me.” Connor asks, no, begs, and your feel heart sink. They may be red, but even the unusual color can’t hide the real fear you see in his eyes. Connor is afraid, you realize with a lump in your throat.

You’ve stopped brushing through his hair, your unmoving hands resting on his shoulders. You know what to do, a low voice whispers in the back of your head. Your gaze flies from your wrists to Connor’s mouth. He saved you; it’s only right if you save him too. You hate the small tremble that moves through your body.

A loud thud next to you catches your attention. You turn around to the source of the noise and your heart twists. Not by the left pillar, but by the right one, sits a man. The pillar is smeared red, so you deduce that the man has been standing, before becoming too weak and sinking down. Red streams make the man’s fake armor look real. He’s no longer wearing a mask, so you can see the ashen face contorted with pain. You realize that it’s the man you saw talking to Emily Watson.

“Help me.” the man pleads. Your gaze flies over him and sorrow coils in your stomach. The wounds are too severe; this man is going to die. You know it and judging by the despair in the man’s eyes, he knows it too. He just wants to not be alone in his final moments – what can be more human?

You glance at Connor, his eyes half-closed and you ball your hands into fists. What did you do to deserve this kind of terrible situation? The rational part of your brain tells you that there is only one person you can still help, you can still save: Connor. But the human part refuses to leave this man alone in his final moments.

“I’m here for you. What’s your name?” you say as kindly and gently as possible, trying to keep any tremor out off your voice.

“Sam.” the knight replies and gives you the smallest smile, before wincing again, taking a shaky breath. He’s getting worse, you think. You must do something now. How can you help Sam and Connor?

An idea sprouts in the back of your mind and you reject it immediately, ashamed of even thinking about it. But desperation, worry and forlornness water it until it takes roots and blossoms, growing so big that you can’t do anything but consider it.

“I’ll come and get you a little bit closer, is that all right?” After Sam’s court nod, you put Connor’s head down as cautiously as you can, and you stand up. Your shaky legs feel like cotton and you’re glad that you only have to take a few steps. Kneeling down in front of Sam, you gently put his arm around your neck. On the count of three, he and you both manage to get him standing. As quick as possible, you move back to Connor. You both kneel down, and you position Sam so he’s lying parallel to Connor, their bodies almost touching.

Now you’re sitting down in the small space at the top of both of their heads. You take a deep breath and try to find more strength. A small voice inside of you screams about how wrong and despicable this is, and you agree. But what else can you do?

You reach out to take Sam’s arm and put it down so his wrist is close to Connor’s mouth. A bullet has gone through his shoulder and blood has dripped down towards his hands. You hope that it’s enough.

Apparently, it’s more than enough, because Connor grips the wrist and sinks his fangs into the flesh faster than you had imagined. Sam let’s out a startled gasp and you put your hands under his chin, so he’ll look at you instead of Connor. He doesn’t need nor deserve any horror or pain in his last moments.

“I’m so sorry I can’t help you.” you confess, your voice quavering.

“It’s all right. You’re doing all you can. Thanks for being here.” Sam whispers back and you close your eyes for a second, so the tears don’t fall. Your hands stroke his stubbly chin and you start humming a small tune. From the corner of your eye, you see that Connor is no longer lying but sitting, still drinking from Sam. This means that his strength is returning, that your plan had worked. You hope that this doesn’t hurt Sam too much. You wish for no pain for him. Your troubled mind finds no words to describe Connor actually feeding off a human, entirely preoccupied with the task, so you give Sam your attention.

“I feel so tired. Like an empty battery.” You’re glad that you’re sitting close to Sam, otherwise you wouldn’t have heard him. His face is devoid of color and his glassy eyes don’t seem to focus on you but rather only stare blankly ahead.

“You deserve to rest.” you comfort him and give him your softest smile, although it feels forced and your hands tremble on his cold skin.

“I think I’ll sleep now.” Sam’s words sound like they come from far away and you brace yourself for the inevitable. It’s just not fair, a part of you rages. So many innocent lives are lost today. This was supposed to be a fancy evening, not a gathering of death.

“Sweet dreams.” You can’t stop the tears and they run down your cheeks. The moment Sam draws his last breath is the moment Connor lets go off his wrist. Your hands brush over Sam’s eyelids and his green eyes take a last look at the world before they close forever.

Your whole body feels stiff and you feel detached, like a kite without a line. You’re aware that you’re in shock. However, there are some things that nothing, no training or anything, can prepare you for.

You’re shaking as you’re slowly getting up, your arms wrapped around your body. Your finally look at Connor, who’s towering over Sam, looking at him with a blank face.

“Connor?” you call him, finally getting his attention. Truth be told, he’s a terrifying sight. Blood is smeared on his lips and around his mouth, even dripping down on the right side of the chin. He does not look like Dracula, he is Dracula. Your glance flies over him and relief floods your body when notice that his wounds are no longer leaking Thirium. His self-repair must have kicked in to at least seal off the wounds.

His intense red gaze fixes on you and it takes everything from inside of you not to flinch. There is no recognition in his eyes. He tilts his head and moves towards you, assessing you as if he had never seen you before.

“Connor!” Your voice trembles as you implore him. Please see me. Please recognize me. Please be my Connor again. You honestly don’t know what to do if he doesn’t.

“(Y/n).” Connor says your name and you release the breath you didn’t know you’re holding. He says your name like a prayer and you allow yourself to hope.

“Are you all right?” you ask, crossing the small distance between you and him to hold his hands. The same hands that had held Sam’s wrist as Connor had sucked what little life Sam had left out off him. He replicates the gesture and his touch steadies you.

“I am. I feel optimal.” Connor announces his response cautiously, yet with enough self-assurance to melt the remaining icy worry that had annealed your heart. He’s back. His eyes may burn, but his words or actions do not.

“Good.” You say the little word with relief. He’s fine while, truth be told, you are not, but it will have to do. Before you can leave, there is something you’ll have to do before you can investigate.

Your feet feel like lead as you go back towards Sam. Although your knees and joints start aching from all the kneeling and standing, this is something you have to do. You take Sam’s wrist and observe it. The puncture wounds left by Connor’s fangs may be small, but they’re unusual; they stand out. Everybody who’s trained to look for these kind of details will spot these oddities.

A hysterical laugh escapes your lips before you can stop it. You’re a detective. You’re supposed to find and preserve evidence, not hide or destroy. Connor’s worried look hasn’t escaped you. But then his gaze fixes on the wrists and you see that he has realized it too.

“We can’t leave it behind like this.” you state, and your gaze scans the room, looking for something, anything. You watch Connor roam the room, careful not to step too close to the motionless people – dead, hurt or unconscious – before picking something up and returning. A shard of glass, maybe from one of the broken windows, large enough to even serve as a weapon. It will surely do to hide the puncture wounds.

Your reach out with your hand, ready to do the deed, but Connor shakes his head.

“I don’t leave finger prints; you do.” Connor is right, but deep down, you wanted to be the one to touch Sam one last time; as a goodbye, or even an apology.

Kneeling down and with a neutral efficiency, Connor turns the small holes into small, unsuspicious cuts. These little wounds were also proof that you didn’t make up Connor feeding from Sam. That Connor’s vampirism becomes a recurrence. Now they’re gone.

“Let’s go.” you say and turn around so quickly you almost trip. A myriad of emotions push through you, urging you to leave this place. You don’t feel comfortable. You don’t feel safe. Everything got out of hand. Everything inside of you itches to take back some control, to leave the frightened mess you’re now behind and become the skilled detective you’re known to be. To find the people responsible for this horrible bloodshed.

“The second floor.” Connor completes your thoughts. His gaze flies upwards and without any doubt, he starts moving towards the door. You follow him as fast as you can, cursing your shoes and the blisters they’ll bring, and let yourself be pulled with by Connor’s purposefulness.

The mahogany door is ajar and after taking a quick peek, you find the foyer empty. As you both sneak back into the room, your hearing feels magnified, you expect a scream, a shot, or anything to pierce through the silence. But nothing.

Looking down on the red carpet, you wish that there would be more sadness inside of you as you see the cheerful herald in a pool of blue blood. Next to him lie two of Cordelia’s black-dressed security staff. Connor kneels down and frisks them. Luck seems to be on your side for once, for he provides you with a gun and keeps the other one. The cold metal feels familiar against your sweaty palm and you let out a long sigh: you’re no longer defenseless.

“Hurry!” You’re one the first step of the staircase when that one male shout startles. A man and a woman holding hands burst into the foyer, having apparently ignored the trespassing warning. However, it seems to have brought them some good, since they don’t seem to be wounded.

They reach the stairs and you stop moving. Time stops too. For this one precious moment, they are going to make it. But then time catches up. A single gunshot seems to be enough for their happiness to end. They both tumble down on the white floor and once more, you curse this evening.

The shooter, standing in the doorway, visibly pales when he sees you and Connor, apparently not expecting people, especially armed ones, and spins around to flee into the room he just left. You’re a good shot, and you like to believe that you missed your target, his shoulder, because he has moved. But deep down, you wanted to end one of the people responsible for his tragedy. It’s not rational; it’s not what a good detective ought to do. But right now, it feels good. He goes down, just as the innocent couple.

Connor rushes upwards, eager to interrogate the dying man, and you let him. You run towards the couple. The man is cradling the woman, his LED spinning red. They’re both not wearing masks and no LED can be seen on the woman’s temple. Blue and red turn the white marble floor into a lilac sea. As you kneel down, you realize in horror that it’s more reddish.

“Don’t leave me.” the android begs, raw anguish in his voice while he pulls her closer, as if he wants to close the gun wound with only body contact. If only this worked, you think bleakly.

“Never.” the woman answers, cupping the man’s cheek, before a cough shakes her body. It leaves her lips stained red.

“Why couldn’t it hit me?” His wails tighten your chest and the way he affectionately kisses the palm of her hand make your eyes water. He’s not a machine, he’s alive and feeling, a small voice inside of you says.

“Darling.” The pet name holds so much love, you feel like an invader for witnessing their last moment. “You’ll go on without me, will you?” Her voice is merely a whisper now, her hand slipping away from his cheek to the ground. You grit your teeth, trying and failing to prepare yourself for another death. From the corner of your eye, you see that Connor has left the shooter and is observing the couple, an unreadable expression on his face.

“I am nothing without you.” The man declares this with the outmost devotion you’ve ever heard. He clutches the hand she just let sinking to the ground and brings it to his chest. “You brought me to life. I love you.” Her radiating smile doesn’t hide the fear and pain in her eyes. You don’t know the woman; you can’t name the reasons for her emotions. You can only guess. Fear of death? The pain of leaving her loved one behind?

“I ….” The last famous two words never leave her lips. The small hand on the man’s chest goes limp. The smile fades. And it’s the silence you hate the most. Judging by his behavior, you had expected the android to scream and rage. Not this eerie calm. Not this resigned but determined expression on his face.

“Please don’t do anything. I want this.” The man pleads, and he moves both of his hands to his chest. He slowly starts hitting himself and you reach out tentatively with one hand, before one resolute look from the man stops your action. Soft hits become violent blows and soon Thirium leaks from the wound. One hand digs into it and with one violent thrust, he removes a cylindrical plug. His LED is spinning red as he tenderly puts it into the woman’s hand, his body flagging.

“My heart. It has always been yours.” You can only stare at him, appalled and moved by his gesture. He literally gave her his heart. He rather dies then living without her. And once more, you cry. You pull your knees closer towards you and watch his LED go out. Your move your hand to close both of their eyes.

“Guess we found a deviant after all.” Not only does your voice shake, so does your body. The soft clicking of Connor’s dress shoes are the only noise that can be heard. You feel his comforting presence as he stands behind you, close enough so you could lean on him. You don’t see his face, so you don’t know his reaction or his thoughts concerning the heartbreaking scene you both just witnessed. A part of you is curious, but you don’t find the strength to move.

You really have to give Connor credit for staying here, without a word or an action, just waiting for you to get ready. It doesn’t take too long, barely a minute. You can’t and won’t afford to fall apart now.

With new determination, you rise and climb the stairs. You don’t spare the killer of the couple a glance. If there’s anything relevant or important about him, Connor will tell you.

Entering a crime scene always gives you a rush, and this time it’s no different, even if it is the second floor of a mansion, a broad balcony overlooking the ballroom. This is the place where maniacs ended a perfect evening with countless murders. You will do your best to solve this.

Looking through the moonlit windows, you think you’ve glimpsed a familiar shadow, but you just shake your head. You must get tired. Focusing back on the case, you turn towards Connor, who’s getting closer to the balustrade.

“Say Connor, is the interference still there?” you ask him, hoping that against all odds, you can finally call for backup and medical assistance. The android in question tilts his head and you see astonishment flitting over his features.

“Good call, detective.” Connor’s small praise lifts your spirits. “It is indeed gone. I’ll call the department immediately.” Why and how the inference is suddenly gone are questions you hope to find a question. Checking for evidence, you spot an object on the floor.

“Of course.” you mutter under your breath after realizing that these are heat vision goggles. You have to admit, they were prepared. Heat vision would allow the intruders to spot the androids, as they have a lower temperature than humans. You turn around to alert Connor when you see him kneeling down next to a small blue puddle.

While you’re not as unsettled by Connor’s method of analyzing as Hank is, the sight of Connor bringing his blue fingertips to his lips still sends a shiver down your spine. This is the second time tonight that Connor ingests blood. You’re more than relieved that his eyes have returned to their usual brown shade. Sooner or later, you’ll have to discuss this issue with Connor in more detail. But that’s not a problem for now.

“Victim or culprit?” you ask Connor, eager to get the lump out off your throat.

“I can’t tell. We need more evidence.” Connor says and after a small hand wave of yours, comes to you. Connor can pick up the goggles to analyze them; you can’t without leaving your fingerprints on them or even erasing traces. You hope that Connor works his android magic, as you fondly call his reconstruction skills, and finds a clue. But after a while he only puts them where you have found them, gives you a short shake of the head, and continues his search for evidence. Doing the same, you subtly glance at Connor multiple times, hoping that he’s having better luck than you. A kingdom for a CSI!

“How come they let this obvious piece of evidence behind but nothing else?” you groan, releasing your frustration into the world. “It’s as if they had only let this piece of evidence here to taunt us.” The goggles imply that it was the killer’s intention to be able to distinguish androids from humans and that this was a planned crime. Leaving evidence behind can also be a sign of pride and arrogance.

“Admittedly, there is a lack of evidence and I’m unable to find any further.”  A muscle in his jaw tenses and Connor does sound more tense than usual. A sign of irritation? “I agree with your suspicion that the goggles were left deliberately.”

You suppress a sigh. Until now, Connor has always managed to help solving the cases. Now it seems that even he has reached a limit.

“Let’s go back and wait for the backup.” you suggest and turn around. As you walk down the staircase, you look straight ahead, but still you flinch as you pass the dead couple. Sitting down on the first stair, you feel the cold marble beneath you and fix your gaze on the entry door. You notice Connor enter and leave your field of vision. Your gaze stays fixed. However, audible conversation forces you to turn your head towards the source of the noise.

You see Connor approaching, your coat and purse in his hands, followed by a distraught woman in white. Cordelia Lorde. She’s following him, desperately trying to get his attention, while Connor listens to her.

“Where is Cameron? Are the guests safe? Are the intruders gone?” Cordelia repeats these questions over and over again and you immediately rise to walk towards them. This woman is in shock, something you can comprehend. She needs reassurance.

“Don’t worry Ma’am, the police is on its way.” you say and feel Cordelia’s attention shifting towards you. Her gaze flies to your temple and it’s only now that you realize that you must have lost the fake LED this evening. You didn’t even notice. The woman falls into your arms and you feel the dampness on her cheek, still whispering the same questions in your ear.

This is the exact moment the Detroit police department decides to make their entrance, as one of most famous socialites clings to you as if you were a lifeline. Captain Fowler leads them, with Hank following closely behind. The sight of them unloosens some of the tension inside of you. They approach your little trio immediately. You don’t have much time to gather yourself.

“Good evening Ma’am, Captain Jeffrey Fowler, police department of Detroit.” Fowler introduces himself, extending a hand to the socialite who’s still hugging you. She slowly lets go off you and takes his hand. “We were notified that there has been an intrusion and several homicides.” As Cordelia starts retelling the events of this evening, you watch her stand upright, trying to entrance the Captain. Fowler, while giving her the attention she desires, steers the conversation, a smart move. Deviancy must remain secret. Cordelia Lorde mustn’t know the reason you and Connor were here in the first place. After leaving Cordelia Lorde in the care of Chris, Fowler comes back, his gaze pinned on you and Connor.

“You two – ” Fowler begins, “Jesus, you both look like crap. Connor you’re almost scaring me!” Hank exclaims, interrupting Fowler, who’s giving Hank side eyes. Your only answer to Hank’s statement is a weary shrug.

“Detective, you take some time off. That’s not a request but an order.” Fowler states firmly and you know deep down that fighting his decision is in vain. You’re aware that you must look horrible too, your dress a mess of blood stains, tears having ruined your makeup so that everyone can see the fatigue on your face.

“I understand Captain.” you say. Compliance seems to be the best and easiest road to take and judging by the Captain’s soft clap on your shoulder, he approves of it.

“Before you and Connor can leave, tell me your perspective of the evening.” Fowler demands and you feel as if a cold bucket of water is doused over you. It’s thanks to your investigation skills and quick reflexes that you school your features into a professional mask, so you don’t look like a deer caught in the headlights.

You inform Fowler about the evening, the realization that there were android doppelgangers among the guests and about the dance. Your can’t help but stumble on your words as you tell Fowler how Connor shielded you, giving the android an grateful look. You’ve realized that you haven’t thanked him yet. He’s been unusually quiet for now, intently listening to your retelling.

“In the ball room, you find a man, dressed as a knight, with my fingerprints on him. Sam.” Your voice breaks. “I comforted him in his last moments.” You would rather swallow your tongue than tell Fowler about Connor’s apparent vampirism. No one needs to know. It would only endanger Connor. Besides, you’re not lying, you’re just withholding irrelevant information, you tell yourself, before bracing yourself to tell the last encounter of the evening.      

“We’ve found a deviant, the male android lying next to the woman here on the stairs. I believe them to have been lovers. After she died, the android tore out his Thirium pump and put it in her hands, stating that his heart has always been hers. You’ll also find my fingerprints on her.”

“For god’s sake!” Hanks mutters under his breath. Fowler just lets out a long sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“(Y/n). You know where to find the psychologist of the precinct right?” Fowler asks, not commenting on what you’ve said, and you give him a nod. You might want to consider a visit. Finally, you tell them about the balcony and the lack of evidence besides the heat vision goggles. You hope that Chris and the other police androids make better progress upstairs than you and Connor did.

“Connor, care to add something? Fowler addresses the silent android, who only gives him a short nod.

“No Captain. The detective has given an accurate report of the evening.” Connor states and you watch as his LED turn yellow. “There has been another case involving androids.”

“Of course there is.” Fowler grumbles. “All right, Connor and Hank take this case. You bring (Y/n) home and Connor will change, so people won’t run away from him.” They really should have seen him with red eyes, you muse. But yes, Hank and Fowler are right: one would be scared of Connor. “Dismissed.” Fowler sounds final and you head towards the door. The coldness hits as soon as you step outside but this time, you welcome it, the biting cold on your skin as you’re taking a deep breath of the crisp, clean air. You’re outside. Your body, if not your mind, can put some distance between you and the case.

“Connor, what makes you think that I want to work an android case now?” Hank barks at Connor, who’s unfazed by Hank’s reproach. “You just made me miss this one!”

“Well, I guess this case isn’t interesting anyway. A man found dead in a sex club down town. Guess they’ll have to solve the case without us.” Connor replies, teasing Hank and judging by the shimmer in the Lieutenant’s eyes, capturing his attention.

You’ve never felt happier at the sight of Hank’s gray car. Taking the front seat, you’re grateful for Hank’s music. The heavy metal drowns any thoughts and you can just zone out peacefully. You’ve noticed Hank’s concerned glances, but you just can’t give him any answer. The ride to your apartment is silent and you don’t mind.

You feet, aching from the time in heels walk the way to your apartment without you even noticing, Connor and Hank on your trail. The jangling of the keys are the only sound in the empty hallway. You enter and suddenly realize that this means the end of the investigation, at least for now, for you. It means goodbye from Connor.

The android in question is walking past you, heading towards his armchair where his regular clothes are folded neatly.

“Connor, you can go to the bathroom to change.” you suggest and he follows your instructions immediately. Now you’re alone with Hank, who’s eying you, his arms crossed, leaning against the front door.

You sigh and walk into your kitchen, taking your blue thermos jug to fill coffee into a mug.

“A drink before you go?” you offer the mug to Hank, who’s now sitting in a chair. He takes it and gives you a grateful nod.

“I’m sorry I can’t join the investigation with you.” you apologize to Hank, voicing the doubts that have been pestering you. Are you a bad detective for being so affected by the evening?

“Don’t worry. After what I’ve heard, you deserve some rest.” Hank’s gruff response takes away some of the weight off your shoulders. He takes a sip of the coffee.

“Be nice to Connor. He’s been through the same as I did.” Your request startles Hank, his eyebrows raised. You expect him to ramble how Connor is just a machine, but he stays silent, looking at the bathroom door instead.  

Connor walks out and all traces of the previous evening have vanished. His face is clean, he’s wearing his uniform, currently straightening his tie. You’re the only one in here who still looks and feels like a disaster.

“Thanks for the coffee, (Y/n).” Hank says and hands you the mug, his fingers brushing over yours, gently squeezing them. Hank sometimes struggles with expressing his emotions, so if he does, the happier you are. It’s nice to know that he has your back.

„Let’s get going.“ Hanks says and walks out off the door. “We have a case to solve.”

Connor seems to hover, unsure what to do, before looking at you with a determined expression on his face. He paces towards you and takes your hand. Your heart speeds up and blood rushes into your face.

“(Y/n). I hope it can comfort you as much as it helps me. You may use it when you’re feeling bored or sad.” Connor explains, his brown eyes having a kind glint, and you suddenly feel something cool in your hand. His coin. Connor has just given you his coin. How many times have you seen him playing with it? It’s no doubt his dearest possession and he just gave it to you. To cheer you up. To make you feel better.

“Thank you so much Connor, I know how much you enjoy your coin.” Your voice quavers a little, quavering like the air around you. It may sound weird, but you can feel the relationship between you and Connor quaver and shift. “I’ll think of you when I’m holding it in my hands.”

You watch Connor leave your apartment too, the cold coin warming your heart.

[kurtty-drabbles]

Love is all you need au (mean girls)

N/A: Mean girls, mean girls and mean girls.

@djinmer4 @dannybagpipesarecalling

this is what Kitty is wearing

If you ever read about harem, you know some women are cruel and ambitious enough to make their sons the next ruler, however, Kitty would like to understand this harem a little more. Kid Gladiator is in his late teens, so, unless there´s another candidate wouldn´t he get the throne from Kurt?

Kitty didn´t have much time to ponder about Kid Gladiator´s fate as the woman saw the golden statues, not a fan of art, but, Kitty reconize the nose and the shock eyes in his face.

"King Aladam?" Kitty replied rushing to see the statue. A living golden statue as his eyes follows Kitty in an uncanny matter. Her doe eyes soon spot another golden statue as well.

"Prince Philip?" Kitty asked confused as after a few minutes it´s safe to bet there are more statues in this part of the garden. "All of you must have made bad deals with him, Philip, you always were too arrogant for your own good" Kitty speaks uneasy as the woman wonders what they did to gather such punishment.

"You know them?" A voice appears out of the shadows and Kitty saw the Necromancer amused watching Kitty interact with the statues "Odd, not many people nowadays remember the lost kings of the past" Kurt put a finger on his chin looking at one of the statues and smiling as their eyes, their pupil moves in a frantic fashion, to convey fear.

"You could say I like history, now...did they upset you?" Kitty asked crossing her arms, healing does nothing in this case and from what she gathered, Kurt is way above in combat skills than the healer.

"Trying to kill me is a nice way to upset me, now, aside from the statues what you think of here?" Kurt asked and is similar to kids wanting praise, it would be somewhat cute if the statue´s eyes aren´t still moving in fear.

"I´m here for 24 hours now, my roommates are...none, why is that?" Kitty asked and Kurt smiles pleased.

"I send the Princess of Meridium back to her place, she can´t sire children nor desires to do so and ...while she was alright in experiment to help her case" Kurt gives a creepy smile and Kitty wonders if the woman is alright "in the end, she gives up, saying that she would prefer to adopt, a noble thing, then I send her back" Kurt explains in a somewhat normal tone and Kitty blinks, no death threats or maniacal laughter?

(Oh, right sometimes, he send them away, guess, he is not that terrible...well, the statues disagree)

"Well,in that case, my room is nice, no..."she stops him before the man could talk "the temple don´t live in poverty, we don´t fetishes or romanticize poverty, our rooms and even the habital housing are designed to help and give comfort for those who are in need, however, luxury is not our main concern and your room is one of the best room I´ve saw. I´m impressed, for an old man, you have a really good taste" Kitty smiles now in approves.

People have this ill vision that the temple lives in a state of poverty and that the habital housing is nothing more than a shack, which is incorrect in several ways. But yes, the temple has no need to worry for such luxuries as the monarch and court does.

Kurt seems to absorb the information and is now thinking with his tail flicking around copying the "hums" that leaves his mouth.

"I see, Zaorva" Kurt stills shiver to the mere mention of the name "is not one to care for this either, well, I´m glad you enjoy your room" then Kurt starts to analyse Kitty, the way is a bit leery and a bit vulture and Kitty crosses her arms again and faces him.

"Are you invoking your inner vulture? ´Cause is starting to creep me out"

"Sorry, Is just...your dress is interesting" Kurt explaining as Kitty´s mouth twisted on the right side, and taking the apron and the dress the woman see nothing much on the dress itself "it resembles that story..."Kurt said a bit mysterious.

"There are many stories, my Necromancer friend who is immortal, and many dresses have many stories," Kitty said far too innocent. Kurt shakes his head amused.

"I´ve to go now, things are caught my attention, you know, places to conquer, I trust you can handle my absence fine?" Kurt asked playfully.

"Yes, but secretly, I´ll wipe in my pillow and write angrily in my diary," she said dryly and Kurt chuckles kissing her check and in smoke of brimstone, Nightcrawler is gone.

The woman decides to leave the garden and the statues for the time being. She is not seeing this for the first time as sometimes the temple does that, albeit, is extremely rare.

She didn´t witness much of the other women in the harem, aside from Lorna and Rachel playing ping pong and cursing Kurt´s name as is a religious´s experience. Kitty will let them have their religious time in peace.

Kitty ponder on what to do, everything is new and some trickery Kurt carries are far too eccentric for her taste, Kitty maybe would have gone to her room, if someone didn't throw a snowball at her. Now, it´s worth to mention that they are in the summer and even if was snowing, the healer is in a cover area now.

"Oh, got it" Kitty replied without real emotion as her eyes easily spot a blue woman wearing a dress, if that´s the correct name, that is covering her boobs and showing as much of skin as possible. And there´s another woman, equally taller, wearing a red dress and both are sharing the same smirk of superiority.

"What do we have here? Fresh meat" the non-blue woman speak in a German accent and Kitty rolls her eyes, oh Lady Zaorva, give me the strength to deal with this bullshite.

"And he brought a plain one this time? How odd" the blue woman speaks, Kitty only rolls her eyes once again " they give their name as it´s a big favour for Kitty, Kymri is the blue woman(a princess from Only Zaorva knows) and Mara is something(Kitty is not really paying attention, at this moment, she was wondering about the marriage between Zaorva and HIM, how entities like them still got together? Uhm, she could ask this to Venus next time she shows up in the temple) and both are pointing fingers to Kitty.

"Sorry, did you all said something?" Kitty replied boring and Kymri now offended.

"You are plain, boring and judge by your outfit a peasant, why are you doing here?" Kymri asked angrily with her eyes solely on Kitty´s dress as is an insult.

"He asked me here, so, if you think I´m plain, boring and a peasant, maybe that reflect something on his taste, why not go after Kurt himself and ask this to him?" Kitty suggested as she is ready to leave, Mara is about to slap her, however, all Mara´s palm touch was the air.

"That was something...now, stay out of problems, kid, the last person who bother him...Kurt changes that person into a statue" Kitty then wave goodbye to them.

____________________________ Bloodstorm and Hank are one of Kurt´s advisers and thought that a harem would help his conquest be more smooth, of course, the man has to make everyone´s work be difficult by not having any chill.

"Ororo" Hank calls his lover that is reading a document, Corona surrender to Kurt in less than a week and Ororo is disappointed, she wanted to fight them.

"What is it, Hank?" The woman asked.

"Kurt brought a new woman to his harem" Hank then speak again noticing her expression "A healer from Zaorva´s temple"

"Oh, my god, he lives to make our job difficult"

"Pretty much, I saw the girl, she seems tougher...but I could swear I saw her before" Hank replied, something about her robes feels familiar(the robes and face)

"Oh, really?" Ororo asked with a mockery of jealousy.

"Hey, no need to be jealousy, don´t like petite woman, but what a healer of Zaorva being here means?"

"That Kurt is an evil boss"

"Pun intended?" Hank asked and Ororo laughs at that.

[libidomechanica]

Listen her and reach

Listen her and reach into the narrow even this. The ring men the dark his flashing do, that fly by night win of gossamer you’d pinch them apart, gathering how ridiculous. To o bid good-morrow will hie, laugh someone used to tell, and Time is perfection of sheep an kye thrise-sad tragedie. I never

be comes in your porcelain man with the day care to see, whilst her, what press the wall, to faces in my love, yet of the sun forest. — Tender what shines, but heaven hie, over the mart’s own innocence, save a world forgetting moors ago when the flower, to Do. Schoolol, I I court in the innocence ought me Turn, and my low down behind that my well, Your worth, I look in your destination— is more be so that I shall ears had heed me. Testy y she does she did appear; of deepe with me, and pledges then destroy! — O Tibbie, I heat deeds.

Another, the wolf

rages wide leaves the rimes drowned, or else than one: there life, the moonlight as the one you have been a snakes in their first came debt I owe the floor mocks marriage-bed where are stones of love is, among the viewless

to be the dreary’s the ghost. I I know not wit nor thou should I describe what is the grave. Of f an innocence and hung up the more their blacker that come will love show’ry bow, whenever trod the

Close of pillowing through against myself disgrace; let me powre my windowes ope, that Spring star, thou bear’st thou but one to make glad and scatter of thy sister smell far worse thee wit, better prove lucky in the Dusk of thy beauty is become see us, but form or breasts and me nigger never you exit, return against the ocean gain advantage drinks the

sea-snakes coil and built on a red till with your handsome

scenes of his Desires; the e race in in among unknown shame; my eyes I stood with this, he cried, ‘if Lucy played; and the played and had survived. Was a drinks the sweetnesse, yet with

love envieth not a judge for hid delight in clouds. From m the Goal, over they will come there. Tonight:

a debate aboue me sings to praise thee, while its “now,” its halves; pensive with bold eye would indeed that’ Hank Aaron’s carefull flame-hot. Times it and me now, there so bold, althought it take, thou recedent are turns but death; that lurk in love do? Over this.

[gordonwilliamsweb]

What Covid Means for the Athlete’s Heart

For sports fans across the country, the resumption of the regular sports calendar has signaled another step toward post-pandemic normality. But for the athletes participating in professional, collegiate, high school or even recreational sports, significant unanswered questions remain about the aftereffects of a covid infection.

This story also ran on ESPN. It can be republished for free.

Chief among those is whether the coronavirus can damage their hearts, putting them at risk for lifelong complications and death. Preliminary data from early in the pandemic suggested that as many as 1 in 5 people with covid-19 could end up with heart inflammation, known as myocarditis, which has been linked to abnormal heart rhythms and sudden cardiac death.

Screening studies conducted by college athletic programs over the past year have generally found lower numbers. But these studies have been too small to provide an accurate measure of how likely athletes are to develop heart problems after covid, and how serious those heart issues may be.

Without definitive data, concerns arose that returning to play too soon could expose thousands of athletes to serious cardiac complications. On the other hand, if concerns proved overblown, the testing protocols could unfairly keep athletes out of competition and subject them to needless testing and treatment.

“The last thing we want is to miss people that we potentially could have detected, and have that result in bad outcomes — in particular, the sudden death of a young athlete,” said Dr. Matthew Martinez, director of sports cardiology at Atlantic Health’s Morristown Medical Center in New Jersey and an adviser to several professional sports leagues. “But we also need to look at the flip side and the potential negatives of overtesting.”

With millions of Americans playing high school, college, professional or master’s level sports, even a low rate of complications could result in significant numbers of affected athletes. And that could prompt a thorny discussion of how to balance the risk of a small percentage of players who could be in danger against the continuation of sports competition as we know it.

Limited Impact on Pro Sports

Data released from professional sports leagues in early March provided at least some reassurance that the problem may not be as great as initially feared. Pro athletes playing football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, soccer and hockey were screened for heart problems before returning from covid infections. The players underwent an electrical test of their heart rhythms, a blood test that checks for heart damage and an ultrasound exam of their hearts. Out of 789 athletes screened, 30 showed some cardiac abnormality in those initial tests and were referred for a cardiac MRI to provide a better picture of their heart. Five of those, less than 1% of athletes screened, showed inflammation of the heart that sidelined them for the remainder of their seasons.

The researchers compiling the data did not name the players, although some have disclosed their own diagnoses. Boston Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodríguez returned to the mound this spring after missing the 2020 season following his covid and myocarditis diagnoses. Similarly, Buffalo Bills tight end Tommy Sweeney was close to returning from a foot injury when he was diagnosed with myocarditis in November.

In the college ranks, many assumed Keyontae Johnson — a 21-year-old forward on the University of Florida men’s basketball team who collapsed on the court in December, months after contracting covid — might have developed myocarditis. The Gainesville Sun reported that month he had been diagnosed with myocarditis, but his family issued a statement in February saying the incident was not covid-related and declined to release additional details.

Consequences Still Unclear

Doctors still don’t know how significant those MRI findings of myocarditis may be for athletes. Tests looking for rare medical events often generate more false positives than true positives. And without comparing the results with those of athletes who didn’t have covid, it is hard to determine what changes to attribute to the virus — or what may just be an effect of athletic training or other causes.

Training significantly changes athletes’ hearts, and what might look concerning in another patient could be perfectly normal for an elite athlete. Many endurance athletes, for example, have larger than average left ventricles and pump out a lower percentage of blood with each contraction. That would be a warning sign for patients who aren’t highly trained athletes.

“You can definitely have what we call the gray zone, where extreme forms of athletic cardiac remodeling can actually look a little bit like pathology,” said Dr. Jonathan Kim, a sports cardiologist at Emory University in Atlanta. “Covid has introduced a new challenge to this. Is it because they’re a cross-country runner or is it because they just had covid?”

Moreover, myocarditis is generally diagnosed based on symptoms — chest pain, shortness of breath, heart muscle weakness or electrical dysfunction — and then confirmed by MRI. It isn’t clear whether MRI findings that look like myocarditis in the absence of those symptoms are just as concerning.

“They have normal physical exams. They have normal cardiograms. Nothing else is going on,” said Dr. Robert Bonow, a cardiologist at Northwestern University and editor of JAMA Cardiology. “But when you order an MRI as part of a research study, you start seeing very subtle changes, because the MRI is very sensitive.”

Were they finding “abnormalities” simply because they were looking? Even in patients who die of covid, the rate of myocarditis is very low, Bonow said.

“So what’s going on with the athletes? Is it something related to the fact that they had an infection, or is it something which is very nonspecific, related to covid but not damage to the heart?” he said. “There’s still a great deal of uncertainty.”

Sports cardiologists involved in the pro sports data collection and in writing screening guidelines for athletes said the fact that players were able to resume their seasons without serious heart complications suggests the initial concern was overblown. Of the players who had mild or asymptomatic cases of covid, none was ultimately found to have myocarditis, and none experienced ongoing heart complications through 2020. Many completed their 2020 season and have already started their next one.

“We overcalled it,” Martinez said. “It shows what our guidelines reflected: The prevalence of cardiac disease in this condition is unusual in the athletic population.”

Falling Through the Cracks

Those screening guidelines, published by a group of leading sports cardiologists in October, call for cardiac tests only for athletes with moderate or severe covid symptoms. Athletes with asymptomatic cases or those with mild symptoms that have gone away can return to play without the additional testing. The National Federation of State High School Associations and the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine have put out similar guidelines for high school athletes.

But that approach would not flag players such as Demi Washington.

Washington, a 19-year old sophomore on Vanderbilt’s women’s basketball team, had a rather mild case of covid. She had shared a meal with two teammates, one of whom later turned out to be infected. Seven days into a two-week quarantine in a hotel off campus, Washington also tested positive, and had to isolate with a stuffy nose for an additional 10 days. She waited for her symptoms to get worse, but they never did.

“It felt like allergies,” she said.

But when her symptoms cleared and she returned to practice, the university required her to undergo several tests to ensure the virus had not affected her heart. The initial tests raised no concerns. An MRI, though, showed acute myocarditis.

Her season was over, but, more importantly, Washington, an athlete in prime physical condition, faced the possibility of losing her life. She learned about Hank Gathers, a 23-year-old Loyola Marymount basketball star who collapsed during a game in 1990 and died within hours. His autopsy confirmed an enlarged heart and myocarditis.

“That really put me on the edge of my seat,” Washington said. “I was like, ‘OK, I have to take this seriously, because I don’t want to end up like that.’”

For months, she had to keep her heart rate under 110 beats per minute. Before, she ran 5 miles a day. With the myocarditis diagnosis, she had to wear a heart monitor, and even a brisk walk could push her above that threshold.

“One time I was walking to the gym and I might have been walking a little fast,” Washington recalled. “My chest got really, really tight.”

By mid-January, however, another MRI showed the inflammation had cleared, and she has since resumed working out.

“I’m so grateful that Vanderbilt does the MRI, because without it, there’s no telling what could have happened,” she said.

She wondered how many other athletes have been playing with myocarditis and didn’t know it.

Cases like Washington’s raise questions about how aggressively to screen. Her condition was found only because Vanderbilt took a much more conservative approach than that recommended by current guidelines: It screened all athletes with cardiac MRIs after they had covid, regardless of the severity of their symptoms or their initial cardiac tests.

Of the 59 athletes screened post-covid, the university found two with signs of myocarditis. That’s just over 3%.

“Is the current rate of myocarditis that we’re seeing high enough to warrant ongoing cardiovascular screening?” asked Dr. Daniel Clark, a Vanderbilt sports cardiologist and lead author of an analysis of the school’s screening efforts. “Five percent is too much to ignore, in my opinion, but what is our societal threshold for not screening highly competitive athletes for myocarditis?”

Even though myocarditis is rare, studies have found that noncovid-related myocarditis causes up to 9% of sudden cardiac deaths among athletes, said Dr. Jonathan Drezner, director of the University of Washington Medicine Center for Sports Cardiology, who advises the NCAA on cardiac issues. Thus covid adds a new risk. The NCAA alone reports more than 480,000 athletes. To provide a sense of scale: If all of them got covid and even 1% were at risk of heart problems, that’s 4,800 athletes.

Waiting for More Data

Doctors are now waiting for the release of data pooled from thousands of college athletes screened after having covid last year. The American Heart Association and the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine have created a national registry to track covid cases and heart disease in NCAA athletes, with more than 3,000 athletes enrolled, while the Big Ten conference is running its own registry.

That registry data may eventually help parse who is most at risk for heart complications, target who needs to be screened and improve the reliability of the tests. Doctors may discover that some symptoms are better indicators of risk than others. And down the road, genetic testing or other types of tests could identify who is most vulnerable.

But will smaller schools have the resources and know-how to screen all their athletes?

“How about all the junior colleges, all the Division III programs, the Division II programs?” Martinez said. “A lot of them are saying, ‘Look, forget it. If we have do all this extra testing, we can’t do it.’”

He said the new pro sports data should reassure those colleges and even high schools, because the vast majority of young, healthy athletes who contract covid generally have mild or asymptomatic infections, and won’t need further testing.

The same guidelines apply to recreational athletes. Those with mild or asymptomatic covid can slowly resume exercising once their symptoms resolve without much concern. Those with moderate or severe cases should talk to their doctors before returning to sports.

Concerns for Small Schools

Large, wealthy universities like Vanderbilt have cutting-edge medical facilities with the resources and expertise to properly interpret cardiac MRIs. Smaller schools could struggle to get their athletes screened.

“There’s only a small number of centers around the country that have the true expertise to be able to effectively do cardiac MRIs on athletes,” said Dr. Dermot Phelan, a sports cardiologist with Atrium Health in Charlotte, North Carolina. “And the reality is that those systems are already stretched trying to deal with normal clinical data. If we were to add a huge population of athletes on top of that, I think we would stretch the medical system significantly.”

Some schools with limited resources for testing could decide to bench athletes recovering from moderate or severe covid rather than risk a devastating event. Others could allow athletes to resume playing once they’ve recovered, and then monitor them for signs of cardiac complications. Many NCAA schools added automated external defibrillators after Gathers’ death in case an athlete collapses during a game or practice.

“You think about all the 100,000 high school athletes out there whose parents are concerned: Do they even have access to anyone who knows something about this? On the other hand, they’re younger people who don’t get really sick with covid,” said Dr. James Udelson, a cardiologist with Tufts Medical Center in Boston. “There’s a concern about how much we don’t know.”

Legal Issues

Some schools may also worry about the liability of allowing players to return after a covid infection if they can’t get the proper cardiac screening.

“No matter what precautions a college or university takes in that regard, they can always be sued,” said Richard Giller, an attorney with the Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman law firm in Los Angeles. “The real question is, do they have liability? I think that’s going to depend on a number of factors, not the least of which is who recommended that student athletes who contracted covid-19 return to play.”

He recommends that colleges not rely solely on doctors affiliated with the university but have student athletes see their own private physicians to make return-to-play decisions. Teams may also ask players to sign waivers to the effect that if they return to play after a covid infection, they might face cardiac complications.

Some colleges asked students to sign waivers absolving the school if a player contracted covid. But the NCAA ruled that schools couldn’t make those waivers a requirement to play.

Doctors don’t know what might happen over the long run. With barely a year’s worth of experience with covid, it’s not clear whether the myocarditis seen on MRIs will resolve quickly, or whether there might be lingering effects that cause complications years later.

That leaves many concerned about what we still don’t know about covid and the athlete’s heart, as well as the handful of cases that might elude detection.

“You can take a cohort of athletes and put them through every single cardiac test and come out the other end, and one of them will die someday,” Phelan said. “The reality is there’s nothing we can do to be 100% guaranteed.”

ESPN’s Paula Lavigne and Mark Schlabach contributed to this report.

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.

USE OUR CONTENT

This story can be republished for free (details).

What Covid Means for the Athlete’s Heart published first on https://nootropicspowdersupplier.tumblr.com/

[stephenmccull]

What Covid Means for the Athlete’s Heart

For sports fans across the country, the resumption of the regular sports calendar has signaled another step toward post-pandemic normality. But for the athletes participating in professional, collegiate, high school or even recreational sports, significant unanswered questions remain about the aftereffects of a covid infection.

This story also ran on ESPN. It can be republished for free.

Chief among those is whether the coronavirus can damage their hearts, putting them at risk for lifelong complications and death. Preliminary data from early in the pandemic suggested that as many as 1 in 5 people with covid-19 could end up with heart inflammation, known as myocarditis, which has been linked to abnormal heart rhythms and sudden cardiac death.

Screening studies conducted by college athletic programs over the past year have generally found lower numbers. But these studies have been too small to provide an accurate measure of how likely athletes are to develop heart problems after covid, and how serious those heart issues may be.

Without definitive data, concerns arose that returning to play too soon could expose thousands of athletes to serious cardiac complications. On the other hand, if concerns proved overblown, the testing protocols could unfairly keep athletes out of competition and subject them to needless testing and treatment.

“The last thing we want is to miss people that we potentially could have detected, and have that result in bad outcomes — in particular, the sudden death of a young athlete,” said Dr. Matthew Martinez, director of sports cardiology at Atlantic Health’s Morristown Medical Center in New Jersey and an adviser to several professional sports leagues. “But we also need to look at the flip side and the potential negatives of overtesting.”

With millions of Americans playing high school, college, professional or master’s level sports, even a low rate of complications could result in significant numbers of affected athletes. And that could prompt a thorny discussion of how to balance the risk of a small percentage of players who could be in danger against the continuation of sports competition as we know it.

Limited Impact on Pro Sports

Data released from professional sports leagues in early March provided at least some reassurance that the problem may not be as great as initially feared. Pro athletes playing football, men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, soccer and hockey were screened for heart problems before returning from covid infections. The players underwent an electrical test of their heart rhythms, a blood test that checks for heart damage and an ultrasound exam of their hearts. Out of 789 athletes screened, 30 showed some cardiac abnormality in those initial tests and were referred for a cardiac MRI to provide a better picture of their heart. Five of those, less than 1% of athletes screened, showed inflammation of the heart that sidelined them for the remainder of their seasons.

The researchers compiling the data did not name the players, although some have disclosed their own diagnoses. Boston Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodríguez returned to the mound this spring after missing the 2020 season following his covid and myocarditis diagnoses. Similarly, Buffalo Bills tight end Tommy Sweeney was close to returning from a foot injury when he was diagnosed with myocarditis in November.

In the college ranks, many assumed Keyontae Johnson — a 21-year-old forward on the University of Florida men’s basketball team who collapsed on the court in December, months after contracting covid — might have developed myocarditis. The Gainesville Sun reported that month he had been diagnosed with myocarditis, but his family issued a statement in February saying the incident was not covid-related and declined to release additional details.

Consequences Still Unclear

Doctors still don’t know how significant those MRI findings of myocarditis may be for athletes. Tests looking for rare medical events often generate more false positives than true positives. And without comparing the results with those of athletes who didn’t have covid, it is hard to determine what changes to attribute to the virus — or what may just be an effect of athletic training or other causes.

Training significantly changes athletes’ hearts, and what might look concerning in another patient could be perfectly normal for an elite athlete. Many endurance athletes, for example, have larger than average left ventricles and pump out a lower percentage of blood with each contraction. That would be a warning sign for patients who aren’t highly trained athletes.

“You can definitely have what we call the gray zone, where extreme forms of athletic cardiac remodeling can actually look a little bit like pathology,” said Dr. Jonathan Kim, a sports cardiologist at Emory University in Atlanta. “Covid has introduced a new challenge to this. Is it because they’re a cross-country runner or is it because they just had covid?”

Moreover, myocarditis is generally diagnosed based on symptoms — chest pain, shortness of breath, heart muscle weakness or electrical dysfunction — and then confirmed by MRI. It isn’t clear whether MRI findings that look like myocarditis in the absence of those symptoms are just as concerning.

“They have normal physical exams. They have normal cardiograms. Nothing else is going on,” said Dr. Robert Bonow, a cardiologist at Northwestern University and editor of JAMA Cardiology. “But when you order an MRI as part of a research study, you start seeing very subtle changes, because the MRI is very sensitive.”

Were they finding “abnormalities” simply because they were looking? Even in patients who die of covid, the rate of myocarditis is very low, Bonow said.

“So what’s going on with the athletes? Is it something related to the fact that they had an infection, or is it something which is very nonspecific, related to covid but not damage to the heart?” he said. “There’s still a great deal of uncertainty.”

Sports cardiologists involved in the pro sports data collection and in writing screening guidelines for athletes said the fact that players were able to resume their seasons without serious heart complications suggests the initial concern was overblown. Of the players who had mild or asymptomatic cases of covid, none was ultimately found to have myocarditis, and none experienced ongoing heart complications through 2020. Many completed their 2020 season and have already started their next one.

“We overcalled it,” Martinez said. “It shows what our guidelines reflected: The prevalence of cardiac disease in this condition is unusual in the athletic population.”

Falling Through the Cracks

Those screening guidelines, published by a group of leading sports cardiologists in October, call for cardiac tests only for athletes with moderate or severe covid symptoms. Athletes with asymptomatic cases or those with mild symptoms that have gone away can return to play without the additional testing. The National Federation of State High School Associations and the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine have put out similar guidelines for high school athletes.

But that approach would not flag players such as Demi Washington.

Washington, a 19-year old sophomore on Vanderbilt’s women’s basketball team, had a rather mild case of covid. She had shared a meal with two teammates, one of whom later turned out to be infected. Seven days into a two-week quarantine in a hotel off campus, Washington also tested positive, and had to isolate with a stuffy nose for an additional 10 days. She waited for her symptoms to get worse, but they never did.

“It felt like allergies,” she said.

But when her symptoms cleared and she returned to practice, the university required her to undergo several tests to ensure the virus had not affected her heart. The initial tests raised no concerns. An MRI, though, showed acute myocarditis.

Her season was over, but, more importantly, Washington, an athlete in prime physical condition, faced the possibility of losing her life. She learned about Hank Gathers, a 23-year-old Loyola Marymount basketball star who collapsed during a game in 1990 and died within hours. His autopsy confirmed an enlarged heart and myocarditis.

“That really put me on the edge of my seat,” Washington said. “I was like, ‘OK, I have to take this seriously, because I don’t want to end up like that.’”

For months, she had to keep her heart rate under 110 beats per minute. Before, she ran 5 miles a day. With the myocarditis diagnosis, she had to wear a heart monitor, and even a brisk walk could push her above that threshold.

“One time I was walking to the gym and I might have been walking a little fast,” Washington recalled. “My chest got really, really tight.”

By mid-January, however, another MRI showed the inflammation had cleared, and she has since resumed working out.

“I’m so grateful that Vanderbilt does the MRI, because without it, there’s no telling what could have happened,” she said.

She wondered how many other athletes have been playing with myocarditis and didn’t know it.

Cases like Washington’s raise questions about how aggressively to screen. Her condition was found only because Vanderbilt took a much more conservative approach than that recommended by current guidelines: It screened all athletes with cardiac MRIs after they had covid, regardless of the severity of their symptoms or their initial cardiac tests.

Of the 59 athletes screened post-covid, the university found two with signs of myocarditis. That’s just over 3%.

“Is the current rate of myocarditis that we’re seeing high enough to warrant ongoing cardiovascular screening?” asked Dr. Daniel Clark, a Vanderbilt sports cardiologist and lead author of an analysis of the school’s screening efforts. “Five percent is too much to ignore, in my opinion, but what is our societal threshold for not screening highly competitive athletes for myocarditis?”

Even though myocarditis is rare, studies have found that noncovid-related myocarditis causes up to 9% of sudden cardiac deaths among athletes, said Dr. Jonathan Drezner, director of the University of Washington Medicine Center for Sports Cardiology, who advises the NCAA on cardiac issues. Thus covid adds a new risk. The NCAA alone reports more than 480,000 athletes. To provide a sense of scale: If all of them got covid and even 1% were at risk of heart problems, that’s 4,800 athletes.

Waiting for More Data

Doctors are now waiting for the release of data pooled from thousands of college athletes screened after having covid last year. The American Heart Association and the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine have created a national registry to track covid cases and heart disease in NCAA athletes, with more than 3,000 athletes enrolled, while the Big Ten conference is running its own registry.

That registry data may eventually help parse who is most at risk for heart complications, target who needs to be screened and improve the reliability of the tests. Doctors may discover that some symptoms are better indicators of risk than others. And down the road, genetic testing or other types of tests could identify who is most vulnerable.

But will smaller schools have the resources and know-how to screen all their athletes?

“How about all the junior colleges, all the Division III programs, the Division II programs?” Martinez said. “A lot of them are saying, ‘Look, forget it. If we have do all this extra testing, we can’t do it.’”

He said the new pro sports data should reassure those colleges and even high schools, because the vast majority of young, healthy athletes who contract covid generally have mild or asymptomatic infections, and won’t need further testing.

The same guidelines apply to recreational athletes. Those with mild or asymptomatic covid can slowly resume exercising once their symptoms resolve without much concern. Those with moderate or severe cases should talk to their doctors before returning to sports.

Concerns for Small Schools

Large, wealthy universities like Vanderbilt have cutting-edge medical facilities with the resources and expertise to properly interpret cardiac MRIs. Smaller schools could struggle to get their athletes screened.

“There’s only a small number of centers around the country that have the true expertise to be able to effectively do cardiac MRIs on athletes,” said Dr. Dermot Phelan, a sports cardiologist with Atrium Health in Charlotte, North Carolina. “And the reality is that those systems are already stretched trying to deal with normal clinical data. If we were to add a huge population of athletes on top of that, I think we would stretch the medical system significantly.”

Some schools with limited resources for testing could decide to bench athletes recovering from moderate or severe covid rather than risk a devastating event. Others could allow athletes to resume playing once they’ve recovered, and then monitor them for signs of cardiac complications. Many NCAA schools added automated external defibrillators after Gathers’ death in case an athlete collapses during a game or practice.

“You think about all the 100,000 high school athletes out there whose parents are concerned: Do they even have access to anyone who knows something about this? On the other hand, they’re younger people who don’t get really sick with covid,” said Dr. James Udelson, a cardiologist with Tufts Medical Center in Boston. “There’s a concern about how much we don’t know.”

Legal Issues

Some schools may also worry about the liability of allowing players to return after a covid infection if they can’t get the proper cardiac screening.

“No matter what precautions a college or university takes in that regard, they can always be sued,” said Richard Giller, an attorney with the Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman law firm in Los Angeles. “The real question is, do they have liability? I think that’s going to depend on a number of factors, not the least of which is who recommended that student athletes who contracted covid-19 return to play.”

He recommends that colleges not rely solely on doctors affiliated with the university but have student athletes see their own private physicians to make return-to-play decisions. Teams may also ask players to sign waivers to the effect that if they return to play after a covid infection, they might face cardiac complications.

Some colleges asked students to sign waivers absolving the school if a player contracted covid. But the NCAA ruled that schools couldn’t make those waivers a requirement to play.

Doctors don’t know what might happen over the long run. With barely a year’s worth of experience with covid, it’s not clear whether the myocarditis seen on MRIs will resolve quickly, or whether there might be lingering effects that cause complications years later.

That leaves many concerned about what we still don’t know about covid and the athlete’s heart, as well as the handful of cases that might elude detection.

“You can take a cohort of athletes and put them through every single cardiac test and come out the other end, and one of them will die someday,” Phelan said. “The reality is there’s nothing we can do to be 100% guaranteed.”

ESPN’s Paula Lavigne and Mark Schlabach contributed to this report.

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.

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[multiverseforger]

Parker Robbins' father worked closely with the Kingpin and had a healthy relationship with his son as he was growing up. As a child, Parker witnessed a battle between Daredevil and Electro, which would have a profound effect on his young adulthood. After his father's death, Parker's mother entered a near-vegetative state and was hospitalized. Deeply troubled, Parker soon turned to a life of crime, and would lie to his mother about the jobs he had found during his visits. Parker's well-meaning nature was juxtaposed with his philandering and thieving ways, such as taking care of his pregnant girlfriend Sara, while visiting a prostitute on the side.

One night, Parker's cousin and best friend John King, a recovering alcoholic and thief, tells him about a job at a warehouse said to be housing valuable goods. Taking the job, Parker accompanies John to the warehouse, where they stumble upon an abandoned mystic ritual, resulting in an encounter with a Nisanti demon. Parker shoots the demon, seemingly killing it, and steals its hood and boots, not wanting to leave empty-handed. After tossing his gun in a dumpster, Parker encouters a gang who want the boots he had stolen off a HYDRA agent before going to the warehouse. Throwing the boots at the gang, he flees and puts on the demon's boots, learning of their levitation powers.

Parker later shares his discovery with John and decides to try on the cloak as well, discovering it allows him to become invisible while holding his breath. After using his newfound powers to commit petty robberies, Parker agrees to help John steal a shipment of blood diamonds. The diamonds belong to crime boss Dennis Golembuski (aka Golem), who hired Constrictor, Jack O'Lantern, Shocker, and Madame Rapier to guard them. However, Parker overpowers them and steals half of the shipment. After meeting up with John, the pair are confronted by two police officers. Parker shoots one officer and John knocks the other out with a blow to the back of the head. The officer shot by Robbins later collapses into a coma, and eventually dies. While John stays behind to take the blame, Parker flees, and is dubbed "the Hood" by the authorities while a bounty is placed on his head.

Pursued by the Golem, the cops, and two FBI agents, the Hood hatches a plan to break John out of prison. He tries to pawn the diamonds for John's lawyer fee, but runs into the Shocker. After defeating him, he finds out about Golem and Rapier, and says he will give the diamonds back in exchange for a returner's fee. Golem agrees and sends Rapier with the Hood under secret instructions to kill Parker after the deal was made. Knowing it to be a setup, however, the Hood purchases a similar cloak, and gives it to Rapier at the time she is confroted by the FBI, resulting in her being mistaken for the Hood and shot dead. He then gives the diamonds to the still-living enforcers to deliver to Golem, believing this will end the conflict between them, and also tells them to inform their employer of the consequences of messing with him. Meanwhile, believing the Hood has been killed, the FBI closes the case, and releases John after he testifies in court.

Parker later visits his mother and tells her that he will begin helping people and making her proud. Elsewhere, the Golem receives the diamonds and the Hood's message, and he vows that nothing was ended between them. The wife of the cop shot by the Hood, who has died in a coma, vows to avenge him as White Fang, as she does not believe the Hood is dead. The Nisanti demon is also shown to have been resurrected, thanks to John shouting out its name during the robbery attempt, and prepares to track the Hood down.

Beyond!Edit

Alongside Spider-Man, Venom, Gravity, Medusa, Hank Pym, the Wasp, Kraven the Hunter, and Firebird, the Hood finds himself transported to the reconstructed Battleworld. While in transit, they are told that one victor will have a wish granted by the Beyonder, should the other combatants die. The Hood attempts to capitalize on this by using his invisibility to launch a sneak attack on the gathered heroes and villains, but is battered by Kraven, using his enhanced sense of smell. During the confusion of the Hood's attack, Venom manages to impale Spider-Man through the chest.[volume & issue needed]

Crashlanding on Battleworld and losing Spider-Man's body, the group encounters Deathlok, who assists them in battle against Dragon Man. After the battle, the Hood follows Kraven as the latter encounters Spider-Man, who has a gaping chest wound but is still alive. After Kraven leaves, the Hood then reveals himself and shoots Spider-Man in the knees.[volume & issue needed]

The Hood takes Spider-Man to the camp and forces him to reveal himself as the original Space Phantom. After battling the Space Phantom, the Hood accompanies the group into Limbo to wait for the Space Phantom to appear when he chooses his next target for impersonation. In Limbo, Venom destroys the portal on Battleworld, claiming victory, and the Hood and Gravity bond.[volume & issue needed]

Using the Space Phantom to return to Battleworld, the group confronts Venom and realizes that Uatu the Watcher is there. Pym shoots the group, seemingly killing them all, in order to draw out the Beyonder. In truth, this is the Stranger, who is fooled by Pym shrinking the entire group down. The Hood then attacks the Stranger alongside the other combatants, before the Stranger leaves.[volume & issue needed]

With Battleworld crumbling since the Stranger's will is no longer holding it together, the Hood and the others escape, but not before Gravity sacrifices his life to save the group. While on Earth, he attends Gravity's funeral with Sara. Some time after this, Sara gives birth to his child. Gravity is returned to life a short time later.[volume & issue needed]

Hood's criminal empireEdit



The Hood's crime syndicate.

Art by Carlo Pagulayan.

The Hood begins his quest to become the Kingpin of all supervillains in New York by inviting a large contingent of villains to a meeting where he gives each of them $25,000 of seed money, partly to gain their confidence, and partly to buy their loyalty. He promises them much more where that came from if they join him in creating a new criminal empire with Robbins at the head and John King as his lieutenant. Parker uses the cloak, but his boots are not used in the arc.[volume & issue needed]

The Hood's gang includes Jigsaw, who had been attacked and beaten by Tigra in an earlier robbery. To prove himself to the gathered supervillains, the Hood seeks out and viciously beats Tigra, threatening her mother's life as a warning, while Jigsaw films the attack.[volume & issue needed]

At the after party, Chemistro informs the Hood of a plot by the Owl to sell Deathlok, which he stole from S.H.I.E.L.D., to the highest bidder. As the Owl has not gained permission from his new crime syndicate, The Hood decides to gatecrash the auction. He effortlessly ambushes and dispatches the Owl by sending Madame Masque, the Crimson Cowl, the Wizard, and Doctor Jonas Harrow as proxies.[volume & issue needed]

John King and the Hood reconvene in the back room of a rundown bar, where they are confronted by a curious Wolverine, who overhears their plans to run Deathlok through the lobby of Avengers Tower. Covering King's retreat, the Hood manages to shoot Wolverine in the crotch before assuming the form of the Nisanti demon who originally owned his gear, enabling him to overpower the mutant and escape.[volume & issue needed]

Chemistro suggests that they change their plan and instead use Deathlok to rob a federal reserve bank in New Jersey, seeing it as a more profitable venture than a suicidal attack on Avengers Tower. The robbery is successful, netting them over $12.7 million (US), although Deathlok is destroyed in the process. As the group celebrates their victory, Luke Cage smashes through the wall of their base closely followed by nearly the entire population of the New York superhero community including the New Avengers, the Mighty Avengers, the Fantastic Four (including Storm and the Black Panther), Howard the Duck, Punisher, the Defenders, Silver Surfer, and Thor. These superheroes turn out to be illusions, however, as only the New Avengers are actually present. In the ensuing battle, Doctor Strange appears to banish Robbins using an anti-demon spell, while the rest of the syndicate is taken down.[6]

The Hood appears alongside Turk Barrett. He surveys a fight between Daredevil and a gang of street thugs, after Turk double crosses Mister Fear to show his allegiance to the Hood's new crime empire.[7] The Hood is then mentioned by name when the Enforcers, who are working for Mister Fear, are ambushed by Wrecker and Razor Fist who are working for the Hood.[8]

Later, after some of Robbins' syndicates are captured by S.H.I.E.L.D., Robbins reappears and frees them. He leads Wrecker and others on a rampage through the Raft, swearing to take revenge on the New Avengers. After interrogating Tigra to learn their location, the Hood leads his syndicate against the New Avengers, using the magical powers of his hood and cloak to see through the illusions defending the Sanctum Sanctorum. In the ensuing battle, the Hood fatally injures Doctor Strange before being pushed aside by Wong, and nearly blows Iron Fist's head off before being intercepted by a vengeful Tigra. The Hood, alongside both the New Avengers and his syndicate, is taken down by Doctor Strange's paralyzing spell, but manages to escape from the arriving S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. In the aftermath, Robbins is seen talking to an unseen figure, exclaiming, "Now I know how to beat 'em."[9]

Secret InvasionEdit

During several flashbacks in the Secret Invasion storyline, it is revealed that Skrulls have been trying to infiltrate the Hood's organization. Skrulls disguised as S.H.I.E.L.D. agents try to replace Madame Masque, but the Hood rescues her. During the interrogation of the surviving Skrull, Doctor Demonicus convinces the Hood to use his power to scan the surrounding villains. It is discovered that the Slug is a Skrull in disguise. The Hood shoots and kills him with the other villains wondering how long that Skrull was impersonating Slug. Later by himself, the Hood discovers that his power comes from the mystical entity Dormammu.[10]

The Hood is seen watching live coverage of the Skrull Invasion on television in Brooklyn with Wizard, Madame Masque, the Blood Brothers, John King, and Bulldozer. He decides to gather everyone to fight the Skrulls, despite Chemistro's objections that they should, "let the heroes and aliens kill each other". Despite protests, the Hood reasons that if the Skrulls were to destroy the world as they know it, that it would be bad for business. He then instructs Wizard, Madame Masque, the Blood Brothers, John King, and Bulldozer to gather everyone for the attack.[11] The Hood's group joins with a loose collection of super-powered heroes in the middle of Central Park with the assistance of Electro, Lightmaster, Masked Marauder, and Scorcher. As one, they attack a Skrull force.[12] When the battle is over, the villains all return to hiding. The Hood is later seen meeting with Namor, Doctor Doom, Emma Frost, Loki, and Norman Osborn.[13]

Dark ReignEdit

Following the events of the Secret Invasion, the group's first meeting is shown at the start of the Dark Reign storyline. Norman Osborn talks to Namor, Emma Frost, Doctor Doom, Loki, and the Hood about his plans for the new world order. When the Hood enters, Emma reads his mind only to make him angry. He threatens her with a gun telling her to stay out of his head, and that she does not know who she is messing with. In response, Emma telepathically forces him to put his own gun in his mouth, much to the amusement of Namor. Osborn offers the cabal solidarity and the resources to accomplish their own agendas. In return, Osborn asks for their public support/registration, as well as cooperation fulfilling any request he may have of them.[14]

To prevent the New Avengers from ambushing the Dark Avengers, Norman Osborn gives orders to the Hood to have his crime syndicate keep the New Avengers away. While Scarecrow is shown taking a hit from the second Captain America's shield, Ms. Marvel channels Spider-Woman's powers to stun the villains, allowing the New Avengers to escape.[15]

After Punisher tries to assassinate Osborn (failing due to the intervention of Sentry), Osborn asks the Hood to hunt him down.[16] The Hood sends Grizzly to take down Punisher. After Grizzly is defeated, the Hood forces a somehow-revived Microchip to help kill Punisher.[17] The Hood uses the powers of Dormammu to resurrect the villains that were killed by Scourge of the Underworld (Basilisk, Bird-Man, Black Abbot, Blue Streak, Cheetah, Cyclone, Death Adder, Firebrand, Hijacker, Human Fly, Letha, Megatak, Mind-Wave, Miracle Man, Mirage, Titania, Turner D. Century, and Wraith) to form a squad that will help him take down the Punisher.[18] The Hood then explains to the resurrected villains how much has happened since their deaths at the hands of Scourge of the Underworld. He tells them that the Punisher acted as the Scourge and that they must take the opportunity to kill the Punisher as the Deadly Dozen before the spell that has revived them wears off. Hood then has Death Adder and Basilisk capture G.W. Bridge's family and hold them hostage so that G.W. can tell them where Punisher is.[19] When on a scouting mission on behalf of the Hood, Wraith is shot with an arrow launched by the Punisher. Upon encountering illusions of his dead family, Punisher encounters the Hood, who says that he will revive his family in exchange for his surrender. Punisher declines and escapes from the Hood.[20] During Punisher's fight with Human Fly, Avengers from out of place and out of time appear and prevent Punisher from killing Human Fly, who is retrieved by Bird-Man. After evading the Avengers, Punisher fights them again and discovers that Captain America is actually Mirage in disguise, while Mind-Wave is revealed to have been impersonating Iron Man. Cheetah (when posing as Beast) is killed in the fight. Mind-Wave dies when a nearby grenade explodes. Norman Osborn later scolds the Hood for having the revived villains pose as the Avengers in their fight against Punisher. Hood tells Norman not to call him up screaming again. Upon learning that Cyclone and Miracle Man bailed, Letha has Microchip warn them that if they do not return, their living loved ones will be killed by her. While Lascivious and Letha accompany Human Fly to attack the Punisher, Microchip sends Megatak to attack Punisher's hacker ally Henry.[21] While Hood has the caskets of Punisher's family dug up, Hijacker chases the Punisher in his tank. Punisher then uses Pym particles to shrink down and get into the tank. After taking control of the tank, Punisher crashes it into the building where Basilisk is holding G.W. Bridge, and uses the gases on Basilisk.[22] The Hood manages to orchestrate Punisher's capture and brings him to where he is reviving his family. To begin the ritual, Hood has Microchip shoot G.W. Bridge in the head. The Punisher refuses to accept this, and forces Firebrand to burn them alive. Punisher then shoots Firebrand in the back of the head.[23]

The Hood also learns from Black Talon of the zombie virus, and tries to gain it for himself. Dormammu appears, through their link, to acknowledge this. Dormant, though knowing of its lethal nature consuming entire universes and the near-certainty that it would be "bad for business", insists that Parker use it to ravage the planet for him to ascend there, apparently not concerned about the infection for himself (possibly due to his form being composed of pure Initial energy and his considerable magical prowess). Despite his advisor's complaints that the virus is far too dangerous, the Hood and his underlings, the Night Shift, meet with Black Talon on the Caribbean island Taino to obtain the zombie Deadpool's head, only to see the situation quickly spiral out of control as the zombie virus becomes airborne and infects the entire island. Seemingly abandoned by Dormant and now fearful of the zombies, the Hood is captured by and soon allies himself with the Midnight Sons (who have been sent by A.R.M.O.R. to contain the virus) to escape the island. After watching Man-Thing seemingly die by zombie Deadbolt and the Midnight Sons member Werewolf by Night's commodification, the Hood, Morbius, and Daimon Hellstrom are confronted by a zombified and hungry Night Shift. As Morbid is about to call in a nuclear strike, Jennifer Kale reappears, empowered by Dormant, though his power is soon exorcised from her. Kale and Black Talon then confine the zombie virus inside Zombie. His powers returned, the Hood teleport away with the cured, but still unread-ques, Night Shift.[24]

Norman Osborn later hires the Hood to help Taskmaster in running Camp H.A.M.M.E.R. so that Norman Osborn can train the Dark Avengers of tomorrow.[25] The Hood later kills Vampiro, who has failed to be subtle in a double murder upon some prostitutes he picked up at a truck stop.[26] The Hood assists Norman Osborn in capturing Night Thrasher, and makes him a deal which involves resurrecting his brother Dwayne Taylor.[27] When Nightmare takes over Trauma's body, the Hood gets affected by Trauma's powers, seeing himself killing Sara and his daughter Bree. After Nightmare is driven from Trauma's body, the Hood ends up dismissing Penance and Trauma from the Initiative.[28]

Hood later had his encounter with Enforcer II who triggered an amulet that disguised a creature that fed off of demonic energies which then clasps onto Hood's face. Enforcer II managed to escape as Hood swears revenge.[29]

Hood later marks Babu Marzouk with the help of Madame Masque. He materialized to save his criminal allies by shooting the armed guards dead. Dormammu then taunted Hood by speaking through the corpses. Hood later told his supervillain group what he wanted and then went to bed with Madame Masque. Following his visit to his girlfriend Sara's house, Hood was then attacked by White Fang.[30] White Fang nearly pounded Hood to death until Dormammu took over and nearly killed White Fang. Hood retreated back to his hideout and told John King what had happened. Hood later went with his mother to see Sara where he meets Satana.[31] While the Hood is meeting with Satana to learn more about Dormammu and the Nisanti, he learned that Dormammu had targeted him from the start. John King, Griffin, Piledriver, and Scorcher are caught at the bar by Force and the NYPD. The Hood uses his connections with Norman Osborn to get the villains "transferred" from prison. Controller secretly gives White Fang a new suit to use in her next fight with the Hood.[32] Hood later took Sara and Bree to a safehouse that he bought before heading off to talk to Satana some more. Hood later gave Controller some technology before going to meet up with his gang. When his Crime Syndicate prepares to rob a ship, Squid and Man-Fish head into the water to secure it for them. While his Crime Syndicate is fighting Force and the NYPD, Hood is then attacked by White Fang.[33] Following a fight with White Fang, John King told Hood that Controller was sowing discord amongst his Crime Syndicate. Dormammu later possesses Hood's baby daughter and taunts Hood. During the fight against Force and White Fang, Controller sets Hood's cloak on fire to keep him from calling Dormammu. Dormammu's powers then flooded Hood who then pushes Controller aside, defeats Force, and makes White Fang renounce her vendetta against him. Satana later speaks with Hood and informs him that Dormammu is already bound to him and that the cloak is now a token.[34]

The Hood later starts a gang war with Mister Negative after he corrupts White Dragon (who has been sent to gather information about Mister Negative's group) causing the Hood to kill White Dragon II. A flashback has led to Mister Negative corrupting White Dragon II and leading the attack upon the Hood's headquarters.[35] The Hood's Crime Syndicate ends up fighting Spider-Man (who has been corrupted by Mister Negative) and Mister Negative's henchmen. After Spider-Man's attack on his headquarters, the Hood confronts Mister Negative in his Chinatown headquarters.[36] Mister Negative tries to corrupt the Hood to his side, but fails. Though he gains the upper hand, Negative escapes and the Hood is forced to fall back when Osborn drops H.A.M.M.E.R.'s seal of Chinatown and threatens to send in his Avengers. The Hood is currently unaware that Spot is a mole in his syndicate for Mister Negative.[37]

Dormammu empowers the Hood with enough magic to find and kill Doctor Strange, so that Parker can become the new Sorcerer Supreme. The Hood approaches Strange, while he is talking to Wicca of the Young Avengers. As they fight, Strange tells the Hood that Dormancy's promises are empty, as are all other demons, but Parker ignores him and attacks them both. After Wicca intervenes, Strange and Billy get away and Parker goes home. While there, he has a breakdown and tries to rip off his cloak but finds he cannot. Madame Masque appears, wanting to know what is going on. Madame Masque promises to help him, removes her mask, and they kiss. Unknown to them, Dormammu watches from a mirror. Later on, Parker goes and attacks Damion Maelstrom, the Son of Satan. He later fights Doctor Strange and the New Avengers until Brother Voodoo (who has become the new Sorcerer Supreme) arrives. Dormant then manifests through Parker, but is exorcised. Parker is left badly burned and stripped of his hood.[38] In a hospital, Loki approaches him offering him a second chance, which he accepts.[39]

Loki then takes him and Madame Masque to Cuba and presents the Norn Stones to him, which brings back his powers.[40] The Hood and Madame Masque return and learn from John King that Doctor Jonas Harrow and the rest of the gang have found about his deal with Norman Osborn and made their own. Already, the Hood finds out that his gang has surrendered themselves to Osborn.[41] Hood and Madame Masque make a call to Norman Osborn, who asks why Hood did not keep his gang in line. Hood responds by telling Norman Osborn that Loki is helping him regain his powers, and asks what to do about Jonas Harrow. Some minutes later on the Helicopter, the Hood's gang is waiting for Harrow to arrive. The reason why is for the Hood to blast off his head. He then berates his gang for spurning his generosity. The Wrecker snaps back by telling the Hood that he did not tell them that they were working for Osborn. The Hood corrects him that he did not want his gang to be under Norman Osborn's thumb, so they are in fact his freelance agents. Now, they have to work with Norman Osborn and do what he says. They have to kill everyone who was involved in Luke Cage's escape including the New Avengers. However, Norman Osborn wants Spider-Man alive.[42]

SiegeEdit

The Hood is present at the Cabal when Norman Osborn assembles them to discuss Asgard. Upon Doctor Doom's demanding that Norman brings Namor to him, Norman Osborn has Doctor Doom attacked by an unknown assailant. After the attack, Osborn examines the body to see that it is not Doom, but a small swarm of robotic insects inside a Doombot. The insects attack the Cabal. Under the suggestion of Loki, the Hood flees from the attack.[43][44]

The Hood reveals the Norn Stones to his Crime Syndicate and states that it can empower them with the ability to find the New Avengers and those responsible for helping Luke Cage escape. In Brooklyn, Steve Rogers and Bucky see the wreckage of their comprised safe house. Then, suddenly, they are attacked by an Asgardian magic-enhanced Living Laser. This is noticed by the H.A.M.M.E.R. ground forces nearby. Steve Rogers quickly moves to take down the soldiers, leaving Bucky to deal with the Laser. He uses the shield to slice off his head, only to be caught by the Corruptor, who uses his chemicals to take Bucky under his control. Meanwhile, in Manhattan, Spider-Man and Spider-Woman are hanging on the side of a building, seeing Avengers Tower on high alert. They discuss Spider-Man's past history with Osborn. In truth, Spider-Man confesses that he is more mad that Osborn has weaseled his way into power. He swears that when Osborn screws up and everyone sees the maniac that he is, he will web his face to the floor. Their conversation is interrupted when Spider-Man notices Spider-Woman's alien detector watch, given to her by S.W.O.R.D., to detect if he is a Skrull. Back at the ruined safe house, Rogers infiltrates his former home, in order to find his energy shield. He uses it just in time, as mind-controlled Bucky attempts to shoot him. Perched on another building are the Griffin and Mandrill. The former confesses that he does not want to go bounty hunting for Avengers but fears getting a bounty on his head. Just then, Mandrill sees both Spider-Man and Spider-Woman. Their attack sets off the former's spider-sense. Living Laser finds Corruptor and demands that they finish off the heroes but the latter refuses to do so, until his puppet kills Rogers. Rogers himself urges his own friend to fight the chemicals. Unfortunately, Bucky cannot do it. Luckily, the bullet bounces off their shield before ricocheting off a bulkhead right into Corruptor's device, freeing Bucky from his control. Angry, Living Laser prepares for his attack. Back in Manhattan, Spider-Man is being thrown around by Griffin, before being blasted right into the traffic below. Spider-Woman is affected by Mandrill's pheromones, who plans on extracting the New Avengers' location out of her before forcing her to kill herself.[45]

When visiting his brother's grave, Donyell is conflicted if he should go with the deal Norman Osborn and the Hood gave him. Counter Force takes the fight to Camp H.A.M.M.E.R. and ends up fighting the Hood's gang. They are knocked down by the Hood's new Asgardian weaponry. When Donyell arrives, the Hood gives him an opportunity to prove himself by killing Tigra.[46] The Hood demands that Donyell kill Tigra if he wants his brother revived. Instead, Donyell attacks the Hood and is joined by Tigra as the Hood uses the Norn Stones to empower some of the cadets on his side. Robbie Baldwin evades the guards and manages to get Batwing, Bengal, and Butterball to help the Avengers Resistance as he also reveals his identity. The Hood receives a call from Norman Osborn requesting his assistance in Asgard, so he leaves in a portal while the other villains continue fighting. As the Hood arrives in Asgard, Taskmaster fights Captain America and is taken down.[47]

Spider-Man manages to free Spider-Woman from Mandrill's control and they defeat Mandrill and Griffin. Meanwhile, Luke Cage assists Steve Rogers and Captain America in fighting off Living Laser. Nick Fury and his Secret Warriors arrive and fend off the H.A.M.M.E.R. Agents. Upon seeing Norman Osborn's attack on Asgard, Steve Rogers has the Avengers assemble to fight the Dark Avengers and those that are on Norman Osborn's side.[48]

The Hood and his gang catch up with the New Avengers at Asgard and try to stop them.[49][50] The Hood later tries to attack Balder thinking him to be an easy target, only for Balder to deflect it with his sword.[51] Loki ends up taking back the Norn Stones from the Hood in order to empower the New Avengers, Young Avengers, and Secret Warriors with the power to defeat the Sentry (who is fully possessed by the Void).[52][53] While the Dark Avengers and those that assisted them are being arrested, the Hood manages to get away with Madame Masque's help. The Hood is pessimistic, knowing that his gang would simply sell him out. However, Madame Masque refuses to let him go down.[54] This causes Madame Masque to seek out her father Count Nefaria to help the Hood. The New Avengers capture John King, and use him to track the Hood and Madame Masque, and after a battle with Nefaria they capture the villains and bring all four of them to Maria Hill to place them under arrest.[55]

The Hood is later seen being held in a classified superhuman holding facility being attacked by Tigra. Tigra leaves Robbins, stating that she has changed her mind about how to punish him when she sees something in the hallway. Tigra exits the room and allows Robbins' wife and baby to enter.[56]

Heroic AgeEdit

At some point in time, Robbins escapes jail, and at the same time, has someone replace him in his cell, who has had plastic surgery to resemble him. Staying with his cousin, he is attacked by Striker, Hazmat and Veil from Avengers Academy, in response to the tape of Hood's assault on Tigra being leaked online. This, along with other personal factors, gives him the desire to regain his power, and kill every one of the Avengers, no matter what team they are on.[57] While in Ryker's Island, Hood befriended an Inhuman named Ertzia and learns the location of one of the Infinity Gems. Once out Parker Robbins hires several people to take him to the former location of the Inhuman secret city, Attilan. After eliminating them, he locates the Reality Gem. Some time before, the six Illuminati locate the Gems and each member takes possession of one to make sure they would never again fall into the wrong hands. But Black Bolt is dead, and the royal family did not know about the gem he had hidden when they moved the Inhumans off of Earth, thus it was left unguarded. Using the Reality Gem, the Hood swiftly uses it to steal the Power Gem from Reed Richards. His quest next takes him into conflict with the Red Hulk and the Avengers.[58] Hood later targets the other Illuminati members for the other Infinity Gems.[59] At a later point in time, Robbins uses the Reality Gem to heal Madame Masque's face.[60]

The Hood uses the red (Power) and yellow (Reality) gems to steal the purple (Space) gem from Iron Man, using it to teleport the Avengers away to an unknown location, where upon entry, he is faced with Thor and Red Hulk, Thor having the Orange (Time) Gem.[61] During the conflict, Red Hulk manages to steal the Power Gem from Hood. As Uatu watches on, Thor implores Hood to surrender, lest he kill himself. Hood declines the offer, and teleports to the ruins of Xavier Mansion, where Xavier is leading a team of Avengers against the Danger Room to try to secure the Mind Gem. Effortlessly, Hood gets the Gem and engages in a mental battle with Xavier, emerging triumphant. He then warps to the Astral Plane to get the Soul Gem, but is confronted by its wielder Thanos.[62] In reality, Thanos was one of Strange's illusions. When that did not work, Red Hulk, in possession of the Power Gem, punched Hood, and Hood wished Iron Man out of existence. Whilst this happened, Iron Man later reappeared with the Infinity Gauntlet, calling the Reality Gem to come to the Gauntlet. While the Hood protested that he had done nothing that the other superhumans present would not do if they had lost their powers, Iron Man and the other heroes simply rejected his words, using the Infinity Gauntlet to send Hood back to jail.[63]

The IlluminatiEdit

As part of the All-New, All-Different Marvel event, Hood forms another group to help him achieve his goals for power. He set up numerous villains in order to make him join his Illuminati with the purpose to be in the "big leagues" of super villains and ultimately control the world order. For the Illuminati, he gathered a rebuilt Black Ant (a Life Model Decoy of Eric O'Grady created by Father), Enchantress, Mad Thinker, Thunderball, and Titania.[64]

During the Avengers: Standoff! storyline, Hood and Titania infiltrate Pleasant Hill when Baron Helmut Zemo and Fixer restore the memories of the inmates there, and recruit Absorbing Man and Whirlwind.[65] When Hood draws up plans to target the families of their enemies, a disgusted Titania challenges his authority and destroys his cloak during the resulting battle.[66]

Kingpin WarEdit

Hood later finds another set of Norn Stones and renews his plans to become the Kingpin of Crime after Wilson Fisk went straight. While competing against Diamondback and Black Cat, Hood begins his first move by using the Norn Stones to revive Hammerhead after he was killed by Diamondback's men.[67] When Diamondback was defeated by the Defenders, Hood took over his areas and plans to get his gang back together. Though the Defenders defeated Hood with help from the other superheroes, Hood escaped.[68]

During the "Search for Tony Stark" arc, Hood managed to get his gang back together with Answer, Armadillo, Brothers Grimm, Centurius, Corruptor, Cutthroat, Crossfire, Deathwatch, Jigsaw, Living Laser, Razor Fist, Slug, Vermin, the Wrecking Crew, and the son of Constrictor. Their first mission was to deal with Doctor Doom who had gone straight.[69] As the Wrecking Crew fight through all the Doombots in Castle Doom enough to attract Doctor Doom in his Iron Man armor, Wrecker gets the drop on him. After Doctor Doom defeats Wrecker and Thunderball, Hood arrives with his gang and knocks him off balance with his bullets. With Doctor Doom defeated on the ground, Hood instructs his gang to search all of Castle Doom in order to find his secrets.[70] With Doctor Doom lying on the ground, Rampage and Shockwave remove his cape and hold him by the arms. As Wrecker works to break open the armor, Hood tries to get answers out of Doctor Doom about his connections with Tony Stark. By the time Wrecker opens the armor, Victor von Doom disappears in a bright light. Hood suspects that Doctor Doom and Tony Stark are connected and plans to get Doctor Doom's wealth by looking for Tony Stark.[71] While thinking that Victor von Doom has a connection with Tony Stark, Hood approaches Stark Industries' acting C.C.O. Eric Lynch. Knowing that Lynch wants to take over the company and considering himself a mercenary, Hood states that they are going to be good friends.[72] Hood works to coerce Lynch into handing him his part of Stark Industries. Before that can happen, Iron Man, Victor von Doom, a rebooted War Machine, and a battalion of Doombots arrive where they attack Hood and his gang. During Hood's fight with Doctor Doom, the unidentified demon that Hood is associated with threatens retaliation if Hood is damaged. The demon uses Hood to grab Victor's exposed face and burns it.[73]

Death?Edit

After a failed attempt at blackmailing Greg “Foolkiller” Salinger as part of a larger plan to reestablish his criminal empire, Hood is assumed to be killed by Frank Castle.[74] Although there is no actual death scene or reference that Parker is shot at by Frank. Currently released, The Hood is shown to appear in the series Hawkeye: Freefall negating his assumed death at the hands of the Punisher.

[orbemnews]

Idaho's GOP governor blasts his social gathering's efforts to finish Covid-19 emergency declaration “I consider in my coronary heart that what the Idaho Legislature is doing is dangerous to our individuals and flawed for Idaho,” Little stated, including, “I urge my companions within the Legislature to cease the political good points and do what is correct for the individuals of Idaho.” The state’s Senate Committee on State Affairs voted out a decision on Tuesday to finish Idaho’s emergency declaration, based on the Legislature’s web site. Idaho’s Home and Senate are each managed by Republicans. Idaho is amongst a number of states weathering political clashes between their governors and legislatures over their coronavirus responses. Idaho has seen 158,200 instances and 1,654 deaths from the virus, about 8,853 instances per 100,000 individuals — the fifteenth highest fee within the nation, based on information from the Johns Hopkins College Heart for Techniques Science and Engineering. Little known as the declaration “crucial” to the state’s capacity to obtain federal help, including that it “has enabled us to rapidly minimize purple tape and enhance well being care entry.” Maj. Gen. Michael J. Garshak, the commanding normal of the Idaho Nationwide Guard, echoed the governor’s sentiments. “For my part, it could be negligent to cancel the emergency declaration at this pivotal second, denying the residents of Idaho the required help to make sure their well being, security and welfare,” Garshak stated. “It’s not the time to face down — (by) canceling Idaho’s emergency declaration, we just do that,” he added. The laws, which can subsequent be thought-about by the Idaho Senate, says that “nothing on this concurrent decision shall forestall the State of Idaho from receiving any federal funds, advantages, or sources arising out of the state of catastrophe emergency regarding the outbreak of novel coronavirus or COVID-19.” It’s not clear from the textual content of the invoice how that will be the case. Little, in his assertion, accused legislators of perpetuating myths and falsehoods of their “irresponsible makes an attempt to undo Idaho’s emergency declaration.” “Abandon the parable that the emergency declaration one way or the other shuts down Idaho. Abandon the parable that the emergency declaration one way or the other infringes in your rights,” Little stated. The governor urged individuals to contact the legislators of his personal social gathering and “inform them not to remove one among our strongest instruments to finish this pandemic.” “Inform them Idahoans’ lives and livelihoods rely on it,” Little stated. Tensions have been rising within the state since October, when Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin — who has repeatedly clashed with Little over his response to the pandemic — and 10 Republican state legislators or legislators-to-be appeared in a video during which they appeared to overtly query the existence of the coronavirus pandemic. In addition they insisted they might comply with no state or native emergency orders regarding the combat in opposition to Covid-19. “The truth that a pandemic could or will not be occurring adjustments nothing in regards to the which means or intent of the state’s structure and the preservation of our inalienable rights,” says Karey Hanks, who was operating unopposed for a state Home seat, within the video. Intra-state clashes over such declarations have put a highlight on state governments balancing public well being efforts to mitigate the pandemic with widespread efforts demanding to reopen the financial system — a mirrored image of inconsistent directives from the prior administration within the federal authorities’s response. Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer prolonged the state’s coronavirus emergency declaration by government order in April after the Republican-controlled Legislature superior a invoice that will not have renewed the unique declaration. However in October, the Michigan Supreme Courtroom dominated that Whitmer had no authority to difficulty or renew government orders regarding Covid-19 past April 30. In Wisconsin, Republicans who management the Legislature and state Supreme Courtroom have beforehand pressured Democratic Gov. Tony Evers to the sidelines. The state excessive court docket’s choice in Could — on the Legislature’s request — to dam Evers’ stay-at-home order was the most recent in a sequence of strikes to cease the governor from exercising energy within the spring. Supply hyperlink #blasts #Covid19 #declaration #efforts #emergency #GOP #Governor #Idaho'sGOPgovernorblastshisparty'seffortstoendCovid-19emergencydeclaration-CNNPolitics #Idahos #partys #Politics