#hes ice hes fire hes a convicted criminal

[lazybakerart]

if my mother held me, she would burn.

[primeofprimes115]

Scoring Her Heart of Steel - Supergirl x Male Reader

Contains: Fluff 🥰

Living the life in shadow wasn't easy, especially when having special abilities when you couldn't understand them at first, unable to find the right person to help you discover them and even control them, fire, ice and even smoke. Recently learning to use solar magic to heal wounds and himself too.

That person was Y/N, he was but a child when finding out that his late father contained abilities which carried over to Y/N himself.

He came from a family of an old clan, a clan that pretty much no longer existed but only was told in stories of the Old Histories, his ancestors before him were from this old clan.

But since then? He found someone who could help him, that being Liang who possessed abilities much like Y/N's.

He was part of the Earth Defense Squadron, a group of individuals who deal with criminals, thugs and bigger threats using their set of skills and abilities to protect their planet, and even the Sol System.

Y/N was but 16 when he joined, now? He is at least 20 years old, he's been a member for four years now and hasn't regretted joining since.

Some kill him "Enenra" for his smoke magic, "The Cold Assassin" for ice, "Pyro" or "Mr Impulsive" for his fire (though the last one is much of an insult to him). But he calls himself Mancer, given his ability to use fire, solar, ice and smoke at the same time. He has since mastered them all, Solar magic is his newest addition to his abilities. His friends call him Multitasker anyways.

As of this moment? They're currently on the hunt for a convicted criminal they've been hunting down for a while now, responsible for almost causing a world wide war through manipulation and sorcery, if there was one word Y/N would describe him as? He'd call him the Devil's Sorcerer, given his background, he's lived for a very long time.

He has a vision of making a perfect world, which he'd make after everything is asunder, he sees humanity's flaws and wants to perfect them... But when that couldn't work and failed? He decided to move onto another target. Another Earth to be exact.

An Earth where it also had Heroes and Villains, but not like the ones that the sorcerer knew, he began scheming, manipulating others for his own gain.

But it wasn't long, till he'd be found by a group of Heroes from his Earth, and Mancer was with them to finally bring him to justice, their way.

But knowing the Heroes of this Earth? Mancer's leader knew the Heroes wouldn't allow them.

The little goose chase had gone on long enough, Mancer and the others had finally brought down the Sorcerer's forces and himself included, as the group surrounds him and picks him up. Liang stood in front of him as he scolds him.

"Alatar Omrin, for too long you have avoided justice, committed many atrocities of both our Earth and this one-"

"Save me your lecture Liang, Your voice has already bored me" Omrin snarked, earning a punch from Xalex, the Windbender.

"Got any other comments to share Sorcerer? I'd be glad to keep this up!" Xalex smirked.

"Xalex..." Liang glared right at him, forcing him to stand down.

"Sorry, boss" Xalex chuckled nervously.

"Yes, listen to him, you don't want a battered up, captive don't you? After all, you're the one who always seems to screw up" Omrin tried antagonizing Xalex which almost worked... if it weren't for Mancer.

"Quiet Sorcerer or I'm gonna shut you up myself by gagging you" Y/N threatened to cover Omrin's mouth with his ice, preventing him to speak, Omrin did as asked and closed his mouth.

Not even another word came out.

"Damn, that was cold" a feminine voice spoke behind him, his best friend, Satine who was an Earthbender.

"Enough with the puns Sati" Y/N chuckled.

"Alright, let's get out of here before we're stopped" Liang ordered.

The group began to walk out of the area, Xalex forced Omrin to move, even Satine joined in to help Xalex too.

But... Like traditional villains do... They'd run their mouths until someone would do something about it.

"Now we won't hear his bickering" Y/N sighed with relief, icing his mouth up to cover it, preventing Omrin to speak and antagonize Liang and the group further, Liang also sighed of relief too. 

For at least the five minutes that went past, some suspense began to build up between everyone.

"Is it just me or does it feel like we're being watched?" Satine asked with suspicion in her question, whispering it to her allies.

"Well, we're in a world of different Heroes which most of em are aliens and meta-humans, ones that have enhanced hearing, vision, speed and all that. Especially ones that can fly also? I do agree... We might be being watched right now ~" Y/N answered her question - "Which to be truthful, this Earth does feel a little more safer but more dangerous than ours... Not that I'm complaining or anything" he shared his thoughts of the current Earth they're on.

"I do gotta admit... The female Heroes look fine if you ask me" Xalex spoke his mind.

"In which way do you refine that?" Satine asked, narrowing her eyes toward him.

"Well... I'm saying most of em look a little hot. Like. c'mon?" he boasted before he could tell Satine looked at him funny, frowning her face toward him. The two were in a relationship as it is - "Don't even give me that look Satine, I can sense it... At least back me up here Multitasker" Xalex requested for help, a chuckle escaped Y/N.

"I'd prefer to be more respectful to women and you know that... But yes, I do admit that red caped blonde girl has somehow interested me in the short time we've been here, I've heard about the many things she's accomplished on Earth and the fact she's a living and breathing Kryptonian? I'd like to meet her one day, so many questions I want to ask her or the other Kryptonians for that matter" Y/N replied, it sounded as if he fanboyed over this caped young woman as Xalex began smirking in a teasing matter.

"Ohh? Sounds like someone's a fan of one of the female Heroes" he teased.

"Or maybe he's already crushing on this caped woman, Supergirl was her name right?" Satine joined in with the teasing, noticing Y/N began to blush with embarrassment.

"Wh-What? *nervous laugh* I have no idea what you're talking about" he tried to hide his blush, but his face was a bright red.

"C'mon Y/N! It's normal to have a crush on someone, even if it's a superpowered woman" Xalex smiles, before looking at Satine, to which she smiled back at him, knowing he referred to her of what he said.

"Yeah... I guess it can be normal... Right?" Y/N asked loudly, wondering that himself.

It was a shame he didn't exactly have a proper childhood, pulled out of school early due to him being a hazardous threat among others, his mother had to raise him by quitting her job, family members would often help around too to keep Y/N and his mother going until she'd find someone, but instead? He found someone first, that being Liang.

"It is normal to have some sort of feeling toward another person, Mancer ~" Liang joined in after listening to his comrade's conversation, sharing his view on feelings too - "Even if you haven't met them yet which I do hope to keep it that way, who knows what Omrin has told them. To them? We could be the enemy if he hasn't already told them about us, and it might take a lot of convincing to show that we aren't the enemy. However, keep your guard up. We don't know who'll show up to stop us" Liang ordered as everyone agreed, keeping their focus on every direction to look for anything suspicious.

As moments went by, more walking continued to the main extraction zone where the portal to their world would work, more suspicion filled the air around them.

Unbeknownst to the group escorting their captive, someone was indeed watching, the son of the Red Caped Wonder and a Reporter in Metropolis who would be soon joined with two others.

That included his father.

"I don't like this... I'm sure trouble is gonna find us soon" Xalex spoke with worry, his hand eagerly over the hilt of his Katana.

"Keep your eyes peeled, we're almost at the extraction zone" Liang reminded his comrades, his hand itching toward his elemental infused holstered guns.

"It's too quiet, and btw? Who would want Omrin anyway?" Satine asked Liang.

"That won't matter, he will answer for his crimes on our Earth, he won't answer to -"

"I'm afraid that's not going to happen, your captive..." a new voice suddenly interrupted the group. A man's voice from the sky above as they all looked up in front of them as three people began to descend. two male, 1 female. All wearing the same colors, the female wore a long red skirt and red high knee boots while the men wore pants with their respective boots, the older one wore red briefs with his, with a cape and that symbol on their suits...The big red and yellow S.

"...Will answer to us" Superman spoke as if he was not in the mood, he sounded... Angry almost but serious. He was joined up with Superboy who was his son and his cousin... Supergirl.

(Aka... Your little crush)

The three Supers landed on the ground in front of them, at least 7 feet away to confront Liang and his group. Satine and Xalex were startled by their sudden arrival as Liang frowned upon seeing them.

However... Y/N's eyes were laser focused on the red caped blondie, Supergirl. He never seen her up close before... Seeing a very strong and beautiful woman in front of his eyes had him thinking so, he couldn't help it. However, he was able to his eyes away from her for a few moments.

"Shit... I knew we were being watched! I freaking called it!" Satine hissed with annoyance, her hand itching to make a move but felt hesitant to do so, unless they attacked first.

"Let me do the talking and Y/N, if we are to engage in conflict, do not use your solar abilities, it's what empowers them" Liang ordered before stepping forward a little - "I am Liang, Master of Elemental Magic, Protector of Earth. We only ask if you let us continue on our way back home, the extraction zone is not far" he asked politely.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, your captive needs to answer for his crimes, and we're taking him to Stryker Island for questioning. Hand him over and you may proceed back home" Superman denied to allow them to continue, without handing over their captive.

This seemed to make Liang unsatisfied, he'd hope they'd understand, but clearly... They wouldn't.

"And he's told us a lot about you. How you're not to be trusted, we thought you were working for him but clearly not... So you must be bringing him in for execution which we cannot allow" Superboy spoke, he was young still but was learning.

"What?! You can't be the judge of that! And this isn't your situation, it's ours!" Xalex raised his voice with annoyance rising in his attitude.

"Do you have any idea what that man has done? He almost killed half of the Justice League that tried to stop him, including my cousin ~" Supergirl spoke next, walking a little forward - "He needs to be brought in for justice"

"And you believe what this Sorcerer said to you all? That we execute criminals? We're nothing like that!" Satine backed up her group.

"Hand him over to us, we can do this the easy way..." Superboy offered which his father slightly looked at his son for a moment, knowing that's not the way he'd put it lightly.

"Or the hard way ~" Supergirl issued the warning - "Please pick the easy way, we don't need to fight" Supergirl's face cringed, knowing her other choice of words wasn't the greatest to blurt out.

An intense few moments went pass as everyone went quiet, the sound of the gentle wind blew past as each individual stared each other down.

All of a sudden, a wave of strong wind hit Superboy, knocking him back as they all look at Xalex - "Uh... Haha.. Oops" he chuckled.

Superman had enough and instantly went for Xalex, only to be stopped by Liang who stood in front of him and caught his fist before a spark of electricity charged in his fist and he punched him away.

"Squadron! Protect the captive!" Liang called out as he ran for Superman, Xalex stood phased as Satine rushed up to him.

"You heard the man! Y/N! Watch over Omrin, we'll take care of Superman Junior over there"

"Good luck mate" Xalex teased before the two love birds rushed off.

"Wait guys! Ugh ~" Y/N groaned, being left alone with Omrin was something he didn't want. He took a look at Omrin who glared daggers at him, knowing he was visibly cussing him out for gagging him up with ice over his mouth. He looked down at his feet and without hesitation, froze his feet to keep him still - "Stay... Good boy" he teased, only hearing a muffled annoyed groan out from Omrin before he felt the presence of Supergirl.

He turned round to face her, his face slightly heating up a little, if it were a different situation, he'd be firing tons of questions at her already... But it wasn't that situation right now... This was a serious situation, resulting in fighting.

"I don't want to fight you" Y/N pleaded, disappointed he'd have to fight his quote on quote crush. But to his surprise, Supergirl looked disappointed too, sighing in return and shaking her head.

"I don't want to fight you too, but your friends chose the hard way, and I have my orders" she got in a fighting stance which seemed familiar to Y/N, his facial expression soon turned from disappointed to impressed, he already knew what stance she was in. She is pretty much Kryptonian military trained in a way.

"I also have my orders too, but be warned ~" he rather smirked afterwards, setting himself into a stance to show he's ready to engage in combat - "When there is smoke, there is fire" a mask appeared over his face which only covered his nose and mouth, a smoky aura appeared around him as ice went down his right arm while fire went down the other arm, showing off his three main abilities.

He finished showing off, before his hand reached out, gesturing a 'come here' toward Supergirl.

She rolls her eyes and instantly turns into a blur, within a second she was at his face.

He noticed how quick she was, and blocked her jab before blocking a few more, she was rather impressed but concerned if he was human or not, how could he manage to block her fast jabs?

Their fight continued after Y/N surprised her by incasing himself in ice, completely covering himself up before she looked on, she couldn't even detect his heartbeat anymore, before she sensed his heartbeat behind her and flipped him over as he tried surprise attacking her with a weapon made out of ice.

"Crap" he cussed at himself, Supergirl's fist came down at him like a speeding bullet but he managed to get out of the way as she punched the ground instead, disappearing like a smoke bomb before reappearing.

"You're quick" she complimented.

"Aw thank you! That's really kind of -" he was shut up by Supergirl firing her heat vision toward him, which seemed to hit him, causing him to groan in a little bit of pain. He felt the burn.

"But not as quick as me" she told herself in her head.

'This person, Y/N was it? He's no ordinary meta-human, even after a scan of him using my X-Ray vision, he definitely isn't new here, nor does any records show that he's of this planet... Or even this Earth. He is human but... He must be from a different Earth' Kara thought to herself.

"Oh yeah, we can play fire with fire alright" he smirked before a fire ball was fired toward her, Supergirl saw it coming and braced herself but the fire ended up hurting her, she hissed in pain as she remembered.

'Damn! Forgot his abilities are magic based, which we Kryptonians aren't fully immune to, unlike bullets and all sorts of things that aren't magic or anything like that' she said to herself - 'But he's thinking this all a game to him, the way he's showing off his abilities. Rao, he's probably going to make Damian Wayne run for his money at this point if he keeps this up'

Before she continued thinking within her head, she felt something wrap around her, a rope dart that had a fiery tip. She looked toward Mancer who had the other side of this rope dart, the rope made out of metal chains.

He yanked her toward him but that only seemed to move her a little before she braced herself, he tried yanking her again as she looked at him before rolling her eyes.

"Really?" she spoke one word with a unamused facial expression, before she began floating up, attempting to give him a ride of a lifetime.

But... She was yanked back down onto the ground with force, yelping. Thumping into the ground violently as the rope dart retracted and was thrown out toward her again, immediately recovering from being yanked into the ground and caught the tip of the dart with her hand, though it was slightly burning her hand.

"GET OVER HERE!" a devilish voice shouted out from her foe, yanking her toward him with inhuman strength, for a human to do this? She'd definitely had to be more careful.

Before she could even react, being flung toward him, he cocked his arm back and violently clotheslined her, which caused herself to do a backflip before landing on her stomach.

'Agh! He's mighty strong, and his powers? I need to be more careful, no more playing nice' she got back up before flying up and eying him down.

"Well that's unfair" she heard him mutter under his breath, throwing up the dart again, only this time she dodged it and fired her heat vision down at him.

He dodged her attack within a millisecond and threw a fireball at her, she dodged that too before rocketing herself toward him with her fists in front of her as if she was going to do a super speed flight punch, turning into a blur at this point.

"Look alive!" she flew into him, punching him square in the face with both her fists in front of her which seemed to send him backwards.

She braced herself and landed a few feet in front of him as she heard him groan out in a little pain, knowing she broke his jaw which surprised her.

'I broke his jaw? Maybe he's not as indestructible as I thought, well... He is still human after all. The again I did break Conner's jaw once' she told herself before hearing the sound of his jaw being put back into place, a piece of metal fell to the floor as he looked down.

"She... She broke the mask?! Ugh great" he sighed loudly, sounding heartbroken a little too.

"It was just a stupid mask anyway, not like you needed it" she rolled her eyes, which made him look at her immediately and he did not look happy at all.

"That... Was my dad's mask! And I didn't expect you to break it that easily" he scolded her, before picking up the piece of it before closing his eyes, knowing he shouldn't have been wearing it in the first place. Supergirl noticed the tone in his voice, which made her rethink her actions.

'Ugh... Well done Kara, you broke something that meant to someone, again. Though it was their fault for bringing it with them to begin with' she scolded at herself before continuing her thoughts 'He said it's his father's? Something tells me that he won't be happy with what happened to it'

She let the thought aside as their combat continued, he decided to outsmart her by teleporting away by causing smoke to surround her as she looked amused at this tactic.

"Uh, do you realize I can see you right? I have X-ray vision and all ~" She chuckled out of pity for him, she could see him getting ready to attack her from beyond the smoke - "And I can do this" she suddenly began breathing in the smoke, taking it all in for puffing it away into the sky.

She thought she'd found him... But only found nothing where he was standing before, this made her worry. Was he with the smoke or?

All of a sudden, she felt herself being kicked backwards by Y/N, appearing out of thin air in front of her before an ice wall appeared behind her and she collided with it.

"FYI, I can multitask my own abilities at the same time. I concealed myself in shadow to surprise you... But I admit, your speed is incredible -" he began to get distracted talking about her, labeling some of his thoughts about her too.

'Okay... Maybe he won't make the little Wayne run for his money and Jon was right... He sure is my number 1 stalker' the thought made her cringe 'But... He seems genuine about what he thinks... Too bad I have a job to do' 

He seemed too distracted in gushing about her that she took this opportunity to speed herself toward him and landed a world breaking punch on him which sent him flying back across the ground.

He had been flung back at least pretty far, not far away to keep an eye on Omrin as he watched but it was far.

Y/N began to get up, feeling the effects of that powerful punch she inflicted on him which would be enough to knock someone down immediately, he groaned in pain as his stomach stung from the hit - "Augh! Ow!... *groans in pain* Okay... That actually hurt..." he got on one knee as he still felt the sting from the punch.

She floated toward him, arms crossed as she began to scold him - "Do you often get this distracted during fights? News flash for ya, this isn't a game" she frowned with annoyance, like she was a teacher at a school, telling off a bad student for bad behavior.

He chuckled at her, she was right, it wasn't a game - "I know... I'm just distracted, not because of what you said... But... It's hard trying to fight you since your face up close seems to distract me a lot, it's annoyingly cute" he admitted what distracted him, blushing slightly afterwards as he chuckled nervously.

He thought he would feel something worse coming toward him when saying that but in truth? Supergirl just looked down at him with a surprised look, blushing herself too.

She didn't know what to say, at a lost of words... She only blushed hard after it sunk in, she knew what he meant.

"Wait a second... Uh... Did you just... Call me cute?" she asked, her face still showing the blush on her cheeks 

"You know what I mean but I gotta ask? That martial arts style... That was Klurkor right? You learned Klurkor too?" he then asked her, his hand lit up with a yellowish light, healing himself with Solar Healing, she could even feel it radiating off of him as she felt the energy power herself up a little, which even healed her up too pretty quickly.

'Klurkor? How does he know the Kryptonian martial arts? I might have to pay Jon 20 bucks on that stalker theory now... Or does he know Kryptonian history?' she thought to herself. Shocked to even think he knew the Kryptonian martial arts she underwent.

"How do you know that? You know Kryptonian history?!" she asked him almost immediately, floating down to the ground afterwards as she walked up to him cautiously.

"Yeah... I know what that symbol stands for too. Hope, the House of El... I believe there was another motto too? It was called... El Maru? El Mari?" he looked confused, she took this opportunity to fully walk up to him as he tried getting back up.

All her suspicions about him washed off pretty much immediately, she offered her hand to him which he looked at cautiously - "El Mayarah, it means Stronger Together" she smiled, knowing a human knows this much about Kryptonian history, she was eager to test him how much he knows. Even though they're just strangers.

"Yeah... El Mayarah, always loved that word. Wow you are pretty strong too, that punch? I felt that" he rubbed his stomach and she giggled at him.

"Well... I am super strong and I have lifted tons of weight on my shoulders before so and according to my cousin, I'm a little stronger than him" she shrugged with a smile, boasting about her strength - "Sorry for that by the way, got carried away when fighting you... Well, it's been a tough few weeks for me and I'm just a little worked up" her face fell flat when she continued speaking, knowing she has been a little stressed out as of late.

"No no, I get it... It's fine really. Honestly? Surprised you stopped fighting me to just chat instead, y'know? Talk it out and all instead of fighting" he cocked up an eyebrow.

"Yeah... I guess" Supergirl agreed with a shrug, a small smile on her face as awkward silence fell between them, she could see he was pretty nervous, how could she? By just telling by the paste of his heartbeat going fast, his way to avoid eye contact too, but she felt nervous too, so at least he wasn't the only one - "So... Heard you were a fan of me? Superboy, who is my cousin's son, heard you talk about me, I thought you were just a stalker at first but this now just squashed that theory" her smile grew back as she asked the question.

"What? Oh uh... Yeah, y-yeah... In a way, I am a fan of you and what you've accomplished, I've always wanted to meet a Kryptonian face to face. I know I'm pretty nervous about this" he rubbed the back of his neck, blushing a little as he looked away from her.

"It's okay to feel nervous. But I wanna know something... How much do you know about Kryptonian history? I know this hasn't got anything to do with this current situation... I just need to know if I can... Trust you" she asked him, looking at him with a pleading face, he looked back as he thought of an answer.

"On my Earth, there used to be living and breathing Kryptonians, their history was left on Earth after they suddenly disappeared, once they were Earth's protectors who suddenly vanished without any explanation, no one knows why or what happened" he explained.

'That figures, he is from another Earth' she thought to herself.

"But... I learned the history they left behind, even some of their martial arts, Klurkor was one of them. This was after I learned to control my abilities after Liang taught me to harness them within. That is why I recognized your fighting stance, how I caught your attacks quickly, I learnt to adapt to you within seconds" he explained further, which interested Supergirl further.

"Guessing that's how you used learned to use your Solar thing to heal yourself there? ~" she asked him to which he nodded a yes to her, since she seen him use that Solar magic to heal himself - "I do know you have a lot of questions you want to ask me, Superboy told me that too and... I know you have a little crush on me" she said with an amused tone along with a blush rising up on her face, she's dealt with people who have admitted to crushing on her before, but not to this extent, especially finding Y/N as a handsome and what appears to be, a very kind person overall.

"Uh *nervous laugh* Yes I, I-I-I m-mean! ~ I have no idea wh-what you're on about" he blushed heavily, being confronted by his crush really seemed to make him stutter.

The Maiden of Might only giggled at his stammering words, she was interested so far - "Y/N is it?" she offered her hand to him to shake.

He looked down at her hand and smiled as the violent red blush began to fade away, knowing he's going to shake her hand - "Yeah... You can call me Mancer too, my friends call me Multitasker and a whole a bunch of other names that correspond with my powers" he shook her hand, making eye contact with her.

"Kara, Kara Zor-El, or Kara Danvers. You already know the rest" she winked, their hand shake ending a second later. He looked back to where Kara broke his mask after that fly by punch she gave him earlier.

Kara saw the look on his face, he looked disheartened - "I'm sorry about breaking your father's mask, I know it won't fix it but..." she apologized, placing her hand on her right upper arm knowing she was guilty.

"It's alright, I shouldn't have been wearing it in the first place... It belonged to dad, but... He's long since been gone" he replied, Kara's head perked up at that moment upon hearing what he said about his father, which made her stomach drop. 

She broke his late dad's mask.

"Oh... I didn't know, I'm s-sorry to hear that" she felt really guilty at that moment, she'd do anything to fix it. That mask seemed to mean a lot to him now knowing the fact is was his late dad's mask...

Which gave her an idea.

"It's okay Supergirl, you don't need to feel bad for me or anything, we should get the others to stop-"

"No no, I-I can fix it for you! There's tech back at the Fortress of Solitude that can repair it, making the mask look like it is brand new!" she interrupted him by appearing in front of him, their height pretty much almost matching too as he was in a state of shock when her face was a little close to his. However, that feeling was soon left out of the way upon thinking back to what she said just now.

"Uh... You... Y-You can fix my dad's mask?" he asked her with curiosity the next, she nodded her head immediately.

"Yep! No need to-" she got interrupted by getting pulled onto him, she felt his arms wrap around her as her most of her face was over his shoulder, all she needed to do was be on her tippy toes to rest her chin on his shoulder.

"Ugh, you're the best! That really means a lot, thank you so much" he hugged her with gratitude without thinking, her expression showed she was flabbergasted by the random hug, even blushing a little too as a few seconds go by.

That was when he realized the position he was in, his eyes opened wide as he began blushing, pulling back slightly as the two looked at each other, blinking.

"Uh..." he looked awkward, sounded nervous and what didn't help was that he was blushing a little also.

"Don't be" she smiled, already knowing what he was going to say afterwards, causing him to smile also.

"I have so many questions I want to ask you" he told the girl, making her giggle at his words.

"I know! And I'm very eager to hear them all" her smile brightened, that smile that could make a person's heart flutter.

"I'll tell you them all later, but for now? We need to take Omrin back to our world"

"You mean, you need to take Omrin back to your world? Which I'm not supposed to let you do?" Kara asked him with a cocked up eyebrow, noticing his little mistake there.

"Oh, yeah... About that... Think you'll let us? Omrin is a danger to your world, leave him in Stryker Island? He'll just find a way to break out. Trust me, it's happened before on my Earth, he broke out of the world's securest Supermax Prisons and manipulated his way to get out ~" Y/N spoke with his side on the situation, knowing Omrin is a danger to this world, especially now that he pretty much dismantled the world's greatest heroes on this Earth - "Please... Let us take him back to my world, he won't harm any one of your Earth's people again... I promise. We won't kill him, we don't stand for that, we let the judge decide the punishment once he's brought in for trial" he asked her politely, knowing the answer was going to be no anyway. She had her orders after all.

But... To his surprise... She didn't answer straight away, a sigh left her mouth instead as he wondered what her worded answer was going to be.

She looked puzzled, she had no clue how to even answer it, all she knew was that Omrin needed to be taken in to Stryker Island for his crimes and manipulation to get his way.

"I... I don't know if I can answer that... I mean, we're supposed to take him to Stryker Island, and you want to take him back to your world to bring him into justice your way by executing him ~" she spoke of the two sides fighting over a captive with a sigh, as if she needed more stress as it is - "But... I know for a fact my cousin and the League won't trust you and your allies at all, he's already signaled the rest of the active League members to come here to assist them, and they'll be here very shortly" she continued, bringing up another problem in the current situation. Causing her to look the other direction, away from his eyes.

"Well... I trust you... Maybe you can convince him?" he asked the troubled Supergirl, a smile escaped from her at his other words.

"I can try ~" she looked back at him with the same smile on her face still - "You already trust me?"

"Why shouldn't I? You're the Girl of Steel, the Woman of Tomorrow right? And I am a fan of you" he shrugged.

"Haha, fair point" she giggled, the two made eye contact again, smiles exchanged towards each other.

However... The moment was ruined by a sudden shout and wrestling from afar, Y/N fully broke apart from Supergirl as the two looked at the direction of the wrestling.

"You ain't going anywhere Sorcerer!" Satine wrestled on the ground with him, leaving Y/N to wonder how Omrin managed to break free of his bonds, thinking his powers would be useless against his ice.

"Well, I guess I was wrong, he could still break out if he wanted to" Y/N groaned before noticing Supergirl began levitating toward Satine and Omrin wrestling each other.

"Unhand me you worm!" Omrin cussed, trying to use his magic to break free of Satine's hold on him.

The two continued struggling to fight each other on the ground as Supergirl drew closer to the both, wanting to help Y/N's ally out of kindness, now knowing they could be trusted.

"May I?" Supergirl landed on the ground before delivering a punch onto Omrin which was heard from a distance, knocking Omrin out cold as he stopped squirming. Dusting her hands off with an accomplished smirk on her face.

Satine noticed he was out cold and looked up at the Girl of Steel who she didn't expect to get help from as she got up off the ground.

"Good riddance... Thank you by the way, didn't expect you to help the last minute there" Satine cracked her neck, sharing her gratitude for the save. The Kryptonian smiled in response to her thanks.

Y/N had ran up to the two woman finally as he looked down at the unconscious Omrin - "Well he definitely deserved that ~" he spat out before looking at Satine and Supergirl - "Where's Liang and Xalex? Still fighting I take it?" he asked Satine.

"Pretty sure they are, I got knocked back far by Superman Junior, Xalex is the one fighting him right now. Liang? Probably the same" Satine answered as Supergirl narrowed her eyes past Satine, seeing the said people still fighting her own two family members.

"Yep... And your boss is... Actually managing to kick my cousin's ass" she sounded surprised, 'maybe they were pretty skilled at fighting superpowered beings after all', was the thought she had in her own head. Never thinking she'd see the day too.

"Supergirl is going to talk down Superman and his... Son that we're not the enemies in this. She's well aware of Omrin and she's eager to help us" Y/N told Satine about Kara's rather helping hand from earlier which she was convinced either way.

"So, she can be trusted?" Satine tested him, to see if he was right before looking at the blonde haired girl.

"Yes, I trust that she'll help us, her cousin's allies are also going to be here soon... So... We'll definitely need her to talk them down from attacking us" he looked at her and a smile was exchanged from her after she looked at him.

"Well, let's get on with it before it happens then, I'll stay here, keep an eye on the snake here" she self acclaimed to remain behind, spitting out Omrin's nickname before looking down at his unconscious body with a disgusted look.

"Good... So..." he looked at her before she read him like a book and wrapped an arm around him and began levitating off the ground, lifting him up with her. Surprised at this action, he looked at Supergirl before she chuckled

"I already knew what you were gonna say... Was just a step ahead of you" she winked.

* *

(Some time later...)

It was rather a surprise that it took some little convincing that the alternative heroes were here on good intentions and not to take a captive back for execution, Supergirl was relieved that her cousin and her nephew stopped their fight with Xalex and Liang respectively.

Though the Man of Steel was still a little suspicious about the group of alternative heroes, he was fine with a temporary alliance until the EDC were to go back to their respective Earth, regarding their common enemies.

However, it seemed not only was Omrin the only villain of the EDC's Earth that arrived to this Earth, he made an alliance with a mafia mob boss who travels to different worlds, going by the name Becknar, a man who specializes in his own way of criminal activity, especially when he has a mob of his own to conduct in criminal business.

Omrin was interrogated by the EDC Heroes at the Hall of Justice, given the temporary alliance. He had no choice but to spill the beans and give out a location, which the location was in fact... New York City, at the abandoned LIC Fresh Direct Site where business had been conducted there with a mafia boss named Roman Sionis aka...

Black Mask... Leader of the Sionis Crime Family.

The question was... "What is Black Mask doing in New York City?" 

Gotham bored him dry, every time he conducted business, Batman or any of the Bat-Family would barge in and interrupt his business and he got sick of it, deciding to work elsewhere and move on from trying to overthrow the Billionaire Playboy Bruce Wayne.

And tonight? There was to be a meeting with Black Mask and Becknar, discussing arms deals and arrangements.

With this information... Liang struck a plan to have someone recon the place and infiltrate the compound, stop their plans altogether and capture Becknar for questioning and to bring him behind bars.

And he knew the suitable person for the job... Despite the lower numbers.

"Me? You sure? I'm not the type of person who's better at doing these things alone, since I'm the only ninja we have right now" Y/N looked puzzled and worried.

"You are the suitable person for the job Mancer, you're a ninja and a warrior, and you're not always going to work alongside others in stealth covert missions" he spoke with a serious manner. "I'm trusting that you'll get the job done without any problems, you're remarkable at stealth and none of us are built for that... Not even me" he admitted to not being the greatest at stealth, but he spoke to him as a father figure with the truth.

"Yeah but... I'm not sure if I'm ready to go alone, I'm still learning as it is, I've not mastered the full art of stealth" he told him, sounding like he was unworthy of being a ninja warrior.

Liang put a hand on Y/N's shoulder to console him. "Then let this mission be a test, your first covert mission alone, with no backup from any other ninja. I am trusting you with this, don't let your other ninja brothers and sisters down".

However, during this... Their conversation was being eavesdropped upon by Superboy, the Man of Steel's son who informed him about Liang's orders to Mancer aka Y/N. With this info, Superman made a call to a certain someone who patrols New York City to protect it from criminal activity.

* *

Y/N ran across the rooftops of New York City, using his grapple hook to traverse the busy city below him as he grappled from roof to roof, using his own abilities to make impossible jumps, not suited for a normal human being to make.

His destination was the LIC Fresh Direct Site that was no longer in commission, just the average villain hideout.

As he kept moving toward his destination, he had a feeling he wasn't alone... The feeling of someone with a red cape with a fully colored yellow S shield on the cape and golden blonde long wavy hair, watching him parkour across the city buildings with ease.

He could practically see his own destination now as he drew near.

"Alright, you can do this. Just scope the place out, sneak around, take down some bad guys quietly, get in, take down more bad guys quietly and catch Becknar by surprise, maybe Black Mask too?" he spoke to himself loudly in between breaths as he kept moving. "This time? Doing it alone... You can do this Y/N, you can do this" he said with nervousness.

He now stopped to land on a nearby perch to scope out the compound with binoculars and as he does this? He heard some girly giggling behind him as he stopped looking into his binoculars. Startled by the sudden giggling.

"Do you usually talk to yourself this much when you're alone? It's pretty cute honestly" he heard the girl giggle, floating just behind him above. Turning himself round to look at the nosey girl... Who is Supergirl.

"Oh... H-Hey" he spoke with shy intent, a blush rushing up his cheeks after her words processed in his head. "You think that's... Cute? Wait... What are you doing here? I'm on a covert mission that I have to do alone" he asked the real question.

"Ah well... Kal wants me to uh... Overlook your covert mission" she responded with some air quote signatures near the end of her words. "And since it's in New York, I also patrol here! So... Yeah, plus if I didn't know about it, I'd end up being nosey anyway" she spoke cheerfully, giggling afterwards at him talking to himself earlier.

"So... He doesn't trust us is what you're implying?" he asked as he stood up from the perch he took and crossed his arms.

"Well... Yeah" the Girl of Steel sighed. "Look, there's been a lot that has happened and... Well... You can imagine that trust is a very strong word so it'll take some time to earn his trust, especially with one of the League's closest allies betraying them recently which has broken that level of trust as of late" she explained as she floated closer to him, now levitating steadily beside him.

"Oh, I get it" he shrugged, knowing how it feels.

"Yeah, don't worry though. I trust you" she winked. "I did speak with Satine and she has told me some things about you".

"I imagine good things" he sounded worried.

"Don't worry! It was all good things... Including the uh... Crush on this gal right here type of thing" he pointed to herself as a blush ran up his face again.

'Ugh, Satine was right, he's cute, very cute... Rao he's more than cute, he's adorably cute' Kara thought to herself as she blushes a little by gushing over his looks, the way he'd look away every time someone mentioned his little crush on the Kryptonian girl made her realize she maybe beginning to fall for him.

Or when Kara would look at Y/N back at the Hall of Justice and catch him steal some looks at her before looking away with a little blush on his face. Seriously, she had to admit that he's cute.

She knows of his backstory, which all reminded her of what happened on Krypton, she lost a planet, her own people.

He lost a village he called home. He lost his own people too, but the only thing he had left was his own mother.

It was no wonder why she felt so interested about knowing him more from other people, she didn't just want to know the boy who has a crush on her, she wants to know the real him.

"So..." she spoke with her hands behind her back. "Is it alright if I join you on this? Ya never know if you need some girl power in this" she asked politely, smiling as she spoke.

Y/N considered it for a moment, then again he had to prove he could do missions alone now, without the need of other ninjas like him... But he had to admit, having someone with him could work, especially if it's a superpowered, practically indestructible alien superhero.

"Eh, sure why not... But I know stealth isn't your strong suit" he teased with a smirk.

"What?! Pfft, that's a lot of bull! I'm great at stealth!" she denied.

"You sure? I read your file and I quote" he took a breath before explaining what he read up earlier. "Supergirl isn't known for her skill of stealth, no thanks to the bright colors on her suit, but rather a force to be reckoned with as she is someone to rely on. When it comes facing off larger and stronger threats, speeding targets, she's one of the many powerhouses that can deal with those threats thanks to her many abilities like Superman's, but like Superman, Supergirl can be good for other purposes of distraction to hold the enemy at bay while others can move into their proceeded objectives without issue" he said with some smarts, causing her to gasp.

"Oh, you really shouldn't have!" she played like she was offended, holding a hand to her heart. "the knowledge, It's killing me!" she exaggerated before erupting in a fit of giggles, causing him to giggle with her.

Their giggles soon ended as the humor between them died down, Y/N re-focused on his task as Supergirl still floated beside him.

"So... Heard Black Mask was conducting business here tonight" Supergirl went on. "Question is... What is he doing in my turf?" the Kryptonian wondered by scratching her chin. "I guess Gotham was boring him so he decided to move here... Humph! Big mistake now that I'm around" she gloated next.

"Don't underestimate your enemies, Kara. You never knew what-"

"What they're capable of... I've heard that many times before" she rolled her eyes playfully, causing Mancer to lightly chuckle.

"Well... Since you're the one with X-ray vision... Can you do the honors?" he asked her like a gentleman.

"Already on it" she winked before her eyes glowed a light blue, her eyes narrowed as her vision zoomed in, her super hearing picked up.

"And you're sure this... Device, can do the job?" Black Mask aka Roman Sionis spoke as he looked down at some weapon case.

"The device can get the job done, it can shut off any electronics within 50 meters or less, I can imagine what you'll do with it but even better? My scientist is currently working on a device, capable of shutting off radiation sources... Which includes Kryptonian based powers thanks to the radiation of the yellow sun" Kara heard the voice belonging to Becknar.

Kara's vision went back to normal as she blinked a few times before turning her head to face Y/N.

"What'd you see? Is Becknar in there?" Y/N asked.

"I think that's him and Black Mask is in there too, they're selling some sort of device that can shut off electronics within 50 meters or less, and he has someone working on a something that can shut out a Kryptonian's powers" she sounded worried the more she explained. Confirming Y/N's theory and the Intel provided earlier.

"That's definitely Becknar alright, let's head inside, there's a bunch of guards outside" he spoke to her as he leapt off before firing his grapple book. "I'll need to take them out quietly, maybe you can help since... You're the one with flight and super speed" he suggested.

"Or" the Maiden of Might stopped him before he advanced further. "We can do something different"

"Like what?" he asked with a confused look as she smirked.

"Well... Supergirl isn't known for her skill for stealth" she repeated what he said earlier. "Supergirl can be good for other purposes of distraction to hold the enemy at bay while others can move into their proceeded objectives without issue. I'll distract the guards, you get in and do your job" her smirk turned into a smart grin as he smiled at the girl.

"Wow... You're a smart girl" he complimented.

"Aww thank you! I know I am but it's nice hearing it from you" she winked. "So... Shall I do the honors?" she asked nicely.

"Well... On you go Supergirl, dance floor's yours" he exaggerated, the female superhero winked before flying off to be the distraction.

He advanced forward as he watched the Kryptonian do a Superhero Landing in the middle of the compound as the guards were startled.

"Hey boys!" she shouted as the guards all gained her attention. "Allow me to welcome you to New York City and you didn't invite me also? I'm hurt" she taunted them.

"Shit, it's her!" one of the guards panicked and went for the alarm button, only for them to be caught up by the Girl of Steel in an instant.

"Ah-Ah-Ah, I don't think so" she punched him across the compound to where he'd land on a bunch of stacked boxes.

Y/N whistled lightly at this as he watched her taunt them more, smiling as she continued.

"Atta girl, now to head inside" he advanced furthermore. "But to find a stealthier way in".

* *

Y/N silently walked throughout the warehouse before silently teleporting onto a railing using his smoke magic to do so, quickly noticing a lookout guard, he sprang onto him and attacked him, using his ice staff which had the guard knocked out cold (no pun intended) upon the impact to his head.

He leapt over to the other walkway where he was fully concealed, listening in to what the conversation followed as.

"To be honest? I was expecting to have something in return... Since I am offering such a powerful device for your mafia to use" Becknar hinted which Black Mask narrowed his eyes toward him, scowling him even behind his mask.

"You were expecting something? I thought this was an alliance, you help me, I help you. What you're offering is for both of us" he slightly gets annoyed with this hint, causing Becknar to frown.

"An alliance? Did I say that?" he frowned expression, turned to wonder. He was rather puzzled at this as he didn't see this as an alliance, but more of... Two people having common enemies.

"You damn right you did! That sorcerer said it himself!" he scowled, already losing his temper with Becknar's wording of things.

"And yet we have talked business, I've given what you needed, and I'm willing to give you another device in return of our... Shared agreement. Now... The money..." he simply snapped his fingers as his men took aim at Black Mask and his own mafia goons. "Or else... There will be consequences and I'll take the device back, it'd be a shame to ruin that fancy suit of yours with bullet holes... And blood" he smirked upon throwing out his cigar.

Simon growled with anger, being outplayed like this wasn't in his list of things, especially by someone who is another mob boss.

"Fine! I'll give you money, if that's what you insist" he hissed at the well travelled mob boss in return he smirked at the masked mob boss.

"Then... The device is yours-" Becknar was interrupted as a guard from outside was suddenly came crashing through the window, startling every one... Even Y/N himself.

'Girl must be enjoying herself out there' Y/N smirked.

"What the fuck! What's going on out there!" Black Mask shouted, demanding to know why one of his goons was thrown through the window from outside, let alone with gunfire ringing out before stopping each second.

Before any question were asked and answered, Y/N suddenly jumped down, revealing himself to every one who gained his attention.

"Mancer" Becknar hissed.

"Hello Beck, been a while" his hand lit with ice before an ice ball was fired out, hitting Becknar in the chest. "Ice to meet you too" he joked as guns were pointed toward him.

The Black Mask stood up from his seat as his men along with Becknar's men all pointed their weapons toward the ninja.

"Black Mask... Roman Sionis, I've come to shut down this whole op you've got going on here and I'm taking Becknar with me... All I ask... Is that you and your goons leave New York City... Or something worse is gonna come your way" he tried intimidating the masked mob boss, before an eruption of laughter came out from Roman himself before he growled.

"As much as he was a pain in my ass... He told me about you... What's got you vigilante's always interrupting my damn business?!" he began to scowl. "And here you are... Surrounded by guns of all sorts, no way to run... Or hide. And you have the decency to threaten me? ME?! Who do you think you are? The Red Hood? If that's who is out there, kindly tell him to fuck off for me will you?" he walked back to his seat and picked up his suit jacket.

"Oh? The Red Hood? I never brought him nor have I met the guy personally... Do you realize who patrols New York City... Right?" he asked Mask the question.

"What? You questioning me now? Boy?" he looked at the ninja with a frowned look under his mask.

"Yeah... Now answer the question" he demanded.

Black Mask looks puzzled, wondering what the ninja was meaning, no one ever patrols New York from what he heard, especially from the pair of goons who scoped the place before hand. "No... I don't... Because I had people scope out the city for vigilantes, like you"

"Haha, that's where you're mistaken... See" he attempted to move but a warning shot narrowly missed his foot, he remained unmoved by this. "Who patrols the city... Isn't a vigilante, she's... more than a vigilante" he spoke in riddles, causing Mask to be curious.

"And who is she?" he asked, getting closer to the ninja.

"Well... She wears this symbol" he hinted, as the warehouse main door was suddenly hit by a crashing thug outside, startling most of the guards who now aimed their weapons toward the main door. "This symbol... Represents... Hope, but it's got an S instead" he smirked as Mask began to suddenly realize who the ninja was referring to.

He could tell by the look in Mask's eyes that fear was running down his body as he backed up.

"Shit... Shit... Shit!! You're working with her?!" Roman understandably panicked, before the main door was breached, sending it to the floor with a thud.

A blur of blue and red with some yellowish blonde streaks suddenly sped into the warehouse, taking out the guards surrounding Y/N with weapons, swiftly taking them all out with one punch, the blur appeared beside Y/N in the form of Supergirl, now appearing beside the ninja.

"Hey, Black Mask! Next time you do criminal business, make sure there isn't a boy or girl scout patrolling the city next time!" she spoke with her hands on her hips, feeling the adrenaline in her veins as she said it. Giving him a tip.

"Argh! Damn you Kryptonians!" he cursed out before making a run for it, refusing to even fight back at the slightest knowing it wasn't going to work.

Mancer and Supergirl look at each other and smirk and shake their heads. "They never learn, do they?" he asked the Kryptonian.

"Nope, this won't take long" she winked before speeding off.

Black Mask ran hopelessly to find a safe exit away from the Kryptonian who just watched him run helplessly, all the guards were knocked out, including Becknar's guards.

As he saw an exit, hope ran up his spine before a gust of wind and a blur went past him, Supergirl leaned on the wall beside the door.

"Going somewhere?" she asked as Roman turned back around in a hurry, running the opposite way before he was stopped yet again by the Girl of Steel. "Besides jail?" she smirked, posing confidentially as he began to back up.

"Hey hey, let's just agree to let me go okay? I'll-I'll... I'll leave by tomorrow, I promise! Me, my men, all of them! Gone by tomorrow" he begged for the Maid of Might to let him go.

"Hmm... Not so sure about that... Since you've been up to business while I've been busy outside New York, especially conducting business with someone of interest to a friend of mine" she crossed her arms before she saw Y/N teleport behind him. "Plus... I'm sure he'll also agree too" she smirked and looked toward Y/N.

Roman turned round and was met with a fist toward his masked face, surprisingly knocking out the masked mob boss out cold. "Ow... His mask really is made out of metal"

* *

Mancer and Supergirl both gathered up the unconsciously beaten goons of Roman's men and Becknar's men for soon the NYPD would soon arrive to make arrests as a fellow hero would arrive, most notably a Green Lantern named Kyle Rayner who bubbled up Becknar's goons along with the boss Becknar himself now unfrozen and cuffed with him back to Liang and the others.

"When I get out, I'm going to-" Black Mask was cut off by the door shutting on him by a police van that held some of his goons inside.

As the last remaining goons were being escorted out from the warehouse by heavily armed cops, Supergirl suddenly approached Y/N who was just about to leave the scene, which surprised him.

"Hey" she waved as she floated down to the ground lightly. "We uh, we made a pretty good team back there... Though I did most of the work" she chuckled awkwardly at the end, looking down as she did so with a cute smile on her face.

"Yeah... I guess we made a good team back there" he agreed with her on that one, he was pretty shocked about it.

"Also I uh... Want to apologize about... Not letting you do this covert mission on your own, if that's what you wanted" she looked guilty, throwing herself under the bus which Y/N frowned at.

"No no, it's alright!" he reassured her which made her look back at him. "I'm glad we worked together on this, despite Liang saying this mission was mine to do alone, I'm just not ready to work alone so... It was nice to have someone different to work with me for a change"

"Really?" she asked him curiously with a slight smile.

"Mhm, I mean it" he smiled, causing her to fully smile. "Since you're here still... Mind if I ask you something?" he asked with the growing feeling of butterflies in his stomach.

"Y-Yeah sure! Anything" she happily answered with her hands on her hips.

"Would it be alright if... Maybe... If you could... Give me a lift... Back? As much as I do enjoy running and teleporting my way back, I was wondering if you'd take me back since... Well, you can fly and-"

"Sure! I'd be more than happy to!" she suddenly swooped up the boy in her arms swiftly, interrupting him from speaking more.

The action made his face flush red, a move he didn't expect to happen so sudden. Supergirl carrying him like a groom would carry their bride but if the roles were reversed, the bride carrying the groom instead.

He felt the wind catch up as the Girl of Steel began floating up with a smile on her face. "You're gonna enjoy this, this is my favorite part" she gleefully spoke, the sparkle in her eyes as she flew up, up and away into the sky.

The city below them began getting smaller as seconds go by, Supergirl begins to fly forward as the wind picks up, her cape and hair billow behind her as she flew forward, a smile began to grow on Y/N's face as he's never experienced this before.

"This is... Amazing!" his smile grew into a grin, feeling the air hit his face lightly as the Maiden of Might giggles.

"I know! It's my favorite part, whenever I'm bored I just fly around, close my eyes and just daydream of things or listen to the sounds I can hear that are peaceful, like birds chirping" spoke the cheerful Kara Zor-El. "Have you never experienced this before? Because it doesn't seem like you have" she asked him all of a sudden.

"Yeah" he looked at her. "We don't have anyone who can bend the laws of gravity anymore, not since the Kryptonians left Earth years ago before my time or my parent's time" he explained more about his Earth and his experience.

Kara's face softened at this. "That must've been years and years ago"

"It was, but this Earth is unlike my Earth, it's so... Modernized than futuristic, and for some reason? I... Actually like it more better" he admitted sadly.

"Really?" she asked with a frown.

"Yeah... As much as how sad that sounds? It's the truth, I've always wanted to know what modernized Earth was like, and this is the perfect example. All the data about modernized Earth was lost, destroyed. Everyone from modernized Earth are now gone forever. Which is why I'm thinking of asking permission to stay behind, to remain here instead of going back so I can start research on modernized Earth for our data collectors" he explained further, which made Kara smile again.

"You'd actually want to stay here?" she asked curiously.

"Honestly? Yeah... I'd love to stay here" he admitted with a smile on his face, his smile caused her to smile brightly, the two looked into each other's eyes for a brief moment before looking away, a blush spreading up the ninja's cheeks as she kept her smile upon looking forward.

It didn't take long for them to arrive at the designated destination, the current HQ of Y/N's allies shortly put up by the help of some fellow Leaguers to assist in their ongoing investigation of the situation.

Kara gracefully landed on the ground gently before putting down Y/N onto his feet as the two exchanged a glance and a smile.

"Well... This is bye for now I suppose, I gotta get back to my New York apartment, Streaky is probably going nuts right now" Kara spoke with a worried tone.

"Who's Streaky?" Y/N innocently asked.

"My cat" she answered quickly.

"Oh... You have a cat? That's cool" he smiled.

Kara smiled back before turning her back to him, getting ready to fly back off.

However... She wasn't expecting for her name to be called out by Y/N, causing her to frown with curiosity and turn round to face him once more.

"Uh... Before you go, can I quickly ask you something" he asked.

Her frown softened as she smiled. "Sure, what's on your mind?" Kara placed her hands on her hips again, wondering what the boy was going to ask her.

"Oh... I didn't think this through" he spoke to himself before snapping out of it. "Uh... So... Are you... Busy? Tomorrow maybe?" he asked with a squinted look on his face.

"Uh... No? Well, judging from the fact that I have patrolling to do usually... Probably if there is any crime" she corrected herself by rolling her eyes at the same time before her eyes narrowed back onto him. "Why?"

"Well... Uh... I uh, wanted to ask you if you... Maybe... Want to go out with me? Y'know like? Get a bite or something? A drink? Dinner maybe?" he asked her which took her by surprise, a question she was definitely not expecting. "You're single... Right?"

'Rao, did he just... Ask me out on a date?!' she asked herself, flustered at the sudden question flung onto her, she wasn't sure how to respond nor act at this moment, her eyes widened at him, mouth a-gape a little. 'Maybe that's why he wanted to stay on this Earth'

He looked at her after asking and he judged by the look on her face that she probably wasn't too happy, his expression saddened before changing his mind.

"Actually... Forget I asked, I didn't mean to offend or anything" he spoke with a saddened tone, rubbing the back of his neck in awkwardness as he looked away, breaking eye contact away from the golden haired heroine.

Kara began smiling softly at him before she decided to walk toward him, she never thought she'd be interested but she sure felt interested in him, knowing he's got a crush on her and the fact he's a fan despite being from another Earth.

She may hardly know him but... That would pass by soon enough.

It wasn't long till Y/N noticed Supergirl walking up to him with a soft expression, her smile grew big as she drew closer to him, before he could even ask what she was doing, he was stopped...

By a pair of lips...

On his left cheek...

Her eyes opened as she pulled back with a huge smile on her face as his cheeks flushed red. "Does that answer your question?" she asked, proud of what she just did. She noticed they were being watched by Satine and Xalex who seemed to be shocked by the whole ordeal.

"A-Are you... Free to go out tomorrow?" he asked her again to which she smirked.

"Yeah, I guess I can call of my plans to patrol tomorrow night, in exchange for our... Date" she spoke softly in a rather warm tone of voice before kissing his other cheek for confirmation which seemed make him blush harder.

It was then she noticed something on the floor, a little piece of paper that was being dragged by the soft wind as her cape blew in the direction of the wind along with her hair.

She knelt down and picked it up with inhuman speed as she looked back at her date for tomorrow. "Got a pen?" she asked.

"Oh uh" he began checking his pockets, before he felt something, not a pen. He checked his back pocket and felt something again. "Ah yes... A pen! For some reason I have one?" he asked himself confused, before handing it over.

She began jotting down something quickly before handing it over to him. "Here's my number, call me" she smiled before floating up.

"Yeah... I will" he smiled as he looked up at her.

"I'll be waiting! Mwah!" she blew him a kiss before flying off as he watched her go. A smile grew big on his face before looking down.

He turned round and as he realized... This was not a dream.

"Wow... I'm going on a date tomorrow... With Supergirl"...

* *

(Friday, The 'Super' Date Night)

Today was the day... Or tonight at least...

News that Mancer asked out the Girl of Steel was brought to mostly everyone's ears, a surprise at most... But there was skepticism about it.

The EDC weren't fully trusted yet, it's only been three days now and with Becknar had been brought in for questioning... Nothing yet has been revealed.

But as of right now? Kara is currently in his cousin's apartment with his wife and son. Jon was out along with Lois Lane Kent.

"I mean... He's just so different from any other boy I've met, there's something about him that interests me" she had her chin on the palm of her hand, waiting for her cup of coffee that was being made by Clark.

"And this happened... Last night?" Clark asked curiously, wondering why his cousin was asked out by someone from a different Earth.

Fair to say? He was happy for her, his skepticism went down the drain upon his talk with Liang... Who is like a father figure to Mancer aka Y/N.

Both Kara and Y/N maybe in their early 20s, but they've both learned a lot, the only difference is? 

Kara has been on a date before and it didn't go exactly right and planned.

Y/N hasn't fell in love, nor been on a date. Yet she doesn't know this yet.

"Yeah... After I flew him back to his boss's base of operations, well for now at least, doubt it'll remain once they're back on their Earth" Kara explained. "He's just... So kind and he radiates this aura that got my attention... He has a crush on Supergirl... But what about Kara Danvers? Adopted daughter of Eliza and Jeremiah Danvers? Two former D.E.O agents?" she asked the question.

"I'm sure he also sees you as Kara Danvers too, you told him your name after all" Clark reminded her as he handed her cup of coffee to her. She politely takes it. "Besides? It's a good thing you said yes, maybe it's time to try again and see the world in the eyes of Kara Danvers once more"

"I know but... I feel... Like my heart is drawn to him, but if I get too attached? And when he leaves for his Earth? I... I-I don't know what I'd do, go with him when I'm needed here? I don't exactly want him to leave his family behind just for me" said the now frustrated Kara Zor-El, she knew it was a stupid idea to get somewhat attached to the boy her age. "I probably shouldn't have kissed his cheek and said yes... What did I do?" she whimpered next.

"I'm for sure, something can be worked out" Clark hinted as he went to comfort his upset cousin. "But overall? Enjoy tonight, I'll have someone patrol New York, incase any crime breaks out that could ruin your date with Y/N" Clark smiled.

"Really? You sure something can be worked out? He did say he actually was thinking of wanting to stay here, but that'd split him away from his family" she referred to the group he came with to this Earth.

"I'm sure there is something, a way to keep in contact with that Earth's own heroes incase a threat were to emerge that require their expertise, we need all the heroes we can get, as threats are getting more dangerous now. Threats like Omrin" Clark said with a serious face, he for sure knew it was for the best, if something can be worked out with Liang and the EDC.

"How long could that take?" she asked.

"On that? We're not sure, Liang suggested it to me first, before to the rest of the League higher ups, well... Between me and Batman of course before them and it was approved, an ally to call on you could say" he answered her question, adding more light to the hint he said earlier.

His answer that shed light on the hint made her relieved, she for one had a liking for her date tonight, and she didn't want to feel attached to him only to never see him again, though she was a little nervous about it, since her last date?

Well as said... It was disastrous...

But that was the only thing that worried her mostly now...

"Thanks Cuz" she smiled before hugging him. "Though I am a little worried about my date tonight, considering my last one?" her facial expression now mortified, it worried her for the least second.

"From what Liang has told me... Y/N is one of the kindest fellows he's ever took under his wing, he's brave, bold, patient, compassionate and loyal. He would never hurt a spider from how he explained about him" he told his cousin.

Kara already knew some of this from her observation of him, he was kind, honest and respectable, along with being shy and having a good sense of humor. Something she probably needs in a relationship as of right now.

"I'm sure your date won't go horrible, I'll have someone take over patrolling in New York for tonight, like I said. Enjoy your date with him tonight, be confident nothing will go wrong" he cheered her up again, as she takes a sip from her coffee before breaking into a smile.

"Once again, thanks Cuz" she felt a little more better with hearing his words, no wonder why Lois fell in love with him, he was good at inspiring others.

And Kara hoped one day she could pretty much do the same, though she has done it before, but not as often as Clark has done it.

"Haven't you figured out what you'll be wearing to the date tonight?" Clark asked the question as he picked up his coffee now.

"Oh yeah! I'll get right onto that!!" Kara's eyes widened as she almost shot up from her chair. Once I... Finish this coffee" she remarked before settling down once more.

* *

Y/N stood nervous in his outfit for the date, a leather jacket with jeans and boots, a plain white t-shirt underneath. He was waiting to get picked up for the date, since Kara suggested she'd pick him up.

he agreed but it had been 10 minutes since she said she was flying over to pick him up and fly him back to New York for the date.

And yet... She hasn't arrived.

"Still not here I presume?" He heard a voice behind him, coming from Satine who joined him at least four minutes later

"Yeah... fourteen minutes late pretty much and still going" he sighed, as he looked up at the starry dim sky, beginning to grow worried.

"Hey, don't be too worried. She's probably ran or... Flew into danger" Satine remarked.

"That's why I'm worried!" Y/N replied. "I'm worried that might be the case, I'm tempted to call her but I don't know if she'll pick up" he sounded more worried by the seconds that passed by. Looking back down at the now revealed device on his wrist, bringing up Kara's name on the screen.

"Well you shouldn't worry too much" Satine looked up at the sky.

"Yeah, I know I-"

"No like... You shouldn't, because I can see her" Satine chuckled, getting Y/N to look up at the sky to see Supergirl flying toward them.

And she looked worried as anything.

'Oh Rao, oh Rao, oh Rao' thought a panicked Supergirl, flying on down toward her date, with a very worried look on her face, thinking she's already screwed up.

"I-I-I am so, so, so sorry that I arrived later than I should have" Kara floated down in her Supergirl attire, her cape resting behind her after landing. "I uh... Ran into some complications along the way *nervously chuckles*. You're not... Mad are you?" she asked with a little cute expression on her face, seemingly making Y/N softly smile.

"No, no... You're fifteen minutes late practically but... It's alright!" he approached and hugged her, a smile soon approaching on her face as she hugs back. "Whatever postponed your arrival, it's not screwed this up" he pulled back with a smile still.

"Well... Since that's the case, you ready?" she asked, a tone of excitement in her voice.

"Yep, we can go" he acknowledged, before Kara swooped him off his feet instantly and levitated off the ground. 

"Gonna take us back to my apartment so I can change into an outfit for our date" the Kryptonian told him before he even asked.

"Well, I was gonna ask you that but, you read me like a book" he chuckled. "besides, I didn't just ask Supergirl to a date, I asked Kara Zor-El Danvers, who I see as both with or without the cape" he poked her nose, causing her to blush and giggle.

'Yeah, he is cute. Maybe our date could go well' she thought in her head, smiling at his friendly nature already.

"Well... Enjoy the date, love birds!" Satine shouted out and teased, watching Y/N be carried and flown away by his date.

The boy blushed a little upon hearing what Satine said. "Did she just call us... Love birds?" he blushed heavily now thinking about it, causing the Girl of Steel to giggle.

"Yeah, she defo called us that... I honestly see why" she flirted with a wink.

"We flirting already?" he smirked.

"If you want to" she smirked back.

"Well... I'd rather save the flirting for when we're at the restaurant for our date, maybe... A few during our uh... Walk through the park or whatever?" he told her, earning a bigger smirk from her.

"This your first date?" she asked curiously, she had a feeling it could be as he looked puzzled to say something for a brief moment.

"Y-Yeah... This is... My first ever date, never experienced this before... Sorry to disappoint" he felt awkward. "I just hope it doesn't go sideways"

"Don't worry! It's alright!" she sounded cheerful, eager to lighten up the situation he now found himself in. "You're in luck! I haven't exactly dated anyone in a while so it's kinda my first time in a way too! And no, it won't go sideways. Not even crime is gonna stop our date" she told him with a proud and classy smile.

They were now closing on in to New York, which was becoming visible from under the clouds, the lights showing off the city like a beacon in the dark.

"Well, you saying that does bring my hopes up. Sunshine" replied the boy her age, causing the girl to look surprised. Like she's never heard that before.

"Sunshine? Did you just call me Sunshine?" she began to blush with a cute smile on her face, the type of smile that could make someone not think straight once they see it toward them.

"Y-Yeah I did, your like a radiating sunshine, Kara. Not sure if anyone's said that before, but... From what I know, you bring caring and warmth everywhere you go. Just a cheerful sunshine on a summer day" he explained his reason, causing the Maid of Might to melt in his words.

"Aww, that's probably the most sweetest thing I've heard in a while now... That... That means a lot, you're so sweet" her face brightened with joy, the pair now flying above New York as she lowers herself into the city, just flying past the buildings now.

She flew around a building that looked to be a high-end apartment building, which seemed to look expensive. Y/N recognized the building itself since on his Earth? The building looked a lot more... Futuristic than modernized. Ritz-Carlton New York Hotel, now revealed that Kara indeed lives in there.

The Girl of Steel levitated herself lower until she saw her own opened window, flying through the opened window before gently landing and putting her date on his two feet once more.

"There we are! Welcome to my apartment room!" she performed a spin with a smile plastered on her face. She noticed the shock on his face, how could she have this much money? Having an apartment room like this? The view looked incredible. "Judging by the look on your face, you're pretty astonished" she giggled.

"I mean... Wow... When I thought apartment... I wasn't expecting this. You live at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel?! Especially this room? It's incredible!" he expressed his thoughts as his astonishment explored the room he was in. "On my Earth? This is like the oldest but cheapest Hotels to date, overshadowed by many other Hotels but... Wow, this is like... A dream, it's like going back to relive what it felt like being in this room" he explained.

"Well... I'm not exactly living in here forever though, I do plan to have a house built somewhere near New York, I do have a job as Kara Danvers here too so I can't exactly abandon that" she put her hands behind her back within her cape.

"What is this job of yours besides Supergirl?" he asked curiously.

"I work as a reporter at the Daily News, I'm a journalist. I used to work in National City at CatCo at the time but I quit that two years ago. I'm more happier working at the Daily News" she explained, she felt happy explaining more about herself, not as Supergirl, just as her alter ego.

"Interesting... Better save the stories for when we go out for dinner" he suggested, causing Kara to suddenly widen her eyes.

"Oh yeah! The dress! Hold on, be back in a Flash!" she giggled at herself afterwards before speeding off.

Y/N took the privilege to sit down on the sofa as he began to wait, his mind filled with many questions he wants to ask her. Though he knew he can't exactly ask her some questions in public regarding Krypton and other superhero related stuff. However, questions were on the board about Kara's human lifestyle.

Many thoughts began to overwhelm him, he felt nervous about it all, he's never done this before and he for sure, isn't great with relationships with girls. Hence why he's always avoided a romantic relationship.

At the same time? He likes Kara, he likes Kara for all she is, whether as Kara Danvers, the human who works as a journalist, or Supergirl aka Kara Zor-El, a superhero who is an alien refugee from the planet Krypton just like Superman.

In the other room, Kara is putting on her dress for the date, checking herself out on the mirror she had on display, smiling at herself before her thoughts overwhelmed her.

She was nervous also, never did she think she would begin to fall for someone who isn't even from this Earth, a human with powers beyond her imagination. ice, fire, solar, even smoke? Which smoke isn't even magic but still... He's able to use smoke as magic which confused her at first before accepting it was inevitable that it can be done.

She picked up her glasses, glasses that disguised her thoroughly, though it wasn't the same hair changing glasses she used to have. They broke under a certain altercation.

She puts them on as checks herself out again before exhaling a short breath, the feeling of butterflies in her stomach as she thinks about him... The same feeling from last night, where she screamed into her pillow with excitement, jumping up with joy. The same butterflies that'd make her feel happy around someone she likes a lot that it would make her float like one of those Disney princesses.

Y/N pondered how he was going to tell her that he likes her whenever it would come to that later, as he heard her coming back through. "You ready to see me?" she asked around the corner.

"Yeah, come on out" he answered, not expecting the sight he would see afterwards.

She was already beautiful as it is... But he's never seen someone this gorgeous in a dress... A blue dress with high heel sandals.

She parted her hair to the left side of her face as she stopped in front of him, showing off the dress from front... To back, showing off the elegant dress she decided to choose to wear.

"So..." she broke the silence. "You like it?" she asked with her hands behind her back, looking sheepish as she asks.

"I... Wow... You look like an angel" he softly spoke as the girl was flustered at his compliment.

"An angel?" she asked.

"Yeah... Like an angel who fell from the sky... Speaking of that since you came from another planet, so..." he referenced, making Kara blush heavily. "You're definitely an angel pretty much" he complimented again, causing the girl to give out a half-suppressed laugh.

"That's... That's so charming of you, I never thought myself as an angel" a cute smile was left on her face as she approached the now standing up boy. "You ready to go out for our date?" she asked politely.

"Yeah" he replied, taking her hand without thinking which caused the two to lightly blush and chuckle. "I think I'm ready to go out on our date"

* *

The couple were now at the restaurant, an Italian-American restaurant named Carne Mare, a place for good food surrounding Italian dishes and special dishes at best.

The couple found a seat and waited for someone to come over and take their order as they looked at the menu.

"Oh, they do Atlantic Halibut Steak? Pair that with potatoes? Especially roasted? Oh! it's good" he told his date who chuckled at his insight.

"Had it before I assume?" she asked as she lowered the menu she held in her hands.

"Yeah, Ma used to cook it, her own version at least, Ma told me it was my dad's favorite before he unexpectedly passed" he went on like it was nothing, Kara's eyes instantly widened at this new information she didn't hear before. She knew from the tone of voice he was still hurt over it.

"Your father passed away? I... I didn't know that" she didn't know what to say to this much, it was all of a sudden that he dropped the ball about his own personal life immediately. "I-I'm so sorry, I was going to ask you about your parents but..." she felt bad that she didn't know, feeling some guilt for him too.

"Hey, it's alright" he smiled as he lowered the menu he held. "It happened a while ago, and ma's doing okay, she's worried but... She knows I can handle myself out here" he made her smile with his words.

"Caring mothers are the best" she replied with a more happier tone.

"On that, I agree" he smiled brightly as she chuckled. "Got any family members you wanna talk about? Mine are uh... Well... It's complicated" he asked with an unsure face, knowing his family history is a long, long explanation.

"I should tell you about Eliza Danvers, my adopted mother, she's amazing. Along with Jeremiah, my adopted father" she spoke next.

"Oh? Wonder when I can get to meet these people" he wondered loudly, causing the girl to giggle.

"I'm sure you will at some point, I think they'll like you" she winked, as the waitress now arrived at their table.

"Good evening, I'm David, I'll be your server for tonight along with the rest of our guests" a man in a suit and bow-tie showed up with a small notepad to write on.

"Hello David!" Kara called out, waving toward the man as Y/N did the same.

"You two on a date may I ask?" the server politely asked.

"Yeah! Guessing it was pretty obvious?" Kara chuckled a reply, her date smiling along with her.

"It's not rare seeing a couple on a dinner date come here" the man replied. "So, drinks first. We've got Beer, Cocktails and Wine, we've also got Sparkling and Regular water if that's what you want?" he asked the couple.

"Oh, hmm... What do you think? Wine or Sparkling maybe?" Kara asked her date.

"I say we go sparkling water, not the biggest fan of Wine" Y/N replied as the server wrote it down.

"Alright, starters?" he asked next, Kara and Y/N looked at one another for a moment before agreeing on no starters. "Okay, main and side dish?" he then asked.

"Hmm... I'll go for a Mezzi Rigatoni, he'll go for... An Atlantic Halibut Steak" Kara informed the server as he began jotting down the order. "No side dish for me, not sure about this handsome guy here" she flirted with Y/N, making him chuckle with a blush rising up on his face.

"I'll take a side dish of uh... Potatoes Rustica?" he asked.

"Done, there is Dolci's which are desserts in other words, if you both want to order one after the main and side dishes, I'll come back to order for it afterwards along with your food and drinks soon!" David finished jotting down the couple's order before smiling.

"Thank you David!" Kara says as his smile shows his gratitude before walking off to take another order.

"Wow, this place is a lot more fancier than I thought" Kara told herself loudly.

"It is an Italian-American restaurant, it's gonna look fancy regardless" Y/N shrugged.

"It's quite nice, not that I'm complaining or anything. It's just... Not the first time I've been to a restaurant like this" she chuckled while thinking back to the last time she went on a date.

"Y'know? Now that you've mentioned it? Who did you last date before me? It sounds like it happened a few years ago" he asked her with a curious look on his face, wanting to know exactly who she dated before, that's when she laughed upon looking back at it.

"Yeah, it was a few years ago. I was 18 at the time, my date was actually the Boy Wonder Robin, Y'know? Batman's sidekick? Or former sidekick now at least" she answered his question, his eyes widened a little at the realization of who she dated before.

"Wait, he goes by the alias Nightwing now right?" he asked.

"Yep... I still remember the date as if it was yesterday" she chuckled. Fueling Y/N's curiosity further. At the same time, the server came round with two glasses of sparkling water, setting it down on the couple's table as they both thanked server David before he walked off once again.

"Care to elaborate on what really happened that day?" he asked politely, even leaning in as he showed to her how interested he wanted to hear this story.

"Haha, well..." she rolled her eyes playfully with a smile...

"Gotta say... I thought he'd be interesting to have a chat with" Y/N spoke as he began cutting his Atlantic steak, put together with the potatoes he ordered.

"Don't get me wrong, we're on better terms now than before, even after that uh... Date" she spoke with gestured air quotations at the end of her sentence.

"Well... I know how it feels to be stared at, looked at with glances and so fourth while in a public place doing normal things while in costume? Yeah... I know how it feels" he spoke like he's had experience, before putting the fork in his mouth that had stabbed the steak and a potato earlier.

"Wait, you go out in public, doing normal human things while in costume? Don't you have a alter ego?" Kara asked curiously as she stabbed a bit of the pasta on her plate.

"Eh, yeah. About that, everyone knows who the EDC are, we don't use secret identities. And btw, you should see the aliens we have on our Earth. They're pretty much... Robots in Disguise" he gloated, making Kara almost spit out the pasta she had been eating in her mouth.

"What?! Are you saying that... Transformers exist on your Earth?!!" Kara almost shouted in shock.

"Shh!" Y/N shushed the Kryptonian Journalist. "Don't wanna blow our identities by shouting that!"

"Oh, sorry" Kara giggled. "I'm just... Surprised that they exist on your Earth, must be weird knowing they're fiction here" she then whispered.

"Yeah... It's pretty weird how they're just fiction here but not on my Earth" Y/N spoke from his perspective.

"Just asking... Does Optimus Prime exist? Or is he alive?" she asked, a glint of interest in her eye as she began eating again.

"Yep... He's real and alive. Megatron is too, well they're not enemies anymore. It's pretty much a joint op" he whispered back, making sure no one thought he was crazy or anything if they heard him. Meanwhile Kara was just too into it, wanting to know more now that more information was shared about his Earth.

'Megatron's a good guy now?' Kara thought along with being surprised, she's always seen him as the villain of the screens of TV shows, movies and so fourth. 

"I'll explain more about it later. Right now? I want to hear more about your story" he was still interested in Kara's story, a glint now glistening in his eye as he continues eating.

"Oh, right... Now where was I?" Kara wondered loudly.

"You were at the part where you asked the waiter about your food" he told her.

"Oh right!" Kara remembered. "So..."

"Wait, wait pause"

*Record scratch*

"You're telling me... Some guy's pet monkey caused a truck, carrying bowling balls to crash into a concrete wall, bowling balls began spilling out, causing a bus to crash into a fountain filled with water along with causing an entire crash scene? And a monkey caused all that? The fuck?" he was all but baffled at this. It was too good of a story to be made up.

"I'm telling you! This is NOT made up! I'm 100% serious as I swear to Rao on this. This did happen" Kara really did want to believe this wasn't made up but... It wasn't. "Can I continue, please?"

"Sure, I'm already loving this story of yours already!"

"Ohh, talk about a bad date... That was a disaster for sure" he complimented.

"I know... Getting morally embarrassed by falling into a broken water fountain, having your suit soaked up and hair messy, only to come back and see that the food was cold... Yeah... Pretty disastrous if you ask me" Kara replied, finishing her meal as Y/N finished his.

"And I gotta say? That was a good story, along with that steak cause wow... Haven't had that in a long time" he licked his lips and sighed happily afterwards.

"Yeah, should've tried that pasta, it was pretty good" she giggled before mirroring what he did by licking her lips afterwards and sighing just like he did.

The two looked at each other before bursting out in soft laughter.

"Y'know? I saw the desserts here and... I really, REALLY want to try that 17 layer choco cake they have" he thought about it loudly.

"Oh desserts? Sure we can have a dessert, one caught my eye" she smirked before licking her lips.

She didn't realize she was staring at him when she said that which caused him to look surprised.

"Woah! Wow Angel, didn't think you'd mean it like that if that's what you meant" he then smirked, teasing her.

"W-What? Oh no no no, I wasn't m-meaning it l-l-like that" her face flushed red, realizing what she did as she giggled nervously.

"I know what you meant, just teasing ya" he winked, her blood flushed cheeks began dimming down as the server David came round.

"Hello you two, ready to pay the bill for the meals or are you both having a dessert?" David asked politely.

"Oh yeah! Uhh... I'll have a Sweet Cream Panna Cotta" Kara answered with a smile.

"What about you sir?" David asked Kara's date.

"17 Layer Chocolate Cake will do for me" Y/N politely answered back.

"Okay, it'll be out shortly once I've given the order to them. Hope you enjoy your desserts, someone will come round to hand the bill to you to pay" David informed the couple.

"Thank you David" It was Y/N turn to share his gratitude as the server smiled before walking off.

"Y'know, now that I think back to my story... I think that monkey's name was Bingo" Kara shared some new info about the story she recently told her date.

"Bingo? Huh? Cute name for a monkey" he complimented. "Like yours"

"Aww Sparks, I'm flustered" Kara's face glistened.

"Sparks? That my nickname?" he asked with a smile on his face.

"Might as well be!" she giggled.

Before long, their desserts would soon arrive at their table, with each individual cutlery.

Kara seemed to be enjoying her Panna Cotta as Y/N was enjoying his cake.

"Mmm, this cake is really good. Wow" Y/N gloated at the cake's taste, since it tasted like heaven.

"I'd say the same to this!" Kara put the spoon in her mouth as she tasted the sweet taste on the Cotta, hummed to say it was good... Too good.

"I got an idea" he said. Gaining the Kryptonians attention.

"Hmm?" She hummed, still eating what was in her mouth.

"How about we get a taste of each other's desserts? You taste mine, I taste yours? I know it's like a classic romantic dating thing, wanna try it?" he suggested as Kara thought about it.

"Hmm... Sure!" she went along, getting some Panna Cotta on her spoon with the cream and berries as her date does the same with his cake, only difference was that he had a fork.

Their mouths opened upon them feeding each other their own dessert on their respective cutlery before pulling it back as they began eating.

"Mmm... Oh waow" he spoke with a mouthful, the sweet cream, the berries, it was a perfect taste to his own taste buds. "Wow, that is definitely the taste of heaven" he complimented, enjoying the sweet taste... He always had a sweet tooth.

"Gotta say? The cake is amazing! Kinda wish I could steal the recipe... But that'd be criminal" she chuckled, enjoying the chocolate sensation from the cake, unlike any other cake she's had before, specially chocolate. "If they had ice cream? That would be great with that cake"

"Oh yeah! Definitely" he agreed. The couple giggling afterwards as they continued eating... But kept their eyes locked onto each other, smiles offered as they enjoyed their dessert together,

* *

"And then, he turned to me and said, we should prank her, she's always gotten me with her pranks" Y/N was telling Kara a story of his.

They had been walking through Central Park after their dinner date for at least 10 to 20 minutes now telling each other their stories and such, spending the rest of their date taking a walk through Central Park... Where couples usually did go to on their first date or two.

Earlier Kara informed him about the mask she accidentally destroyed upon their first encounter, she had successfully fixed it with Kryptonian metal and fabrics, using the Fortress's technology to repair it, which made Y/N ecstatic.

"Well, did you and Xalex prank her?" Kara was intrigued to know the rest, the both had been holding hands like before. Smiling like idiots.

"Yeah... Well... Before Xalex could do his master plan of pranking on Satine with using the old paint buckets that still had some pain left on em... He uh" he continued before trying his best not to laugh. "He dropped them on Liang instead, thinking it was Satine who was walking by" he burst out laughing, it was his first day at the EDC after Liang brought him in.

"Oh Rao" Kara laughed with her date. "I'm guessing he wasn't very happy about having paint splattered on him" she continued laughing with him.

"Oh yeah, he wasn't very happy at all, got caught and all, he didn't scold me but he scolded Xalex, the commotion gained the attention of everyone present, including some of the Autobots and Decepticons who were there. Bee asks me what happened, so I told him everything. It all reminds him of the Terrens who he taught a few years back" Y/N continued explaining the rest of the story.

The couple walked past a part of grass that had no trees blocking the view, which gave Kara an idea.

"Wanna stargaze? I can tell you more about Krypton and myself of course" she asked with a wink at the end.

"Yeah! Sure why not?" he reluctantly agreed, as they walked toward the same part of grass Kara spotted. "Wait... We don't have something to lie down on top of the grass" Y/N then spoke.

"Don't worry" Kara winked before speeding off and coming back in full costume and taking off her cape that billows behind her. "I have a solution to that" she giggled afterwards before setting down the cape.

"You sure you want to do this in costume? What if people walk by and see Supergirl sitting down with some random guy staring at the sky?" Y/N asked the question.

"Don't worry Sparks!" she took his hand. "No one really comes along this part of Central Park at night, they always say it's dangerous but really? It's not" she winked.

They sat down before lying down, their hands intertwined again as a smile was on their faces.

"Sky's beautiful tonight" Y/N said with a glistening in his eyes, the many stars that shined in the night sky, let alone the Moon that was visible through the clouds.

"Yeah, they're always beautiful at night here, from what I've seen" Kara agreed, a smile growing bigger on her face.

"So... I gotta ask... What was living on Krypton like? Before coming here and having those powers?" Y/N asked the question, she already knew he was going to ask it after all.

"Well... Krypton was... It was beautiful, the cities were filled with laughter and joy, there were many houses, I know you call them clans here on Earth so to speak" she answered.

"Speaking about clans, my ancestors are from an old clan that existed years and years ago" her answer reminded him of his heritage and where he came from, let alone, making him talk about it.

"Wait, really? Which one?" Kara asked.

"The Nobushi Clan, one that had the greatest warriors who were the first line of defence centuries ago" he answered her question. "Enough about me for now, I wanna know about your culture and stuff, I'm interested in it after all" he suggested to change the topic about her.

"Oh yeah, of course!" she immediately snuffed out the distractions. "The Houses we had were a family sigil, each had it's own emblem and what they stood for. Mine is the House of El as you already know, most of the House of El were apart of the Science Guild, where my biological father Zor-El and his brother Jor-El worked in" Kara spoke as her eyes laid upon a star that shined brighter than the others.

"Were you part of the Science Guild too?" Y/N asked curiously.

"Originally was planning to, yeah. My mother however was part of the Military Guild. Her house of the House of Ze, her name was Alura In-Ze. She was married to my father Zor-El... And then, they had me" Kara felt happy talking to someone about her culture's history, never did she think someone, a Human even, was interested in knowing about Krypton's history.

"What about the other houses?" Y/N asked.

"Well there's the House of Zod, home to ruthless warriors and defenders of Krypton, well... They were once... Before General Dru-Zod came along and led a coup against the council of Krypton. They want to make Earth the New Krypton but have failed many attempts since we got involved" Kara explained further.

"And where are they now?"

"Phantom Zone" Kara replied with a smug look on her face. "Hope they rot in there for all I care" a distaste in her mouth when she spoke about them.

"You really hate them, don't you?" Y/N raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah, hate em with a passion, they Zod tried to manipulate my mother, she saw through his manipulation and in return tried to kill her. It failed" she answered, remembering that moment when she was eleven years old.

"Any other houses?" he asked, still wondering if there was many more since the only house he'd known was the House of El mostly.

"There's like many more, House of Ak, An, Am, Da, Dar... Do you want me to go through em all?" she asked politely, chuckling at the thought of going through all of them.

"Actually... Why not tell me them all later?" he suggested.

"That's fine with me" she smiled, as a star shoots through the sky.

"Look at that, a shooting star" he pointed out.

"Yeah! It's amazing!" her eyes glistened upon it, she's flown close to a shooting star before, and it's beautiful up close from her words.

"You had a God right? Rao it was called?" Y/N asked Kara next, gaining her interest.

"Yeah, we all... I wouldn't say worship but we all were religious. Rao was the sun God of Krypton, he had two children, Nightwing and Flamebird" she explained the history behind her God.

"Nightwing? Wait... Did Dick Grayson copy that?" he wondered loudly.

"Hahaha, that's what I thought at first, like I thought he took the name as inspiration, but he actually had no idea about it" Kara laughed.

Y/N laughed along with her, smiling as he tilted his head to look at her.

Kara noticed he was looking at her, and so... She looked at him, the two felt some connection once their eyes met. The calm wind blowing in the air as their eyes glistened at each other.

"When you... Wear that symbol" his free hand slightly touched the symbol on Kara's suit, she felt his hand touch her and let his touch feel the suit she wore. His eyes looking upon it before meeting her eyes once more. "Do you... Ever feel... Like the weight of the world is on your shoulders?" Y/N asked a very good question which surprised her at the slightest.

She always felt so alone in the universe after Krypton's destruction, finally arriving to Earth, only to find that her baby cousin was a grown up adult now.

She used to feel so angry at the world, at herself... At everything, she was hot-headed, a girl with anger issues, someone who couldn't accept Earth as their new home. She became a Red Lantern at the time because of her rage.

She told him all of this earlier, even so she'd get emotional about it all, but she's learned to talk about it without breaking down in tears or getting all emotional... Kandor did survive, but the same could not be said for Argo City, not her parents.

"Sometimes... It can be too much for me to handle, and to be honest? I... I don't know if I'm ready to be Earth's Champion if my cousin were to be gone somewhere... Or worse... Dead" Kara spoke with a saddened tone. "But I need to be strong for Earth, for my new family, without them? I don't even know where I'd be right now. Probably still angry at the world? I don't know? I've learned so much about Earth and... I once said that Humans were just... Beyond saving, that they waste their lives on nothing and such. And I still regret saying that" she out heartedly admitted.

She hated who she was after Krypton's destruction, just a girl who was angry at the world, wouldn't hesitate to fight or worse, kill anyone in her way, even her own cousin.

"But... Kal thinks I bring joy and happiness to those around me, that I've grown to be my own person, who carries hope like he does as Superman. And to be honest? He's not wrong" she smiled brightly, looking at her date while butterflies dance in her stomach.

"I agree... He's not wrong. Your smile is like a sunshine, and... You're an angel from the sky. You're beautiful Kara... One of the most beautiful girls I've met. I'm not great with girls, never tried getting into a relationship. But this? I... I really want you to be my first and only" he spoke before admitting his feelings. He felt like a weight was took off of him, his heart pounding in his chest as she picked up on it.

Her smile brightened further along with her face, she never felt this loving feeling in a while. "I want to try again, try a relationship again. Maybe... You're the one I really needed to find" she grinned.

The two began giggling and chuckling, a blush rising up their cheeks as the moment passes, smiles were offered, as they felt the romantic tension rising.

"I guess the House of El doesn't just mean... Hope, and all that. I guess it could mean... Love and Compassion too" Kara thought loudly, finding a new understanding go the symbol she's always worn since birth.

"I like the sound of that. Hope, Love and Compassion for all" he gloated, causing the girl to snicker.

"Sounds corny... I love it" she smiled.

"Me too" he smiled back.

The two then sat up before they began slowly closing the gap, their lips almost touched before Kara made the move, her hand touched his face as his reached the back of her head, gently caressing her golden hair.

The pair realized what was happening, they were having their first ever kiss, well... Kara's had a few kisses on the lips before, but for Y/N? It's his first time.

The pair melted into the kiss, Kara's other hand caressed face as she felt his other hand on her thigh.

She moaned softly as their kiss continued, their lips slowly dancing before Y/N pulled back for air slowly, setting up the mood of the situation.

"Wow... That... That's my first ever kiss, I've never kissed anyone on the lips before" Y/N admitted to a now giggling Kara Zor-El.

"For your first kiss? That was good" she complimented, making the boy blush a thank you. "Care to go again?" she asked.

"Gladly" he smiled, their lips touching again for a brief moment, her kiss was like the ocean breeze, he smiled into the kiss as it continued for a few moments before the two pulled back. "Kara... I uh... I spoke with Liang... About staying here" he then spoke afterwards, which Kara frowned at.

"Really? What did he say?" Kara was intrigued.

"So... I asked him and he... He had a feeling I would feel attached to this world, he knows what's happening right now and he understands why I want to stay on this Earth. He knows I have... Feelings toward you, though we just met a few days ago. Fair to say? I don't regret it" he smiled.

"You're staying here? Are you really sure you want to?" Kara asked with concern, knowing he might miss his home, despite there being talks about an agreement of an ally to call upon such if a situation requires the EDC's help. "Won't you miss your home?"

"Yes..." YN answered briefly before his eyes drifted back to Kara's baby blues yet again, "But I want to spend my life here, and meeting you has made me think that way... In other words... I want most of my days here, even with you. So... Liang thought it'd be a good idea for me to stay here, of course he still has to talk to the others about it first but... Honestly? I'm more than happy to stay here on this Earth, even if it's with you" a smile was still on his face before inevitably, Supergirl would start to smile. Never thinking he'd be allowed to stay.

"Oh Y/N, you-you didn't have to. But... That makes me happy, knowing you want to stay" Kara's smile brightened 

The Multitasker smiled as he pulled himself in... Before they were interrupted by music happening in the distance, with people singing along the song.

A song named... Better Place by Rachel Platten, being performed by a woman with a beautiful voice, similar to the original singer... Maybe it is her? Happening at some musical stadium within Central Park.

"There's some music going on. You hear that?" Kara asked.

"Yeah, I recognize the song" he smiled with an answer.

The song continued as they listened in, before Kara began swaying left to right slowly, the lyrics of the song catching up to her as she quietly sang along.

"Well" Kara began getting up before looking down at Y/N and offering a hand. "Care to dance?"

"Me? Dancing? I'm bad at it as it is" he chuckled.

"Just a slow dance, just keep your eyes on me and mirror my movements" she offered, a smile on her face as he took her hand, pulling himself up.

"Sure... Something for us to remember" he smiled as he stepped off Kara's cape before she picked it up and attaching it back on her suit behind herself, the cape draped perfectly over her shoulders.

The couple smiled as their bodies touched, holding hands together as they began to slowly dance to the song going on in the distance.

Their eyes locked onto each other as the pair slowly danced.

During this... The couple hadn't noticed someone watching them in the distance with a pair of binoculars, sitting on top of a building as he watched Kara dance with her date.

The man smiled as he watched and chuckled. "Atta girl, knew you'd find someone eventually" Nightwing spoke as he put away the binoculars before continuing his patrol, taking over for Supergirl tonight.

"There you go! You're getting the hang of it!" Kara spoke excitedly as he made her do a spin before catching her.

"Seems like I am" he chuckled before Kara turned round, looking at Y/N in the eyes.

"Wanna stay at mine tonight? I have room for one more on my bed" she smiled, her eyes glittering like the calm ocean.

"Wouldn't mind that, waking up beside you would be a dream" he teased, causing her and himself to giggle before continuing their dance.

Their dance would soon stop before their faces drew closer and softly touched at the song coming to a close, their eyes closing as Kara begins to float up in the air with her arms wrapped around Y/N. Her cape and hair blew softly in the wind as he felt her flying up into the sky.

Where their kiss would continue up in the skies of New York City.

Knowing he had truly Scored Supergirl's Heart of Steel...

* * *

Fin

[whitepolaris]

Ghosts of Alcatraz

by Troy Taylor

San Francisco Bay's barren Alcatraz Island, long nickname The Rock, was originally a fort and then served as a military prison from 1859 to 1934. With the arrival of social upheaval and rampant crime in the 1920s and '30s, the federal government chose Alcatraz as the perfect site for an escape-proof prison that would strike fear into the hearts of criminals thanks to the isolated location and the swift currents surrounding the island.

From the time Alcatraz became a federal prison in 1934 under the stern and watchful eye of Warden James A. Johnston until it closed in 1963, its steel doors clanged shut on then 1,000 hardened convicts, criminals, and would-be escape artists.

From the start, the most incorrigible inmates from across the country were sent to The Rock. Each train that arrived in San Francisco to dispense prisoners seem to have a "celebrity" of sorts on board. Among the first inmates were Al Capone, perhaps the most famous gangster of all; Doc Baker, the last surviving member of Ma Baker Gang; George "Machine Gun" Kelly, the privileged son of a wealthy Memphis family who became one of the Prohibition period's most notorious gangsters; Floyd Hamilton, a gang member and driver for Bonnie and Clyde, Alvin "Creepy" Karpis, a Canadian-born former Public Enemy No. 1 who arrested by J. Edgar Hoover himself; and Robert Stroud, the amateur ornithologist who would later become known as the Birdman of Alcatraz.

Noteworthy or not, the inmates found that Alcatraz was a place where they had but five rights-food, clothing, a private cell, a shower once a week, and access to a doctor. Their methodical daily routine never varied.

While the cells the prisoners lived in were barren at beast, they must have seemed like luxury hotel rooms compared to the punishment cells. In these, men were stripped of all but their basic rights to food-and even then, they barely survived. Confinement in the single Strip Cell was punishment for the most severe violations. In the Hole, the name for cells in the bottom tier of the main cellblock, the punishment usually included psychological torture, and sometimes physical torture as well. In D Block, inmates in cells above the Hole couldn't escape the screams of those imprisoned there. Prisoners who emerged from the Hole would often be senseless or sick and bound for the prison's hospital ward. Others never came out alive.

Even worse were the dungeons. A staircase in front of A Block led down to a large steel door, behind which were catacomb-like corridors and stone archways leading to the sealed-off gunports from the days when Alcatraz was a fort. In the dungeons off the corridor, the prisoners were chained to the walls, their screams unheard in the rest of the main cellblock. Food and sanitation in the dungeons were minimal, dignity nonexistent.

Early Ghost Activity

A number of guards who worked in Alcatraz between 1946 and 1963 experienced the strange and the unexplained. From the grounds of the prison to the caverns beneath the buildings, they heard people sobbing and moaning, smelled strange odors, discovered cold spots, and saw what they described as ghosts. Even families who lived on the island and the occasional guest claimed to have seen the ghostly forms of prisoners or phantom soldiers. The sound of what seemed to be gunshots mdae the guards think prisoners had escaped and obtained weapons.

A deserted laundry room would sometimes fill with the smell of smoke, though nothing was burning. The guards would be sent running from the room, only to return momentarily and find the air clear. Like the other mysterious happenings at Alcatraz, the phantom fires were never explained.

Even Warden Johnston, who had no time for those who believed in ghosts, once heard the unmistakable sound of a person sobbing in the dungeon as he led a group of guests on a tour. The sound was followed by an ice-cold wind felt by the entire group. Johnston could never arrive at an explanation for this weird occurrence.

During the twenty-nine years Alcatraz operated as a prison, there were at least fourteen escape attempts. Almost all the prisoners who tried to flee were either killed or recaptured, and only one is known to have made it ashore. The most traumatic and violent attempt, later dubbed the Battle of Alcatraz, took place over two days in May 1946.

What started as a well-planned breakout from the "escape-proof" prison turned into a disaster when the six inmates involved saw their plan fall apart. Realizing they couldn't succeed, they decided to fight it out. Before it was over, they had taken a number of guards hostage, killed three of them, and wounded several others; two of the guards were murdered in cold blood in cells 402 and 403 (later renamed C102 and C104). The failed escapees fared no better. Three of them climbed into a utility corridor to avoid the constant gunfire, only to die after being hit by bullets or shrapnel.

An escape attempt in 1962 was later documented by Hollywood in the film Escape from Alcatraz. Released in 1979, the movie was a big hit in the box office, but the prison had closed long before. Too expensive to renovate and properly secure, what could be called the world's most famous prison shut its doors for good in March 1963.

Mysteries of Cell 14D

In 1972, the federal government put Alcatraz Island under the purview of the National Park Service, and after opening to the public, it became one of the part service's most popular sites. While in the daylight hours the old prison teems with tour guides and visitors, at night it is filled with mystery. Many believe that the energy of those who served time on The Rock remains, making the Alcatraz complex one immense haunted house.

Night watchmen patrolling the main cell house, divided into A, B, C, and D blocks, say they've heard the sounds of what seems to be running coming from the upper tiers. Thinking an intruder has gained entry, the watchmen investigated the sounds but always found nothing.

One Park Service employee reported that on a rainy afternoon the sparse number of tourists allowed her some time off from guiding tours. She went for a walk in front of A Block and was just past the door leading down to the dungeons when she heard a loud scream from the bottom of the stairs. She ran away without looking to see if anyone where there.

Asked why she didn't report the incident, she replied, "The day before, everyone was ridiculing another worker who reported hearing men's voices coming from the hospital ward, and when he went to check the ward, it was empty. So I didn't dare mention what I heard."

Several guides and rangers felt something strange in one of the cells in the Hole: Cell 14D. "There's a feeling of sudden intensity that comes on when you spend more than a few minutes around that cell," one of them said.

Another guide described Cell 14D as "always cold. Sometimes it gets warm out here-so hot that you have to take your jacket off. The temperature inside the cell house can be in the seventies, and 14D is still cold."

The tour guides weren't the only ones to have strange experiences there. Several former guards at the prison have told of terrifying incidents that took place near the Hole, and in Cell 14D in particular.

During one guard's stint in the middle 1940s, an inmate was locked in 14D for some since forgotten infraction. According to the officer, the man began screaming within seconds of being locked in. He claimed that a creature with "glowing eyes" was locked in with him. Yet no one took the convict's cries of being "attacked" very seriously, probably because tales of ghostly presence wandering the nearby corridor were a continual inducement to practical jokes to the guards. The man's screaming continued into the night, until finally there was silence. The following day, guards inspected the cell and found the convict dead. A horrible expression was frozen on his face, and there were hand marks around his throat. An autopsy revealed that the strangulation couldn't have been self-inflicted. Some believed that the man might have been choked by one of the guards, who had been fed up with all the screaming, but no one ever confessed to the crime.

On the day following the tragedy, several guards who were performing a head count noticed that there were too many men in the lineup. Then, at the end of the line, they saw the face of the convict who had recently been strangled in the Hole. As they all looked on in stunned silence, the figure abruptly vanished.

Banjo Strains

A park service employee who worked at Alcatraz in the late 1970s had a weird experience in another of the main cellblock's chambers. He was down near the shower room when he heard something he couldn't explain.

"It was banjo music," he said. "The room was empty, but I definitely coming from there. Maybe back in the days when it was a fort or army stockade, there was some guy here who played that instrument."

What the employee didn't know was that during the most traumatic days of his life, Al Capone, rather rick going out to exercise yard with the other inmates, would sit in the shower room strumming on his banjo.

Perhaps this lonely and broken spirit still plucks at the strings of a spectral musical instrument that vanished decades ago. Even today, tour guides and rangers who walk the corridors of the prison alone occasionally building. Could Al Capone be its source? Or could it be another of the countless ghosts who continue to haunt Alcatraz year after year?

[xaracosmia]

ꕥ — WELCOME TO EXO COSMIA, AKIRA KURUSU. 🌑

ꕥ  — OOC INFORMATION;

name / alias: blair / mouse age: 26 pronouns: any ooc contact: tumblr monkiespaw

ꕥ  — IC INFORMATION;

Name: Akira Kurusu Age: 19 Pronouns: he/they Series: Persona 5 canon point: Post Royal True End + Strikers app triggers:  false criminal charges

personality: Reserved at a glance, Akira is the quiet type when it comes to those he is unfamiliar with.  Even with those he is close with, he has a tendency to skirt around topics involving himself. Unassuming to the point where it’ll come as a shock that someone so subdued could be the leader of the infamous phantom thieves. But as most people are, there’s more than meets the eye. Polite though he may be, he definitely has bark—and a bite to match—if you start pushing their buttons. It very easily comes off as rude, but they have a terrible habit of challenging others when holding his tongue may have been for the best. Though at the end of the day, Akira is a genuine person. He means everything he says, and wants to give people the chance that he was not afforded.

something your muse struggles with: Being open and honest with his feelings, especially if they don’t align with what people need him to be.

your muse’s greatest strength: Connecting and sympathizing with others to provide emotional support.

history / background: Akira Kurusu lived a normal life, day in and day out. A boring life. They had no expectations that the monotony would ever change, but being falsely convicted for assault does in fact lead to breaking one’s daily routine up. Placed on probation, they’re sent away by their parents to attend school at the one place in Tokyo that would take a student with a criminal record. Akira is warned more times than they can count that all they have to do is behave and keep their head down—so doing the exact opposite had to be the only obvious answer. Being granted the ability to steal the desires of criminals and force them to admit to their crimes, Akira becomes the leader of the Phantom Thieves. Whether the influence of the target be large or small, Akira has the will of rebellion to enact the justice he had been denied.

power:

Summon of his Persona Arsene Raoul Lupin

Phantom Show: High chance of inflicting Sleep to all foes.

Eigaon : Heavy Curse damage to 1 foe.

Maeigaon: Heavy Curse damage to all foes.

Heat Riser: Buffs defense attack and agility of 1 ally for 3 turns

Life Aid: Recover miniscule health after a battle to stabilize wounds

While wielding Raoul, Akira becomes susceptible to blessed attacks or any form of magic with an alignment to Light or Holiness, but on the other hand blocks all Dark Magic

Summon of his Persona Satanael

Megidolaon: Severe Almighty damage to all foes.

Survival Trick: Survive one insta-death attack remaining in critical condition

Riot Gun: Severe Gun damage to all foes.

Black Viper: Colossal Almighty damage to 1 foe.

While wielding Satanael Akira will absorb Dark magic used against him, and block all Light magic. He is also resistant to most forms of elemental magic (ie. fire, ice, electric, wind, psy, and nuclear.)

Both of Akira’s persona deal primarily in the use of Cursed skills that are drawn from dark magic in a blast of concentrated energy. On the other hand, Almighty skills are unaspected energy attacks that hold a form of omnipotence and are not barred from reflective or most defensive blocking abilities. Its damage is not overwhelming, but consistent in knowing nothing can be resistant to it.

inherent abilities: 

intermediate gymnastic knowledge

weapon handling of knives and guns

he can juggle :o)

items / weapons: 

Pistol

Arsene’s Cane (A knife)

Grappling Hook

A left glove

starting item: Arsene’s Cane (A knife)

extra: cat boy in training

discord id: meowmeowkittykins

[dhaaruni]

So is there anything stopping those Trump judges from also going "Nuh-uh, you don't get to fire ICE staffers without our say-so" at BIden

Uh, kind of.

From what I can understand, Biden can fire individual ICE staffers or Border Patrol agents but he can't just abolish ICE or open the border point blank, since that would have to be done through the House and Senate. Like, immigration is Congress' domain, which is why Dems tried to shove it in the reconciliation bill (even though it's got nothing to do with budget so I'm not surprised the parliamentarian overruled it) since they'll never get 60 votes for immigration reform nowadays, but the president can influence how executive agencies operate. I.e. Congress makes the laws, the president enforces them! This is also why the president can’t ban fracking, contrary to what Bernie Sanders told his followers in 2016.

No matter what activists claim, Obama deporting convicted criminals is not the same as Trump deporting people who've been in America for 25 years! Of course, ICE can just choose not to listen to Biden like it's been doing since he took office in January with the Trump-appointed judges supporting them. And that my kids is why you always vote Democrat all the way down-ballot: Democrats appoint not conservative judges all the way up to the Supreme Court!

Like, Biden HAS been actively trying to rein in ICE and the DHS, which people are just ignoring. He's fired a lot of the DHS security council even but the fact is, the DHS controls ICE and Border Patrol, and the DHS is a shitshow. The Biden Administration is currently conducting an investigation trying to root out white supremacists out of the DHS, which is well and good but there are 250,000 employees to weed through, and time is really of the essence when the Biden admin's also swamped dealing with COVID-19 and trying to mitigate all the congressional squabbling over infrastructure among a million other things.

Does that kind of make sense?

[postmodernmulticoloredcloak]

So due to popular demand I watched episode 2 of Walker for you guys. Part 1 of 2

So here’s my review of episode 2 of Walker. Is this going to be the episode where Walker lassoes a person? We’ll see.

The episode is titled “Back in the saddle” and I am already wishing I was eating my cookies. But the batter needs to rest in the fridge first, blah blah.

Night sky. Horses in their stables in the darkness. Security cameras switching off…? Fire! Someone set fire to the stable. Someone hurries to get the horses out. It’s clever, I’m actually invested in making sure the horses are okay. Maybe they’re luckier than Mary Winchester. Wait, wrong show.

The last one is trapped! A brave guy tries to free him but a wooden beam falls down and kills him. Oh no. Did someone at least save the horse?

The ridiculous title card plays, and then our favorite former Supernatural lead currently starring in a new show appears. He loads what looks like a toolbox in the back of his truck. There’s a horse saddle already on the truck. Soft music and the yellow sunlight shining behind him announce this is an emotional scene. The saddle has a leather bag on the side, with the initials of Walker and his wife engraved on it.

Ta-da! Flashback of Walker and his wife. Thankfully she is not elvish vision glowing this time, although the blurry effect of the flashbacks still make me think of a Lord of the Rings ripoff.

The saddle was a gift from her! Walker makes this face so we know he loves it.

Look at how ridiculous this is.

They’re trying sooo hard to appeal to bibro Supernatural fans. They’re BEGGING for the attention of bibro Supernatural fans. I’m not sure if redoing SamandDean iconic moments but with Walker and his dead wife (played by who I assume some hardcore bibros believe is Jared’s beard) is the best way of doing it? I mean, I wouldn’t take that direction. But okay. We take our Meaningful Moments from Supernatural because our viewers are not invested in these characters but are invested in those ones, so at least we’re provoking emotions by making them think of those ones. It is a strategy, I guess.

Fuck, I spoke too soon! The glowiness is not too strong - it is daytime in this flashback and not nighttime like in the pilot - but it’s there.

Back to the present, Walker is on the phone with his mother, explaining he’s back at his place to fix a leak or something. If the kids have been living with their grandparents and Walker has been away for almost a year, how is the patio so clean and pristine? But wait, someone’s been there. There are empty beer bottles. And then the funniest frame of the show so far.

Stella is a teenager. In 2021. Which teenager in 2021 texts like someone who had to spend 20 cents for text and press the button four times to get an s? Her father should be the one texting like it’s 1999. Stella would be the one texting like phones have automatic capitalization and predictive text and shit...

There is absolutely no fucking way the place can be so clean and pristine if no one’s lived there bar some teenagers who drank beer in the patio. But okay.

Oh no. Another glowy flashback. Holy shit. Why. We get it. He misses his wife. They had the perfect little life together. The music they use in the flashback is starting to give me a pavlovian response.

Even Jared is unhappy. Look at his unhappy face.

In the meanwhile, Ramirez and her boyfriend are having fun when her boss calls her. She dresses up to go to the fire stable place, in the meanwhile they have a conversation about their relationship. She has never really had a longterm serious relationship, and she’s confused because, I quote, “I am one of the first women ever, one of the first women of color, ever” [that’s it sentence finished]. I can’t believe Ramirez has been around for thousands of thousands of years.

She needs to focus on her job and he’s a distraction because he has a six pack. No, that’s literally the scene. He takes off his shirt and we see his six pack. Now, he’s a pretty impressive physique, that’s not a problem. Why isn’t he the main character of a show about doctors?

Meanwhile, Walker joins the family for breakfast. The brother, Liam, is great at making smoothies. What an interesting all-rounded gay character.

Walker’s mom says they should stay living with them because it means stability for the kids. Walker says they should move back to their house because normal whatever. Stella says, does it even matter to you where we want to live?, and leaves. August reveals she goes back to the house sometimes, meaning the beer was hers and she lied. Draa~ama. Stella is the only interesting character in this family.

Jared makes another discontented Jared thing at the end of the scene, I can’t gif them all, and we get to the crime scene. “Fire’s no way to go” Walker comments, because they watched the Supernatural pilot before writing the show.

Oh no, the horse didn’t make it either :(

So, the stableman who died had just come out of prison. Oh no. Is this another plot about convicted criminals doing shady things after they get out of prison? It must be, otherwise this detail wouldn’t be relevant since the guy just died. Oh no.

Ooooh James, the new boss, is making some changes which include following the rules to a t. Meaning Walker has been demoted until he passes all the tests again. I need to show you the face, sorry

This is it, this is Jared’s acting in this show.

Walker tries to argue with Captain James, but he says he wants to be “on the right side of history for a change”, so he cannot have him run around doing whatever he wants. James isn’t happy that he went to look at the footage of Emily’s murder again. He tells him again that the case is closed because a guy confessed, and he needs to focus on his family and job now. We’ve heard this so many times I’m so bored. But guys Jared’s acting gives us gems

Ramirez starts talking about the test, but he’s off, she asks him if he’s good and he says I’m fine. I’m Fine Lie #3! I think, I’m not really counting.

Something about the case. Whatever.

Stella is training for the big upcoming soccer match. Why can’t this be a sports show about teenage girls playing soccer? I can even give them a pass about calling it soccer.

Stella and her friend Isabel chat and Isabel says “ICE is sniffing around”, which I’m sure is not what ICE does.

I take it back. I don’t want a show about teenage girl soccer. Now there’s drama because Stella and Bel shouldn’t be playing in the big game because of their arrest, but apparently Stella is good and the couch will let her play, but not Bel, so she refuses to play. Unsure if this is about racism or Bel simply isn’t a great player. They should have made it clearer…

Meanwhile Augustus chats with a schoolmate called Ruby. Yeah. It had been too many minutes without an easter egg.

Walker and Ramirez take the tests. First shooting range. Then driving. He’s very good at these things. I’m bored. I don’t care about cops showing off their cop skills. I’d rather watch Ruby and Sam, er I mean, Augustus talk about high school projects, and I don’t care about high school projects.

I made the cookies in the meanwhile :)

[blackroseaki38]

Team Awesome Prank War

Varian never really paid attention to getting people back for how they treated him or acted around him. Sure, now the villagers never did that anymore. In fact, they hardly ever approached him, which was completely fine with him. Varian didn’t need much, and certainly not their approval. He had his friends and his father, and is content with them. 

But, when Eugene glued his shoes to the ground to get back at him for the yelling prank, something inside of him awakened. A need for victory arose in him and it fueled Varian to get him back.

So much for being content.

---

Eugene knew Varian was just trying to get him to stop messing with his things when he scared him with his little yelling prank. Still, he couldn't help himself, he just had to get back at the kid. So, he glued his shoes to the ground, and loved it when Varian fell over when he tried to move. Though he had to admit to himself, that wasn't his best. Eh, it's not like he will need to get the kid back again anytime soon, so he will do better next time in the distant future.

Or so he thought till he got out of the shower and took a look in the mirror.

"AHHHHHHAAAAAAA!!!!" 

Eugene’s loud yell brought in Lance next door and the Captain himself who was passing by.

They both took a look at Eugene and couldn't keep their laughter contained, though Lance tried. Failed, but tried.

"Pfffttttt. Oh, hey Eugene! Um... Nice hair?"

"Pink's a good look on ya, Fitzherbert! Remember you're training the new trainees on criminal etiquette today. Haha,"

The Captain left chuckling all the way,  while Lance leaned against the doorway in tears from his now unrestrained laughter.

Eugene knew there could be only one person who could make his hair the ungodly pink color it was right now. He narrowed his eyes and said his name in a dark tone promising vengeance.

"Okay, Varian. It's on."

---

Varian woke up to find Rudiger wasn't in his bed anymore, but he wasn't too worried. He comes and goes through his window all the time. As long as he wasn't gone too long, he would just wait for him to come home.

But, then something fluorescent purple came through his window and Varian gasped in disbelief.

Eugene dared to dye Rudiger with the same potion he disguised as the shampoo. Lance helped him out by sneaking it in his friend’s room. Varian let the raccoon, who wasn't bothered too much by his new look, pounce on him as he laid tangled up his blankets. His body was not moving, but his mind was whirling with new ideas to get Eugene back. This was not a joke anymore, this was war!

Varian didn’t bother to try fixing his furry friend's purple fur. He designed the potion to fade away in a week and any tampering just made the colors get worse. He already has an idea in mind now and he will implement it.... as soon as Rudiger stopped purring and let him leave the comfort of his bed.

---

Eugene woke up to find his room full of apples and all kinds of animals eating them at their leisure. He let out a shriek and fell off the bed in surprise. Luckily, he landed on the ground, and not on one of the cute animals EATING HIS ROOM AWAY.

Someone took a literal pile of apples, leaves, and branches just to toss in his room?! And guess who has a farmer as a father? A certain alchemist! Hmmmmm.... this required more finesse than he had originally thought it would. Well, it would, once Eugene GOT THESE ANIMALS TO LEAVE HIM ALONE.

"Hey! I am not an apple! Stop eating my shirt! It's silk-NO! NOT THE LEATHER BOOTS!"

---

Varian silently ate his breakfast trying not let himself slip up, and admit what he did. His father was mystified on how someone literally stole the top half of his tree, branches, leaves and all!

It wasn't easy, the boy thought to himself as he recalled last night’s events. Using a temporary tree weakening potion, he was able to tear off most of the branches from one of the trees in their orchard without much trouble. An hour later, he snuck out of Old Corona to go to the castle. He used their wheelbarrow to carry the bag with a chunk of an apple tree in it. Lance ran into him on his nightly walk and helped him out cause he thought the whole prank war was funny. The animals that smelt the apple juice trail he left on the way there did the rest.

As soon as Varian finished his food, he left to go to his lab near home. He loved having the Demantius lab for his projects as well, but he didn't mind having a lab this close either, it made it easier to work near home. He only stayed in the other lab for important projects that took all his time and mainly used his lab in Old Corona for less explosive projects.

As he got into his lab, he grabbed one of his potions to plan to use for a prank when he noticed something was off about its color. Varian took a good look at his numerous shelves of tiny containers with all sorts of chemicals. Something was wrong here, he can’t put his finger on it- He let out a loud scream of horror.

"OH MY GOSH…! HE SWITCHED ALL MY LABELS! THAT TOOK ME WEEKS TO DO!"

Varian knew this would take him a long time to undo, he was already dreading the task. He would have to separate them all by color and then test them before relabeling them all. But, for now, he'll just have to make a fresh portion for his uses. He pulled down his goggles over his eyes and a smirk climbed over his face as he got to work.

"Hehehehehehhehe."

---

Eugene smiled as he looked in the mirror. No wrinkles in sight. He's been using this serum he got from Xavier to keep his skin great. Even though the older man told him it wouldn't help him much since he had nothing to worry about at his age, he still wanted to dab a bit of it on his face every morning... and night.

He dipped his fingers inside the oval container and spread the clear liquid on his face. And he went to sleep like a baby.

He woke up and took one look in the mirror and fainted on the spot

*thud*

Lance ran in when he heard the loud noise from his room. They've learned too often that any sudden noise could be a danger.

He paused though once he realized, no, there was no danger. Which was a relief, but now he had to keep from laughing too hard.

Ah, what the hay!

Lance chuckled at his friends previously smooth and perfect skin was now wrinkled like that of an old man's now. His luscious dark hair was a pale grey and barely covered his head. This was his friend's worst nightmare had come true! So he left the antidote Varian gave him, just in case, on the table next to the aging serum. He knew Eugene would be miffed anyway, so why make him suffer any more than needed.

Yet, he did leave a note that says, "Haha! The kid got 'ya good. Hope you don't let him one up a pro like you!"

Lance was sure the yelling he heard later that day was Eugene scheming. He shamelessly added more fuel to the fire, cause hey, this was fun to watch. Lance knew if he wanted too, he could join in any time he wanted to. But, knowing those two, someone was bound to get hurt and he does not want it to be him!

But, he didn’t mind sitting back and watching the fireworks erupt from the sidelines.

---

The castle was getting too uptight lately, nothing like a prank war to loosen things up!

Varian giggled as he read the message Lance sent him by carrier bird. He didn't mind that he gave him the antidote so early, but he didn't realize how frightened Eugene would be and ended up actually fainting

The boy walked into the pumpkin pasture to help his dad when he noticed his dad wasn't by the pumpkin patch, but was looking up at their house instead.

"Hey, dad. Whatcha looking at?"

"Well, son. I found the stolen apple tree, Though now it's part of our roof now. That poor tree. Who would do such a thing?"

Varian looked up and cringed as he saw the remains of the tree he hacked away scattered across their roof. Surely, if they didn't clean it up soon, animals will probably descend upon the food remains, like the crows were doing right at this moment.

Quirin sighed and got ready to climb up the ladder he positioned, but Varian stopped him.

"Dad, I'll clean it up. If you don't get started on the pumpkins, we'll be late for the harvest."

Quirin smiled, ruffled his son's head in a silent yes and got to work on the pumpkins. Varian grimaced and got to work. He spent his afternoon fighting the crows away and cleaning up the apple tree carnage. Rudiger helped, eating any apple bits that remained.

Someone giggled from the bushes near their home before leaving quietly.

---

Eugene smirked as he considered himself to be the winner since he hasn't been pranked in a few days now.

He walked into his room and there was a  platter of cookies sitting on his desk. They were shaped like his face and iced to his handsome likeness as well! Though the noses were a little long and pointy, well it's the thought that matters! Eugene spied a little note nearby, with a heart drawn on it! Of course, Rapunzel! Bless her little golden head of hair. The young man took a big bite out of a large-nosed Eugene cookie with a large smile.

"Mmmmmm, delicious! Though I better save the rest for later. I don't want to lose my slim figure. Wellllllll, a few more won't hurt. "

Eugene finished a few cookies before he finally put (hid) the rest away for later. He left his room humming a cheery tune on his lips.

"Hey, Eugene!" Pete called waving his hand as Stan tried getting his partner to calm down as they went on with their patrol.

"Hiya fellas!" Eugene replied, but like he couldn't stop himself, he felt like talking some more than a casual 'hiya' like usual.

"You guys know what, when I first moved into the castle, I was kinda jealous of how close you guys were. Pete and Stan! Never seen without each other. I was jealous because my buddy Lance wasn't with me yet. Ya know, I got over my envy once my best buddy rejoined my life, and realized I shouldn’t have been envious anyway cause you both are great guys!"

The two guards looked at Eugene wondering why he was sprouting his feelings so openly. The ex-convict wondered the same thing before he saw Lance come out behind them. He had tears in his eyes as he smiled.

"Really, Eugene? You really mean it? You really missed me that much?"

"Of course, buddy! You are my best friend! Well, you and someone else are pretty much my best friends. You've always been with me! Even when I was a jerk! I love being your friend so much that I can't help checking in on 'ya at least once a day. I don't want to lose you again! I'm always afraid you're gonna have enough of my idiotic personality and leave! Leave without saying goodbye!"

Eugene was freaking out! He was saying his deepest secrets and concerns to the world! The man dodged Lance's hug and tried leaving before he met someone else.

Instead, he accidentally barged into the throne room where everyone in town were trying to seek the King's council. They all looked at Eugene who just barged in. He tried backing out, but the concerned faces of Pete and Stan, plus happy Lance, blocked his way. Rapunzel approached the group. She placed her hand on Eugene's shoulder.

"Sweetie, is everything fine? You don't look so good."

Eugene wished he could just shut his mouth, but he couldn't stop talking his heart out.

"Rapunzel, I love you and you know that. But, when I first proposed to you, I wasn't doing it because I wanted to make us permanent. I did it because deep down, I'm always going to be afraid I'm going to lose you and the only kingdom that welcomed me in. I was sure you would eventually realize I didn't deserve you and leave! So, I kept trying to propose, each time thinking of our future, but also secretly securing my place in your heart and this family we made. If we ever broke up, I am sure our family will break as well. I love you and this family too much to let that happen!"

Rapunzel was looking emotionally happy and sad at the same time. Eugene didn't want to look at her and tried leaving through another door. But, he kept speaking as he looked at every family face he knew.

"Feldspar! I always loved your boots! Their leather always hugs my ankles just right and I don't trust anyone else to make my ankles look as amazing as they do in your footwear!"

"Old lady Crowley! I know I joke around a lot, but you remind me of the lady who raised me at the orphanage, which is why I ask you for advice once in a while!"

"Monty, Atilla! I love your guys' candy and baked goods! But, I always feel guilty about eating them because I'm worried my fine figure will be gone! They are just that good."

“Xavier, I appreciate the skin serums you made for me, but are you sure they work right? No matter how much I dab under my eyes, my eye bags continue to get worse! Let’s meet up for tea to discuss this before I’m old and grey!”

“Friedborg, you are amazing and don’t you ever let anyone say otherwise! You're secretly the key to why this castle is still standing. Without you in charge, I’m sure this kingdom would have fallen apart ages ago!”

"Max, Pascal. I love you guys, even if I may act like I don't care for you guys a lot. I enjoy my time with you guys and will always be by your side!"

Eugene kept trying to avoid people, this was getting out of hand, but it wasn't working since most of the town was here to ask or inform the king of something. Finally, he bumped into someone and felt the world spin less than before. Then he looked up and realized it was the King, with the Queen by his side.

"Eugene, are you okay?" The queen was deeply concerned. Fredrick was concerned as well, as he helped pull the young man up.

"Is something the matter, son?"

Eugene wished his big mouth would stay shut, but he couldn't stop himself.

"Everything is fine, except for the fact I can't keep myself from hiding my feelings forever. You guys helped bring my life from the dark. Sure, Rapunzel did most of it, but if you guys hadn't opened your home and kingdom to me, I wouldn't be the Eugene I am today. And though I know who my parents are now, you two will always hold a place in my heart. And I can't wait to be the best son in law once I and Blondie get married."

Eugene took a deep breath and turned around as the royal couple took in his words. The Captain opened his mouth to speak, but of course, Eugene interrupted him.

"CAPTAIN. I ALWAYS LOVED YOUR MUSTACHE. IT'S SO MANLY THAT MY GOATEE CAN'T EVER TOP YOUR FACIAL HAIR."

The captain was silent a little flabbergasted and a tad touched. Using this as a distraction, Eugene took the chance to escape. Finally, he was on the other side of the room at this point! He ran out into the courtyard, only to bump into Quirin and Varian unloading crates of apples and pumpkins for the castle. Eugene barely stops himself from running headfirst into the wooden cart.

"You okay there, Eugene?" Quirin asked. Eugene grabs him by his shirt.

"Sir! I love your apples. There are the apples of my eyes. Sometimes I wake up with apples everywhere! And animals. Lots of animals!"

Quirin just blinked in surprise as Eugene moved on to Varian.

"Kid, you're like the little brother I've never had. I love messing with you, even this prank war we've been having has been amazing. My hair is still this hideous pink hair, but I can't help smiling every time I see my own reflection. You looking up to me makes me feel important in your life. I still feel bad for not giving you enough attention in the past and where it leads you. I’m sorry for not being there for you! That’s why I’m here now! I want to make your life happier with me in it! Team awesome will always be important to me!"

Varian didn't know what to say. He was touched he felt these things about him and kind of felt guilty considering he drugged his newly proclaimed brother with truth serum laced cookies. Clearly, Eugene ate the cookies he left in his room, but he didn't expect him to be telling these kinds of truth. He must have had more than a few to be acting like this.

"Varian, what's this I hear about a prank war?" Rapunzel asks from the doorway from the throne room.

Varian nervously met the princess and his father’s eyes. They looked at the two boys in thinly veiled disapproval as the teen looked at the ground while the elder started telling Rudiger about how he isn't a pest and deserves all the kingdoms apples for being there for Varian. The raccoon agreed with him greatly, evidenced by his excited chittering.

"Ummmmmm... we may have been having a war of pranks this week. And it may have gotten out of hand. Eugene is probably under the effects of my truth serum cookies. But, I have the antidote right here!"

The teen looks through his bag for the vial of golden liquid while the king redirects all the people back to their court with him. The Captain made sure the door to the courtyard is closed.

Promptly, Varian pulled out a tube of golden-colored liquid. He swiped an apple from their cart, using his father's dullest blades (under his watchful eyes) to cut the apple in half. He poured a few drops on to one half of the fruit. Once he was sure there was enough antidote in the apple half, Varian offered it out to Eugene.

"Eugene, I'm sorry for this whole mess with the truth potion, I didn’t think it was that strong. Here's the antidote."

Eugene took the apple half, once he bit into it, he already started feeling better as the cloud in his mind dissipated. He stopped cuddling a resisting Rudiger and got up, dusting his clothes

"Oh, that was a doozy. Eh, don't worry about Var. I had fun with the prank war. Next time, we just need to calm it down some. Besides, as the winner of the Team Awesome prank war, you get some .... hot cocoa! And I get some too! Come on, kid."

Rapunzel shakes her head as the two walked off to get some hot cocoa. If she had listened to the rumors around the castle, then she would have put a stop to this war much sooner. But, it seemed like she didn’t have to put an end to things ….. this time.

Quirin continued unloading the cart of produce with a relaxed smile on his face. He’s never seen Varian act like this before. And it was …. relieving. Varian’s never had friends to laugh or mess around with before. Now, seeing him act like a real kid with Eugene, he felt satisfied seeing his son happy again. 

---

Varian and Eugene were drinking hot cocoa in the Dementius laboratory under the castle. Rudiger has made them his special drink, in regular mugs at Eugene’s insistence. Now, the two were enjoying their drinks as they compared notes on their pranks on one another.

“So, how’d you get that shampoo potion into my room?” Eugene asked at one point.

“Lance helped me out. He offered when he saw he sneaking around your room,” the teen admitted.

“Hmmmmm….. Lance held Rudiger down for me to dye his fur.”

Varian sat up straighter and continued Eugene’s line of thought.

“He…. helped me get that apple tree in your room. And opened the windows.”

“He helped me put that aging potion in your room.”

“He helped me switch all the labels in your lab.”

“He put that platter of cookies in your room.”

The two looked at each other and they both realized …. Lance has been playing them! They wordlessly started putting away their finished rinks and started to leave the lab.

“I still got them truth cookies in my room,” Eugene offered.

“Good idea. Don’t want them to waste. We’ll force-feed him. Any other ideas?” Varian asked.

The two spent the day together scheming their ideas before implementing them the next day.

Never mess with Team Awesome when they in a mood to prank, whether it is each other or not! 

[iingeniums]

OC Masterlist

A rundown of all my BNHA OCs so far underneath the cut. All names are tagged, and I will also be adding to this post once I have time to get some more art done.

The UA Students

The "main characters," so to speak, of my OC-centered canon retelling of My Hero Academia.

Akane Hidaka, student No. 18 in Class 1-A, a brash girl with a very forward personality who wants to obtain a hero license in order to use her Quirk freely. Has a friendly rivalry with Tenya Iida. Quirk: Fire Wings She can create flaming wings on her arms to fly at high speeds or propel her fists towards someone at equally-high speeds.

Yumi Kemonoshi, student No. 4 in Class 1-B, an introverted but bright girl who wants to become a hero in order to shed a better light on those with odd appearances and Quirks. Quirk: Bestial Limbs She can morph her arms, legs, and tail into that of an animal, though she can only transform into one animal at a time. It tends to look pretty weird a lot of the time.

The Hidaka Family

Akane's parents who probably have too much backstory for their (my) own good.

Haruto Hidaka, a stay-at-home father seeking to amend for his criminal past who loves his family more than anything. Quirk: Fire Jets He can expel flames at varying degrees and velocity through vent openings on the undersides of his arms.

Natsumi Hidaka, a caring but also highly professional attorney-at-law who's the main provider for her family. Quirk: Quirkless She has no Quirk but possesses extraordinary intelligence.

The Villains

OC members of the League of Villains and Meta Liberation Army.

Hibiki Katoyo, the daughter of a rich CEO who became disillusioned with the glamour of hero society and seeks to expose those who use the law to their advantage. Quirk: Tympanum Her eardrums are stronger than a normal person's, making her able to hear quieter sounds from further away as well as withstand loud noises that would otherwise damage someone's inner ears.

Ketsu Aryu, an escaped asylum "patient" with a bloodshed-filled history that's left him traumatized and emotionally volatile. Has a crush on Toga but can't/won't admit to it yet. Quirk: Bone Spikes He can extend sharp, durable spikes from just about any bone in his body. If he uses it too much, though, his skin breaks and he can bleed out.

Sei Fushoku, member of the MLA, a convicted serial killer who was sent to the same asylum as Ketsu and later escaped thanks to him. Quirk: Corrosion He can produce a toxic substance from his palms that melts through nearly anything he touches.

The Burakka Bunch

Characters for a slice-of-life spinoff set in Burakka High School, a prefectural school without a hero course.

Shiro Kitaguchi, one of Akane's childhood friends. A very shy and anxious person with a big heart underneath. Has had a crush on Hitomi since middle school. Quirk: Ice Breath He can breathe out a super cold mist that freezes anything in his path. He wears a mask to counteract the strength of his Quirk on a daily basis.

Hitomi Nakamura, another one of Akane's friends, a quiet girl who rarely expresses her emotions outwardly but is nonetheless honest and open with others. Quirk: Shadow Control She can shape her shadow into anything she can imagine. If it touches something else's shadow, she can interact with that as well.

Noboru Meian, a loner with a love for all kinds of manga who just wants to be left alone most of the time. Quirk: Eclipse He can control the red light reflected from the moon's surface during a lunar eclipse and shadows when standing under the moon's shadow during a solar eclipse.

Yasuri Kato, a fairly popular girl looking to make her own way and step out of her large family's shadow. Quirk: Bloom She can make healthy flowering plants bloom instantly within a certain radius.

Mariko Ueno, a cheerful and hardworking city girl with a love for fashion design. Quirk: Hover She can float up to half a meter above the ground.

Kinto Ginkai, a rude and standoffish second-year who hides his insecurities underneath an egotistical persona. Quirk: Mercury He can produce the element of mercury and manipulate it freely.

Shotate Yomitoru, a second-year star basketball player who looks up to his Pro Hero older brother. Quirk: Psychic Shield He is immune to mind-reading or -altering Quirks.

[snowdice]

Sometimes Labels Fail (Part 4)

Fandom: Sanders Sides

Ships: Virgil & Logan, Virgil & Patton, Logan/Patton

Characters:

Main: Logan, Virgil, Patton

Appear: Remy

Mentioned: Roman, Emile

Summary:  Logan was good at labels, at categories. Logan sorted the citizens of his city into 6 different categories in his mind: heroes, villains, vigilantes, criminals, government authorities, and civilians, and knew how to deal with each. But… but what was he supposed to do with him.

Virgil was just trying to survive, though he didn’t think the part of him that compelled him to throw himself into fights whenever he saw the superhero Bluebird struggling had gotten the memo. His English teacher was right; he really was stupid.

When the villain criminal… when Shadow Caster gets injured while throwing himself into the line of fire for Logan, Logan can’t find it in himself to turn him over to be arrested. Luckily, he knows a doctor very, very well.

Virgil is going to get kidnapped adopted by the end of it.

Notes: Superhero AU, school shootings, guns, gunshot wound, surgery, child abuse mentioned

Virgil comes to the conclusion that he’s willing to die for any living thing in this house. (So basically they feed him again.)

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Virgil had absolutely no idea what was happening honestly. The last 48 hours had been a wild as fuck ride. At 8am two days ago, he’d been already half asleep in earth science class watching some movie about igneous rocks. Since then, he’d failed another English quiz, gotten shot, gotten operated on by Bluebird’s boyfriend(?) (husband?), slept in Bluebird’s house, and had been told that he wasn’t going to go back to Harry even if the doctor and Bluebird had to kidnap him to make it so. The conviction with which the doctor had made that proclamation had left Virgil speechless. He wasn’t quite sure if he was ready to believe he really wasn’t going to have to go back, but god did he hope he didn’t. If for no other reason than he didn’t want to face whatever punishment he’d get for not only missing school, but also for not going home for two nights in a row.

Last night, they’d fed him a dinner of spaghetti and roasted vegetables and the doctor had brought him strawberry ice cream despite Bluebird’s protests. (“You’re a doctor!” “Exactly. I know more about health than you do.” Cue irate sputtering.) After dinner, the doctor had helped him walk up and down the hallway a few times. He was really sore, but he could get around okay enough which seemed to make the doctor happy. After that, they’d left him alone for a bit, only coming back to check on him a couple of times before going to bed. He totally could have made an escape attempt. Of course, they did say he wasn’t a prisoner, but still. They’d even let him sleep by himself despite knowing he was partially mobile.

Virgil had let curiosity get the better of him a little past midnight and snuck out of the room to see if this was all for real. A glance into the room a few doors down let him know that they did actually fall asleep with him unrestrained in the house. He could have even taken a look at their faces if he was a jerk and brave enough to risk their ire which he certainly was not.

He’d made it down the stairs unhindered and found himself in a really, truly normal house. He’d found a dog, jumped on top of a chair in surprise when it yipped at him, and then pet the dog for about 20 minutes or so. Then, unsure what else to do, he’d gotten himself a glass of water (making sure to clean, dry, and replace the cup) and went back to bed.

Now, he’d just been woken by a knock on the door. “Can I come in?” the doctor’s voice asked.

“It’s your house,” Virgil pointed out.

“Is that a yes?”

“Yes.”

He opened the door and gave him a smile. “Can I rebandage your wound?” Virgil nodded and he went off to wash his hands in the bathroom before changing the bandages. “It looks good,” he said, and Virgil had to take his word for it, because it looked pretty shitty to him: red and kinda swollen around the stitches. Then, he handed him a change of clothes he’d brought and left to wait for him in the hallway while he changed.

Once Virgil was finished, he led him down to the kitchen with the promise of breakfast. The dog trotted over expectantly, and Virgil carefully went down to his knees so he could pet it without pulling on his stitches.

“That’s Missy,” the doctor informed him. Missy yapped at him and hopped a couple of times to try to lick his face.

“Hello Missy,” Virgil said seriously. “I would die for you.” He jumped a bit when a hand ruffled his hair, but it was gone after a moment as the doctor walked over to where Bluebird was cooking. His hand got smacked with a rubber spatula as he reached toward a plate of bacon, but it didn’t deter him as he snatched a piece away.

“That’s for the omelets,” Bluebird scolded as the doctor danced away. He tore the strip of bacon in half and offered once piece to Virgil. Virgil took it surprised and had to push Missy away as she lunged, quickly stuffing it in his mouth.

“Thanks,” he said once he’d swallowed. He gave the disappointed pup another pat which seemed to placate her before carefully maneuvering his feet back under him and slowly standing back up.

The doctor had moved to grab cups from a cabinet. “What do you want to drink?” he asked. “Pineapple juice, milk, water, tea?”

He would have said water, but Bluebird mumbled, “please consume the god forsaken juice,” under his breath. The doctor reached over to smack him on the arm.

“What’s wrong with the juice?” Virgil asked.

“Nothing,” the doctor told him. “There was just a sale at Costco.”

“Who needs a dozen gallons of pineapple juice?” Bluebird asked.

The doctor frowned at him. “It was a good deal!”

“I’ll, uh, take the juice,” Virgil said. “Please.”

The doctor smiled at him and poured them each a glass of juice (Bluebird apparently didn’t get a choice about the pineapple juice) and set them around the table while Bluebird flipped the omelet. The doctor then ushered Virgil toward one of the seats at the table. Virgil sat obediently and watched the man go back to the counter to grab a plate stacked high with toast.

“I can help if you want,” he offered.

“Oh, absolutely not,” the doctor chirped. Virgil fidgeted in his seat as butter, peanut butter, and two types of jam were set on the table along with silverware. Bluebird finished the omelet in the meantime and flipped it onto a plate. He set it down in front of Virgil before going back to the stove to work on another one. Virgil blinked down at the omelet. It wasn’t quite restaurant standard, but it leaked a little bit of cheese out of the side and was just slightly browned; it looked fantastic.

“Go ahead,” the doctor said when he didn’t move to eat it. “No need to let it get cold.”

Virgil slowly reached for the fork, cut himself a piece of omelet, and put it in his mouth. The doctor really didn’t seem angry that he was eating so he allowed himself to enjoy the bite and then take another. The doctor leaned forward, and Virgil tensed, but he just grabbed a piece of toast and tossed it onto Virgil’s plate. Wow, Virgil would die for any living thing in this room.

“This is really good,” Virgil said.

“It is one of the few things I can cook well. I sustained myself almost purely on egg dishes through my late teens and early twenties.”

“Mood.”

He turned around. “I…” he looked at the doctor. “am I supposed to know what that means?”

“You’re in your 50s so your probably okay,” the doctor answered.

“Do you know what it means?” Virgil asked.

“For the most part.”

Bluebird finished the second omelet a few minutes later and handed the plate to the doctor before turning back to cook his own. The doctor went about putting jam on his toast and Virgil’s hand itched to shove a piece of toast into his pocket for later while the doctor was distracted and Bluebird had his back turned (it would be so easy), but they’d been too nice to him for him to steal from them. Plus, he didn’t know if they’d be asking for these cloths back soon and he didn’t want to have to deal with the consequences if they found him out. Instead, he drank a sip of the juice (it was actually really good, he didn’t know what Bluebird was complaining about) and worked on finishing his omelet while watching the other occupants of the room.

Missy pranced over to the doctor and pawed at his leg. He glanced over at Bluebird and quickly ripped off a piece of his omelet and fed it to the dog.

“Stop that,” Bluebird whipped around wielding the spatula like a weapon. “Stop feeding that thing from the table!” It was, of course, far too late; the bite of omelet was already halfway to the dog’s stomach.

“She deserves it,” the doctor argued. “She’s a baby.”

“She’s a dog!” He transferred the last omelet to his own plate and turned off the stove before walking over to the table. He bumped into the doctor’s chair on his way by. The doctor tore off a bit of toast and threw it at his back. Missy lunged to gobble up the fallen toast.

Virgil sipped at his juice while watching them eat with interest. They were flirting, he thought, but, like, in a domestic way instead of the way people did at school. He wondered if they were dating or married or what but wasn’t nearly bold enough to ask.

Despite his complaints, Bluebird drank the juice without comment and let the dog lay on his feet while he ate.

“So,” the doctor said when they’d all finished. “We have a plan.”

“Is it a legal plan?” Virgil questioned.

“It is,” Bluebird assured, a hint of amusement coloring his tone.

“Okay,” Virgil responded. “Uh, I’m listening then.”

“You will likely be uncomfortable with parts of the plan,” Bluebird informed him.

“But hear us out because we promise we’ll be careful about everything.”

That sounded suspicious. “Okay…”

“The general idea is, we have a medical professional document your scars and turn them over to the police thereby triggering a criminal investigation and intervention from social services.”

“And you think that will work?” Virgil asked, trying to not sound quite as dubious as he was. That wasn’t a plan. That was expecting the system to do its job which it had already proven itself incapable of doing. Maybe they should just throw a penny in a toilet and make a wish while they flushed it.

“When faced with evidence and your testimony, the appropriate authorities will have no choice but to take action,” Bluebird replied, confident.

“Tell that to my freshman English teacher,” Virgil grumbled.

A hand reached over the table to cover his. “If it doesn’t work,” the doctor said, “we’ll just kidnap you and come up with another plan, but you aren’t going back there. Over my dead body.”

“Which would only happen over my dead body,” Bluebird said dryly.

“Love you too,” the doctor said without looking away from Virgil. Damn. They were actually serious.

“It won’t come to that,” Bluebird said. “The kidnapping or the death.”

“No, it won’t,” the doctor agreed. “There’s a specific nurse we plan to contact about the photos. His name is Remy. He’s really nice and will make sure the police get the right information.”

“He has also proven himself willing to be discrete. We will transfer you into his care so there is a level of protection as to your actions as Shadow Caster from the police.”

“Of course,” the doctor interjected. “That will mean you’re going to have to take off the mask before we meet up with him kiddo and, to the two of us, your secret identity is going to be shot.”

“Yes,” Bluebird agreed and then paused. “Wait,” he turned to the doctor. “Please tell me that wasn’t a pun. That is not an appropriate joke to make in this situation.”

The man in question sipped at his pineapple juice innocently.

“P-Doctor!”

Virgil coughed out a laugh.

Bluebird sighed. “As I was saying, Remy will turn you and the photos over to the police. From there, everything should take care of itself.”

“I’ll make sure it takes care of itself,” the doctor said, voice steely. Virgil wondered exactly who this man was under the mask. What influence did he have that he thought he’d be able to do something as miraculous as make the system do its job?

“This really isn’t just some convoluted trick to get me to reveal my identity so you can arrest me, is it?” Virgil asked.

“Of course not,” Bluebird said. “As you said earlier, we could have just taken off your mask and done a few google searches.”

“Right,” Virgil said. He drank the last of his juice and set the mug on the table. “Yeah. Okay.” Despite the fact that it felt rather silly, his hands still shook as he reached up to take the mask off his face. “My name is Virgil.”

Want to read more? Click Below!

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[silvergeek]

Debunking Misinformation About Kamala Harris

Most of the misinformation regarding Harris is valid information that leaves out the bigger picture, context, and details. They're snapshots rather than the full movie reel, if you catch my drift. I've read that she has been over-targeted because she is an easy target. People (all people - because racism is systemic and it embeds itself deep) have strong, implicit bias against Black people and against women ("misogynoir" they call this). Plus, many folks will *more willingly* eat up negative information without fact checking. The slew of widely believed misinformation about Kamala Harris - even from progressives all of diverse backgrounds - is due in part to strong, implicit racial and gender bias. In other words, it's real easy to get rumors going about women using fractions of truths. People will believe them. People are less likely to fact check them (especially as thoroughly as I just did). This is because of bias. Even PROGRESSIVE folks are guilty of this. 

Not long ago, I posted a meme defending Kamala Harris to racist and sexist bias. It was loved and hated - pretty divisive, which is unsurprising for something as simplistic as a meme. I apologize. For all of those tumblr accounts that reblogged the meme with flagrant misinformation about the VP elect... I am going to rectify what I did with thorough, sourced information. 

Also check out this twitter: https://twitter.com/blackwomenviews

Debunking Information: 

Claim: Kamala pushed a law that forces schools to turn undocumented students over to ICE 

 The Real: Kamala Harris has consistently been a supporter of sanctuary status and a champion for immigrant rights. The false claim arises from a change in how undocumented youth arrested for felonies were reported to ICE. Kamala Harris was not responsible for nor did she push for then Mayor Gavin Newsom’s 2008 unilateral decision to modify his policy to include reporting undocumented youth charged with felonies to ICE. Previously the policy only applied to undocumented adults. Newsom changed the policy in response to reporting that San Francisco had been footing the bill and illegally flying Honduran youth accused of dealing drugs back to their home country as well as sending them to other parts of the state. The statement that writers have taken out of context to inaccurately use as evidence Harris pushed for a change was a statement in response to the scandal over the illegal flights. Harris stated, “While detained juveniles are under the custody and control of the juvenile probation office and the court every city agency needs to work together to balance our obligations under federal law and the sanctuary ordinance to solve crimes and put the offenders behind bars.” The statement was made prior to Newsom’s policy change and from the contemporaneous reporting it is clear that the policy was not a collaborative change.

 (Ref: https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/ILLEGALS-CALLED-COURT-S-PROBLEM-3206302.php)

A fact checker wrongly accused Kamala Harris of being untruthful when she said that the change by Newsom had unintended consequences, but in fact the elected Public Defender Jeff Adachi made a similarly statement that the policy resulted in unintended effects when discussing it a year after it was implemented. Adachi stated “When this policy was put into place, the intent was to deal with what was then identified as a specific problem with Honduran youth,” Adachi said. “But we’re seeing this policy affecting youth who have lived most of their lives in San Francisco, are in school and make a mistake.”

Claim: There are multiple variations of the false claims levied at Kamala Harris over the Kevin Cooper case such as: withheld DNA evidence to keep a man on death row; denied DNA testing to exonerate a man on death row; kept a man on death row despite DNA testing that exonerated him.

The Real: Kamala Harris played no role whatsoever in the Kevin Cooper case for several reasons: 1) Convicted of four murder counts in 1983, Cooper had exhausted all of his court appeals in November 2009 which was prior to Harris taking office as AG; 2) Cooper’s only recourse left was clemency which is solely within the Governor’s powers. (Ref: https://miro.medium.com/.../1*IWka2R0J2hUcUR70rh6iBw.jpeg)

Governor Schwarzenegger first denied Cooper clemency in 2004 then again in 2010. Cooper requested clemency from Governor Brown in 2016 which was not granted. Governor Brown issued an order for new DNA testing in December 2018 shortly before leaving office. Governor Newsom expanded the testing in February 2019. Testing is still ongoing so claims that Cooper has already been exonerated and was held in prison despite of it are false.

Claim: There are many smears and distortions about Kamala Harris’ anti-truancy record including: false claims about laughing about putting parents in jail if their kids missed school; locking up parents; targeting poor families and people of color.

The Real: Truancy has been a prosecutable offense in California since 1977. Kamala Harris made the decision to tackle the elementary school truancy crisis in San Francisco after discovering that 94% of homicide victims were high school drop outs. Tackling truancy was not about punishing or prosecuting parents (which was a rarely used last resort), it was about providing parents resources needed to get their children in school.Kamala Harris did not lock parents up. A widely circulated HuffPost Editorial painting Harris as a truancy zealot contains many distortions about her record on this issue. The most egregious distortion is using a woman by the name of Cheree Peoples as a horror story of Harris’ doing when her case was a result of a local Orange County program. More details debunking the article can be found here. Kamala Harris achieved success in lowering truancy in San Francisco by 20% during her tenure. As AG, Harris created the Bureau of Children’s Justice which formed private/public partnerships to increase resources available to educators and parents to reduce truancy. (Ref: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1181175579837632513.html)

Claim: There are various versions of the false claims that Kamala Harris: blocked the release of prisoners; kept prisoners locked up for cheap prison labor; kept prisoners locked up for slave labor; refused to address prison overcrowding; kept prisoners locked up to fight fires for cheap.

The Real: The false claim arises around one specific court filing by one of the 1,000 attorneys (Patrick McKinney) working for the CA DOJ . The role of the CA AG office is to represent various state agencies in litigation and in this case the state agency was the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The court rejected McKinney’s filing on behalf of the CDCR, therefore prisoners were not in fact kept locked up despite earning 2 for 1 good time credits. Kamala Harris was not involved in the court filing nor aware of the filing prior to a news report. With over 20,000 cases per year in the Civil Law division alone (resulting in exponentially more court filings) it would not have been customary for the Attorney General to be involved in a case that only required the expertise of a mid level Deputy AG III that was several levels of management below the Harris’ level. (Ref: https://www.calhr.ca.gov/state-hr.../pages/5730.aspx)

Claim: Oversaw a state prosecutor falsifying a confession to get a life sentence and then destroyed the evidence.

The Real: This claim is in reference to wrongdoing by Deputy District Attorney Robert Murray of Kern County. The Attorney General oversees 4,500 employees including over 1,000 lawyers, but the AG does not supervise local District Attorneys and their deputies. In 2013, prior to trial during plea discussions, ADA Murray admitted to falsifying a translated transcript in the case of Efrain Velasco Palacios who faced 5 counts of lewd and lascivious acts against the 10 year old daughter of his live-in girlfriend. Palacios was facing 8 years for the 5 counts and was not charged with a crime that faced a life sentence. Superior Court Judge Staley threw the case out due to Murray’s misconduct and Palacios’ attorney being removed from the case for allegedly saying his client did not have a viable defense. The judge’s decision was appealed, arguing that Palacios could still get a fair trial with a new counsel. The judge’s decision was upheld on appeal. In 2015, Efrain Velasco Palacios plead no contest to lew or lascivious acts and unlawful intercourse with a 13 year old girl and was sentenced to 4 years in prison.

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A quote that is backed by sources above and further sources down below:

"On the DNA case. This wasn't a case of Kamala actively trying to suppress the evidence. I believe the defendant was asking for the DNA evidence to be reexamined years later using newer, more reliable, methods. Problem was there was some bureaucratic rule that wouldn't allow it in the DNA department or something like that. 

The jist of it as it applied to Kamala was there was a department within the CA DOJ that was denying the testing, and to my knowledge it was never directly raised with her till after she was out of office. She has since called for him to be given access to the testing, and I thiiink he got it. But like I said I'll try to get more detail tomorrow.On jailing black men disproportionately and coming down hard on cannabis, these are examples of folks taking statistics for the entire California criminal justice system and placing blame solely on Kamala. 

Yes, black men made up a disproportionate share of prisoners in California during Kamala's tenure as AG. That was the case before she was AG and that is still the case today. It's terrible, but it's not really fair to put the effects of the entire system on Kamala. AG's don't have sole authority when it comes to law enforcement. Kamala made efforts to curb this; through reentry programs, not enforcing the 3-strikes laws, being the first AG in the county to require her officers wear body cameras and take implicit bias trading, etc.

The problem is she only had authority over the California Department of Justice. The bulk of prosecutions and incarcerations happen at the local level, with city and county DA's and police. She could not direct them to take the same steps she was taking, all she could do was try to set an example. But the law being what it was, those DAs and police had the authority to be as stringent as the law allowed (which was very very stringent). But if you look at the statistics in the areas Kamala had authority over (and again I'll try to find citations tomorrow) you'll see that she actually reduced incarcerations.

The same goes for marijuana incarcerations. People point to the 19k marijuana convictions that occured while she was AG as evidence she was a avid warrior in the War on Drugs. But that is the statistic for the entire state, and the bulk of those convictions were at the local level. And even still, over all Marijuana convictions across the state fell every year she was in office to eventually there being only like 900ish across the entire state in her last year. She obviously doesn't get all the credit for that decline, but it's another example of people manipulating statistics to fit their narratives."

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Examples of things she did to improve the criminal justice system as DA & AG California: 

Kamala Harris announces police anti-bias training program

California’s attorney general announced a statewide training program aimed at getting police officers to avoid having built-in biases compromise their ability to enforce laws fairly and with appropriate force.

The announcement Friday came as Kamala Harris outlined the results of a 90-day review by her agency that sought to find ways to strengthen the trust between police and the public following recent slayings of unarmed civilians by officers in cities across the country.

Harris also said that under a pilot program, of Justice Department special agents would be outfitted with on-body cameras similar to those worn by officers of some local forces in.

Source: https://www.mercurynews.com/205/04/17/california-kamala-harris-announces-police-anti-bias-training-program/

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continued: SAN FRANCISCO / D.A. won't pursue death in cop slaying / Harris fulfills campaign pledge with decision.

San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris said Tuesday she will not seek the death penalty against a man accused of killing a San Francisco police officer over the weekend, a decision that legal experts say is rare if not unprecedented in California.

The death penalty was restored in California in 1978, but The Chronicle's review found only limited documentation about the outcome of cases before 1987.

Focusing on 90 cases since 1987, the newspaper found that prosecutors sought the death penalty in nearly every case in which a suspect was arrested.

source: https://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/SAN-FRANCISCO-D-A-won-t-pursue-death-in-cop-2767716.php

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ALTERNATIVE SENTENCING GAINING ACCEPTANCE

Back on Track, a San Francisco program for first-time young adult drug offenders, involves job training, apprenticeships in the building trades, G.E.D. preparation, money-management skills, child care and other features. Because failure to complete the program means the defendant goes right to jail, the recidivism rate has been less than 10 percent. Back on Track costs $5,000 per year per participant, a significant reduction from the average cost to incarcerate someone, which can run anywhere from $20,000 to $40,000 or more.

source: https://psmag.com/news/alternative-sentencing-gaining-acceptance-23551

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She also helped spread this program:

L.A. County Jail launches program to keep inmates from coming back.

source: https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-antirecidivism-jail-20150311-story.html

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She was the only AG to investigate big banks for their role in the mortgage crisis.

Without her the national mortgage settlement would be watered down promises rather than the guarantee it was.

source: https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/14/business/how-kamala-harris-finessed-a-foreclosure-deal-for-california.html

In 2012, Harris helped win a massive, $25 billion settlement with Wells Fargo and other financial institutions for foreclosure abuses:

"As the fraud was being uncovered, many of the AGs were yelling 'Settle, settle, settle.' They just wanted to get their hands on the money," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who during the negotiations was setting up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for the Obama administration. Warren has endorsed Harris for U.S. Senate and has appeared in one of the attorney general's campaign ads. "[Harris] was the one who said 'No, we have to do better, and we have to investigate more. Too many families have been destroyed by the crisis and the illegal activity of these banks.'"

In 2012, Harris also helped push through a bill in the California Legislature that offered homeowners some of the strongest protections in the nation against aggressive foreclosure tactics by banks, which was credited in part for a plunge in foreclosures in the state. The measure also gave private citizens the right to sue financial institutions if they violated the law.

Shortly after taking office, Harris created a mortgage fraud task force that not only assisted with the mortgage settlement, but also went after financial firms that targeted homeowners facing foreclosure. The task force also took legal action against the banks and financial ratings firms for the massive losses that California's two giant public pension systems, the California Public Employees' Retirement System and California State Teachers' Retirement System, sustained after unknowingly investing in securities that included risky subprime mortgages.

Harris' office collected $921 million in mortgage-backed securities settlements with JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup, Inc., Bank of America Corp., Standard & Poor's and Goldman Sachs.

Troncoso, who led the mortgage fraud strike force, said building a criminal case against bankers involved in the foreclosures that led to the national mortgage settlement would have been "extremely difficult." Harris acknowledges as much.

"I too, like most Americans, am frustrated. Clearly crimes occurred and people should go to jail," Harris said. "But we went where the evidence took us."

source: https://outline.com/8cPJ2j

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As DA filed an amici curiae brief in support of DC's handgun ban in DC v Heller.

source: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-dc-circuit/1713643.html

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As AG she made clerks begin issuing marriage licenses to same sex couples immediately after prop 8 was overturned.

source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J93691asilw

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Talked about defunding, i.e. shrinking budgets and reallocation of funds, the police all the way back in 2006.

source: https://mobile.twitter.com/adamjsmithga/status/1269761430322139136?s=21

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She has introduced bills to (1)provide a tax credit of up to $6,000 for lower and middle income individuals and families and (2)tax credits for renters. (3)Vox did an analysis of the candidates' anti-poverty bills and Kamala's LIFT Act and Rent relief act have the potential to lift the most people out of poverty, 9.6 million and 7.8 million respectively.

multiple sources:

(1)https://www.bustle.com/p/what-is-the-lift-the-middle-class-act-kamala-harris-has-a-bold-tax-reform-proposal-12606048

(2)https://nlihc.org/resource/senator-harris-introduces-rent-relief-act

(3)https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/1/30/18183769/democrat-poverty-plans-2020-presidential-kamala-harris-booker-gillibrand

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She supports raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

source: https://www.harris.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senator-harris-joins-colleagues-in-support-of-15-minimum-wage-bill

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She has also introduced bills to address (1)bail reform and start (2)body camera programs at CBP and ICE.

Two sources:

(1)https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/rand-paul-kamala-harris-team-reform-bail-practices-n794031

(2)https://www.thebeatdc.com/blog/2018/10/3/kamala-harris-wants-to-establish-body-worn-camera-programs-at-cbp-and-ice

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She supported the FIRST STEP Act, as a first step, but she said would like there to be more prohibitions on private prisons in the FIRST STEP ACT.

"All of the Act’s sentencing reforms should be applied retroactively, and the Act should further expand application of earned good time credits, place more prohibitions on private prisons which profit from the incarceration of individuals, and further limit the use of electronic monitoring," Harris added.

source: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/421719-harris-announces-support-for-white-house-backed-criminal-justice-bill

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She has also supported banning private prisons.

source: https://m.facebook.com/KamalaHarris/posts/10154833054297923

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She co-sponsored Booker's bill legalize marijuana.

Here is an old summary of that "tooth and nail" quote:

So when the judge in question says the AG office "fought tooth and nail" to sustain the false testimony in question, he was referring to the actions of the office under the prior attorney general. Which the judge says in the immediately preceding the quote in the same sentence! "Your office, now under a prior Attorney General, but your office, fought tooth and nail to keep the 1998 sentencing transcript away from the Court of Appeal." Timestamp 32:01. So the quote specifically about Kamala's predecessor but has been used to smear her. 

source: https://thehill.com/regulation/legislation/387101-kamala-harris-backs-booker-bill-to-legalize-marijuana

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On the DNA case:

Kevin Cooper: I won't go deep into the facts on this one because they aren't really the point and because I did a terrible job at brevity with the last case. I'll just note that the origin of this case is 1983. Now, the person you're quoting here doesn't seem to have their facts straight. They don't even align with what is in the sources cited. The NYT article referenced (which isn't even the one cited, here - sourced below - is the actual one) does call her out but does not assert that she "refused" to grant DNA testing. Here's what the article actually says with regard to Kamala:

Kamala Harris, who was state attorney general and is now a U.S. senator, was unhelpful.

That attorney general's office was in possession of the evidence and could have conducted the test. It didn't. And in the NYT article cited in the quote Kamala said she regretted that it did not happen and that her office should have done it. You may not care what she has to say, but she owned up to it. And then she went a step further and she called on the governor to allow the testing to proceed. Not the other way around, as your quote states.

source: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/17/opinion/sunday/kevin-cooper-death-row-innocent.html

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And here is an article debunking a meme about her disproportionately incarcerating black men for marijuana possession. It also debunks some particularly racist and sexist stuff that was out there, so if you don't want to have to wade through that bullshit here is the section on marijuana and convictions:

“IMPRISONED 2,000 BLACK PEOPLE WHILE CALIFORNIA AG” – NO EVIDENCE 

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) shared state level statistics of incarcerations by offense with Reuters via email (it is important to note their statistics are for state prisons and exclude data from county jails). The admissions for marijuana and hashish related offenses for the years 2014, 2015 and 2016 was 581 (page 37 in report also visible here ). Their 2013 data is unavailable, while 2011-2012 data shared with Reuters indicated 921 offenders in 2011 and 505 for 2012 for these drug categories. This adds to a total of 2,007 offenses for the years 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2016. This drug offender data was not, however, categorized by race. (Calculations by Politifact reached similar numbers in 2019, here ) 

Mercury News noted that most of the marijuana cases in the state were not prosecuted by the AG, but by county districts attorneys, so the total number for the state is likely a lot higher than the CDCR data. As San Francisco’s DA, the paper says, Harris oversaw “1,956 misdemeanor and felony convictions for marijuana possession, cultivation, or sale”, some of which did not conclude in jail time (here). 

In California, the possession of over 28.5 grams of marijuana and possession with the intention of distributing the drug are considered misdemeanors (here). Kamala Harris is listed as AG in the California Department of Justice (DOJ) data reports from 2010 to 2015 (DOJ reports for 2016 data onward fall under Xavier Becerra, Harris’ successor as AG). California DOJ statistics for 2015 show the number of Black people arrested (not imprisoned) with misdemeanors relating to marijuana offenses was 656 (table 34, page 42 here ), in 2014 it was 717 (table 34, page 42 here ), in 2013 it was 768 (table 34, page 42 here ), for 2012 it was 1,069 (table 34, page 42 here ), for 2011 it was 981 (table 34, page 42 here ) and for 2010 it was 8,985 (table 34, page 42 here ). This totals to 24,211 arrests for marijuana related misdemeanors (the substantial drop from 2010 is likely a result of legislation changes.

see source https://www.cjcj.org/news/5542 

In short, both California DOJ and CDCR reports show that marijuana related arrests and state level incarcerations for Black people during Harris’s time as AG (the closest data to what Reuters assumed the claims are implying) were not reflective of the 2,000 figure stated in these claims.

source: https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-kamalaharris-five-claims/fact-check-misleading-meme-featuring-five-claims-about-kamala-harris-idUSKBN25H2F2

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If you're interested in how she handled Marijuana convictions when she was DA and had a more direct role in those cases, and her record generally as DA, here is a piece by Niki Solis who was a public defender when Kamala was DA. (And if you know anything about local court politics, you know DA's and Public defenders often do not exactly see eye to eye).

source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/voices/2020/08/10/kamala-harris-progressive-pioneer-san-francisco-da-column/3334668001/

Marijuana sales cases were routinely reduced to misdemeanors. And marijuana possession cases were not even on the court’s docket. They were simply not charged. Unless there was a large grow case, or a unique circumstance, this was the reform-minded approach then-DA Harris’ office took. The accusations about marijuana prosecutions being harsh during her tenure are absurd. The reality was quite the opposite.

Other quotes from Solis:

“Sen. Harris’ progressive approach did not end with marijuana prosecutions or lack thereof. She co-founded the Coalition to End the Exploitation of Kids. She then spearheaded a task force combating the human trafficking of girls. Upon her invitation, I went to the task force meetings to speak on behalf of one of my juvenile clients. My client, a beautiful teenage girl, had aspirations of joining the military. She was selling her body to earn money when her life was cut short; she was found dead in a San Francisco dumpster. Harris and I talked about my client and the exploitation of young girls happening on a constant basis. Unlike her predecessors, she did something about it. She stopped prosecuting young girls for prostitution — acknowledging that they were victims who needed treatment for trauma and not criminals who needed to be incarcerated.

For those who have heard contrary arguments about Harris’ past work as a prosecutor, rest assured that you are hearing this from someone whose life’s work has been dedicated to the cause of equality and justice. I am the chair of the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office Racial Justice Committee and have scratched and clawed for some semblance of justice in our courts for well over two decades. I grappled with this idea of defending a former prosecutor for a long time, but Harris is more than that. I have to acknowledge the truth and say what I feel is right to set the record straight. Should Joe Biden decide not to select Kamala Harris as a running mate, her track record as San Francisco district attorney should certainly not be one of the reasons.”

[carlyun]

To stop climate disaster, make ecocide an international crime. It's the only way

The Paris agreement is failing. Yet there is new hope for preserving a livable planet: the growing global campaign to criminalize ecocide can address the root causes of the climate crisis and safeguard our planet – the common home of all humanity and, indeed, all life on Earth.

Nearly five years after the negotiation of the landmark Paris agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions and associated global warming to “well below 2.0C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5C”, we are experiencing drastically accelerating warming. 2020 was the second warmest year on record, following the record-setting 2019. Carbon in the atmosphere reached 417 parts per million (ppm) – the highest in the last 3m years. Even if we magically flipped a switch to a fully green economy tomorrow, there is still enough carbon in the atmosphere to continue warming the planet for decades.

The science is clear: without drastic action to limit temperature rise below 1.5C, the Earth, and all life on it, including all human beings, will suffer devastating consequences.

Yet only two countries – Morocco and the Gambia – are on track to meet the 1.5C target. The largest emitters, including the United States, China, Russia and Saudi Arabia, are putting the world on course for 4C. At that rate, the polar ice caps will melt, causing dramatic sea level rise that will – in combination with other devastating effects like strengthening storms and droughts – cause mass famine, displacement and extinction.

Currently, much of humanity feels hopeless, but the establishment of ecocide as a crime offers something for people to get behind. Enacting laws against ecocide, as is under consideration in a growing number of jurisdictions, offers a way to correct the shortcomings of the Paris agreement. Whereas Paris lacks sufficient ambition, transparency and accountability, the criminalization of ecocide would be an enforceable deterrent. Outlawing ecocide would also address a key root cause of global climate change: the widespread destruction of nature, which, in addition to increasing greenhouse gas emissions, has devastating impacts on global health, food and water security, and sustainable development – to name a few.

Ecocide shares its roots with other landmark concepts in international law, including genocide. Indeed, ecocide and genocide often go hand in hand. Around the globe, ecological destruction is also decimating indigenous communities. To give just a few cases: Brazil’s Yanomami are facing mercury poisoning generated by the 20,000 illegal miners in their territories. 87% of Native Alaskan villages are experiencing climate-related erosion, even as they face growing calls to drill on their lands.

Conviction for ecocide would require demonstrating willful disregard for the consequences of actions such as deforestation, reckless drilling and mining. This threshold implicates a number of global and corporate leaders through their complicity in deforesting the Amazon and Congo basins, drilling recklessly in the Arctic and the Niger delta, or permitting unsustainable palm oil plantations in south-east Asia, among other destructive practices.

As a term, “ecocide” dates to 1970, when Arthur Galston, an American botanist, used it to describe the appalling effects of Agent Orange on the vast forests of Vietnam and Cambodia. On the 50th anniversary of the concept, we can take heart in the growing civic will to officially make ecocide an international crime.

Already, citizens, scientists and youth activists including Greta Thunberg are calling on global leaders to introduce ecocide at the international criminal court (ICC). Following the lead of climate-vulnerable ocean states Vanuatu and the Maldives in December 2019, President Emmanuel Macron of France vowed to champion it on the international stage last June and has proposed a version of it in French law. Finland and Belgium both expressed interest during the ICC’s annual assembly, and Spain’s parliamentary foreign affairs committee has issued recommendations to consider it. The EU has also voted to encourage its recognition by member states. And Pope Francis was ahead of the game in November 2019 when he called for ecocide to become an international crime against peace. The Stop Ecocide Foundation has recently convened a panel of heavyweight international lawyers to draft a robust legal definition of ecocide which this growing list of states can seriously consider proposing as an amendment to the ICC’s Rome Statute.

Printing in China.

Criminalizing ecocide gives us the unprecedented chance to create a protective measure with legal teeth that could deter reckless leaders from damaging, short-sighted policies creating accountability in a way that Paris does not.

Just as important, we could motivate corporations to make dramatic shifts away from an unacceptable status quo that too often favors the destruction of nature for short-term profits. As ecocide becomes an impending legal reality, corporate leaders would be forced to adapt, and quickly, re-examining the way they do business and make decisions with our planet in mind.

But ecocide would not just be a punitive measure for corporate leaders. It would also offer considerable opportunities for new sustainable ventures. The pristine areas that ecocide targets – virgin forests, wetlands and our oceans – are precisely the places that have value far beyond mere extractive industries, including in sustainably developing new pharmaceuticals that may help in the current Covid-19 pandemic and in future pandemics. True leaders in the public and private sector would much prefer ethical, sustainable and long-term value creation that does not exploit nature or humanity. By outlawing bad actors, we will empower many more good ones.

As a global community, we cannot wait for more warning signs or the “right moment”. Last year alone has seen devastating examples of ecocide: fires ravaging the Amazon, the Congo basin, Australia, Alaska and Siberia all at unprecedented rates; a large oil spill in Ecuador; and unending, accelerating plastic pollution, which could weigh up to 1.3bn tons by 2040. Unfortunately, under cover of Covid-19, ecocide has accelerated. Deforestation in the Amazon basin increased by 50% in the first quarter of 2020, with rampant fires reaching a 13-year high in June.

In the midst of a global pandemic that demonstrates humanity’s shared vulnerability – and our need to work together collectively in the face of crisis – we must begin to understand that what we do to our ecosystems, we do to ourselves.

Indeed, the meaning of ecocide is fully encapsulated by its etymology. It comes from the Greek oikos (home) and the Latin cadere (to kill). Ecocide is literally “killing our home”.

[godsofmonster]

Bangtan MC ≽ IV.

Reader x Bangtan- Motorcycle Club

Word Count- 8.9k

Warnings- sexual content, death, murder, guns, drugs, violence, betrayal,  mentions of suicide, mentions of rape, etc.

For as long as I can remember back, I always wanted to be in a motorcycle club. Since I was six years old, the only thing on my mind was getting my hands on a Harley and a cut. I was a wolf, a wild cur, cut from the pack with bloodstained on my fur. Every wrong has marked a debt because a beaten dog never forgets.

My foot tapped against the pavement while I kept shuffling in my seat. The surrounding tables were empty, despite it being lunchtime. I could see over the balcony from my place at the table. My eyes watched down the street for any oncoming cars. I played with the glass of water in front of me, swirling the straw and knocking the pieces of ice against the rim. 

"(Y/n)?" 

I caught a glimpse of his figure from the corner of my eye. I immediately rose to greet him but hit my knee on the metal edge in the process. The feeling tickled my bone and shot down my leg.

I attempted to groan quietly but could not mask the injury in my expression. 

"Are you alright?" 

I felt his hand on my shoulder as I leaned over in pain. Great first impression, I thought. 

"Yes, I'm fine," I replied, sucking up the pain and standing straight. When I turned to look at him, I was taken back by a pair of dark eyes. A set of thick black brows hung over his eyes, matching a head of full black hair cut short on the sides. His skin was tan and his jawline was cutting, I didn't expect him to be so young. 

"Anthony Romero," He said gently, offering his hand out for me to take in a greeting. 

I held his hand and couldn't help but stare at how attractive he was. "Please, sit."

I looked down to take my chair, being wary of the edge of the table, before seating myself. He took the opposite seat across from me, allowing us a moment to settle before speaking, 

"Well, you certainly look the part," He joked lightly, trying to break the tension between us. 

I looked down at what I was wearing. It was a rendition of what I had been wearing this entire week; dark-colored jeans, a Guns and Roses t-shirt, and my leather jacket. It was definitely a 180 to his city boy outfit. 

"I haven't had time to go shopping," I replied, stiffly. Even though, my current style was simply a more mature version of this. 

"Have you looked through the-" He took the menu in his hands, speaking casually. 

"I'm not very hungry." I cut him off fairly quickly. I didn't mean to be rude, however, I was uncomfortable being seen in public. 

I had advised him beforehand, that meeting, and staying out of Blackburn would be the best idea. The town could recognize an outsider from a mile away. In my opinion, the next town over was not far enough. "I'd like to say something first before we begin," 

"Of course," He set the menu down and gave me his full attention. 

There was a switch in his head that brought him from casual to business. I could see it on the night of his eyes. It was almost intimidating.

"I've been working with the DEA for three years, this job has given me a sense of moral direction- if you will," I said, hoping for him to understand where I was coming from. "I've had to leave this life behind a long time ago. I literally left everything here in California."

Romero watched me intently, his eyes searching my being for any signs I could give off. He read my body language, how tense and worried I was. 

"I can still leave all of this behind, but I can not- will not let this club die."

He sighed at my words, sinking back in his seat, as I continued,

"I want to help you take down the Camilo Cartel, but I need to know that our investigation isn't going to hurt the MC."

"(Y/n) I understand your relationship with the club, but you said it yourself, you haven't had a connection to them in seven years." I grabbed my drink, taking a sip of the cold water as I felt my body heat with emotion. "Bangtan has been on ATF's radar for years. They aren't a Robinhood club anymore- they're a gang. One that's been dealing arms to gangs all over California."

"We aren't ATF," I told him bluntly. 

He looked at me severely offended. I knew what my words sounded like to his ears. I had looked at him in the eyes and told him I didn't care. 

"You want us to cut a deal with the club?" He scoffed at the idea. "You know they'd never take it."

"No, I want you to make a deal with me," I tried not to sound demanding, but I needed to be honest with him if this was going to work. “Nothing I say about this club can be used against them.”

"You had a deal," He snapped. He didn't have to raise his voice to make me feel his rage. I could see it in his gestures, the fire burning in his eyes. "Don't forget, you came to work with us so you wouldn't serve a ten-year sentence for heroin possession."  

"The deal was I helped the DEA put away a shot caller," Back when I was shooting up heroin nearly twice a day, I had grown close to a high ranking gang member, who was part of a large network of dope dealers. "I came to work afterward because it was the only good thing I had ever done with my life."  

His stare only became more troublesome. I sighed to myself, also leaning away from the conversation. "I understand if you can't make me this deal. But then, I need you to fire me and find another way to get to the Cartel. I'm not going to destroy this club or let them destroy themselves."  

"You think you can save them?" He asked as if I was filled with senseless hope. 

"If they don't taste this drug money, I think we can," I was stubbornly hopeful.  

"The DEA just wants the Cartel. As long as you help us through the information from Bangtan, we won't prosecute them." Agent Romero stood from his chair and pulled out his phone. "I'll make the call and get you the paperwork."

I could finally breathe easy once he stepped away to make that phone call. Bangtan could never understand my situation, why I would be working with the DEA in the first place. It was everything our lifestyle preached against. We were anarchists. 

Emma Goldman said,

Anarchism stands for the liberation of the human mind from the dominion of religion. The liberation of the human body from the coercion of property; liberation from the shackles and restraint of government. It stands for a social order based on the free grouping of individuals. 

That's what Bangtan was supposed to represent and it did, a long time ago, before it knew the payment of sin. When your life is moved off the social grid, you give up on the safety that society provides. On the fringe, blood and bullets are the rules of the law and if you have convictions, violence is inevitable. When you take action to avenge the ones you love, personal justice collides with social and divine justice. You become a judge, jury, and god. Some people cave under the weight, others abuse the momentum. But the true outlaw finds the balance between the passion in their heart and the reason in their mind. 

Bangtan was lost under my father's leadership. I didn't realize that until I was gone from his side. I hated to admit that maybe, under Namjoon, the club could find their way back. I just had to make sure that happened.

"I'll have the paper ready for you later tonight," Agent Romero said, returning to the table. He pulled the chair out for himself, "I'm hoping to just go over some basic information with you for right now." 

"Alright," I would still be mindful of the information we discussed, nothing would be set until I signed those papers.  

I moved into the front of my jacket, taking hold of a pack of cigarettes that I regretted at the moment of purchasing, but now was grateful for. Romero remained with his phone in his hands, looking through images that I couldn't make out from my seat. 

"As of right now, the number of members in the club is unknown to us. However, we think it's somewhere between twenty-five to thirty." He said, his eyes still trailing over the screen. I pulled out a square from its tight pack, arranging it between my dry lips and flickering my zippo lighter. Romero reacted to the sound, his eyes finding their way to me but not daring to say anything against it. "Of course, there are the eight members who are at the head of the table as of right now- well, seven now,"

He stammered over the sensitive information. Romero looked over my expression for any sign of discomfort. The only thing he found was the nicotine leaving my mouth in smoke form. "Bangtan was established in 1987, all of the original founding members are either in prison or dead. They are what is identified as part of the 1% of motorcyclists that practice in criminal activity for a living."

That was something that Bangtan wore as a patch on their cuts. The 1% patch referred to a comment by the American Motorcyclist Association, that 99% of motorcyclists were law-abiding citizens, implying the last one percent were outlaws. "According to ATF reports, Bangtan established a direct line to a secret Russian group that dealt with firearms. Despite constant observations and raid attempts, they've never been able to catch them with a large possession of illegal firearms."

"Bangtan doesn't cross their money streams, the bar is a legitimate business. They have a separate location for their illegal activity." I said to him. 

They learned that the hard way. The only thing you would find in the bar is watered down alcohol and burner phones. 

"They built a compromise with the Pure Brotherhood fifteen years ago, to keep the drug trade out of Blackburn." My father knew what drugs could do to a person. He didn't want me, or any of the youth in the town to grow up knowing that trouble. 

"Until now," Agent Romero placed his phone on the table and sighed. He knew my words were true and that things were about to get much worse. 

"You have to know, as well as I do, that Bangtan joining the Cartel is a matter of when- not if." I did know. I just didn't want to admit it. "If it comes to supporting a neo-nazi group, who are preparing for the great race war- or an organized, billion-dollar trade. The option is pretty clear to me." 

Romero was right. Supporting a racist organization was never something the club appreciated. It was bad business and the Camilo Cartel was the perfect way out of it. 

"The club knows how commanding Camilo will be. They won't give in without some kind of backlash of other members." I said, hoping that was enough to stall them. 

He didn't seem very convinced by my reasons as a waitress came by with a glass of water for him. He thanked her and ordered something for himself that I didn't quite hear. 

"For you?" She politely smiled at me. I waved her off with a hand gesture, trying to be as pleasant as I could. 

We observed her leave the balcony to place his order. Romero set the notes of his phone away and began to ask me questions.

"What can you tell me about the local law enforcement?" There wasn't much to say.

"They obviously don't appreciate the sense of authority the club has over the town. But they have let a few things slide from time to time." I took another drag, a deeper one than before. "Are they going to assist in this investigation?"

"We'll have to let them know so that they don't interfere with anything." It was just courtesy but I didn't trust the Blackburn police. Bangtan would definitely have cops who were on their side. 

"How is your relationship with the current members?" A combination of the question and the nicotine made my hand tremble.

"I went to school with some of them. They're rather polite to me because of my father." I'm sure he wanted more detail than that. 

"What about your step-brother? Namjoon Kim?" 

"It's complicated," I said growing sick of the cigarette in my hand, tossing it to the floor. 

"Can you get close to him?" I looked Romero in the eyes and knew what his words meant. 

However, with our history, his words took on a whole other meaning in my head. A twisted smile appeared on my lips. 

"Yes, I can." 

-

After I met with agent Romero, I retreated to my crappy motel. I sat on my standing Harley in the parking lot and dreaded entering the depressing space. Then I recalled the comment Romero had made about my outfit. I decided against entering, taking his advice, and putting my father's money to good use. 

I left my bike parked at the motel and went on foot to the nearby boutique shops. I might have been raised by bikers, but I liked to think I still had decent taste in fashion. At least, when it comes to dressing myself, I'll wear anything as long as I can put my leather jacket over it. 

I stared at the racks filled with hanging clothing, the colors arranged in no particular order, made me feel discouraged. There was nothing but low-cut blouses that would slip off the second I hit 20 miles on my bike. I was pleased to find pants that weren't ripped or acid dipped. This particular store also had a fine selection of vegan leather. It wasn't as nice as real leather, but it was certainly cheaper. 

"Hey, (Y/n)." 

I didn't recognize the male voice at first, but when I turned around, I was greeted by a sunny smile. Hoseok was standing a few feet beside me, and Yoongi was just behind him. "Doing some shopping?"

"Uh, yeah," I responded, placing the brown leather jacket in the pile of clothes I had already picked out. I turned to face them a little more before asking, "What are you guys doing here?"

I specifically referred to the fact that this was a female boutique. The two of them looked humorously out of place in their leather cuts, standing in the small, soft-colored store. 

"His sister's back in town," Yoongi responded fairly bored. 

"I wanted to get her something," Hoseok explained further. I assumed he had dragged Yoongi along for some reason. "But honestly, I have no idea what to look for."

Hoseok looked a little flustered in his expression. I sensed that he was entertaining the idea of me offering him guidance. I suppose this could be my chance, to put my fashion senses to the test.

"Well, what does she like?" I prompted, hoping he would have some kind of outline for me to think in.

 "She's really into fashion but I don't know what size she wears," He said. His hand lazily pushing through the rack of clothing, like he didn’t know where to start.

"If that's the case, you can get her accessories," I told him. I figured that would be easiest for both of us. My eyes peered around the room, remembering having seen some stuff earlier. 

I spotted some things hanging on the wall on the other side of the store. I advanced in that direction with Hoseok trailing behind me. We pushed through some racks of clothing to reach the large wall of accessories. 

"There are hats and scarves,” I said, reaching out to touch some of the fabrics. Jewelry also hung in packs and pairs, the false metal reflecting the sunlight. “Maybe not this jewelry though, it looks cheap."

Hoseok chuckled as he eyed the things on the wall. Any of the things on the wall didn't seem too horrendous. I even kept my eyes open for anything I might like. Most of the wall was fool’s gold of necklaces and earrings. The bottom shelf held hats, nothing I found particularly interesting though. Some of the items looked to have been savaged by kids who could reach. That only left the scarves. They were dangling, one after the other, rows and rows of them. I came across a silk scarf that was cool to the touch. 

"Look at this," I said, getting Hoseok’s attention. It was a square shape scarf, with berry colors of flowers and patterns. "These colors are in right now, since it's almost autumn. The silk also won't stick to her in this California sun." 

"Yeah, this looks nice." He sounded satisfied with this item. He fiddled with the material in his fingers and then found the price tag. "$80?!"

I knew that silk scarfs were expensive, especially in a little boutique like this one. I patted his shoulder and gave him a fake empathetic look,

"That's the price of beauty," I joked. 

"As if this scarf is going to do all the work," He responded, a little annoyed. 

Hoseok settled on the scarf as a gift, regardless. I felt content with the hangers in my hand. It was enough clothing to keep me from looking like an angsty adolescent.

"I didn't see your bike parked in front," Hoseok mentioned as we strolled together to the register. 

"I'm staying at the motel nearby," I replied vaguely. Hoseok stood back and allowed me to put my things down first. I greeted the woman politely and turned back to look at them.

"That lousy place down the street?" Yoongi then questioned. Just by the look on his face, he seemed to know exactly which one."That place has roaches." 

"Thanks for reminding me," I bantered lightly. I should definitely look for a better place, I thought as the woman began to scan my items. I leaned against the counter, my feet aching a bit from just being up and around. 

"I thought Namjoon told you to stay at his place," Hoseok said, recalling the exact moment. 

"The prince doesn't always get what he wants," I shrugged. 

Then I failed to hide the sneer on my mouth as I found myself to be hilarious. I made eye contact with the other two also, only Hoseok smiled at me, while Yoongi awkwardly nodded his head. I thought they were a strange pair as I searched for my wallet on my person.

"Well, you should check out my new Harley," I was admittedly intrigued by Hoseok's offer. I located my purse in the depths of my jacket and peeped his way. By the look on his face, I could tell he was excited to show off. He was like a child in a candy shop.

"Oh, yeah?" I was interested to find out more. My eyes scanned the monitor of the register for my final price of the clothing. 

"Year model," He beamed proudly. 

I counted the bills of twenty in my hand before handing them over to the women. I grabbed a hold of the three large paper bags where my purchases had been stuffed into. Hoseok set the dainty scarf on the register next. 

"You still got your Deluxe, Yoongi?" I asked out of curiosity, recalling just barely the bike he used as a prospect. He simply nodded his head as an answer. 

I had been thinking of getting myself one a while back. I loved vintage style bikes, especially when they had modern engines. 

"Yeah well, I left the cruiser for a street bike," Hoseok remarked as we waited for him to finish paying. 

I thought a bike could say a lot about a person. I personally liked cruiser bikes over any other style. However, everyone in the club had their own preference. Jimin and I had a similar taste in bikes. We mostly found interest in the same Harleys, except that he owned a Low Rider, which was a billiard blue color. 

"What is it? An Iron 833?" I guessed. Thinking, in my head, that it was a well-suited bike for him. 

"Close," Hoseok laughed, as he took hold of a smaller version of my bags. We all began to walk toward the exit, the woman wishing us a good day. "It's an Iron 1200, solid black." 

I had an idea of what that bike looked like, but I had yet to see the new model for the year. "I just picked it up yesterday morning,"

Yoongi held the door open for me to step out first. Hoseok was still speaking in my ear as they followed out the door of the shop. His talking came to a soft silence as we were faced with the two member's Harleys. Their bikes were parked right in front of the boutique. Except, it appeared that Hoseok's new Harley was being used in a photoshoot.

There was a pair of strangers, a man who was posing on the bike with his motor racer jacket. A woman stood in front of him, trying to capture the image on a cell phone. 

"Take the damn picture, already." He cursed at her. The man looked annoyed every time he wasn't posing for the picture. 

"I'm trying," The blonde woman responded. She sounded very apologetic like she didn't want him to get upset with her. Like she knew what would happen if he did. 

Before I could even think to look at the boys, Hoseok was handing me his shopping bag. I took a hold of it and followed behind them as they approached the scene.

Hoseok walked up the woman as Yoongi circled his bike. 

"Here, let me do it." Hoseok smiled at her, gently taking the phone from her hands. The woman looked startled. 

"Shit," She was wide-eyed. "I-I told him on to,"

"It's all right," Hoseok was sympathetic to her. I came around to her side, gently taking a hold of her arm and guiding her away from the position.

Hoseok’s eyes rearranged to look at the man. "He looks like a guy that knows how to get what he wants,"

She followed my advice and stepped aside with me. Now seeing her face more clearly, I took notice of the healing injury on her mouth. "Did you do that to her lip?"

Hoseok questioned casually. The guy didn’t seem alarmed by any means, not even when he stepped toward him.

"Bitch has a mouth on her," The man said chuckling. He spoke to Hoseok as if he would understand where he was coming from. "You know how it is, right?" 

"Yeah, I do." Hoseok laughed, returning the man's smile. I was painfully aware of how close Hoseok was getting to him. He, who still hadn't moved from his seat on the bike. "So you like Harley's, huh?" 

"Well, they look good," He replied, patting a handprint on the metal of the gasoline tank. That made even me. even a little angry. "But I'm more into the slant bikes, for their speed." 

I eyed the Kawasaki Ninja 300 that was parked a few spots over. There was no way this couple was from Blackburn- people around here knew better. He was in for a rude awakening. 

"Right, right." The courtesy in Hoseok's voice brought an uneasy feeling in my stomach. He looked back down at the phone in his hands and tapped the almost sleeping screen. "Here,"

He said, holding the phone up to take the picture of the man. Yoongi stepped around his bike, standing right beside Hoseok. "Say cheese,"

I almost felt bad for the guy who dared to smile for the picture. After the phone clicked, Hoseok handed the phone to Yoongi. 

"That's before," Yoongi muttered loudly. 

It wasn't until then that the man noticed something wasn't right. 

"Before?" He asked. 

Hoseok grabbed his helmet off the handlebar. He gripped it tight in his hand as he used the back of it to swing a blow to the guy's face. The single impact was strong enough to make him drop off the Harley. He landed on the cold, hard ground. Blood was draining from his nose and into his mouth.

"Don't ever sit on another man's bike," Hoseok spat. 

"Oh my god," The blondie gasped beside me. You couldn't fail to recognize the giggle in her voice. 

"Shut up, bitch!" The man barked as he was still struggling on the floor with pain. 

Yoongi stepped in as Hoseok went to take care of his bike. He swung his boot into the man's rib cage, making him groan and spit out his own blood. 

"A little respect for the ladies," He warned, squatting down to get a good angle on the man's phone. The shutter of the phone went off again, capturing the man's new state of humble. "That's after."

Yoongi stood back on his legs and allowed the phone to slip from his hands, hitting the floor. 

By the time I thought to check on the blondie next to me, I caught her gawking eyes at Hoseok. I was half surprised to see Hoseok returning the look. He leaned forward on his bike, 

"So, where are you heading?" He flashed her a killer smile.

"Oh," She blushed under his stare. Her fingers fiddling the ends of her clothing as she tried to remain casual. "Nowhere special," 

"Me too," He smirked. Looking the girl up and down before gesturing his head behind him, "Hop on, angel."

This girl wasted no time hesitating. There was even a little kick in her step as Hoseok handed her the helmet he had just used to break her boyfriend's face. I stepped forward to return Hoseok's gift as she straddled on behind him, slipping the helmet over her face. I lost interest sometime before they exchanged names. 

I glanced at the man still laying on the ground. His eyes were wandering over the blood that stained his hands in disbelief. I imagined the blow to the face had left him a little hazy in the head.

"Why don't you let Yoongi give you a ride, (Y/n)?" Hoseok then suggested. The engine of his new bike began to roar. 

The thought wasn't well-received in my head. I had a personal ordeal with men seeking to have me on the back of their bikes. Though I was well aware this wasn't the situation, I couldn't help but be hesitant. 

"Unless you want to stay with the likes of him," Yoongi pointed out, motioning his head to the unfortunate figure on the pavement. 

He gave me the time it took to light his cigarette to think about it. I wasn't afraid of that guy, not after what Hoseok did to him, not after what I had tucked into my jeans. But I figured avoiding the confrontation would be beneficial for everyone. 

"Alright," I said stepping off the sidewalk into the street.

Yoongi left his helmet on the handle of his bike for me to grab. Unlike mine, he had a half helmet that would only serve my brain on a platter if we crashed. I adjusted the loose straps around my chin and switched all my bags to one hand. 

"Better hold on, princess." Yoongi teased as I mounted the seat behind him.

"Don't call me that," I groaned, starting to get irritating flashbacks that made me doubt my current judgment.  

The engine of his Harley trembled under me as I hooked my free hand around his waist. 

His Delux wasn't necessarily meant to hold a passenger but we weren't going very far. I had to scoot in closer to his body, to make sure the weight distribution wasn't too off-center. Many inexperienced riders don't know the difference between riding solo and with someone else. In addition to the extra weight, a passenger changes the center of gravity and how the bike rides. Though, I was certain it wasn't the first time Yoongi had company during a ride. 

"Gem?" I heard the man call over the rumble of the motor. "Gem!"

We were already backed into the street, Hoseok obnoxiously hit the gas on his bike. Yoongi and I followed closely behind him, leaving the man to stumble onto his feet. 

The motel was roughly five minutes away from the shop. Hoseok and his new friend accompanied Yoongi to drop me off. Riding in the back reminded me a lot of being young, I would beg my father to take me for a spin. I would wrap my arms tightly around him, as my head rested on his back. Down these same roads, he would drop me off at school or take me for ice cream. It didn't help that I stared at Yoongi's cut the entire way. Those were some memories I didn't visit very often because they saddened me. Now, more so, than ever. 

The Harleys pulled up in front of the motel. Hoseok parked just beside my bike. Yoongi pressed on the break gently, allowing the bike to come to a complete stop, before planting his feet on the ground. I freed his torso from my arm, adjusting my other grip around my shopping bags, before patting his shoulder.

"Thanks for the ride," I said a bit stiffly. I had to depend on Yoongi's shoulder for stability as I attempted to unmount the bike. 

"No problem," He spoke, still maintaining a cigarette in his mouth. 

He took his hands off the handlebars and rested back in his seat. "I'm sure you could have handled yourself,"

His comment fell ghastly on my ears. I transferred my bags to my other hand, my left-hand aching from having been gripping them as I watched him. 

"I mean, I've seen what you could do with that foot." He said, taking his cigarette out of his mouth and between his fingers. He was clearly referring to the night I arrived when I lost my temper with that PB member. 

"Yes, well, I have my old man's passion," I replied calmly. Though, something in Yoongi's stare made me feel a bit uneasy. His words were hinting at something else. 

"And you're pretty passionate with a gun." The way he looked at me when he said that it was full of doubt. Our eyes correlated, and I felt like his black orbs could see right through me. 

"It reminded me of a cop,"

 A shiver crept down my spine, and my shoulders fell heavy. My manner of confronting that PB member screamed police to any outlaw. My impulsiveness had kept me from thinking that through. 

It was the first time I was being questioned about it. I thought it had slipped by everyone's mind, but not his. 

"Did I scare you that bad, Yoongi?" I teased, trying to react the way I normally would. "I'm just cautious like the rest of you," 

Yoongi didn't appear to be swayed by my words. He brought his cigarette back to his mouth, his cheekbones hollowing in as he took a drag. I was debating on waiting for him to say something else, or on trying to keep justifying myself before Hoseok cut into our conversation. 

I had never been so grateful for Hoseok's existence. 

"Yoongi," Hoseok called out in front of us. We both turned to look at his place still sitting on his Harley. 

We then realized that Hoseok was gesturing to the other side of the lot. We followed his gaze over to a set of people by the sidewalk. 

They were too far away to distinguish any particular details of their identity. However, it looked like two males that were having an eager conversation. I noticed their head kept turning from side to side, and they couldn't keep still. Just when I began to think that it was nothing, one of them reached out for a handshake. 

No one was supposed to deal in Blackburn.

"Jesus Christ," I caught sight of Yoongi flinging his cigarette in a fit. He beat down his kickstand with the bottom of his boot, before making his way off the Harley. 

"Looks like PB," Hoseok stated, accompanying Yoongi's action. 

When he unmounted his bike, blondie gave him a confused stare as she reached out to touch his hand. Her eyes like a lamb gazed at Hoseok sweetly.

"Stay put, angel." He said, using the touch to bring her in closer. He gently touched her chin and planted a kiss on her busted lip. She smiled, uncertain by his words but agreed, regardless. 

"Let's go," Yoongi called, his hand reaching behind him. Without drawing his weaponry, he maintained his hand resting on the handle of the gun under his leather cut. I followed in his footsteps, unsure of what I should do in this situation. 

 Should I attempt to interfere? Or will there be a shoot out right here?

I set my bags on the floor before catching up to Yoongi who was already by Hoseok's side. 

The hooded man remained standing at the end of the parking lot, near the street corner. His customer had vanished but he was still occupied with his cell phone. 

Hoseok noticed me trailing behind Yoongi, 

"Keep an eye on her," He told me, gesturing his eyes to the scared woman on his motorcycle. 

I had to babysit his groupie? 

I stopped where I stood, just beside Hoseok's Iron. I could see blondie looking in my direction, but I was watching Hoseok and Yoongi approach the standing figure. I forced strands of hair away from my line of sight. I could feel my heart begin to beat against my chest. My limbs become stiff as stone. 

I don't know what the hell I'm supposed to do in a situation like this. This was my first event as a field agent, and I was about to let a shootout take place. With a liability sitting right next to me. 

"What's going on?" She urged me, but I neglected her completely. 

The hooded figure was so distracted he didn't take any notice of the impending threat. The two members quickened their steps, Hoseok dawdling just a little more ahead of Yoongi.

Without warning, Hoseok skulked behind the body, his arms both wrapped tightly around the torso. It was like a kidnapping scene. He used his large hand to shield the man's mouth. The force of Hoseok's legs pulled them back as he was able to dominate him easily. Yoongi kept his eyes peeled for any potential bystanders as they stumbled their way against the wall of the motel. The wall cast a shadow and provided them with coverage from the view of the street. 

"Oh my god!" Blondie gasped in disbelief. 

She took a hold of my arm in panic. She pulled on my arms as if she wanted us to run. Her frenzy state pestered me greatly.

I yanked her hand from my arm, my fingers clutched around her wrist tightly. She heaved at the pain, I could feel her pulse quickening against my fingertips.

"You make a fucking noise," I hissed at her between my teeth. Her eyes remained full of fear as I pushed her from my hold. "It'll be your last,"

Her eyes followed my actions as I withdrew my Glock from its cover on my hip. She froze with fright, only continuing to remain silent in her place.

I guess I wasn't very good at being a good guy.

The next I looked back, Yoongi was holding the barrel of his gun against the guy's head. He was still fighting against Hoseok's restraint but he was becoming more frantic and less functional. Yoongi's lips were moving, saying words that were too far away for my ears.

Just then, as if things couldn't have been complicated enough; I noticed an oncoming party. Approaching from down the sidewalk was a large white man with a bald head. His arms revealed a clash of tattoos, the only one that I needed to make out was a black swastika peering out his shoulder. He also wasn't shy about the gun tucked in the front of his jeans. He appeared to be searching for his lost friend.

"Shit," I cursed to myself. I had to do something.

I took a moment to look back at blondie, making sure to be as intimidating as possible when I warned her. "Don't move from here,"

I took off immediately, my feet moving at a jogging pace. I attempted to not appear alarmed. I discreetly lead my gun to my side, trying to go unnoticed for the time being. I made it to the end of the parking lot, sitting between me and the sidewalk was a few bushes at waist level. 

Yoongi and Hoseok were preoccupied with the man in front of them to worry about their surroundings. 

The bald man was only a few steps away from reaching the corner, where he would surely find his buddy taken captive.

I moved closer toward the building, both parties coming more clear in my line of sight. If he makes it around that corner, he could catch them by surprise and gain an upper hand quickly. One of the boys could get injured for sure.

I had to follow my instincts. 

I leaned into the bushes for more security. They couldn't have been more than fifteen feet from me. I clutched the metal weight in my hand, raising my arms and seeking to find aim. 

Aim small, miss small. 

I concentrated on the man's shoulder. I took in a deep breath to steady my hands. He was getting bigger with each step. When I exhaled the breath from my nostrils, I pulled the trigger. 

The gunshot rang through the open air and into my ear. Blondie's scream echoed somewhere behind me. The man stumbled on his legs, he clutched his right bicep and his face tore with shock.

Yoongi found me by the bushes. He quickly recognized that my target wasn't far from them. 

My victim quickly discovered me at the end of the sidewalk. He reached for his firearm, but at that moment, Yoongi stepped out of the shadow. He pulled two quick shots before the man could ever hold up his gun. 

He tumbled onto the floor, his legs giving out at the bullet that pierced his foot. The second one ripped through the flesh of his arm and caused his gun to fall from his grip. 

I ran up behind Yoongi, I kept my gun drawn and pointed at the fallen form. With my foot, I stretched for the dropped pistol, dragging it across the cement into my area of reach. I was able to pick it up with ease after that. 

The bald man stared at me with hate emitting from his eyes. He spit at my feet.

I noticed Yoongi's eyes on me, as well. It was almost as if he was conflicted by my actions. With a nod of my head, I assured him that I had their back. Whether he believed me or not, he returned to the current situation.

Hoseok remained holding down the other guy who, was still yelling through his muzzled mouth. His face was red and his eyes were watering with anger and fear. Hoseok released his mouth after the bastard threw a bite at his hand.

Yoongi had enough.

He pushed his hair out of his forehead and, in that same step, hurled his fist to the guy's jaw. Yoongi growled at the impact. He left the man silent in Hoseok's arms. His nose was dripping blood, a gash on his cheek also overflowed with the red liquid. 

"Tell me where the PB is cooking the meth!" Yoongi demanded.

He cocked his gun and pressed the pistol against the fabric that covered the man's genitals. The man cried, he begged Yoongi to not pull the trigger.

"Now, you son of a bitch!"

Hearing it was hard enough, I couldn't watch it.

"I-In Blackburn! In Blackburn!" He ratted instantly.

My stomach churned at his answer. I looked at the scene unfolding beside me. I could see Hoseok and Yoongi were as startled as I was.

"They've got a lab down Riverside road! I-It's an ugly little red house- you can't miss it!"

Yoongi freed the man's crotch from gunpoint as Hoseok shoved him onto the floor. Hoseok stepped around the man's body and came directly to my side. I maintained my aim on the other guy, who was still sitting on the floor, blood oozing out of three different wounds. 

Hoseok rested his hand on my shoulder, gently guiding my arm to lower my gun.  

"Let's get out of here, angel." He whispered sweetly. 

His words somehow managed to ease the knots of tension in my chest. I took a breath of relief and handed him the extra gun I had confiscated. Hoseok smiled at me and tucked the gun away from my sight. He then put his hand on my back, escorting me back the way we came from. 

We had no problem turning our backs to them. They were both disarmed, one was bleeding out, and the other was frightened beyond recognition. There was no need to stick around for the police to show up. If those two guys were smart, they would find a way out of here before they came. The Blackburn policemen would know what happened to them and why.

Yoongi followed right behind us. I could hear his footsteps on the pavement as we strolled toward our bikes. From where we were, I could see blondie was still sitting on Hoseok's Harley.

Except, she appeared to be making a phone call.

"Oh, for fuck's sake." I groaned. Hoseok noticed my gaze and soon saw the same thing I did. She saw us walking in her direction and quickly hung up the phone. 

She looked frightened when we finally approached her. She swung her leg over the bike, getting off on the opposite side of us. As if the Harley would keep us from getting to her. I allowed Hoseok to handle her. 

"Sorry about that, angel," Hoseok's voice was something dangerous. He leaned his hand on the handle of the bike and smiled. "Who was that?"

"M-My boyfriend," She stuttered, trying to not buy into his enchanting smile, not after what she just witnessed. "He's coming to pick me up."

"Good," I muttered. I locked eyes with her for just a moment while I passed by to pick up my shopping backs. I imagined I had traumatized her enough for one day.

"That's too bad you've got to go," I could hear the suggestiveness in Hoseok's voice. 

I walked past Yoongi's bike to my own. I had never been so happy to mount my Harley. The way the engine roared when I turned the gas made me shiver with delight. I walked the bike backward, turning slowly to line up beside Yoongi's. Who was taking advantage of Hoseok's flirting to light up another cigarette.

I followed in his thought and tried to locate the same pack from earlier. 

"I didn't expect you to step in like that," Yoongi suddenly muttered as he stood next to his bike. 

I took the smoke between my two fingers, putting the pack back on my jacket pocket. I held it between my lips and fiddled with my lighter. 

"You didn't think I was trying to arrest you?" I mocked. 

I flicked the lighter a few times, a flame igniting out of the chamber. I held the frame between my palms and used my fingers as a shield from the wind.  

"I'm trying to thank you, here, princess." He sighed.

I smiled and brought the fire to the end of my cigarette. I sucked in the burning tobacco, quickly flicking the lighter shut. 

"Go ahead," I smirked as I held the smoke in my lungs. 

I could tell Yoongi didn't do this very often. His brown eyes glared at me from underneath his black lashes. 

"Oh, forget it." He hissed, inhaling another drag.

Yoongi held his cigarette between his lips and turned his back to me. He mounted his own bike and called out to Hoseok. "Let's go already!"

Hoseok seemed to be working his magic on blondie all over again. He was still leaning on his bike, and she had taken a few paces closer to him. She wasn't scared anymore.

If it wasn't for the obnoxious speed bike coming down the road, Hoseok would have probably been able to convince her back to his place. The black and green bike came to a screeching stop. His face was covered by a full style helmet, so we weren't able to see the aftermath of his humbling experience. 

Hoseok stood up straight, a smirk jeering onto his lips as he viewed the new arrival. Blondie looked over her shoulder and gave Hoseok a sympathetic look. She didn't want to leave now. 

Hoseok grabbed her hand, bringing her knuckles up to his lips. He sent her away, drifting on a cloud. 

Blondie slipped on her matching helmet, before mounting his motorcycle. 

"Ready?" Yoongi asked sarcastically. 

Hoseok's smirk remained on his face as he climbed on his bike. He was just on time as we began to hear police sirens off in the distance. 

"Ready," He replied. 

-

We had made it to the lot of the House of Cards without any trouble. The other handful of Harley's left in the front indicated a full house inside. Standing along the wall of the entrance, Taehyung held a conversation with Yeonjun as he smoked. 

I followed the boys in parking alongside the other bikes. Removing my open-face helmet from my head, I relieved myself of the pressure of its protection. 

"Prospect!" Yoongi called from his place, on his Harley, beside me. 

I set my kickstand down, resting on my bike as I watched Yeonjun leave Taehyung's side. He was wearing his prospect cut over a dark blue flannel, his feet moved quickly, down the open lot. Taehyung remained against the wall, finishing his cigarette alone. 

Once Yeonjun presented himself in front of us, he took a moment to acknowledge me with a smile. Before Yoongi demanded his attention,

"Listen closely," He said, also removing his helmet and slumping in his seat. "You're going to take (Y/n)'s bags, go to the motel on 15th street and check her out."

It made sense that I couldn't stay there after the disturbance. If what the man said was true, it meant that the PB was already taking action against the club. Blackburn wasn't safe anymore. 

"Grab all her things and bring them back here." 

Yeonjun nodded his head in understanding. Both his hands reached down to feel around in his front pocket. From his right one, he pulled out keys to his Harley. 

"Woah!" Taehyung came up behind the young prospect. He reached around him and snatched the keys from his hands. "Who said you can take your Harley?" 

Taehyung stuffed the keys into his pocket and wore a grin while his lips still held his cigarette. 

"Oh come on, Tae," Yeonjun attempted to not sound too annoyed. He sighed, " It'll be easier if I-"

"I bought you a brand new bike, Yeonjun." Taehyung's voice was teasing. "Don't be ungrateful." 

Taehyung took the smoke from his mouth and watched the poor boy give up. I could hear Hoseok chuckle from the other side of Yoongi. I was questioning what they had him doing this time. 

Yeonjun left without another word. He walked toward the back of the bar, I lost sight of him as he disappeared around the corner. Taehyung was left with a permanent grin on his mug. He then turned his attention to the three of us that remained on our bikes. 

"Where are you all coming from?" He asked. We were an odd combination to anyone who saw us.

"We ran into some trouble while shopping," Hoseok replied. He set his helmet on the seat of his bike as he rose from it. "And we picked her up on the way." 

"Lucky me," I quietly joked. 

"What kind of trouble?" Taehyung seemed to be more interested in that. 

Hoseok sighed as he removed his leather gloves. He stuffed them into his front pocket and slowly advanced toward his friend. 

"The kind that we should bring up at church," Yoongi replied. 

Hoseok slipped his arms around Taehyung's shoulder and reassured the gravity of Yoongi's words with his slow head bob. His brows furrowed as he adjusted the bandana that was holding his hair back. 

"Everyone's here now," Taehyung informed him. "I'll let Joon know to call a meeting." 

Yoongi joined the rest of the boys in standing. I was the only one who remained mounting my Harley. 

There was no doubt in my mind that they were going to discuss forms of retaliation. With the new information, it would have to be something powerful. It was going to be a declaration of strength. It was already long overdue. 

"Check it out," Hoseok suddenly called. He was laughing as his eyes were staring down the back of the bar. 

My mouth dropped as I finally got a glimpse of what he was referring too. Literally, on a brand new bicycle, Yeonjun came pedaling down the sidewalk. It was painted black, with rainbow streamers and a gold horn. Yeonjun looked miserable wearing a matching rainbow helmet.

My soft giggle was masked by the loud laughter of Hoseok and Taehyung. They were barely breathing in between the enormous amounts of joy. Even Yoongi failed to conceal the smile on his face as he shook his head in disapproval. 

Yeonjun had no other choice but to accept his cruel fate. 

He came into the parking lot. He stood on his bicycle right beside me, staring at his laughing elders. I put my hand on his shoulder and gave him my most honest look of compassion.

"I'll take your bags now, (Y/n)." The bitterness in his voice was adorable. 

"Thanks, hun." I handed him the shopping bags. "All of my things should be in a backpack on the floor."

He pushed the bags up his arm so that they rested in the crook of his elbow. I also pulled out and handed him my room keys, making sure to give him the money to pay for my short time there. 

"Be careful prospect," Hoseok said. He sounded sincere at the beginning of his statement. But he ultimately couldn't hold back his urge to make jokes. "Don't get a speeding ticket." 

Taehyung broke out laughing all over again. His arms came hurling at his crime partner. The actual image of Hoseok's words killed him. I had never seen them laugh so hard. They looked like a pair of schoolboys. 

"Yeah, yeah," Yoenjun muttered. 

He took off, down the parking lot exit without saying goodbye. Hoseok and Taehyung continued to tease him even as he rode off. They yelled out a combination of mockeries and whistles. 

"Come on!" Taehyung cheered. "Honk your horn for us!"

A distant sound of honking down the street melted my heart. It sent the two boys into another giggling frenzy. One that continued as they turned to walk toward the entrance. Only through the doors is that it finally dissipated from my ears.

Yoongi and I were the only ones who remained. Like me, he watched the pair wander off into their own world.  

"Idiots," Yoongi muttered to himself. 

I was amused by his criticism since he participated in their laughter just moments ago. Yoongi slowly turned my way. His eyes noticed that I had failed to make any sudden movements. 

"You coming in, princess?" He questioned. I tried to accept the new nickname but continued to not endorse it.

"I will," I said, reaching for the whereabouts of my phone. I held it up for him to acknowledge. "I'm just going to look for a new place to stay,"

He didn't need any other form convincing than that. He gave me a single nod and retreated to follow the boys inside. I watched his slim figure walk down to the entrance. He must have sensed my eyes because he looked back before opening the doors. All I could do was send him a wave and a barely visible smile.

I needed to be alone to make this phone call.  

I pressed the phone to my ear and hunched over the fuel tank of my Harley. The ringing made me anxious as I coped to remain calm after everything.

"Yes, Ms. (Y/n), I've just received your final paperwork. You'll be happy to know, the agency has agreed to all your terms just as long-" I had to cut him off. 

"That's going to have to be activated as of right now because I have something," I still kept aware of my surroundings, making sure my voice wasn’t too loud.

I looked out for anyone, even just bystanders on the street.

"What did you find out?" His voice asked instantly.

"They have a possible chance for retaliation, with location and everything," I muttered into the phone, still trying to remain vague for several reasons. 

"Listen, (Y/n), we need to be there when they make their choice. Stay on the club- when they move, so do we." He spoke to me sternly. His voice wasn't comforting at all. "Do you understand?"

Bangtan's next moves would decide the future of this club. Their alliance with the PB was beneficial. Did they have the necessary tools to cut that deal on their own? Or were they going to turn to Camilo for help?

I sighed.

"Yes,"

Masterlist ≽

[niksfiks]

Gotta Get It Right: Chapter 11

PAIRING: Loki/OFC

RATING: Mature

NOTES/WARNINGS: Trigger warning: mentions of dubcon, violence, PTSD, sexual assault, and physical abuse in later chapters. 

Also on Ao3 

Feedback is always appreciated (just being an attention whore screaming for comments/reblogs). Taglist is open

Tagging @fandom-and-feminism @fadingcoast @igotloki  @mrshiddleston-uk @mischievousbellerina  @amwolowicz 

Chapter 11: The Dungeons Below

The mind...is a fragile thing. Takes only the slightest tap to tip it in the wrong direction. Charles Xavier, Dark Phoenix (2019)

Loki suppressed a shudder upon entering the prison block. He was all too familiar with the cells, having spent far more time in them than he ever wanted to admit. Those who now occupied this prison were criminals, tried, and convicted for their crimes. He never should have been held, much less beneath the palace. He had tried to save Asgard from the Jotunheim, and from his brother’s idiotic lust for war. That business on Midgard with the Chitari had not been his responsibility. Even if it had, Odin had no right...

He stopped himself mid-thought, refusing to allow the memory to progress. Things had been set right with Odin gone, Thor off-world, perhaps never to return, and Loki firmly ensconced on the throne of Asgard. Regardless of anything else the woman had done, she had cemented his right to rule. And that alone was reason enough for keeping her alive. The other reasons he kept to himself, forgetting them when he finally reached her cell.

The woman sat on the floor with legs folded, her back against the wall. Her hands lay relaxed on her knees, palms turned upward as if to receive something. Loki watched her for some time, focusing on the slightest changes in her expression. He wasn’t sure if she was lost in a vision or simply dreaming, but her brow remained furrowed while her lips moved in silent speech. Just as he decided to leave, her eyes blinked open and bore straight through him.

“What?”

“Hardly a complimentary greeting, Midgardian.”

“If it’s a compliment you’re after, maybe you should visit your harem.”

Loki smirked. “We do not practice such archaic beliefs here.”

“Sounds like a personal problem.”

“I would think,” he said, approaching her cell, “that you would be more appreciative of the one who saved your life.”

“You’d think,” she responded absently, standing in a swift motion. “But technically, you’re not the one who saved me, are you?”

Loki stood silent.

“Figured as much. So the question remains: what?”

“Are you attempting to ask what it is that I desire by visiting you here? Or, perhaps, do you mean to inquire of the time?”

Aleksa rolled her eyes.

“There are so many possible variants of questions beginning with ‘what’, I couldn’t possibly list them all.” He leaned toward her. “You wouldn’t live that long.”

“Except for the part where you told your people to inject me with whatever happy juice it is that makes you immortal-ish. So I appear to have plenty of time. By all means, ramble away.”

Loki’s brow quirked as he wondered just how long she’d been feigning unconsciousness.

“What is your name?”

“Haven’t figured that out already? You’re losing your touch.” she scoffed.

“You proceed from the assumption that I haven’t.”

Aleksa shrugged, her arms folded.

“Regardless, I thought Midgardian soldiers were trained to recite their name and identifying number over and over when questioned. No matter. The data found on your identification tags has proven quite useful.”

Her hand instinctively went to her neck, searching for a chain that wasn’t there.

“Petterson is quite the surname. Perhaps I should just call you ‘pet’.”  

“Only if you have a death wish,” she snarled as she stepped closer to the force field.

“Pet, it is, then.” Her jaw clenched as he grinned. “There will come a time that your little excursions will wear my patience thin.”

“Stop chasing me and it won’t be a problem anymore. Besides, seems to me that your guards need more exercise now and again.”

“Now and again?” he scoffed. “Are you aware that you’ve attempted seventeen escapes in  three months?”

“And made it outside the walls of... whatever-this-is... fourteen of those seventeen times.” Her voice grew distant. “I still need to step up my game.”

“Your game? Quite the shame to waste such extraordinary talents on a... game.”

“But you’d have me play yours.”

“This is no game, pet.”

“Then what is it, Jotunn?” Aleksa growled.

Loki ignored the insult and grinned, satisfied that he was wearing her down. “Opportunity.”

“For what?”

“Well, that remains to be seen, doesn’t it? You are obviously a warrior of considerable expertise, and I admit to being quite intrigued by your,” he paused, “handling of the Tesseract. Certainly, there are other talents that remain hidden.”

“All in service of Asgard, no doubt.” Her voice soft, she added, “Or did you have something more personal in mind?”

Loki was suddenly aware of the difference in height between them as he looked down at her, trying to ignore the sightline straight to her cleavage. “I’m sure we could come to some sort of an arrangement.”

“Fuck off.” An admonition that sounded both sultry and threatening.

“An insult, the typical human response.” he balked. “Why unleash your hatred on me? Was it not your beloved SHIELD that sent you here to fetch those poor, lost academics? And was it not your decision alone to challenge me to duel in exchange for their lives?”

“Just like it’s your decision to keep coming after me every time I escape.” She returned to the back wall, sliding down to the floor. “Maybe you should find a hobby.”

“Oh, I’ve already found one. And it’s proving most entertaining.”

“I repeat,” she said with a sigh, “fuck off. Especially if you’re offended by typical human insults.” Aleksa glared at the sarcastic smile creeping across his face, then decided to disengage. He wanted her attention and she was going to withhold it.

“You can’t ignore me forever, pet.” Loki stared at her, noting the timing of the rise and fall of her chest. His mind wandered to the flesh beneath the tunic, what it might feel like against his own skin.

“It pains me,” he said with a shake of his head to return himself to the moment, “to see a creature of your considerable abilities left down here to rot, but, if that is what you wish...”

With no response, Loki sighed, turned, and made his way to the corridor.

“Oh,” he paused, speaking over his shoulder, “thank you for not instigating another riot during your last escape. It made finding you so much easier.”

He heard the slightest change in the hum of the force fields surrounding the cell before something hard hit him in the back of the head. He spun to find her still seated. The cup that had been in the cell with her now lay on the floor next to his feet. He picked it up, then looked back at her.  She was watching him, her facial features relaxed, almost inviting him to react. He only grinned and resumed his journey out of the prison.

Aleksa sat motionless for some time after Loki’s departure. Her mind raced with new plans for escape mixed with memories that felt more like dreams. She tried to think of simple things like the places or people she knew to settle her mind, but even that failed. Her childhood home in Charleston morphed into an even smaller hut near a cliff. Stifling hot summers spent in band camp became much cooler days walking shorelines with her mother.

Except it wasn’t her mother. Her mother died in an accident. Or was it a raid?

Blue skin.

Red eyes.

So much ice. And fire.

Fire.

“C’mon, Colonel. All you have to do is light the fire. Then you and your friends can go home.”

Aleksa’s eye squeezed shut, trying to block out the vision. They were nightmares, illusions. None of it was real.

Was it?

The desert heat was real. The smell of spice and gunpowder and whatever chemicals she’d been exposed to were real.

“Just light it. You can do that, can’t you?”

She began a breathing exercise, a deep inhale followed by a slow, steady exhale while summoning a white candle in her mind. All she had to do was light it and keep the flame steady.

“The flame will cease to flicker when your mind is calm.” A soft voice, neither male nor female.

“Light the pyre. ” Another voice, definitely male and definitely malicious.

Breathe in.

“You can control matter, control the energy that binds it together.”

Breathe out.

“Just a spark. That’s all. I’d hate for you to have the deaths of anyone else on your hands.”

Breathe.

“What d’ya say?”

“No,” she growled. “Better a few soldiers than thousands of innocents.”

“Never let your gifts be abused.”

How many are dead because of me?

“Poor Rose. Her death will excruciatingly slow without anyone to ensure she receives the proper treatments.”

Rose?

Her mind wandered to a baby, small with bright blue eyes. A child become woman become old, the blue never fading in her eyes, regardless of how distant they became.

Sweet little Rose.

She saw Erik’s face, smiling as he cradled the babe. The smile turned evil as his face morphed into Malick’s.

“Leave her out of this.”

Just kill me instead.

“Then bring me what I want.”

Aleksa’s eyes flew open and she stood, pulling energy from the floor into her body. The lights in her cell flickered, followed by the lights in surrounding cells. The block fell dark for a split second then returned to normal lighting.

None of the other prisoners noticed that the cell at the end of the row was suddenly unoccupied.

D’Varst, on the other hand, thought on all he’d witnessed for a moment before making his way out of the dungeons.

[jhaernyl]

Kiri meta (and a little bit about Suna)

 Me: I had an idea about Kiri and their death toll of shinobi. 

(Which is, if you ask me, another piece of bs from Kishi that is actually an unsustainable practice in any kind of society)

@shetanshadowwolf: Absolutely

Me: So I was thinking that while literal deaths do happen, what usually happens is one of the various levels of 'death'.

Which can be a damnatio memoriae of traitors (Roman Empire practice were convicted criminals/traitors of the state were removed from all official documents and any likenesses of them were destroyed, effectively striking them out of existence by excising their memory) or it can be that by being beaten by someone else you ended up in the other person's position in the rankings or even at the bottom of the rankings (depending on the differences between two people's rankings and the kind of duel and the stipulations in place beforehand) and so the operative you were before 'dies' and the one who beat you takes on your title and job or it can be a way to terminate a specific identity and either go back to your life or start your life anew.

It can also be a death of the person that you were before and then you have to abandon all previous ties, friendships, favors owned, debts incurred, etc. and you have to start your life anew as a new person and the old you is considered dead to the world or you it can be the death of the person that you were and then not only you have to abandon all previous ties / friendships / favors owned / debts incurred / etc. but you also have given your life over to the one who won the spar / showed how much superior to you they are to do whatever they want to it (which fits with Zabuza taking in Haku as his Tool and it turns that sorta-adoption into a cultural Kiri practice).

So when a Kiri shinobi says that someone else 'died' it can mean a lot of things that depend on the context of the 'death' and while sometimes it is a literal cessation of life even within Kiri, usually the literal cessation of life part happens when dealing with enemies.

But it also makes a great fear-based propaganda tool to wave at outsiders, to make it sound like Kiri kills their own indiscriminately and without any kind of logical sense to it.

@shetanshadowwolf: The second one sounds a bit like what the. Fuck. Brain. The whole "I was the sole survivor of my team/ class" stuffs. Like. If they put four chuunin-ready teams to pit each other and one ones who make it out are down to just one or two operatives. If you really wanna strike fear you brag that the rest died

Maybe they didn't really- they could be broken down in ranks y made to wait longer, etc

But I always felt that kiri shouldn't have, in practicality, been literally chumming thru their genin

Me: Or you can always dump a whole class of graduates down to get re-taught because what the fuck was that, you are not even close to the standards we want you to meet, except you Zabuza, you did great.

And then you reward Zabuza with the 'Monster of the Mist' title because Zabuza should have been way the fuck scarier than he was in the manga/anime (but he was basically the first main antagonist and I know Kishi hadn't even planned or wanted to do that arc so I can see why Zabuza, and hell even Kakashi in that arc, doesn't hold up to other big antagonists in retrospective) and surely had a fuckton of promise and bloodthirst.

@shetanshadowwolf: Yuuup

And an "if you're gonna have a reputation, kid. Make one that makes your opponents flee the battlefield. Short of that, make them fight with fear in their hearts"

Tho admittedly I think a lot of the continuity issues / hey why are things keep getting worse" is just a bad mix of how long everything got and backfill on things end up twisting into mad BS

Me: Oh I absolutely agree on that point, I just have fun with filling in the plot holes and colouring the lines.

I also think that Kiri could have a communal society that is not structured the way the land villages are.

From the maps I've found online, Whirpool (if it's placed on a map at all) was probably costal to the Land of Fire but Mist is his own island surrounded by other islands.

So, to blow some dust off that old theory of mine about ninja making deals to get kekkei genkai, the Mist people probably made deals with water spirits/gods.

Which explains why so many of them have sharp, shark-like teeth and the Hozuki can turn into water and the Yuki clan was basically a cross between ice spirits and ninjas and it explains a lot about Kisame.

So this is the map I'm going off of (mostly because it has Whirpool in it in a position that makes sense to me) and the thing about Mist is that they could have easily not become a village, just remained a set of Clans with their own land, away from the mainland and the squabbles of the other newly founded villages, right? They are away from there, they have the sea in between them and the rest of it, why would they have banded together to form a village of their own?

And what my brain threw at me (which doesn't have to be in contrast with anyone else's idea, this is just my own headcanon) is "Trade and Fear of Raiding."

Hidden Mist is clearly self-sufficient, they can afford to survive in their islands, but they have to have some materials/production that nobody else has because what you find on the coast is not the same kind of things that you get from the deeper sea and so they have stuff that they can trade but that can also be taken by them and while I would headcanon that they had trade with Whirpool, the moment Whirlpool went into a marriage alliance with the newborn Leaf, who is a village of ninja clans that falls under the command of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, the Mist Clans probably looked at each and went well, fuck.

Because now their trade partners not only are a smaller village full of badass seal masters who can pop chains out of their bodies but now they also have the support of the Clan of A Thousand Skills, aka the Senju, and the scariest motherfuckers around, aka the Uchiha, and they are collecting other powerful clans, like those noble assholes who were all cozy with the various Daimyo's and could see through most shit, aka the Hyuga, and the scary as fuck Nara and their merchant buddies the Akimichi and those scary rip-your-brain-out Yamanaka, as if they are prizes at a fair.

That's ... that's fucking scary is what it is.

@shetanshadowwolf: When presented that way, yes

Me: And then other Villages start to form, including Cloud at their north (which I headcanon other villages formed exactly because the newborn Konoha was a huge threat to all other Clans and also because some Clans were shafted because their rivals joined first and they weren't allowed to and what are they going to do, play sitting ducks for their enemy clans? Fuck no, let's talk with others and make our own village and that's how we get to rival villages) and okay, hold your fucking horses, do we all agree that we are sitting ducks here? I mean, we are the toughest, nastiest motherfuckers around, we have done our deals with the spirits of the wind and sea, we are strong, yes but we are also one isolated, large island with smaller islands around and no way to easily decamp, not that we would if we could. This is our land and fucks everyone else if they try to take it from us.

[For an example of 'potential a clan who wanted to join Konoha but was not allowed' see the wasp people who have a beef with the Aburame and who apparently had the first Tsuchikage as a clan member. Those two clans reciprocally look down on each other and are bitter enemies and it would come to no surprise to me if the Aburame joined as long as those assholes don't. Not everyone is Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara and is either mutually willing or mutually able to convince their clan to bury the feud and so of course they ran and so the other Clan Head went 'fuck you all, I'll make my own damn village and it will be better structured and truer to our ideals than yours could ever be' and that's how we get Iwa being founded.]

So, being faced with the various land Daimyo's getting their own militias and with the chakra-wielding Clans thinking they were faced with the threat of other Clans banding together and being able to overcome them and either assimilate them or steal their trade/islands/people the Mist Clans probably met together and a deal was made for a Hidden Mist Village to be founded (possibly with someone playing as a puppet Daimyo so they could argue for political sovereignty over their own territory and nobody could use a lack of Daimyo as an excuse to invade or 'bring them to heel' or whatever shitty propaganda reason would be found).

@shetanshadowwolf: ... Valid points. (And had not zoomed out to note that some of the country to country rivalries might be as strongly tied to the previously vicious clan rivalries)

Me: They are pretty isolated.

So what they know is that some time ago, how much time ago differs from person to person, the Senju and the Uchiha buried their differences and founded a village and other Clans joined them and then some more Clans formed their own villages and now every Daimyo has a village and here they are, isolated from everyone else, behind on information, surrounded by potential enemies, with probably some pretty good trades.

Kiri is the place the Seven Swordsmen hail from that means that they have to have figured out how to make the Seven Swords which means swordsmanship and swordsmithing and probably good smiths in general on top of precious, luxury materials like mother of pearl, pearls, corals, healing methods/productions that are based on either product of the sea or things they could grow on their island etc.

A bunch of Clans working with each other and making mixed Clan teams and teaching chakra-wielding civilians how to pull off techniques and working for their Daimyo? That's a fucking problem.

@shetanshadowwolf: Yuuuup

Me: Kiri's people were hard, to begin with, because life out at sea, even on a big island, is a pretty isolated and self-sufficiency-requiring kind of system and they were probably close-knit, to begin with, a community that supported each other and because they were comparatively small and had less access to the resources of the other Villages they made themselves harder still.

Balls to the wall, we are the scariest, nastiest motherfuckers you will ever meet and you have better leg it before I chop your legs off and sink my teeth into your throat.

(Which is not to say that Kiri is necessarily nice or soft or home to a lot of sane ninja. Ninja as a general bunch are pretty insane people and Kiri was hard, to begin with, and got harder as they made deals with ice spirits and sea spirits and got even harder as a Village but it's not the outright let's throw together a bunch of scary tropes without rhyme or reason because they look cool bs I got from the canon)

@shetanshadowwolf: Kiri is not soft

Me: Not at all.

They are pretty much feral whenever someone Not One Of Us is around and they are hard as hell but tight-knit too when it's Just Us.

At least until Madara came around and screw them up and over and fucked with the Clans by destroying them and basically did everything he could to stoke them into becoming the hell pit every outsider thought they were, pushing them into being what Obito had grown up hearing about.

@shetanshadowwolf: On the scale of "we are our element/affinity" sand and kiri are some the baddest bitches, per se

Sand with its puppetry and poisons and the desert WILL devour you

And Kiri with its mist and feralness

Me: And, I would argue, water as well.

Zabuza did a few water attacks on top of the swordsmanship as did Hoshigaki Kisame.

So Sand is puppetry and poisons and the desert WILL devour you and Kiri is mist and feralness and swordsmanship and the sea WILL swallow you up

@shetanshadowwolf: Yes. Desert dehydration and water's all-powerful consumption

Two different sides of a brutal coin

Me: And since Suna is considered one of the weaker villages, big enough to be one of the 'Big Powers' but also inferior to Konoha / Iwa / Kumo I would say that Suna, like Kiri, was a village founded in direct reaction to the Big Three founding themselves.

Desert is not welcoming, like Kiri it's an isolated kind of living and I could see their Clans initially being nomadic, except that with those encroaching powers (especially highly militaristic Iwa at the north with two unnamed regions between them on the left side of the map that do not seem to have enough importance to be labelled or have a village that could be crossed by the Iwa people to spill over Suna) they also felt they should pull together and form their own village.

Consolidate their territory, make sure they can support each other and defend themselves in the face of outsiders and probably under pressure from their own Daimyo, since we know that there is a Daimyo of Wind that was turning his back on Suna and outsourcing missions to Konoha in Naruto's time.

What politician would want to be the one of the Four Great Lands (Five once Kiri declared itself a sovereign territory of their own) without its own standing militia? Especially with an aggressively militarized neighbour at the North and someone in the East who can not only capture and hand out Bijus but has also managed to entice both of the all-seeing eyes clans and has the sealing masters on their side.

[blackkudos]

Eldridge Cleaver

Leroy Eldridge Cleaver (August 31, 1935 – May 1, 1998) was an American writer, and political activist who became an early leader of the Black Panther Party.

In 1968, Cleaver wrote Soul on Ice, a collection of essays that, at the time of its publication, was praised by The New York Times Book Review as "brilliant and revealing". Cleaver stated in Soul on Ice: "If a man like Malcolm X could change and repudiate racism, if I myself and other former Muslims can change, if young whites can change, then there is hope for America."

Cleaver went on to become a prominent member of the Black Panthers, having the titles Minister of Information and Head of the International Section of the Panthers, while a fugitive from the United States criminal justice system in Cuba and Algeria. He became a fugitive after leading an ambush on Oakland police officers, during which two officers were wounded. Cleaver was also wounded during the ambush and Black Panther member Bobby Hutton was killed. As editor of the official Panthers' newspaper, The Black Panther, Cleaver's influence on the direction of the Party was rivaled only by founders Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. Cleaver and Newton eventually fell out with each other, resulting in a split that weakened the party.

After spending seven years in exile in Cuba, Algeria, and France, Cleaver returned to the US in 1975, where he became involved in various religious groups (Unification Church and CARP) before finally joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well as becoming a conservative Republican, appearing at Republican events.

Early life

Eldridge Cleaver was born in Wabbaseka, Arkansas; as a child he moved with his large family to Phoenix and then to Los Angeles. He was the son of Leroy Cleaver and Thelma Hattie Robinson. He had four siblings: Wilhelima Marie, Helen Grace, James Weldon, and Theophilus Henry.

As a teenager, he was involved in petty crime and spent time in youth detention centers. At the age of 18, he was convicted of a felony drug charge (marijuana, a felony at the time) and sent to the adult prison at Soledad. In 1958, he was convicted of rape and assault with intent to murder, and eventually served time in Folsom and San Quentin prisons. While in prison, he was given a copy of The Communist Manifesto. Cleaver was released on parole December 12, 1966, with a discharge date of March 20, 1971. In 1968 he was arrested on violation of parole by association with individual(s) of bad reputation, and control and possession of firearms Cleaver petitioned for habeas corpus to the Solano County Court, and was granted it along with a release of a $50,000 bail.

Black Panther Party

Cleaver was released from prison on December 12, 1966. He was writing for Ramparts magazine and organizing efforts to revitalize the Organization of Afro-American Unity. The Black Panther Party was only two months old. He then joined the Oakland-based Black Panther Party (BPP), serving as Minister of Information, or spokesperson. What initially attracted Cleaver to the Panthers, as opposed to other prominent groups, was their commitment to armed struggle.

In 1967, Cleaver, along with Marvin X, Ed Bullins, and Ethna Wyatt, formed the Black House political/cultural center in San Francisco. Amiri Baraka, Sonia Sanchez, Askia Toure, Sarah Webster Fabio, Art Ensemble of Chicago, Avotcja, Reginald Lockett, Emory Douglas, Samuel Napier, Bobby Hutton, Huey Newton, and Bobby Seale were Black House regulars. The same year, he married Kathleen Neal Cleaver (divorced 1987), with whom he would have son Ahmad Maceo Eldridge (born 1969, Algeria; died 2018, Saudi Arabia) and daughter Joju Younghi (born July 31, 1970, North Korea).

Cleaver was a presidential candidate in 1968 on the ticket of the Peace and Freedom Party. Having been born on August 31, 1935, Cleaver would not have been the requisite 35 years of age until more than a year after Inauguration Day 1969. (Although the Constitution requires that the President be at least 35 years of age, it does not specify whether he need have reached that age at the time of nomination, or election, or inauguration.) Courts in both Hawaii and New York held that he could be excluded from the ballot because he could not possibly meet the Constitutional criteria. Cleaver and his running mate Judith Mage received 36,571 votes (0.05%).

In the aftermath of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, there were riots across the nation. On April 6, Cleaver and 14 other Panthers led an ambush of Oakland police officers, during which two officers were wounded. Cleaver was wounded during the ambush and 17-year-old Black Panther member Bobby Hutton was killed. They were armed with M16 rifles and shotguns. In 1980, he admitted that he had led the Panther group on a deliberate ambush of the police officers, thus provoking the shootout. Some reporters were surprised by this move, because it was in the context of an uncharacteristic speech, in which Cleaver also discredited the Black Panthers, stated "we need police as heroes", and said that he denounced civilian review boards of police shootings for the "bizarre" reason that "it is a rubber stamp for murder". Some speculated his admission could have been a pay-off to the Alameda County justice system, whose judge had only just days earlier let Eldridge Cleaver escape prison time; Cleaver was sentenced to community service after getting charged with three counts of assault against three Oakland police officers. The PBS documentary A Huey Newton Story claims that "Bobby Hutton was shot more than twelve times after he had already surrendered and stripped down to his underwear to prove he was not armed."

Charged with attempted murder after the incident, he jumped bail to flee to Cuba in late 1968. Initially treated with luxury by the Cuban government, the hospitality ended upon reports Fidel Castro had received information of the CIA infiltrating the Black Panther Party. Cleaver then decided to head to Algeria, sending word to his wife to meet him there. Elaine Klein normalized his status by getting him an invitation to attend the Pan-African Cultural festival, rendering him temporarily safe from prosecution. The festival allowed him to network with revolutionaries from all over Africa in order to discuss the perils of white supremacy and colonialism. Cleaver was outspoken in his call to violence against the United States, contributing to his mission to "position the Panthers within the revolutionary nationalist camp inside the United States and as disciples of Fanon on the world stage". Cleaver had set up an international office for the Black Panthers in Algeria. Following Timothy Leary's Weather Underground-assisted prison escape, Leary stayed with Cleaver in Algiers; however, Cleaver placed Leary under "revolutionary arrest" as a counter-revolutionary for promoting drug use.

Cleaver also cultivated an alliance with North Korea in 1969, and BPP publications began reprinting excerpts from Kim Il Sung's writings. Although leftists of the time often looked to Cuba, China, and North Vietnam for inspiration, few had paid any attention to the secretive Pyongyang regime. Bypassing US travel restrictions on North Korea, Cleaver and other BPP members made two visits to the country in 1969–1970 with the idea that the juche model could be adapted to the revolutionary liberation of African-Americans. Taken on an official tour of North Korea, Cleaver expressed admiration at "the DPRK's stable, crime-free society which provided guaranteed food, employment, and housing for all, and which had no economic or social inequalities".

Byron Vaughn Booth (former Panther Deputy Minister of Defense) claimed that, after a trip to the DPRK, Cleaver discovered his wife had been having an affair with Clinton Robert Smith Jr. Booth told the FBI he had witnessed Cleaver shoot and kill Smith with an AK47. Elaine Mokhtefi, in the London Review of Books, writes that Cleaver confessed the murder to her shortly after committing it.

Cleaver later left the DPRK, claiming that the environment was too oppressive.

In his 1978 book Soul on Fire, Cleaver made several claims regarding his exile in Algeria, including that he was supported by regular stipends from the government of North Vietnam, which the United States was then bombing. Cleaver stated that he was followed by other former criminals turned revolutionaries, many of whom (including Booth and Smith) hijacked planes to get to Algeria.

Split and new directions

Eldridge Cleaver and Huey Newton eventually fell out with each other over the necessity of armed struggle as a response to COINTELPRO and other actions by the government against the Black Panthers and other radical groups. Also Cleaver's interest in North Korea and global anti-imperialist struggle drew ire from other BPP members who felt that he was neglecting the needs of African-Americans at home in the US. Following his expulsion from the Black Panthers in 1971, the group's ties with North Korea were quickly forgotten. Cleaver advocated the escalation of armed resistance into urban guerrilla warfare, while Newton suggested the best way to respond was to put down the gun, which he felt alienated the Panthers from the rest of the black community, and focus on more pragmatic reformist activity by lobbying for increased social programs to aid African-American communities and anti-discrimination laws. Cleaver accused Newton of being an Uncle Tom for choosing to cooperate with white interests rather than overthrow them.

Cleaver left Algeria in 1972, moving to Paris, France, becoming a born again Christian during time in isolation living underground. He turned his hand to fashion design; three years later, he released codpiece-revival "virility pants" he called "the Cleavers", enthusing that they would give men "a chance to assert their masculinity".Cleaver returned to the United States in 1977 to face the unresolved attempted murder charge. By September 1978, on bail as those proceedings dragged on, he had incorporated Eldridge Cleaver Ltd, running a factory and West Hollywood shop exploiting his "Cleavers", which he claimed liberated men from "penis binding". He saw no conflict with his newfound Christianity, drawing support for his overtly sexual design from 22 Deuteronomy. The long-outstanding charge was subsequently resolved on a plea bargain reducing it to assault. A sentence of 1,200 hours' community service was imposed.

Later life

In the early 1980s, Cleaver became disillusioned with what he saw as the commercial nature of evangelical Christianity and examined alternatives, including Sun Myung Moon's campus ministry organization CARP. He later led a short-lived revivalist ministry called Eldridge Cleaver Crusades, "a hybrid synthesis of Islam and Christianity he called 'Christlam'", along with an auxiliary called the Guardians of the Sperm.

Cleaver was then later baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) on December 11, 1983, periodically attended regular services, lectured by invitation at LDS gatherings.

By the 1980s, Cleaver had become a conservative Republican. He appeared at various Republican events and spoke at a California Republican State Central Committee meeting regarding his political transformation. In 1984, he ran for election to the Berkeley City Council but lost. Undaunted, he promoted his candidacy in the Republican Party primary for the 1986 Senate race but was again defeated. The next year, his 20-year marriage to Kathleen Neal Cleaver came to an end.

In 1988, Cleaver was placed on probation for burglary and was briefly jailed later in the year after testing positive for cocaine. He entered drug rehabilitation for a stated crack cocaine addiction two years later, but was arrested for possession by Oakland and Berkeley Police in 1992 and 1994. Shortly after his final arrest, he moved to Southern California, falling into poor health.

Death

Cleaver died at age 62 on May 1, 1998, at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center in Pomona, California. He is buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Altadena, California.

Soul on Ice (1968)

[W]hen I considered myself ready enough, I crossed the tracks and sought out white prey. I did this consciously, deliberately, willfully, methodically – though looking back I see that I was in a frantic, wild and completely abandoned frame of mind. Rape was an insurrectionary act. It delighted me that I was defying and trampling upon the white man's law, upon his system of values, and that I was defiling his women...I felt I was getting revenge. From the site of the act of rape, consternation spread outwardly in concentric circles. I wanted to send waves of consternation throughout the white race.

While in prison, he wrote a number of philosophical and political essays, first published in Ramparts magazine and then in book form as Soul on Ice. In the essays, Cleaver traces his own development from a "supermasculine menial" to a radical black liberationist, and his essays became highly influential in the black power movement.

In the most controversial part of the book, Cleaver acknowledges committing acts of rape, stating that he initially raped black women in the ghetto "for practice" and then embarked on the serial rape of white women. He described these crimes as politically inspired, motivated by a genuine conviction that the rape of white women was "an insurrectionary act". When he began writing Soul on Ice, he unequivocally renounced rape and all his previous reasoning about it.

The essays in Soul on Ice are divided into four thematic sections: "Letters from Prison", describing Cleaver's experiences with and thoughts on crime and prisons; "Blood of the Beast", discussing race relations and promoting black liberation ideology; "Prelude to Love – Three Letters", love letters written to Cleaver's attorney, Beverly Axelrod; and "White Woman, Black Man", on gender relations, black masculinity, and sexuality.

[oneshot-wxnderland]

Ice Cold | Tim Drake

summary: yeah i don’t know how to summarize this one it’s kinda weird but still read plz

category: fluff

______________

          She woke up in the cold. Darkness parted only by moonlight, the stars sleeping along with the rest of the world. Her hands, pale and frozen when she held them before her eyes, were not the same hands that had always been at the end of the arms that were now white with frost.

          Something is wrong.

          A shard of glass lay in the snow next to her, the face looking back wasn't the one she remembered. She couldn't exactly recall what she had been expecting to see, but she knew this was not it. The coloring was wrong; white hair, stone eyes, skin almost tainted blue.

          Ice begins to crawl over the shard and she drops it as if she were burned. A stinging from her finger blooms where the jagged edge had cut into her skin. She watches with a swirling head as silver blood wells up.

          What happened to me?

          Then a flash of knowing, a memory, takes the front of her mind as a boy with dark hair forms behind her eyes. He's smiling at her and about to say something-

          But then he's gone, leaving an empty hollow in his place. She didn't know who he was or what his significance to her might be, but she felt as if he held the answers she was missing.

          But where could she find him? Standing up all she could see was open space and snow.

          "Why do you have to go?" He asked, leaning against the doorway as he watched her pack.

          "You know why," she answered, not liking the situation anymore than he did. "No matter what she's done in the past, she's still my family. And she needs me."

          "What about me?" He walks over to her and takes the shirt she was folding out of her hands. "I need you too."

          She fell to the ground, the sudden flashback leaving her shaken. It was the boy again... and herself. But it was a different version of herself, the one she feels she used to be.

          What could that have meant? A growing ache for this boy burst into her chest and replaced the cold with a growing heat. She had to find him, get back to herself.

          With a new-found courage, she stood back up and decided on a direction to travel.

          She didn't know how long she'd been walking. It seemed like hours but she had no way of knowing how far she'd gone. Her only reprieve from the barren land before her was the memories that were coming to her more frequently.

          The sun was warm on her skin. Birds chirped and the bark of a tree was rough beneath her hands. She was so close to reaching a marooned kite on an out-hanging branch and becoming a hero to a little girl when a voice warned her from stepping on a weak limb.

          "I wouldn't put much weight on that one." She looked down at the boy who looked up at her, a bemused smile on his handsome face.

          "Right, well," she tried to spot another way to the kite. "That appears to be my only option."

          "Then maybe you should come down and we can wait for the proper authorities to arrive. I have some personal favors with Batman that I could call in." She laughed and shook her head at the boy.

          "It'll be fine," she assured him, testing the branch with increasing amounts of her body weight. "I'll be quick."

          He knew this wasn't going to end well but he also knew that she wasn't the type that could be talked out of much. "Okay then. I'll just wait here to catch you if you fall."

          "My knight in shining armor, are you?"

          "At your service, milady."

          "Well then I feel perfectly safe." She leaned into the branch and got her fingers around the kite. The little girl cheered her on and she smiled down at the boy. But a snapping sound cut short her celebration and she fell out of the tree and down into the arms of her savior.

          "Told you so." He said, noticing that she was even more beautiful up close.

          "Yeah, yeah," she rolled her eyes and smiled at him.

          "I'm Tim."

          "Y/n."

          The warmth of the sun and the boys touch faded as the memory gave way to the cold surrounding her.

          Tim. Putting a name to the boys face made her ache for him more and she continued on with a newfound energy to find her way back into his arms.

��         More memories of Tim flooded back to her: standing back to back and fighting off bad guys, laying on a couch together reading, dancing in their apartment. Each one was kindling to the fire growing inside of her. She looked at her hands and saw a hint of color coming back to them.

          "I'm here now what do you need?" Y/n asked, not bothering to mask her resentment.

          "Now, now sister," Frostbite chided. "We haven't seen each other in so long. Is that anyway to greet your only family?"

          "The family that's a convicted criminal? I think it's just fine."

          "Ex-criminal," she replied, but the glint in her eyes told Y/n that what she really meant was more along the lines of "criminal taking a leave of absence".

           "You said there was an emergency so what is it?" She asked, already realizing how stupid she was to come out here. "Or should I just add another tally to the list of lies you've told me?"

          "That's a little harsh considering I raised you."

          "You brainwashed me is more like it." Y/n shook her head in disgust at the monster before her.

          "You had a great childhood!" Frostbite defended. "Stealing and robbing right along side your big sis? What more could you ask for?"

          "I can think of a few things."

          "Oh I know," Frostbite's icy eyes darkened. "You went all righteous on me and left. Letting the 'goodness fill your heart' and make you that awful fleshy color." Her mocking tone gave way to disgust as she looked upon her sister. "And then you had to meet that stupid boy and become a hero of all things! How could you betray me like that?"

          "I did what I had to!" Even though she despised Frostbite's ways Y/n still felt bad for hurting her. "I couldn't be evil anymore and now I'm happy. You could be to if you come with me."

          A violent silence overcame Frostbite when she heard Y/n.

          "Come with you? You think that I would join you and your revolting band of self-righteous do-gooders? I called you out here because I figured out how to help you. You became one of them when you met that boy, so if I just make you forget him you'll come back to me."

          Y/n took a step back. "Make me forget Tim? How could you even think of doing something like that? I will never go back to the way things were!" She yelled and her sister thrust her hands forward and brought with them and icy sleep.

          After that all Y/n could recall was incoherent flashes: being strapped to a table and receiving a shock, a voice calling her name, the sounds of a fight, and then an explosion.

          She was so caught up in trying to make sense of her memories that she almost didn't notice the ship coming up in the horizon. Its red exterior like a beacon of salvation in the desolate landscape. The bio ship!

          Y/n started to run as fast as she could, each step closer brought more warmth to her limbs and more humanity to her heart. Voices were calling her name and she almost cried at the sound of Tim's.

          "Tim!" Her voice was scratchy and not as loud as she wanted it to be but she saw him turn and start sprinting in her direction. Relief flooded through her and her legs finally gave out as she fell to her knees in the snow.

          "Y/n!" Tim knelt beside her and put his coat around her. He held her tight and waited for the bio ship to fly over to them. "I thought I'd lost you."

          "You saved me." Tim thought she was just talking about finding her now, but she was referring to the memories of him that kept her going, his love that warmed her heart, and the way he smothered out the cold with his warm embrace.