#i. HOW DARE YOU trust fate / she's not that kind! / q&a. | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

artistry87 · 2 years ago

Text

Of Course It Was You, It Was Always You…

Part 1

“It doesn’t feel very good, does it, Supergirl…” Lena hissed at her former best friend, her eyes blazing with a sadistic kind of joy. “To be kept in the dark by your supposed best friend? Never knowing the entire time that she and all of the people you trusted most were snickering behind your back like the fool you were! Keeping secrets from you, going about your life blissfully unaware that anything's wrong until suddenly… BANG, and there’s blood in the water." Lena cackled with an unhinged laugh while Kara knelt before her with a self-loathing grimace on her face.

Kara continued kneeling because, at the moment, she was completely immobilized by a spare bit of Kryptonite Lena had kept in order to trap her with. It wasn’t enough to kill her, barely enough to hurt her, but it was just enough to weaken, and paralyze her. Just above floating over her head were all the little nanobots that made up the CEO’s faithful A.I., Hope. Hope's previous hostess lay unconscious in the next room just beyond, not that she was anyone’s primary focus anymore, not now that a far more suitable vessel had just been lured into place.

Lena had finally perfected her Q-Waves and could successfully rewrite the brain without causing harm. Now that she knew for sure her research was safe, she was more than ready to test it out on the most suitable subject there was, Supergirl. Lena marveled at the thought. It had been laughably easy to lure everything into place. To think, all she had to do was cry danger like the wolf in sheep’s clothing she was, and the super would come running… well flying. Using the watch Supergirl had given her, she sent out the distress call and, like clockwork, the kryptonian had come running to her aid. In less than a second later the heroine had arrived, and once Lena's Kryptonite trap was activated she’d make her big reveal.

“Aww… don’t fret. This won't hurt a bit, Supergirl,” the CEO promised with a deadly scowl as a tone as sinister as her mother’s took hold. "And I promise I’ll never use you for ill intent. I just want to remove your natural impulses to lie and deceive. You'll be better by the end of it, trust me…"

"So what… you're going to possess me?" Kara choked out as the Kryptonite continued to weaken her, spiting up the slightest bit of blood at every word.

"Well, I wouldn't call it possession so much as a… neurological rewrite," Lena replied as she began to pick up her tablet. The CEO’s glare shifted towards Hope's nanobots. The cloud they formed quickly began to swarm faster and faster as Lena’s finger lingered over the button to launch Hope’s protocol, putting her plan into motion.

Just as she was about to seal the super’s fate, the krytonian gave a rather uncharacteristically harsh snicker. She bowed her head, but gave no indication of intentional escape. "You're an even bigger fool than I thought!" she yelled, her voice still strained by the kryptonite poisoning her blood. Lena was caught off guard by the remark, the CEO halted her machinations, curious about the woman’s response.

"What?" she demanded softly, her scowl deepening as she lowered her tablet with a dangerous look in her eye still evident. The A.I.’s roving swarm slowed as the Luthor stepped closer to the ensnared alien being held at her mercy. Closing the distance between she forcefully grasped the super’s chin in her palm, looking her straight in the eye, daring her to repeat her words. The swarm continued to encircle over Kara but with less intensity then ever before.

"You heard me," Kara replied, almost tauntingly. "You're an even bigger fool than I thought…” she paused, unsure of how to proceed next! Unfazed, Lena loosened her grip on the woman in front of her before dropping her head all together, returning to her original position.

The CEO scoffed before continuing. “Easy for you to say! Tough words, coming from the woman who flew right into my trap," Lena sneered back, index finger once again hovering dangerously close to the button that would seal her former friend’s fate forever.

“Well maybe I must be the idiot, if you’ve got too much of an ego to see, that the person you hate the most, is in love with you…”

The shock of it hit Lena all at once. The gravity of Kara’s admission nearly froze time itself, and suddenly, everything halted. As the only two people within the entire vicinity bare witness to their own, the CEO nearly fell to her knees in anguish at the thought of what she’d almost destroyed.

Unfortunately, the world would never be so kind, not to a Luthor. Distraught at the thought of what she’d almost done, Lena dropped her tablet, it landing in front of her feet. The face of it slipping through her fingers accidentally activating Hope’s protocol, inciting the swarm to envelop her former best friend in a haze of obscurity with nothing but the blood chilling scream of the woman that used to be.

“Nooooo!” Lena cried collapsing onto her hands and knees. The fear fully engulfing her immediately as she watched on in horror as the swarm of her A.I. forced it’s way into the mind of the woman in front of her. Frantically she rushed to grab her tablet, hoping to stop Hope’s protocol, halt her progress, something or rewrite it all together. Maybe then, maybe, just maybe she could save whatever semblance of her former friend’s personality the super had left.

Barely managing to finish patch, strong enough to override Hope’s protocol, she desperately looked on from the distance between them for any sign of recognition from Kara’s face at all. All that met her expression was the unconscious form of the woman lying motionless on the ice. The A.I. completely disabled!

“Kara? No, no, no, no! Kara!” Lena screamed, her voice beginning to crack more with every word. Tensely frozen with fear, the CEO slowly made her way across the room to her former best friend, the super’s head gently lifted into her lap. The threat of tears brimming at the edge of her eyes.

“Please, please Kara…I’m s…I’m sorry. You were right. Of course you were right. You’re always right. I…I love you too! Maybe I was the idiot, for not admitting it. I just couldn’t…I just couldn’t risk ruining our friendship. I couldn’t do that to you.” She whispered, hoping, praying for any sign of life among the super’s eerily calm and peaceful expression. Her striking beauty appeared almost as if she were sleeping.

The CEO sat motionless in state of shock expectantly waiting for the woman in her lap to instantly recover, to open her eyes before rushing to her sense inevitably to once again attempt to talk her down from her self-imposed tirade…but nothing. Kara’s expression, her complexion, stoic, calm, a sickly pale, and mostly unchanging.

In the center of the room, the CEO sat completely frozen in place, as if time itself had stopped. So terrified of even touching the woman lying unconscious in front of her, she was unable to phantom how to proceed. Slowly gathering herself, Lena quickly begin to form a plan, still sitting in the center of the room. It’s all she could do; she had to fix this…somehow.

#supercorp #cw supergirl #kara danvers #lena luthor #supercorp fanfiction

3 notes · View notes

bytheangell · 3 years ago

Text

(S3E1 inspired fic) (Read on AO3)

Meliorn stands beside the Seelie Queen, listening intently as she goes over her latest plan. He wonders if she notices the way his eyes widen for just a moment at the mention of Simon Lewis, or the way his grip tightens a little too much around his spear when he hears about his role in placing the Mark of Cain.

“Why me?” Meliorn asks. “Do you not want to do the honors yourself?”

The Queen greets his query with a small, knowing smile. “No. The honor is all yours - unless, of course, you have a problem with performing your duties?”

“I am perfectly capable of bestowing the mark, Your Highness,” Meliorn says, the words carefully crafted to avoid the actual question posed to him.

Because in truth, Meliorn does have a problem - a rather large one, which comes in the form of the feelings he’s developed for Simon.

---

It all started after Simon first came to the Seelie Realm with Jace and Clary - the day Simon learned the true nature of the Queen and her Realm. Unlike Clary, who hadn’t even noticed Simon leave after her kiss with Jace, Meliorn saw the emotions that crossed the vampire’s face. He saw the hurt of betrayal, the disappointment of misplaced trust, the heartbreak… but he also saw the way Simon looked at the Queen and her Knights with a mixture of fear and awe after such a cunning, yet cruel, display of power. Meliorn still to this day doesn’t know why he cared so much - about what Simon thought of him or how Simon felt after being humiliated - but he did.

So, after the Queen dismissed him and he was certain no one would notice his departure, Meliorn went to check in on Simon. Simon was, rightfully, wary of his intentions, but before long the vampire was rambling half his life story out to him, and Meliorn found himself increasingly drawn in by his disarming authenticity.

They met again several times, the visits made easier to arrange by Meliorn’s increasingly frequent trips to the city for Downworlder Council meetings. If he invented a few extra vampire-relation-specific trips as an excuse to go to the Dumort between meetings, well, no one questioned him on it. Talks turned into lingering glances, which turned into touches.

It started as a simple curiosity, then an interest Meliorn never planned to be anything more than casual.

The thing about Simon Lewis is that few things ever go as planned when it comes to him.

Meliorn didn’t realize how far gone he was for Simon until Simon made the deal with the Seelie Queen to free Maia.

“What were you thinking?” Meliorn demanded. He left the Seelie Realm to seek out Simon the first chance he got and found him lingering outside the portal as if waiting for him. Expecting Meliorn to come chasing after him. Had he grown so predictable?

“I didn’t have a choice,” Simon defended.

“You could have left her. You should have left her.” Meliorn knew it was cruel, that it wasn’t who Simon was and it never would be, but he didn’t care.

“No. You know I couldn’t, Mel,” Simon said. “I’m fine. It’s fine.”

“It isn’t. You have no idea what you just agreed to. I have no idea! I can protect you from a lot of things, Simon, but I cannot protect you from her.” He hated to admit it, but it was a truth he needed to make perfectly clear, now more than ever.

Meliorn knew he wasn’t angry at Simon for being so selfless, but angry at himself for not being able to do the same. And he was scared: scared for Simon, and for their relationship should the Queen ever find out about it to use as leverage against either - or both - of them. Meliorn tried to imagine what he might do if his hand was forced... if he might actually be capable of standing up to the Queen for Simon’s sake.

It was then that Meliorn realized that the feelings he held for Simon went so much deeper than he thought. The idea of anything happening to Simon made his stomach churn, and he wanted to wrap Simon up and put every bit of protection magic he knew on him to keep him safe forever.

“I love you,” Meliorn said the moment he realized it.

“I love you too,” Simon said back.

And for a little while, that was all that mattered.

Until now.

“Has the spear been prepared?”

The Queen knows. Meliorn can hear it in the lilt of her words, he can see it in the mischievous light dancing in her eyes. She knows about him and Simon, and this is a test.

It’s a test Meliorn is about to fail as he watches the fear cross Simon’s expression while he’s restrained and hears the panic in his voice. Simon’s addressing the Queen but his eyes dart behind her to where Meliorn stands, a silent plea for help that Meliorn can’t answer. Meliorn just barely resists the urge to cross the space between them and pull Simon from the guard’s grip to hold and comfort his lover the way he craves to… the way Simon deserves.

“It has, M’lady,” Meliorn says instead, his words cool and clipped behind barely concealed frustration.

He does all that he can to ease Simon’s mind in the moments that follow. Instead of allowing the other Knights to continue to restrain and escort Simon, Meliorn steps forward and takes Simon by the crook of his arm, following two other Knights that lead the escort to the Wander Woods with the Queen trailing behind them.

She’s close enough to hear anything he might try and whisper to Simon, so instead of reassuring him vocally, Meliorn allows his grip on Simon’s arm to loosen. It’s just enough for his fingers to trail back and forth, ever-so-slightly, in a calming pattern. I’ve got you. I’m right here. It’s going to be okay. He can’t speak the words but he tries his best to convey them with every touch and every glance.

“What are you planning on doing to me?” Simon asks again, and Meliorn wants nothing more than to simply tell him. Telling him won’t change what’s about to happen and maybe if he knows, maybe if he understands that in its own twisted way the Mark will keep him safe - that it’ll keep him protected in all the ways Meliorn always wished for (though not like this, never like this) - it might make this easier.

Instead, the Queen keeps him in the dark. Meliorn uses his own magic to wrap the vines around Simon to restrain him, hoping the familiar feel of it can serve as a small comfort. It’s the best he can do at the moment and, he’s painfully aware that his best is lacking. Simon looks to him briefly, then looks back to the Seelie Queen. Simon’s smart. He knows pleading to Meliorn won’t help him now; if there was anything Meliorn could do he would’ve done it already.

What Simon doesn’t know is that no amount of begging can change what’s already in motion and that his fate was sealed before he ever entered the Woods.

“Why are you gonna hurt me? I’ve done everything you’ve asked. I’m a good guy. I sang you a song about nature!”

Meliorn loathes this. He hates the tremor in Simon’s voice, the wide-eyed look on his face, terrified and helpless. Most of all, he hates that he’s the cause of it. Him, standing there, spear in hand, is the thing causing all of Simon’s distress. Meliorn thinks he might be sick from the guilt of it all but holds himself together.

If refusing in an act of defiance would spare Simon then Meliorn would do it with no hesitation, no matter the cost to himself. But it wouldn’t help. Meliorn needs to do this, because if he doesn’t, if he can’t, then someone else will. Someone less kind. Someone without Simon’s best interests at heart in the process.

As much as Meliorn despises the idea of causing Simon even a second of pain, he wouldn’t dare let anyone else near him with this spear. Being in control of the ceremony is the only way Meliorn can guarantee Simon is as safe as possible and that nothing will go wrong. It’s the only way he knows how to protect him now.

“Do not fret. The hurt will be over before you know it.”

“So this is it? This is the end?”

Something in Meliorn breaks at the resignation in Simon’s voice, realizing that Simon doesn’t just think they’re here to mark him. Simon’s defeated acceptance is for the fact that he believes Meliorn is standing in front of him to kill him. How? How could he think Meliorn capable of that? He loves Simon, and if that were the task set before him then Meliorn would not be standing there with a spear at the ready. How does Simon not know that?

For the first time since this process was put into motion, Meliorn hesitates.

“Proceed.”

Meliorn flips the spear around so that the mark, red hot and burning, faces Simon now.

“What is that? What are you doing?”

There’s no time left to stall. Meliorn takes the final steps forward and touches the spear to Simon’s forehead.

Simon’s screams echo through the wood.

Meliorn wants to close his eyes against the sight of Simon’s twisted face, to retreat inward to muffle the cries of pain, but he doesn’t. He forces himself to watch, to listen, to be fully present in the agony he’s causing the man he loves. It only takes a few seconds but they feel like days, weeks, months stretching out in front of him as they pass. He wonders if it feels that way for Simon, too.

When it’s over Meliorn looks down as he steps back, unable to meet Simon’s eyes.

Only now does Meliorn allow himself to retreat inward, the conversation between Simon and the Seelie Queen growing muffled in the background of his thoughts.

Meliorn replays the chain of events over and over, trying to find a moment he could’ve done something different. He can’t think of any that wouldn’t end up with him locked away for betrayal, or maybe even killed. He’d done everything he could short of refusing to perform the ceremony. Hadn’t he?

The look of betrayal on Simon’s face as he walked toward him with the brand said otherwise. It’s a look Meliorn only ever saw on Simon’s face once, and one he never intended to have aimed at him. This is everything Meliorn had feared when he warned Simon that he wouldn’t be able to protect him from the Queen. Did Simon expect him to risk both of their lives by trying to flee with him?

...should he have?

The chances of them escaping the Queen indefinitely are practically zero, but there is a chance however slight, so should he have taken it?

No.

Does he wish the Queen had gone about it a different way? Or that he could’ve warned Simon ahead of time, or gotten his consent? Yes. Of course. But Simon was never in any actual danger. The Mark wouldn’t kill him, it wouldn’t even hurt him longer than those few seconds now that it’s in place. He just needs to explain that to Simon, to reassure him that he’d never been in any danger, that Meliorn would never willingly allow him to be.

“Anyone but you would be dead, dead, dead. Only a Daylighter can survive the ceremony.”

Those words bring Meliorn back into the moment because with them the Queen turns and begins to walk back to Court. This time Meliorn hesitates to follow.

“Allow me to escort the Daylighter out,” Meliorn suggests. If he can just talk to Simon, if he can explain, then maybe-

“No thanks,” Simon says before the Queen can answer. “I think I’m good on my own.”

The weight of that statement hangs heavy between them. Meliorn’s throat feels tight.

“Are you certain? The Wander Woods-”

“Then I’ll take one of the other guards as an escort,” Simon says, his voice flat.

Meliorn swallows thickly and nods. “As you wish.”

He can fix this, he knows he can, but first he has to convince Simon that he deserves the chance to. For now, all Meliorn can do is watch Simon leave: hoping that all he needs is a little time and praying that his last interaction with Simon isn’t one of pain and broken trust.

#simon lewis #meliorn #dayknighter #simon x meliorn #shadowhunters #I AM BEHIND BUT I AM CATCHING UP #elle writes a few deadbeat lines #long post

2 notes · View notes

groomgore-a · 7 years ago

Note

I LOVE YOU

i love you too holy SHIT...........................

#holds ur fac..i love u forever ash!!!!ie!!#varisque #i. HOW DARE YOU trust fate / she's not that kind! / q&a.

2 notes · View notes

adhdyosafire · 8 years ago

Note

kyana but 'lol XD'

her excuse to literally every crime she does

#KLSFJSLFKJSFLJSML #kyana #my art #nonnie #i. HOW DARE YOU trust fate / she's not that kind! / q&a.

6 notes · View notes

shinneth · 5 years ago

Text

Gem Ascension Tropes (5XF-specific: L - Q)

Primary General Post ✦ Full Article ✦ Primary Peri Post ✦ Primary 5XF Post

Leave Me Alone!: In Chapter 4 of This is Who I Am, 5XF decides she wants nothing to do with Steven and Peridot and would rather face the dangers of Earth by herself rather than go back to them. She has no plan for where to go or what to do, but 5XF is resolved to be the only one who has a say in where life takes her and who she really is. She isn’t of sound mind at this point, and when Steven and Peridot are very close to reclaiming her (after putting the pair through hell trying to find her), 5XF is desperate enough to let the spirit of a disembodied voice possess her so that she’ll have the power to truly ward them away and make them pay for making her so mentally unhinged. By the end of Chapter 5, she gets over this thanks to Sphalerite coming into her life.

Literal-Minded: Shares this trope with her sister, though currently downplayed.

Little Big Sister: Originally, 5XF and Peridot were the same height. However, by the time the two formally met, Peridot (junior to 5XF by 6 seconds) underwent her post-ascension growth spurt. This leaves 5XF as the shorter of the pair by a few inches.

Locked Out of the Loop: After the events of Act I, White Diamond goes out of her way to keep 5XF and all other Homeworld gems oblivious to the causes of the drastic changes occurring in Homeworld, including the fates of Yellow and Blue. By Act III, she and her fellow Peridots are rounded up and held in various pocket dimensions for the sole purpose of stalling the Crystal Gems, but the most even 5XF knows by that point is that she’s being mandated to pretend she’s 5XG.

Loner-Turned-Friend: Thanks to Sphalerite, 5XF has learned to open up to others and dare to trust someone other than herself. While she still has a very low opinion of Steven and Peridot specifically, 5XF is open and willing to get to know the other Crystal Gems and hopes to befriend them.

Love Redeems: Even Garnet believes by the end of This is Who I Am that 5XF wouldn’t have progressed as much as she had if Sphalerite hadn’t been there to pick up the pieces after 5XF’s little meltdown in Chapter 5. She can see that Steven and Peridot wouldn’t have been able to help 5XF understand Earth or her new life any better. Even more, Sphalerite’s support has helped 5XF find the courage to own up to her mistakes and wrongdoings and is willing to face the consequences. Additionally, 5XF is driven to atone for what she put Steven and Peridot through and is consequently very cooperative with the other Crystal Gems. Without a doubt, Sphalerite and their abrupt love affair helped 5XF make great leaps in her Character Development.

Loves My Alter Ego: Both exaggerated and (somewhat) justified: 5XF at best is just very unimpressed with Steven and Peridot, both as individuals and collectively… usually she holds a great deal of contempt for them, though. Their fusion, Sphalerite, on the other hand… 5XF is completely obsessed with her. Her love is absolute for this fusion, and the feeling is mutual on Sphalerite’s end. Steven and Peridot, of course… they’re not fans of this at all (especially when their affair started by taking advantage of their comatose states within their fusion).

Loving Details: While waiting for Sphalerite to wake up from her Deep Sleep (which goes on for more than half a day), 5XF is compelled to write up a preliminary profile for Sphalerite to add to the Crystal Gem database on Peridot’s tablet at a later date (when the fusion is properly introduced to everyone). Despite only knowing Sphalerite for a few hours at this point, 5XF manages to write about her for twelve pages. It’s heavily implied that 5XF has fallen for Sphalerite by this point, as the narrative points out how often she’s thinking of the fusion and is inexplicably overjoyed to see her not defuse despite so much time having passed since Steven and Peridot formed her.

Moment Killer: One of the reasons 5XF is being released from her bubble at the start of This is Who I Am. Steven and Peridot have had a good number of days alone together, but now they’re getting a little too eager for each other and moving a bit too fast. Both are aware of this, and know that with 5XF around, her presence will prevent them from going too far. Chapter 3 has her become this without actually being there, but rather through Steven mentioning that they haven’t checked on her in a while, just as he and Peridot were about to indulge in each other. Peridot’s pretty peeved but concedes without complaint.

Mood-Swinger: Evident in This is Who I Am when you compare 5XF’s behavior in Chapter 3 to how she acts in Chapter 4: she’s basically on opposite ends of the spectrum in more ways than one. Sphalerite even lampshades this in Chapter 6.

5XF: “Sphalerite, I don’t know why I’m feeling this way! I swear I don’t! It feels ridiculous that I could feel like this at all, let alone so quickly!”

Sphalerite: “You’ve, uh… nearly gone through the entire emotional spectrum at this point.”

Ms. Exposition: Similar to Peridot, 5XF offers quite a lot of insight on Homeworld life in This is Who I Am. In many ways, she trumps her little sister in this role due to her abnormally sharp perceptive skills and insatiable curiosity. In Chapter 2, she explains to Steven in detail what it meant to be a Peridot on Homeworld, revealing they have next to no personal rights; not even to defend themselves when assaulted. She reveals details that strongly suggest Peridot is still holding a major secret from Steven, which turns out to be true in the next chapter (though 5XF’s overall suspicions were only partially accurate, ultimately). As a character, she represents how badly Peridot affected her fellow kind during her Manipulative Bastard days, even indirectly (as they never crossed paths back then). In Chapter 7, she backs up Peridot when talking about a gem’s capability for reproduction and even supplies information her sister lacks, such as why gems can reproduce naturally despite it always being illegal on Homeworld.

Must Make Amends: It is 5XF’s fault that Gypsum has become a threat to Earth, and being bonded to her crystal is a clear sign that she’ll unwittingly put the Crystal Gems through hell when they do directly confront the corrupted gem. However, 5XF is not only needed to accomplish this mission of neutralizing Gypsum as a threat, but would be coming along regardless because she does feel driven to make up for the potential catastrophe her poor decision-making caused.

My God, What Have I Done?: Downplayed, but evident in 5XF’s expression when she watches Steven and Peridot sob in each other’s arms after barely surviving being forced to fight each other to the death… which was her doing. When 5XF realizes she’s not feeling the least bit good about seeing the couple suffer what she previously claimed was a just punishment, the guilt quickly seeps in. It isn’t long before 5XF is resolved to do whatever she can to make up for what she did.

Narrating the Obvious: Attempts to defy this many times throughout This is Who I Am starting with Chapter 2. More often than not, she lampshades it.

(After Steven mends Peridot’s gemstone with his Super Spit)

5XF: “I-I would say you healed her, but that’s blatantly obvious!”

Nervous Wreck: Justified in the first half of This is Who I Am; 5XF has every reason to fear and doubt everyone and everything she sees now that she’s suddenly been permanently immigrated from Homeworld to Earth. Pretty much everything about her old life has vanished in an instant, and now she’s understandably overwhelmed after learning what exactly happened after Ruby poofed and bubbled her in Act III and what to do from here on out.

Not Evil, Just Misunderstood: While 5XF did dreadful things to Steven and Peridot in This is Who I Am, there are a myriad of outside influences that forcibly drove her off the deep end. She not only struggled with a great power influencing and exaggerating her mental and physical woes that she only accepted when it became apparent 5XF had no choice than to “be captured” by Steven and Peridot, but Steven and especially Peridot in their own right did a subpar job adjusting her to Earth and helping 5XF adjust to her new life. Their inability to foster a long-term trusting relationship with 5XF led to the chain of events that resulted in 5XF getting possessed by a corrupt gem’s spirit, as 5XF legitimately only wanted to take control of her life back and adhere to no one’s terms but her own. She wanted nothing to do with Peridot and Steven and only attacked them when they pursued her. After regaining her senses and having time to relax and recover with Sphalerite, 5XF legitimately regretted what she put Steven and Peridot through; it wasn’t just because she fell in love with their fusion. In Chapter 7, 5XF makes it clear that the last thing she wants to be is “another 5XG” – in other words, she wanted to repent for her crimes rather than get away with them. 5XF is rough around the edges, but there’s nothing inherently evil about her.

Not So Different: Steven silently takes note of this between her and Peridot in Chapter 2 of This is Who I Am. 5XF often comes off as a Tsundere when Steven points out her being sentimental and concerned for Peridot and himself. Coincidentally, much like Peridot during the early phases of her redemption arc, 5XF always refers to others with a “the” preceding their name. The Amethyst, The Steven, The Jasper, and so on. Peridot’s the only exception; she is always addressed as 5XG. Her general manner of speaking is also fairly similar to Peridot’s, though notably toned down. As 5XF further develops, she continues to acquire traits or make decisions eerily similar to her sister’s without meaning to – Steven’s comments of certain tropes “running in the family” might be more on the nose than he realizes.

Ocean Awe: When Sphalerite tours her through Millennium Island, 5XF is awestruck when she sees the ocean for the first time in her life. Considering she lived in a world that had virtually no water whatsoever, seeing this much at once leaves a major impression on her. The sight of the ocean quickly becomes a visual 5XF associates with her own comfort, and she was absolutely thrilled to learn her new home would also be on a beach with a full view of an ocean.

Official Couple: With Sphalerite, as of This is Who I Am Chapter 6.

Only Sane Gem: When Steven and Peridot are her only company, 5XF believes herself to be this wholeheartedly. Played fairly straight for the first half of This is Who I Am. Even after her major breakdown, 5XF refuses to acknowledge either of her caretakers’ competence and still thinks they’re both crazy.

Overcome with Desire: 5XF falls in love with Sphalerite within a day of meeting her. While she has enough of an understanding of relationships to be self-aware of how absurd it is for her to fall for someone this quickly and want to act on it, 5XF lacks the experience to do anything more than hold back on her urges… until she finds out that Sphalerite reciprocates her feelings. Within mere minutes, the pair instantly teleport to their vacation home (only doing so because both don’t feel like dealing with the consequences of doing this in sand), and a marathon of Coitus Ensues.

Power Incontinence: At first 5XF seems to adapt well to the mysterious power that is naturally attracted to her, as she makes good use of them eluding Steven and Peridot and incapacitating the pair in This is Who I Am Chapter 4. With Gypsum’s help, 5XF even manages to fragment the couple’s very identities and set up two deathmatches where they’re forced to fight each other’s dark counterpart – even keeping the two battles isolated in different dimensions to prevent the light combatants from helping each other – creating an elaborate and sadistic game where only one of them would ultimately survive. Once Light Peridot finds a loophole to make both matches end in a No Contest, 5XF finds she can’t do anything about it and has no way of reliably controlling her own powers. It’s worth noting 5XF never really knows or understands what these powers truly are; the last thing she manages to do is put Steven and Peridot back together (after being intimidated into it via 5XG/Dark Peridot). By that point, 5XF finds herself regretting ever becoming Gypsum’s power vessel, and said powers are completely dormant once she and Sphalerite leave Gypsum’s domain. They’re guaranteed to make a comeback when the Crystal Gems properly confront Gypsum, but everyone is aware 5XF is going to be a major liability in the power department, as she still has no concept of the nature of the power she wields.

Powers via Possession: 5XF’s powers are not her own; they are merely on loan from Gypsum, and she can’t use them to their full potential until she agrees to a binding contract with the corrupted gem. While she was able to utilize these powers for minor feats before the contract, that was largely due to her fragile emotional state being receptive to Gypsum’s influence.

Quest for Identity: Her new life on Earth revolves around this goal and is greatly emphasized in This is Who I Am.

The Quiet One: In contrast to Peridot, 5XF survived her hellish work environment on Homeworld by simply doing her work, minding her own business, and refusing to socialize with any other gems. While she remains much more reserved than Peridot after being relocated to Earth, this trait of 5XF’s becomes massively downplayed to the point where it’s barely in effect after the changes she experienced with her new life.

0 notes

terabitweb · 5 years ago

Text

Original Post from SC Magazine Author: Bradley Barth

In the film “Ocean’s 11,” Danny Ocean and his team of expert cybercriminals execute a daring casino heist in glitzy Las Vegas.

This past summer at the Black Hat and DEF CON conferences in Sin City, the editorial staff at SC Media attempted to pull off a less ambitious – and decidedly more legal – caper of its own. With far less success.

The job: Complete a full series of video interviews with leading cyber experts, all while riding the world’s largest ferris wheel.

As a bonus, we even invited a pair of wireless researchers from the DEF CON Wireless Village to accompany us on the ride and use their equipment to sniff out whatever devices and signals they could detect along our 360-degree journey.

Our crew was set: one reporter + one cameraman + two wireless researchers + five experts + two PR associates for logistical support = SC’s 11.

As it turned out, Ocean’s 11 would have a much easier time of it.

The first challenge was getting on the ride in the first place, without breaking any rules. Ferris wheel policy didn’t allow professional video cameras, so we steered clear of this problem by filming only with an iPhone. Meanwhile, wireless researchers Rick Falcone and Rick Mellendick inquired in advance to make sure nothing they would bring on board was forbidden and were given a thumbs up that all was well.

Still, it was tempting fate when, for dramatic effect, Mellendick decided to handcuff himself to the protective case carrying his equipment. Surely, even in Vegas, this odd sight would cause a scene once we reached security, wouldn’t it? But after a few curious questions from the guards at the metal detectors, we were sent on our way.

Bradley felt like a big shot when a passerby saw the SC logo on the microphone and asked if he was with SportsCenter. Of course, reporting for SC Media is pretty darn cool too.

The next phase of the plan was to perform four interviews with our five experts (two were a duo who were interviewed together) in 30 minutes of ride time, before we quite literally came full circle. Mission accomplished there – just barely – as we finished our final interview right as it was time to disembark. Feeling victorious, we hurriedly gathered our belongings and stepped out of the cabin.

That’s when we ran into security. And they were not happy.

The woman in charge began interrogating our group, insisting that we should never have been allowed to board the ferris wheel while carrying electronic equipment – especially during DEF CON week. But since we didn’t actually bring any officially prohibited items, she let us pass. But not before making an ominous statement along these lines: “Excuse me, I have to go fire some people.” (We certainly hope no one was actually fired when it appears everyone had followed the rules.)

Whew. That was a close one. But at least we got our footage, right? Well, not exactly. The next morning, we discovered that the audio did not record correctly. Nothing but static. It was the equivalent of the Ocean’s 11 crew escaping the casino with bags of loot, only to find they were filled with Monopoly money.

But we weren’t about to let that stop us. So, nearly three months later, SC Media is finally pleased to present a photo essay of our Las Vegas (mis)adventure, featuring Q&A commentary from our guests, who were kind enough to recreate some of their talking points from the ride.

Who would have thought that a slow, scenic trip on a ferris wheel would turn into such a roller coaster ride?

See our interviews, below:

Sherrod DeGrippo (right), senior director of threat research and detection, Proofpoint.

Our first guest passenger was Sherrod DeGrippo, senior director of threat research and detection at Proofpoint.

SC: Sherrod, during our ferris wheel interview you described some of the recent activity of the cybercriminal threat group TA505, which historically has been associated with the Dridex banking trojan and Locky ransomware. What are the latest developments with this actor?

SD: This summer, we observed TA505 introduce a new downloader malware, AndroMut, which has some similarities in code and behavior to Andromeda, a long-established malware family. Our researchers identified two distinct campaigns by TA505 that used AndroMut to download [the remote access trojan] FlawedAmmyy. These attacks appeared to be targeted carefully by geography and somewhat targeted by industry, especially in Singapore and the UAE, where attacks were dramatically skewed towards financial services organizations.

Our research has followed TA505’s evolution over the last few years from an extremely high-volume actor dealing in global ransomware and banking Trojan campaigns to a targeted actor focused on regional campaigns and malware ranging from downloaders to sophisticated remote access trojans. This group is both adaptable and adept at following the money. They tend to set trends across the malware landscape, so, at this point, it appears that they are adapting to changing conditions based on regional and vertical targeting, as well the types of malware they are distributing. Some of these conditions may relate to cryptocurrency volatility and adaptations of defenders to previous malware strains they distributed en masse.

SC: During the interview, we noted that you are from Georgia, which has been hit repeatedly by ransomware attacks on a local and city level. Please explain why municipalities have become such an appealing target. Also, you mentioned that you may have even been indirectly affected by the SamSam ransomware attack on Altanta. Please explain.

SD: Threat actors recognize that municipalities typically have outdated information security protections and lack the resources necessary to recover quickly from an attack. These factors, along with their broad swath of responsibilities and relatively deep pockets, have made them more attractive targets in recent years. Additionally, ransomware actors look for the best, highest payout potential and focus their efforts there. A municipality has access to funds in excess of what consumer users or most small or medium businesses would have available that they can relatively easily divert to regain access to their systems, making them a lucrative target.

I was actually pulled over by a police officer in Atlanta during the city’s SamSam ransomware attack. Because the police department’s systems were down, I was let go without a ticket.

SC: You also mentioned the most paranoid thing you’ve seen someone do to keep secure at Black Hat and DEF CON. Is there such a thing as being too paranoid?

SD: I don’t think there is such a thing as too paranoid. Everyone should take every possible precaution to protect themselves and their digital identities. However, I have seen extreme acts taken at Black Hat/DEF CON that don’t have any impact on security, like tinfoil-wrapping an entire hotel room. That’s probably more for fun than actual security. I’ve seen people handcuff their tech to their wrist. That’s pretty paranoid, but also important if you’re forgetful.

Tyler Moffitt (left), senior threat research analyst, and Jason Davison (center), advanced threat research analyst, Webroot.

As we climbed toward the apex of our ascent, we were joined by a duo from Webroot: Tyler Moffitt, senior threat research analyst, and Jason Davison, advanced threat research analyst.

SC: Last year, the big ransomware threat was GandCrab. That changed following the developers’ supposed retirement. Now there’s a new threat, Sodinokibi, which also uses a ransomware-as-a-service model. Based on your observations, what makes this threat unique and dangerous? And what has led experts to conclude that Sodinokibi was created by GandCrab’s developers?

TM and JD: GandCrab was one of the most successful RaaS (Ransomware as a Service) operations we’ve seen to date. Due to their success, they [GandCrab’s developers] received attention from researchers and the media alike. It’s not uncommon for successful threat actors who receive a lot of attention to try and start new projects in an attempt remain successful. There are extremely strong ties between Gandcrab and Sodinokibi. We even found an early decryptor binary listed as “gc6” (assumed to be GandCrab 6, since the last known distributed version of GandCrab was version 5.2) in the PDB path.

SC: You’ve also been following several DNS hijacking campaigns in which malicious actors, perhaps government-sponsored, are altering internet records to reroute website visitors to attacker-controlled sites. Explain how this scheme works and explain why this is such a serious threat to the integrity of the internet’s infrastructure?

TM and JD: DNS is an older, fundamental part of networking that didn’t really account for security too much when it was initially designed. Attacks have been reported targeting mainly government and military organizations in the Middle East and North Africa regions. At a high level, the attack is to manipulate DNS name records to then redirect to hacker-controlled servers. This is critical because attackers are leveraging the trust placed on DNS systems to successfully attack users.

SC: We also talked about DEF CON being famous for hackers trying to hack into everything – elevators, hotel rooms, ATMs, etc. What’s the most unusual device/system hack you’ve researched or witnessed, at DEF CON or elsewhere?

TM and JD: I haven’t seen anything too crazy with my own eyes other than construction signs hacked to say “ZOMBIES AHEAD.” Also, all the speakers at the Bellagio casino were once hijacked to play Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up.”

Dr. Richard Gold (left), director of security engineering, Digital Shadows.

Halfway home! Our next guest was Dr. Richard Gold, director of security engineering at Digital Shadows.

SC: Over the summer, the Senate Intel Committee released volume one of a report detailing Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections. You have followed reputed Russian APT actor APT 28/Fancy Bear closely. What were your reactions to the report?

RG: The report really lays out how the Russian intrusion groups took an “offense in depth” approach to their activities; that is, they conducted a very broad campaign against a number of targets using a wide variety of methods. The report goes into detail on the activity around the election infrastructure in a number of states. This is all in addition to the intrusions into the DNC [Democratic National Committee] and the DCCC [Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee] and the misinformation campaigns that have also been attributed to Russian groups. With the 2020 election looming large, the report clearly indicates the need for shoring up the security of any systems around elections and political campaigns.

SC: How great is your concern that Fancy Bear is willing and able to take more extreme measures next year and actually alter voter information (to cause chaos or disqualify certain voters) and/or change vote tallies?

RG: It is certainly possible. However, they had this access in 2016 and they did not use it, indicating that they didn’t need to use this access in order to achieve their goals. That does not mean that they will not use this access in 2020 as the target environment for these groups has changed in the last four years. There is more awareness of the threat posed by foreign interference than there was in 2016 so it may require hostile groups to go further in order to achieve their goals.

SC: You also have closely followed Hidden Cobra/Lazarus Group. During Black Hat, news broke that the reputed North Korean ATP group has collected $2 billion in illegal funds. What has made Lazarus Group so effective and lucrative over the years?

RG: Lazarus/Hidden Cobra are adept at “following the money,” to use a well-known phrase. They have consistently targeted organizations that handle large sums of money but do not necessarily have the same level of security as some more mature organizations. They have targeted cryptocurrency exchanges and financial institutions where the attackers had uncovered security weaknesses. This increased the likelihood that their intrusions would be successful, that they would be able to steal substantial amounts of money, and would be unlikely to be detected.

Ben Seri (left), VP of research, Armis.

Our final on-board guest was Ben Seri, vice president of research at Armis. Ben took us through the Armis team’s discovery of URGENT/11, a series of vulnerabilities found in the real-time operating system (RTOS) VxWorks. More than 2 billion devices operate on VxWorks, about 200 million of which were judged to be affected by the flaws.

SC: Ben, please summarize your URGENT/11 presentation at Black Hat, and the nature of the vulnerabilities you discovered.

BS: At Black Hat, we presented our findings, and did a deep dive on some of the most interesting of the discovered vulnerabilities. Many of the discovered vulnerabilities were found in esoteric features of the TCP and IP protocols, that are rarely used but nevertheless implemented, even in modern TCP/IP stacks. These esoteric features tend to be overlooked by both developers and pen testers, and therefore might end up containing very critical vulnerabilities.

SC: We talked about how vulnerability researchers have largely overlooked real-time operating systems. Why is this the case?

BS: There are a couple of reasons researchers overlook real-time operating systems. First of all, researching RTOSs is challenging – many of these operating systems are closed-source, and not easily debuggable. So to start hunting for vulnerabilities in such systems, a researcher would first need to invest significant time in preparing tools. Other reasons might be the competitive nature of researchers, who are mainly focused on the security of their personal devices – PCs and mobile phones. In addition, researchers have a much greater incentive to search for vulnerabilities in devices of companies that have bug bounty programs, for instance.

SC: I understand that since we last spoke in Vegas, it was determined that other RTOSs are similarly affected by the vulnerabilities because they share the flawed TCP/IP stack component known as IPnet. Please elaborate.

BS: The IPnet TCP/IP stack was indeed a standalone product that was licensed to users of various RTOSs in the past. Armis actually discovered this through the BD Alaris Infusion pump, a widely used Infusion pump that was detected as running the IPnet stack in a hospital environment where the Armis solution is used. The surprising factor was that this device is not based on VxWorks. That fact led us to further investigate the reach of these URGENT/11 [vulnerabilties]. It is surprisingly difficult to determine the OS used by medical devices, and embedded devices in general, let alone the TCP/IP stack that powers the network connectivity function of these devices. A vulnerability in a widespread component, such as the IPnet stack, is a case of a software supply chain vulnerability that unfortunately affects any device or operating system that uses it.

Rick Mellendick (left), chief security officer, PI Achievers, and Rick Farina (right), senior product manager, Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Company.

With our feet firmly planted back on earth, we finally turned to our wireless detectives Rick Mellendick, chief security officer at PI Achievers, and Rick Farina, senior product manager with Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Company. The two Ricks ran this year’s Def Con Wireless Village, and so we had asked them to bring some special equipment aboard the ride to passively – and legally – monitor the local environment for notable device activity. (You might remember them from our 2019 Trolley Talk segment at the RSA conference.)

SC: Explain your point of view of what happened at the end of the ride with ferris wheel security.

RF: The most likely explanation? The manager saw what appeared to be an interview and accosted the people who looked like they were carrying camera equipment. When she realized we didn’t have professional camera equipment, she claimed DEF CON attendees aren’t allowed to bring any electronics, which seems reductio ad absurdum. In truth, their physical security was about what would be expected at most places. We had a briefcase full of stuff, we showed them inside, it wasn’t dangerous or otherwise prohibited, so they let us through (despite the silliness with the handcuffs). Once we were past main security, and we powered up the kit, I am a bit surprised no one cared that Rick and I were tethered together. Again, all of our stuff was already checked, but I would say we behaved sufficiently atypical in a manner that would have easily justified additional scrutiny.

SC: Describe the equipment you brought with you for this particular mission, and what you were looking for.

RF: We brought a hard case full of wireless monitoring equipment; specifically, a small Intel compute stick, four general purpose software-defined radios for looking at different types of standard sensors and wireless remotes, one ADS-B-specific SDR (Software Defined Radio) for tracking airplanes, three Wi-Fi cards for monitoring Wi-Fi traffic, one Bluetooth dongle for monitoring Bluetooth and Bluetooth smart, two 802.15.4 (Zigbee) dongles for monitoring 802.15.4 in 900 MHz and 2.4GHz, and 2 Crazyradio PA dongles for monitoring wireless keyboards and mice. Basically, our goal was to see everything we could easily see passively, specifically using a free open-source tool called Kismet.

SC: Did the height of the ferris wheel present any unique opportunities to capture data? Also, did the ferris wheel present any unique challenges or obstacles that hindered data collection?

RF: The overall design of a ferris wheel does obviously lend a great opportunity for gaining some altitude, which removes the lower height obstructions like buildings and lets us pick up signals from farther away. Being Vegas, however, the pods of the ferris wheel likely use nice expensive low-e glass, which works as a shielding against much of the electromagnetic spectrum, as it is specifically designed to block out things such as infrared light. While these two things balanced out quite a bit, being in an enclosed space that was moving around (a ferris wheel in our case, but it could be a subway or a train or a bus) gave us the unique opportunity to really “get to know” everyone around us. We profiled how many phones we saw, and based on signal strength and duration seen it was obvious who was in the pod with us and who was not. While we only acted passively, there was more than enough time to consider a targeted attack against our fellow ride enthusiasts, which remained purely theoretical. The same thing could easily happen every day on the yellow or blue metro lines in Washington DC, or anywhere else where it may be interesting to profile people via their electronics.

SC: Ultimately, what did you find? Give us some specific examples of interesting observations, and then share with us your total statistics!

RM: We saw seven wireless mice and keyboards, as well as hundreds of active Bluetooth radios (both associated and probing). We saw a typical amount of Wi-Fi, and many other associated signals.

The stats: * 1,496 Bluetooth devices * 1,286 Wi-Fi devices including both clients and access points * two temperature sensors * seven wireless mice and/or keyboards * 65 aircraft

RF: So here’s how I broke it down and my assumptions: Wireless keyboards and mice have a fairly short range. The low-e glass also limits our range. As such, it’s extremely likely that the wireless keyboards and mice were in use on the [cocktail] bar-equipped ferris wheel cars.

The temperature sensors are also pretty short range typically. We saw one that was an appropriate temperature for a refrigerator, and one that was the current outside temperature. Range is a bit further on these things, but I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that one was in a refrigerator and one was monitoring outdoor temperature for some monitor system or a sign with the temperature.

SC: Finally, a question for Rick M.: Explain why you handcuffed yourself to the equipment and, since you didn’t have a key, how long did it take to pick yourself out of it?

RF: I’m not Rick M, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say “because it was funny.” It does prevent security from attempting to confiscate things if they don’t like something, but we did unlock the case and show them everything inside before gaining entry. As for the picking, I think it was about 20 seconds for the first cuff and 10 for the second. Don’t let him convince you he did both cuffs in 10 seconds.

RM: The handcuffs were just for show, and to be different. It forced questions, and allowed for us to possibly have some teaching moments. If we just had backpacks, no one would have asked much of anything. And I think Rick’s estimation of the time to get out is a bit high, but it was very quick and during a discussion, while talking to a colleague.

* Q&A responses were minimally edited for content and clarity.

Trolley Talk, RSA 2019 edition: SC’s second annual cable car chats (video)

Trolley Talk: SC cruises the cable car line with cyber experts

Trolley Talk – The Full Ride

TA505 cybergang debuts ‘AndroMut” downloader to deliver FlawedAmmyy RAT globally

Report suggests GandCrab’s developers may have created Sodinokibi ransomware

‘Brazen’ nation-state actors behind ‘Sea Turtle’ DNS hijacking campaign

DHS issues emergency directive to protect federal domains from DNS hijacking campaign

Report: Russian-sponsored hackers could have modified U.S. voter data, but didn’t

Second Senate Intel committee report confirms Russia social media campaign to influence 2016 election, skewer Clinton

U.S. sanctions North Korea hacking groups, says attacks funded missile program

Over 200M devices affected by critical flaws found in real-time operating system

The post We interviewed leading cyber experts on the world’s tallest ferris wheel. Then security showed up. appeared first on SC Media.

#gallery-0-5 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-5 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-5 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-5 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Go to Source Author: Bradley Barth We interviewed leading cyber experts on the world’s tallest ferris wheel. Then security showed up. Original Post from SC Magazine Author: Bradley Barth In the film “Ocean’s 11,” Danny Ocean and his team of expert cybercriminals execute a daring casino…

#SC Magazine

0 notes

crypticbeliever123 · 6 years ago

Link

Link to my fic on AO3. You can also read chapter 1 here below. Feel free to comment on what you thought of the fic! It’d be really appreciated.

It’s been 11 years since the mutation event, and 11 years since Splinter saw the man who was once his childhood friend rise to become the Shredder, the face of bigotry and hate directed against his kind. Though many people are accepting of mutants, he knows that there are also many who would fall in line with Oroku- no. Not Oroku Saki. Not anymore. Now he is only the Shredder, a villain who would see countless fall dead at his hands for simply being who they have become after Stockman’s experiment; a fate they could not control.

His old friend has grown quite powerful since he last saw him years before the event. Even in their youth Saki was a gifted Firebender, capable of using blue flame and lightning to great effect. Now he has found a new technique in his Bending. Firebenders have long been known to harness the power of their own chi to will fire into being. Now it seems that Shredder has managed to gain such control over chi that he can affect not only his own but that of others as well, severing the connection between spirit and chi within a person, cutting them off from their Bending permanently. Not even Splinter’s Energybending could restore their gifts.

Still, though Shredder has brought much pain and fear into this world Splinter has found small joys in it as well in the form of his four students, his adopted sons. Though they brought him joy as he has tried to do for them in return, he can’t help but feel pain in his heart for them and the sorrows that led to their union as a family.

First there was Leonardo, a Waterbender from the Foggy Swamp Tribe whose family left him behind in the chaos that erupted when the Shredder attacked. The great banyan-grove tree that resided there had caused a mass congregation of mutations through its connection to the Spirit Wilds just as had occurred at ground zero, Republic City itself. The Shredder had sought to bring about the end of all the mutants that had sprung up in the tribe by destroying the great banyan-grove tree using his new technique to kill the tree’s connection to the surrounding area and the Spirit Wilds. Though Splinter was unable to save the swamp from ruin at the Shredder’s hand, he was able to rescue the frightened Leo from death and take him in as his own.

Then, a year later Shredder laid siege to the city of Zaofu. Two Earthbenders, mutated into the forms of a female lizard and a male armadillo, did their best to hide their young son, Donatello, from the Shredder’s attack but sadly lost their lives in efforts to protect their child. Luckily, Splinter arrived just in time to save the young Donatello from being slaughtered as his parents had been. He still remembers holding the young turtle in his arms as he wept for the loss of his parents that night when they returned home to Republic City.

It was only a handful of months before Splinter found himself with yet another son; another turtle to his amusement. Michelangelo may not have been the Shredder’s target but he was still a victim of his nonetheless as Shredder’s attack on Republic City, in an effort to lure Splinter to his doom, led to much destruction that brought about the car accident that claimed the lives of Mikey’s parents. Splinter was called in to the Police Precinct after the incident, having informed the Police Chief that should any young mutants find themselves in need of a new home he was to be contacted at once. Mikey took to his new brothers almost immediately.

It was several years before he took in another son. This one he didn’t find through tragedy but rather by happenstance. Raphael was but 14 when Splinter found the turtle stealing food to survive. When confronted Raph attacked him with his Firebending, thinking he was in trouble with the Avatar. The fight ended quickly as Splinter used his own Bending to counter and offered to instead buy him a meal that they could talk over instead of fighting. Raphael told him about how in light of his mutation his father had attacked him and cast him from their home. Splinter felt sorry for the young Firebender and offered him a home. Though hesitant to trust him, Raphael agreed and was greeted by his three new brothers when they arrived at the Avatar’s Temple.

Over the years his sons have grown and become very capable Benders. Leonardo, who was now 17 was nothing short of a master, having trained to be skilled at not just natural Waterbending but also the arts of healing and Plantbending as well. Donatello, now 15, was as skilled at Bending metal as he was at bending other earthen materials and took full advantage of it in his inventing. Michelangelo, an energetic 14 year old, despite not having as wide a range with his Bending as his brothers did, was still gifted in his skills; enough so, that he frequently uses them in pranks around the temple. Raphael…

*sigh*

Raphael was different. No matter how hard he tried to teach him, the boy still could not even master the basics. It was as if he weren’t even trying. Raphael could create fire no problem, even large amounts of it if he lost his cool. It was simply controlling that fire that seemed difficult for him as he couldn’t direct flames very well and making precise movements with such fire was proving to be essentially impossible for the young Bender. His form and technique were both sloppy to say the least. Two years into his training and still no improvement.

“Again,” Splinter said with a sigh as Raphael failed in performing a basic Firebending technique once more.

Raph took a deep breath.

“Just relax and remember why you’re doing this,” the turtle whispered to himself as he drew in another breath only for his focus to be completely disrupted by Mikey bursting in with loud enthusiasm.

“MIKEY!”

The Airbender just ignored him and flew past on an air scooter before coming to a stop.

“Guys, guys, guys! Check this out!” Mikey exclaimed as he pulled out a poster for a Pro-Bending match that was being held downtown.

“It’s Pro-Bending. So? What’s so great about it?” Raph questioned with irritation at Mikey’s exuberance as they were joined by Leo and Donnie.

“So?! It’s a match between the Fire Ferrets and the Boar-q-pines! They’re the two best teams in the circuit! We have to go and see them play!”

“I don’t know Mikey, I’ve still got a lot of work I need to do on my latest inven-” Donnie said before being interrupted by the sound of an explosion coming from his lab.

“On second thought, I’d love to go.”

“Yes! What about you Leo?”

“Sure thing. Sounds like fun. Raph, are you in?”

“Pass,” Raph said before turning to leave.

“Pass?! How can you pass up the chance to see the Fire Ferrets play the Boar-q-pines, bro?”

“Because I’m not as big a fan of Pro-Bending as you are. Heck, I’m not even a fan!”

“Blasphemy! Pro-Bending is the single greatest thing in the world and it is impossible to not love it. You just say you don’t like it because you know you’re not good enough to make any of the teams.”

“Michelangelo!” Splinter warned.

“It’s fine, Master Splinter. Mikey’s little jabs about my bending haven’t upset me before, they ain’t gonna start now,” Raph replied as he headed off to his room.

Raph sighed, sliding down against his bedroom door. The weight of his secrets could really eat at him sometimes. Luckily his phone started buzzing to take his mind off it. Surprise, surprise, a text message from his best friend Casey. Good ole Casey, always there when he needed him even if it was a total coincidence that he was calling at the exact moment when he needed him the most.

Practice is @ 3. Think u can make it or is Splinter still trying 2 “teach u firebending”? lol

Oh I’ll make it alright. Just make sure April’s there & geared up. Last time she was late & still needed 2 get changed

Clearly you’ve never taken college classes. Just be there on time, kay?

Kay btw Mikey’s trying 2 get the fam 2 go 2 our match this Friday

XD what’d u say?

Said it was stupid and that I wasn’t going

Blasphemy!

That’s what Mikey said 2 is that word trending right now or something?

Make all the excuses u want dude but don’t u dare insult our beloved sport

Whatever see u @ practice

See u