#talltree-writes

[jackjolene]

BioShock/Sinking City/Vampyr: The Blood of Alex the Great

Liz and Lady Ashbury make their way to Fontaine Futuristics, aided by a map that Eleanor made for them from Delta's memories. Thankfully, they don't have to contend with Alex the Great controlling the building's security. Instead however, they have to deal with the numerous Mutants walking around.

Fontaine Futuristics was ground zero of the Mutant outbreak, as it was Orrin Lutwidge's original base when he arrived in Rapture, and where he gave the mutated ADAM to his new splicer recruits. The source of that ADAM is what they're here to investigate, as well as any leads on Lutwidge's plans.

Thanks to the large number of Mutants wandering the halls and floors of Fontaine Futuristics, Liz and Elisabeth have to use their stealth abilities to evade their notice. Evidently, Elisabeth has a Peeping Tom plasmid like Liz's, along with her teleportation plasmid. Something's off, though, but Liz can't tell what it is.

After getting through the main building, they don their diving suits again and venture out to the entrance to the secret lab. Outside, they find the bodies of a dozen or so Mutants who tried to make the walk outside without a suit on. What's frightening about this trail of death is the evidence of them evolving.

Each one is further along than the last, having survived the crushing pressure and lack of air longer. The very last one, a few yards from the entrance, wasn't crushed at all, but certainly drowned. On its neck is what appears to the beginnings of a set of gills. Liz can't help but shudder as they walk past.

Time is running out.

In the lab, they instantly become aware of a massive, living thing within the huge tank in the middle of the main room. Its movements and heartbeat suggest that it is asleep, and so Liz and Elisabeth make sure to move carefully and quietly around the tank. The red tinge of the water keeps them from seeing inside, and they're both thankful for that.

In the room to the left, they find out where Lutwidge got the mutated ADAM. Alex the Great wasn't killed when Delta electrocuted him, just very close to death. After Delta left, Alex regenerated, and that's how Lutwidge found him. After figuring out that Alex had essentially mutated into a giant ADAM slug, Lutwidge began extracting ADAM from him to generate new recruits.

Thanks to Alex the Great's mutations, his ADAM is corrupted. There's something more vile in its reactions, something primitive. Reading through Lutwidge's observations, Liz suddenly has another episode, seeing the same gothic city as before, witnessing ordinary people mutating into grotesque monsters, Beasts, like the Mutants.

"We are born of the blood, made men by the blood, undone by the blood. Our eyes are yet to open. Fear the Old Blood."

Those words echo through Liz's mind as the episode progresses. When she comes out of it, her nose bleeding again, Elisabeth tells her that she was saying that phrase. She's looking at Liz strangely now, and her eyes keep dropping down to the blood draining out of Liz's nostrils with something like hunger.

With the origin of the Mutated ADAM discovered, they head over to the room on the other side of the tank. They both can't help but feel like something is watching them, even when they're invisible.

After some searching in the labs where the Big Daddies and Little Sisters were bonded together, they find some notes of Lutwidge's. After the splicers who took Alex the Great's ADAM began turning into Mutants, Lutwidge came up with a plan on how to control them.

Using the same method as Andrew Ryan did to control the splicers and win the Rapture Civil War (mind-control pheromones distributed throughout the city via the ventilation), Lutwidge will take control of the Mutants and continue with his original plan. Blueprints for a prototype that would allow him to keep the Mutants docile in a single area are among the documents they find, explaining how he is able to keep them at bay wherever he sets up shop.

With Lutwidge in Arcadia, the source of Rapture's fresh air, he must be closing in on his goal to take control of the Mutants. Once he does that, he can kill everyone else in Rapture, including the survivors in Minerva's Den, and then plunder the city for its horrifying secrets.

With Lutwidge's plans now in hand, Liz and Elisabeth begin making tracks for the exit. In the main room, Elisabeth grabs a sample of Alex's ADAM, knowing that Jonathan and Tenenbaum will likely want some for analysis. Liz looks over at the tank, just in time to see the massive and distorted silhouette of Alex the Great charging at them, also noticing the huge cracks in the tank's glass for the first time.

The tank's glass shatters as Alex the Great smashes through, great gashes appearing in his skin only to heal in seconds, shards pushed out right after they impale him. His bulbous head appears to have no mouth, until it opens to expose a circular maw of razor sharp teeth like a huge leech's. Laughing, crying, and roaring all at the same time, he lunges at them, pulling himself along with two pairs of elongated arms.

Elisabeth grabs Liz and teleports them both to the airlock. As she hits the button to close the doors and begin cycling the airlock, Alex appears at the end of the corridor and begins pushing his way through the coral to get at them. Just as he's about to reach the airlock, the doors close in his face. Liz and Elisabeth hear his cries from behind the door as they race the rising water to get their helmets on.

Once outside, they begin making tracks away from Fontaine Futuristics. They'll walk until they find another airlock and then they'll find a bathysphere to take them back to the Den. They've both had enough of Fontaine's old stomping grounds.

As they walk amongst the ruins of Rapture, Liz begins to realize what's been bothering her about Jonathan and Elisabeth Reid. Not once has she seen them eat food, or drink water or alcohol, and despite the use of their strange plasmids, they don't use EVE hypos.

As she remembers the look in their faces whenever she's gushing blood from her nose after an episode, she recalls a story that Charles told them about his own adventures in Oakmont, about a Mayan priestess brought back from the dead with a taste for blood....

[scarletspider2the2ndpower]

“The Second Master (Part Two),” Scarlet Spider (Vol. 2/2012), #8.

Writer: Christopher Yost; Penciler: Khoi Pham; Inker: Tom Palmer; Colorists: Edgar Delgado and Antonio Fabela; Letterer: Joe Caramagna

[talltree-writes]

We’re Going on a Trip

Fandom: PJO and MCU

Summary: The annual school trip has rolled around and the teachers have been keeping it oddly quiet. When they finally announce it, Peter’s heart sinks— just once, could he have a normal field trip? Coupled with the stress of having Percy Jackson, a relatively recent addition to the Avengers, on the trip, Peter is dreading Friday. 

Genre: fluff, irondad and spiderson, avengers fam, someone give Percy a break

Pairing: Percabeth is there 

Warnings: Cursing, Character typical injuries, Nightmares

Author’s Note: I keep forgetting this account exists, so I forgot to cross-post from my Ao3. Anyway, I’ve had this done for months, but haven’t been fully happy with it. It’s part of a series of one shots that I’m apparently only updating once a year... oops. Anyway, here’s this

“Class, as you know, the science department takes one field trip together every year. This year, I am excited to announce, Mrs. Pruta’s marine biology class, Mr. Looves Physics class, and our Chemistry class will be the first group to tour the newly reinstated Stark Tower this Friday. Now, Stark Tower was intended to close around this time last year, but Mr. Stark…” Peter tuned out whatever Mr. Gray was saying. 

Stark Industries? Really? The big annual field trip that he looked forward to every year was to the building he spent most of his time in anyway? He’d been on that tour already, given to him by the head intern herself once his Stark Internship turned from a cover story to fact. 

****

After Peter was shot, the Baby Monitor Protocol automatically called Mr. Stark, who demanded that Peter come straight to the tower to get patched up.

Unable to use the medbay that was still under construction, Colonel Rhodes set up his makeshift OR in Mr. Stark’s lab. With no anesthetic, as they did not have any of the stuff that could knock out a super soldier or enhanced human, Peter allowed his eyes to wander as Rhodey pulled the bullet from his leg and stitched him up. His eyes caught on an unsolved problem scribbled on a chalkboard.

Once Rhodey had finished patching him up, Peter hopped off of the table and limped over to the  chalkboard. He scanned his eyes over it, looking for the issue, for why it was unsolvable to the smartest man Peter knew. Finally, his eyes caught on it. “Hey, Mr. Stark?”

“Yeah, kid?” Mr. Stark came to stand behind Peter. 

“You forgot to balance the chemicals. Just redo it from there and your answer should be… this.” Peter picked up a piece of chalk and finished the problem after doing the calculation in his head, writing the answer on the bottom. 

Mr. Stark double-checked his work, marking his own calculations to the side. When he came up with the same answer, he turned to stare, astounded, at Peter. “Kid, that was a graduate-level problem, and you just solved it.” 

Peter shrugged, “You just needed a fresh set of eyes. Besides, I’ve studied ahead. How else could I have created my web fluid?” 

“Yo-wha- studied ahead?” He sputtered. 

Peter shrugged again, as if he hadn’t just admitted to knowing graduate level science and math at a high school age. “I was bored, so I read ahead and looked stuff up. When I finished our book, I moved on to the next, and then the next, and suddenly I found myself reading research essays and then I guess I could do this stuff. I didn’t know it was that advanced…” He blushed at the end. 

Mr. Stark stared at him again for a minute before speaking. “How’d you like to help me in the lab sometimes? Let’s say once or twice a week for now, and then we’ll see where it goes.” 

Eyes round as saucers, Peter met Mr. Stark’s gaze “Work in your lab… with you?” A pause as it sunk in. “Yes! Mr. Stark, yes! I’d love to!” 

“Great! You start Monday. You’ll be getting your first paycheck from Stark Industries in no time!” Mr. Stark clapped Peter on the shoulder.

If possible, Peter’s eyes got bigger. “P-paycheck? You’re going to pay me for working here?” 

Mr. Stark chuckled. “Of course, Underoos! Stark Industries doesn’t have unpaid interns anymore. I recently realized that minimum wage isn’t even a viable income, so why should I expect my hard-working interns to live off even less. I need them to be focusing on their work, and if they don’t know where their next meal is coming from, they can’t do that. You’ll be a fully realized intern, with higher access, of course, so you’ll receive the same treatment. Of course, school must come first, or else your Aunt will kill me. But I expect that will be no problem.” 

“Th-thank you, Mr. Stark! Thank you so much!” 

Mr. Stark smiled fondly at Peter and said, “It’s no problem, kid, now go on home before your aunt gets worried.” 

Peter nodded and headed towards the window, pulling his mask down as he did so. He opened the window and waved as he jumped out, nearly giving his mentor a heart attack, as that move always does. 

As soon as he knew Peter was out of earshot, Mr. Stark said, “Hey, FRIDAY? Remind me to tell Pepper we’re paying all of our interns now.” 

When Rhodey just stared at him, Tony shrugged. “The kid and his aunt can barely make ends meet, but they won’t let me help them. If I can give the kid a little extra change and gain an employee, I should do it. I mean, it’s not like it’s going to put a huge dent in my wallet, anyway.” 

****

“Get these permission slips signed and returned to me by the time we load the bus on Friday.” Mr. Gray shouted as the bell rang and all the students filed out of the classroom. 

Ned caught up with Peter after grabbing a permission slip. “Woah, dude! This is awesome! We’re going to Stark Towers! Well I guess it’s not as awesome for you, since you work there and all.” 

Before Peter could remind his best friend that he worked there as well, Flash cut in. “Ha! How lame do you have to be to lie to your own best friend, Penis?” He jeered as he passed. “We all know you don’t actually have a job at Stark Industries. They don’t even accept applications until you’re a grad student, and even then, only, like, seven get it. No way that you, Penis Parker, have a job with Stark Industries!” 

 Peter glowered at Flash but didn’t deign to answer. Ned on the other hand, shot back “He’s not lying, Flash! And he’ll prove it to you on the tour! Peter knows Tony Stark personally!” 

Turning away, Flash scoffed, “Yeah, right. You’re fooling yourself if you think he’s not lying to you. We’ll all see on Friday how much of a liar he is.” 

As Flash walked away, Peter and  Ned turned back to their lockers. “God, I hate that guy. I can’t wait for you to show him he’s wrong. Hey! Do you think you can get Mr. Stark to show up? That’ll really give him a kick in the ass!” 

Peter shot a look at his friend. “No! You don’t understand, I can’t let Mr. Stark know I’m going to be there. He’s going to embarrass me! It’s one thing for people to know I’m an intern, it’s another thing for people to know Tony Stark is basically my father.”

Ned’s demeanor shifted. “Oh, yeah.” He perked up again. “At least you’ll have Percy! Mr. Gray said his class is in our group.” 

Upon hearing this, Peter slammed his head into his now-closed locker. “Shit. Percy. At least I have an internship. How are we going to explain him and his clearance? He’s not been released to the public as an Avenger yet. This is going to be an absolute disaster.” 

“Hey, maybe it won’t be that bad. It’s not like there’s any guarantee that all of the Avengers will be there.”

Peter brightened up. “Yeah, why would any of them be there? They don’t live there. And it’s not like Mr. Stark knows about the field trip. Why would he? He’s got a billion dollar company to watch Pepper run. And he’s an Avenger. He’s super busy, like, all the time, and he never knows what’s going on in his building.” Maybe this field trip wouldn’t be so bad after all. 

***

  The day of the field trip arrived and Peter was up well before his alarm went off. “Aunt May? Is there any way I can not go on this field trip?” He called from his bed. 

“Peter, this is the biggest field trip of the year, and you always look forward to it. Don’t let the minor possibility that Tony Stark will be there ruin your day.” She said as she stood in his doorway. “Besides, you’ve missed too many days while Spider-manning to miss another.” 

Having risen into a seated position, Peter collapsed onto his pillows with a groan. “But May, Mr. Stark is going to embarrass me!” 

May chuckled. “Tony probably won’t even be there. You know how many meetings he has. He’s a busy man. He most likely doesn’t even know about the tour today.” 

“You’re right, you’re right. I’m just nervous. I’m scared about my identity getting let out of the bag, not to mention Percy’s. God, if Percy’s gets out we’re going to have serious problems.” 

Walking back into the kitchen, Aunt May called over her shoulder. “None of that is going to happen!” 

Peter groaned again, but got up and started getting dressed for school. He brushed his teeth, and tried to brush his hair, before looking at the clock and realizing he was going to be late if he didn’t leave now. 

He grabbed a Poptart from his aunt’s waiting hands, gave her a kiss on the cheek, and was out the door a second later, calling back “Love you, Aunt May!” 

Despite everything, Peter was kind of excited about the field trip. Sure, embarrassment was inevitable, but he was about to see a bunch of floors of the tower he never saw when he was working there. Plus, the look on Flash’s face when he realized the internship was real would be priceless. 

He made it to the school just in time to see the kids start loading the buses. Peter jogged forward and moved into the back of the line he saw Mr. Gray marking roll for. Just as he was about to board the bus, Mr. Gray pulled him aside. 

“Peter, you and I need to talk for a second.” He said. 

Confused, Peter went along. “Mr. Gray if this is about being tardy, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to, honestly.”

Mr. Gray shook his head. “No, Peter, this is about the rumors you’ve been spreading around about you being an intern at Stark Industries. Now, we’re very lucky that we got this opportunity, but I don’t want you, or Mr. Thompson, to embarrass us with talks of this internship. And if the talk continues, I’m going to have to have a conversation with the principal about it.” 

Near tears, Peter couldn’t muster any words to counter his teacher’s disbelief. So he just nodded and got on the bus. 

***

Meanwhile, at the Jackson-Blofis residence, Percy sat snoring through his alarm clock, Annabeth curled beside him. Annabeth, who was visiting both camp and her boyfriend while on break, had started the night alone on the bed, but when a nightmare woke Percy up, she allowed him to crawl off the floor and into the bed. 

“Percy… Percy… Percy!”  He startled awake to the sound of both his alarm and his mother saying his name. “Percy, it’s almost time for you to go. Remember you have your field trip today.” 

Percy shut his eyes and breathed “Shit.” 

“Language!” His mom bopped his head and left him to get ready. 

Through everything, Annabeth slept on. Suddenly, Percy had a brilliant idea. “Wisegirl?” He gently shook his girlfriend. “How would you like to tour Stark Towers with me today?” 

Her eyes blinked open. “Will Pepper Potts and/or Tony Stark be there?” She mumbled, sleep still heavy in her voice.

“Probably. I can introduce you if you’d like.” Percy smiled at the girl next to him. His Wisegirl. 

She glanced at his smile curiously, more awake now. “You’re very smiley for this early in the morning.” 

“Just thinking about how lucky I am to have a girl like you”

She smiled back and a light pink dusted her cheeks, as if Percy didn’t say something like it every time they saw each other. “You sap. Now, c’mon, if we don’t leave soon, you’ll miss the bus and I’ll miss the train. 

“The train?” Percy said curiously. 

Sitting up, Annabeth tied her hair back. “Yes, the train. You didn’t think I’d be able to just join your field trip did you?” 

Percy pouted. “I thought maybe you could use your Yankees cap and sit on the bus with me.” 

“And what if someone else needs to sit next to you? I can’t just stand or perch or something.”

A devious smile crossed Percy’s face. “You could always sit in my lap.” 

A sharp intake of breath, a shove, and a thud later, and Percy was back on the floor, Annabeth laughing above him. “So I’ll take that as a ‘no’ then?” He asked. 

“I’ll see you at Stark Towers. After I take the subway there.” She stepped over him and grabbed her clothes. “Get up, Seaweed Brain, before we’re late.” 

Just then, Sally popped her head in the door. “Percy, what are you doing on the floor? You need to leave in 10 minutes!” 

Percy just groaned, but got up and started to get dressed. 

****

When Percy got to the school, he barely made it in time to catch the bus. His teacher shot him a sour look, but let him on nonetheless. He found a seat next to someone he didn’t know, and took out his phone to text Ned and Peter. 

From: Sea dude

To: Man in Chair, Geeker Parker

What’s the plan, gents

From: Geeker Parker

To: Sea dude, Man in Chair

Hope and pray we get out of this unnoticed. No chance your dad can help? 

From: Sea dude

To: Geeker Parker, Man in Chair

No… That’s not really how that works…

From: Geeker Parker

To: Sea dude, Man in Chair

:/

From: Man in Chair

To: Geeker Parker, Sea dude 

How does that work, anyway?

Before Percy could answer, he felt the eyes of someone on him, and looked up to see his teacher giving him another stink eye. He swiftly put his phone away. The ride was almost over anyway, so he just relaxed and focused on seeing his girlfriend again soon. 

Upon arrival, it took the teachers several attempts to calm the students down. Finally, when they did, they went over last minute rules. “Turn your phones off and be attentive, we’re very lucky to have this opportunity, and you’re a representative of the school. Please be on your best behavior, but don’t forget to have fun and enjoy the experience!” Mr. Loove said. 

It took forever to get everyone off the bus, as people kept stopping to stare at the top of the building. Percy didn’t know why, they saw it from their school every day, but he guessed one of the tallest buildings in New York was quite the sight up close. 

Inside, Percy caught Annabeth’s eye as she talked to the receptionist, trying to get a visitor’s pass. She shot him a smile before returning to her conversation. Percy turned his attention to Peter and Ned as they came over. 

“Dude, isn’t that Annabeth?” Ned asked as soon as he was close enough. 

Percy smiled. “Yeah, that’s her. She’s in town for a few days and I thought I’d invite her. I’m going to help her get her guest pass really quick, ‘scuse me, boys.”

He slid past the two towards the desk. Slapping an easy grin on his face, he approached the receptionist who was currently fighting with Annabeth. “I’m sorry, ma’am, but you aren’t registered for a tour today, so I canno- Oh! Hi, Percy!” She smiled and blushed. 

“Hey, Erin. I see you’ve met Annabeth, my girlfriend. I was hoping I could get here first so I could request a pass for her, but she beat me to it. Do you think you could-“ 

Before he could finish, he was interrupted, once again, by Mrs. Pruta. “Percy Jackson, please stop flirting with these two fine young ladies and return to the group so we can check in.” 

“Oh, you mean this lovely young lady, here? Annabeth, this is my marine science teacher, Mrs. Pruta. Mrs. Pruta, this is my girlfriend, Annabeth Chase. She’ll be joining us on our tour today.”  Percy grinned. 

Flaring her nostrils, as she always does when she gets mad, Mrs. Pruta said “I’m afraid we only have enough badges for the class and she hasn’t registered in order to get one.” 

Erin piped into the conversation “Oh, that’s quite alright. Percy’s clearance is permission enough to give her a badge. She’s fine to join you.” 

“P-Percy’s what?” She spluttered, but quickly recovered. “We will discuss this later, young man. Now return to the group.” She stiffly stuck one arm out in the direction of the congregated students. 

As soon as they got to Peter and Ned, they burst out laughing. “Did you see her face? I thought she’d seen a ghost!” Percy said. 

“‘P-Percy’s what?’” Annabeth mocked. Normally, Annabeth respected teachers, but this one put a thorn in her side. 

Annabeth’s face suddenly sobered up as she glanced down at her phone. “What’s wrong, Wisegirl?” Percy stopped laughing. 

“I just got a text from a certain messenger friend of ours with a specific message to give you.” She pulled out her phone and showed it to him. 

Mist falling today. Time to tell the world everything.- H

“Fuck.” He muttered. “I had definitely planned on having a few more months without people knowing.”  

Ned and Peter craned their necks to see the message, but Percy handed Annabeth’s phone back to her. “What’s up?” Peter asked, concerned for his friend. 

“The Mist is going to fall much sooner than we anticipated, and as usual, the gods have no explanation for us.” Percy explained. “I’ve got to get an emergency press conference together by the end of the school day.” 

Peter grimaced. He had never experienced the stress of a press conference, and hoped he didn’t have to. Ever. “Just tell FRIDAY after we go through security. She’ll notify Dad and set it all up.” 

Percy nodded silently. Then, they both came to the same conclusion at the same time. “FRIDAY is about to let the cat out of the bag, isn’t she?” He groaned. 

Solemnly nodding his head, he patted Percy’s shoulder. They were screwed. 

Resigned to their fate, the boys looked to the approaching figures. And groaned.

****

‘Crap.’ Peter thought, as he recognized the two women coming towards them. Lacy and… Shuri. He’s in for it now. 

“Welcome, students!” Lacy shouted to get their attention. “My name is Lacy Ames, and I will be your tour guide for the day. If you will turn your attention to me, I have a few announcements, some rules, and then some guest badges to hand out.” The group quieted, especially when they noticed the intern’s companion. 

Lacy continued. “First of all, Princess Shuri of Wakanda will be joining you on your tour today. Any words, Princess?” 

Catching Peter’s eye, Shuri smiled wide. “I just heard there was a tour, and I was bored. So I thought I’d tag along and learn a little bit more about where I’m staying for the next few weeks.” She subtly winked at Peter. 

‘Hell yeah two weeks of lab time with Shuri!” Peter thought. He and Shuri had met at an otherwise boring meeting and bonded over their love of science. After her show of force in the battle for Wakanda, she had been established as a Junior Avenger.  

Peter briefly thought he would escape the embarrassment of seeing his best friend in front of his classmates, but he was mistaken. Once Shuri had caught his attention, she called out to him. “Hey Peter?”

He sighed, but answered. He knew what was coming. “Yes, Shuri?” 

“Toss me my keys!” 

Peter, without a printer in sight, chose the next best thing. He threw his backpack at the Princess of Wakanda. 

“I said my keys.” She said, deadpan as the backpack flew past her. 

“I thought you said printer.” Peter shrugged. 

“Why the fuck would I say printer?” She disregarded the teachers’ looks. 

The two came together in the middle of the space and did an intricate handshake that involved feet, hands, and hips. They had developed it when they were bored after they had both been kicked out of an Avengers meeting because they were ‘only Junior Avengers’. As they concluded their handshake, they burst into giggles together,  until Lacy cleared her throat and shot a pointed glance at the shocked class behind them. She, who had retrieved Peter’s backpack, handed the bag back to him and gestured for them both to rejoin the group. 

With the class still sitting in stunned silence, it was easy for Lacy to regain their attention. “Now, for some rules. No touching, no yelling, no pushing, always wear these badges I’m about to give you in a visible spot, or you will be escorted from the premises, and, biggest of all, no bullying.” Peter shot a glance to Flash, or, well, the back of Flash’s head, since he was front and center and Peter was in the back again, doing his best to hide. 

“Now, as I call your name, please come forward and get the badge I hand you. Cindy Moon.” Cindy went forward and grabbed the white badge. “Eugene Thompson” 

“It’s Flash, actually.” He said, and winked at the Princess. Shuri looked like she might puke. 

On and on the list went until there were no more badges. Mr. Gray, who had been checking off his sheet as the list went on, spoke up. “Um, ma’am, I’m afraid a few of the students didn’t get one. Mr. Parker, Mr. Leeds and Mr. Jackson seemed to be missing badges.” 

With a bright grin on her face, Lacy said “Oh, they can just use their own. Happy, our head of security,  has a thing about not giving one person two badges at the same time. Boys, do you have your badges?”  

They all pulled them out, Peter and Percy’s a shimmering gold, Ned’s a bright red, much different from any of the guest badges, and even the badge hanging from Lacy’s lapel. 

Flash, upon seeing the difference, threw his hand into the air. “Miss, why are theirs different?” 

“Good question, Eugene. It has to do with the ranking system. We have five levels here at Stark Towers, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Epsilon. Alpha is the lowest ranking, and Epsilon is the highest. You all have Alpha clearance, which is clearance for guests and the press. Beta is for interns on the lower levels. These are usually our graduate interns, Gamma is for our R&D department and marketing, Delta is for our top scientists, who often get to work with Doctor Banner plus accounting and department heads, and Epsilon is for the Starks, their close friends or family, and the Avengers. Now, if you’ll follow me, I need you all to scan your badges here. Please make sure to remove anything from your pockets and put them in this bucket.” 

Peter, Percy, Ned and Annabeth filed to the back of the line. Lacy went first. “Lacy Green, Gamma clearance.” Everyone except the three boys, Shuri, and Lacy jumped. 

“Oh, don’t mind FRIDAY, she does that with everyone. She’s the building’s AI. She is the eyes and ears here and will detect anything that happens.” Lacy explained. 

Each time someone went through the scanner, FRIDAY announced their name and clearance, and each time, it spooked them. Peter wanted to laugh, but then he remembered how he reacted when he first spoke to FRIDAY. He was like a child on Christmas morning every time she spoke. 

Finally, it was their turn. When Peter went through the scanner, FRIDAY’s voice suddenly had a familiar Irish lilt. “Peter Parker, Epsilon clearance. Welcome back, Petey, I will alert Boss to your arrival.” 

Resigned to Mr. Stark finding out anyway, Peter calmly replied “Thank you, Fri. Will you remind him that I am here on a school trip, though?” 

“Yes, Petey. Mr. Stark said to have fun.” 

As he tried to ignore the stares of his classmates, Peter heard Friday say “Percy Jackson, Epsilon clearance. Welcome back, Mr. Jackson. I assume you’re on this field trip as well?” 

“Yeah, FRIDAY. Quick question, where are Tony and Pepper?” 

FRIDAY responded immediately. “Miss Potts is in a meeting until 1 and Mr. Stark is in his lab. Should I alert them to your presence?”

“Please. Could you also organize an emergency press conference for 3:45 this afternoon?”

“Yes.” A second of silence. “Boss has asked for an explanation.” She informed him.

Percy thought for a second. He wanted to remain under the radar, even if this information was coming out later that afternoon. “Tell him everything is going public today.” When she didn’t respond again, Percy assumed he got the message. 

Peter was thankful that most of the attention was off of him as everyone shifted to the bigger mystery. 

Percy looked around at the crowd of teenagers and smirked. “What, never seen someone talk to an AI before?” He confidently crossed to stand beside Annabeth, one arm around her waist, the other stuffed in his pocket. Peter was pretty sure only he and Annabeth knew how anxious Percy really was. He did well to cover up, but his smile was just too tense, his posture just too alert, he was nervous. 

Lacy smiled brighter and raised her voice slightly to grab everyone’s attention. “If you’ll follow me, we’ll begin our tour in the Avengers’ museum. 

As they walked forward, Shuri dropped back to walk with Peter. “I take it Percy is the new addition I’ve been hearing so much about.” She said quietly.

“Yeah, that’s him. His girlfriend, Annabeth, probably isn’t far behind, honestly. I’ve met her a few times and she’s brilliant, not to mention awesome at fighting. She reminds me of you, actually.” 

The princess studied the back of the blonde’s head. “I think she and I could learn a lot from each other.”

At Peter’s look of surprise, she laughed. “I’m not a man, you ass. I know that even with all of Wakanda’s advancements, technology, and knowledge, there are still things I don’t know. Annabeth and I have different backgrounds, so we’d obviously be familiar with different areas.” 

“So… you know about… them?” Peter hesitated to say anything incriminating around his classmates. 

She chuckled again. “Yes Peter, I know about ‘them’” she mocked. “I’m here to develop a new suit for Percy. He can’t battle evil forces in the world without some sort of protection.”

Peter nodded. The two fell into companionable silence as they listened to Lacy’s speech, following behind the students and occasionally whispering dumb comments or jokes until they stopped in front of an open doorway. “-and here we have our first stop, the Avengers museum. You will have 45 minutes to explore. Just remember the rules and we shouldn’t have a problem.” Lacy stepped aside to allow the students forward into the exhibit. 

The duo followed Peter’s friends as they wandered through the exhibit, the three young Avengers having already seen most of it. They stopped at each one so Annabeth, MJ, and Ned could get the information. “How long exactly are you in town?” 

“My brother plans to leave in two weeks, but I think I will stay longer. I will be finished with the gear Tony commissioned in little time, but I want to work with Percy and Annabeth on developing more weaponry, perhaps incorporating Vibranium. I have brought all of the materials I need and I suppose I can work with your rudimentary technology for a little while.” Shuri shot him a mirthful glance.  

Before he could respond, Ned called him over to see one of the new exhibit. “Dude, come over here! They’ve got a Spider-man exhibit!” 

Peter rushed over with a giggling Shuri close behind. What he found made his jaw drop. Behind a glass case stood two mannequins; one wearing a replica of his current suit, the other clad in his old pajama suit. To the side were facts about Spider-man and a small screen showing him in the middle of a fight. “Woah…” 

“Dude, does this mean Spider-man is officially an Avenger?” Ned asked. 

Peter kind of shook his head. “I guess. I wonder if Mr. Stark was ever going to tell me.” He trailed off in thought. 

“Once you had graduated and were ready to publicly become an Avenger is what he said when he told the rest of us.” Came a voice from behind them. 

The five jumped and turned around, coming face to face with a casually dressed Wanda. Peter’s face paled. “W-wanda, what are you doing here? I thought everyone was at the compound.” 

She gave him a sympathetic smile. “They were, and then Stark told them about your field trip and they all came back into the city to pop in. Even Steve was on board after he found out what that Eugene kid had been doing to you.”

Eyes shutting, Peter groaned. “I’m done for. This is it, I’m going to die.” Okay, maybe he was being a tad dramatic, but can you blame him? 

“I’m sorry, Peter, but I thought I’d give you a heads up. Stark is definitely making an appearance at some point, and it’s going to be big.” 

Before Peter could say anything, maybe a prayer to one of the many gods, Flash rushed over to get a glimpse of the Spider-man display, not noticing the civilian-clothes-clad superhero. He shoved Peter and Ned out of the way. “Out of my way Penis. You too, Dead. I need a picture with the Spider-man suit.” 

Peter shot Wanda a glance, and caught the tell-tale red cloud of her magic in her eye. He subtly shook his head at her. She didn’t need an assault, or, gods forbid, a murder charge on her hands. Instead, she took a deep breath and said, “I’m pretty sure bullying is not allowed in any building Stark Industries owns.” 

Flash turned, a haughty sneer already slipping onto his face, until he realized who spoke. Expression melting away, he gulped and started to back away. “Y-yes ma’am.” He scampered off before anything else happened. 

She sighed and looked back at the group. “I should probably go. But good luck today, you’ll need it. Especially after that little scene: Friday has orders to send any alarming footage straight to Tony.” 

At Peter’s swear, she gave him one last sympathetic look and ruffled his hair before turning to weave her way back through the exhibit to the private elevator. 

Running his hand through his hair, Peter turned to Percy, “Well… we’re fucked.” 

Percy laughed. “No, man, you’re fucked. They aren’t targeting me-- I’m not the one who lied about a bully. The only thing I have to deal with is a press conference at the end of the day and maybe some weird looks.” 

Annabeth snorted. “Only thing? Seaweed Brain, you don’t explain the whole gods thing well to new demigods, how are you going to explain it to the entire world?” 

“It’s a good thing I’ve got you here then, Wise Girl.” He wrapped his arm around her waist and tucked her into his side. “What better way to introduce the world to demigods than by introducing them to the children of prophecy.”

”You ass, you didn’t even ask.” She playfully shoved him. He widened his eyes and stuck out his bottom lip. She rolled her eyes. “But I guess I’ll help you.” He pulled her back into his side and kissed her head.

Suddenly, the class heard from the end of the room “It’s time to move to our next section, so if you would please all follow me.” Lacy led the group towards the public elevator. “We’re going to have to split into a few different groups. So I’ll go with the first group. Princess? Would you and Peter mind going with the second? And Percy could go with the third?”

Peter nodded, uncertain, his Spidey-Sense already tingling. He traded a glance with Percy; Lacy was definitely in on Mr. Stark’s plan.

The first group filed into the elevator, while the other two waited patiently. As soon as the doors closed, Peter heard a heavy scurrying in the vent, undetectable to anyone else. He shot Percy another look, this time glancing up to warn him of what was to come. 

Just as the vent opened and a leather-clad figure dove through it, Peter sidestepped. The man hit the floor with a “shit” and rolled over to reveal his face. The children around them murmured in amazement as they realized that the lump in front of them was the one and only Hawkeye. 

“Aw, Pete, how do you always hear me coming?” Clint moaned as he sat up. 

Peter froze. Was Clint trying to out him as Spider-Man? Percy stepped in “It’s because you’re loud, bird brains. It’s a wonder that you made it this far as a super spy.”

Eyes going comically wide when he spotted the source of the voice, Clint feigned surprise at Percy’s presence. “What do we have here, folks? Could this be my favorite junior Avenger?” 

Amidst gasps of shock, Percy grinned and held his hand out to help Clint up. “Are you saying I’m your favorite because Spider-Man kicked your ass in that accuracy competition?”

“You can’t prove that.” Clint said, folding his arms. “Speaking of, though, you need to work on your accuracy. Didn’t they teach you how to shoot a bow and arrow at that camp of yours?” 

Annabeth laughed. “Oh, they tried to teach Seaweed Brain. He managed to nearly shoot Chiron, who was standing behind everyone. They haven’t let him near a bow since.” 

Pouting, Percy mumbled, “I’m still better than both of you at hand-to-hand.

Eyebrows raised, Annabeth turned to Percy. “Really? You think you’re better than me at hand-to-hand combat?” She whirled back around to face the acclaimed archer. “Is there anywhere that I can prove him wrong before the end of this trip?”

Clint grinned a Cheshire-cat grin while the blood drained from Percy’s face. “I do believe there is, Miss…?” 

“Annabeth Chase” She stuck her hand out. 

Clint shook it, the evil glint still in his eyes. “Well, Miss Chase, I do believe that there is a stop on your little tour here that will take you to the Avengers training room. In fact, I’ll make sure of it. And I certainly want to be there when our dearest Avenger gets taken down.” 

“I really don’t think there’s any need for that, really. Wisegirl, you know I don’t think I’m better than you at hand-to-hand combat. In fact I know I’m not as good. There’s really no need to show everybody.” Percy panicked. 

At this point, the elevator returned and the second group loaded in, including Peter and Shuri, who had stayed quiet for most of the encounter. As Peter passed, though, he clapped his hand on Percy’s shoulder, “Good luck, dude.” Accompanied by a grimace. He’d only met Annabeth a few times, but he’s pretty sure she isn’t one to let a challenge like that go by.  

The doors slid shut on the group. Even though it was only a ten second ride (Stark tech did have its perks), everyone shifted uncomfortably in the barely-big-enough elevator. No one uttered a word until the doors opened again and spit them out onto one of the research and development floors. 

All of the students, and even Mr. Gray, were fighting for a position at the observation window to see what the lab ahead of them was working on. Peter and Ned hung out in the back, having already seen this floor, and occasionally worked on it themselves when the scientists needed some help on new tech. 

Moments later, the last group joined them, sans Clint. One look from Percy told Peter they had not seen the last of the archer, though. Upon the arrival of the rest of the group, Lacy continued her monologue. “Here we have one of our research and development labs. This is where we work on lower clearance tech, like new Stark phones, and interns work on solo projects. Mostly this lab is populated by the lower level interns who each have one or two scientists or higher level interns that they check in with.”

Peter froze, again. He forgot about check in leaders. Which wouldn’t be important, except that he himself is a check in leader, and his team works on this floor. In this lab. Not even Percy could get the attention off of him now. 

“Hey, Pete! Can you come check something out for me?” He heard a voice. Looking over, he saw Mikey, one of his team members. 

Looking to his teachers for permission, and taking it from their stunned expressions, Peter nodded once and silently followed Mikey through to the lab. On Mikey’s workstation was a little robot, designed to help people with arthritis in their hands do small tasks, like shoe tying or, hypothetically, writing and typing. 

Mikey pressed the On button, and they both waited for something to happen. Nothing did. “I can’t figure out what’s wrong. It was working fine yesterday.” He said, helplessly. 

“Calm down, let me take a look at the inside.” Peter grabbed a nearby screwdriver and unscrewed the back panel. Inside was a cross of different colored wires and motherboards and circuits and-- there. “There’s a tiny disconnected wire in the back.” Peter fixed Mikey with a look. “This is a simple mistake that you usually catch. What’s up?” He narrowed his eyes and asked “How much  sleep have you gotten recently?”

“Eight hours!” Mikey responded defensively. Another look from Peter and he amended his statement “In the last three days…” 

Peter placed a hand on his intern’s shoulder and began leading him toward the door on the other side of the lab from the elevator. “You know I can’t condone that as both your friend and your check in leader. For both the safety of this lab and your health, I need you to hit the barracks. There is no way that you can safely operate any equipment in this state, much less conduct experiments.” 

They reached the door, and Peter opened it. Inside there were three sets of bunk beds. Mikey nodded and headed for one of the beds, and Peter shut the door behind him. Turning back to Lacy, he said “Please continue the tour, I have something I need to do. I’ll catch up when I’m through.” 

Mr. Gray started to object. “Mr. Parker, this is highly against the rules, and how could you possibly find us or get around the building--” Peter cut her off. 

“Mr. Gray, it’s obvious you don’t believe me about my internship, but I have to call a group meeting right now for the safety of this lab. As for how I will know where you are, FRIDAY will tell me. I practically live in this building and I have a higher access level than our lovely tour guide. Now, if you’ll please excuse me…” Peter no longer seemed like the excitable and cheerful .

He turned around and called his interns’ attention. “Alright. I know not all of you are in my unit, but I think it’s time we do a lab wide check in. So, keep working, but I’m going to check on everyone.”

Clapping her hands, Lacy called everyone’s attention back to her. “While Peter does his job, we are going to continue on. Next, we’re getting a rare treat. We are going to go to the Avenger’s floors and get an exclusive look into the life of an Avenger.” Her eyes sparked with excitement, obviously she was just as excited for this as the children. 

As the words left Lacy’s mouth, Percy’s hand tightened around Annabeth’s. Concerned, she looked at her Seaweed Brain. His face was grim and he leaned down. “A lot of secrets aren’t going to be so secret by the end of this, I guarantee.” 

Annabeth’s stomach dropped. She knew he wasn’t just referring to their secret. That was coming out today anyway. He was talking about Peter’s. Percy and Shuri exchanged concerned looks. Poor Peter. 

As they filed back into their groups, Percy was approached by Flash. “Hey! Jackson!” Percy turned to Flash with an unimpressed gaze. “Uh, I mean, Percy,” He amended. “What the hell is going on with Penis? What did he do to get all of this stuff?” Flash still didn’t believe Peter? Gods almighty, this boy was dumb. 

Percy sighed. “Eugene, Peter works here and he works closely with the Avengers. He got all of that by working hard and studying harder. Get over your jealous bullshit before it bites you in the ass.” 

His teacher snapped “Language, Mr. Jackson. We are guests here and you will not be the reason we get thrown out.” She turned away, making no comment on Flash’s behavior. 

Incredulous, he turned to Annabeth. “I hope she realizes that they aren’t going to kick me out. And that, technically, I could kick her out… right?” 

Annabeth just shrugged. “For all the knowledge your school claims to have, your teachers are pretty stupid.” 

The second group, chaperoned by Shuri, entered the elevator, which left Percy with his class. “FRI, you’re getting all of this footage of Eugene Thompson on film and voice recording, right?” Percy asked, once the doors had closed on Flash’s group. 

The Irish A.I. responded. “Yes, Mr. Jackson. I have already sent the footage to Boss. A Code Spider-Baby has been set in place. 

Percy sighed, once again. Code Spider-Baby meant that the Avengers were mad. And when they were mad, it didn’t end well. “Remind the Avengers that murder is not only immoral, but also illegal.” 

A moment passed. “Boss says that intimidation is not.” 

Percy had no answer. Intimidation of a minor was probably immoral, but there was no stopping protective-father Tony Stark. 

The elevator door dinged as it opened, allowing the third group in. They closed once the last person had filed in, and automatically took them to their destination. Floor 47. Fuck. 

Floor 47 was the Avengers training floor. The door opened and the group rushed out when they saw the set of adults standing there waiting for them. 

None other than Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, Natasha Romanoff, and a smirking Clint Barton stood waiting. “Now that everyone is here, let’s begin. Today we’re going to teach you some self defense skills. We’re going to split into groups and cycle through stations. But first, how about a few demonstrations?” 

The class cheered, drowning out the ding of Peter’s arrival. They did not, however, drown out Natasha. “Glad you could join us ребенок пауk.” The class turned around as he entered. 

Peter’s stomach dropped when he saw the glint in every super adults’ eyes. The Captain’s voice boomed as he exclaimed, “Peter! Percy! Why don’t you come help us?” He phrased it in a way that was definitely not a question. 

Resigned to their fate, the two trudged forward. Steve had a shit-eating grin on his face as they made their way to the front. “Why don’t you two choose your own partners?” 

Clint spoke up at this moment. “How about Steve, Annabeth, and Peter, versus Percy, Bucky and Natasha?” 

“What about you?” Annabeth questioned, walking up to join the group, grinning widely. 

Clint grinned innocently. “There’s six of you and that perfectly matches up. Adding me into the mix would only complicate matters.” 

A cough that suspiciously sounded like the word coward came from Bucky’s general direction. 

Rolling his eyes, Peter asked “Full capacity?” with the hint of a grin on his face. The whole class faded from his consciousness. 

Smirking, Natasha replied “Full capacity.” 

Steve called out to FRIDAY “Please activate operations PH2O and PW.” Part of the floor opened up to reveal a large salt-water pool. Parts of the wall and roof came outward. 

The five Avengers and Annabeth squared off. Natasha and Peter faced each other, Percy and Annabeth shared grins across from each other, and Bucky and Steve shook hands before stepping a few feet back from each other. 

“Fight!” Clint called from his place amongst the crowd of children, a place he knew he wouldn’t get dragged into the fight. The group converged at the same time. 

Despite the clash of super soldiers on the far end of the room, the Midtown high group focused on their classmates. Percy and Annabeth were blurs that no one could tell apart as they produced weapons from seemingly nowhere. As the two whirled around in a deadly waltz, Percy’s energy seemed to be flagging. The students watched as he stepped into the pool and seemed to gain his strength back. Slash. Jab. Clang. Their weapons moved with renewed vigor. As they watched, a tidal wave encased both of their legs and lifted them into the air. 

Peter, meanwhile, jumped into action, facing off against the deadly assassin with calm grace. He flipped over her as she struck a low blow to his legs, missing him by half an inch. He whirled around when he landed to face her and brought his leg up in a high kick. Natasha grabbed his standing leg and flipped him on his back. Before she could do anything else, he shot a web at the roof and pulled himself up to stick to the protruding piece of ceiling. He smirked as Natasha looked up at him. “Come down here, ребенок паук” She said in a sing-song voice. 

“You said full capacity, I’m just using my full capacity.” He teased. 

She rolled her eyes and pushed a button on her wrists. The class gasped as the Black Widow fired at their classmate. “Hey!” Peter cried as he leaped from the ceiling to the floor, where Natasha was ready to intercept him with her widow’s bites. She started to swipe at him and he double tapped his watch face. “Karen, activate gauntlets.” Instantly, the nano-tech of his suit wrapped around his forearms. He intercepted the Widow’s Bites with his suit covered arms. He didn’t hear the gasp of his classmates. 

They continued their fight until Natasha had him twisted with his back to her and a knife she grabbed out of nowhere to his throat. They both panted from the exertion of their fight, before grinning. Natasha released him from her hold and he twisted around. “Where did those come from?” She asked. 

“They came from adaptation. Last time we fought, you electrocuted me with those things. I adapted my suit to cover only parts of my body, just like Mr. Stark’s.” He grinned that grin that made the Avengers all fall in love with him in the first place. 

Natasha rumpled his hair and pulled him into a hug. “Brilliant job, ребенок паук.” 

Around them, the other duos came to a stop as well. Annabeth had her drakon-bone sword poised at Percy’s heart, his sword clattering to the floor far below them. Steve and Bucky both stilled with a shield at one throat and a dagger on another. 

The room was still and quiet; a pin could drop and everyone could hear it. Percy and Annabeth’s critiques of their fight as they descended from the water column broke the silence. The students gaped as it lowered them to the floor before calmly splashing back into the pool. 

“Ok, what the fuck?” Flash yelled, a small amount of pure terror glimmering as he looked back and forth between the two students. No teacher reprimanded his language. 

Steve traded a look with the rest of the Avengers. “Now would be a good time to remind you about the non-disclosure agreements you all signed.” He said. “I think we might have to allot a little bit more time to the question and answer portion of this tour.” 

The other Avengers in the room, including Peter and Percy, nodded their heads and they led the group back toward the elevator. The ride in each group was tense and awkward. No one knew how to process the information. Percy and Peter? That girl, Annabeth? What were they? Even Flash was silent. 

Finally all three groups had been corralled into the very same room Percy’s press conference would be held in only a couple of hours later. Silently, the group of Avengers in the tower filed onto the stage, minus Percy and Peter. Nat led the pack, followed by Clint, Steve, Bucky, Tony, Bruce, T’Challa, and Shuri brought up the rear. 

The room sat in silence until Tony said “So who has questions?” Every hand went into the air. 

Tony pointed at one hand in the crowd, and Betty stood up. “Are Percy and Peter Avengers?” 

A pause, before “Is everyone’s question about Percy and Peter?” Tony asked with an exasperated sigh. Everyone but Annabeth nodded their heads. 

Another sigh. “Alright, lets get those two up here, then, to answer your questions.” 

Peter and Percy both made their way up to the small stage. The other Avengers gave them space up front. Only Tony remained, acting as a mediator for the two teens. 

Every hand shook with earnest, trying to get called on, but Tony gestured for Betty to ask her question again. “A-are you two Avengers?” She stuttered. 

The two looked at each other, and Percy saw the anxious look on Peter’s face, so he spoke for them. “Yes.” He said simply, not expanding on the matter until he had to. 

Tony pointed to another hand. Abe stood up. “Uh, Percy, how could you do that stuff with the water? An-and fight like that?” 

Percy took a deep breath. Now was the time. “I fight like that thanks to five years of training with swordsmen far more experienced than I, and obviously, my beautiful girlfriend. I could do that stuff with the water because…” He took a deep breath . “Because I am a demigod. I am half god, half mortal, and my godly parent is Poseidon.” He smiled bravely as the group burst into disbelieving chatter. 

Tony whistled loudly  to draw their attention back. Immediately, hands flew back into the air. Peter’s stomach sank when Tony gestured to someone within Flash’s vicinity, and Flash spoke up. “How come you let Penis Parker and Pussy Jackson into the Avengers? Just because Jackson is supposedly some freak hybrid doesn’t mean he should be in the Avengers. He’s probably never done anything. Not to mention, Penis is some wimp loser. You need someone like me. I’m brilliant and I kick major ass.” He finished smugly, not aware of the glares from the stage, and the single pair of eyes being restrained behind him by a pretty pissed Ned. 

Not letting either boy try to de-escalate the situation, Tony Stark leaned forward, and said in a deadly quiet voice “What did you say about my sons?” 

The grin dropped off of Flash’s face. “S-sons?” 

Tony took on a manic grin. “Oh, yes. Sons. Not only do I know what you just said, we know everything you’ve said within this tower. Now, usually I’m above threatening minors. Usually. But due to your actions today, I think you deserve it. If you ever, and I mean ever, insult, ridicule or diminish in any way my sons, I will personally call every notable university in the world and get you blackballed from admission. And I promise Eugene, you will never, ever have a job at Stark Industries, or any worthwhile company in New York.” 

Flash, much to Peter’s surprise, did not back down. “But what’s so special about them? Penis, especially. He’s not worth anything.” 

Tony went red in the face, and Clint had to hold Natasha back, her weapons drawn already. The other Avengers seemed to be stifling anger as well. “Not worth anything? Buddy, let’s get something straight: Peter Parker is worth everything. Far more than you will ever be. He is the kindest, smartest, most humble and giving person I’ve ever met. This kid is smarter than you, smarter than me, hell, this kid is smarter than Bruce Banner. Not only that, but he would also give anyone the shirt off of his back if they asked him for it. But he’d never brag about it to anyone. You know how I know this kid is the best of his generation? Because not only is he brilliant, he could also boast about his position on the Avengers, but he doesn’t. He could have been like me, and told the whole world who he is, but he didn’t. Now, I think it’s time he does.” Tony finished, leaning back and gesturing to Peter, who stood a little taller after hearing everything Mr. Stark said about him. 

He took a deep breath and tapped his watch face twice. “Karen, activate Iron Spider.” The nano-tech creeped swiftly over his skin until the full Iron Spider suit encased him. The class gasped as they realized who their classmate was. 

“No!” Flash cried, outraged. “There is no way Puny Parker is Spider-Man! This has to be some kind of trick! Penis could never do what Spider-Man does!” 

The marine biology teacher crossed her arms. “Mr. Jackson, Mr. Parker, I think enough is enough. Please apologize for this silly prank and get down off the stage. I don’t know how you pulled this off, but I will be having words with Principal Morita when we return. Now get down.” 

In a flash, Tony’s wrath turned on the teachers, who had clumped together. “And you lousy lot call yourselves teachers? Are you so dense that even after everything you’ve seen today, you still don’t believe them? Percy Jackson and his girlfriend have saved this world more times than me! Peter Parker has saved my ass too many times to count.” Tony looked over the disbelieving eyes of Flash and the teacher. “Alright, you know what? You all signed a non-disclosure agreement, so if you leak anything you’ve seen or heard here, we’ll know it was one of you, and our lawyers will bury you in so many lawsuits, you won’t be getting out of them for decades. Now get out of my tower.” He said sharply. No one moved. “Now!” He shouted. 

Everyone jumped up and filed out of the room as quickly as possible. The last person was Mr. Gray. “Percy, Peter, you heard the man, come along.” 

“I will be keeping them with me. You’ll find I’ve been listed as a guardian for both of them.” Tony said with narrowed eyes. 

Mr. Gray nodded and scampered from the room, leaving only a single, blonde-haired girl sitting in her chair. Percy hopped off the stage to go talk to her. He pulled her to a standing position and into a hug. “Think that was good practice?” He asked. 

She chuckled. “I think most of the attention was on Peter, but yeah, good practice.” 

Tony Stark approached. “And who do we have here?” He asked. 

Percy straightened and grabbed Annabeth’s left hand. “Tony Stark, I’d like for you to meet my amazing girlfriend, Annabeth Chase. Annabeth, this is Tony Stark.” 

Tony smiled and extended his hand. “We’ve heard a lot about you, Miss Chase.” 

“All good things, I hope. I’d love to get you opinions on some of my designs.” Annabeth shook his hand. 

Natasha approached. “You must be Annabeth. Percy never stops talking about you. You’re a spectacular fighter. We should train together sometime.” She winked before walking off again. 

One by one, each of the Avengers introduced themselves. “After what I saw today, I think you would be a valuable member of our team.” Steve said with his Mr. America smile. 

“Ok, but first, the cat’s got to come out of the bag. That goes for a couple of things, I think.” Tony’s face was steeled in determination. 

Curious, Peter turned to Mr. Stark. “What’s the other thing?” He asked. 

“That’s a surprise. Peter, go put on the suit that’s in your room. Percy, the same goes for you. Annabeth--” 

Natasha cut Tony off. “Annabeth can borrow something of mine.” She smiled. Annabeth lit up at the opportunity to talk to the superspy more. 

Tony nodded. “Then that’s settled. We’ll tell the world what it needs to know in an hour and a half.”

****

The crowd of reporters talked animatedly. The Starks were about to announce something big, and no one had an inkling what it was. 

In the antechamber off to the side, Percy paced nervously while Peter sat with his knee bouncing. Percy felt bad for him; at least Percy knew what he was about to announce. Peter had no idea what he was doing here. Mr. Stark hadn’t told him anything.

Annabeth grabbed Percy’s hand and squeezed it comfortingly. “Percy, we’re going to be fine. It’s just like telling a group of new campers.” 

“You’re right. They’re just a bunch of unclaimed new campers who don’t know what they are. With cameras. And a lot of questions. Oh gods, I can’t do this on my own.” Percy’s eyes started looking panicky.

Annabeth grabbed his face and turned it towards her own. “That’s why you’re not alone, Seaweed Brain. You have Peter over here, you have Tony, and you have me. And if we have to, we can Iris Message Chiron and he can help explain. It’s okay.” 

Percy nodded and took deep breaths. Then Tony walked into the room in a tailored suit and his signature glasses. In his hands were two small boxes. 

Tony went immediately over to Peter, who had his head in his hands, covering his ears from all the noise of the reporters. “Kid, I got some things to help you.” He opened the smaller of two boxes. Inside sat two earpieces, like the ones singers and performers wear onstage. They were smaller, though, less perceptible. “They block out all of the useless noise and help you focus on the noise you want to. And these,” He opened the second box, revealing identical glasses to the ones he wore, “just look cool.” When Peter just stared, he thrust the boxes into Peter’s hands. “Take them. They’re yours to keep. Use them whenever you need them.” 

Peter gingerly took the boxes. “Thank you, Dad.” He hadn’t meant to say it , but he paid no attention to Tony’s reaction as he fit the earpieces into his ears and put on the glasses. Immediately, he sighed with relief, quickly followed by a gasp of surprise as the glasses turned on. Analytics scanned across his eyes. He realized that Karen had been programmed into the glasses, and that he now had her at any time he wanted. He got up and hugged and a still-stunned Tony, who slowly hugged him back. 

They embraced for a moment before Tony’s watch beeped. “It’s go-time, kids. You guys wait here until I announce you. Peter, you’ll know when to come out.” He winked at Peter. 

Tony opened the door and stepped out and up onto the stage. “Welcome, everybody, to this press conference. Today we have a few announcements from a few different people, including one from me. So without further ado, allow me to introduce our newest Avengers, Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase.” 

The pair traded glances. When did Annabeth officially become an Avenger? They stepped out the door and into the hoard of flashing lights and screaming reporters. They walked up to the podium set up with a dozen microphones, ready to capture their truths. 

Percy cleared his throat and everyone settled. “Hi, everyone, my name is Percy Jackson and this is my girlfriend, Annabeth Chase, and we are demigods.” The crowd jumped into a frenzy, shouting questions and snapping pictures. 

Tony came back to the microphone. “Everyone calm down and raise your hands like civilized people. Thank you.” the crowd calmed slightly. 

Annabeth pointed to a blonde haired reporter. “What do you mean by demigod?” 

“We are the product of relations between gods and mortals. We are half god or goddess and half mortal.” She answered. 

Pointing to another sandy-haired reporter. “Who are your godly parents?” 

Percy answered. “I am the son of Poseidon and Annabeth is the daughter of Athena.” 

A dark hair reporter stood up with no prompt. “What good do you bring to humanity? Why shouldn’t you be subject to tests or wiped out completely? Do you pose a danger to us?” 

Percy took a deep, calming breath, then launched into their story. “Our kind has spent centuries fighting monsters and wars. In the past few years, myself, Annabeth, and several other brave demigods fought multiple primordial beings that tried to take over the world, resulting in tolling wars. We’ve been key characters in those  wars and history in general, and you would be amazed to find out how many historical figures were demigods. We don’t pose any kind of direct threat to the mortal world, we’ve been saving it for centuries. Next question.” 

A curly haired reporter stood. “What benefit do you bring to the Avengers?” 

Annabeth took this question. “We are skilled fighters who train from the time we discover our identity to now. We have demigods who have been training constantly for ten or more years. We also have knowledge of and weapons that can kill monsters” 

The next question came from a raven-haired reporter. “How many of your kind are there?” 

“Fewer now, thanks to the last couple of wars, but our numbers grow every time a new demigod child is born. There are many kinds of demigod, Roman, Greek, Norse, and probably more that we don’t know about yet. Annabeth and I are Greek, but we have friends and family from other pantheons.” 

Annabeth leaned forward to speak. “This will be the last question, thank you.” 

The final question came from a reporter up front. “Why tell us now? You’ve kept the secret for so long, why now?” 

Annabeth answered. “We’ve kept our secret for so long thanks to something called the Mist. It’s a veil between the mortal world and our own. Unfortunately, I received word today that the Mist will finally fall at any moment, and we wanted to make the world aware on our terms.” 

There was a flurry of movement as the reporters tried to ask more questions, but Tony, once again, stepped forward. “That will be all for this segment of the press conference.” The two filed off, disappearing back to the antechamber. They both breathed a sigh a relief that it was over, even if the effects of everything they just announced would last for the rest of their lives. 

Onstage, they heard Tony calming down the crowd. “Now, I have an announcement, myself. For this, I’d like to bring out my personal intern, Peter Parker.” 

Peter braced himself and stepped into the room, hesitant smile on his face. Mr. Stark was standing at the podium and gestured for Peter to join him. “Ladies and gentlemen, and those who identify as neither, I give you my heir to Stark Industries!” 

Whipping his head around, Peter came face to face with a beaming Tony Stark. Him? Heir to Stark Industries? Surely Mr. Stark didn’t mean it… He glanced back toward the crowd of reporters and gave them a brave smile. 

“Peter will not be taking questions at this time. I’m afraid he just received this news as well. Thank you everyone for coming today, this now concludes our press conference.” Tony led the dazed teenager off the stage.

They entered the antechamber and Percy clapped him on the back to congratulate him. Tony didn’t stop in the antechamber, he led Peter all the way to the elevator and then into their lab before either of them talked. 

“You ok, Pete?” Mr. Stark finally asked. 

“Ok? Mr. Stark, I’m in shock, I’m overwhelmed, but yes, I’m ok. I was just given the most prestigious honor I could ever imagine. Your heir? I mean… wow. Although this means I’m going to have to triple major or something. I was already going to double major in chemical and mechanical engineering and now I’ll probably need to add business so I can run the other side of things… Unless you’re leaving that half to someone else, of course, then please disregard everything I’ve said--” 

Mr. Stark cut him off. “Pete! You’re rambling. It’s just you, but don’t worry about anything just yet. You’re not taking over tomorrow. You’ve got time.” 

Peter took another deep breath to calm down, then turned to Mr. Stark and pulled him into another hug. They both melted into each other. “Thank you, Mr. Stark.”

Mr. Stark buried his head in his kids shoulder and smiled. “You’re welcome, kid, you’re welcome.” 

[gijoe-forever]

File Name: Talltree. Franklin E.

SN: RA030446233

Grade: E-5 (Sergeant)

Birthplace: Navaho Reservation, Arizona

Primary Specialty: Airborne Infantryman

Secondary Specialty: Helicopter Gunship Gunner

Airborne's parents are oil-rich Navahos who indulged their eldest son with sky-diving lessons. Talltree also studied law and passed the Arizona State Bar exams. Joined the army and opted for airborne training, commenting: "l'd rather jump out of airplanes than write legal briefs.

Graduated top of class from Airborne School, Fort Benning. Qualified Expert: Hughes Helicopter Chain Gun, M-16. M-60 and M-1911A auto pistol.

Airborne jokes around and gets loose, but he's serious too…dead serious. You look at him and sometimes he's looking right through you. Must be the Indian in him. The Navahos call it "the far-seeing look." Spooky!

[fanaiceach]

      A couple of other Priwen things that are just interesting to me personally:

      Geoffrey is only their third leader. Kendall Stone was the first in 1801, and he was the one to break Priwen off of the Brotherhood Of Saint Paul’s Stole because he thought it was time to get over their pacifism. They either burned or stole a good amount of the Brotherhood’s texts on their way out the door, so arguably both groups only have bits and pieces of info a century later. They’re a relatively ‘young’ faction all things considered, and the tumultuousness / newness of their legacy is probably a big reason why Geoffrey is so... zealous. He feels like he has a lot to prove.

      There’s a document about Priwen from Usher Talltree that’s. Less than flattering. One of the reasons why he calls them stupid is for their name -- Priwen named themselves after King Arthur’s shield, Usher says that’s not canon according to the Book of Taliesin because "Prydwen" is the name of Arthur’s ship. Taliesin was a 6th centruy Welsh poet who was supposedly traveled with Arthur and co. for a while, and his manuscript is what names Prydwen as his ship. But “Pridwen” was named as Arthur’s shield by Geoffrey of Monmouth -- a 12th century British cleric who is pretty much entirely responsible for creating and writing what’s considered to be the first major Arthurian canon. 

[twelvedreamsfortheredqueen]

Happy Halloween + Updates!

Greetings to all!

It’s been wonderful to still see new content and posts for the community even after two years have passed since the release of Vampyr. I’ve been thankful to be a part of it every step of the way. While I did post my last analysis roughly a month ago, I am still preoccupied with school but wanted to give updates on the direction of this blog, what ideas I have in mind for writing and the Lore, and some other mentions!

I still have several analyses planned: the next one being focused on the Mesmerization capabilities of Ekon. 

A rework of my Sight/Glamour theory.

A character analysis on Geoffrey McCullum, with a more indepth narrative look to Priwen to go alongside my more technical analysis.

An analysis on the perspectives of the Brotherhood and their history, alongside a character analysis of Usher Talltree.

A complete rework of my current Edgar Swansea analysis.

An analysis of Elisabeth Ashbury and William Marshal.

A possible update/rework post for Vampyr’s Vampires.

Responses to some other users’ Lore observations on Tumblr.

Beyond analyses, I am looking into making this blog more active and changing some parts of it. Soon, I will be updating the theme to make for easier reading, as well as archiving my analyses to other hosting sites. I also have a Twitter and Reddit account to engage in Vampyr content with! However, this is not the only update...

For my largest projects, I have two things in mind. I have made many discoveries of the game and still proceed to for myself! With those things, I’ve always wanted to channel those ideas in a way where I could constantly update them and receive feedback, as well as potentially have something to share with DONTNOD (if the Gods blessed me):

I would like to graphically design and write up an Unofficial Lorebook and an Unofficial Resource Book for the game! Publishing it in a big post filled with references and collections. The Lorebook would include analyses on all the characters of Vampyr, the world, the species, the story, the historical references, what DONTNOD did throughout development, resources to reference to, and so on.

The Unofficial Resource Book would be something akin to “Bloodborne’s Collector Edition Strategy Guide”. Datamined stats of enemies, characters, resources for textures, a spreadsheet of all categorized and organised voicelines, a guide to sidequests, Hints, and so on.

Both of these are extensive ideas that I may not complete for some time, let alone before the release of the next Vampyr game (in which case, I will simply pause these projects to go play that, then come back to add onto these), but these projects are part of why I may be sluggish with updates. I have so much that I wish to share and write for this blog and for the other social media I’ve expanded to, to show my appreciation and love for research and the beautiful little piece of media DONTNOD has made. Not only this: I wish to share all these ideas with everyone who enjoys my content and also wishes to see more of Vampyr! For one last addition: Vampyr is now available on the Nintendo Switch! There is also a 60% off sale on GOG! Thank you for sticking by. To any new blood, thank you for following! Happy Halloween! 🩸

[healthycarrier]

gale! an rp question & a meta one: does Elisabeth own any plants?

    EKONS ( VAMPIRES ) actually have a natural aversion to plants in the Vampyr lore. 

Dear Brothers, I must now draw your attention to a very important point: the use of garlic as a protection against vampires. Let’s be crystal clear on the subject: garlic will never protect you against those creatures. No matter how fresh, how strong, and how smelly; garlic is totally useless as a defence. I can never say enough how damaging that novel of Bram Stoker’s has been. Yes, of course, the population of Slavic countries place garlic cloves in coffins. Yes, of course, inhabitants of Santorini Island have garlic on their windows - there would be so much to write about this place, and someday soon, I hope to go back to this island to further explore its occult tradition. But that is not to protect the living from the devil. It is to tell the dead that they are aware of their malevolence. It is a symbol, nothing more, and nothing less.

So, please, by all means, yes! Wear garlic, show garlic, hang garlic, and tell the shadows that you are not afraid. But if you are looking for supernatural protection, you will have to search much deeper into the forgotten secrets of the occult tradition. For here is the truth, my fellow Brothers: garlic does not repel vampires, but all the fresh plants will hurt them. It is as if their body could not stand the presence of botanical elements. I have seen an enraged Vulp flee when wacked with a rose - yes, a simple rose! I have witnessed a violent Ekon fall down and beg for mercy when stuck by a wooden stake. I don’t know why it is so effective - and I would give my left arm to find the answer to that mystery - but the truth remains nevertheless: vampires are very sensitive to fresh herbs, plants, and woods.

From “Facing the Shadows, How and Why” by Usher Talltree, Primate of Saint Paul

I’ve highlighted the important segments from one of the collectible texts. For this reason, it is unwise to give, or otherwise expose, Elisabeth to any fresh botanical elements. Inexplicably, her body grows weak in the presence of flowers, wood, etc. that comes into direct contact with her person. Her flesh shall not burn as it does in the presence of ultra-violet radiation ( sun ), but she may develop sores, rashes, mild-to-severe burns, or likewise symptoms with prolonged exposure. She can exist in gardens with ease – smell the flowers, even, & enjoy the visual accompaniment of plants & vegetation – but she shan’t ever want to expose herself willingly. Her tolerance is greater than that of lesser vampires ( as one born both of strong bloodline & of such an incredulous age ), but she does not possess immunity. 

This being said, yes, she does have plants in her home. One will note various plants in large pots situated around her home while walking throughout. She also has quite a few herbs that she takes care of. These plants are both decorative as well as serve as protection. Her daughter, Charlotte, is quite aware of the uses of botanical elements as repellent against ekons, thus her mother keeps quite a few ample sources throughout their shared home should there be need. 

[dariaczi]

Vampyr embrace dialogues/final thoughts

Thomas Elwood: So this is how it ends? Farewell, my life, you betrayed me good... 

Thelma Howcroft: Beware, child of the night, for I shall come back and have my vengeance! 

Why kill me, brother? We could have ruled this land together and forever... 

Harvey Fiddick: All I wanted was to go back to work. To take care of my children. 

Mortimer Goswick: I don't feel the peace I was looking for, Mother. Were you right all along? I'm so sorry. I'm so, sorry. 

Beatrice Goswick: I die before my son. I die before my son. No. He needs me so much. So much.

I'm not afraid of dying, for I have no reason to live anymore. I'm coming, Mortimer, and we'll talk, you and I. 

Pippa Hawkins: I knew I should have fled this rotten city with Milton since the very first day of the contagion.

Gwyneth Branagan: Who will take care of the sick? Of the poor Dr. Tippets?

Liar! Snake! I had proved my value! I could have done so much more!

Dr. Thoreau Strickland: I could have saved Mr. Fiddick if I had more time. I could have shown you all.

No! I could have been a great surgeon! The greatest!

Dr. Waverly Ackroyd: All our patients. So many of them. Will Strickland be up to the task, I wonder?

I can't die. Not now. Pembroke needs me. All those poor people.

Dr. Corcoran Tippets: I'm sorry, Nurse Branagan. I won't witness the great doctor you were destined to be.

Rakesh Chadana: So you were the proverbial wolf amongst the sheep, sir? I should have killed you for the sake of many...

Milton Hooks: Pippa, my princess, flee away while you can, for all is lost.

Oswald Thatcher: Newton, don't be sorry... We'll meet again soon, and we will be serene and beautiful...

Newton Blight: Oswald, I'm sorry to leave you alone... Avenge me, my love!

Oswald, I should have been stronger for us both... Forgive me, my love.

Clay Cox: I killed, extorted, stole, and now I die... Fuck it! I lived the way I wanted.

In the back, you bastard! Didn't have the guts to fight me! Fuck you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you.

Dorothy Crane: I'm not ashamed. I did what was right... For in the end, I saved lives and you took them... But we had so much in common, doctor. Don't you see that?

Darius Petrescu: Who will assist Dorothea helping our comrades, now that I die? 

I failed to protect Dorothea. I fall like she fell, but our fight is still alive...

Albert Palmer: No! Not now! Not me! Please! I'll be good!

Benjamin Palmer: I'm not afraid anymore. I died in this trench, a long time ago.

Barrett Lewis: I never had any luck in my life. And now I die alone.

Harry Peterson: Death is so cold. I hoped it would be more, meaningful.

Joe Peterson: My son, who will take care of him? Was I a good father?

Fr. Tobias Whitaker: Please forgive me, My Lord, for my eyes were blind to the devil in front of me. My task will remain unachieved.

Claytown Darby: Cristina, I loved her. I know it now. I should have told her.

Cristina Popa: My dear brother... I'm sorry... I was not strong enough.

Richard Nithercott: Death has no splendour at all. Oh, I see it now. I see it. Oh, the verses I could write.

Camellia: Oh, cruel thief, I still had so many things to give to this world. You stole all my tears and all my joys to come.

Mason Swanborough: I... I can see again... I can see this room... I see my blood... I see... I see you, my killer!

Loretta Swanborough: My brother. I can't see anymore. I'm cold. Forgive me, for this time, I really leave you alone in the dark.

Cadogan Bates: Was I that evil, to deserve such punishment? My only regret is that no one will mourn me... For I have never been loved...

Hsiao Shun: Why convince me to live, if it was to kill me later? If it was a game, consider it a success, you cruel demon...

My beloved husband, I die by your grave... We’ll be together soon again. 

Ichabod Throgmorton: Killed by a real vampire. How unexpected. Thank you, Dr. Reid, for in the end you made me fulfil my destiny.

Giselle Paxton: What a waste of life... I only managed to be hated by all the people I loved...

Lottie Paxton: My poor sister, what will happen to her now that I'm gone? Giselle, I'm so sorry.

Martin Nightingale: I was just pretending... I caused no harm... I could have taken good care of the old lady.

Rodney Grader: Forgive me, Jack. If I had stood by your side, we both could have changed things for good around here.

Enid Gillingham: Jack, my son, he got killed. I remember, I remember all my life. Oh, the joy. The love. What a life. Thank you.

Rufus Kingsberry: So what they said about me was true... I really was 'Rufus the Curse'. Destined to suffer till I die...

Seymour Fishburn: You tricked me good, doctor... Tell me who will take blame for your murders now that I'm dead?

Stella Fishburn: Should I have turned my Seymour in? Was my crime to love my son?

Dyson Delaney: No one will ever know what I did. I'm gonna die with blood on my hands. No one will remember me.

Sabrina Cavendish: I don't fear you! You did not defeat me! I was Sabrina Cavendish. I did not surrender!

Tom Watts: My pub... Sabrina... My friends... What will they become without me? If only I could tell her... Tell them... Too late... Too late...

Edwina Cox: Bastard! My boys will avenge me! In the end, I will laugh at you.

Booth Digby: My sweet queen, who will protect you from yourself? Will you cry for me?

Archer Woodbead: So my Andrew was right, monsters exist... The Guard will nail you down, vampire. My son will kill you!

Carina Billow: Thank you for releasing me... I can finally say the name of my torturer... It's Jacob... Blackwood...

Charlotte Ashbury: Pray for my mother to never find my killer: betrayer!

Calhoun Russel: Death may be the most disappointing dish I have ever tasted. So insipid, so cold.

Louise Teasdale: My father always said "Even those few who offer help always want something in return". And he was right.

Clarence Crossley: I should have known you were one of them, Johnny. Why was I so blind?!

Venus Crossley: My poor Clarence, you were right, they are among us. Please forgive me for not believing you.

I danced with you at my wedding, Jonathan. What have you become?

Kimura Tadao: My familly... I will never see them again... Will they ever know I died here? Will they remember me?

Charles Jerome Albright: So you were the killer? I knew I was right!

Carol Price: Mother, where are you? I can't see. I am so afraid, mother.

Carolyn Price: Poor me... Oh no, poor me... I'm dying... for real... No one will cry for me now...

Agamemnon Baker: This makes no sense... No sense at all... I should have told my brother to go sooner...

Pericles Baker: So in the end, was it you we were waiting for? Death was our destination?

Usher Talltree: I should have seen it coming... I should have put a ban upon you, but there was too much at stake.

Abyssus abyssum invocat, Ekon. Hell awaits you!

Why leave the path? You were so close...

Avery Cork: Poor Miss Reid... I leave her alone with the most despicable monster of all, her own son...

I fulfilled my promise to your father. This house is now yours, murderous son.

Emelyne Reid: Johnny, it was real? Mary brought me to the cemetery to see you? What happend to this familly, my son? What have you done?

Aloysius Dawson: I would have lived forever... Who are you to decide my fate? Who gave you the authority?

[marieowyn]

A book review by yours truly of the wonderful "Tall Trees Short Stories" by @gabrielhemery a renowned silvologist who finds the hidden trees with in the paper he writes on...⠀ Review link in bio Or go to marieshallcross.co.uk/tall-trees-short-stories-review 🌳 🌲 🌱⠀ 🌳 🌲 🌱⠀ ##bookreview #bookreviewblogger #shortstories #paperbackbooks #ebooks #shortstoriescollection #booksabouttrees #booksaboutforests #silvology #talltrees #forests #shortstory #shortfiction https://instagr.am/p/CBU-0zIB1_D/

[officiallyhen-blog]

SPECIAL RELEASE! As a special thank you to all of the Mother's out there, but especially to my Mum, I'm releasing a brand new music video today! Tall Trees was a favourite of many from my last album, Fledgling, but did you know that it was originally written because I'd forgotten to get my mother a birthday present!? It was the day of her birthday when I remembered so I rushed to get a guitar in my co-writer, Eli's hands and we wrote this song faster than any song I've ever written. Writing about my mother and how much she means to me came so naturally. I have a very good relationship with my parents. They're both so inspirational and caring. I always know that they've got my back and that they not only love me unconditionally but they also like me. And I'm so very lucky to have them. Hope you and yours have a wonderful Mother's Day! Thanks very much to my wonderful big sisters, Kate and Laura, my amazing mother, Lyn and my beautiful father Rhys (who is behind almost every shot in this clip) for being the best family a girl could hope for. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! Xx #talltrees #mothersday #baby #mother #mum #love #family #musicvideo #officialrelease #music #musician #singer #iamhen #juliahenning

[hermanwatts]

Science Fiction and Fantasy New Releases: 1 August, 2020

Discover interstellar cops, cyberpunk agents, and vengeance-driven chi cultivators in this week’s new releases.

Alliance Rising (The Star Guild Saga #3) – Brandon Ellis

The aliens want her dead. Easier said than done.

Ali, archaeologist and expert at cuneiform translation, knows about the long-departed Anunnaki slavers, not just because of the ancient writings she has found in Mesopotamia, but because she has their blood running through her veins.

Now Ali’s found a terrifying truth:

The Anunnaki are coming back.

The powers afforded by Ali’s dangerous mixed blood make it just conceivable she can stop them… once she hooks up with the Space Templars.

Oh, and they have to fix a little problem: the Anunnaki left behind portals all around the Earth through which they can pour millions of troops in a matter of minutes.

So the race is on:

Can Ali kill the portals before the Anunnaki kill her?

Edenet (Singularity Sunrise #1) – Kit Sun Cheah

The 22nd century brings an era of technological wonders—and horrors. Cybernetics and genetic engineering. Mass surveillance and social credit. Full body cyborgs and nanoscale engineering. And the pinnacle of human achievement: machine intelligence.

Edenet is the next generation of the Internet. Designed by Anatol Corporation, it will bring the power of a supercomputer to the fingertips of every user, anywhere in the world. At the heart of Edenet lies a cutting-edge artificial intelligence that regulates all traffic on the network.

And one of its lead scientists has disappeared.

Fearing the worst, Anatol hires psychic contractor James Morgan to track her down. Accompanying him is Eligia Ogrod, the mysterious assistant to Anatol’s CEO. Their investigation takes them through the militarized streets of Warsaw, a corporate fortress in Shenzhen, and the human hives of Hong Kong.

Morgan is no stranger to intrigue. Yet the deeper he digs, the more questions emerge. Who is Eligia Ogrod? What does Anatol want?

And what is the truth behind Edenet?

The Elements (Silver Coin Saga Book 1) – Mark Stallings

Death comes with the Harvest. Salvation lies in the Valley of the Moon, along the path of Martial Magic.

Xan always assumed he would be apprenticed to an herbalist in the sleepy village of Mogu and follow the Path of Peace, just like his father before him. It is the way—has always been the way.

But when his village is sacked by a raiding force of vicious monsters, corrupted by dark Qi, life as Xan knows it is over. Family dead. Villagers slain. His home burnt to ash.

Now, all Xan wants to do is figure out why his people were targeted and get revenge on the merciless creatures sweeping across the continent like a plague of locusts. Spreading their vile corruption. His only hope at salvation and retribution lies in the Valley of the Moon, at the fabled Xing Yi School of Martial Magic. If he is to succeed, he will need to learn to cultivate the energy of the elements, hone his martial and crafting skills, and complete the school’s harsh tests and trials. It will take more than a passing grade at this school, though, and not all that fail survive the experience…

Memetic Drift (Sol Arbiter #4) – J. N. Chaney and Jia Shen

“They call us Arbiters. We arbitrate conflict to keep the peace.”

In 2853, humanity has established a presence across the solar system. Linked by a network of FTL gateways called Boson Apertures, travel between the 7 colonized worlds and thousands of space colonies takes only hours.

The Sol Federation is the final authority, and the Arbiters travel the system to maintain order.

In 2854, Section 9 uncovers the location of an illegal technology that could unmask a member of The Eleven, their mysterious enemy. Tycho Barrett is grievously wounded during a mission to seize this technology from aboard a ship docked in a remote settlement on Europa, his life saved with cutting-edge cybernetic augmentation.

Tycho and Section 9 must now race against both time and a revenant from the past to recapture the ship and its cargo before the trail vanishes and The Eleven once again return to the shadows.

The Last Voyage (Star Smuggler #1) – T. S. Snow

He’s a criminal. She’s far from it.

Together, they’re Earth’s last hope… they just don’t know it yet.

Sinbad sh’en Singh had everything. A thriving smuggling career, his hologram on wanted posters on eleven planets, and plenty of women. Then she walked into his life.

Andrea Talltrees, member of a backwards cult not believing in space travel or anything else invented after the Twentieth Century.

She wants him to find her husband, a fugitive accused of being an Albegensian spy, the planet currently at war with Earth.

He doesn’t want anything to do with an Earther, but a massive culture clash and a heavy dose of instant attraction get in the way, sending good sense flying out the viewport.

They’ll brave some very unsavory characters, maybe even prevent a second interplanetary war…if they can stop arguing.

  The Pulp Mindset: A NewPub Survival Guide – J. D. Cowan

Out with the Old, in with the NewPub

Nobody reads anymore. In an age where audiences consume more art than ever before, books have remained irrelevant to the ever-changing West. Nothing seems to change this unavoidable reality. The industry is over.

Or is it?

A new frontier has opened where anything goes! We live in a pulp landscape now, a place where the past and present comes together to create a better future. In this book you will learn just what this NewPub world is, how to adapt to it, and change the way you think about everything.

The Rules Have Changed!

You can do anything! The Pulp Mindset will help you adapt to this crazy climate and become the best artist you can be. Read on and join the revolution!

They Call Me Princess (The Fallen World Book 8) – J. P. Chandler

When the Corporate Wars destroyed civilization, the coastal city of Eureka, California, found itself cut off from rest of the world by dangerous radiation zones that killed anyone trying to cross them. In the years following the catastrophe, the community stabilized and found ways to meet its needs—and even thrive—despite the constant challenges.

However, while the radiation zones which created the Eureka Bubble protected the area from the worst ravages of the apocalypse, they also caused severe resource limitations which have become more acute over time and, eventually, the Bubble is going to burst.

Sheltered from even the few dangers of life in the Bubble by her over-protective brother Scott, Kelly Ansen grew up with no memory of her parents or the old world. She contented herself with her simple country home, scratching out a quiet and comfortable existence.

But when she learns the truth about her life and how she became a refugee in the little haven, she is faced with an uncertain future. Reviled by some of her neighbors, there’s no way for her life to return to normal. With the Bubble facing the end of its isolation, though, she is given a new opportunity. Can she carve out a fitting role for herself in this Fallen World?

Wizard Watch (Dragon Wars #8) – Craig Halloran

Ousted through space and time, Grey Cloak and Dyphestive quickly learn that the world is in worse shape than when they left it. 

Stranded in the middle of nowhere, Grey Cloak is onset by a sudden and mysterious life-threatening illness. With his brother’s life in his hands, Dyphestive crosses a barren wasteland with blood thirsty nomads hunting him down. He must protect his brother at all costs before time runs out. 

Separated from allies and civilization, the blood brothers must survive at all costs, for a greater evil has swept the world enhancing the omnipotent power of Black Frost and his terrifying minions. 

Science Fiction and Fantasy New Releases: 1 August, 2020 published first on https://sixchexus.weebly.com/

[hoitash]

Adventure Five: Aftermath

That’s right, before the new year dawn’s, we have a final Fifth Fiction Friday! Enjoy, and if you like what you see here consider checking out my amazon writing (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M30CK95) and my Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/Hoitash). See you next year!

The next day, after a long debriefing with Langford and an even longer time resting, the remaining exterminators gathered in the courtyard for morning muster. In place of the deceased Squads Nine, Ten, and Eleven, three wooden pyres stood, a Church priest beside each one with a waiting torch. Atop the platform a well dressed individual with white hair stood beside Langford, as did another priest, his robes far more ornate and intricate than the clothing of those below. The ornate priest held a long item wrapped in simple canvas in one hand and a holy text in another, while the well dressed man held what looked like a roll of parchment and a large coin purse.

Once the squads assembled, Langford loudly cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention.

“Today is a new day,” he began, “and that means another day on the job for those of us still here. For those that are not, we have no choice but to live on and honor their memories. Priests, if you would be so kind as to light the fires.”

The three priests nodded. As one they pulled out a tinder-wand, struck it against the torch, and, both torch and wand alight, gently placed both into the waiting pyres. After several silent moments they caught fire, their wood crackling as smoke slowly rose to the clear sky above.

“Thank you,” Langford said, “Now then, I have sent pigeons and riders north, south, and east in an effort to obtain replacement exterminators. We should hear back within a few weeks, and, with luck, receive replacements within the month. Until then we are going to reshuffle Squads One through Eight to make up the losses. The new assignments are posted by the front counter. I have also been authorized to grant a sign-on bonus of one gold mark for anyone interested in signing on within the week. I don’t expect much of that but it needs to be done.

“Next, the recently discovered faerie involvement in the city, however tangentially related, cannot and will not be ignored. I have sent an official statement to the Capital regarding yesterday’s incident along with witness testimony from Squad Twelve and Dogwood. Though it will take time, I have no doubt that an Army Regiment will be mustered and deployed to the city.”

A smattering of muttering bubbled up amongst the exterminators at this, and Langford patiently waited for them to die down before continuing.

“We should receive a response from the capital in three to seven weeks, and the Regiment will likely arrive a month after that. All we can do until then is hope faerie patience holds out, or that the incident was isolated.

“Finally, a bit of good news,” Langford grinned down at the Sewer Squad as he explained, “Squad Twelve and Dogwood have already been given their bonus pay for yesterday’s exemplary duties, but one matter remains. Exterminator Leafa Talltree, please join us on the platform.”

Leafa blinked in surprise and looked to William, who gave her an encouraging grin. Slowly, her pace confident if a little stiff, the elf stepped onto the platform. Langford grinned at the elf and turned to face her, as did the well dressed man and the priest.

“For your efforts in slaying the Worm that Walks that dared enter this city,” Langford said, “you are hereby granted, by the authority of the city mayor and with the full support of the Office of Pest Control, the Title of Esquire, presuming you swear to the oath, of course.

The well dressed man stepped forward, a sheaf of parchment in one hand and a pen in the other as he asked in a deep, wheezing voice, “Do you, Leafa Talltree, swear to fulfill the duties and responsibilities of your position with the zeal and honor you showed thus far?”

“I so swear,” Leafa declared.

“Do you swear to renounce your ties to the faeries and wholeheartedly support the Confederation as one of its citizens, with all the benefits and blessings thereof?”

“I so swear,” Leafa repeated.

The well dressed man smiled, “Then, by the authority of the Mayor of Westward, with the full support of the Office of Pest Control and the Church, you are hereby granted the title of Esquire. Henceforth, you shall be Leafa Talltree, Esquire.”

With that, the man held up the parchment, and, with a flourish, signed his name with the pen. Tucking the pen behind his ear, he handed the parchment to Leafa, who carefully accepted it. Afraid to smudge the ink or stain the parchment, she carefully held the document in her right hand.

The well dressed man stepped back beside Langford, only for the priest to step forward in his place.

“In light of your past,” the priest said, “and in recognition of your Title, the Church has seen fit to present to you one of our most prized weapons –a Faerie Sword.”

Leafa gasped, and a brief ripple of muttering rolled through the assembled exterminators as the priest held up the sheathed sword. With one hand he grabbed the simple hilt and slowly drew the blade.

Leafa gasped again at the shimmering weapon before her, its metal unlike anything she had ever seen. William glanced to Georg to gauge his reaction, and couldn’t help smiling at the undisguised awe on the dwarf’s face.

“A Church sword is forged from an alloy of dwarven steel and iridium,” The priest explained, “and is thus not only lethal to faeries, but repels their casting. These weapons are extremely difficult to forge, and in the past entire domains traded hands over them. They are a gift bestowed only to Heaven’s most faithful warriors. You, young citizen of the Confederation, proved your worth of such a blade in your duties as Exterminator. The Church therefore bestows upon you one of its most holy treasures.”

Sheathing the glimmering blade, the priest presented the weapon to Leafa. With a nervous gulp she carefully accepted the blade and latched it onto her belt.

“It is traditional,” the priest added, “for a Church Sword to be named by its wielder. Do you have a name in mind?”

Prepared for the question but overwhelmed by everything occurring, Leafa replied with the first name that popped into her head:

“Schimmern,” she said, “the sword’s name is Schimmern.”

The priest blinked once at the dwarven word, then, after a moment, smiled and nodded.

“Then Schimmern it is. May its light guide you and your allies to victory, banish the darkness that surrounds us, give pause to all who might oppose you, and, above all, may you never actually need to wield it in combat. Amen.”

“Amen,” Leafa echoed.

The priest stepped back to join the well dressed man. Langford, grinning wide enough for his gold teeth to catch the morning light, turned to face the elf once more.

“Thank you for your efforts, Exterminator Leafa Talltree, Esquire. You may rejoin your squad.”

Leafa nodded, and, clearly a little dazed by everything, slowly made her way back to William and Georg. William gave her a massive grin upon her return, while Georg managed a small smile and a twinkle in the eyes that had nothing to do with the rising sun casting down upon the courtyard.

Once Leafa rejoined her squad, Langford turned to address the assembled exterminators.

“The rearranging of squads is going to take most of the day, and as the city guard have agreed to take over patrols for today, and the Tower is personally investigating the sewers for further infiltration, you all have the day off! Make sure you check the counter to see the new squad arrangements sometime before turning in tonight! Dismissed, and make sure you behave yourselves –it’s not every day the city guard does a favor for us, after all!”

A series of cheers echoed through the courtyard as the exterminators applauded Langford’s declaration. After a few moments the applause died down and the squads dispersed, though Squad Twelve remained, as Leafa was a bit too dazed from everything to actually move.

“A Title,” she muttered to herself, “I have a Title and a sword! It’s like I’m one of the old Paladins or something. Except not, because that’s the ducal Title’s name.”

William smirked, “Excellent work, Leafa. Shall we celebrate?”

Leafa slowly nodded, then, eyes wide, asked William, “Wait, Sergeant, this doesn’t mean I outrank does it?”

William shook his head, “Ranks outrank Titles in most cases, so it’s fine. Now c’mon –first rounds on me.”

Leafa grinned, then frowned, “Wait… if I got a Church sword for killing a Worm, why didn’t you get one for killing those dusters back in the Barony you told us about?”

William grimaced, “Well… I was going to receive a sword, but the ceremony was scheduled for the day before I had to run for it.”

“Oh…” Leafa muttered.

William shrugged, “I’m no good with a sword anyway. Now let’s get outta here before Langford finds something for us to do.”

Leafa grinned, nodded, and followed William as the squad left the courtyard.

[rasmusriiskjaer]

Sudan Archives - Time

Sudan Archives is a violinist/vocalist who writes, plays, and produces her own music. She is self-taught on the violin, inspired by Sudanese fiddlers, R&B, West African rhythms, and experimental electronic music. Expect a collection of a few song, coming summer 2017. 

http://stonesthrow.com/sudanarchives Director: Theo Jemison / Video Producer : Grace Oh / Editor : Erik TallTree Butts