#and why are you hinging YOUR job security on whether you can get ME to fix your shit

[becca-alexa]

i understand the technological gap between generations but at what point does that gap just turn into incompetence

#becca.txt #i don't mind fixing presentations and documents and PDFs for my coworkers i really don't it's not what they hired me for but i do not mind #but it's another thing entirely for you to give me the ugliest piece of shit i've ever seen and just expect me to make it presentable #especially when making this shit is YOUR job which you were HIRED for and which you were doing BEFORE i got here #how is any of this acceptable #and why are you hinging YOUR job security on whether you can get ME to fix your shit #your incompetence is not my problem #in this day and age if you've been working (at my job) for X years and you can't align a fucking PPT deck i'm sorry that's on you #my coworker had to be walked through changing fucking FONT COLOR on a word doc #and this is her JOB #i'm sorry i am just getting fed up with it #and she comes to me about how the manager is picking on her for her shoddy work and one of these days i'm going to snap #and just tell her yeah our manager's right this looks like shit you've been doing this for ten years and this is just not it #there is no reason for someone who's been here as long as you have to be producing this quality of work #and i don't want to be rude but it's just what it is #and she keeps trying to blame her executive dysfunction and how she has adhd and whatever else #like bitch so do i but you don't see me trying to pass off garbage and hoping nobody says anything #everybody at the company has been coddling this woman because she is a literal sugar cube of a lady and they all love her #and at the core of it it she isn't half bad at what she was hired for - which is GIVING training presentations #but lady the other half of that job description is MAKING the goddamn presentations #but our manager's new and he's having none of it and it's upsetting her so she's coming to me #and i don't know what to say about it anymore i am sick of it #pls ignore i am upset

[mable-stitchpunk]

Going Home in a Box: Chapter 59 - Teaser

Natalie waited a few days before going ahead with reporting her findings about the elusive white rabbit. Just long enough that the security footage would’ve been written over and impossible to retrieve. Nobody would be able to double-check and risk catching something they weren’t supposed to. Bafflingly, they didn’t even do that to check for what happened to Chica. They just told her to and took her word for it. Likely because nobody seemed surprised or concerned for Chica.

That alone said plenty about Fazbear Entertainment’s concern for their safety and wellbeing. She could only hope they took the paying customers into higher account.

So, Natalie marched herself into the office to see Wight. Alas, he was out. After considering whether it was worth waiting or it could be taken to one of his underlings, she found herself sitting across the desk of a very pointy woman. One not too far from Wight’s age with a permanently furrowed brow which intruded upon what could’ve otherwise been pretty features. She kept her gaze down for most of the beginning of the conversation, filling out a form unrelated to Natalie’s query.

“So, you need to file a security report. I’m assuming on Chica’s recent accident,” the woman offered. Natalie didn’t even know her name. She never introduced herself and there was no name plaque.

“I already did. This is about something else. There’s been someone trespassing into the Pizzaplex at night, a woman wearing a white rabbit costume,” Natalie answered.

The woman gave her a dryly questioning look. She seemed neither convinced nor concerned.

“I know it sounds crazy, but I saw her with my own eyes. Twice, in fact,” Natalie explained.

“You saw a woman in a rabbit costume. Do you mean like a playboy bunny costume?”

“What? No! Just a bunny costume. All white with red eyes.”

“So, an Easter rabbit. You saw an Easter rabbit running around the Pizzaplex,” she clarified doubtfully. It was clear now that she didn’t believe her and was being obvious about.

“Yes.”

There was a long moment of silence.

“I can tell you don’t believe me-.”

“Ma’am, if I can be honest with you, I don’t know what game you’re playing,” the woman answered. “This is a very important time of the year for our business. You couldn’t have chosen a worse time to start making outlandish accusations, which makes me very suspicious to why you would.”

Natalie was startled and flustered by the accusation. With nowhere to turn, she was forced to play her only card.

“They’re not outlandish accusations. I have pictures of this woman running around in the basement, and it looked like she had a knife on her,” she said with exasperation.

That changed the look on the woman’s face instantly. First to surprise and then to something much sharper. Her voice switched as well from dry and unenthused to sharp and direct.

“You are not authorized to remove security footage out of the Pizzaplex. You will need to hand those over immediately.”

Natalie all but recoiled in shock at the comment. Then she narrowed her eyes at the accusation.

“How can I hand them over? They’re in the Pizzaplex. In the computer,” she retorted.

“You didn’t remove any copies of the footage?” she pressed. To which Natalie lied and said she hadn’t. “Good. Very good, then we don’t have a problem.”

The disbelief returned to the blond’s face. “What do you mean, we don’t have a problem? There is a woman in a rabbit suit running around the Pizzaplex with a knife! And she’s come back at least twice.”

“Isn’t it your job to be dealing with that? It certainly isn’t mine, and it’s not Mr. Wight’s. Now, I would recommend you figuring something out without getting law enforcement involved, if you want to keep your job,” she hissed. “This business hinges on trust, and we will lose all of our goodwill if someone starts spreading accusations that remind the community of the rumors about Freddy’s.”

“They weren’t rumors.”

“They were.”

“They weren’t,” Natalie snapped. She was barely able to keep herself in line and only did so for her own wellbeing. “Also, don’t threaten my job. Mr. Wight’s done nothing but sung praises about my work and he’s the one who signs my paycheck. If you have a problem with it, you go to him. Or better yet, maybe I should go to him. We can see what he thinks about all this.”

Now it was the woman who looked startled. Even lifting a hand to her chest as though she had just been personally attacked. Natalie didn’t feel much victory as she turned on her heel and strode out of the office.

She had almost thought that Fritz had been exaggerating about how little Freddy’s cared about safety, or assumed that was the old Freddy’s, but no. A lack of concern for staff and patrons was very much still present at Freddy Fazbear’s.

Natalie stormed out of the office with a sour look on her face, unsure if she should be relieved that Fazbear Entertainment seemingly didn’t care or just outright offended at whatever just happened. Honestly, she was leaning towards the latter. She huffed out a very unkind word under her breath.

“I know, right? She’s just such a pain in the neck.”

And was promptly blindsided by someone waiting beside the door. Her head snapped over and her stomach nearly plummeted at the sight of Ness standing there. Like she had been listening, at least the closeness to the door suggested so.

“Did you hear us…?” Natalie dared to ask.

“What? Oh, no! I wasn’t eavesdropping! I just meant I’ve run into her a few times and she’s, yeah, she’s a lot. Even Mr. Wight doesn’t get along with her, and I mean, can you blame him?” Ness said. Her face broke into an excited grin. “Speaking of Mr. Wight, take a look at what I’ve got.”

She lifted what looked to be a little coupon book with a Pizzaplex logo on it between her hands. She flipped through them in front of her, allowing Natalie to get a few brief glimpses at coupons inside.

“Coupons?”

“For the Pizzaplex! Wight gave them for me because I said I’d go to the retreat with him. Look! Seventy-five percent off mini-golf, twenty percent off a membership to Mazercise, free refills to all mega-sized mug drinks!” Ness listed off. She waved the coupons in her hand. “Okay, so, I don’t really want to spend my life hanging out at the Pizzaplex alone like a weirdo, so why don’t you come with me, and we like… blow through most of these in one day? What do you say?”

She sounded so excited about the prospect. So bouncy and thrilled at the idea of them hanging out.

Natalie only noticed now how Ness’ eager little motions seemed to line up with Vanny’s. She really hoped she was just imagining it, even though she was almost completely convinced that this was the white rabbit out of costume standing before her.

“You went on the retreat already?” she asked. Buying herself a little time to consider her answer.

“No, we’re not leaving until the seventeenth. Just enough time for him to maybe change his mind? Hopefully.”

“You don’t have to go.”

“I think I do. I took the coupons,” Ness pointed out. “So, what do you say? Girls’ night out? Or day. Afternoon.”

What could’ve been such an innocent offer a week or two ago was suddenly much less safe. Ignoring the fact that Ness might’ve been listening in on her, but now she had reasons to believe Ness herself wasn’t quite what she seemed to be.

It was like walking a tight-rope, and Natalie considered it for a second. Eventually she came to a decision.

“You know what? Sure! I’ve got nothing else going on,” Natalie agreed. She had a bit of a bad feeling about this, but she had a worse feeling about giving Ness a reason to retaliate. Though she wasn’t going to open herself up to that much risk without a backup plan. “Hey, do you mind if I invite someone to come with us?”

#Natalie #Ness #Vanessa #Going Home in a Box #Home Series #Chapter 59 #Girls Day out!

[chickensarentcheap]

Best Part of Me -Chapter 58

Warnings: profanity, graphic descriptions of blood, violence

Tagging: @c-a-v-a-l-r-y​, @alievans007​, @innerpaperexpertcloud​, @ocfairygodmother​

“I still don’t think this is a good idea,” Koen grumbles,   as he sits at the table in front of the balcony door, tightly lacing his combat boots. They’re old and scuffed but still do the trick; well worn and trustworthy, having seen him through his last two tours while in active service.

“Well no one asked you what you think, so…” Tyler’s voice trails off as he shrugs into a black utility vest. Slipping it over a tight fitting white tank that will protect his skin from the vest’s harsh material, tightly securing the straps on both shoulders and across either side of his rib cage.

It’s nowhere near as comfortable as the one he’d owned prior; army green, years on the job leaving it riddle with indents left by bullets, knife slices in the fabric, and torn and fraying edges. There’d been something almost comforting about the ‘wounds’ it sported; testaments to all of the injuries -some in places that would have no doubt been fatal- he’d avoided and all the times he’d managed to walk away. He misses the familiarity of it; the weight of the kevlar between the layers, the smell that had clung to it, the various stains that had discolored the cloth. This one is still stiff against his body and still smells new despite the numerous times he’d worn it while working out in the gym. The extra weight adding an edge, a challenge, to even the most strenuous of workout, yet the rivers of sweat he’d shed had done little to leave his scent behind. This vest hasn’t earned its keep yet; hasn’t been put to the test and earned his trust and respect.

In less than an hour it will. It will be ‘do or die’ time. Either keeping him safe or failing miserably.

“You know I’m only on your ass ‘cause I care about ya,” Koen says. “‘Cause I give a rat’s ass about whether you live or die.”

“And I appreciate that, mate. I do. But I’ve been doing this for years. It’s what I do. Who I am.  I think I know what I’m doing.”

“You think so, do you? When have you ever been in a situation like this?”

“I’m always in situations like this. What do you think mercenaries do? We run into fucked up places and go against fucked up people and we face fucked up odds. And most of the time, we live to tell about it.”  He snags an olive green shirt from the army rucksack; two sizes bigger than normal, but adequately hiding the bulk provided by the vest.

“You know what I mean. A situation like THIS. Where there’s a bounty on your damn head the size of Texas.  Where it’s your own family that’s being threatened. This Mahajan isn’t playing any games. He’s got the best of the best working for him, and when shit goes down and he figures out you’re behind all of this, the shit’s really going to hit the fan.”

“You act like I don’t already know all of that. Who’s the one that’s new to all this? And who’s the one that’s been doing it for years?”

“You know, for someone that HAS been doing it for as long as you have, you sure are fucking stupid. Sure are making rookie decisions.”

“I work better alone,” Tyler says. “But you wouldn’t know that because you don’t know ‘job me’. You’ve never been around him. Guess you’re going to find out pretty quick exactly who I really am, aren’t you.”

“It ain’t who you are,”  Koen argues. “It’s part of who you are. So fuck off with that shit. And I get you’ve been doing this a long time. I get it. I respect it. But I still think it’s a mistake that you’re going into this alone when you’re the one Mahajan wants dead. If you ask me…”

“I’m NOT asking you,” Tyler irritably interjects. “No one is asking you. Now get off my ass. This is how I do things. Alone. I don’t need your approval or your permission.”

“I just think…”

“I love you, mate, and I get you’re worried about me, but fuck off. I don’t need a babysitter. No matter what my wife thinks.”

“She’s worried about your stubborn ass too. You wanna go home to her and your kids? ‘Cause you’re going about it the wrong way.”

“You want to still have all your teeth? ‘Cause you’re going to lose a few if you bring up my family again.”

“You call home this morning?”

Tyler frowns. “What did I just say?”

Koen holds his hands up in surrender. “Just asking if you called home.”

“I called last night. Said the things I needed to say. That I should have said a long time ago. Flight left at seven their time; won’t be hearing from them until after they land.”

“And everything’s good? With Esme and the littles?”

“As good as it can be, I guess.”  He slips his arms into the sleeves of a baggy hoodie; black and bearing no company or brand logos. Something cheap and simple that won’t show blood and he won’t mind throwing out if he can’t get it clean. He’s not much of a talker before a mission; finding mindless conversations and the sound of other peoples’ voices both needless AND annoying. He prefers to be quiet in that last hour; getting himself into ‘the zone’. Throwing himself into the deep end of his own mind space and psyching himself up;  mentally replaying his plans over and over again, each step helping fire up his adrenaline.

“You should at least call and leave a message,” Koen says. “Or a text or something. You know, just in case.”

Tyler ignores him; attaching his holster -gun already secured inside- onto the waistband of his cargo pants. On his right hip, hoodie easily covering it and not leaving a noticeable outline or bulge. SAT phone in one side pocket, personal cell in the other; knife and its holder resting at the small of his back. He’d sharpened it the night before; deadly enough to slice through paper and guaranteeing if the wound is in the right spot, death will be near instantaneous.  He would have preferred a slower and more calculated and cold method of killing, but with very limited minutes  and space, he needs to be fast and efficient and worry about torture and watching them suffer when he has more time on his hands. That will come; a chance to truly make them pay. And he’s looking forward to it.

“Are you listening to me at all?” Koen inquires. “I said you should…”

“I heard what you said. And I already told you that I called home last night. I talked to Esme, I told her I love her and said all the things I should have said to her a long time ago. I don’t need to call and leave a message, I don’t need to text her. We talked. We said what we needed to say to each other and that’s it. Leave it alone. She’s my wife, not yours. Stop with this fucked up obsession with her.”

“Obsession with her?” Koen scowls. “What the hell you going on about? What…?”

“Look, it was cute at first. I was flattered you thought my wife was hot. I laughed about all the little comments you’d make about what she looks like and what her ass is like and how you don’t understand why she’s with me and how if she wanted a real man, she’d get with you. I was fine with it. The way you flirt with her, the way you look at her.”

“I’m joking around. Poking fun. Yeah, she’s a beautiful woman. And I do think you’re lucky as fuck that you landed someone like her. But no way in hell would she leave a guy like you for me. And as far as looking at her a certain way, what…?”

“Just stop with her. I could take it at first. At first it seemed harmless. But that’s my wife. The mother of my kids. And I don’t fucking like it. How close you’re always trying to get to her. So I’d appreciate it if you’d back off.”

“I think you’re losing it,” Koen laughs. “I think you’re going mental. No one is trying to steal your wife, mate. Especially not me. I’d never do that to you, you should know that. I’d never do you like that.”

“I’d just rather you not do the things you do. Not talk about her the way you do. It bugs the shit out of me. I’ve already had one person try and fuck things up between us. I won’t let anyone else try it.”

“I think you need your head read.  Professional help of some kind. Because I have no idea where all that came from or what you’re so fucking insecure about. She ain’t ever gonna be with the likes of me when she’s got someone like you with your pretty blue eyes and your muscles out to next week. It’s obvious as fuck that she ain’t ever gonna leave you. That she loves your dumb, stupid ass for some reason. Must be just as mental as you.”

“You’re going to drive me mental is what you’re going to do,” Tyler retorts, then moves to the door when a pounding -likely from the toe of a shoe or a boot- threatens to shake it off its hinges. Snapping open the deadbolt and removing the chain lock after a quick check through the peephole determines there’s no threat waiting out in the hall.

“How you feeling?” Yaz inquires, as he and Ovi step into the room. “You good? Got your head in the game?”

“My head’s exactly where it needs to be. Not like Koen’s, which is shoved up so far up my ass…”

“He’s in a mood,” Koen interjects. “Being a little bitch.”

“He doesn’t like to talk before he goes out,” Yaz explains. “Too much talk and chatter and noise fucks with his head space; keeps him out of the zone. We realized a long time ago not to say shit to him until it’s absolutely necessary. You’ll learn. We did.”

Ovi nods in agreement.

“Bring me what I need?” Tyler asks.

“Would I be here if I didn’t?” This…” Yaz reaches into the pocket of his black jeans, pulling a flat, silver disk no larger than a dime. “...is how we hear you. Just gotta tap your finger against it to activate it. It’s all charged and ready to go.” He slips a hand through the open zipper on Tyler’s hoodie, attaching the disk -via a small yet powerful magnet on the back[ to the neck of Tyler’s t-shirt. “...and this…” from his second pocket, he removes a listening device; small and kidney bean shaped, moulded out of clear silicone. “...is how you hear me. Just slip this right in your ear. Got it?”

Tyler nods, then plucks the device from Yaz’ palm and slips it into his left ear.  A creature of habit; using the same routines and following the same rituals he’d discovered he was most comfortable with during his early days in the game. Each merc has their ‘thing’; lucky underwear or socks, certain meals they’ll consume before heading out, the same song they’ll listen to on repeat to fire themselves up. His ‘thing’ has always revolved around his gear. Putting pieces on in a certain order, cleaning all his weapons TWICE, not engaging in conversation in the last hour leading up. It’s all mind over matter, but it never fails to feel as if it’s giving him an edge. Even a sense of comfort and security.

“Ovi will drop you off at the shipping and receiving door,” Yaz says. “Our inside guy will be waiting. Knock twice so he knows it’s you. He’ll have a key to the freight elevator; take that to the twelfth floor, leave the key on the window ledge. I know you already know all of this, but it calms my nerves to go through it again.”

Tyler smirks. “You’re an odd duck, Yaz.”

“This coming from a guy who puts three shots of espresso in his coffee right before a gig.”

“Could be doing a lot worse. Remember that guy who used to short two lines of coke right before he went out?”

“Lorenzo. Fuck, I forgot about him. Whatever happened to him?”

“Got into a bar fight in Chicago and got fucked up. Last I heard he was running with some rogue crew that works out of New Mexico.”

“That guy was a whackadoo. Makes you look sane and that’s saying something. Now remember, you only have three minutes. That’s it. Wait by the freight elevator until I tell you that I’ve killed the security cameras. Got it?”

“Got it.”

“When you’re done, haul ass. Ovi will be waiting two blocks west. In front of a dry cleaners. You won’t be able to  miss him.”

“You better fucking be there,” Tyler warns Ovi. “‘Cause if you leave me hanging, I’ll gut you like a fish next.”

Ovi’s eyes widen, and both Tyler and Yaz burst into laughter at his surprised -and terrified- expression.

“I’m kidding, kid. I’d never do that. I’d beat you ass, But I wouldn’t do THAT.”

“Good to go?” Yaz asks.  “Got everything you need?”

Tyler scowls.

“Right...right...I know. I ask the same stupid shit before every job.  Ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

“I still think letting him go alone is fucked up,” Koen remarks, still sitting by the balcony door.

Yaz sighs. “You’ve got to be shitting me. Twenty minutes until go time and you’re bringing me this? Now is NOT the time for this. One and two. Gotta take ‘em out. That’s what he’s going to do. Enough of this shit?”

“What if something goes wrong?” Koen asks.

“Something’s going to go wrong in a second when I toss your ass off the balcony,” Tyler snarls. “What is your major malfunction? Do you know how many of these I’ve done? How many jobs I’ve been on? I can fucking take care of myself, mate. You’re only gonna get in the way if you tag along. Let me take care of my shit, you take care of yours.”

“I said I’d keep an eye on ya. This isn’t keeping an eye on ya. Letting you go off on your own.”

“We gotta go,” Yaz says, and yanks a thumb over his shoulder towards the door. “Time’s a wastin. We’re going to miss these guys if you don’t leave now.”

“I’m fine,” Tyler assures his friend. “I’ve done this hundreds of times. I’ve been in way more dangerous situations than this and I always came out of them alive.  I ain’t breaking that streak now.”

“You fuck up and something happens to you, I’ll bring you back to life just to kill you again. Hear me?”

“I hear ya,” Tyler says, and then gives a small, almost uncomfortable chuckle when Koen embraces him in front of the others. His tone and face both softening when he tousles what little hair his friend has left on his head. “I’ll be careful, mate. I got this. You and Rata be careful out there. These guys? Mahajan and his people? They don’t fuck around. Watch each other’s backs.”

“Who’s gonna watch yours?” Koen inquires, and Tyler gives him a quick, one armed hug before heading for the door.

“I watch my own.”

***

“Change of plans,” Tyler says, when Ovi pulls the rented SUV into the alley behind the Grand Hyatt.

The younger man’s eyes widen. “Change of plans? No change of plans! Why a change of plans?”

“Did you not fucking notice the police station half a block away from the dry cleaners? There’s no way your old man doesn’t have law enforcement in on this. Remember Asif? Dhaka? Look what he was able to do. And your old man has a lot more power than Asif ever had.”

“We can’t just go and change things,” Ovi protests. “We can’t…”

“I’m the boss. I can do whatever the hell I want. You park and wait for me there, they’ll see me coming. And you can’t tell me that spineless fuck doesn’t have my picture plastered all over the goddamn place. Go two blocks EAST. Not west. Then text me and let me know where you are.”

“This is a bad idea,” Ovi laments. “We should just stick to the plan. We should…”

Scowling, Tyler angrily snatches him by the front of the shirt. “Fucking listen to me! I call the shots and I am telling you to go east. Not west. Just do as I fucking say and then wait for me. Understand?”

Ovi swallows noisily and nods frantically.

“I go anywhere near that police station, I’m fucked. I’ve got a knife and a Glock on me. I don’t stand a goddamn chance if they all start shooting. So do what I say and I at least live long enough to call my kids tonight and read them a bedtime story. Now fucking listen to me and don’t get me killed!”

He doesn’t give Ovi a chance to respond, instead throwing open the passenger door and climbing out; hands shoved in the pockets of his hoodie, head down as he heads for the loading docks and the shipping and receiving doors. It’s better to be safe than sorry; not taking the chance that there’s any outside cameras that can capture a decent picture of him entering the building. His strides are long and purposeful, yet calm and confident; stones, dirt, and other debris crunching and shifting under the soles of his combat boots.

It’s just as easy as Yaz said it would be; knocks being promptly answered, no eye contact made or words exchanged as a single gold plated key is pressed into the palm of his hand as he passes by. And he’s not sure if it’s plain lucky or the ‘inside man’ had arranged to keep other employees out of the area, but it’s oddly quiet and he doesn’t encounter another living soul during his short walk through the bowels of the hotel and to the service elevator.

He’s been on the job long enough that nerves are no longer an issue. Learning long ago that the more relaxed you are and the more you’re able to ‘silence’ your brain, the smoother and easier things will go. Focusing on something other than the task at hand keeps you from dwelling on your game plan, which in turn prevents you from second guessing yourself and switching things up at the last second. That only leads to disaster. He’s seen many a good merc seriously injured and even killed because they thought too much; letting the game fuck to much with their heads and getting an advantage on them instead of the other way around.  So instead of thinking of the task mere minutes away, he lets his mind go blank; eyes riveted on the illuminated numbers above the elevator door as it makes it slow, rumbling ascent. Hands still shoved in his pockets as he slowly rocks back and forth on his heels. It’s a habit that ‘new Tyler’ has fallen into an ‘old Tyler’ can’t seem to break; that slight motion of his body that’s comforted many a crying or colicky baby and has gotten them to sleep when all other methods seemed futile.  And it works for his nerves as well; taking off the edge yet never stripping away the one emotion he does allow himself to feel. Rage.

“You in?” Yaz’ voice pipes in through the ear piece, and Tyler reaches into his hoodie to tap a finger against the disk attached to the front of his shirt.

“I’m in. On the ninth floor now.”

“Twelfth is clear. You’ll see a cleaning person; that’s one of ours. Got one on each floor preventing other people from leaving their rooms. Let me know when you get off the service elevator and I’ll kill the security cameras. Remember, you’ve only got three minutes.”

“What if they don’t get on the elevator?”

“Do what you have to do. Rooms 903 and 905. Take them out whatever way you have to. Got it?”

“Yeah. I got it.”

The elevator comes to a shuddering, rumbling stop; doors shuddering as they slowly slide open. He leaves the lone key on the window sill as instructed, then mumbles a low, drawn out “Fuck” and  quickly turns on his heel to face outside when he hears voices -female- approaching from around the corner.  He can see their reflections in the glass; young, nearly twenties, their glossy  dark hair pulled back into ponytails and their tall, willowy bodies clad in the burgundy and gold uniforms sported by all hotel staff. And they never pause in their loud, animated conversation or even glance in his direction as they wait for the elevator. Seconds seem like minutes; his annoyance growing with each passing moment, an audible sigh of relief leaving his lips when the elevator finally arrives and the women step aboard, doors slowly sliding closed.

“Do your thing,” he says. “I’m good to go.”

“I’m on it,” Yaz responds. “Cameras going down in five...four...three...two...one.   You’ve got three minutes. Go.”

Tyler swiftly turns on his heel; feet going from gleaming tile to plush carpet. And he exchanges a quick nod with Yaz’ ‘man’; one hand still shoved in the pocket of his sweater as the other reaches out to hit the button to call the elevator.

“One and two are leaving their rooms now,” Yaz says. “Elevator is two floors above you. No one on it. You’re in the clear.”

“They armed?”

“Can’t tell. Let’s just go ahead and assume they are. Stay on your toes.”

“You doubting my knowledge of this shit, Yaz? You telling  me how to do things?”

“I’m nervous. Fuck off, Rake.” It’s always last name only when Yaz gets riled up; his nerves and stress are always on high alert, even when he’s not the one actually out there doing the dirty work.  “Two minutes and thirty seconds,”  he says, when the elevator finally arrives and Tyler steps on. “Think you can handle this, old man?”

Smirking, Tyler directs a middle finger at the camera he knows is mounted just above the control panels. And he settles himself as that rear of the lift, casually leaning back against the mirrored wall, both hands out of his pockets and arms now crossed over his chest.

“I’d say good luck but I know you won’t need it,” Yaz says. “We’re going silent for the rest of the trip. Talk in a few. Have fun.”

He gives a nod and a tight lipped smile. The adrenaline is at its peak now. Even after all these years it’s a rush; the possibility of the situation turning dangerous, the quick and efficient pace he’ll have to work at. But it’s not the adrenaline that has his heart thundering in his chest or the rush of blood thundering in his ears or his jaw clenching. It’s rage. The knowledge that he’s about to come face to face with pure and utter evil. People that would have done horrible and vile things to his family. His CHILDREN. It’s the desire...the want...the NEED...to take another life.

He recognizes them when they step onto the elevator; faces familiar from the pictures he’s been studying since Anil gave him ‘the list’. And neither pause in their conversation -a mixture of both Hindi and English- but both give him polite smiles and nods, one even offering a friendly “good morning” that he’s hesitant to return but bites the bullet and does anyway.  And he briefly looks over his shoulder; quickly studying himself to make sure the rage isn’t as visibly obvious as it feels.  Both men have their backs to him; shoulders pressed together, their words and their laughter hanging heavily in the air. And while his eyes study them from head to toe and attempt to ascertain any possible threat or if they are armed, his right hand reaches under his hoodie,  thumb sliding through the loop that sits on the top of the knife; fingers curling around the hilt.

“Excuse me for a second, would ya mate?” He asks, then using his own shoulder to push his way between them, successfully creating a gap; fingers reaching for one of the floor numbers before he slams his palm against the stop button.  

The elevator gives a sudden, violent lurch and Tyler uses it to his advantage. Throwing his entire body weight into the man on the right, the collision  sending both of them  into the side wall.. And Tyler slams his elbow into the sternum with enough force to break  it; the audible crack and the man’s startled and pained yelp echoing in the small, cramped area.  A noise that only becomes shrill and terrified when he effortlessly jams the tip of the knife into the already injured man’s navel, and with a ruthless and vicious upwards yank -one fluid, easy motion- he sends the sharp, glistening blade up to the hollow of the man’s throat. His first  victim drops into a heap on the floor; still gurgling and flailing helplessly as he clings to the last shred of life as his own blood and some of his internal organs begin to pool around him.

The fist that’s thrown his way is easy to avoid; his instincts and reflexes are quick and uncompromising. And he’s able to hook an arm around the other man’s bicep  and throw him to his stomach; forehead and chest  slamming off the blood soaked floor. And he’s attempting to scramble to his feet when Tyler places  a knee in the middle of his back; every pound and inch of his much broader, taller, strong frame shoved into every shred of pressure he applies.

“Look at me,” Tyler orders, and when the man below him refuses, snatches a fistful of hair and yanks his head back. “I said fucking look at me!”

The eyes that look up at him are terrified, yet still bear a remaining glitter of deviance.

“You recognize me now don’t you,” Tyler snarls. “Well this is what you get for fucking with my family.”  

He slams the knife home just under the left ear. And he can hear the  tear of skin, muscle and tissue and the crack of cartilage as the tip pierces straight through. Pausing briefly; allowing the full reality set into the other man’s brain before he quickly draws the knife across his throat. Jamming it in  far enough to hit bone when he reaches the other ear; hand still tightly gripping silky, thick hair, gaze never wavering and his rage never subsiding as he watches all life and hope drain from the other man’s face and eyes.

There’s a satisfied smirk playing on his lips as he stands; hands steady as he swipes the blade of the knife across one of his thighs, cleaning the blood off of it before slipping it back under his hoodie and into its holder. He’s barely broken a sweat, and he’s eerily calm as he steps through the growing puddle of blood and over the lifeless carcasses; releasing the stop button and then pressing the one for the next available floor.

Tyler checks his watch. There's still a minute and a half remaining.

It feels good to be back.

****

“A minute and a half,” Yaz says in way of greeting, when Tyler strolls into the conference room twenty minutes later; already shrugging out of his blood and sweat soaked hoodie. “Not too bad for an old fuck! Didn’t misplace  a hip, did you old timer?”

“Hope I don’t misplace my foot when I put it up your ass,” he playfully retorts, unable to contain the grin that spreads across his face.

It’s one of immense satisfaction. Pride, even.  Feeling relief that he hasn’t lost his edge or any of his abilities and he’s only become stronger and faster. Smarter. His skills and his instincts seem sharper than before.  And it feels good; the physical act of killing. It’s the first time he’s ever encountered that; enjoying  taking a life and watching someone in the thralls of death. But it’s personal this time around. Mahajan never should have threatened him or his wife and his children. Because now he’s going to enjoy every second of sending that message loud and clear: you’ve fucked with the wrong man’s family.

“I will never...EVER...again doubt you, oh wise one,” Yaz chuckles, and then dramatically bows to him. “Made a fuck of a mess of the elevator though. Couldn’t have been more graceful about things?”

“Messier it is, the bigger and louder the message it sends. And thanks, by the way. You almost dumped my ass right by a police station.”

“Yeah,  Ovi called me. Told me about the change in plans. Sorry about that, Ooops.”

“Oops? I could have gotten my ass shot on the first day and that’s all you can say? Ooops? How the fuck did you miss that, anyway? You’re usually on the ball when it comes to this recon shit. What the fuck, mate?”

“You know, sometimes I DO screw up.”

“Well don’t screw up when it’s my ass on the line, yeah?”  Tyler removes both the earpiece and the transmitter and drops them onto the conference table. “Those little things are a hell of a lot better than those wired pieces of shit we used to have.  I’m not fucking choking myself trying to use an ear piece attached to a fucking radio. How’s things? Anyone else check in?”

“Koen and Rata are chasing their guys down. They've given them the slip twice already.”

Tyler smirks, then slips the t-shirt over his head and drops it and the hoodie into a nearby chair. “Rookies.”

“Anil and Nathan are doing some surveillance on the other side of town. Gonna be pissed and jealous as shit when I tell them you’re already done and back.  Other than that, there’s not much to tell you.”

He tears the velcro strips open on the one side of the vest; left shoulder and rib cage finally free. Grunting and grimacing at the pain in his right arm when he slips the vest over his head.  Then peels  off the sweaty tank and uses it to  wipe sweat and blood from his face, brow, and neck. Unable to contain the smirk that plays on his lips when he catches sight of the young female tech across the room intently watching him.

“Hey!” Yaz snaps at her. “Focus! That ain’t your prize you’re looking at. He’s married!”

Tyler chuckles, then reaches for a bottle of water from the case sitting in the middle of the table.  “Kinda harsh, mate. She’s harmless. She can look.”

“What is it with you and all the thirsty women? They don’t even care about that ring on your finger.”

“I care about it and that’s all that matters. They can be as thirsty as they want. I’m not entertaining it, so…”

“Still disrespectful as fuck. To you, your wife. I mean, you’re married. You’ve got kids, for fuck sake. Means they should back the fuck off. And speaking of married, you hear from Esme?”

“She left me a message before they left. Said she’d call as soon as they got in. It’s a long flight; they won’t be here until at least six.”  He both groans and grimaces when he drops into one of the chairs, and then reaches down to untie his boots and toe them off. “I did make a fucking mess, didn’t I,” he observes, as he picks up one boot, then the other, surveying the splatters of blood on the fabric and the already drying mess on each sole.

“Felt good though, didn’t it.  To get shit done. To kill the fuckers that we’re going to kill your family. Bet it felt damn good.”

“Even better than I thought it would,” he admits.

“You going to the airport?” Yaz asks.

“Didn’t know it was an option. Thought I was supposed to to stay away. Until I was given the all clear.”

“That’s for when they’re at the house. What harm could come from you showing up at the airport? No one even knows you’re in Mumbai yet. We’d hear chatter if Mahajan was suspicious. If you wanna go…”

“I don’t wanna fuck things up. If someone IS following me…”

“You’d know that by now. Fuck, you’d probably be DEAD right now. And we’ve got eyes and ears on you. I can send  a couple of people to tail you, just in case. You’ve got nothing else going on for the rest of that day. You’ve earned your keep. And then some.”

“I could go out and help Rata and Koen chase their guys down. Or do my own surveillance. Take Ovi with me. Teach him something that won’t lead to me getting shot in the head.”

“It’s the first day,” Yaz says. “Relax. You’ve done enough. Take the down time while you can.”

“I could use a shower and a  change of clothes. Something to eat. Maybe some sleep.”

“Go to the airport,” Yaz insists. “I’ll have people follow you. I know it’s killing you; being away from your family. It’ll do you a world of good to see them. Even if it is just for a few minutes.”

“Yeah,” Tyler agrees. “It would. Wouldn’t mind hugging and kissing my wife and seeing my kids.”

“Your job’s done for the day. Shit is only going to get harder and more intense from here on out. Who knows when you’ll get to see them next. Go clean yourself up. Get some food in you. Some sleep. And then go and see your family. You’re one of the lucky ones, man. You’ve GOT a family that you can see. Don’t take that for granted.”

“That’s something I DEFINITELY have to stop doing.”

“I know they’re probably dying to see you too. Can’t tell me those kids don’t miss their daddy. They’re pretty nuts about ya.”

He grins. “Yeah, I’m pretty nuts about them too. You sure you guys will be okay without me?”

“We’ll manage. If I need you THAT bad, I know how to get a hold of you. Seriously, go and see your family, Tyler.  I know you want to. I know you NEED to.”

He nods in agreement, then sighs heavily as he stands up; hand on the small of his back, wince on his face.

“Maybe you did throw out your hip,” Yaz chides.

“It’s my back, you fucking drongo. You know it’s been shit since I had to go and save Gaspar’s sorry ass.”

“You took  a bullet an inch from your fucking spine,” Yaz reminds him. “You’re lucky to even be walking. Want me to get you a cane? A wheelchair? Want me to carry you? Need me to help fill out the papers for your old age security?”

“I’m hurting, but I can still beat your ass into the middle of the next week.”

“Judging by the show you put on the elevator, I know that’s fact. That was amazing by the way. Good job. Damn good job.”

“Only gets better from here, yeah? Each one will get a little nastier and bloodier.”

“You sound like you’re actually going to enjoy that,” Yaz observes.

He’s smirking as he picks up his dirty clothes and boots, then heads for the door. “I am.”

#tyler rake #tyler rake fan fiction #tyler rake fan fic #extraction #best part of me #chris hemsworth character

[itsclydebitches]

RWBY Recaps: “Worst Case Scenario”

Happy Saturday, everyone! I’m so torn on this episode. On the one hand it managed to do a lot of the things I’ve been looking for this volume. On the other hand they’re a bit... shaky. And at least a month too late. But we’ll dive into all that in a bit.

We open on Penny in an Atlas facility which was actually a relief for me. Though I wouldn’t expect it for Penny’s characterization, last week’s order to head immediately back to the Academy alongside her blasting off without saying a word to anyone could have implied that Penny ran off. We could have started the episode with her missing, needing that space, but compounding how guilty she looks in the process. So emotionally I’m glad Penny didn’t unintentionally make her situation worse, yet in all honesty her situation isn’t nearly as bad as “A Night Off” implied it would be. We learn within a few minutes that Atlas techs had no difficulty discovering that the video was doctored, even if the general population isn’t convinced of that yet. Ironwood believes her. So do the Ace Ops and all of RWBYJNR. Robyn wasn’t out to seek revenge on Penny or anything, she just redoubled her efforts to help Mantle as a whole. The only thing that stunt seems to have achieved---besides general stress/division which, frankly, an attack without any framing would have created just as well---is the call to deactivate Penny. But as we just established, no one in power is inclined to do that. No one, from Ironwood to Winter to Pietro, is swayed by this “Penny is a danger” rhetoric. And what’s the public going to do? Storm Atlas and deactivate her themselves? For all the emotion Pietro shows, it doesn’t feel like Penny herself is in any danger, only her reputation. Nor does it feel like the villains’ plan has succeeded in hurting the heroes’ plans. The conflict of today’s episode regarding whether Ironwood continues to pull from Mantle to finish the Amity project existed before Penny’s framing. That just added some tangentially related drama. Feels like a missed opportunity for the villains’ well-executed frame job to, you know, actually achieve something.

I’m getting ahead of myself though. In an effort to prevent any more killings Ironwood cracks down on security, announcing that there are to be no public gatherings of any kind and that everyone must obey the curfew. It’s another case of “You can’t treat people like this” up against “I’m trying to keep people from dying via serial killer.” Obviously not everyone is obeying these new laws. Alongside a few civilians braving the authorities, Robyn and her Happy Huntresses are out stealing the supply trucks meant for Amity and re-distributing those supplies to the people. As a lovely anon pointed out (I’m so far behind on asks I’ll work on that!) how is sucking an entire truck and all its contents into your hand not magic? It’s just another example in a long list of world building details that RWBY hasn’t bothered to think through because they never established rules for their fantasy universe. Hell, at this point semblances are far more powerful and mind-bending than the actual magic we see Ozpin and the Maidens performing. What’s a bit of fire and lighting up against, “I can pull a ton of metal and supplies directly into my skin”? 

With another truck in their possession we return to the group in Ironwood’s office. He title drops with how this is the worst case scenario: more people are dead, Penny is framed, and Jacques is somehow sitting on the council. Of course, any long-time RWBY viewer knows that this probably isn’t the worst case scenario. Things will no doubt get so much worse. Clover summarizes by saying that Robyn has moved from “hometown hero to full on vigilante” and then we enter the portion of the episode that made me want to beat my head against a wall.

Here’s the lowdown. The Amity project is permanently stalled because Robyn is taking all the supplies needed to finish it. They’re having trouble stopping her because those Happy Huntresses have one hell of a collection of semblances. A possible solution to this problem would be to declare martial law, further increasing the presence of the military in Mantle and thus, hopefully, stopping her. This would, however, further divide the people of Mantle from Ironwood. So what to do? Decisions, decisions.

The reason why this conflict isn’t a compelling investment for the viewer is because it still hinges on knowledge that Ironwood doesn’t have. As Yang herself will later say, “Do you think we should have told Ironwood about Salem? Before he put so much on the line for Amity?” Every choice he makes is done under the impression that he can defeat Salem and therefore these sacrifices are worth it. Amity Arena is top priority because once we unite the world against her she won’t stand a chance. Losing some defenses in Mantle? Incurring the peoples’ hatred? Declaring martial law? Even risking lives via grimm? All of it is worth it because in the end he’ll have rid the world of a woman who has, single-handedly, changed entire kingdoms for the worse. Remember that Mantle only looks like it does now because Ironwood witnessed firsthand how Salem wormed her way into Beacon and burned it to the ground. From destroying entire schools to killing people at parties, she is the world’s biggest threat. It makes perfect sense to me that he would be willing to go to these lengths in order to stop her. We can debate, as Oscar does, when he’ll have gone too far or if he already has, but that logic remains sound. You’re worried about peoples’ immediate needs? I’m worried about the day when Salem breaks into this kingdom and straight up slaughters them all. It’s inevitable. So Ironwood says yes, we need to make things worse now so that they can be better later. We need to make sacrifices.

Too bad he doesn’t know that it’s all for naught.

Which brings me to the group’s reactions. I mean... holy shit. First off, when Ironwood announces that Amity is on hold Ruby gets super upset. “But we’re so close! There must be some way we can finish the tower.” Ruby, why are you pushing for this to be a priority? You know that Salem can’t be killed! You know that telling the world about her will achieve nothing but panic! People aren’t going to unite against an immortal grimm queen. They’re going to do precisely what you all did before the story decided to gloss over or outright ignore your motivations for fighting an “impossible” fight: They’ll give up. They’ll fall into despair. They’ll make like Qrow and decide that nothing has meaning anymore. Why would it when there’s an immortal antagonist hell bent on our destruction? Ruby’s ‘But we have to finish the tower :o’ reaction makes no sense. Going along with this project because she’s comfy cozy being an Atlas huntress makes sense. Hypocritical, but still. Ruby pushing for the project when it’s doing even more harm, when she knows its primary use is pointless? Prioritizing it over those immediate needs? Like... what? This should have been the moment where Ruby came clean. Or at least kept quiet and looked guilty some more. “Yeah, Ironwood... now that this project is unambiguously hurting the people... you should probably know that it’s kinda... not gonna work...”

Then there’s Nora. Remember how I said I wanted her status as a poor orphan to clash with the privilege and authority around her? Yeah, would have been great if there was at least a little build-up to that. Or if another character acknowledged why she, out of the whole cast, is literally screaming at Ironwood over his choices. I mean sure, like with Oscar not showing up to fight the geist there’s an obvious answer here---Nora was once one of the people in Mantle. Not literally, but in all the ways that matter. Or, if you believe some theories, yes literally if she was originally born here---but it would be nice if the show actually established some of these connections rather than banking on the viewer not only picking up on them, but assuming that the writing indeed meant to create that link. These moments of personal growth are too important to drop in with so little lead in. We see Nora comment on the state of Mantle when they arrive and from there it’s just her steadily challenging Ironwood more and more. No acknowledgment as to why that’s such a sensitive topic for an otherwise bubbly girl and no deconstruction of these feelings after she shows them. I’ve mentioned before that Ironwood is crazy calm while having a bunch of teens challenge him like this. Same here. The level of fury Nora demonstrates is staggering given how, from a ‘What have we seen on screen?’ standpoint, it came out of nowhere.

The best part though is when Clover points out that telling the city there’s a serial killer on the lose could make things even worse. Suddenly the situation wouldn’t be, “Ironwood’s robot inexplicably attacked once but is now safely in custody” but rather, “The killer is still out there, wants to kill more, and is fully capable of doing so.” Cue more panic. Cue more grimm. Considering that this is primarily Nora’s concern, the fact that Mantle is vulnerable to grimm attacks through a combination of resources going to Amity and their general despondence drawing the monsters in, this point should be very relevant to her right now. Oh yeah, maybe we don’t want to freak people out even more because then more people die. The people I am currently trying to defend. 

Instead she throws up her hands and exclaims, “I am so sick of secrets! If we just told everyone about Amity, about Salem---!” Then she’s cut off by Ironwood. 

Nora. I love you. I really, really do. But: 

This is my holiday card this year lol. A stranger and a random dog I found on PicsArt spouting my feelings. Happy Holidays. Needless to say, we’re more than halfway through the volume and I’m so over this high horse the group is riding. Nora’s stance would be a compelling one if she weren’t demanding from Ironwood the very thing she and her friends are unwilling to do.

Although, that little slip says a lot about precisely how far the group is taking the ‘no one is allowed to keep secrets but us’ stance. Tell Mantle about Salem? Really? They know that won’t accomplish anything in the vein of uniting them  against her like Ironwood intends. Not if killing her is their final goal. Nora seems to want to tell them because secret keeping is just a Bad Thing and Ironwood is a Bad Man for keeping information from his people. Forget the consequences of telling them and, again, forget Nora’s own hypocrisy. It’s really amazing how far the writing is taking this assumption that anyone who keeps secrets from anyone else is automatically in the wrong unless you’re RWBYJNR.

Bleh. We’ve gotta move on. Too much else to cover and what more is there to say? The writing is an absolute mess.

Prior to Nora’s outburst we learn more about Tyrian. Tyrian Callows, as his file reveals. For those of you who weren’t inclined to read that teeny tiny print, my tired eyes are here to help. Winter gives a basic summary of Tyrian’s record and subsequent arrest/escape, but the scroll provides more details. After a series of murders he was detained and set to move from Mistral to Atlas. The man in charge, Pickerel, wanted additional forces for this move, clearly expecting that Tyrian would try to escape. He was denied this and eventually kicked off the mission for not cooperating. During Tyrian’s transport the airship was attacked by a swarm of grimm, despite the fact that the area they were passing through was considered relatively safe. Tyrian continues to speak throughout the ship’s transmission despite severe injuries from the crash. He was heard saying, “What are you? What are you?” sobbing and eventually ending with “Beautiful.”  (Edit: My mistake. Cornetto is the one who asks, “What are you?”). At the time Atlas officials assumed he had been killed by grimm, despite the fact that no bodies were found. There’s a note revising this to say he was suspected to have escaped after Pickerel was found dead in his house.

Obviously, Tyrian met Salem that day.

So Winter and the Ace Ops aren’t pleased to hear that this notorious serial killer is in their city and working for their greatest enemy, but at least they all believe Ruby about what she saw. Ironwood eventually shuts the whole conversation down, announcing that they need to put their efforts towards stopping Robyn and Tyrian. Winter and Clover give the expected, “Yes, sir!” in regards to this order. So does Ren. Like I said last week, ignoring all his concerns and trying to fix things with a kiss is not something that works. Glad to see Ren’s new work ethic and devotion to the fight didn’t magically disappear because Nora decided to make a move.

We transfer to Yang and Blake where they FINALLY bring up Adam. Hallelujah! It’s too little too late, but as I’ve said before, better late than never. Granted, it’s not much of a conversation. Yang insists they did what they had to do. Blake says she never wants to be in another position where she’s forced to kill someone. Understandable perspective, but not really the sort of thing you can control when plenty of others are out to kill you. Unless Blake swears to never kill again and upholds that ideal over the inevitable danger to herself and others, that’s just not something she’s going to be able to avoid.

Still very glad it exists, but considering that their talk didn’t actually delve into much regarding that trauma I’m more interested in the things they have to say about the continued secret keeping. This is where Yang once again questions whether they should tell Ironwood and finds that Blake doesn’t agree. Why is this significant? Because I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone disagree with Yang and get out of it without a glare at best, violence at worst. Yang herself points out that Blake doesn’t seem to be on board with her perspective and is so very gentle about it. It’s clear Yang in no way blames Blake for this difference between them. She legitimately wants to understand her position. Once again, I’m torn. On the one hand Yang should absolutely be commended for the mature way she handled this conversation. On the other hand... it’s Blake. We’ve already seen time and time again that Blake is the exception to Yang’s every rule. I wasn’t joking when I said back in Volume 6 that I primarily like Yang as a character when she’s interacting with Blake because it’s only when she’s with Blake (and to a lesser extent Ruby) that we see this calm, rational, sympathetic version of Yang. Though it is, as said, great that she can approach a difference between them in a healthy and level-headed manner, I’d also like to see her manage the same with someone other than the woman she’s clearly in love with. I’ll believe that Yang has undergone actual growth when she can demonstrate this kind of maturity with someone she’s not already eager to impress and desperate not to create a rift with. 

In addition, we get to watch Yang explain how Ironwood “didn’t have many good options” and Blake responds with, “I’m not sure there are many good options left for any of us anymore.” Yet somehow, astoundingly, neither of them manages to apply this perspective to Ozpin. The cast is literally repeating all the arguments I’ve made in Ozpin’s defense---trusting people is dangerous, secrets are hard to part with, you’re not a bad person if you only have shit options to choose from and have to choose something---yet no one actually acknowledges the one character this most applies to.

It’s after all this talk of secret keeping that Blake and Yang decide that they don’t have to follow Ironwood’s orders. Which... is a problem. Because yes actually, they do. Remember how they’re official huntsmen now? Remember how this is a job that comes with rules, regulations, and adhering to the orders you’re given? I’m not saying they’re morally in the wrong here. We can likewise debate the significance of Robyn having this information, whether she’s trustworthy, etc. Rather, I’m merely pointing out that by taking on this job the group agreed to follow Ironwood and obey his instructions. They’ve now broken that promise. It  likewise raises the question of whether they’ll tell everyone about this. Based on Blake’s “We’ll distract [the Ace Ops]” it doesn’t sound like they’re going to walk into Ironwood’s office an hour later and admit that they made their own choice based on their own moral code, giving him the chance to dismiss them. I don’t want people working for me who I can’t trust to follow my orders and all that. Which would mean, you know, that they’re keeping another secret. That cycle of hypocrisy will continue, now in the form of Yang and Blake patting themselves on the back for not hiding information from Robyn while likewise hiding new information from Ironwood. So I’m interested to see how and if they’ll admit to this decision, one they made without Ironwood’s or the rest of the team’s input.  

Of course, Blake and Yang only get half a pat on the back here. It’s not like they actually came clean in regards to Salem, the primary secret hanging over everyone’s heads. They are, again, acting precisely like Ozpin: doling out little bits and pieces of information as they see fit. I thought for a moment that they truly intended to tell Robyn everything but would be interrupted before they could. Instead Yang says straight out that they’re refusing to come clean about it all and Robyn swears that she “won’t stop until I learn the whole truth.” So congratulations, you further solidified the parallel between you and the man you’re still ignoring, made a pretty huge decision without the input of your partners or boss, and will potentially hide that information in an ever growing list of secrets. If that’s the case that will bring Yang’s total to five: my mom is the Spring Maiden, Salem can’t be killed, the relic attracts grimm, we’re the reason Ozpin is missing, and Robyn now knows about your project thanks to us.

During this whole conversation Robyn reveals that she has the lie detector semblance rather than Ironwood and... Really? I brought up before how many problems that inevitably causes. Case and point: if Robyn can just clasp someone’s hand and tell if they’re lying, why not do that with Ironwood weeks or months ago? Prior to Tyrian’s attack it was abundantly clear that Robyn would prefer to work with Ironwood but isn’t sure she can trust that he has the people’s best interests at heart; Ironwood likewise would prefer to work with Robyn but isn’t sure he can trust her period. Ironwood literally told the group last episode that the fact that they’re not already working together isn’t fully his fault (like the group wants to insist). Working together requires both parties being willing to come together... and here’s a super easy solution on Robyn’s end of things. Not sure about Ironwood’s motives? Shake his hand, ask him to make a statement about it, and find out! For me, the reveal of this semblance just puts more responsibility on Robyn’s shoulders than Ironwood’s. She could have taken more steps towards reconciliation, confident in her unique ability to confirm information. Ironwood? He’s working on pure faith in people which, as the last two volumes have shown, isn’t much to work with at all.

I don’t even want to get into the issues with this semblance moving forward. Unless Robyn because a full-blown enemy or is killed in the finale, every times someone is worried about lying I’m going to ask, “Why not just get Robyn?” It’s too easy a solution, one that writers are inclined to ignore when they don’t want a quick answer, and that disconnect rankles.

We segue to Pietro’s lab and hark! A Maria! She’s apparently been helping Pietro out with all the Amity Tower stuff lately, much appreciated work considering he would have collapsed under the workload otherwise. How kind. A perfectly logical use of her time. Now why couldn’t you have told us that five episodes ago?

Tiny edits, Rooster Teeth. Simple revisions. RWBY continues to read like a first draft. Plenty of potential, but there’s so much missing or disorganized that the viewer is left frustrated because we can see so clearly what it could have been... but we didn’t get that. A pity.

With Maria’s existence re-confirmed we dive into a number of revelations. Most notably that Pietro didn’t succeed in creating an artificial aura for Penny, he merely found a way to share a part of his with her. That’s why he’s so ill and the more times Penny needs to be rebuilt, the more aura he has to give up to revive her. The assumption? There will come a final time, likely at the end of the volume, when Penny will need a recharge and Pietro will die. It’s a setup I’m actually thrilled about if we ignore the obligatory grief over losing a good side character. That reveal was a surprise for most viewers, yet is something that still makes sense based on what we previously knew (a lot of “twists” end up retconning past info) and would lead to a very satisfying ending. Pietro, already an old man, passes on knowing he’s given his daughter the best life he can. All this coughing and death flags reach a conclusion by the end of the volume. Penny is saved but from here on out everyone knows she’s mortal. It adds weight to every fight she’s in and removes the probability that she’ll indefinitely live out everyone she’s ever loved. She might have a longer lifespan than most if she keeps herself safe, but she’s not immortal. All around? One of the best things Rooster Teeth has introduced in ages.

We also see Weiss closing in on Jacques’ involvement in the attack. Only a few people have access to Mantle’s security, one of which is directly connected to the Schnee Dust Company...

Finally, god bless, our favorite farm boy gets a scene. An actual, full-fledged scene in which he speaks multiple times.

I could cry. It might be the only significant scene we get with Oscar this Volume, but it’s far more than we’ve had in an age. Hell to the yes. 

Basically, Ironwood shows off the Staff of Creation’s vault and admits that this is what is keeping Atlas afloat, not gravity dust as everyone else assumes. Which is a revelation not nearly as well done as Penny’s. Floating? That’s what this all powerful magical object does? How in the world does that connect to creation? And why bother doing that at all? It’s clear that gravity dust can keep things up---Ironwood said that they’ll have to lift Amity the “old-fashioned way”---so why bother using the relic for that when an “endless power source” could potentially be used to do so much more? Or let’s say dust can’t lift a whole city (even though you’d think someone would have realized that by now if that’s the case, questioned how the hell Atlas stays up there...) why is that so important? Just overall grimm protection? A symbol of status? This reveal seems to raise too many odd questions and, frankly, feels like a clumsy setup for the finale. Meaning, now Atlas is in risk of falling. If someone steals the relic or decides to move things along by lifting Amity with it, the entire city comes tumbling down.

With info out of the way Ironwood admits that he’d hoped coming to this place would spark some memory in Oscar, talking about him as if he is Ozpin, rather than just housing him. He likewise says later that “Eventually you won’t even know who’s who anymore.” Everyone cry over Oscar’s expression.

Jury’s out on whether Ironwood knows this for a fact or whether he’s working under an assumption, like much of the fandom, that Ozpin and Oscar will eventually merge into one new-ish person. After all, from what we saw in Volumes 1-3, Ironwood only ever interacted with Ozpin as one individual, so he has little reason to think there was always another, distinct person hanging out somewhere in his mind. But there could have been. I’ve mentioned in previous metas that if Ozpin and Oscar remain distinct, it makes perfect sense that Ozma would have been the one running things at Beacon, leaving the much younger and inexperienced host to take a backseat during those conversations.

Indeed, I thought for a moment that Oscar would say, “You can talk to him,” finally acknowledging that if someone tries to address Ozpin as his own person he might actually respond. He just says “You can talk to me” though. Which, yes. I also want people to talk to Oscar. It just astounds me that everyone continues to act as if Ozpin is literally out of their reach, rather than potentially a “Hey. I’m sorry. Can we talk?” away. Maybe Ozpin won’t answer, but someone could finally try.

They talk about how horrific it was for Ironwood to watch Beacon fall. We get a wonderfully creepy flashback to Salem’s chess piece, reminding us that she’s not just dangerous, she’s malicious. Salem enjoys watching those around her suffer. “The way she told me she was there.” They likewise discuss whether Salem doesn’t have an advantage without her humanity and Oscar cautions Ironwood that saving the world isn’t worth losing his own. Not to call out my favorite farm boy, but that’s a real easy stance to take when you know Salem is immortal and Ironwood doesn’t. Again, every sacrifice he makes is under the impression that it’s taking him closer and closer to a world without her. To his mind, losing his own humanity might be worth it if it rids the world of her once and for all. Meanwhile, Oscar is working under the impression that defeating Salem won’t ever happen. Why give up your humanity for an impossible dream? They’re coming at this from completely different angles and until everyone has the same info the group’s stance on Ironwood’s choices holds no water. The fandom loves insisting that RWBYJNR couldn’t have made an informed choice about joining the fight until they knew about Salem, despite the fact that they had already agreed to fight an immortal enemy (the grimm), had already risked their lives for the people, and clearly intended to continue doing that in the future. Knowing about Salem had no bearing on the question, “Do you want to help?” because they’d already answered that numerous times. In contrast, this is a situation where Ironwood actually doesn’t have all the information necessary to make an informed decision. You want to judge him for his plans and his willingness to sacrifice it all in the name of defeating Salem? Fine, but you’ve got to stop working with a different set of rules than him first.

Of course, despite being alone in the bottom of a vault, despite introducing Oscar’s (supposed) reservations about keeping secrets earlier in the volume, despite this insight into why Ironwood is making these choices... Oscar doesn’t tell Ironwood either. So much for the, “Oscar will spill the beans to Ironwood” theory. It could still happen, but like so much else in this episode by then it’ll be too late. The moment passed.

Instead of any progress in that regard they just head upstairs where Winter and Penny are waiting with a letter from Jacques. He’s invited them to dinner where Ironwood will defend his position on the council. Looks like Oscar’s advice to “talk to the people you’re most afraid to” came at them like a battering ram.

And that’s it for this week. What have we got left? Six episodes? Far too few to cover everything the story needs to. I’m gearing up for a bumpy ride this holiday season.

Until then, folks!

Minor Things of Note

The robot patting Penny’s head? Wonderful. Stellar. Absolutely fantastic detail. The idea that the Atlas facilities are populated with semi-conscious AIs and that they care enough about Penny to offer her support is just precious.

I like many of the shots we got this episode. Penny looking like she’s behind bars and Ironwood shrouded in a mist-like window are two that stood out.

#rwby #rwby volume 7 #rwby volume 7 spoilers #rwby recaps #mymetas

[phantomphangphucker]

Legless On Maim Chap. 4: The Government Is Firmly Not Doctor Prescribed

For Ectober Day 9: Rain. 

Danny is annoyed but not surprised, Lewis is impressed but not surprised, Valerie is just surprised; but everyone’s a little confused.

Lewis pushes open Danny’s door around seven a.m., two coffees hugged to his chest and bags slung over his shoulder. He’s pretty sure Danny has a bit of a caffeine addiction. Putting one cup on the table before pausing and looking down, there was a pair of legs in red boots laying on the ground. The first place his mind goes is ‘goddamnit Vee, don’t leave out corpses’, but this is Danny. So that is definitely not a dead body, or part of one.

Depositing the bags to the side before walking around the bed to see who they’re attached to, seeing someone -clearly a girl- in a full-body metal ninja suit. Kicking at her feet, because really? Who? Why? Only for her to jerk awake, take one look at him and jump out the window.

Lewis blinks for a second before walking over to the window and watching whoever fly off on a hover-board? Shaking his head and looking at Danny, was he friendly with another hero type? Lewis tilts his head, well actually, he had seen her in a few videos...usually shooting at ghosts, including Phantom. So was she actually here on friendly terms or did Danny just knock her out....and then fall asleep himself. Which even Eddie isn’t enough of a reckless trash-fire to do.

Deciding not to wake up Danny near his hands, he’d rather not make his bruising worse or bruise the other wrist, he pokes at the tail through the sheets. Only for Danny to effectively ensure Lewis is very awake by his tail wrapping around Lewis’s torso and slamming him into the bed; which is honestly more painful than expected from a somewhat soft bed.

Danny growls for a beat before recognising Lewis’s scent and letting go of the guy, chuckling awkwardly, “sorry ‘bout that”. Watching as Lewis straightens his doctors' coat before waving Danny off, “at least you didn’t break a cast this time. Though I absolutely did wake you up near your tail to avoid getting attacked”.

Danny chuckles, “waking me up without me being full attack mode is a pointless task. At least half my fights start with me being awoken suddenly”, grumbling, “really does a number to my sleep schedule”.

Lewis chuckles, “ghosts and criminals, things of the night”, before pointing at the floor where the girl had been, “now, why was there an unconscious ghost hunter in red on the floor? I’m only guessing she’s a hunter because every video with her has her chasing ghosts”, pointing at Danny, “including you”.

Danny glances at the window, part of it still laying on the ground, before shaking his head, “she came and said hi, we’re friendly. Everyone calls her the Red Huntress”.

Lewis snorts and shakes his head, she sure didn’t seem friendly from what he’s seen, “by that you mean friendly to Danny Fenton, right?”.

Danny smirks slightly, he was working on getting her friendly to both sides of him but it was more than a work in progress, “yeah. Destroying Phantom is one of her life goals and videos?”, smirking and raising an eyebrow, “you been looking me up doc?”.

Lewis shrugs but points to Danny’s coffee, Danny smiling with ever so slight surprise and sipping at it while Lewis speaks, “I’m a curious man and you did tell me who you are. Though that may have only given me more questions”.

“Oh?”.

Lewis nods and downs the rest of his coffee before it gets too cold, that may likely not bother Danny but Lewis prefers reasonably well-temperatured drinks, “from what I looked at, Phantom and Fenton act wildly different. Yet neither seem like the you I’ve seen since you’ve been here. And you did say your Phantom form was just an inversion of how you looked upon death, so what’s with the symbol? Obviously you made the Phantom name after dying, yet the symbol obviously means Danny Phantom”.

Danny snorts and stretches out his tail some, wiggling the rest of his body a little as well, “can’t act the same in both forms, that’s suspicious, and you’re not from Amity. You don’t really know of me. So no point playing up the weakling or the hero around you”, chuckling and tracing a little DP over his chest with his tail tip, “there’s a wild story there. Inadvertently un-half died so had to half off myself again. Added the symbol to my original suit in black beforehand”, sighing happily, “re-half dying was worth the style points”.

Lewis scrunches up his eyebrows, “so you’ve died half-way twice? That seems highly illogical. And it sounds like you had the choice not to, yet did it anyway full well knowing what you’d become?”. At least that’s one way to eliminate the debate of whether or not he had a choice being the way he was.

Danny smiles and nods eagerly, “of course, I wouldn’t have me any other way. I’d do it again, as many times as needed, to stay Phantom. And I also made myself technically never get born once, fixed that obviously”, shaking his head, “mom almost dissected me that day. One of four times I’ve been strapped or chain down to some instrument of torture”.

Lewis shakes his head, deciding to not touch how someone could make themselves not exist while still being in existence enough to correct that, that’s a paradox if he’s ever heard one. “Strapped to torture instruments is a bit commonplace for Eddie and that was before even becoming Venom. Since then I think they’re at two. And both Eddie and Vee would say the same about being Venom. They could have stayed separate, honestly glad they didn’t. I don’t think anyone else could support Vee and Eddie would just implode on his own”.

Danny chuckles, he damn well hopes most people couldn’t even tolerate supporting Vee’s ‘diet’, “I’d implode too. One thing I’ve learned and know well. Be something or someone long enough and you can’t go back. Even if your body or life does. My ghostly instincts and Obsession are just part of me at this point”.

Lewis dips his head at Danny, made sense. Eddie is probably too used to Vee healing him and being functionally indestructible, that he would probably accidentally kill himself. “Humans are adaptable things. But reverting is like breaking a habit, most will fail miserably”, tilting his head and remembering another question, “and nether you nor Eddie are truly human fully. That’s a much bigger change. There’s no special fancy name for what’s Eddie is, he just gets called a host. But, if I remember correctly, you mentioned a word I haven’t heard before, ‘halfa’? Is that what you are?”.  

Danny blushes slightly, stupid tongue, “heh, that’s the word. Half creature, hybrid, half-ghost, half-breed, half-formed. If someone’s really a dick, bastardisation”.

Lewis frowns at the last one, because that’s the appropriate reaction. The term was rather accurate but probably not appreciated, “that’s a lot of ways to say half something, half something else. Most seem a bit insulting”.

Danny snorts as Lewis gets up to throw out the two empty cups, “the whole alive and dead thing is a bit of a spit in the face to both and existence in general. So it makes sense”, pointing at Lewis, “your friends are natural technically. Humans playing host to other organisms is commonplace and Symbiotes, from what you’ve said, naturally have hosts. So hosting a Symbiote is natural really. But halfas? Nothing natural about that. It’s like a major glitch in the universe. Something abominable. Don’t really bother me though”.

“That’s good?”, well at least he didn’t seem to mind, positives. Shrugging slightly and setting bandaging to the side, “well Vee’s rather viewed a bit like that for being not evil. But that’s not the same of course”, picking up a garbage can and smiling cheerily, “now I was thinking we ought to get those casts off. Would make people think you’re doing better and let you move around some”, shrugging at Danny’s smile, “course you’ll still be bandaged up, no way you shouldn’t be, and-”, lifting up a larger bag, “-you’re wearing braces”.

Danny groans exaggeratedly at seeing the guy pull out two long ones with hinges -obviously for his arms-, two for his wrist and fingers -but hey! At least it looks like he’ll actually be able to move his fingers, not bend them though-, and what looks like a bulletproof vest with lots of straps and ribbing. Great. Least the bandaging mostly looks like ace wrapping, which he uses for nastier wounds or breaks here and there. So that’s familiar enough. But...Danny smirks slightly, “so I can just get out of the casts now?”.

Lewis nods and makes a point of not jerking from Danny just sitting up and throwing his arms out. Basically breaking apart all of the castings and hitting Lewis with a few pieces. Danny chuckles, “I make no apologies”.

Lewis shrugs, “well, I did take your legs”.

“And you didn’t even give me proper payment! Those were fantastic rare samples of a unique species I’ll have you know”, Danny waves a finger at him before stretching out in genuine, eyeballing the door all the while.

Lewis just motions for Danny’s arm and starts wrapping it up. Danny raising an eyebrow, “are you wrapping everything?”.

Lewis, securing it, “everything should, normally and logically, still be casted. You’re already getting a good deal here”. Danny huffs but lets Lewis do his job.

Lewis would admit, if asked, that he is absolutely marvelling over Danny’s healing. He was in perfect condition and just like the work Vee can do, it’s always incredible to see healing like this. Though he is definitely getting some strange side-eyeing from Danny as he inspects Danny’s bodies work.

Danny, meanwhile, thinks it’s probably for the best that Lewis doesn’t usually deal with conscious non-drugged patients. He could see Skulker going over his pelt like this, like an appraiser looking over a sought after collection, a hunter grazing their fingers over their favourite trophy prize, a cat eyeballing the best meal they’ve had in weeks. Lewis is again, really really weird, “dude, if you try to steal my body for display or something, we are going to have issues. One fucker doing that is enough, thank you very much”.

Lewis glances at Danny as he’s snapping on the second arm brace, “your body does good work. I like admiring good work, preferably my own but still. And who wants to display you? That sounds more than a little worrying”.

Danny chuckles, “I’m practically a one of a kind creature Lewis, my pelt is the trophy prize of trophy prizes. Skulker, a collector and poacher, is more than just a little fixated on me”, shaking his head and grunting a little from the finger braces, definitely not comfortable, “he has a display section specifically assigned for me and is pretty much my personal stalker at this point. Makes good pie though”.

Lewis shakes his head, “your life is complicated”, and motions for Danny to sit on the edge of the bed so he can put on the torso brace; Danny’s tail swishing around some.

Danny spreads his fingers repeatedly and bends them as much as he can at the first knuckles, which isn’t much, as Lewis moves around the back to finish securing the last brace; which he’s sure is pretty similar to the feel of an actual bulletproof vest. “You’ve got no idea. And there’s schooling on top of it, which my sister’s probably going to be bringing by today, so heads up for that”.

Lewis nods curtly, “noted”, and steps back to assess and admire. Readjusting a few things to look better. Symmetry matters.

Danny, deciding to mess with the guy a little for being a bit creepy, promptly transforms under the braces, also changing them like he did to the battle suit he used to fight Pariah. Hand and wrist braces turning white, the rest all black with his insignia over the chest of the torso brace. Green circles at every joint and white lines tracing the edges, black lines for his wrists and hands.

Lewis blinks and coughs, firmly startled and a bit confused while Danny’s looking over the design with a small smirk. Hearing him mutter, “not half bad actually”. Lewis shakes his head some and inspects one of the arm braces, “how and why?”.

Danny shrugs and transforms over the braces, making them seemingly disappear. Which Lewis gives him a seriously unimpressed and slightly insulted look for. Danny chuckles as he changes back human, braces reappearing completely normal. Lewis shaking his head and tapping on the arm brace, “you just altered -absorbed?- and recreated mass. Mass that wasn’t even your own”.

“I'm an impossible thing. Logic need not apply. When I’m all ghost, my organs and bones are optional. I can literally be just a bunch of floating vaguely person-shaped ectoplasm. Don’t ask me where my clothing and what not goes when I transform”, shrugging, “running theory, my ectoplasmic flesh just coats everything and absorbs or alters it”.

Lewis tilts his head, he didn’t exactly know what happened to Eddie's body or anything really either. Sometimes Venom could peel back to show Eddie’s face or body being right there, the next you could be staring down a throat that clearly wasn’t attached to a human. Illogical. Pointing at Danny, “you know, that’s pretty similar to running theory on what Vee does. Symbiotic flesh seeps out of Eddies pours and coats him. Sometimes absorbing him sometimes not, very illogical indeed. Vee also pretends to be Eddie’s clothing by doing that sometimes. Makes a very convincing leather jacket”, shaking his head with a slight smile, “just one that might bite you”.

Danny chuckles and stretches out again, trying to get a feel for these things, “Tuck once made a joke that my transformation rings eat my human stuff and clothing, then vomit it back out when I change back”, before letting Lewis re-securing and check over all the tubes and wiring attached to him.

Lewis checks his watch and laughs, with the way the Venom transformation happens it did look a lot like Vee eating Eddie’s face. While Danny floats off the bed and swirls around the room a little. Floating to look over Lewis’s shoulder, “let me guess, you’ve got more actual work to do today?”.

Lewis nods, probably oddly unfazed by the floating teen, “indeed, cutting it close already. Mostly just phone calls, paperwork and dealing with the underlings”, patting Danny’s shoulder, “at least attempt to stay in bed mostly, other people do show up here you know”.

Danny waves him off, “pfft I’ve vacuumed my house in ghost form before. Really is the easiest way to vacuum the walls”.

Lewis pauses at the door and looks back at him slightly, “who vacuums their walls?”.

“Fenton’s”.

Danny floats around the room, checking out random things, though being careful to not pull off any of the monitoring crap stuck to him. Don’t want to go giving Lewis a heart attack or something. Eventually running out of that to do, so he tests out the range of motion on every single section of the braces. Which, hint, was not very much.

Around noon he’s pretty much just laying in bed fiddling with his fingers and waiting for lunch, when Val/Red comes in through the window a bit aggressively and does a roll across the ground.

Danny blinks, “uh hey, again”, as she springs up and deactivates her helmet. Danny instantly frowning and sitting up at her looking slightly disheveled and worried. “What is it?”.

Valerie glances out the window at the vehicles, “didn’t want those guys seeing me and wondering why the Red Huntress was here”, looking back to Danny, “out of casts I see. It looks...way less serious”.

Danny smirks, “yeah”, moving his arm around and bending his fingers as much as he can, “still annoying though. Kinda feel like I’m in a battle suit myself though”.

Both of them look out the window as it starts raining, Valerie smiling, “do I ever have good timing”.

Danny squints, something seemed kind of...off, “yeah......”, tilting his head at Val, “what guys? My folks are here too?”.

Valerie sighs and shakes her head, slightly annoyed and not really sure nor caring why they were here, “no, it’s those idiotic G.I.W. their cars stick out li-”.

Danny promptly cuts her off, hiding his panic for now, “what? Are, um, sure they’re here?”, Danny looks at the stuff hocked up to him, figuring out what order to get rid of or deactivate them while alerting the staff as late as possible.  

Valerie squints at him, a little confused, the G.I.W. were just confusing and annoying that’s it, “yeah, they always wear those super clean white suits and the pompous sunglasses”.

“Ah fuck”, Danny prompt floats off the bed and to the window, looking out and indeed seeing their damn vehicles, one that is definitely a heavy-duty ecto-entity transportation vehicle, “fuck me”, squinting more at the rain, it was a really bright blue. Intense colours and him altering colour palettes was normal in Amity, but here? Was he already ecto-contaminating this place that much?

Now Valerie is both confused and a little worried, not to mention startled by Danny just...floating. Watching the tail vibrate like static, clearly upset or freaked out. She’s just going to assume Danny’s tried this floating thing already or it comes naturally with the tail, “what is it? I know they’re annoying but I highly doubt they’d be visiting some kid. Even if you’re a Fenton”.

Danny glances at her before zipping over to all the devices hooked up to him, fiddling with them as he responds, “you see the big van? Like an armoured truck? They are absolutely here for me. And if they find me, they’ll shove me in that and take me to who knows where for lots of painful experiments”.

Valerie blinks, judging by how focused and panicked he seemed -not to mention how he was deactivating machines, tearing sensors off, and cutting through any tubes that were more impeded in him- he was serious about this. But why?, “that doesn’t make sense Danny. Why would they do that? You’re a human kid”.

Danny looks at her a little stunned that it wasn’t obvious before zipping back to the window, he couldn’t go out this way, he’d be spotted and he’d rather not start showing off his powers to Val. Floating around was probably already pushing it. Plus, hospitals had tons of exits. “I’m a human kid with a ghostly tail and ectoplasm in my blood. The hospital took samples from me when I arrived, they would have access to that. My folks' samples they don’t”, turning to her as he floats against his door and listens, whispering to her as she walks over quietly, looking a bit more serious now, “they’ve come after me before, I tricked them so they dropped it. Can’t do that again cause the device I used was destroyed”, Danny doesn’t even have to ask if she’s helping him get out of here, partly because it would be easier if she didn’t partly because he knows she’s going to help even if he asked her not to, as he expertly gets the lock open and sticks his head out.

Valerie grabs him and yanks his head back in, whispering, “what do you think you’re doing?”, gesturing at his tail, “if they’re after you then that getting spotted is the worst thing you could do”.

Even if people did spot his tail, people can write a quick glimpse off as a trick of the eye, “I can’t stay here”.

Valerie dashes back to Danny’s hospital bed, it still hurt that he even had one, and yanks off the top sheet. Tossing it at Danny and whispering, “then hide it, I’ll carry you. You know damn well I can be sneaky”. The fact that he doesn’t even complain about that, instead just lays on the ground and coils the tail up tightly, tying the sheet around it and his waist; really makes it clear he’s very serious about this.

She picks him up, firmly pushing off her mild freak out overdoing that and how light he is, while he throws an arm around her shoulder and neck. Promptly sticking her head out the door and booking it towards an empty hallway.

Danny makes a damn point to pay attention to his senses, smelling for people or where he can smell more fresh air -likely closer to an exit- as Val runs impressively quietly. Of course, him getting carried is damn embarrassing and the jostling isn’t pleasant, if he was actually still injured this would probably hurt like Hell. “Left.....Right......Right....”, pointing at one of the bridges, “over that, exit”.

Valerie huffs and makes a point to walk more casually, even if they get some weird looks no one really thinks much of it, “Danny, you memorised, the building? Just how, cautious are you?”.

Danny just grunts as they get across, looking over the railing to see Lewis talking to two clearly annoyed G.I.W. agents, “as much as needed”.

Valerie follows his line of sight just before she starts manoeuvring to a stairwell, seeing three agents talking to Danny’s weird -seriously who says stuff like that?- doctor, “fuck, you’re right”. Then muttering as she starts down the stairs, “I’m not hurting you am I?”.

Danny grunts as she gets open the door to outside, logically he should be in pain but that would make her feel bad, “I’m fine, let’s just go”.

Valerie plops Danny on the ground, activates her helmet only, and sticks her head out into the pouring rain, looking around for a clear coast.

Danny looks at the rain and his bandaging, chuckling, “Lewis is gonna be pissed”. Untying the sheet, because honestly the goal was to be totally unseen now, thank you rain for the poor visibility in that regard. Floating over near her though not sticking his head into the rain, and muttering, “don’t give me shit for not being carried anymore. I’d rather be able to zip off if I have to”.

Valerie side-eyes him but nods, it made sense, she might have to play distraction or something. Plus, the rain made it incredibly darker. At least it will likely be a while before anyone comes out here to look for them so they’ve got time to wait for a good while.

Lewis was walking to the front desk to check over somethings and make a couple drop-offs, when he spotted the three white-suited men. Making a point to not stare or looking at them, or chuckle for that matter, they looked like nock off Men In Black agents. Guys In White, Hell that was a complete rip off actually.

Ignoring them as one agent asks the receptionist, “Agent S, government agent. We need to see some patient files-”.

“I’m sorry sir, if you’re not family or the patient we can’t release that kind of information”.

Lewis nearly chokes and laughs at the Agents response, “we do your taxes. All the ones for the people who were brought in from the car crash in Amity Park, files now”.

The receptionist gives them a disbelieving look and takes her sweet time looking over the guys' badge, “sorry sir, I still can not release that information to you”.

“Where are their rooms located?”.

The receptionist, who’s obviously mistrustful of them now. Lewis almost thinks she should get a raise for putting up with this, as she responds, “many are in special intensive care or discharged. Those still here are not allowed unapproved visitors-”.

“Where are their rooms, we will come in with a warrant”.

She completely ignores their comment, “-All approvals are being handled by their respective doctors. If you wish to see any of them you will need approval”.

One of the other Agents steps up, “who are the doctors”, that’s supposed to be a question but it sounds like a demand.

Lewis, deciding to catch them off guard a little, “I am one”.

The receptionist functionally exits the conversation at this point and goes back to her work. Not wanting to deal with these blowhards or Dr. Lewis. Taking the finished paperwork from the strange surgeon. She was more than happy to hear he would be going away for a while to help look after his patient, whose parents he was apparently friends with. How they could tolerate him was a bit of a mystery but from the little interaction she’s had with them, they were weird too. Possibly more weird.

The one identified as Agent S steps towards Lewis, “how many patients”.

“That information is private”.

All three agents flash their badges, “not from the government it’s not”.

Lewis makes a damn point of inspecting the badges, which are real annoyingly enough. Still doesn’t matter, “you need a warrant then”.

One of the agents types away and not even a second or two later the receptionist is handing Lewis a warrant. Lewis nods at it, these guys were fast, why couldn’t the guys who actually do his taxes be like that? Clearing his throat, “I don’t have many in my care at the moment, as I usually handle surgeries. I’m not sure how helpful that will be to you”, waiting for a beat while they stare before continuing, “as it stands, I’m looking after three. Only two from the crash”.

The three nod, before agent S speaks, “file and room location for both”.

“Why?”.

“We are with the government”.

Looking over the warrant quickly, nothing about files or rooms, “not good enough. Friends and family only”. Lewis has a feeling that these guys are used to throwing their positions and titles around.

One of the other agents steps forward, “then we want to see your superior”.

Lewis smirks, he loved doing this, “I am the superior”.

The agent squints at his name tag and snaps, “the hospital head then”.

Lewis restrains a chuckle, that was going to get them nowhere fast. Giving them her number anyway and fetching a coffee while he waits. Hiding his smirk with the rim of the cup at the clearly frustrated agents. No way Ms. Leevy would go against Lewis’s decision over visitation of all things, especially for a special case patient or one very wealthy woman, both of whom Lewis himself worked on. He was strange and disliked but everyone knew he was damn good. It was a rare day in Hell when he was actually questioned. It had probably been years since he had been actually.

Frowning ever so slightly as the Agent clearly makes another call, likely his own government superiors. Lewis stands up as Agent S comes back over, “take us to their rooms and provide their documentation now”.

Lewis doesn’t get a chance to respond as the receptionist calls him over and hands him faxed in documents, looking a little frazzled. These guys actually got warrants, just like that once again. Danny was right to be cautious of them, but this functionally ties Lewis’s hands. And considering these guys will shoot rockets at teenagers, he’s got no doubt they’ll storm the building if he refuses at this point. That would put everyone in the hospital at risk and likely wouldn’t do much in the way of stalling.

Making a damn point of using the slowest, most annoying, and glitchy computer they have, Lewis goes about opening up Lilly’s file. Taking the long way instead of using his personal code to bypass things. But blinking when he finds the file, it was severely corrupted. Most of the files were practically unusable, even the descriptions and names were hardly intact.

Agent S snapping, “what’s wrong, why does it look like that. Unencrypt it”.

This gets the receptionist's attention again as she looks over and squints, muttering, “that’s not encryption. What in the world?”.

Lewis shakes his head, confused and a little stumped. Moving over to what he knows is Danny’s file to find it looks the same. It’s like a virus came in and took bites out of it. One file even crashes the computer when he tries to open it. The screen showing a little spinning PDA for a second before turning off completely. Danny’s friends were officially a little terrifying. What kind of hacking or programming did Tucker even use to do something like this? The kid better well have a back up of Lily’s file, Lewis kind of needs that.

Lewis shakes his head at the screen and stands, turning to the receptionist, “have the IT guys look into that”, before turning to the Agents, “warrant or no, you’re out of luck. Flies are damaged”.

Agent S snapping with clear distaste and ego, “rooms then. I’m sure your hospital isn’t so horrible that the rooms can get corrupted or doctors forget their patients' rooms”. Clearly these government dogs were pricks.

Lewis holds up his finger as his pager goes off, no one should be paging him at this point so something was clearly going wrong or there was an emergency. Checking it to see that it was a vitals alarm from Danny’s room. Seriously hoping that’s because the kid disconnected stuff, not actually having an emergency. Good thing Lewis messed with the alarms from Danny’s room. The nurses would simply be notified that Danny had been transferred rooms and to clean up the room. So to give the nurses time to do their jobs, Lewis takes the slightly longer route to Lily’s room and isn’t surprised at all when they aren’t too interested in Lily. He’s even less surprised Danny’s gone and the room is clean.

Looking at the agents and, restraining a smirk, says, “oh no, guess they’ve been misplaced”. The agents are unimpressed.

Meanwhile, Valerie and Danny smile at the backlot clearing out, hadn’t taken even remotely long. Valerie suiting up fully to stay dry and blend in a bit better. Plus her board would be quieter than running through puddles. Looking back to Danny, who’s sitting on the ground, tail wrapped under his torso. The less floating he does the better, he doesn’t want to seem too used to this. Valerie asking, “you good just riding piggyback on my board? I’m fast and I think I can steer better than you can use the tail”.

Danny nods as she activates her board, holding gently around her neck; letting his tail just float about in case he has to run/fly off. Nodding again as she asks, “good to go?”. Before shooting off.

However, Danny near-instantly stiffens, yelps, and yanks his tail to curl in between the rest of his body and Val. Wincing and shaking slightly from every raindrop. This was not normal rain. hissing out, “go back, fuck, ow. Fuck”.

If Valerie hadn’t been concerned by the comment she would be by the fact that she can’t fell Danny’s tail moving at all and it seems like his muscles are shaking and spasming. So she promptly flies back. Pretty much having to peel Danny’s stiff and definitely seized up arms from around her neck. Grabbing the sheet they left behind and patting off the rain a bit frantically, which she’s now noticing looks way too brightly coloured.

Danny groans, this shit fucking hurts. Goddamn G.I.W. twats. They probably were spraying this crap or some shit. Jerkily pushing himself to sit up against Val/Red’s leg after he gets some control of his muscles back, he can feel that stuff burned his skin too. Looking down at his, smaller than it should be, tail and finally noticing the lack of movement. Trying to float or bend it and utterly failing. This was not good. Leaning forward and scooping his hand underneath it, lifting it only for it to behave like a limp soggy noodle. Letting go of it for it to just flop to the ground. Looking up at Val/Red, who’s frowning, Danny clears his throat probably sounding a little shocky, “heh, l-let’s hope this isn’t...permanent”.

Valerie nods jerkily, having a ghostly tail was weird enough, losing legs was horrible enough, not being able to use what he does have would be downright cruel. Moving and helping Danny to stiffly lay on the ground. Deactivating her suit and looking at her dry clothing and skin, she couldn’t just give him her suit, it was part of her body. But if they could put something else over him....pointing at him, “just wait here”, before booking it back into the building.

Danny’s hoping she’s got some kind of idea, because he’s a sitting duck here and he can’t even doing anything about that really. Dragging himself over to a wall and flopping onto his side, groaning a bit and trying to ignore the spasms. Grabbing his tail and pulling it up to his face so he can inspect it. It taking a few tries because of wet braces and the super malleable composition of ectoplasm that’s only barely holding the form of a ghostly tail. But he manages and it was ragged instead of smooth and little holes in spots. Danny could also tell his bodies ectoplasm had been pretty heavily depleted. Which is starting to make him a fair bit tired, not to mention weak. Which only serves to annoy him and make him more paranoid.

And what if his tail couldn’t recover from this? Zone knows what’s in that ‘rain’. What if he won’t be able to fly or float anymore? That would, that would be awful. He’d rather his legs not grow back at all, ever, than not fly again. Pushing down his rising panic as Val comes back with rubber aprons.

Valerie’s pretty well positive he’s either going into shock or something worse with how wide-eyed he looks, not to mention the shaking. Quickly wrapping him in the aprons and making a damn point to make sure all of him is covered, especially the tail. Looking kind of like a Danny burrito at the end, trying to make this seem less shitty, she chuckles slightly, “you look silly”.

Danny looks at her speaking a bit awkwardly, “prick”, before jerking and wincing in pain, feeling his Core do the closest thing it can to seizing up. This felt an awful lot like the Plasmius Maximus. Which, for once, was actually encouraging. That wore off after a while.

Valerie grabbing his shoulders, more than a little worried, “Danny. Are you okay?”.

Danny grunts, “not really. My ectoplasm’s basically seizing up now”, nodding his head stiffly at her, “suit up, we still need to get out of here”.

Valerie frowns but does as she’s asked, “Danny, I didn’t even know you had ectoplasm in you before. How bad is that?”.

Danny chuckles a little hollowly, “everyone in Amity does”.

She looks to where she knows his tail is a bit judgingly as she lays him over the nose of her board, “not enough to set off detectors or form ghost tails, Danny. You even said you have a lot in you even before now, more than everyone else”, patting his back and grabbing on to him, “you good to try again?”.

Danny nods as she creeps out, “I’m fine, go. And yeah I guess I did. Something similar to this has happened before, minus the burning-”.

Valerie cuts in as she crouches and speeds off, making sure to keep a good grip on Danny, “burning!?!”.

Danny grunts, “yeah, felt like someone was dripping acid on me-”.

Cutting in again, “how did you not scream from that?”.

“High pain tolerance. My house is an accidental death waiting to happen. Anyway, if this works like the other thing did, I’ll be fine in time”, Danny’s pretty well clinging to that idea and freaking out would not be helpful at all right now. He doesn’t have time for a freakout.

Valerie ducks behind some cars, grumbling, “well you still should get treatment from your folks or the....doctor guy, for it. Can they even treat your, er, ectoplasm? What if it doesn’t get better at all”.

Danny grumbles as she has to backtrack again, there were more agents showing up, “yes but my ‘plasm’s usually just left alone to do its thing. And I don’t really know. My tail would probably fade away, other than that. I really don’t know”, he could make a few guesses, but not only does he not want to voice them but she’ll ask some questions. Because really, there was only three options. He’d die fully, he’d come fully back to life, or he just wouldn’t be able to use his ghost stuff and side anymore. All of them are fucking horrible and he is firmly not thinking about that. Instead grimacing at what’s functionally crowds in every direction. Some with agents some not. Grumbling, “damnit, can I use your com by chance? Make phone calls?”.

Valerie’s got no clue what he’s up to but she’s got nothing, so she puts a spare pair of her suits headphones into his ears and shoves a little remote into his hand. Muting the call on her helmet for privacy, “here, I’m not listening. Do whatever plan you have”.

Danny smiles and calls Tuck, speaking as soon as he picks up, “don’t ask, where you at?”.

“We’re both in Amity dude, what’s happening?”.

“Seeing a marching band“, their code for the G.I.W. are here, “little red bird’s joined the black parade”, meaning the Red Huntress is helping Danny, “patch me to doc man. Because you fuckers are a long way off. Got a probable fake-out make-out in mind“, mentally groaning over their phrase for saving Danny ass through trickery, “and can’t use little red bird, marching band’s got eyes”. It was way too easy for them to get spotted if Val/Red just flies off and he’s not about to risk her secret like that. Besides, the G.I.W. are stupid but not that stupid.

“Noticed, hacked and cracked. Hold your knickers.....and done. Connecting. Don’t ghost us”, with that Danny hangs up so he can talk with Lewis and probably so Tuck can watch what the G.I.W. are doing. Least it sounds like he deleted Danny’s file or something similar.

Seconds later Lewis picks up, sounding a bit incredulous, “hello?”.

“What’s up doc? You got a car right?”.

“Yes. It’s in the west bay lot. I have a lot of questions. I’m in the bathroom holding my pager, which firmly can not take calls, to my ear. How?”.

Danny chuckles and looks up at Val/Red, “not speaking to you right now. Hey driver, we need the west bay lot”, leaning his face back down so no rain can possibly get on it as she flies off cautiously and clearly a bit confused. “I’m back doc. Don’t question the powers of the very geek. Just meet us by your shit and grab the shit I came in with. All of it. Even scraps”.

Danny can practically hear Lewis’s smirk, “that’s easy. Confiscated it days ago. See you soon”. Danny smirks as he hangs up.

Danny chuckles slightly, body feeling a ton better but ectoplasm still not usable, “we’re good to go. You’re basically dropping me off with Lewis. No one will think something weird of a doctor going out for late lunch or early supper”.

Valerie shakes her head, “I didn’t even understand half of what you said. But you got lucky with your doctor”.

Danny simply smiles as they near the parking lot. Danny spotting some well-dressed guy walking with a large briefcase. As they get closer and Danny squints, it’s clearly Lewis. “Dude walking with a briefcase. Looks weird without his doctor coat”.

Valerie’s just assuming Danny knew whereabouts his doctor would be, since she can barely see the person.

Lewis spots the Red Huntress -how does that board of hers work?- and promptly unlocks his car, signalling for the back doors to open. Managing to get to the car just after the girl dumps what looks like a rubber black garbage bag in the back seat. The girl pointing at Lewis and speaking with an oddly deep voice, “I don’t care what he says, give him medical attention when safe”, then promptly flies off out of sight.

Lewis hops in the car, tosses his briefcase onto the floor in the back, and starts the car as he closes the door. Turning around and speaking as he uses the back window to reverse instead of his camera so that he can see that Danny’s indeed here, wrapped in rubber? And not in a way Vee would like Eddie to be. Shaking his head to clear that image and speaking, “I have even more questions. Guess we’re heading to Amity a little early huh?”, and then fucking drives off.

Danny chuckles and unwraps the aprons as quickly as he can with his stiffness and without getting any of the ‘rain’ on himself. Pushing himself to sit up and stuffing the aprons under the seat. “I bet you do. But no, should probably hold off on going to Amity. You’ll be followed and it’d be suspicious if you do that before you’re scheduled to be off work. You’re just taking a late lunch is all”.

Lewis stares at him through the review mirror, Danny just left needles stuck into his skin and let himself be tossed around, “take out the needles. Seriously. And I am not just letting you run off and I definitely can’t take you out for food in public. Leaving you in here all day would be more risky than you just hiding in a hospital closet”, watching the road though squinting, Danny’s tail was strangely still, “what’s going on with your tail?”.

Danny huffs a little and yanks out the couple things still hooked into him, before grabbing the brief case and digging through his clothing pockets, “the rain’s not rain doc. It’s an anti-ecto solution. My ectoplasm is functionally paralysed right now. It burned the Zone out of me too. So yes, I need to be rewrapped for burn-ah! Yes!”, lifting up his little keychain thermos and poking the uncram button, making it return to a full-sized thermos.

Lewis isn’t sure if he’s unimpressed at his work getting ruined again or impressed that it happened so quickly. “I can’t keep bandaging on you for even a day, can I? And how is a thermos useful? And was it shrunken before?”.

Danny shakes the thermos with a smirk, “this is the most useful thing I have. And yes, folks built a shrink gun like a year ago. Built and repurposed parts from it to build into one of my thermoses. That way I can have a thermos keychain and never be without one”.

Lewis furrows his brows, just how many logic-defying things had his old friends made? “The laws of the universe don’t apply to Fenton’s, in general, do they? And that doesn’t answer how the thermos is useful”.

Danny actually laughs at that, though suppressing a wince for rattling his paralysed Core, as he checks to make sure the thermos is actually empty, “pretty much. It’ll seem less weird after dad accidentally sucks the house into an alternate dimension a few times. Dream catchers that spit people in half and heavily weaponised jumpsuits, yes those suits they wear are weaponised, seem a lot less odd comparatively”, Danny’s firmly enjoying Lewis’s slightly confused expression, and confusing the guy is a welcome distraction. Smirking slightly, he opens the thermos at the car roof, the beam shooting out but of course doing nothing as he puts the cap back on.

Lewis nearly jerks the wheel, not expecting Danny to start shooting his car, deadpanning, “why did you shoot my car? What does that do? And just how weaponised”.  

Danny puts it to the side and sorts through the briefcase more for a pair of Fenton Phones, “you got a screwdriver kit? And it’s a capture device. I don’t just beat ghosts up till they leave. I catch ‘em...in a thermos”.

Lewis digs around in his dash compartment and hands back a kit, whose taken to laying across the seats, “well you are not going to be catching any ghosts. So what are you using it for”. Glancing in the mirror to see Danny tearing apart one of what looks like a green wireless earbud with a mic that’s sitting on his stomach, “and those?”.

Danny holds up the intact one, “Fenton Phones. Name says it all, gimme your pager”, explaining more as Lewis just does it and starting to take that apart too, “I'm fusing the communication bits of the one Fenton Phone into your pager. That way we can communicate”.

“I have a phone you know. And those pagers cost money”.

Danny rolls his eyes, “phones can be tapped. Fenton Phones can’t be. They also can’t be traced”, looking at Lewis’s face through the review mirror, “you could just wear it but that would be noticeable. Or do you want me to take apart your phone”.

Lewis, recognising when he should just go along with whatever a weird friend wants, promptly nods, “you can have the pager”, like how you just don’t try to share food with Vee, best let them have the whole plate, or bowl. Clearing his throat, “but I’m still not letting you run off or stay in the car. Since you won’t go to Amity then what?”.

Danny lifts up the thermos and shakes it, before finishing up the pager and testing it. Smiling with a nod and handing the pager back, “I’m hiding in the thermos. So technically, I am catching a ghost, me. Then you just jab the cram button and hide it where ever. Could even shove it and thusly me, in you wallet”.

Lewis gives Danny seriously dubious eyebrows through the review mirror, “you can fit in that?”.

“It’s a Hell of a lot comfier than the vacuum. And dad accidentally crammed -shrunk- me once before so that’s safe too”. Danny leans forward and uses his elbows two perch himself up on the centre console, tail just flopping unceremoniously on the ground as he holds up the thermos and starts pointing at buttons, “cram, uncram, capture, and this last one’s release. You’ll have to uncram the thermos and then use the release button to let me out”.

Lewis is genuinely considering labelling this as the weirdest day he’s ever had. And it’s just over half over, “so you want me to just, carry you around in a tiny thermos for hours on end? So you can avoid the government officials crawling all over my hospital?”.

Danny nods a bit erratically, “yes, exactly. You could leave me in the car or your locker, if you have one of those. Sure I’ll be a little cranky and sore, it’s not the Taj Mahal in there. But it’s safe and they won’t be able to detect me with scanners”.

“They have scanners for you? Seriously?”.

Danny rolls his eyes, “no, all ghosts. So do my folks. I set that stuff off if they’re sensitive enough regardless of form. I set them off even easier now it seems, blaming the tail for that. My parents' scanner even says, ‘you’d have to be a moron to not spot the ghost directly in front of you’. The ghost grabber adds ‘beware’ after every word I say. And the boomerang will always aim for and hit me if someone throws it. There’s a really long list actually”.

Lewis shakes his head, this was a bit absurd, “and yet they still don’t realise you’re half ghost? Even with their devices point-blank telling them you are a ghost?”.

Danny shrugs, “people are blind, like I said. Anyway, I’mma hide before my luck runs out and G.I.W. drives by or something”.

Lewis almost wishes he pulled over as Danny aims it at his face, gets hit by a blue beam and seems to basically dissolve into Danny coloured mist and gets sucked inside; thermos clattering to the ground. Lewis waits till he gets to the little diner to grab the thermos and hit the cram button. Looking at his pager and pushing the new green button, “you good?”.

Danny’s voice coming through the pager, “I’m fine doc, just go eat and don't be suspicious. I can hear through the thermos by the way. And yes, even I qualify this situation as rather weird even by my standards”.

Lewis shakes his head, clipping the thermoses little key chain on his wallets inside zipper and zipping the whole thing closed, “glad I’m not the only one”, before heading in for food.

One of the annoying things about his ectoplasm being disabled, Danny thinks, is that he can’t move around. Since the thermos basically dissolves and hyper condenses ghosts into just their pure ectoplasm. Sure you could make/keep that ectoplasm you shaped...if you could actually move your ectoplasm. But at least he was alone in here. Though hearing Lewis go about his day is more than a little strange. Even seems slightly invasive when he’s dealing with patients. Which is hardly ever actually. But he does learn that Lewis really does watch what he says around others. Speaking all professional and calming like with some girl named Pepper. But it does keep him somewhat entertained.

Lewis: “mam, I would ask you to leave the transfusion line in”.

Danny doesn’t even need to ask to know how big of a mess tearing out a blood transfusion line would make. Largely because he, like an idiot, has done that repeatedly.

Pepper: “well then get one that doesn’t poke holes in me”.

Lewis: “I apologise as that isn’t something the hospital currently offers”.

Pepper: “well then make it. You’re the big head guy aren’t you?”.

Lewis: “mam. No place offers that because it doesn’t currently exist”.

Pepper, who Danny is imagining is making some kind of shooing motion, “then go make one. I’ll wait”.

Lewis: “maybe someone will see to that. In the meantime, you do need this. So please allow nurse Joy to help you out. I’m sure you’d like to be on your way”.

Pepper: “absolutely not. I will not have something icky like that being jabbed in my skin. And do you even clean the blood? I hear you just take it from any weirdos who just show up. I’ll just find another hospital where they can give me what I want. How would you like losing your paycheck?”.

Lewis: “I can assure you we have extremely high standards for both the blood we take and provide to patients. You were sent here because you needed the best care possible, which we have and can provide as best as you allow us to”.

Pepper: “pah! Then stop jabbing me with things. Use the needles on the commoners with no standards. Treat me like a doctor, would you treat a doctor like this?!?”.

Lewis: “without question yes. Everyone receives the same level of care, as we hold ourselves to the highest standard”.

Pepper: “bullshit! No doctor would let their skin, that they likely spent good money taking care of, be marred for some silly blood thingy”.

Someone Danny’s assuming is a nurse: “mam please, Dr. Lewis has other duties to perform. All you need to do is take the treatment as you need i-”.

Pepper: “I don’t care what other patients he has! They can all curdle and die! Give me what I actually deserve”.

Lewis, sounding a little too cheery, “I can certainly do that.....nurse Remfell, could you fetch me the sedatives?”. Danny snorts and laughs at that.

Pepper: “what! I do not need something like that!”.

Lewis: “then please take your treatment as you’ve been directed”.

Pepper: “this is harassment and coercion!”.  

Lewis: “you requested I give what you deserve. Which is simply what you need. Which is exactly the treatment we are attempting to give you”.

Pepper: “no, what I need is for you to speed up this process so I can go home to people who actually do treat me properly. You know, by not jabbing me with needles”.

Lewis: “if they were capable of indeed providing you with adequate treatment then I would feel comfortable releasing you to them. However, they are not. No one can rush healing, the body must take its time and it can use that time best while being treated properly”.

Pepper: “would you let this be done to you? I think not”.

Lewis: “I certainly would. The people here are highly skilled. I could demonstrate, if that would make you feel better?”.

Nurse Remfell, sounding cautious and barely above a whisper: “Doctor Lewis”.

Pepper: “oh don’t bother. You probably willing eat meat. So clearly your standards are a little lower than mine”.

Lewis: “you’ll find most doctors are quite healthy eaters, including the very much necessary amount of meat. Though I can assure you that I have a friend with a far more specialised and refined palette”. Danny officially wonders just how often Lewis drops random info about his friends. And man would Sam ever be able to get into one Hell of an argument with Lewis and his friends.

Pepper: “then maybe they should do your job. Since you clearly don’t know about nutrition at all”.

Lewis: “that is not my department but I can assure I am very well informed in that regard. I don’t believe anyone would exactly like them to be the ones digging around in them”.

Nurse Remfell, again sounding cautious and slightly pleading: “doctor, don’t you have surgery in a little while?”.

Lewis: “I do. But maybe they’d enjoy some diet tips from miss Pepper as an apology for holding me up from doing what is in my title”.

Pepper: “hmpf, they don’t deserve my wisdom for free”.

Lewis: “then you’re going to let everyone here do their jobs and get you and other patients fixed up?”.

Pepper: “not if they’re going to stick Me with more damn needles”.

Lewis: “Nurse Remfell, please have Dr. Meyer sedate and help treat Miss Pepper. I would do it, my hands are steadiest of course, but I’m afraid I have other responsibilities”.

Nurse Remfell: “yes doctor”.

Danny chuckles as he can hear Lewis leaving and the door closing. Though he’s not really looking forward to overhearing surgery of all things.

Surprisingly it’s not that bad when you can’t see shit. Plus there’s no nightmarish screaming cause Lewis doesn’t run around dissecting conscious beings. In fact, Danny spends most of the time naming off what instruments he knows by sound. It’s probably concerning that seems to be most of them. But saw on bone is a pretty darn unique sound and something like scalpels he could tell just by how Lewis seemed to be moving. Though he is a little surprised by just how often Lewis uses a bone saw. He’s not sure if that’s just normal or if Lewis just really likes sawing into bones. If it was anyone else the answer would be obvious. But it’s the guy who makes cakes for vigilante serial killers and makes designs out of and in people’s bodies for fun.

Danny also gets a bit surprised by just how much idle chitchat goes on, which Lewis is firmly not involved in. In fact, whenever it sounds like he gets relatively close they quiet down. It would be funny that Lewis seemed like the operation rooms ‘shut your yap and work’ button, if it weren’t for that being kind of...sad. Lewis wasn’t kidding about not being exactly well-liked. Which Danny’s a bit miffed about, the guy was great! Weird...but great. Would any other doctors or nurses pull even half the shit Lewis has for him at this point? No, so maybe they should stop being dicks. Plus Danny would have figured at least someone would ask about the run-in with the G.I.W. but they either didn’t care or didn’t want to deal with or question Lewis.

Lewis takes the time in-between surgeries to check in with Danny, tapping the green button mostly just to make sure he’s heard, “you still good?”.

Danny gets a little caught off guard by Lewis’s voice being louder, but it does make it obvious he’s talking to him, “I’mma dandy Danny. Been napping here and there. You really do rub people wrong, but they’re dicks so fuck ‘em. Also, you use bone saws a lot”.

Lewis screws up his face a bit, “I’m going to guess you figured that out by sound? In which case, how do you know what that sounds like that well?”.

“I’ve been playing a game of guess the medical tool. And dude, you won’t like that answer. No one does”.

Lewis shakes his head, “you've used one haven’t you?”.

Awkward chuckling, “here and there. It’s a much more pleasant way of smoothing over the ends of ribs I break off than metal files. And it’s a lot easier to just remove my ribs and access my spine through the front than try to go the back way”.

Lewis honestly feels ever so slightly like he’s talking to Vee. Talking about the disposability of body parts and the inconvenience of the human, or somewhat human in Danny case, body. “You’re not wrong and it is definitely better than a garage tool. You have an impressive pain tolerance”.

“Comes with the hero duties, I’ve been getting slammed into concrete at over five-hundred mph since my first weak. The first time I got cut in half was a trip though. Aren’t you supposed to be bone-cracking?”.

Lewis blinks, okay Danny was almost definitely more durable than Venom, “us surgeons get pretty decent breaks in-between most times, but yes. Though I would frankly rather have you hovering around for conversation than most of my underlings for assistance”.

Lewis gets up and straightens out his coat while Danny responds, “that would probably qualify as insanely creepy for either one of us to be doing. Me being an unauthorised voyeuristic helicopter. You being the guy doing the nitty-gritty while conversing with the sorta dead. Though technically, I could probably function as an assistant. Pretty sure that would be highly illegal though”.

Lewis chuckles, it would make work more interesting and enjoyable for sure...and less likely for him to be transferred. Though the hospital might freak out a little from someone actually seeming to be genuinely friendly with Lewis. “It would be, though I best get back at this point. Enjoy the surgery soundtrack”.

Danny just chuckles quietly.

Lewis snaps off his gloves as he leaves the OR, shift officially over and done with, so he can go deal with the mess Danny’s functionally made for him. Missing files, government dogs, a transferred patient that’s actually just completely missing, bandaging to redo, a technical fugitives belongings stashed in his car, a random hunter that will probably want to check in on Danny, how to explain Danny going home way sooner than planned -to both the hospital and his two hunter friends-, oh yeah and a super-powered half-dead teenager trapped in a thermos the size of his pinky nail stuffed in his wallet. Eddie’s and Vee’s problems were definitely a lot simpler, partly because they usually ate them. Just a couple of dead bodies, which sometimes were the problems.

Walking casually back to his car and hopping in, pushing the green button, “I’m going to take you to my place for the night if that’s fine?”.

“You do have a wife right? How you gonna explain this random kid? If you’re gonna leave me in here all night, then you owe me some serious pancakes or something”.

Lewis chuckles and shakes his head as he drives home, it was a bit of a long commute but he didn’t mind much. “Do you know how I met Eddie? Through my wife. They used to be engaged. And when the whole Vee and being Venom thing happened she let Vee body snatch her to save Eddie’s butt. Said body-snatching also included biting a mercenaries head off”, chuckling some more, “found out from Vee later, pretty sure I wasn’t supposed to find out, but Vee went back into Eddie’s body from Anne’s via a very intense kiss”.

“Was it right after the whole...uh, taking a bite out of crime...thing? That will never not be fucked up by the way. But okay, you’re wife’s weird too”.

Lewis smiles warmly, of course she was a bit strange, have to be to tolerate him. And he can’t really be bothered by Danny still disapproving of murder and cannibalism. But at least he was making jokes about it now instead of having a mild meltdown, positives Lewis. “As I was told, it was explicitly directly after, Vee was very pleased about that. Anne, not so much. Eddie...I really don’t know but I’d say he was cool with it. And yes, she’s a bit odd herself. She’s also a lawyer”.

Danny laughs, that was a bit ironic that someone working within the law was explicitly and emphatically friends with two someone’s severely outside of it, “a morally questionable lawyer, a morbid socially unacceptable doctor, a moonlighting murderer muckraker reporter, and an exiled body-snatching alien. That’s one Hell of a quartet. Got a name yet?”.

Lewis raises an eyebrow, name? Though yeah they were an odd group, “no? What do you mean by name? And in that case, you’re an over-protective paranoid hero halfa”.

Danny chuckles, that was accurate, “true story. My group are the Defect Quartet. ‘Cause we’re all too strange and outside of the norm to be anything but defective. Used to be the Weirdo Trio before Val came along. Before that, the nerd herd. The goth, the geek, the gunner, and the ghost. An insanely wealthy vegan social activist goth, an absurdly carnivorous hacker geek, a riches to rags pessimist weapons enthusiast, and a punny battered ghostly hero. Though I’m usually called the graceless or the gauche. Since the ghost thing ain’t public knowledge”.

Lewis shakes his head, so this was a teenager thing. “Well ‘defect’ definitely doesn’t suit my group so to speak. We’re all rather successful and accomplished”.

“That doesn’t mean shit. I was on the cover of genius magazine once. Saved the purple-backed gorillas from going extinct”.

“That’s one thing, not a career”.

“I like how that’s your response, not general confusion. We’re teens, we shouldn’t have careers”.

Lewis nods, very true, but with how Danny lived, “what do you even intend to do? Eddie only gets away with the vigilante side gig because he’s his own boss mostly and even when he’s not, he’s on his own schedule. He can only really do that because he had already built up a name for himself. That and he lives extremely low budget”.

Danny groans exaggeratedly, adults and their ‘what are you gonna do with your life’ and ‘you need to think about your future young man’ and ‘what are your plans? How are going to support yourself’ and ‘hobbies are fine but you need a real focus’. Groaning a second time for emphasis, “don't know ‘bout Val. Sam’s the only heir in her family, she doesn’t really have a choice what she does, Manson’s don’t work. Tucker’s either going into politics, the government, or rising up into ownership of a tech company. I wanted to be an astronaut but my physiology makes that impossible, if my folks chill it with the ghost hate then I’ll probably take over FentonWorks. Otherwise, I got nothing. Well, human wise anyway. Could just fuck off to the Zone-”.  

“Kid, no. Running away is not how you fix or achieve something. You’re right about NASA though. We’ve got a long drive, so what else you got?”.

Danny groans again, “nada. My grades are shit, I’d have to be able to run my own schedule and be able to drop it like someone just set it on fire at any moment. Because superheroing is not a side gig, it’s the main gig. And technically, running off to the Zone isn’t running from my problems. I belong there as much as I do here. Sure I was born here, but so were most ghosts”.

Lewis tilts his head, so that was another different, Danny valued and placed the vigilantism as top priority. And fine, ghosts did belong to the Zone. “that’s fair. But what would you even do there?”.

Danny snickers making Lewis a little cautious of the response, “ghosts are pretty free things. Build and protect your lair, satisfy your Obsession. If you’re part of a clan or kingdom then it’s a fair bit more”, chuckling because at this point might as well just startle the guy, “if I moved there I’d probably rise to claim my place as King properly”.

Lewis coughs, unsure if that’s a joke, “King?”.

Danny chuckles, Lewis able to hear the shit-eating grin in his voice, “I’m a prince, Lewis. In two kingdoms actually. A knight in four and worshipped as a god by one clan. Don’t ask how that last one happened because I don’t know. They’ve been calling me ‘Great One’ and ‘Saviour’ since I first ran into them”, Lewis is silent so Danny laughs and just continues, “Sam’s also a Princess in one and knighted in two. Tuck’s a Baka, meaning prince but in Egyptian, in one and knighted in two. Val’s the exception”.

Lewis blinks and watches the road before shaking his head, Danny’s life was legitimately completely crazy, “you absolutely have the strangest life. I’m not sure if I should fear the idea of you being a king”. He clearly could act the role and have a commanding presence, but he was firmly still a disaster.

“You should have seen the other guy! He was so bad they locked him in what was basically a coma for, like, over a thousand years. When he woke up they all fled. I found out and through some crazy bullshit wound up beating him back into a coma. The other king who became my punching bag, abducted and tried to forcibly wed Sam, trapped his kingdom into a no happiness allowed technology-free dark age and abused his sister. His sister’s queen now but I’m considered prince and heir to the throne should she fade”.

Lewis shakes his head, yeah was kind of hard to do worse than that, “so, tyrants then? Who the heck’s ruling the first one?”.

“Uhhhh, no one? Hasn’t been ruled in forever so no ruler is basically the norm now. Kind of unnecessary. But for, like, who does the duties. A collection of asshole ghosts who can only watch but never interfere. They hate me. Like, a lot. Tried to assassinate me once. Anyway, that particular throne is more representative. A figurehead but with power if they want. Sorta a make it your own and do whatever you want kind of role”.

“So the Queen of England? But with even less responsibilities? That barely counts as a king or prince”.

Danny chuckles, “so long as nothing threatens the entirety of the Zone or ghosts. I’m understating the role a bit. See humans are all broken up yeah? You’re not united under the Earth or whatever. Well, ghosts are united under the Zone as a whole. Meaning there’s a ruler of the entire Zone. The King, or Prince right now, Of Ghosts. The Ghost King, the Ghost Prince. Yeeeeaaaaah”.

Lewis pulls into his driveway and just stares forward for a bit, “are you, are you trying to tell me you’re the rightful ruler of an entire species and dimension?”.

“Yes? Pretty much yeah. And your car turned off. We there yet? You gonna let me outta here?”.

Lewis is nearly having a mild freak out of his own. This random child of long-time friends is the prince and thus future king of an entire species. Basically the most powerful ruler even remotely possible. And he’s in Lewis’s wallet, complains about weak coffee, gets beat up by bullies, and his seemingly biggest problem is what his folks think of him. The utter normalcy of that is kind of jarring but also really calming. Shaking his head, “yes, yeah. Your tail working yet?”.

Danny snorts, “looks like I freaked ya again. And I don’t fucking know dude, I don’t actually have a body at the moment. Jus a disembodied voice and mind floating in a thermos full of ectoplasm”.

Lewis tilts his head, Vee’s probably said that before; being a technical liquid and all. Just floating in a test tank thing instead of a soup thermos. Shrugging and taking out his wallet, unclipping the thermos and going through the motions of getting Danny out. Which is still very strange. As Danny comes out via another bream of light, basically laying across the shotgun seat and looking slightly disoriented.

Danny shakes his head and smirks, “THE DANNY IS FREE! FOR NO CYLINDRICAL SOUP CAN CAN HOLD HIM!”.

Lewis looks at the thermos and quirks an eyebrow. Danny, spotting this, promptly grabs his thermos, “and I’ll be taking that back now”. Which Lewis chuckles at. While Danny looks out the window at Lewis’s house, tilting his head, huh, it was a bit smaller than expected.

While Lewis looks down and notes that Danny’s black tail is wiggling somewhat again, good. Before getting out of the car and holding the door open, “you should probably make yourself invisible at least until we’re inside”.

Danny chuckles and does that as he floats out after Lewis. He was damn happy to be floating again, zipping around the house some and winding through things; Lewis unawares. Even if it was a bit difficult and jerky. Shaking his head at Lewis holding the door open a bit awkwardly. Whispering at him, “I can go through things remember? Didn’t need to open the door at all”.

Lewis rolls his eyes and shakes his head as he heads into the kitchen, “that would be rather rude of you”.

Danny chuckles as he seats himself on one of the little stools, coiling his tail up in case this ‘Anne’ walks in. Popping back into visibility, and petting the cat that comes up, “I’ve stolen people's cups of water while flying through airplanes. It’s actually so common it’s something planes flying over Amity warn their passengers about, the random dead teen who might fly through the floor and take your drinks or food. But at least he says thank you?”.

Lewis shakes his head as he starts on making a noodle dish, “at least most of that is free”. Mixing in the broth and debating what else to put in, tilting his head around, “what kinds of veggies and meats do you like?”.

Danny shrugs, he’ll eat almost anything, “I’ve eaten sporks. Just don’t serve me toast and you’re good”.

Lewis points at him as he gets peppers and celery, “Eddie and Vee have eaten probably a little of everything at this point. Doesn’t mean they don’t have tastes”.  

Danny stares at him and waits for him to turn around before grabbing one of the knives on the table -why do they keep them on the table of all places?- and just swallows it.

Lewis gives him a rather unimpressed look, which Danny’s slightly miffed about. At least Sam looked at him with disgust. While Lewis says, “those are expensive you know”. Danny rolls his eyes and phases the knife out of his stomach and waves it around, stabbing one of the larger pieces of pepper as Lewis puts his plate down.

Both turn their heads to the door as they can both hear a key going in the lock. Lewis blinks and realises a slight error on his part, looking at Danny quickly, “wife saw me googling you as Phantom. Doesn’t know names or what your human self looks like, so positives”.

Danny groans and glares at Lewis, he can smell it’s a girl and it matches the other prominent human scent in the house so he transforms and glares a little harder at Lewis. Taking the knife out of his mouth and stabbing another pepper a bit unnecessarily aggressively, “not cool doc“. Of course, this means there’s no damn point in hiding the tail, so he just lets it wind around the stool legs.

Lewis shrugs, he wasn’t about to claim to be perfect, as Anne walks in.

Anne looks at the table only glancing at the glowing black and white teenager with a knife in his mouth for a beat before nonchalantly taking off her shoes, “hi honey and hello patient that someone is decidedly not supposed to be bringing home”.

Lewis smiles, “guys with guns came to abduct him”. Danny glares at him slightly. While Anne shakes her head, “at least they weren’t successful this time”, as she walks up and kisses Lewis on the cheek and sits at the table.

Danny looks at her, “seriously? That’s all the reaction you’re gonna give me?”.

Lewis just smirks as he eats his food. Anne looking Danny over before giving him a sweet smile and patting his head, “interesting voice you’ve got, just don’t go making Dan a tag-along for blowing up rockets”.

Lewis looks between the two a little awkwardly as Danny winces, which Anne definitely notices and raises an eyebrow at Lewis. No one saying anything for a bit before the cat sticks his tail in Danny’s face. Effectively breaking the growing tension as Danny chuckles, “if your name’s Maddie, I will be very concerned”.

Anne shakes her head, “mines Anne”.

“No, the cat. An evil Frootloop has a cat named Maddie”.

Anne shakes her head, “no, he’s Mr. Belvedere”. While Lewis finds it arguably quite creepy one of Danny’s enemy’s named their cat after Danny’s mom.

Danny smiles and pokes the cat, mentally shaking off the whole ‘Dan’ name, figuring he should probably attempt at getting used to that since his folks are going to call Lewis that too. “Well hello then. I probably smell pretty weird”.

Lewis thinks that’s probably an understatement but he was used to Vee’s scent by now so more strange smelling people isn’t probably all the weird.

Mr. Belvedere meanwhile, is just pleased that this strange smelling and looking creature isn’t attempting to bite him. Even if this one seems to be a predator just like the other one. This one seems at least a little similar to the other glowing creatures he sees sometimes. He likes to chase the little ones around but this one is clearly far stronger. He can tell when It touches him, the power thrumming under Its long paws so similar to the twolegs he lives with. Like the other strange creature, this one can look just like the twolegs he’s familiar with. He finds that is quite a useful trick, blending in with potential prey and tricking other predators into underestimating them. He’s seen how the occasional twoleg that fancies Itself a predator wound up the prey for the other strange creature. He hopes that one enjoys Its plentiful meals. Tilting his head at this strange creature, wondering if It stalks twolegs too. Putting on a protective front, because these are his twolegs, and demanding, “you best not hunt my twolegs”. He had to bat at the black part of the other strange predator before It got the messages to not nip at his Twolegs. Only he gets to do that.

Danny looks at the cat, which has his ears pinned back and Danny can easily pick up on the stiff battle-ready posture. How he partly blocks Danny’s line of view of Anne, it was obvious the cat was being protective. Officially glad this is a cat, not a dog, as cats were much more sensitive to ghosts. Meaning kitty would be able to somewhat understand ghost speak. Making sure to keep his fangs retracted, “I̛’̶m a̕ ͠p͏͏̧r͞͝o̵͟͜t҉͘e̷̸c͝͏̛t҉įv̴͞e̛ th̢̡i͜͏̵n͏g̵̵͝.̸̸ ̕͠I͠ ̕do̸n’͝t͟ ̧h̸̡ar̵m͢ ̵͞͞m͠or̨͟͞t̨a̛lş”. Mr. Belvedere seems pacified by that and promptly stalks off, laying on the ground to clean over his fur.  

Lewis quirks an eyebrow, “what was that about?”. While Anne laughs lightly, mouthing ‘wow’, before saying, “he listened to you I think, that’s quite the feat”.

Danny chuckles and rubs his neck, “he was being protective of you. So I just told him I wasn’t a threat. Cats are more sensitive to ghosts, so they can understand us to a degree”.

Anne tilts her head, “you’re a ghost?”, looking at Lewis, “why would a ghost need a surgeon?”.

Danny smirks and stretches his arms out some, “okay cool, you didn’t go opening your yap much”, shrugging, “but you know shit. You’re murder buddies know shit. Don’t know your wife though. So maybe”.

Anne nearly snorts over ‘murder buddies’, very similar to ‘murder friends’ and a bit surprised that someone Dan described as ‘more moral than every doctor ever’ is tolerant of said murder friends. Shaking her head but smiling slightly, “I’m surprised you’re okay with those two. Pleased, but surprised. Which is good, because I absolutely will protect them if you threaten them”.  

Danny chuckles a bit meanly but finishes off his food before responding, “you could attempt to sure. There’s a reason people make entire careers out of and dedicate their whole lives to fighting things like me, yet still find themselves unsuccessful and outmatched. But I’m no threat, so long as my humans aren’t threatened. I’m not okay with what they do, I’m okay with why they do it”.

Anne crosses her arms, “I've helped destroy body-snatching world-destroying aliens. I can fight very dirty”.

Danny snorts, “a lawyer? Fighting dirty? Why I never. Won’t do any good though, I never expect fair fights”, tilting his head and chuckling, “that’s what happens when you’re archenemy’s entire thing is being underhanded and fighting dirty. Not to mention one of the wealthiest people in the world, basically a mad scientist, and politically skilled”.

Lewis and Anne share a look, Lewis pointing at Danny, “that sounds a lot like Drake. Filthy rich mad scientist with his foot in politics. Also had the other surviving Symbiote”, looking at Anne, “Riot right?”, at Anne’s nod Lewis continues, “Riot was older, stronger, more abilities and pretty well played into Drakes desires to trick him”.

Anne nods, “Drake was a fool”.

Danny tilts his head, that was freakishly similar to Vlad, “so Drake’s the crazy entrepreneur who brought them here from space? Which by the way, is still super awesome because space! And yeah, that’s sounds really similar to the Frootloop. Just both Drake and Riot combined into one batshit crazy prick. Throw in a bunch of lackies and way too much free time”, tilting his head and pointing at Lewis, “and didn’t you say crazy human was trying to improve humanity or something? Make them able to survive in space?”, at Lewis’s nod and the curious look to his eyes, Danny continues, “yeah, my unlovable Frootloop pretty well never has good reasons for anything. Very selfish and will do anything from attempting to blow people up with nanobots to cloning and very extreme inhumane experimentation”, shrugging, “usually it’s for power, even more money, to murder one very specific guy, to get the women he’s Obsessed with, or to force me to be his son”.  

Lewis nods, conceding that those motivations weren’t remotely positive and got progressively more strange. Anne shakes her head ever so slightly, “Drake would likely have approved any inhumane practices to get what he wanted. Even if he had marginally better reasons”.

Danny points at her, “Frootloop does everything himself. His lackies are basically just scouts and attack dogs. Who would have thought, a sorta politician dirtbag who actually does the nasty work”, yawning and nodding at Lewis, “soooo, you gonna trace lines on my skin with your silver sharp friends?”.

Anne makes a point to not visually react to that, this kid, who’s name she still didn’t have, was quite a bit like Lewis, Eddie and Vee. There was also a level of restraint and caution to him, was a bit like her.

Lewis shakes his head but gets up to fetch his supplies, “that won’t be necessary for redoing bandaging and burns. Though please let me take off the braces”, pausing to point at him, “and make them actually on you”. Danny rolls his eyes but transforms under them to make them on top but Phantom designed.

Anne blinks, that was almost as startling as Vee randomly becoming or changing Eddie’s clothing. Looking to Lewis, “I’m truly impressed a ghost can get injured enough for all that”.

Lewis shouts from a few rooms over, “he’s not! Just pretending to be!”.

Anne looks to Danny with ‘why are you putting him through this?’ eyebrows. Danny chuckles, “the hospital and my family would be suspicious if I didn’t play injured. Since none of them know I’m a ghost and thus heal super fast”.

Lewis comes back in and pulls a stool over by Danny. Anne looks at him slightly unimpressed, “do I want to know? Or is this a plausible deniability thing?”.

Danny sighs and leans back wistfully as Lewis removes the second wrist/hand brace, “I wish more people didn’t question my crap and just wrote it off as ‘I probably shouldn’t know’”.

Anne levels him with a slight glare, “Eddie knows not to abuse it, you should know that too. Especially since it’s clear you’re going to be close with and involved with my family. Eddie’s an asshole but he only keeps the highly legally questionable actions to himself”.

Danny gives a bit of a shit-eating grin, “my existence is highly legally and logically questionable”.

“Does it involve murder? No? Then I want to hear it”.

Danny rolls his eyes, “most ghosties didn’t die pleasantly so technically.....”.

Lewis looks at Danny with a slightly unimpressed glare, “considering what little you have said of the how, I don’t believe murdered applies to you”.

Danny points at Lewis after slipping off the torso brace, “at the very least it’s negligent homicide. Because seriously? who leaves a secondary on switch inside an inter-dimensional portal and forgets about it. And who dares someone to walk inside it?”.

Lewis points at him, “and who willing does it? Also, I need this suit off”.

Debating who’s at fault and the definition of ‘the crime’ is pretty normal for Anne, just not usually debating it with the ‘victim’ when it’s about murder, “verbal dares can’t be reasonably proven and won’t hold up before any court of law. If you walked in of your own free will, likely aware of the fact that doing so was almost certainly unsafe, you’re the one who committed negligent homicide”, waving her hand around, “but no one’s going to charge the dead with their own death. If someone tries, then consider me your lawyer, because I absolutely want to be on that case”.

Danny blinks and starts laughing, unzipping and peeling off his suit and letting it float around his waist, simply phasing off the bandaging, “lady you do not want to be my lawyer. I’m pretty sure that wouldn’t even hold up in ghost court. Besides, I don’t care if I get charged with shit. I’ll just blow up the prison again. Or make time paradoxes so they can’t sentence me to destruction, again. But I’m a minor and it’s partly my parents' fault. Family house is a death trap. There’s probably a million cases of negligence to be made”.

Lewis, asking the thing that really matters as he inspects Danny’s skin, noting that it’s much colder now and the scars are barely visible, “you destroyed a prison? Why?”.

While Anne frowns tightly, that would be negligent if what killed him was just left around in the house unsecured. Definitely child endangerment as well. But he had made it clear enough that he doesn’t want them in trouble, “yes, that does change it a fair bit”, tilting her head, “though being a lawyer in ghost court would certainly be a new challenge”.

While Danny points at Lewis, “I’ve blown it up once or twice a year so far. The Warden hates me, so he gives me every charge he can think up. He’s made new rules on the spot to charge me with it. Last time he yelled the sentence I owed it was, like, over fifty thousand”, while Lewis just looks slightly impressed, Danny points at Anne, “ghost laws are probably both less and more complicated. Minora law, Majora law, the Seals, Commons Of The Deathless Unfades, Commons Of The Undead, the Kings Decrees, and The Law Of Ages”, shrugging, “ghosts are pretty lawless though, so unless you really fuck up, no one really gives a damn....except Walker, who’s that one Warden”.

Anne leans forward as Lewis finishes wrapping Danny’s arm, letting Danny lower his arm...well one anyway as he wraps the other, Anne inquiring, “is there books on these? Could you borrow them?”.

That was not what Danny was expecting, she really likes what she does, “Walker’s got his own special rule book, A.K.A. it’s not official at all. But yeah there’s books. Not for the Commons though, those are, like, forbidden knowledge for mortals; even many ghosts. And there isn’t any Kings Decrees right now”.

Lewis eyeballs Danny who blushes slightly, making it very obvious that these decrees were basically his to make. While Anne quints slightly, “why would law be forbidden? That is explicitly a disclosure violation”.

Danny shakes his head as Lewis goes about putting the braces back on, “Commons only apply to those specified. And they know about what they entail”, yawning again, course he knew what both Commons were about. Since ClockWork was an Unfade and Danny was an Undead.

The two adults shake their heads and basically carry the partly floating sleepy teen to the spare bedroom. Eddie wouldn’t mind and Vee would only bitch about the strangers' scent for a little bit. Anne nodding, “that’s a bit better then”.

Danny mumbles from the bed as Anne’s dragging Lewis off. “By the way doc? Tots forgot. Undead’s another term for halfa”.

Lewis crawls into bed seriously wondering what was in this special section of ghost law -still pleasantly surprised that was a thing- that applied to Danny.

Anne wakes up that morning and walks out of the bedroom door, hearing someone going through the kitchen. Walking in cautiously only to see a black-haired teen inside one of the cupboards, watching as he sticks his head and one arm out, box of crackers in his mouth. “Who are you and why are you in my house?”.

“Yurf iimpif’d ve”, she stares him down so he spits out the box on the ground, “you invited me. Technically Lewis, but still”, before slipping out of the cupboard and grabbing the crackers.

It clicks pretty much as soon as she sees the kid has a black misty tail instead of legs; same as the ghost. Then mentally slapping herself for not recognising the face and hairstyle, “you’re the patient. You look very human for a ghost. You also still haven’t told me your name”.

“That’s me! And-”, Danny gets cut off by the microwave.

Microwave: “Crap fuck I think it work-oh bullshit you idiot, we’ve been trying for-no seriously I swore I heard him-oh that’s crap-I don’t care if it’s crap you better have found him-why does no one believe in me?-because you’re a fucking cree-hey! Look at me I’m glori-more like dead, I will personally shove my boot up your ass if y-oh I’d like to see you try! Go on! My ass is fucking wide-what the fuck is wrong with both of you? How bout I just start shooting stuff?-go right ahead fuck if I care-if you destroy Cheryl I will shank you with her corpse!-”.

Lewis walks in at this point looking like he slept hard yet was still impeccable, he grabs a coffee and just stares at the microwave.

Microwave: “-oh shove it you walking animal corpse garbage bag-no you shove it ya fucking lawnmower-I vote we feed both of you to the plant-she has better tastes than that-at least she enjoys some proper mea-HOW ABOUT YOU LOWJACK YOUR ASS OFF AND DO SOMETHING USEFUL-oh don’t you get smarmy with me, I fucking hijack shit-do I care? NO, just fucking-how about this you two colossal twats! YOU BETTER PICK UP OR ONE ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING PIECE OF SHIT IS GOING TO JACK OFF YOUR ENTIRE HOUSE INTO THE SEA!-why the fuck would I do that to a house?-are you claiming to have even an ounce of standards?-”.

Danny lays on the floor and just starts wheezing and mutters, “how the fuck do you pick up a microwave call....”.

Lewis points his coffee cup rim at Danny, “I’m more curious about how they called a microwave”.

Anne shakes her head, “I’m just glad I’m a morning person”.

Microwave: “-oh GO EAT SOCK-wait shut the fuck up! I totally heard someone-of course you fucking did! You’re probably confusing some old lady!-”.

Anne, sounding almost offended, “I’m not that old”.

Microwave: “-oh fuck damn a lady! Hello-the fuck is wrong with you? We’re trying to make sure someone’s not fucking dead or some shit! She probably thinks you’re like twelve-he is twelve-oh fuck you! I could totally date an older woman!-so what I’m hearing is you’re twelve-FUCK OFF AND EAT A TEN FOOT SNOW MONSTER! IT FITS WITH YOUR STUPID DIET!-OH YOU WANNA GO THERE BLOODMOUTH! HOW ABOUT YOU FIND THE FIVE FOOT ONE FIRST!-”.

Danny wheezes but shouts at the microwave, “five foot four you asshole!”.

Microwave: “FUCK OFF DANNY THIS DOESN'T INVOLVE YO-DANNY!-ARE YOU OKAY! -DID YOU DIE!-IF YOU’RE BEING DISSECTED PLEASE DON’T SCREAM BY THE MIC!-WHAT THE FUCK TUCKER?!?-”.

Danny floats up and shouts right at the microwave, “SHUT THE FUCK UP! You’re confusing Doc and his lady!”.

Anne blinks, speaking into her hands, “confused might be understating it”.

Microwave: “Okay okay, shhhh shhhh, all o’ y’all shut up. Danny dude, you fucking asshole. Didn’t even fucking call. You better be fucking dying or I will personally finish what you started. Stitch and fucking ditch dude. Not cool. Now are you dying a horrible slow and painful death at the hands of a bunch of idiots that Sam will have to bludgeon to death?-bludgeon? Are you underestimating me? I will personally stuff their organs with bramble thorns, turn them into scarecrows and beat the others up with said scarecrows if those fuckers hurt hi-”.

Danny clears his throat, “not to get in the way of your dramatics Sam, but I’m fine. Am I not allowed to sleep?”.

Microwave: “USE LEWIS’S PHONE!”.

Lewis nods, “fair point”.

Danny sticks his arms out to the side, “I got distracted by politics!”.

Microwave: “Oh, that’s reasonable then. So you’re not being tortured or something?”.

Danny chuckles and shakes his head, “no Tuck, no I’m not”.

Microwave: “Oh good then. You, go tell his folks he’s fine and with doctor dude. Danny, you absolute asshole, Ancients are you lucky we were able to get your parents to not go on a search and destroy mission. They went to go see you, we went with ‘cause we knew shit was going down, and they actually saw those white-suit twats leaving with the big ass transport truck. They nearly nuked them on the spot. Your dad can be terrifying”.

Danny rubs his neck, of course this had caused even more problems. But yeah, he probably should have called someone. Well at least no one had gotten hurt and the reminder that they would assault the government for him was rather heartwarming. “Thanks guys, that must have been a bi-”.

Microwave: “DANNY SWEETIE! Are you alright!”.

Danny chuckles slightly, “I’m fine mom”.

Anne is extremely confused at this point. Danny was a ghost and was apparently still ‘living’ with his living family? And why were the teens she’s assuming are his friends asking if he’s dead or dying? Ghost does mean dead, Danny had already confirmed he was dead. Inside jokes possibly? Or, Danny could look completely ‘alive’ so maybe they didn’t even know?

While Lewis walks closer to the microwave, this is definitely the strangest house call he’s ever been involved in, “he’s perfectly fine Maddie. He spent the night in my and my wife’s spare bedroom. I apologise for not informing you but it was special circumstances”.

Microwave: “oh don’t worry about that, we get it. So long as Danny-boy’s alright!-but what about his injuries? He can’t go back to the hospital with those men there”.

Lewis taps his chin, “well, the best option would be to have Danny here go home and I’ll deal with the hospital before taking him over. That way he isn’t without a skilled doctor. My place is impressively well equipped, So he’ll be fine here in the meantime”.

Microwave: “Yes that should work fine, thank you Dan. We’ll give you back to your friends sweetie-so we can get your things ready!”.

Danny groans quietly, seriously hoping they didn’t do anything to his room. There was more than a few questionable things in there, especially in the walls and floor.

Microwave: “Alright you reckless idiot, it’s just me and Tuck now. Valerie’s off looking for asshole agents to shoot at-oh Danny dude, I took samples from the quote-unquote ‘rain’. Pretty nasty shit. Paraparetic properties, corrosive, toxic fumes, tranquillising properties. Just oof dude. And doctor dude, before you ask, yes I did have the other patients files and stuff, it’s in your pager-move aside Tucker, you better have some damn food Danny-”.

Lewis and Anne both gape slightly as the microwave pops open and an apple rolls out, Danny easily catching it and then pulling out what looks to be a pop or a milkshake in a fast food cup. Danny rolling his eyes as he puts it on the table, closing the door, “mother-henning me much? I’m sorry for worrying you guys okay? And I promise I’m a not any deader, just work on making sure my house is actually safe”.

Microwave: “done and done dude, you look after yourself for a change ya?-Danny? Are you dating Valerie again, cause you better fuckin-AND I’M HANGING UP!”. The microwave beeps and Danny can’t help but float towards the ground and laugh.

Danny floats up and leans against the counter and picks up the apple, pointing at Lewis, “hopefully an apple a day won’t keep this doctor away. Whatcha gonna tell whoever the Zone happens to be above you?”, taking a bite out of the apple.

Anne shakes her head, that was almost as confusing as when Vee starts talking in Eddie’s head in the middle of conversations. Getting up and heading to get dressed, “you’re stranger than just a ghost, aren’t you?”.

Danny glances at the microwave, fuck it, “half-ghost!”. Danny gives her points for not even pausing in her walking.

Taking another bite and looking to Lewis, pointing over his shoulder and swallowing, “she’s used to weird crap getting dropped out of nowhere huh?”.

Lewis nods, firmly more curious over the apple that’s leaving green smears on Danny’s face, “Vee’s very blunt and sometimes gives way too much detail. What kind of apple is that?”.

Danny takes a sip of what he knows is a milkshake...well, ectoshake, “ghost food. Zones gots its own flora, fauna, ecosystem, etcetera. Part of how my body works is absorbing free-floating ectoplasm and converting it into my own. Expelling used stuff as latent ectoplasm. Kinda like breathing. Human side lets me self produce though. But-”, holding up the apple, “-ectofood is like putting on an oxygen mask or getting a transfusion. That, and just tastes good”.

Danny’s a little concerned as Lewis leans over the ectoshake, “don’t drink that. You’ll hurt yourself”. Lewis waves him off, “corrosive, toxic, poisonous; I remember. I like my throat and stomach intact”.

Danny wipes his face and both turn, hearing Anne’s heels clicking on the floor. Danny shakes his head at the sharp pantsuit, “please tell me Eddie doesn’t also dress absurdly impeccably and put together? Cause I dress like I fished my clothing out of slightly bio-hazardous dumpsters and am usually basically swimming in my clothing”.

Anne laughs slightly while Lewis laughs more noticeably, Anne shaking her head, “Eddie and well-dressed don’t exist in the same dimension. He often wears the same clothing for days and his clothing is usually lifted off criminals. Vee is his clothing sometimes”. Lewis nods, speaking and pointing at Anne, “he looks more put together when Vee has literally dressed him”.

Danny sighs, firmly ignoring that this guy just wears his victims clothing. Chuckling a little awkwardly, “I wore the same shirt and pants for a year. Didn’t even notice for the first four months. Kinda busy being all kinda dead. Though they were washed. I just happen to have three different pairs of the same clothing. Well one got destroyed via impalement, way too much blood”.

Anne blinks, Eddie said that once about his hair when he got himself drenched once. Lewis was right, they had a lot in common. Nodding with a smile at Danny, “you’ll get along, be good for Eddie I hope”, patting Lewis’s shoulder before giving him a quick kiss, “smart man, see you later, Dan dear”.

“Always honey, enjoy your day”.

Danny suppresses a wince and continues with his food while Lewis waves at him, “I’m going to deal with the hospital”. Danny just chuckles and watches him go.

Danny sits watching tv and chipping away at the ectoshake, chuckling over how much more erratically his tail’s vibrating and wiggle when left to its own devices now. Ancients did it ever make it easy to tell how healthy he, particularly how healthy his ghost half, was. Curling the tip into his hand and giving it a good more awake look over, there was still tiny holes but they were pretty well done away with at this point. Definitely hurt a little, but for him that wasn’t really noticeable.

Putting down the shake and deciding to float around some, use up a bit of the excess ectoenergy. It was practically singing in his veins and peaking in on Lewis would just be a little too boring right now. That’s one aspect of being in a powerful position that Danny is pretty well not envious of; dealing with underlings, paperwork, and being the one at fault if shit goes south. Sure Danny already got blamed for just short of everything by many adults; Phantom and Fenton. But that wasn’t for, like, executive decisions or situations with many good choices. Most of Danny’s crap was either: protect and thusly deal with/get blamed for the fall out (poor grades, damages, skipped class, being noisy, anti-social, pissing off hunters in general) or let someone or something be genuinely harmed. Pretty easy obvious choice. One he knows he can’t really choose differently on, Obsession and all that. Leadership and powerful roles were less black and white.

Danny snickers and starts intangibly snooping through Lewis’s cupboards for weird foods or anything funny really. Only for a box of caramelised eel to fall through his head, “alright that’s pretty odd, at least it’s not, like, Venom’s leftovers or something”, Danny frowns, what would he do if he came across that? It’s not like he wouldn’t be able to tell, the smell would tip him off immediately. If it was just like....a chunk...he’d probably just stare at it and nope the fuck out, close the fridge or cupboard or whatever. Just firmly ignore it. But something like....a full-blown body?....he’d probably either freeze up or freak out. Or go really batshit. He’s never actually seen a dead body since the whole...Dan...thing. So it probably would not trigger good, kind, happy, parts of his brain. He imagines it would go one of two ways. Either it would bring out his inner Dan, which would be really bad. Or he’d go exactly the opposite, like when he actually dealt with him, protective and resolute. Which would be more likely, hopefully.

Lewis is firmly tickled pink, as far as his hospital was aware Danny had been transferred to Amity’s hospital. Which seems to have downright ridiculously horrible paperwork and systems for keeping track of patients; a lot of that actually seems to be Phantom’s fault because he just shows up with people randomly, even at two a.m.. People even seem to just leave without even bothering to check-out. That and apparently files get corrupted and possessed somewhat often. Lewis somehow doubts Danny and his friends are at fault for all of it. So no one will really raise any eyebrows at not being able to find Danny in the Amity hospital system. Even with Lewis still acting as his doctor and supposedly going between the two hospitals. Pushing his study door open, all that really mattered now was when Danny wanted to head home and watching out for those agents. Because, of course, if the same three agents spot him at the Fenton’s house it’ll tip them off.

Looking around the living-room, slightly surprised he’s not watching tv and resting like he should be. Walking into the kitchen and quirking an eyebrow over what he’s sure is part of Danny’s tail sticking out through the sink countertop; looks a bit like someone just left a sliced in half black circle on the counter, that moves. Which definitely reminds him of Vee, just seeing random bits of black something was pretty come-by. “What are you doing?”, walking over as the tail just moves through the countertop and slips fully through it like it’s not really there. Before Danny’s head just pokes up through it, “snooping, seeing some of the weird stuff people have in their house is interesting and a good way to find their suspicious shit”.

This just serves to remind Lewis just how paranoid Danny is, “well I wouldn’t recommend doing that at Eddie’s apartment. If those two have something hidden I’d rather it stay that way. Anyway, the hospital thinks you’re in Amity’s hospital. But your cities hospital has probably the worst systems I’ve ever seen, so you not actually being there won’t be noticed”.  

If anything Danny’s actually more likely to look through their place, partly out of morbid curiosity and partly just out of needing to make sure there’s nothing bad. Shrugging and phasing out of the cupboards/sink, sitting on the countertop, “if you’re fine with possibly accidentally setting off a weapon or some other device, then snooping the Fenton household is really interesting even if you live there. But yeah, shouldn’t really snoop my room in truth. And you’re still going to be functionally moving in right? Cause if you now have to go through Amity’s hospital for approval, that’ll be a problem”.

Lewis pours himself some coffee, pushing a cup to Danny as well. It was fairly obvious why looking for hidden stuff where Eddie, or more specifically Vee, lived was probably a bad and unpleasant idea. There is no way either of them clean up everything, and he firmly doubts Vee doesn’t take home snacks; whether Eddie knows or not would be debatable. The only things Lewis can think Danny might hide would be stuff good for his ghost part, medical stuff, and maybe weapons. “What could be so bad in your room? Other than to your parents anyway. You are a teenager after all. And you do have a lot in common with Eddie, the things he hid from his, I don’t really wann-”.

Danny pulls a face and cuts him off, “Lewis! Ancients no! Even if I did hide or have whatever I think you happen to be implying -which I don’t, do you seriously think I have time or focus on that?- why I’d be concerned about that? My room’s probably a weapons and bio hazard”, shaking his head and glaring at Lewis’s smirk, “stop that you”, rolling his eyes at Lewis just smirking more, “ignoring your bullshit now. As I like to say, my room would make a crime-scene investigator cry, the cleanup crew might just quit outright”.  

Lewis quirks an eyebrow, “okay, why? Also, why would it be a problem if I needed Amity’s hospitals' approval? I don’t, but curiosity”. Amity’s Hospital didn’t seem to have much in the way of actually followed rules and regulations. Sure his hospital was a little lenient, from what he’d research it seemed every hospital that dealt with Amity Parkers was, but his hospital was still much more likely to say no.

Danny chuckles, he’d almost like to see some poor out of town investigators go through his room with a fine-toothed comb, “I give myself and get medical treatment in my room Lewis, and I don’t have to worry about infections; so how clean my tools and supplies happens to be doesn’t really matter. If you pulled up my carpet and rung it out, it would bleed. And since I can phase through stuff-”, Danny sticks his cup through the wall and just leaves it in there, “-my walls and floor are my cabinets for everything really questionable or dangerous. I know for a fact there’s at least six bombs in the floor. Lots and lots of stolen property, powerful ghost artefacts. One of my walls is filled with blood and ‘plasm bags, if someone cut that wall open they would literally get a bloodbath”, taking his coffee out of the wall and sipping at it, “and because Amity’s hospital doesn’t allow anyone under their insurance to go inside FentonWorks. I’ve had the hospital head flat-out say he’d put me, as Phantom, on payroll purely to deal with them and their house. Because being dead apparently counts as a preexisting condition that makes me excluded from their insurance”.

Well, Lewis thinks, that’s one way to get out of covering employees; Anne would have a field day with that. And if Vee heard how Danny keeps his room, apparently anyway, they’d nag at Eddie over ‘why can’t we keep snacks in the walls? Eddie?!?’. Which is probably a conversation that would horrify both Eddie and Danny in two very different ways. “I’m going to guess you turned that offer down? And if I can handle being around Vee when they didn’t like me and saw me as the bad guy who attack them with the noisy death machine, I can handle the Fenton house”, pointing his cup at Danny, “and why did you do that to your room? As a doctor, especially your doctor, I definitely can’t approve of using dirty tools and just leaving your mess around”.

Danny rubs at his neck and glances at the clock, Lewis probably didn’t work till the afternoon, “death machine? Now it’s my turn to guess, they have a weakness like how anti-ecto stuff hurts me. And you’re damn right, I am on no one’s payroll”, rolling his eyes some, “and it’s either I leave it in my room, can’t go dumping samples from me anywhere, or I burn it. Once they get really bad, I always burn them. With ecto-fire to be specific. Also, I’m lazy where I can be, namely my own health”, pointing at the clock, “I’m guessing you don’t work till late?”.  

Lewis shakes his head, at least Danny was honest, “correct, late shift today; and I’d say you should care about your health but that would be of as much use as a chocolate fireguard. Though you do have a point, considering your friends destroyed all your samples”, shaking his head with a slight smile, “your guess is right. Loud high pitched sounds and fire, so MRI’s aren’t such a good idea. Basically vibrated right out of Eddie’s skin, lots of screaming and what was basically a seizure”.  

“Oof, sounds like how I died. ‘Cept even more screaming. Like, the entire Zone heard that shit. Also-”, Danny lifts up a finger and lets an ecto-flame burn above it, “-I can be a firebug. And yeah, I’m called a self-sacrificial fool for a reason. I’m durable enough to afford to be”.

Lewis shakes his head, just how many powers did Danny have? “Still should at least somewhat care about your own self. You better not set my friends on fire, and at this point, you might as well just give me a list of abilities instead of just dropping them one by one”.

Danny points at him and telekinetically brings over the rest of his ecto-shake, “they better not hurt my humans. And dude, I frequently forget my powers. That list will not be complete”.

Lewis isn’t sure if that’s worrying, impressive, or sad. Watching the floating drink and Danny drink from it without dropping eye-contact, “a list would still be nice and I won’t make promises for them but I genuinely believe they’ll behave”.

Danny grumbles, “they better”, before leaning back and shrugging, “yeah I guess randomly springing that, kind of lost the dramatic flare after the duplication stunt”.

“Yeah, not sure you could pull something more strange. At least Vee’s ability to make multiple heads out of Eddie doesn’t result in a whole nother separate body”.  

Danny gives a devilish grin before opening his mouth and making an arm pop out and wave at Lewis before opening seventeen eyes all over it and making them strobe blue and green. Biting the arm off to dissipate into green fog, seeping into the skin on his face. Smirking at Lewis’s obviously restrained shock, “a lesson best remembered with me, never tempt or encourage body horror. I love that shit”.

Lewis blinks a few times, he’s both interested to see just how far or extreme Danny could take this and completely wanting to nope out of seeing that. “I am legitimately going to ask you to never give Vee ideas. They do enough weird shit to and with Eddie’s body. Can you just, replicate any part of your body anywhere and without limit?”.

Danny nods, “pretty much. But it uses up ectoplasm and I don’t have an endless supply of that. I think the most heads I’ve had at once was, like, thirty-two. I max out at four full duplicates. Duplicates take way more energy than just general body manipulation. I could pretty well just fill this room with random body parts via body manipulation”.

Okay Lewis does not need to see that, still extremely interested though. He won’t say no if Danny just does it or offers. He’s not going to make a request though. “So that’s body manipulation, duplication, intangibility, invisibility, transformation, levitation, pyrokinesis, healing factor, heightened durability, and heightened senses. You also said you had most of the same as my friends. So enhanced strength, speed, and just in general defying logic”.

Danny shakes his head, but chuckles, “Ancients fine, that’s not even half”, Lewis quirks an eyebrow as Danny just starts counting off on his fingers for added flare, “so to add on to what you listed. Everything’s ecto-energy in some way generally. Energy beams, blasts, discs, waves, balls, shields and constructs. Repulsion field and power absorption. Enhancement, as in I can increase my strength beyond its natural level. Electrocution and more general shapeshifting. Photokinesis, Ectokinesis and cryokinesis. Ghost sense and absolute dark vision. I learn super quick, about fourteen hours for new skills or languages. Immunity to some ghost attacks in general, and some anti-ghost stuff while human. Working on teleportation and portal creation, possibly a sleep ray”, Danny tilts his head, “um, oh right. Exorcism, as in I can tear a ghost out of someone; might be able to tear Vee out of Eddie like that actually. Overshadowing of people, technology, and dreams. Like, you know how Vee is basically inside of and able to control Eddie? Yeah that’s basically overshadowing. Possessing someone or something”, chuckling, “could maybe possess Vee, who’s basically possessing Eddie. That would be a trip. And lastly, my sort of trump card power cause it’s super fucking strong. My Ghostly Wail, a super-sonic wail. If I really try I could take out entire cities with it”, shrugging and chuckling a bit awkwardly Lewis just staring at him with a slowly cooling coffee, “did warn ya and then there are the powers I had only temporarily. Weather manipulation and reality control. Oh, also had a time medallion fused in my chest for a while, which excluded me from time itself. By the by, reality control means I could basically do anything. Turned a lady into a duck, altered some people’s memories, altered time, turned a ghost back into a living person; probably a few other things that I don’t really remember”.

Lewis is honestly wondering if there’s anything Danny can’t do. “You have more power than any one person really should have”.

Danny chuckles and nods, “yeah, though many of my abilities are literally just general ghost shit. Every ghost can use body manipulation, invisibility, intangibility, flight, overshadowing, ecto-beams/blasts, shields, enhanced strength and speed and senses and healing, body manipulation, duplication, photokinesis and absolute dark vision. You just have to learn how. Most ghosts don’t learn how to do everything they’re capable of doing, I do because it always seems to wind up being needed”.

Lewis shakes his head, that was a bit ridiculous. Ghosts were absurdly powerful beings, “question, why haven’t ghosts just taken us over? Because that would be really easy to do”.

Danny chuckles, “four reasons: humans are seen by many as lesser and thus not worth the effort, have zero interest in the mortal world at all, getting into the mortal world is actually not that easy and ghost can’t actually stay, and lastly, ghosts like me exist to stop the ones that do want to or try to. But in the end, ghosts care about their Obsessions first and foremost, so unless their Obsession is something like ruling or humanity there’s no reason to want to take over mortals”.

Lewis shakes his head as he goes to get packed to take Danny home, “well that’s comforting, this sounds like a pretty good note to decide to get the probably disturbingly powerful being back to his home. Which I’ve honestly said to Eddie too, come to think of it”.

Danny chuckles as Lewis walks off, “well it's not hard to be more powerful than humans”, Lewis coming back in only a little bit later, “and yet we often come out on top. You seem more powerful than most ghosts, judging by all the fighting, yet you’re part human”.

Danny chuckles as he stretches out, slides off the stool, and floats over to the door; inspecting his tail a little as he goes, “being part mortal gives me a big leg up on other ghosts. Being part ghosts gives me a big leg up on other mortals. Also makes me a mortal with ghostly needs and instincts. And a ghost with mortal weaknesses”.

Lewis closes the car door and looks back to where it sounds like Danny sat in the back, “mortal weakness? Your humanness doesn’t seem to be a weakness”.

Danny rolls his eyes, “I can still die Lewis. I still age, still change”, popping into visibility and pointing at Lewis though laying across the backseat to be hidden, “dead ghosts ain’t meant to change at the base level. Halfas do. Not healthy”.

Lewis tilts his head as he gets up to highway speed, Danny had a good point in a sense, ghost were dead. Weren’t part of the living world and thus didn’t really have to deal with living stuff. But clearly they could be destroyed, which is basically dying. “Well shouldn’t ageing be good for you? Being stuck at fourteen seems pretty unpleasant. Ghosts can be destroyed too, that’s basically dying”.

Danny sighs slightly, yeah that would be pretty shit but what would he be like as an old man? Heck maybe he would stop ageing or changing at some point. Who fucking knows? Halfas were a new species, everything was debatable, unproven, yet to be seen. Didn’t help that the only other natural halfa was one nut short of a fruitcake; not to mention rather reclusive. Shrugging, “being an old man won’t change my Obsession. I’ll still be doing what I’m doing now, might be a little difficult to do that. Ehh, hard to say. The other is as old as my folks, he does fine. Okay, he does fine physically. Dying and destruction is odder for me than humans or ghosts. ‘Cause if my ghost’s destroyed then my human’s still here. My human dies then my ghost’s still here. No halfa ever has done either though so everything’s hypothetical. Might not even be possible without the halfs being torn apart first”, Danny shivers slightly, different train of thought, “ghosts that are five thousand years old are nearly no different in base form or personality than when they first formed. That’s part of how they have their spot and place in the Zone, that makes me uncertain, unreliable, and unpredictable to ghosts. And a ghosts base body, skin colour, ears, eyes, hair, yada yada, is pretty well part of who they are. Some look more mortal, some not at all. And while humans are really damn adaptable, there’s a limit to that. Which is why my teeth and face hurts sometimes”.

“Go to a dentist?”.

Danny screws up his face before pulling himself up and leaning on the centre console, pushing up his upper lip and extending his fangs. All four sets of them, which yes, are too damn big for his face, “I’ll getz rightz on thatz”.

Lewis glances at them and yeah okay, dentist would be a bad idea. Though he’s very curious what x-rays of Danny’s teeth would look like. Seems to be those fangs are just part of him, not body manipulation. So there must be pockets in his jaw and skull for them to slide in and out of. Not to mention specialised extra muscles. Yeah, that likely would be rather uncomfortable. Also very obvious Danny’s not used to them, “fair point, grow into them? Eddie and Vee can do a lot of weird stuff with Vee’s teeth, and Vee’s got an obscene amount of teeth. Their face is sixty percent teeth. Though if you’re basically transversing unknown territory then just roll with it. That’s basically what Eddie does, though maybe actually attempt to figure stuff out instead of just shrugging at it”.

Danny chuckles, “maybe I willz grow to fillz ‘em. Andz I’m from a family ofz zvientiztz, ofz courze I ztudy the changez”.

Lewis shakes his head with a slight smile as Danny basically stabs his lower lip and starts bleeding, hearing him groan in annoyance as they enter Amity Park. ‘A nice place to live’ seems a bit funny for it being the most haunted place in the world and who’s town icon -Phantom’s symbol is everywhere, the town clearly likes him more than he’s implied- literally does not live, to public knowledge. Speaking as Danny runs his tongue over his -fangs clearly retracted- teeth and lip, “maybe try talking with them more instead of ignoring them. And good, everyone should be familiar with their bodies. Also, your town loves you”.

Danny rolls his eyes and grumbles, “just because they have the symbol for a famous ghost around doesn’t mean they’re doing it for anything other than popularity and profit. I’m a staple of the town, being a staple doesn’t necessarily mean well-liked. Like rats in New York and-”, Danny cuts himself off at smelling bleach and glimpsing the bumper of a white car, promptly turning himself, Lewis, and the car invisible and intangible.

“No one puts rats on t-shirts and pins. Also, does your town have weird tingly air? Because something is off”, Lewis blinks, firmly caught off guard as another car's bumper just goes through his own. Looking to Danny who looks slightly mischievous but has a sharpness to his eyes and they’re darting around slightly, in a way that implied lots of practice at making it not noticeable that he was looking for threats. “What’s going on? You can transfer you powers?”. If Danny could push his powers onto other things that was a power in and of itself. Manipulating other things and people.

Danny sends out a duplicate through his tail to look from above, easily spotting the Agents. Doesn’t look to be the same ones as at the hospital and they look to be carrying around water guns. Which Danny’s going the bet his own eyeballs, are filled with that ‘rain’ liquid. Wonderful. Original Danny hisses, “G.I.W.”.

Lewis restrains a sigh, at least Danny noticed quickly; paranoid but usefully so. Having to make a damn point of not jerking from a car driving straight through him, Danny of course hardly seems to pay it any mind. Though being able to just run red lights gives him a bit of childish joy. Struggling to keep a smile off his face as he picks up speed and just goes through a building.

Original Danny glances at him and chuckles slightly, “usually I go around buildings. You know, for peoples privacy? But yes, my powers are pretty fun”. Before growling, snapping his head to the side, and squinting his now glowing green eyes; as the duplicate spots one agent spraying Elliot -why doesn’t that kid just move out?- in the face.

Lewis isn’t sure what’s going on, glimpsing Danny’s tail vibrating and lashing a bit aggressively; and him clearly in attack mode. Under an hour into being back in his own town and he’s already picking fights. He just can’t slow down, like Eddie. Which is honestly the scariest part about Eddie himself, combined with having functionally no restraints or very few personal limits. Looking around to see a Phantom duplicate zip over to somewhere and restraining another sigh, before blinking and spotting the FentonWorks sign and the UFO? Danny wasn’t kidding about the strange house. Promptly parking and clearing his throat at Danny, it takes a few times before Danny glances his very bright eyes at him, “we’re just gonna sit here till other you is done”. Danny rolls his eyes slightly but goes back to staring out the window.

Danny, meanwhile, is happy the liquid doesn’t seem to affect regular ecto-contaminated humans. But he still floats aggressively, and invisibly, behind the agents. While Elliot looks extremely done with everything, shaking his hands off and then tossing them up dramatically and walking off, grumbling about the dumb stupid pain in the fucking ass gov asshole pricks.

Danny, feeling a little vindictive and mischievous, makes a point of giving the agents the seemingly worst luck ever. Tripping them up, knocking stuff in front of them, whispering creepily at them, making random growling sounds from alleyways. One agent grumbling, “I hate dealing with damn ghost lairs. Too bad we can’t just blow the place”. Danny growls low at that and unintentionally changes the colour palette of the buildings and sidewalk to be darker and harsher shades. Both agents glare around and scoff, “you’re not going to chase us off, filthy lair”.

“Maybe it should!”.

Danny tilts his head up towards the voice and sighs slightly, seeing the red-eyed ‘Phantom’ Amorpho. Promptly zipping up to him and yanking him out of the way of the agents water guns as they shout, “Phantom! Give it up you filthy ecto-entity!”.

Danny pops into visibility with Amorpho a few blocks over, pointing at him, “you don’t want that water shit on you. Also, the fuck are you doing posing in-front of billboards and shit?”.

Amorpho blinks and transforms into his natural state, “you’re back! I’ve been having my fun, haven’t caused any issues for you, so who says it matters”.

Danny rolls his eyes but chuckles, “oh yes, who says it matters that you’re making a whole bunch of new weird stories about me. At least general confusion suits me, though I did ask you to stay out of my town. Though fine, thanks for covering my ass. That water will paralyse you and burn you, now I imagine that would get you stuck in whatever form”, Danny grins a bit cruelly knowing how much Amorpho hates that. While Amorpho jerks slightly, turning his head towards where the agents are, “thanks then, I’m going to make their day. In the bad way”, transforming into an agent and walking off with a cruel smirk.

Danny shakes his head, at least he could leave the agents to Amorpho to mess with, being distracting was basically the guys specialty. Flying off back into the car and being resorbed by the original.

Lewis shakes his head, as Danny just smirks more and leans back in the seat, “someone I've got a truce with is messing with them now. He’s a tricky fellow so I doubt they get him, he’s pretending to be an agent himself”, Danny shakes his head, “he’s actually been pretending to be Phantom while I’ve been gone. He’s a true shift-shaper, can look like anyone. Harmless though, just a prankster that likes attention. Also, we’re visible and everything again”. Lewis can’t even imagine all the ways that kind of power could cause harm and mass panic, seems like only the less harmful ghosts had all the more dangerous powers. “Before we head in, because I know you won’t talk about this around Jack and Maddie. Is there a reason it just seems to be good or neutral ghosts with stronger abilities?”.

Danny promptly shakes his head, “it only seems that way because all the powerful bad ghosts are locked up or sealed away, so they can’t do shit. Like Overgrowth? Control over all plant life and turns people into fertiliser. Massive death count, enslaved Amity once. Vortex? Compete weather control. Makes massive storms and shit. Caused the ice age. Aragon can turn into a dragon. Pariah is literally one of the most powerful there is and he’s an evil bastard. Oh, and Spectra, she makes people depressed. Massive death count for her too”, Danny shrugs and coils his tail up, turning it invisible and throws his -pretty well shredded- hoodie around his waist, “there are just enough good guys to keep the bad guys wrangled. Well okay, and the Observants deal with the really dangerous ones”.

Lewis shakes his head as he gets out of the car and opens the back door, seeing as Danny can’t be just floating in. Danny points at him, “you aren’t carrying me, my pride took enough of a hit yesterday. And I can’t just ride piggyback cause with how injured I’m supposed to be that would be very suspicious”. Lewis raises an eyebrow, “you have pride?”. Danny flips him off for that, “all ghosts do. Prideful things by nature”.

“Huh, well I did not bring a wheelchair. Would Jack and Maddie have something?”.

Danny blinks at him a few times before laughing and nodding his head, “they always have something, they built a hoverboard I believe”.

Lewis is just going to assume hoverboards are basically commonplace here, as he knocks on the door.

To say Jack and Maddie have been busy would be a bit of an understatement. They’d like to say the first thing they did was start on legs and perfect them, but how could they? Having to face that fact, just accept what their boy had lost so quickly? No, but cleaning, organising, and getting to work on deconstructing bits from the first Spector Speeder for a little hover-board? That was easy enough, distraction enough. The house was probably the cleanest it had ever been, especially after finding out Dan would be coming to stay for a while. Finding out Danny would be coming home even sooner really made them stop and acknowledge that they needed to genuinely start building. Of course they both already had ideas, and had started building a little, but really hearing Danny actually eager to hear about them was the real kick in the butt they needed to build with wild abandon. But it wasn’t exactly going smoothly. Building actual robotic legs that could pass as normal legs, rather than an exoskeleton of sorts was a fair bit more difficult. Of course they needed neuroreceptors and the base shape and systems, all that they could build easily. But Danny was rather lean and short, there wasn’t a whole lot of room to work with. And they only wanted legs, no further areas of a full-body suit for space or support. And of course, they absolutely had to be able to work long term and completely safely. There were to be no running off of Danny’s life force or draining any substantial amount of his ectoplasm. The less he has to act as a battery the better.

So as it stands they had basic prototypes, and they were fully intending to ask Danny if he wanted them to bring them in for him to look at, try on, and help troubleshoot; when the G.I.W. situation had gone down. To say they were pissed at G.I.W. was another definite understatement. The absolute only reasons they didn’t hunt those men down or bust into that transport vehicle was Jazz and Sam pointing out how suspicious that would seem and Tuck assuring them that Danny was not in G.I.W. custody. The final nail in the coffin for them turning around to go back home and just wait, was Jazz somewhat sheepishly admitting to them that she had told Dan about the G.I.W. and that Danny actually dealt with them coming after him before. Because that meant Danny had a plan for this and Dan was smart. Not to mention, they knew from growing up with him that he had zero qualms over forgoing rules or normalcy. Even they acknowledged Dan was a bit strange, more so than them. They had strange interests and were both very intense and unapologetic about everything. Dan was strange on the very base fundamental level, so everything about him was at least a little off. But that was exactly why he fit and flowed well with them.

So they trusted their boy and put some faith in an old friend. Which thankfully paid off, even if that meant Danny coming home way sooner and functionally sent them into a bit of a frenzy. They couldn’t just have prototypes and ‘leg’ bits around, certainly that would be unpleasant for Danny right? And they couldn’t have Dan thinking the house was unsafe. Though they agreed to leave both children’s rooms be, the last thing they wanted to do was make Danny uncomfortable by going through his stuff or changing his area. Jazz would likely go on about how rooms were comfort zones and safe havens.

So they were a bit frazzled when that knock they had been nervously waiting for finally came. Maddie quickly fixing her hair as she opens the door to see Dan, “Dan, is he fine? Where’s Danny?”. Lewis puts up his hands and makes pacifying motions, “he’s fine, he’s fine”. While Maddie sticks her head out the door, spotting Danny sitting in the car. Seeing him in braces instead of casts feels like a breath of fresh air laced with gold, “DANNY!”.

Danny rubs his neck a bit awkwardly, partly because he didn’t have a full range of motion and partly because he hated worrying people, while Maddie runs over to him and squats down. Squeezing his shoulder before pulling him in for an almost tight hug, making sure not to pull him off the seat though, “oh sweetie, I’m glad those men didn't get to do anything”.

Danny’s not about to tell her that they did hurt him, but he does glance around with a cautious eye, “yeah, they’re pricks, aren’t they? They’re also in town, so let’s party over tripping up government dogs inside”. This instantly gets Maddie to snap up and look around, no way does she want to try picking Danny up. Not yet. Thankfully Jack, the dear, was thinking ahead; coming out with the little circular hover cushion with cushion walls around it, looking like a bowl. Course it also had a control panel, pop out trays, pop open cubby holes, etcetera.

Both Danny and Lewis resist chuckling or snorting at the device. Though Danny takes it and, with the kind of ease that comes from being overly familiar with how his parents build stuff, operates it easily. Lewis quietly muttering, “well shit”, the thing genuinely hovers and quietly too.

Jack and Maddie both beam as Danny just easily hovers himself inside and does a little twirl in the air. Jazz snickering from the hallway stairs. Patting the puffy thing after walking up, looking Danny over and nodding slightly, “you seem better, no more stiff casts”.

Danny smiles and makes a point of stretching out some, “oh it is much better, I have fingers again. Stick fingers, but fingers”. Bending his right fingers at her the little that he actually can. Which she giggles and shakes her head over.

Lewis looks at Maddie as she leans towards him, “is he really okay enough to be out of casts?”. Lewis nods, a normal person would definitely not be...well, a normal person would just be flat-out dead. But he had to downplay the injuries, “he’s a tough kid. Lucky too. So he’s good, just needs to be monitored to make sure, and keep up with the wrappings. Though I have a shift soon, so I can’t stay long right now”.

Jack claps him on the shoulder though his smile looks a little empty, “that’s too bad! You could’ve helped set up the spare room!”. Lewis chuckles and shakes his head slightly, “I’m sure I would have loved that. Though don’t worry about that too much. I’m hardly the picky type”.

Danny smirks and glances up towards his room, his parents could give Lewis the strangest room ever and he’d probably be unfazed. Whispering at Jazz, “please tell me they didn’t raid my room?”, saying ‘cleaned up’ would be stretching it, since cleaning wasn’t often their thing. Plus, genuinely cleaning his room would probably take more than three days. Jazz giggles slightly, “no worries little brother. They did actually clean the house though”, smiling and side-eyeing her parents, “lab’s a bit messy of course”.

Danny groans quietly, “it’s covered in leg bits, isn't it?”. She just nods quickly while Lewis comes up and pats Danny’s shoulder.

Lewis eye-balls the hover cushion thing, “somehow, this is stranger”, shaking his head, “I’ll be around in the morning, try not to destroy your bandaging”. Danny smirks at him, “no promises”. Lewis shakes his head and waves over his shoulder as he takes his leave.

Danny hovers somewhat awkwardly, focusing on keeping his tail invisible -which doesn’t fit all that well in the little cushion contraption-, while his parents walk over to him. Jack patting him on the shoulder, “did you pull a good one over on those agents?”. Danny smirks and nods, “to my knowledge, they don’t even know I was ever there”. Jack beams over that, while Danny glances up to his room, “cool if I rub my face in my blankets?”, he was going to enjoy his bed tonight, after flying around his town with a fine eye. Any ghosties are were going to get their asses kicked with a passion.

They honestly don’t want to let him out of their sight but Jazz is giving them a bit of a glare, clearly saying they should give him space. Jack squeezes Danny’s shoulder slightly and nods, “glad to hear it and go ahead Danny-boy. I’m sure Mads will have supper ready in a bit!”. And Maddie kisses Danny on the cheek quickly, who blushes and bats her off weakly. Before promptly hovering up to his room.

Sticking his head in, Danny’s just damn glad his room looks exactly as it did before. Locking the door and promptly ditching the hover cushion, stretching his tail out and letting it wiggle all over the place; before just flopping onto his bed. Laying there realising that being gone for a while has rather resensitised him to all the scents he’d gotten used to over the past years. Grumbling, “oh man, I really do need to clean. Kinda smells like someone died and rolled in lemon acid”. Was he going to actually do it? Probably not. Give it a day or so and he’d be nose-blind again. Sighing happily into his blankets, hard to actually be comfortable with the braces on though. Turning his head to the side and staring out the window, he could wait till nightfall.

Jack and Maddie watch him head to his room with worry, Jazz rubbing her mom's arm, “he just needs some time to adjust and enjoy being home”, smiling at her dad, “you know how unpleasant hospitals can be”. Not to mention calming down from dealing with the G.I.W.

Jack shivers slightly, hospitals were so annoying to be stuck dealing with. Before looking to the lab door and smiling, “maybe testing things out will get him back into the swing of things!”, and bounding down the stairs. While Jazz shakes her head with a small smile, “give him some time at least!”.

Maddie gives Jazz a soft smile and kisses her head quickly, “oh he’ll be a while, no worries. I’ll get to work on a good supper”. Jazz, full well knowing Danny will be annoyed but he really should not be eating anything heavily seasoned or tough, “remember it should be simple and easy to digest”. Maddie blinks and nods, “right, of course, thanks Jazz”. Jazz just smiles and shakes her head slightly.

Danny’s just glad supper went normally, even if he’s sure the food was very intentionally ‘guy who just had surgery’ friendly. Now he’s just curled up in his blankets and staring at the window. No way his folks weren’t going to check in on him before they went to bed themselves. He honestly wanted them to hurry up on that and go to bed, so he can leave and have a night out on the town.

Not even ten minutes later he coils his tail up and flicks it out of visibility, as he smells his folks approaching the door. Flipping over to face the door as he hears his mom ask, “you up sweetie? Can we come in?”.

“Yeah, go ahead”, Danny would throw in a joke about not being able to get the door but that would technically be a lie and would probably be really insensitive.

Jack and Maddie come in and sit on Danny’s bed, it was strange and bit painful that doing so pulled the blankets down enough to make what’s missing rather noticeable. The two parents share a look before Maddie brushes Danny’s hair around some, speaking soft and kind, “now you know we’ve been working on legs for you. We’ve got good frameworks and systems started, though we haven’t really been able to solidify or start on the attachment zone. So we were wondering if it would be alright to see the work Dan did?”.

Danny makes a point not to wince, it was clear she was trying to be kind and gentle, even if the whole...Dan...name kind of ruined the attempted effect. All three glance down to Danny’s waist and ‘legs’, while Danny mentally debates what to do.

#Danny Phantom #phandom #crossover #venom #danny phantom focused #amputation #character injury #injury recovery #hospitalisation #angst #hurt/comfort #ectobiology #amity is dannys lair #giw #guys in white #dan lewis is a good dude #mentions of cannibalism #mentions of murder #danny fenton #dan lewis #valerie gray #Maddie Fenton #jack fenton #jazz fenton #anne weying #Tucker Foley #sam manson #fan fic #phanphic #have a fic suck my dick

[thewordreaper]

Be Prepard

(My 3rd story for @short-story-slam as usual this is an independent story that falls into my supervillain universe. You don’t need to read anything else to read this but reading the 1st story will this make this so much more funnier. Trust me. And if you’re intrigued by my story here’s another story from this universe.)

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Tanveer, the most successful thief in Hyderabad, ran along the balcony railing. Look carefully. Her usual disguise of shifting greys and blues had been discarded for a suit of green with a red mask from which red lines ran down to her shoulders.

A plan was in motion, carefully planned and currently being perfectly executed.

Just as she leapt onto the next building, her phone rang. A lesser person would have been thrown off balance. But she was prepared. She was prepared for everything.

Are you jealous yet? You should be.

Her phone would ring only if one among a select five people called. If anyone of them called at this time of night, there was an 85% chance of it being an emergency. It was exactly 85% which was very confusing. There had to be some slight errors in the calculations somewhere. Perfect percentages were a nightmare. Nevertheless' she left her volume on because there was no one else competent enough to deal with their problems.

You should be jealous by now, whether you want to be her or be friends with her. Either one is fine.

"Hello?" She said putting it up to her ear and cursing quietly when she realised she hadn't pressed the receive button.

"Hello?" She repeated after doing so.

"Tanveer! Thank god you picked up. You have experiences with boyfriends right?"

Tanveer stopped midstep, one leg still in the air, held her phone in front of her and just looked at it.

"Tanveer?" Said a weak voice from the phone.

"No." She said finally, putting the phone back to her ear. "I have never had a boyfriend. Never wanted a boyfriend. You're my best friend. You know this!"

There was a groan from the other end. "Well, who knows what you've been up to in Hyderabad? Probably going out every night."

She was technically right but Tanveer wasn't going to admit it. She didn't need Roshini to be mixed up in all this. Let her enjoy her normalcy.

"I've been working. If anyone is partying all night it would be you."

"That reminds me. I need to invite my boyfriend to Kai's party day after. Its some cool Dj thing. I did tell you I have a boyfriend right?"

"You may have mentioned it." Admitted Tanveer, stepping over a broken section of the railing.

Here's a fun tip, destroy you railings to prevent thieves from using them as a freeway.

"I thought you had given up on love."

"Meh. You know I love you right?"

"You don't. You don't. You would not be calling me at one o'clock in the night to gush about your boyfriend if you loved me."

Which is rude. If you can't gush about your boyfriend in the earliest hours of the morning when can you?

"I wasn't planning to stay up until one. I was texting him and it became flirty. Which is a first. One sec, I need to check if my mom is secretly listening."

Tanveer sighed as she took stock of her surroundings. Two houses to go.

If any of you, comfortably reclining on a sofa are thinking oh only two houses left. That's not much, let's see you run across two houses in the night while holding a phone to your ear. And it will be pitch black as well because that's the price of pollution. Start carpooling.

"Anyway, he sent me a shirtless picture."

"Which you didn't want?"

"Well, technically I asked him for it."

"Is he secretly a cyborg or something? Roshini there is no conceivable reason why you would call me!"

"He's usually really bad at pictures. Absolutely terrible. He sent me a selfie the other day and I had to take five minutes to convince myself that he's actually good looking and fairly competent at everything else."

"Please do not describe his shirtless picture with me. I will throw my phone away. I will throw your phone away and I'll find him and throw away his phone as well."

"It probably won't make a difference. He keeps loosing or breaking his phone. Now that I'm thinking about it, his job doesn't give him space to do a lot of photography."

"What does he do?"

There was a panicked silence as Tanveer inspected a window on the top floor. The security guard would notice her if she took more than two minutes to find a window she could enter through.

"Uh..homeopathy? Natural... medicines? And stuff. People's health-related."

"Doesn't really seem like the sort of thing that gets your phone broken."

"He has a lot of hobbies. Like pyrotechnics."

"Did he blow himself up while taking a picture? You accidentally killed him didn't you? Come on Roshini, that's so careless."

The window opened up easily and she soundlessly slipped inside. Which takes practice.

So much practice that it's almost not worth it. Especially when it's your toe that gets stabbed every time. Tanveer has never stubbed her toes in her life.

If you're not jealous yet, you're obviously not a human. Give up already, you've been found out.

"Have some faith in me."

"No." said Tanveer as she made her way downstairs. Roshini groaned again.

"Anyway, this picture was good. I am kind of attracted to him. But what do I say?"

"That he's hot maybe? Why are you asking me this?"

"I did." She said sourly. "He thought I was making a pun. This is ridiculous, maybe I should break up with him. How do you even break up with people?"

"Roshini have I ever dated anyone in my life? Do you seriously have no other friends?"

There was silence. Tanveer took advantage of it to cautiously open a door. A crooked hinge caught her mask, and as she moved forward, it pulled a strip of fabric from it.

"They all cut the call within a minute." She said at last. Tanveer cast a look at the sleeping couple in the main bedroom and decided it was worth continuing the conversation. "When did he send the picture?"

"Ten o'clock."

Tanveer sighed as she slid open the closest. She lifted a few saris out of the way to reveal the safe. "He probably already thinks you want to break up with him. What's his name anyway?"

"Advaith."

"I know an Advaith." Sais Tanveer darkly.

He was more popularly known as Zeher, was obsessed with destructive plans and derailed every conversation you had with him. At least Roshini wasn't dating him. To make matters worse, that guy had a permanent place in the league of evil because he's healed most of them at least once. She smiled as Roshini continued to complain over the phone. This night would secure her seat.

She removed the blade from her pocket. She had made several replicas of it and made modifications of her own to Revanth's original design. It was never wise to have a single supplier of weapons.

"It cut through the top of the safe with ease. After carefully sheathing it again, she reached in and pulled out its contents. She sandwiched her phone between her ear and shoulder so that she could use both her hands.

"Why don't you just tell him he looks good and set up a date or something?"

"Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"I'm not sure of anything. I have no idea about relationships!" She said pretty loudly.

It is possible that her voice, paired with the slamming of the cupboard door was what woke up the sleepers. It is possible that they had a very strange circadian rhythm or perhaps they were victims of terrible nightmares that chose to return them to consciousness at this exact moment. That must be why they woke up.

"That's just great." Said Tanveer.

"What is?"

"My roommate just walked i."

"And you complain about my sleeping habits."

"You're my best friend." Muttered Tabveer, as the owners of their house continued to wonder if they were dreaming or not. "Although that might change once you die of lack of sleep."

"Do you want me to hang up?"

"Nah. Just keep talking for a while."

"Sure. Well, I was talking to him the other day and.."

Tanveer allowed her friend's chatter to relax her brain as she snuck out. The light flicked on right as she was at the doorway illuminating her memorable outfit and the huge 'T' emblazoned on the back. She froze for a second before rushing up the stairs. Panicked voices rose behind her and someone was screaming over the phone. They had definitely noticed the gold chain she had dropped near their bed. She stopped at the nearest window and fished something out of her pocket. It was a little glass orb. She threw it at the glass pane. There was a terrific sizzling noise as a hole began to grow from the centre of the pane.

The voices from downstairs were still rising, sirens could be heard from the distance. Far more interesting was the storm clouds gathering in the distance. A sure sign that the states current favourite hero, Typhoon was approaching.

"What's all the noise?" Inquired Roshini.

"She's decided to dismantle the fridge."

"I'm not envious of you. How come you never complain to me about her?"

"I don't really see her a lot admitted Tanveer as she slid through the now nonexistent window. As she left the house far behind there was a surge of lights as whatever had been in the glass orb started eating through the concrete. Soon it would look like it was blown apart by the wind.

"Oh my god!"  Yelled Roshini, which would have scared nearly anyone. But as we've established before, Tanveer is prepared.

"What happened?"

"Dude there's some serious stuff happening in Hyderabad right now. How are you not aware of this?"

"Just tell me." Said Tanveer checking her bag. She had dropped nearly everything she had stolen in the balcony of the house, where the hero would surely land. Only a bundle of notes remained.

"You know Typhoon right? The hero guy? Apparently, he just broke into a house to steal stuff. They have eyewitnesses and footage of him on the crime scene and everything."

"Interesting." Sid Tanveer, pulling her own cape out of her bag. Printed on the back was a huge, swirly 'T'. Here's a quick tip for all you wannabee heroes out there. If you're choosing a name, don't steal it from a supervillain.

Tanveer smiled. "I feel pretty lucky right now?"

"I really don't know why. Typhoon's done now I guess. No one will want to associate him with his name anymore."

That's sad." Said Tanveer tossing the bundle up and catching it again. An added bonus. The seat on the league would be another bonus. Getting rid of a hero with no violence or suspicion? It was unheard of.

"Aren't you concerned that somebody will break into your apartment?"

"Don't worry," Said Tanveer, the true Typhoon of Telangana, about to reclaim her title. "I'm always prepared."

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Tag list: @lacklusterswirl @purpleshadows1989 @madsaialik @velvetlighthouse @ohlooksheswriting @focusdumbass

#orginal writing #writeblr #violetvineyard #short story slam 2019 #short stories #original short story #original fiction #supervillains #ace characters #ace character #thewordreaper #holding out for a hero #hofah

[minaminokyoko]

Venom: A Spoilertastic Review (that is mostly just a rant)

When the end credits to the Venom movie started, just as Eminem began his embarrassingly uninspired rapping, I turned my head to one of my two friends and asked her, "What the hell did I just put into my eyeballs?"

To be frank, Venom is one of the most peculiar, bizarre, baffling films I've seen in years.

I want to preface this review by saying I was against this idea when it was announced. I thought it was beyond idiotic to make a film about a supervillain whose entire creation hinges on a certain Webhead, and since Sony lent him out to Marvel Studios (the only smart fucking decision they've made in probably over a decade, imo), they went off half-cocked with the hair-brained idea that they could create an anti-hero solo flick for Venom instead. To some degree, sure, they were warranted because the general audience these days has low fucking standards and if you put the words "comic book movie" in front of them, they're usually going to lap it up no matter how terrible it is. After all, fandom doesn't care about things being accurate anymore, by this point, if you dangle fresh meat like Tom Hardy riding a motorcycle in front of them. As long as there's an attractive person at the helm, fandom will just adopt it as canon and ignore any red flags, as they have already done. That being said, I still think this is one of the most blatantly stupid things done for money and for notoriety from any studio toting around a popular comic book character.

Is Venom as bad as legendary awful comic book movies like Catwoman, The Spirit, Batman & Robin, Daredevil, Green Lantern, or Spawn?

Well, no.

And that's almost the only positive thing I can report about it, personally. 

In short, Venom is inept. That's the word I'd choose, aside from bizarre. It has no fucking clue what it's doing at any given time, from start to finish. It's too wacky to be serious, too serious to be a parody or satire, too mature for kids, too childish for adults, too mainstream for nerds, and too nerdy for mainstream. It's just a piping hot fucking mess.

So let's dive into why. Spoiler alert.

Overall Rating: D

Pros:

-Note: I am being very fucking generous by giving this movie points for anything at all, just so y'all know.

-It's not boring. Other comic book movies that have failed, whether it's the really bad kind or just the mediocre kind, have failed worse than this movie simply because at least there aren't any dead periods. Venom doesn't have awful pacing, even with its sloppy, uneven story. It moves along at a steady rate and you can never accuse it of being a borefest like Superman Returns or something. Even though most of it is incomprehensible from a story standpoint, it keeps your attention throughout.

-The doctor boyfriend surprisingly averted the usual stereotype/archetype for this kind of story. For example, in the first Ant Man, the cop boyfriend who is with Scott's baby mama is a smug, overprotective dickhead who later gets better. Most of the time when a main couple breaks up, the girl picks some douchebag who is either so much better than her former lover that it just feels insulting or it's just a one-dimensional asshole for us to hate so we want the two of them to get back together. Hell, doctor boyfriend was actually TOO nice and understanding and helpful. There is no way in hell I'd have stuck it out after seeing Eddie bite the head off a goddamn lobster. I'd have sent his ass to a mental hospital immediately, fuck the regular hospital. That being said, I like the movie averting the trope. It was a welcome change and was awfully refreshing too.

-Even though this is one of his strangest fucking performances to date, Tom Hardy is doing what he always does and gives 110% to a film that really doesn't even deserve him. I've already been hearing rumors that he's not pleased with the final product and that doesn't surprise me, but he does what he can with that awful script and I appreciate the effort. In fact, the only reason I sat through this turd is for Tom Hardy. He is a dedicated, talented actor and even when he's in tripe, he's still busting his beautiful ass to make the best of it anyway. I like him a lot and I'd go to bat for him any day, which is the only reason I coughed up the money for Venom when I knew damn well it'd be a trainwreck.

-The effects are at least decent. Not always. But Venom and the symbiotes actually feel as if they're really there and it's not just the actors staring at a ball on a stick. I appreciate it, since Sony goes in and out of quality regarding CGI.

-Despite the fucking travesty of a fake clown wig on his head, Woody Harrelson is an excellent choice for Cletus Kasady. Everyone knows that. I just hope they get him a better hairpiece next time, sheesh.

Cons:

-Jesus fucking Christ, where do I fucking start?

-Plotholes. This movie doesn't have plotholes--it has plot canyons. It's plothole Inception, for God's sake, with holes inside of fucking holes. It's so clear that the movie doesn't give a rat's ass about anything because there are some of the most ridiculous moments you're expected to swallow with the power of Willing Suspension of Disbelief. It's why it took me a whole two days to try and write a review/analysis of the film. There is so much wrong with it that I frankly wasn't sure where to start and how to process it all. The best I can try to do considering the overwhelming number of holes in the story is go chronologically. First off, Eddie stealing Blondie's confidential documents (Note: Michelle Williams' character was so bland and unimportant I can't remember her name and I don't care to look it up because we all know she doesn't matter, so she is now Blondie) but then not doing his actual job as a journalist when making wild accusations is the first monumentally dumb thing in the film. Why the hell did he go through the trouble of breaching her personal security and trust if all he was going to do was rant about it to the Bad Guy without proof? What did he think it would accomplish? Why would you just confront the guy instead of looking for more proof? Plus, you stole that information, which means it's inadmissable in court since it was obtained illegally, so you still wouldn't have a case anyhow. Any writer with half a brain cell would simply have it so that Eddie read the document, became curious, and started snooping around Life Foundation himself looking for hard evidence that would stand up in court to get justice for the victims. The way they did it in the film makes no sense, but it's because they wanted to bust up the couple and make Eddie a "loser" to kickstart the rest of the film. Then, the girl who tattled on the Life Foundation 100% did not need Eddie Brock to do that. She had full access to the lab and the trust of her superior. All she had to do was document everything herself, send it to Eddie to pass along to his boss, and then skip town with her fucking kids to avoid being murdered. Hell, she could have given it to the authorities anonymously. Third, why after everything went tits up in the lab did she fucking return to the lab as if they wouldn't immediately know it was her? She was seen outside the lab seconds before Eddie set off the alarms and her palm print is recorded having opened the door to the lab. Why the fuck did she go back after she let Eddie in there with no way to cover her tracks? And then she actually told on herself and Eddie, which led to her death. I can't comprehend that level of stupidity at all. It's staggering. Because I'm trying not to turn this into a seven-page single spaced review, I'm just going to stop here and not try to point out all the other plotholes in detail, like the fact that the cops only get involved one time and are never seen again despite the fact that they'd be all over the explosions and missing people associated with the Life Foundation or Eddie's phone working perfectly after he swam under the fucking bridge or Eddie leaving his phone for his boss instead of just sending him the goddamn pictures or the symbiote magically knowing where Eddie was after they took him from the hospital. We'll be here all day if I keep going. I'll just reblog CinemaSins' eventual video of this movie and feel satisfied that way.

-The movie makes zero attempts at explaining anything about the symbiotes except for "they're vulnerable to fire and sound frequencies, need a host to survive, and eat brains." What is even stranger about the lack of explanation is that this isn't a long film. They could have easily added about ten minutes into the story to give us an overview of where they came from, what their world was like, how they found human contact, and why they were on that comet. All we can do is infer things, which pisses me off because this is YOUR story and YOUR new continuity that you just fucking made up on the fly, so I don't know the rules here and it's shitty of you to just gloss over it all. Why is it called Venom? Is that a translation from whatever the hell the symbiote was called on its own planet? Did it hear that somewhere and decide it liked the word? Why? Why does it get touchy if you call it a parasite when that is literally what it is? Is it like Ratigan from The Great Mouse Detective and it's just in denial? We have to guess that it knows whatever Eddie knows, but why does it have any conceptual knowledge of romance and relationships when it attempts to get Eddie to apologize to Blondie or when it says it "likes" her? Or that Eddie "changed its mind" at the end? And how can a symbiote even be a loser? That concept is almost universally human and it's a giant sentient piece of fucking tar? How can it possibly be a loser on its own planet? There is just no damn context for majority of the shit surrounding the symbiotes in the movie and it's all the more frustrating since we spend a great deal of time in the lab with them during the movie and yet we learn almost nothing.

-Eddie and the symbiote don't actually form a proper bond or partnership. This is one of the things that's irritating me about people who seem to have taken to the movie. I was told multiple times by people that the movie is stupid, but the repartee between Eddie and Venom is enjoyable. Not really, no. Are there quips? Yes, there are quips. But quips do not inherently create a bond. Anyone can bounce dialogue off each other. If said dialogue does not change the characters, then it's just lip service. Sadly, though, a lot of people don't notice that absolutely nothing between Eddie and Venom lines up. Venom helps Eddie survive the attacks, but is killing him in the process. It's self-interest alone. The truly confounding part is when they get Venom off of Eddie and find out Venom has basically been consuming Eddie's organs to stay alive inside him, Eddie acts betrayed and storms off, but then when Venom returns wearing Blondie as his guise, he just accepts it and they go off to the badly filmed climax. What the hell changed in between those scenes? Nothing. Eddie still runs the risk of dying being piloted by the symbiote, and while Eddie has motivation to stop Bad Guy (again, another character that is so thin I can't be bothered to learn his name) from bringing the symbiotes to earth, Venom is given zero reason to want that at all. As mentioned above, there's no backstory. Is Venom concerned his race will consume the earth? If so, who cares? There's seven billion people and Venom has already found Eddie, who is a suitable match for him to survive, so why does he care at all? Eddie would survive an invasion anyhow. It makes no damn sense. Films that have dealt with symbiotic relationships always establish a common ground at some point but Venom doesn't for some inexplicable reason. I'm incredibly frustrated that everyone's just going "tee hee, look, they're best friends now, it's cute" when in fact Eddie is just running around committing murder randomly without ever really contemplating how serious it is, even though he claims to only be eating bad people.

-Nitpick: Fridging two different female characters, the homeless lady and the Life Foundation tattletale, rubbed me entirely the wrong way. Both of them were in Eddie's vicinity, both die, and both are never brought up again or shown to have impacted Eddie's motivation or life. They are simply used and discarded, which is another thing that makes this movie feel so hollow.

-The tone is all over the fucking place. It can be argued that Venom never went full serious and is always sort of tongue-in-cheek, but there's just this ridiculous whiplash feeling when you watch it spike from an action scene to "wacky" Brock antics to Venom quips. Eddie's personality even before the symbiote is just confusing as hell. It's like stuffing a bunch of random character traits into one man and all of them are fighting to get out at once like the characters from Split. The most consistent thing is he's sarcastic, but even then his moods range far too widely to get a bead on him. He can be dry one minute and then frantic and excitable the next, and that's before the symbiote. After the symbiote, it's like they gave Tom Hardy cocaine and steroids. The man's acting is simply all over the damn place. He accepts near-impossible things sometimes with a shrug and other times he freaks out. The movie just doesn't know what the hell it's attempting to accomplish, and that's why mood and tone are important to set from the get-go with a film. It just slingshots between a faux-horror film and a snippy action flick over and over again until your head feels pulverized.

-The final action sequences is one of the dumbest, messiest things since Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. It's an ugly, dark, jumbled up mess. It's so indistinguishable that Godzilla (2014) can take potshots at it. Why in perfect blue hell did they choose two symbiotes with such similar appearances to showdown with each other on top of a rocket at night? It's so hard to see what the two of them are doing, who is winning or losing, or what kind of movement is happening at all. We also are never given the full range of their abilities, so the only real stake is when they pull off their hosts and their bodies are vulnerable, but even then it appears that Venom can raise Eddie from the dead seconds later anyhow. I'm stunned the movie couldn't even do a fake out death properly, which is so fucking easy that even Disney can do it. Eddie dies and is revived in less than fifteen goddamn seconds. The camera doesn't even linger on his body to sell the emotion (not that we'd ever have one, he is just barely a character anyway) before it just takes it right the hell back. That's filmmaking 101, for God's sake, and the movie blows it too.

-The last scene in the movie. In its entirety. I haven't been that exasperated since I stupidly forced myself to watch Pacific Rim: Uprising. There are so many things wrong with it that it's hard to know how to tackle it. I don't care that Eddie stopped that guy from extorting the shop owner--he openly turned into a 10 foot tall alien and ate a guy in front of her, and the movie just laughs and shrugs like it's just totally fine, like that woman isn't about to lose her shit, call the cops, or fuck, the NSA/FBI/CIA/Avengers on Eddie for making her a witness to murder, and endangering pretty much anyone around them. To say nothing of the fact that there is no reason a 10 foot tall alien with a million sharp teeth needs to say a single word to threaten someone. You are the threat, buddy. Your existence is the threat. Why did you need to insist on threatening to bite things off? You're terrifying and nothing you say is going to somehow make you scarier, especially when you just ate the guy anyway. It's like they just made that scene for the final trailer, much like that "I thought she was with you" comment all the way back in Batman v. Superman despite in-canon it made no sense. It's so unnecessary. And don't get me started on the fact that the crook actually asked the giant alien who it is. Fuck you. That was a lazy, transparent attempt to spoonfeed the wretched cliche that Michael Keaton's Batman made famous. (Consequently, all movies ever, please stop doing this cliche. Stop it. Just find another way to announce yourself. It's really tired, y'all, let it go already.) No human would ever look at that thing and ask it who the fuck it is. He'd piss himself and die of fright. Period. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Piss. Die. Period.

-Nitpick: Why was there that weird Godzilla (2014) trailer noise every time Venom attacked someone? Did they just steal it from public domain? They used it almost like the Inception horn cliche that Hollywood was obsessed with for a while and it took me right out of the scene every damn time.

-Nitpick: They really thought we're so stupid that we needed Kasady to actually say his character's name out loud. Look, you fuckers, you know goddamn well that end credits scenes are extras and that people can go home and Google things instead of you literally spelling it out for us. Hell, you know that not that many Average Joes and mainstream people went to this movie anyway since Venom is a second-stringer villain and your main demographic is die-hard Eddie Brock fans anyway. So having Kasady say the damn name “Carnage” in the post credits scene really was the final fart in my general direction. Give us some fucking credit, man. Venom has barely five plotlines to his whole character anyway. Of course we knew you were going to drop Carnage for the Sequel Hook, you condescending twat of a film.

Look, I get it. I'm hypercritical because I write fiction for a living. There are plenty of movies where turning your brain off is required in order to enjoy it, but I think this movie is asking me to get an entire lobotomy to be able to swallow the big-ass pill it's offering. It's just so sloppy and uncaring and yet it's holding its grubby little hands out for your money and your love and I think it's undeserving of it on every last level. It has zero comprehension of what it's trying to accomplish since it's a money grab, and its artistic choices are nothing short of bonkers. It's so strange that it even veers outside of the So Bad It's Good category for me. I can't in good confidence recommend it to anyone even though it's almost like a study in what not to do in both comic book movies and movies in general. It's weird in a distasteful way rather than in a charming way for me, honestly. I know people have rallied around it for being different and out there, but I don't think different and good are the same thing in Venom's case.

#Venom #Venom 2018 #Eddie Brock #film review #movie review #film rant #rant #movie rant #spoilers #spoiler alert #don't @ me #i don't care #anti Venom

[radiationgroove]

Vivian and the Squires

This is my submission for @wastelandwandererszine! I’m so excited for you all to see the amazing work by amazing artists and writers!

Just a reminder, if you liked this, consider buying me a coffee?

It was supposed to be a training exercise. No one was supposed to get hurt.

The vertibird dropped Knight Thomas, Scribe Getty, and her three charges among the twisted metal that was once Boston. They traveled in formation; the scribe and an older squire, Baxter, at the head, the two younger, Scribes Douglas and Avery, in the middle, and Vivian bringing up the rear.

Squires aboard the Prydwen rarely left the airship. On occasion, they might go with a knight or scribe on a simple mission, only to observe. Back home at the Citadel they rarely left at all. The Capitol was too dense with mutants and mercenaries for these excursions to safe teaching opportunities. It was a situation that Vivian was glad to support. She considered them all her younger brothers and sisters. Viv held a certain responsibility toward them; regardless of whether they were aboard the Prydwen or if they followed her on the ground. She was them once, bright eyed and eager to learn.

They remained within sight of the Prydwen; a decaying blue tower reaching for the sky. Weatherby Investment Trust. Recon gave some, if Vivian was being honest, useless information about the area. Pre-war this was the Financial District: a bustling hub of greed and power peppered with relics of America’s beginning. Threats were minimal. The greenskins stayed close to Faneuil Hall, raider activity was nonexistent, ghouls were easy enough to dispatch. Vivian saw a safe, secure opportunity for the squires to learn something. The first floor of the skyscraper was once a Slocum’s Joe; a public bus crashed through the front door.

“We’re clearing corners, moving as a unit. No one on their own, understand? No one’s rushing ahead or trying to be a hero,” Vivian nodded, making eye contact with each of the children in a single sweep to be sure of their understanding. “Always in my sight.”

The lobby, the rotting coffee shop, was easy enough. There were few corners, few nooks and crannies for danger to hide. With each little cap in sight, Vivian followed behind; better she prepared for  dealing with anything nasty than the squires. Laser pistols, weapons as big as the children wielding them, peeked wherever something may be hiding. A chorus of “clear” reached her and echoed in the small space.

“Good job, team. Elevator. We’ll start from the top and work our way back to the lobby while we look for anything useful.”

A hand shot up; tiny Douglas stood on tiptoe, buzzing to have his question asked and answered.

“Yes, squire?”

“What’s considered ‘useful,’ ma’am?”

The question, innocent and curious, was met with good natured laughter and a warm smile. “I think that’s a better question for your scribe, don’t you, Douglas?”

The boy blushed, sheepish. “Yes, Knight Thomas, ma’am.”

Thankfully the elevator still worked. Five crammed in and rode the rattling car up. Her charges had never been in an elevator. Their eyes grew wide while they were tugged upwards and wider still as the doors slid open of their own accord with a ding. The small wonders of the world laid out before them.

Once clear of the doors, Getty cleared her throat. “Alright, team. We’re looking for useful technical documentation. This can be anything from diagrams, shipping invoices, project overviews. In this case, we’re most likely to find money trails; this was a bank, after all.”

“Who can tell me why following the money is important?” Knight Thomas raised a brow, scanning her triad of children.

“So...so we can go backwards and maybe find the developers, ma’am?” Avery murmured, shifting on her feet.

Avery reminded Vivian much of herself; so impossibly bright and smart. “Or even follow it forward, follow the tech to the recipients. Good job.” Avery glowed in the compliment. “Right, pair up. Fan out.”

Viv remained central in the foyer of offices, able to oversee the pairs searching room after room. Scribe Getty chatted with Squire Avery, and Baxter and Douglas took pride in the importance of their jobs. Tiny voices spoke in hushed tones filled with incomparable awe. Metallic rattling of filing cabinets echoed through the space, the shuffling of papers and a silence while documents were read followed. The children moved from one room to another with the growing confidence and security of working as a team. Baxter moved from one room to another with the younger Douglas in tow.

Snap. Click.

There was no time to call for cover.

Boom.

Vivian's ears rang, a high-pitched whistle and the thrum of her own blood in her ears. The shockwave knocked her off her feet, slamming her back through a wall of windows. Pain shot through her spine, body battered by shards of glass. Licking her wounds fell to the bottom of her priority list; the concern was for the team.

When they returned from missions, some of her brothers and sisters said that during combat the world moved in slow motion. Knight Thomas would say that it moved all too fast. She scrambled to her feet despite the screaming in her muscles. Smoke billowed from the office.

Vivian didn’t realize she was screaming. “Sound off! I need voices!”

Scribe Getty came first. “Avery and I are fine.” Indeed, from behind a desk in another office peered the squire and the scribe, scratched up but none the worse for wear. The girl shook, eyes wide and face pale. She clung to Scribe Gettys’ arm.

“Stay put. Both of you.”

Glass crunched under her feet. In the corner of the office, behind the dented door ripped from its hinges, Douglas sat dazed. He seemed none the worse for wear apart from some scuffs across his face and arms. His possessions sat scattered around him. He blinked up at Vivian through foggy vision.

Vivian took his hand in hers and hefted him to his feet. “C’mon kiddo. Up ya go. Go check in with Getty.”

Across the room, a series of filing cabinets, full of centuries-old paperwork and folders, toppled one on top of the other like dominoes. The two-drawer smallest lay across Baxter’s legs, partially crushed by three-drawer cousins. Viv knelt in the debris, too afraid to move Baxter.

“Baxter? Baxter!”

“Ma’am…?”

The tremble was caught in her voice. She cleared her throat; there was no reason for the scribes to hear her nerves. Calm. Collected. In control. “Avery, front and center.”

The child did so, fingers curled around her pack.

“Avery, listen to me very carefully,” she spoke slowly and deliberately, “I need you and Douglas to go back downstairs and set off a grenade, get a vertibird here. Now. Wait in the bus until you see them. Do you understand me?”

Squire Avery nodded, faster than she’d ever seen. She took the signal grenade in shaking hands, and with the younger squire close on her heels, disappeared through the office door, then behind the ding of the elevator. Scribe Getty, sure that the squires were safely on their way, joined Vivian at Baxter’s side.

“Look at me, Baxter. Focus. Here,” Vivian touched the tip of her nose, a sign of where she wanted the girl’s gaze. “I need you to look at me, okay? We’re gonna take care of you, me and  Getty, but I need you to listen.”

Getty set to work, producing tourniquets and gauze from pockets and pouches Vivian didn’t even know existed. The more Baxter was jostled, the more aware she became, the more panic and pain settled in. It hit home, then; these were children first and soldiers-to-be second. There had to be some way to fix this.

“Hey, hey,” Viv hummed, pulling the child’s hat free and carded her fingers through her hair. “Didn’t I catch you with a comic and a flashlight the other night at bed check? What were you reading?”

She nodded, sleepy and embarrassed. “It was a magazine, Tesla Science...the one about the army goin’ to space.” She winced when Getty moved her leg, scrambled to take Vivian’s hand in hers and squeeze as hard as she could. “Do...D’you think we’ll ever go to space again?”

Vivian shrugged, squeezing the small light hand in return. “Don’t see why not? Maybe you’ll do it...put the Brotherhood on the moon? Wanna become a scribe and make that happen?”

Baxter shook her head. “I wanna be like you, Knight Thomas. You aren’t a scribe but not entirely a knight, either. You do everything. Could I do that?”

“I’m sure you could, kiddo. You could create a new rank for the Brotherhood, you know that?”

“We’re secure,” Getty nodded; indeed, a tourniquet was tied around the little leg above the knee, “let’s get her free.”

Together the adults hefted cabinet after cabinet, sending them teetering into one another with a deafening clang. With the smallest cabinet out of the way, it was easy to see the damage. It turned her stomach, the way the leg seemed to be a crushed, bloody mess. Vivian took Baxter in her arms and held the girl close during the shaking elevator ride stories down.

Aboard the Vertibird, her team sat in silence. Avery and Baxter each clung to one of her hands. Douglas sat glued to Getty’s side, the scribes’ arm around his little shoulders. The lancer pilot tried to make conversation, but worry and exhaustion trumped the need to be cordial and polite.

Vivian stood still on the flight deck, watching absently as the squires, her squires, were hurried inside to the Prydwen’s medbay. Blood (whose she had no clue) stuck to her face as it dried. Lancer-Captain Kells stared at her expectantly, waiting for an answer that clung to her teeth and tongue and the inside of her cheeks. Her heart sat at the bottom of her stomach like a stone.

“No one was supposed to get hurt.”

#Vivian Thomas #Brotherhood of Steel #BoS #Wasteland Wanderer zine #rad writes

[mobilemechanicsabq]

Best Automotive Interior Door Handle Replacement  Service and Cost in McAllen TX |Mobile Mechanics Of McAllen

More information is at:

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 BEST AUTOMOTIVE INTERIOR DOOR HANDLE REPLACEMENT SERVICE IN MCALLEN TX

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 How to Replace an Interior Car Door Handle

Automotive Interior Door Handle Replacement Service near McAllen TX: You’ve been rolling down your window and opening the door from the outside door handle for a while now. That interior door handle has not been working and you’ve been dreading replacing it. In older cars, much of what you see and touch was made from heavy metal and steel. In later model cars, much of what you see is made of lighter metals and plastics.

A commonly used part like your door handle may have lasted a lifetime in your old car, but with lighter gauge metals and plastics in modern cars, you may need to replace your door handles at least once in the lifespan of your car.

Replacing the interior door handle

Materials Needed

●      Interior trim removal tools

●      Pliers - regular/needle-nose

●      Ratchet

●      Screwdrivers - flathead/Phillips/Torx

●      Sockets

Step 1: Remove the door panel screws. Locate all the screws before you start pulling on the door panel.

Some screws are out in the open, but others may have a small trim cover on them. Some can be hidden behind the grab handle as well as around the outer edge of the door panel.

Step 2: Separate the door panel from the fasteners/clips. Using the appropriate trim panel removal tool, feel around the outer edge of the door panel.

Typically, you’ll want to feel the front edge, down along the lower edge and around the back of the door opening. There may be several clips holding the panel in place. Insert the trim panel removal tool between the door and interior panel and gently pry the door panel loose from the clips.

Note: Be gentle as these clips can break easily.

Step 3: Remove the door trim panel. Once separated from the retaining clips, gently push up on the door panel from the bottom.

The top edge of the door panel will pop up along the window. At this point, reach around behind the door panel to unplug any electrical connectors for the power window/door lock/trunk/fuel door release buttons. To fully lift the door panel out of place, you will have to angle the door panel and/or the door handle assembly to pull it back through the opening in the door panel to lift it completely off.

Step 4: Remove the plastic vapor barrier if needed. Take care to remove the vapor barrier intact and do not cut it open.

On some vehicles, the inner door must remain sealed properly as side air bag sensors may rely on pressure changes within the door for side impact airbags to deploy. If it is already damaged or damaged during replacement, replace the vapor barrier as soon as possible.

Step 5: Remove the inner door handle mechanism. Unscrew any nuts or bolts holding the door handle in place.

There will be a rod from the inner door handle to the door latch mechanism, usually held together by plastic clips. Carefully detach them, remove the broken handle, and replace it with the new one.

Step 6: Loosely reinstall the inner door panel. Test both the inner and outer door handle functions before securing anything in place.

Once you have verified the operation of both, reconnect any electrical connectors you removed and snap the door panel back into the retaining clips. If any were broken during disassembly, visit your local auto parts store or dealership for replacements.

Step 7: Reinstall all screws and trim pieces. Once the door panel is secured onto the retaining clips, reinstall all screws and trim pieces.

Hand tight is perfectly fine, no need to over-tighten them.

An operational door handle is essential for your comfort inside the vehicle and can be a serious inconvenience when broken. If you do not feel comfortable performing this job and if your vehicle needs an inner door handle replacement, be sure to have one of Your Mechanic’s certified technicians come to your home or work and perform the repair for you.

 Important Facts You Need to Know About Door Handle

Automotive Interior Door Handle Replacement Service near McAllen TX: Are your hands slipping when you open your car doors? Get a new door handle to open your ride's door with ease.

Ignorance won't bring you bliss, especially when your car and its maintenance are involved. Yes, it's important to devote most of your time looking after major parts like the engine or the radiator. But what some owners don't know is they also have to provide time for little parts as well. If you don't, these parts may break down-and this can be very annoying and inconvenient. For example, your car's door handle. It may not be as demanding of your attention like the engine is, but it sure does deserve your care. And you better know why.

Well, first of all, simple as door handles are, you can't do without them. We all know the obvious reason: they enable you to get in and out of your car. When they get damaged, they give you a hard time entering or leaving your car. Imagine getting stuck inside your car or being unable to enter it because of a faulty car door handle? You'd certainly miss important meetings, be late for that much-awaited first date, and what do you know-maybe even more humiliating situations.

What's worse is that with a broken door handle, your car's safety is also greatly compromised. Thieves can get in easily and steal your things, or worse, your car. If you don't want to go through that, better take care of those door handles. Avoid car troubles by doing regular car maintenance of all your car's parts, no matter how big or small they are.

 Symptoms of Bad or Failing Interior Door Handles

1. The door handle is loose

Door handles are manufactured out of plastic or in some cases a metallic coated polymer. They are attached to the door panel and connected to either a cable that operates the door lock mechanism or an electric relay that opens doors electronically. Most of the door handles are still connected to a manual cable. As they are continually operated, they can become loose over a period of time. When this occurs, it becomes more than just an aesthetic issue. A loose door handle will also loosen the cable that is attached to the door lock. If this issue goes unrepaired, it can lead to the cable breaking and rendering the door latching mechanism useless.

To avoid this serious issue, make sure you contact a mechanic if your door handle starts to become loose. In many cases, this is an easy fix for an experienced mechanic to make that can save you a tremendous amount of money in the long run.

2. More effort required to open the door from the inside handle

A solidly mounted interior door handle will open a door with relative ease. However, as the door handle hinge gets used, it can slip or become loose; which can cause the door to open requiring more effort. This added effort is often caused by a kink in the linkage and can lead to the door handle snapping off the interior door panel. As soon as you start to notice that there are issues with opening and closing the door, you should be proactive about replacing the interior door handle.

3. The door will not open at all

If the interior door handle has broken on the inside, it's very possible that the door latch on the inside is also broken. This will cause the door to not open. Most of the components on the inside of a door will need grease to keep them lubricated. As time goes by, the grease on these parts will begin to dry up, which can cause the parts to seize up. In order to reduce the potential of this happening to you when you least expect it, contact a local ASE certified mechanic so they can inspect and replace the interior door handle before it causes more damage.

Most door handles will last a lifetime without ever causing you stress or frustration. However, until they create the everlasting door handle, there will be times when the interior door handle breaks. If you notice any of the above warning signs, be proactive and contact one of our local mechanics here at YourMechanic.com to determine whether the interior door handle should be replaced.

 TIPS

Automotive Interior Door Handle Replacement Service near McAllen TX: You’ve been rolling down your window and opening the door from the outside door handle for a while now. That interior door handle has not been working and you’ve been dreading replacing it. In older cars, much of what you see and touch was made from heavy metal and steel. In later model cars, much of what you see is made of lighter metals and plastics.

A commonly used part like your door handle may have lasted a lifetime in your old car, but with lighter gauge metals and plastics in modern cars, you may need to replace your door handles at least once in the lifespan of your car.

●      Remove the door panel screws. Locate all the screws before you start pulling on the door panel. Some screws are out in the open, but others may have a small trim cover on them. Some can be hidden behind the grab handle as well as around the outer edge of the door panel.

●      Separate the door panel from the fasteners/clips. Using the appropriate trim panel removal tool, feel around the outer edge of the door panel.

●      Typically, you’ll want to feel the front edge, down along the lower edge and around the back of the door opening. There may be several clips holding the panel in place. Insert the trim panel removal tool between the door and interior panel and gently pry the door panel loose from the clips.

●      Remove the door trim panel. Once separated from the retaining clips, gently push up on the door panel from the bottom.

●      The top edge of the door panel will pop up along the window. At this point, reach around behind the door panel to unplug any electrical connectors for the power window/door lock/trunk/fuel door release buttons. To fully lift the door panel out of place, you will have to angle the door panel and/or the door handle assembly to pull it back through the opening in the door panel to lift it completely off.

●      Remove the plastic vapor barrier if needed. Take care to remove the vapor barrier intact and do not cut it open. On some vehicles, the inner door must remain sealed properly as side air bag sensors may rely on pressure changes within the door for side impact airbags to deploy. If it is already damaged or damaged during replacement, replace the vapor barrier as soon as possible.

●      Remove the inner door handle mechanism. Unscrew any nuts or bolts holding the door handle in place. There will be a rod from the inner door handle to the door latch mechanism, usually held together by plastic clips. Carefully detach them, remove the broken handle, and replace it with the new one.

●      Loosely reinstall the inner door panel. Test both the inner and outer door handle functions before securing anything in place. Once you have verified the operation of both, reconnect any electrical connectors you removed and snap the door panel back into the retaining clips. If any were broken during disassembly, visit your local auto parts store or dealership for replacements.

●      Reinstall all screws and trim pieces. Once the door panel is secured onto the retaining clips, reinstall all screws and trim pieces. Hand tight is perfectly fine, no need to over-tighten them. An operational door handle is essential for your comfort inside the vehicle and can be a serious inconvenience when broken. If you do not feel comfortable performing this job and if your vehicle needs an inner door handle replacement, be sure to have one of Your Mechanic’s certified technicians come to your home or work and perform the repair for you.

 COST

Automotive Interior Door Handle Replacement Service near McAllen TX: On pretty much every car door there is both an inside and an outside door handle. They are each connected to the door latch by either a rod or a cable.

They can fail in a number of ways. Sometimes the plastic parts of the handle itself will break, or the plastic retainers that hold the lock rods can break, or springs can break. Cables can break as well, and are sometimes replaced only as a part of the door handle assembly.

Replacing an inner door handle usually involves pulling a trim panel that covers the bolt or screw holding it to the door frame, then taking the housing/handle assembly loose. Sometimes the cable or rod that extends to the latch can be detached at the housing, other times the interior door panel needs to be removed to get access.

Replacing an outside door handle involves removing the inner door panel to access the door handle attachments inside the door. The door handle assembly is then unbolted, the connecting rod to the latch unhooked, then the handle can be removed. If there is a lock cylinder in the handle it will usually be transferred to a new handle.

What’s the Cost of a Car Door Handle Replacement?

On average for most vehicles, it costs about $170 to replace an outside door handle, and about $80 to replace an inside door handle.

One thing that comes up sometimes is that many OE outside door handles are painted to match the vehicle, while replacement parts usually come in a flat paintable black. There would be additional paint-shop charges to paint it to match if that were desired. One aftermarket option to get around paint costs is to purchase a chromed part, which is available for many models at about the same cost.

 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Can any car door handle work for my car?

Each car door handle is unique to the type of car for which it was designed. A handle will only function as designed when fitted to the vehicle it was intended for by its manufacturer. You must identify the right car handle for your car model before you make the purchase.

Ensure that you have as much information as you can about the product before you buy, including its installation procedure and material. You may also try your luck on aftermarket car door handle replacements labeled to be compatible to your car model and make.

 What are car door handles made of?

Most car door handles are made of durable plastic, aluminum alloy, magnesium alloy, and zinc alloy. Materials will vary in quality, durability and price.

 Does it come with a lock cylinder?

Before shopping for a car door handle replacement, make sure you know if yours came with a lock cylinder. This will guide your decision on which key option to choose. You can opt to have the old key or get a separate new key for the car handle. Your dealer should help you determine if your door handle comes with a lock cylinder or not.

 What about cheap car door handles?

It may seem appealing to settle for a cheap car door handle replacement to save money. However, don’t be tempted to settle for a poor-quality car door handle just to save money because it may only cost you more in the long run. It can present the same problem in a few months or weeks, bringing you back to square one. Worse, a low-quality car door handle may jeopardise your safety and security.

 Should you repair or replace a faulty car door handle?

It depends on what’s damaged. If it’s only a disconnected or loose rod or cable, then it’s something you or your mechanic can tinker with and fix. If it involves a broken lock or mechanism, then you may need to replace the damaged part or the whole door handle.

Whether to DIY the repair/replacement or not depends on how handy you are around the garage. This is the cheaper option. However, if you are not sure about it (in the case of automatic door locks, for instance), then you should seek expert assistance to avoid worsening the situation.

It is advisable that you immediately resolve your car door handle issues as soon as you notice signs of dysfunction to avoid a more costly resolution.

 How long does it take to replace a door handle?

A little more than an hour for an outside handle, and about a half hour for an inside handle usually.

 Can I replace a car door handle myself?

Probably not an outside handle, as access is typically very restricted and it’s necessary for many to work on parts and fasteners you can’t see. But for an inside handle maybe. They’re often fairly simple, and if a model-specific guide to the job is available it could probably be done with basic tools.

 Why do door handles break?

More often than not it’s cost-cutting or inadequate engineering rather than being too rough with it. Door handles break very commonly on some vehicle models, and rarely if ever on other models.

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 BEST AUTOMOTIVE INTERIOR DOOR HANDLE REPLACEMENT SERVICE IN MCALLEN TX

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[ivnwrites]

Thank god for new york fire escapes. With everything else going on, the last thing Matt needed was his neighbors poking around asking why the punisher was showing up at his apartment in the early hours of the morning. He’d heard the window click open as he sat on the couch reading, followed by the heavy thump of a body leaning against the wall before a quiet scrape as Frank slid to the floor.

“I fucked up.”

Matt set his book down on the coffee table with a quiet ‘thump,’ and padded across the room to stand in front of Frank wearing a slight frown. “I don’t know what that means right now.”

“There were five people in some kind of house, den, thing, I don’t fucking know what you call it, hostages from some deal that went wrong.” THe answer sounded like it was

It was easy enough to see where the story ended, but Matt had to ask anyway. “What happened?” His question was followed by a long enough silence that Matt almost wondered if the other man had fallen asleep in his curled position.

“Two got shot while I was taking the place down, they took ‘em to the hospital in critical condition.”

Matt let out a heavy breath. So that had been what the sirens he’d heard an hour ago had been about, though he wasn’t sure if it had been Frank himself or someone who heard the commotion who had brought them to the scene. “Were you the one who called the cops?”

Frank let out a derisive snort. “Because they managed to stop this shit from happening in the first place.”

“Did. you call. the cops?” He asked again louder. They’d had this argument more times than he could count, and Matt had acted out both sides more than once when talking to Karen and Foggy.

“Yes!” Frank sprang to his feet to yell into Matt’s face, making him flinch backward at the sudden onslaught. “Afterward! For all the fucking good it’ll do! Your ‘let the legal system do its work’ shtick is kind of undermined by the fact that you started your crusade of vigilante justice before I even came close to this damn city!”

Matt waited for him to take a breath before he swung his fist up to knock into the hinge of Frank’s jaw. There was a spot below the ear that hurt enough to stun most people regardless of their pain tolerance. The precision required to hit it meant that it wasn’t much use in a fight, but in close quarters it worked quite well, and Frank doubled over, clutching at his ear. Matt reached out to grab him by the scruff of the neck, hooking his foot behind Frank’s knee. It only took a sharp yank to send him crashing to the floor with a surprised shout.

Matt used the momentum of the fall to bring his knee down squarely on the larger man’s sternum, knocking the air out of him in a series of hacking coughs. “Are you done?” He knew which nerve he’d managed to hit, recognizing Frank’s fundamental mistrust of government institutions, but wasn’t in the mood for a drawn out shouting match.

Frank stared up at the ceiling in a daze, trying to catch his breath in shallow gasps that didn’t quite do the job. He’d wrapped one hand over Matt’s thigh as they fell, the other was now clenched around his ankle tight enough that the tendon began to ache. For a long time he appeared to debate whether or not to throw Matt off him and leave, his eyes flicking back and forth between his hands and the window he’d climbed through. 

His grip tightened further and Matt pressed dug his knee against the side of Frank’s ribs, earning a strangled groan. “Are you done?” He asked again sternly.

Eventually Frank let out a long sigh, deflating against the floor. “I’m done.”

“I’ll call Claire in the morning, and she can check the admission records for tonight.” It was against any and all hospital policy for her to tell Matt confidential patient information, but he’d begged and wheedled enough times that she’d finally given in on the promise that he would represent her if she was ever caught. “But at the moment, when I get off you, you’re going to take a shower. I’ll loan you some clothes that aren’t halfway covered in blood, then I want you to lay down. You need sleep before you can actually try to deal with any of this.” Matt shifted his weight further to the leg resting on the floor. “Ok?”

“Ok.”

Matt winced as he rolled away, beginning the register the bright spikes of pain radiating up his leg. He’d landed a jump badly a few days ago and bashed his right knee against an AC unit. Nothing was broken, but it still hurt enough to make him walk with a limp, and according to Claire, the outer hemisphere had turned a sickly purple.

Adrenaline from the brief fight had been enough to dampen it, but now the pain had come back full force. It took him a few more seconds than normal to rise to his feet after he let Frank go, and he could tell that the other man waited til he rose before turning to walk away. Matt relatched the window securely and heard the water come on as he made his way to the bedroom, leaving a set of clothes outside the bathroom door as he’d promised.

He lay on the far side of the bed from the bathroom, listening intently to the water pattering against the floor. After a few minutes he heard a soft ‘thump.’  It was easy for him to create the mental image of Frank standing under the spray with his head pressed against the wall. He’d done it before once when Matt had half dragged, half carried him back to his own apartment after a fight went wrong. Matt had just sat silently nearby, bandaging a cut on his arm as he kept watch to make sure the other man wouldn’t fall. Talking had seemed off the table then, so he continued to just wait, letting his eyes flutter closed as he settled into a comfortable position.

He was half asleep when he felt Frank slide into the other side of the bed, curling purposefully away from Matt with a hand pillowed under his head. “You could have called me.”

“You said you were taking the week off to let your knee heal.”

“I would have gotten someone else to come help you.”

“I don’t think I’d get along with any of your superhero buddies.”

In all likelihood, he wasn’t completely wrong. Over time, the two of them had fallen into a middle ground where Frank kept his killings to a minimum, and Matt pretended not to notice when the bodies of gang leaders and abusers landed in the morgue. They’d only recently been able to start working as something like a team.

Matt shifted to let his elbow brush against Frank’s back, muscles bunching at the initial touch before relaxing somewhat. The skin was still warm to the point that the other man felt like he was on the edge of a fever, and Matt could smell the receding tang of adrenaline as they lay in uncomfortable silence. He’d had lost count of the number of times the billboard outside cycled through it’s various fluorescent buzz patterns when he finally opened his mouth.

“You don’t have to save everyone on your own, you know.”

“I don’t see anyone else doing it.”

A expression of annoyed disbelief crossed Matt’s face, and he cleared his throat indignantly as if to remind Frank who was beside him before answering. “You don’t see everything going on in New York.”

“And you do?”

“No, but I talk to people, so I know more about the city than you do.”

Frank shifted to look at Matt with a raised eyebrow, trapping his hand underneath his shoulder. “Are we turning this into a competition, red?”

“Not tonight.” Matt answered with a chuckle. He tilted his arm to roll Frank toward him, and the man followed easily, his head coming to rest on Matt’s shoulder. It was a bit like wrapping his arm around a quietly humming engine for the amount of heat Frank managed to burn out, and Matt let his own breathing slow to match the steady rhythm beside him.

#daredevil #the punisher #matt murdock #frank castle #fluff-ish #kinda sorta #a little bit shippy #hurt/comfort #why was this so hard to write? #like I was just staring at the page without my fingers moving #these two grumpy morons

[storyunrelated]

Interrogator

I'm a fairly placid person in an 'apathetic/hollow inside' sort of a way.

But if I ever happened to encounter someone who could somehow intrude into my head and read my thoughts I would politely ask them not to. If they did anyway, I would likely rip their throat out with my teeth.

The very thought of another conscious being poking around inside my head fills me with intense, disgusted rage. It's a personal foible I'll admit, but it's one I have.

And it would be worse if they were clumsy about it, too.

[If you're innocent why would you mind us having a poke around?]

Vandella still couldn’t quite believe that there’d been a time when criminal cases had hinged on something as crude as physical evidence. The mere thought made her face twist in confusion and horror. What a terrible time to have been alive.

Nowadays of course they were far more advanced. Civilized, you might say. Developments in sympathetic neural-lacing had led to - among other things - an easy and efficient way of linking human minds and letting them talk directly Technology being utilised to finally allow people to communicate brain to brain! Swapping thoughts freely and easily!. A wondrous development and no mistake.

Initially though, the egalitarian nature of the technology made it largely useless for anything professional. You couldn’t reach in and rummage around in someone else’s head without them letting you do it, for example. This changed with rapid development though, and quickly a specialised version of the device was made that allowed one of the linked human minds to probe without fear of being probed back and to overpower whatever defences the probed mind might happen to put up.

The implications of this for justice were obvious and immediate.

As might well have been expected there was your usual round of bleating protest at the time. Privacy this, violation of human rights this blah blah blah. Such anti-justice talk died down eventually once it became clear that it wasn’t making a blind bit of difference and that they were in the minority.

While the notion of having someone poke around inside your own head might sit poorly with most people, the same idea of having someone poke around inside the heads of people who looked guilty and finding out that, yes, they were actually guilty was something those same most people felt much more positively about. Their support often bordered on the rabid.

That sometimes the guilty-looking people turned out to be completely innocent was expected, but often ignored. No-one liked thinking about that sort of thing.

From this and for this Interrogators were born, those individuals blessed with a natural affinity for delving into reluctant minds and pulling out that which others would rather keep hidden. Like whether someone had killed someone else or if they knew more than they were letting on. The people whose job it was to plunge into the brain of someone else and determine - without the possibility of doubt! - their guilt or their innocence.

Vandella was an Interrogator. Obviously. Quite a notable one, too. This was why she was waved through the security door with only the most cursory waft of her identification. They knew her, it was cool. She entered the restricted area of her local Justice Bastion (a questionable name but one the PR people said was top-notch) with casual ease and yawned as she did so, heading immediately for the kitchen to make coffee. Following this, she got changed into her uniform. Following this, she settled in to see what the day held.

It held interrogations, unsurprisingly. Even when confronted with technology allowing the guilty to be easily sorted from the innocent there were still people insistent on committing crimes. Something inherent in the human condition, apparently, but Vandella wasn’t going to question poor decisions that kept her in a job. The day bulged with those in need of probing.

The first subject on her list was accused of fly-tipping. Denied it up and down, of course.

That people still lied about their guilt in this day-and-age when ripping the truth out was a known fact of life baffled Vandella. Presumably they imagined that they might be able to hold their secrets close enough to defeat the efforts of the Interrogators, apparently failing to realise that the harder they held on the harder the Interrogators would be forced to go, which would only ever have negative consequences for the person being interrogated.

But that was people. Hope sprung eternal. Maybe they’d be the first person to resist. Maybe.

Probably not though.

Draining the dregs of her coffee and silently despairing at whatever bottom-shelf supplier they’d purchased it from Vandella got up to start the work of the day, heading away from her desk and down beneath the Justice Bastion (such a strong, powerful name!) to where the holding cells and the interrogation rooms were.

There, she was nodded at in greeting by various guards and technicians and other Interrogators already going about their business. By the time she arrived at her interrogation room the subject was already there and already set up. Vandella made a mental note to buy her support team some chocolates - they’d really outdone themselves of late.

The subject was a wispy slip of a man who looked even smaller than he likely was sitting in the large, one-size-fits-all interrogation chair. On seeing Vandella enter he started quivering harder than he had been to start with. Vandella just shook her head. His eyes bulged, swivelling fearfully to keep Vandella in sight as she pottered around the cell setting everything up to her liking.

As a rule, subjects were gagged. Prior to this the constant protestations of innocence, pleas for mercy and sometimes relentless stream of inventive insults had been quite distracting. The gag solved these issues, but could do little about the stares, which were often also quite distracting. Vandella just didn’t make eye-contact. This was as a result of experience.

Settling herself in the seat opposite the subject she fished around for the nerual-plug rather like someone in the backseat of a cat trying to find a seatbelt. She found it, blew off whatever dust had collected (it was cleaned daily, this was just a habit of hers) and then plugged it into the socket set at the base of her skull.

Vandella’s own neural-lattice was implanted, like all Interrogator’s were. The subject just had a special hat on to affect a connection. Rudimentary, but more than enough for a good connection and most importantly financially prudent. Coming up with names like ‘Justice Bastion’ didn’t come cheap so they had to cut whatever corners elsewhere that they could.

No sense in wasting any time.

Closing her eyes Vandella let her cast-iron hold on her own consciousness slip enough to allow herself to slide into the head of the subject. There was a nauseating tipping sensation, of the sort a drunk might feel when off-balance and falling over forwards, and then Vandella was crashing through a door.

Imagine you were pushing open a door with all your weight, expecting from experience that it was a heavy door that required effort. Only today it wasn’t, and all your effort and weight meant that you can floundering through the door far too fast and far too clumsily. It was like that. She closed her eyes, tipped, and was then falling through a door that shouldn’t have opened so easily.

And then she was in a filing room, in the dark, smelling the hot dust. She was in.

All visitors and intruders into another person’s mindscape perceived it as something comprehensible, but usually chaotic. Like a busy city during rush hour, or a vast supermarket full of angry shoppers. Something overwhelming and unhelpful but something they could at least understand. No-one would have been able to do anything with the raw view of the mindscape, even if it was possible to see it. Which it was not. The intruder’s brain would not allow it. It filled in, like with what the eye saw or more accurately what the eye did not see.

Interrogators - trained as they were - had more narrow scope and were only ever after memories. As a result they tended to see something they could work with. Vandella’s brother Vandal, for example, saw himself in a crockery shop, with all the memories and thoughts he needed painted onto commemorative plates. Their teacher at the academy Lochaim had apparently seen a beautifully tended garden and lovingly hand-reared, brilliantly coloured flowers on whose petals and stems was the information he needed.

Vandella, being a natural and a gifted prodigy, saw a filing room. A nice, easy filing room. Neatly organised cabinets sitting in neatly organised rows, waiting to be rifled through. All but one of the lights was broken so it was darker than it should have been, and all the drawers were rusty and broke when pulled out and some of the locks needed jimmying before they’d yield their contents. But other than that nice and easy.

The one consistent theme running through all of these ways of visualising the memories of their subjects was that everything was perfectly happy and settled until the Interrogator showed up, at which point disorganisation was inevitable. They tried to be delicate, they really did, but it just wasn’t something they could really do much about. Things were set up so that making a mess was the only possible option. Making a mess or leaving it alone, which just wasn’t in the service of justice.

Vandal would knock over cabinets of plates with wayward elbows or disrupt carefully balanced displays by nudging the wrong thing. Lochaim would have to trample those beautiful flowers to get to the ones he wanted. Vandella would have to pull files and bring them to the one functioning light to see if they were the ones she wanted and if they weren’t then there was no easy way of making sure they got back in the right place.

It was the same for everyone. It was just how it worked.

But they were professionals. They’d been trained and drilled to cause as little disruption as humanly possible. If anyone was going to be stepping into your head in search of justice you’d want it to be one of these guys, not just any amateur. An amateur might make an even bigger mess, and then where would you be?

Not as if the damage was long-lasting anyway. The brain put everything back the way it was meant to be in a week or so. Most of the time. Sometimes helped with a little therapy. Innocent subjects were even given a discount for the therapy so everything was completely fine.

Steadying herself, Vandella took a moment to adjust. No matter how many times she did it the jolt always put her off-balance, and every room was always a tiny bit different - enough to disorientate for the first couple of seconds. Squinting in the gloom and sweeping a practise eye around her surroundings she moved further in, moving whichever way her gut told her felt most right.

“Let’s see…” she said, one hand coming up in front of her, moving through the air that was not there, groping after something she could only barely sense. Like trying to find an air current.

As concrete and real as the filing room might have looked, it wasn’t. Obviously. Merely a projection of the information being received, adjusted to a form that Vandella could comprehend. The pull she was feeling, the one that was gently tugging her in one direction over any other direction, was one without any real-world analogue. The idea of following a breeze was just the closest approximation her brain could come up with. And so it was.

Her hand settled on one filing cabinet out of all the other ones present. She smiled. That was quick. Normally it could take minutes. Sometimes even longer. Today was clearly a good day. But narrowing it down to just the one cabinet was only the first step, there was still rifling to be done. Putting aside the possibility she was just plain wrong to start with, which could happen but which she decided probably wouldn't. Not this time.

Squatting, she took hold of the handle on the bottom-most drawer and gave the thing a wrench. There was a painful screech of protesting metal which put her teeth on edge and the drawer came halfway out. Another pull saw it coming the rest of the way. In the gloom - the light was behind the filing cabinet she was looking in, and so blocked - she could vaguely see files but no details. This was expected. Letting her hand wander as it may she picked one at random and pulled it out, standing up and moving closer to the light to have a better look.

The page had writing, but the words were meaningless. Looking at them gave no hope of reading them, but did still fill Vandella’s head with their contents. It was odd, rather like she was looking at something she’d seen already and was just remembering it. She saw a morning some days prior and pawed through the pilfered memory for any trace of a date, flicking through stolen images taken into her own head and quickly finding a moment when the subject had glanced at their phone. This memory was from a day or two prior to when the crime had actually occurred.

This was a start. Now to find something after the date of the crime.

Bracketing was a simple technique, though like all simple things to pull it off properly required practise and a certain level of innate talent. The idea was to find a memory before and a memory after the event you were interested in. That way you could limit whatever damage you had to cause in order to pinpoint the exact information. Basic stuff.

Returning to the drawer Vandella did her best to return the file to where she thought it had come from, closed the drawer and then moved one up. Again there was a brief spurt of effort and horrible noise as the cabinet had to be forced open and then Vandella was pulling out another file. A brief examination of another ransacked memory showed that this one was from perhaps three days before the crime.

She’d gone in the wrong direction. Everything in this filing room was backwards compared to the last couple she’d done. That happened sometimes, though agreeably not to her for a little while now. She’d got complacent.

“Oops,” she said, shoving the file back more-or-less in the place she’d got it from

Moving to the next cabinet and starting from the top she quickly found something of more use to her - a memory from the day just after. This was more like it. She couldn’t help but grin. Today was going swimmingly.

Her hand clenched involuntarily, a spasm that saw the paper she was holding crumpled to a ball. Regrettable and unfortunate, but one of those things. A foible of the neural interface. Nobody ever said it was perfect. Uncrumpling it she smoothed it out as best she could and put it back, hopefully somewhere near where it was meant to be.

She started to work her way backwards, dipping in here and there, getting closer and closer to what had been estimated to be the rough time of day the crime had been committed. With every memory she drank in she saw more and more that this subject had been nowhere near the scene of the crime.

It was looking increasingly likely that this subject was innocent. A pain, that.

Guilty persons were fairly easy. All you had to do was find that one memory of theirs that showed them actually committing the crime and you were done. Sometimes this was fiddly when that memory proved hard to track down, but once you got it you were basically done.

Innocent people, by contrast, you had to make sure about. You had to narrow down your search to find the general timeframe of the crime and then just keep narrowing it down and down and down until you’d completely proven that they had nothing to do with it. Memory by memory.

This took time and this made a mess. But the alternative was letting guilty people go and letting innocent people suffer for it. Well, suffer in an intangible, ‘injustice is intolerable’ sort of a way. The suffering that came from having someone paw through their thoughts was just an unavoidable part of the process and therefore didn’t count.

Laboriously did Vandella go through every single memory that the subject had on the day of the crime, absorbing them in their entirety and knowing - in the truest, rawest sense of ‘knowing’ that it was possible for a person to get - that the subject was totally free of guilt. Cramming the last memory back into whichever drawer was closest (she was grumpy) Vandella grimaced.

“Waste of time…” she said, sinking into a sulk and slouching slowly to the door, through which she exited the filing room and the subject’s head altogether.

There was a jolt and a blinding flash and Vandella was back in the interrogation cell. One hand dabbing away some of the blood dribbling from her nose the other went up to disconnect the neural link.

Across from her the subject - quivering, gibbering quietly and with arms spasmodically straining against the bonds keeping them in their seat - had soiled themselves. They did that sometimes, unfortunately.

Her support team were already in motion before Vandella had stood up. A hustling bustle of professional came bustling professionally in, unbuckling the subject and dragging them limply from the room as another member ran Vandella through a standard and light barrage of post-interrogation tests. She passed, obviously.

Not the most inspiring way to start the day, all told. She would have preferred someone comfortable guilty. Now she just felt like she’d pissed her valuable time up a wall. It’d ruin her mood all the way through lunch, she just knew it.

“Can I get someone in here to clean this up?” Vandella asked, gesturing vaguely at the puddle the subject had left on the seat and the floor below it. The team member who’d administered the test nodded silently and left at speed to go fetch someone to do that. Vandella sighed.

The smell would hang around for days, she just knew it.

END

#Interrogator #Amwriting #Writblr #Writeblr #Writing #Short #Short story

[a1garagedoors1]

24/7 Garage Door Repair Service In Calgary

New Post has been published on https://fixitmag.com/24-7-garage-door-repair-service-in-calgary/

24/7 Garage Door Repair Service In Calgary

Guys Fix It Mag 👍 Repairs & DIY Magazine

This post was originally published on this site

24/7 Garage Door Repair Service

Nowadays, almost every home out there has its own garage. Thus, it is undeniable that garage doors have somewhat become a necessity even for the average Joe.

Given that it serves a lot of purposes and even improves your home’s security, it is understandable why a lot are investing in a garage.

However, sad as it may, even garage doors aren’t perfect. There will be times where you will be experiencing issues with it.

This is however perfectly normal as there is no mechanism that just keeps working without breaking down at some point along the way.

Over time, your garage door’s components will eventually wear out due to old age and frequent usage. It might not happen right away, but believe me, it will.

When your garage door finally breaks down, this can be an inconvenience to anyone.

Who would be happy having their doors malfunctioning on them especially when they need to use it the most right?

Not only that, if left unattended, your broken garage door may even be a risk for you and your family.

With internet access, it is now made easier to look for DIY tutorials on how to fix your broken garage door.

However, if you are new to the entire business of fixing garage doors, I recommend you not to do this.

The reason for this is because if you lack the technical knowledge and as well as the proper tools needed to perform the task, you are only putting yourself and those around you at risk.

Remember, accidents can happen even at home, especially to those who do not know what they are doing.

Instead of saving money, you will only end up spending more if you injure yourself along the way.

If you are looking for 24/7 garage door repair services in Calgary, then there is no reason to look further.

Kald Gart Doors will always be available to address all your garage door repair needs.

Why choose Kald Gart Doors?

So, I guess you are asking yourselves, “why should we choose Kald Gart Doors?” am I right?

Well, it is certainly normal to ask yourself this. After all, you cannot just leave the safety of your homes at the hands of a company you know nothing about.

So if you are one of the few asking this question, let us answer it for you.

Kald Gart Doors is a garage door repair company in Calgary that has been providing their services for 15 years now.

If you are looking for someone you can trust, there is no one you can trust more than one that is as experienced as us.

Our experience working in this industry for a long time has tempered our skills and approaches to the different problems that are happening when it comes to garage doors.

Not only that, Kald Gart Doors houses a team of professional technicians, trained and certified to handle any garage door repair needed.

Our company caters to all types of garage doors there may be – may it be overhead doors, side-sliding doors, side-hinged or whatever set-up your garage door uses, we are confident in our abilities to attend to it for you.

Aside from that, we also handle garage door installation and maintenance services on top of the garage door repair services that we offer.

As for our repair services, we have categorized them into the following options.

If you want to get an idea of the repair services that we can handle, then please see below:

If you feel like your problem is not categorized above, then you can reach out for any clarifications on whether we can cater to your needs.

Conclusion

For 24/7 garage door repair service and needs, there is no better garage door repair company in Calgary than Kald Gart Doors.

Here at Kald Gart Doors, we believe that merely fixing or repairing our customer’s garage doors is not the only job that we have. We are also committed to informing and educating our clients on how to take good care of their garage doors so that if the problem occurs again, you will not have to call us again.

We will make sure that we not only fix your garage doors for you but as well as extend the functionality of your garage doors for a very long time.

What are you waiting for? Contact us now!

Rate this post

The post 24/7 Garage Door Repair Service In Calgary appeared first on Guys Fix It Mag | Repairs & DIY Magazine.

Rate this post

Check out more articles:

garage door repair scugog

garage door repair brock

garage door repair woodbridge

[garagedoorprosontario]

24/7 Garage Door Repair Service In Calgary

New Post has been published on https://fixitmag.com/24-7-garage-door-repair-service-in-calgary/

24/7 Garage Door Repair Service In Calgary

Guys Fix It Mag 👍 Repairs & DIY Magazine

This post was originally published on this site

24/7 Garage Door Repair Service

Nowadays, almost every home out there has its own garage. Thus, it is undeniable that garage doors have somewhat become a necessity even for the average Joe.

Given that it serves a lot of purposes and even improves your home’s security, it is understandable why a lot are investing in a garage.

However, sad as it may, even garage doors aren’t perfect. There will be times where you will be experiencing issues with it.

This is however perfectly normal as there is no mechanism that just keeps working without breaking down at some point along the way.

Over time, your garage door’s components will eventually wear out due to old age and frequent usage. It might not happen right away, but believe me, it will.

When your garage door finally breaks down, this can be an inconvenience to anyone.

Who would be happy having their doors malfunctioning on them especially when they need to use it the most right?

Not only that, if left unattended, your broken garage door may even be a risk for you and your family.

With internet access, it is now made easier to look for DIY tutorials on how to fix your broken garage door.

However, if you are new to the entire business of fixing garage doors, I recommend you not to do this.

The reason for this is because if you lack the technical knowledge and as well as the proper tools needed to perform the task, you are only putting yourself and those around you at risk.

Remember, accidents can happen even at home, especially to those who do not know what they are doing.

Instead of saving money, you will only end up spending more if you injure yourself along the way.

If you are looking for 24/7 garage door repair services in Calgary, then there is no reason to look further.

Kald Gart Doors will always be available to address all your garage door repair needs.

Why choose Kald Gart Doors?

So, I guess you are asking yourselves, “why should we choose Kald Gart Doors?” am I right?

Well, it is certainly normal to ask yourself this. After all, you cannot just leave the safety of your homes at the hands of a company you know nothing about.

So if you are one of the few asking this question, let us answer it for you.

Kald Gart Doors is a garage door repair company in Calgary that has been providing their services for 15 years now.

If you are looking for someone you can trust, there is no one you can trust more than one that is as experienced as us.

Our experience working in this industry for a long time has tempered our skills and approaches to the different problems that are happening when it comes to garage doors.

Not only that, Kald Gart Doors houses a team of professional technicians, trained and certified to handle any garage door repair needed.

Our company caters to all types of garage doors there may be – may it be overhead doors, side-sliding doors, side-hinged or whatever set-up your garage door uses, we are confident in our abilities to attend to it for you.

Aside from that, we also handle garage door installation and maintenance services on top of the garage door repair services that we offer.

As for our repair services, we have categorized them into the following options.

If you want to get an idea of the repair services that we can handle, then please see below:

If you feel like your problem is not categorized above, then you can reach out for any clarifications on whether we can cater to your needs.

Conclusion

For 24/7 garage door repair service and needs, there is no better garage door repair company in Calgary than Kald Gart Doors.

Here at Kald Gart Doors, we believe that merely fixing or repairing our customer’s garage doors is not the only job that we have. We are also committed to informing and educating our clients on how to take good care of their garage doors so that if the problem occurs again, you will not have to call us again.

We will make sure that we not only fix your garage doors for you but as well as extend the functionality of your garage doors for a very long time.

What are you waiting for? Contact us now!

Rate this post

The post 24/7 Garage Door Repair Service In Calgary appeared first on Guys Fix It Mag | Repairs & DIY Magazine.

Check out more articles:

broken extension spring repair ottawa

garage door repair kanata

24 hr garage door repair ottawa

garage door track adjustment

[grgdoorfix]

24/7 Garage Door Repair Service In Calgary

New Post has been published on https://fixitmag.com/24-7-garage-door-repair-service-in-calgary/

24/7 Garage Door Repair Service In Calgary

Guys Fix It Mag 👍 Repairs & DIY Magazine

This post was originally published on this site

24/7 Garage Door Repair Service

Nowadays, almost every home out there has its own garage. Thus, it is undeniable that garage doors have somewhat become a necessity even for the average Joe.

Given that it serves a lot of purposes and even improves your home’s security, it is understandable why a lot are investing in a garage.

However, sad as it may, even garage doors aren’t perfect. There will be times where you will be experiencing issues with it.

This is however perfectly normal as there is no mechanism that just keeps working without breaking down at some point along the way.

Over time, your garage door’s components will eventually wear out due to old age and frequent usage. It might not happen right away, but believe me, it will.

When your garage door finally breaks down, this can be an inconvenience to anyone.

Who would be happy having their doors malfunctioning on them especially when they need to use it the most right?

Not only that, if left unattended, your broken garage door may even be a risk for you and your family.

With internet access, it is now made easier to look for DIY tutorials on how to fix your broken garage door.

However, if you are new to the entire business of fixing garage doors, I recommend you not to do this.

The reason for this is because if you lack the technical knowledge and as well as the proper tools needed to perform the task, you are only putting yourself and those around you at risk.

Remember, accidents can happen even at home, especially to those who do not know what they are doing.

Instead of saving money, you will only end up spending more if you injure yourself along the way.

If you are looking for 24/7 garage door repair services in Calgary, then there is no reason to look further.

Kald Gart Doors will always be available to address all your garage door repair needs.

Why choose Kald Gart Doors?

So, I guess you are asking yourselves, “why should we choose Kald Gart Doors?” am I right?

Well, it is certainly normal to ask yourself this. After all, you cannot just leave the safety of your homes at the hands of a company you know nothing about.

So if you are one of the few asking this question, let us answer it for you.

Kald Gart Doors is a garage door repair company in Calgary that has been providing their services for 15 years now.

If you are looking for someone you can trust, there is no one you can trust more than one that is as experienced as us.

Our experience working in this industry for a long time has tempered our skills and approaches to the different problems that are happening when it comes to garage doors.

Not only that, Kald Gart Doors houses a team of professional technicians, trained and certified to handle any garage door repair needed.

Our company caters to all types of garage doors there may be – may it be overhead doors, side-sliding doors, side-hinged or whatever set-up your garage door uses, we are confident in our abilities to attend to it for you.

Aside from that, we also handle garage door installation and maintenance services on top of the garage door repair services that we offer.

As for our repair services, we have categorized them into the following options.

If you want to get an idea of the repair services that we can handle, then please see below:

If you feel like your problem is not categorized above, then you can reach out for any clarifications on whether we can cater to your needs.

Conclusion

For 24/7 garage door repair service and needs, there is no better garage door repair company in Calgary than Kald Gart Doors.

Here at Kald Gart Doors, we believe that merely fixing or repairing our customer’s garage doors is not the only job that we have. We are also committed to informing and educating our clients on how to take good care of their garage doors so that if the problem occurs again, you will not have to call us again.

We will make sure that we not only fix your garage doors for you but as well as extend the functionality of your garage doors for a very long time.

What are you waiting for? Contact us now!

Rate this post

The post 24/7 Garage Door Repair Service In Calgary appeared first on Guys Fix It Mag | Repairs & DIY Magazine.

Rate this post

Check out more articles:

garage door repair new market

garage door repair etobicoke

garage door track adjustment

24 7 garage door repair ajax

[sparkgaragedoor1]

Spark Garage Door Repair Dallas Tx - Best Garage Door Repair In Dallas

Spark Garage Door Repair Dallas Tx is one of the most prominent garage door repair company in Dallas. We have been serving our community by providing the best services at affordable pricing. Our professional tech team is a well-experienced individual with vast industry experience and always ensures their best services every time you call them. If you have any requirements or queries concerning our services, you can call us anytime. We are open 24x7. Investment in a good quality garage door is a wise decision; however, your door quality deteriorates with time due to various wears and tears. When this happens, you can seek our expert services who have complete knowledge of the malfunctioning garage door and what repair it needs to prevent it from any further damage. Our professionals are habitual of dealing with all such repair and service issues and can fix issues such as tracks, cable, rollers, springs, and/or electrical systems within no time. Common Types of Door Repairs: 1. Garage Door Cable Repairs: The cable system plays a very important role. It balances the weight of the door both during its resting position as well as when it is moving. Often people overlook this most crucial element. Our experts understand the importance of this vital piece of equipment. They are well equipped with all necessary spares and tools, ensuring their best service and best repair possible, utilizing genuine spares when required and ensuring to maintain the cable for long, 2. Off-Track Garage Door Repair Work: Your garage door remains incomplete hold of tracks and hence it becomes a very vital piece of equipment. These tracks wear and tear over time, and then even a minute break or bend can bring it off-track, which can lead to fall or drop. If you are facing a similar situation, call us and we look into all such aspects and provide the necessary fixation to avoid further such possibilities in a timely manner. 3. Quality Roller repair and replacement services: Rollers run along the side tracks of the garage door aiding in the movement of the door, but there can be multiple reasons which make the rollers stop working such as debris and rust. We provide the best quality rollers that bring the functioning of your garage door back and work for long, bringing the complete peace to your mind. If you are looking for Door Repairs Near Me, you have arrived at the right place. With complete assurance about the safety and functioning of your door, you can become free of worry in no time. We provide quality replacements such as hinges, springs, rollers, opener gears, and other items. Whether your door needs repair or maintenance or security installation, we are always available to provide you with the best service at any time, ensuring 100% job satisfaction. We provide a few of our services completely free with every visit, such as free safety inspection, to ensure all the hardware and moving parts are in good working condition.

Mechanical parts can cause major safety threat if it is not genuine, that is why always call trustworthy door repair service like ours to ensure genuine, durable, and longlasting spare providing long life to your garage door. Also, never neglect spring failure, get it fixed before the issue becomes bigger. We at Sparks Garage provide free safety inspection and maintain a safe environment for our customers. Call us today for any type of Garage Door Repair Services.

Reference Link:-

https://mamby.com/post/spark-garage-door-repair-dallas-tx-best-garage-door-repair-in-dallas

[yogaadvise]

How a little muscle intelligence can help prevent yoga injuries

One of the lots of meanings of Vinyasa Yoga exercise is 'to put the body in a details (specific) way with the breath'. Physically we are putting our bones in particular forms with our skeletal muscles, weaving to massage our interior body organs, eliminating limitations as well as adhesions in our connective tissues, and also both challenging and also supporting the different systems (cardiovascular, respiratory system, lymphatic, immune, endocrine, and so on) of the body. Mentally we link to the ebb as well as flow of not just our very own breath as well as body movements yet of every little thing in deep space (whatever develops and everything falls/fades away ... even web traffic!) Energetically, aligning our bodies in stances enables the elimination of blockages in order for the convenience of pranic energy to flow.

Longevity: Practicing your yoga exercise securely and intelligently

I attempt to instil in my students, and also my yoga exercise teachers-in-training, to practise with awareness and objective. I think that by working with the breath and the body in a five-step procedure you can practise secure yoga exercise as well as protect against yoga injuries. Ensuring the longevity of your mind and body both on as well as off the mat.

In my previous write-ups in this collection I covered the first 3 actions to practising securely and avoiding yoga exercise injuries:

Connecting to and moving with the all-natural rhythms of your breath, Prana and the 5 Vayus, activating and engaging your bandhas (internal locks) to support agility of getting on this earth, and proper bone alignment according to stance - positioning your bones in the means they were as well as bone piling when possible.

This post will certainly concentrate on the fourth step: the muscles

By this, I mean triggering your muscle mass with recognition and purpose in order to sustain both fixed holding stances, as well as the transition into and out of such held postures.

What are muscles, exactly how do they work as well as why ought to we have intimate recognition of them?

There are around 700 muscular tissues in the human body. 3 sorts of muscular tissues are:

cardiac - uncontrolled muscle mass just discovered in the heart

smooth - uncontrolled muscle mass discovered in organs and vessels

and skeletal - bone relocating muscle mass that are both voluntary and involuntary

To optimize the emotional and also energised benefits of our practice we require to develop a strong foundation for the body to heal, grow and prosper. This is where skeletal muscular tissue activation plays a fundamental part.

Skeletal muscular tissues are striated, the tiniest unit is a fiber, numerous fibers develop a fascicle, lots of fascicles create a package and also lots of bundles create a skeletal muscular tissue. Skeletal muscle mass fibers run in among 3 states: resting state, got state, or stretched state. When gotten, skeletal muscular tissues relocate our bones where 2 bones meet (hinge joint, ball-and-socket joint and also compressive joint). Knowing precisely how our joints relocate uses an excellent basis for a deeper understanding of exactly how our muscle mass function as soon as activated and involved as we covered in Bone placement - preventing yoga injuries

We can not relocate our bodies without using our skeletal muscles. The only Hatha Yoga exercise position available to us without our muscles activating is Savasana. For the various other 1000 plus postures created, try out as well as practised - whether it be a foot between hands, in an armpit or behind a head - correct activation of our skeletal muscle mass is required as well as necessary.

Muscle contractions as well as their value in Vinyasa Circulation Yoga

In order to move in as well as out of postures our skeletal muscles will concentrically and eccentrically agreement. Upon landing in a picked posture it is the isometric tightening that keeps us steady, secure and comfy (Sthira Sukham Asanam).

Concentric contraction of muscle mass fibers reduces a joint angle, eccentric contraction is an active yet decreased tightening of muscle fibers throughout the increase of a joint angle and also isometric is the activation of muscles (' covering' or 'hugging') without movement of bones.

Once we become intimate with the method our skeletal muscular tissue fibres turn on in order to raise as well as put our bones, we often tend to go on this earth with more convenience and also elegance. It is such a delight to enjoy a personified yoga specialist (or dancer or professional athlete) place their body with full understanding as well as focused intent. And afterwards to see the same person locate the subtleties of their body in tranquility ... actually seeing this can take my breath away.

The consistent and continual scanning of the body in a statically held posture, finding what muscular tissues need to trigger (get stronger) and what muscular tissues require to kick back (obtain softer) as well as making the micro motions needed to discover convenience, for me this is the greatest exploration of our body's capacity to isometrically contract.

Agonist and Villain muscles: The Brangelinas of the body

Although I'm possibly dating myself with this 'supercouple' reference (Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie) I locate this visual drives home a really essential anatomical point - in the human body there more than 600 skeletal muscle mass and all of them remain in a major connection with a minimum of another muscle/muscle group.

When a muscle is an agonist it is the primary mover of the joint. It can just do its job effectively as well as efficiently if its antagonist 'spouse' (the opposing muscle mass, the muscle on the various other side of the body) unwinds and releases.

For example, your dual headed biceps muscle agreements to bend your arm joint (attract your lower arm and also arms towards each other). Your arms can only do its agonistic task successfully as well as properly if the three-headed triceps muscular tissue (which is an arm joint extensor) unwinds as well as releases. No issue exactly how strong your biceps are they can not bend the elbow if the triceps muscles are limited. The very same thing chooses when the triceps muscles wish to align your arm joint (expansion) ... the triceps muscles can refrain from doing their job efficiently and successfully if the biceps decline to relax.

This is why it is so essential for yoga exercise teachers to educate well balanced yoga courses. The entire body requires to be stretched as well as reinforced, we relocate, shape and also bend the body in one direction and after that we need to make sure to relocate, form and bend it in the full contrary direction. This equates right into anatomical language as flexion as well as expansion in the sagittal airplane, abduction and also adduction in the coronal airplane, and rotation in the transverse aircraft. In yoga exercise postures this is revealed as POSTURE and also COUNTERPOSE, the easiest example being Pet cat and Cow Presents.

Harmful regular patterns and the function yoga exercise plays in undoing them

Habitual patterns are produced within our bodies (as well as our minds!) from what we provide for job and also play, from physical or emotional trauma, even from the means we repeatedly position our bodies while we rest. Now, a shape developed in the body once, twice and even 100 times over the span of a life time may not always be dangerous. It is the hundreds or thousands of repeated forms as well as activities we create in and also with our body each day, weekly, as well as each year that become damaging as well as debilitating.

For instance, a lot of my pupils function resting at a desk for 8 or more hrs a day or drive for a living and also discover themselves in forward flexion in the sagittal plane. Often with arms (humerus) in inner turning (rotator cuff muscle mass subscapularis tight and infraspinatus weak), breast muscular tissues (pectorals) held in a tight acquired (at some point weak) state, upper back muscles (rhomboids as well as trapezius) extended and weak, shoulders kept in raised placement (upper trapezius and levator scapula tight), abdominals limited and also weak, and also hip flexors (iliopsoas) super tight encouraging incredibly weak reduced back muscular tissues (quadratus lumborum as well as other extensors).

All of this and a lot more can be seen and really felt on the floor covering in specific postures: weak infraspinatus, quadratus lumborum and stomach muscles, along with tight pectorals, upper trapezius and also lift scapula muscle mass, do not support an effective excellent Chaturanga, limited pectorals, weak top and also lower back muscles, and also limited iliopsoas do not sustain an effective and fulfilling Camel, Bow or Full Wheel, and also weak leg muscles (from sitting way too much) and also tight or weak interior or external hip rotators (from driving leg practices or from crossing legs at workdesk) will all be really felt in standing and balancing poses.

Everything we assume, feel and do gathers in our bodies and also, thank benefits, constantly turns up on the floor covering to instruct us and also encourage us to learn, grow and heal.

One of the biggest advantages of the physical technique of yoga exercise is the undoing of our habitual habits and patterns. One of my favourite things to state to my teachers-in-training is 'Our trainees involve us in fragmented items like Humpty Dumpty as well as it is our work to assist them place their items back together once more'. In a general class, it is essential that a yoga teacher uses a well-balanced series with both postures as well as counterposes (assume agonist as well as antagonist) - we don't understand what patterns have actually been set up in our pupils throughout their life time. For those people with a daily individual method the emphasis can (as well as will) differ from the general population class framework, we additionally want a well-balanced technique however due to the fact that it is a practice just for us we can modify it in such a method to both assistance and counteract the day-to-day regular patterns as well as shapes we discover ourselves in.

The takeaway

It is essential for us to listen to our bodies and hear what they require in order to return to an all-natural state of homeostasis (vibrant equilibrium). On the floor covering it is essential to challenge ourselves by holding ourselves in positions that brighten our weaknesses as well as we require to discover with breath, movement and patience the locations of our bodies that are limited and also tense.

I am a company follower that we can do every one of this much more effectively and properly if we find out how the human body is made to relocate (anatomical understanding), grow an intimate understanding of exactly how our very own individual body can or can not adhere to match as well as get the knowledge of what we can do on (as well as off) the floor covering to help in our personal recovery and equipping process.

Read all the short articles in Jennilee's 5-step series on protecting against yoga exercise injuries:

The breath, prana and the vayus

The bandhas

Bone alignment

Muscle intelligence

Joint integration

#ashtanga yoga #Hatha Yoga #vinyasa yoga #yoga #yoga teacher