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1uckygold · 1 year

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Changing One's Tune (15)

Summary: Hybrids have always been known to humanity after scientist decided to test the limits of the animal genetics on humans. Now the world uses them as adoptable companions, which is why a group of friends found their way at a Hybrid Shelter. Though one trip turns into an ugly fight involving Yoongi to walk away—But what happens when that same male finds a cat hybrid that is scared out of her mind with a dark past. Who said that dark past was over?

~Pairing: Min Yoongi (BTS) | Suga x Hybrid f! Reader

~Genre: Angst & Fluff, Hybrid au

~Word Count: 3.6K

~Tag List: @tanumiki @yummiethedragoon2 @llcalumllhoodll @darkmangoo @kurochan3 @wooya1224 @lilacdreams-00 @fangirl125reader @halesandy @aviwasabi21 @mrcleanheichou @loveyoongles @queenthorin1 @rosquilleta @a-golden-sunflower-vol-6 @sockie-the-dumbass @jipwark02 @malewife-supremacy @tinyoonsblog @becomingbts @lenafarn @ultralillylove @deathkat657 @janeelizabeth1216 @sumzysworld @beach-bitch-bitch-beach @agustdjoon @ironrosestylist @d-noona @matchat3a @zae007live @friendlywraith @bangtannie7 @bangtanswrld @marieebarbzz8 @quokkahideout @that-author @honeybxes @kim-jias-den @loner0907 @artgukk @jaiuneamesolitaiire @readers-posts @chieftoadturkeynickel @matchat3a @almosttoopizza @pb-n-jujuu @sinceritythatcouldntbedelivered @btsiguess-kpop @kisskissshutmydoor @adeptiixiao @avadakabra93 @khjcoo @kimahjung98 @murkydoesnotloveyou @bbl32 @fluffy-canada-pancakes @schokoshaker @theonethatlikeskpop @yoursoontobestepmom @purplewinterluv @rosiepetalss

Part: 01 / 02 / 03 / 04 / 05 / 06 / 07 / 08 / 09 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13 / 14 / 16 / More Chapters Soon...

That damn thing was there to torture you, wasn’t it?

Wild eyes narrowed, tail swishing as your ears twitched from the ticking sound… The big numbers staring right into your very soul—Ugh! Can time move any slower?!

Whining, you slumped further onto the carpet ground—You spent nearly all of December with the boy’s family, having come back into the city just last night. Although it was quite nerve wrecking, you managed to let your guard down more. It felt like a big weight has been lifted and for the first time, you’ve felt… Free.

And that’s exactly why you couldn’t stop thinking about your Christmas gift—Today being the day you’ll finally receive it.

The only problem? It was still too early, and the appointment wasn’t until another hour as you glared at Yoongi’s new wall-clock, watching the third handle tick by. A snicker fallin’ from your delicate lips seeing the clock was in the shape of a familiar record design, exactly the one Hoseok gifted him. During that time, while he smiled, you knew Yoongi was secretly too excited about hanging it up—Your guess was correct, considering that was the first thing he did when coming home.

Normally, right now, you’d be sleeping next to the man in question while transformed… Dozing off in a ball of fur as your tail smacked his face—But how could you sleep in a time like this? Knowing this was the exact day you’ll get adopted, officially! The thought had you squealing in delight, rolling on the ground with your favorite blanket. Feline eyes darting out the window to see the first morning sunrise, snowflakes lightly flyin’ in the wind.

Winter was still ongoing, but not as strong… Remembering two days ago Taehyung skipping in excitement among the snow when seeing a few purple crocus sprouting, the tiger hybrid telling of a tale how it was a sign of good-luck. The flower ‘celebrating the coming forth of springtime’ and how it represented ‘new beginnings’. You didn’t even have the heart to prevent him from plucking the flowers as he made a small crocus crown for the both of you.

Sighing, your attention flew back to the clock—What the hell? You jumped in pure shock seeing how it was well past an hour. A tightness building up in your throat, fearing that maybe it was too late to make it for the appointment. What if it was…

No.

Nothing was going to stop yourself from getting adopted today by Yoongi—There are some people that complain about adoption for hybrids, you hear them whispering among themselves whenever going out with Yoongi as they point at your proudly-displayed collar. But they don’t understand… In this world, you can’t just be a stray-hybrid.

You’d need an owner... Friend, to live the freedom a hybrid can live without the fear of being sheltered or worse.

Shaking your head, a smile broke out when yelping as you slipped in the hallway before getting right back up and bursting into Yoongi’s room—It was dark and although harder to see without your night vision, it was nearly impossible to miss the big lump on the bed that snored softly.

So, you pounced.

“Yoongi… Yoongi, wake up!” You shouted, nudging the man as a groan escaped from underneath the covers as you continuously jumped on Yoongi. Frowning at the nonexistent movement, you tried pullin’ the blankets away only for a squeal to leave your lips. A rough shake practically pushing you off the bed with a huff—Alright… That’s it!

Peeking up from the other side as you sat on the floor, anyone would’ve expected the bed to catch fire at the harsh glare you were giving when needing to climb back up. “Yoongi,” You hissed, pulling at the blanket once more as Yoongi’s face showed, his facial expression scrunching at the lost of warmth. Calculating, you smirked almost evilly when soft jet-black hair had gracefully fallen upon his forehead.

Tail flickering in mischief, you grabbed a handful and yanked… Yoongi cussing and hissing in a faint whisper, eyes immediately snapping open with an icy-glare before softening to see you and not one of the guys he believed—Then again, if he saw Jungkook, Yoongi doesn’t think he’d even be able to say no… Kick him, yes, but not no.

“And what do you think your doing kitten?” Yoongi grumbled, voice coming off in a low and hoarse tone, a shiver running down your spine and tail standing puffy/tall in alarm at the affect that was going through you. Ears perking with a slight twitch feeling a lazy, but innocent gesture of his hand resting on your leg—Your eyes widen, this was new, weird, and… something else.

“A-Adoption… Adoption day,” You muttered, feeling the sudden confidence lessen as your face felt extremely hot… Tail instinctively reaching over to hide your bashful expression. The sight had Yoongi confused for a split second, only to scramble up in a sitting position when realizing what was said.

“Oh shit! What time is it—”

“Yah Yoongi, we just let ourselves in. Are you almost ready to—” A new presence broke into the room, attention turning to see Seokjin standing at the entrance of the bedroom door… Water spilling from his mouth like a waterfall—From his perspective, it might’ve appeared like Yoongi, and you were in a compromising potion from how his hand was lazily draped on your leg and unconsciously slidin’ to your thigh during the movement. The fluffy covers being the one to cover the true aspect of the position you both were closed-in.

It sure didn’t help the fact that your face was red as a freshly-bloomed rose, or how Yoongi’s hair was a bed-mess.

“Sorry!!”

Embarrassment filled within, gaping in pure horror while Yoongi was still half-asleep to fully comprehend what was going on that had Seokjin slamming the bedroom door. Although an idea slowly started forming once argument was heard outside, the doorknob rattling as if they were fighting to open it or not.

“I just want to see Y/N—” Jungkook whined, the other hybrid boys whimpering in response… The bunny hybrid, surprisingly, being stronger than all seven of them combined as he practically burst through the room. Each hybrid tripping over one another as they fell to the ground, Namjoon hesitantly peeking inside as well only to instantly turn to leave with a nope seeing your position. “Ugh, Y/N are you—Sorry! Sorry, sorry, sorry!!”

“Listen, it’s not what you perverts think!” Yoongi shouted, lightbulb finally going off on what everyone seemed embarrassed about. Jimin snickering, a sly smirk gracing his handsome features while Taehyung looked in clueless confusion… Hoseok didn’t waste time to run out with apologies fallin’ like a marathon. Though Jungkook stared with mixed emotions from confusion, embarrassment, to apologetic and finally devious.

“Hyung! How dare you take advantage of our Y/N like this? Shame on you,” Jungkook spat, grinning when Jimin burst out laughin’ as the fox slapped his back in a fit. The bunny hybrid tutting, jumping to his feet and rushing to lift you off the bed, dashing out as he went to tell the others. Yoongi complaining to himself how wrong they were, huffing as he slumped against his dashboard.

“You know Yoongi, if you wanted to play,” Jimin teased, showing off his canines… Crawling on the bed in a sinful manner as he tilted Yoongi’s head up by the chin with an evil glint. Red-fox tail swaying around them in a captivating way for a predator about to attack their prey. “We’ve always have operation… I’ll be the doctor.”

“Shut up,” Yoongi rolled his eyes, shoving Jimin off the bed as the fox landed with a thump. Jimin’s laugh echoing throughout the silent room causing Taehyung to giggle at his contagious personality, despite not knowing what was going on still. “Get out so I can get dressed.”

“Don’t get shy now. We’ve all seen you—”

“Jimin, I swear to fuckin’ god!!”

A transformed tiger and fox practically threw themselves out the room, barreling into each other as objects flew out in the hall—Yips, yelps, growls, and howls being heard all around as the ones in the living flinched knowing Yoongi got to them.

You were actually here; You couldn’t believe it… Eyes widening in delight seeing the hybrid shelter sign. Namjoon and Yoongi chuckled at your excitement, fixing your jacket and bucket hat to make the other hybrids inside more comfortable—Jungkook, Taehyung, Jimin, and Hoseok bundled up already, gaining the stamp of approval from Seokjin that the four were good to head inside.

“Alright, alright. I’m good!” You insisted, smiling and jumping out of their grasp in a sprint, catching up with the rest of the boys—However, it turned out to be a huge mistake going forward.

Staggering back, you winced, letting out a caterwaul from all the different exotic scents that hit your nose in full force. A hand slapping over your face… God, it felt like you wanted to vomit at the intensity. Pathetic whimpers escaped, tears forming as everything became a blurry mess—How did all the pack of hybrids handle this here?!

A gentle hand touched your lower back, the action making you flinch and tense.

“Shh… It’s okay,” Yoongi—His voice immediately cutting through the fog, an arm draping over your shoulder that brought you closer. The music producer not caring about the tickle against his chin that your ears were doing, waiting patiently for you to calm down before making sudden movements. Your nose twitching, inhaling Yoongi’s familiar cologne and vanilla scent. “What happened? You were just excited two seconds ago kitten.”

“Shut up,” You muttered, a shaky laugh bubbling out at the teasing tone—Yoongi had known exactly what happened… He’s experienced it multiple times with Jungkook. But rather than discussing it, Yoongi did what was a normal occurrence to show he cared and formed the situation into a joking manner. Wishing to ease your discomfort, he took off his black mask and adjusted it on yourself.

The filtered-cloth didn’t get rid of the smells completely but dimmed it enough were it was tolerable, helping your overwhelmed state. Namjoon—with such a gentleness—instructing for you to take a couple of deep breaths.

Wild green eyes, that were glowin’ slightly, snapped open to see Jungkook in a similar situation. The tall-bunny practically buried in Hoseok’s hair, cotton tail rustling among his oversized t-shit with the sound of feet thumping against the floor—Hoseok’s scent being the only one strong enough to keep Jungkook sane… Everyone else, except you, had a too strong of cologne, pheromones, or just had a flowery scent that he hated.

Yoongi led you toward the front desk, where no one was in sight, and rang the bell. Your tail flickering in an anxious manner as a woman (Finally) came out from the back with a clipboard.

“Good morning! How can I help you?” She smiled, nearly stunned to see about eight of you waiting in the lobby—Her eyes widening at Jungkook’s trembling form… Instinctively rummaging through the drawers and handing Seokjin a brand-new facial mask for the bunny. Something that was always kept handy in case hybrids were sensitive to smells.

The sight had you awing—You could practically feel a “mother’s caring nature” vibe from this woman.

“We’re here to see Sujin… We have a meeting with him,” Yoongi explained, the lady humming in understanding, not minding the near cold exterior he was unconsciously giving. Her fingers going straight to work, the computer granting access to the much-needed information.

“Ah yes, here we are! For Mr. and Mrs. Min…” She trailed; snickers being heard in the background that caused Yoongi to turn with a glare—The guys straightened as they tried to act casual, shaking shoulders giving them away, along with their mischievous smiles twitchin’ to break out. “Sujin will be with you all soon! He’s currently finishing up with a couple that came in earlier… Lovely people, so sad what happened to them.”

Frowning, everyone cocked their heads to the side at the extra comment—Curiosity filling them on what had happened. Although before the guys could question it, a door opened, your ears perking underneath the hat… You recognized that scent, yes, he was at the hospital!

“Ah. Yoongi, Namjoon, and Seokjin! It’s good to see you three again, along with your hybrids,” Sujin greeted, smiling warmly with a shake of their hands. Although, you’ve noticed the man taking one glance at you in suspicion before gesturing everyone to follow—Yet one step in his office had you wincing, Yoongi staring at you in concern before hesitantly giving Sujin his attention.

There was a certain smell in the air… Something that had you wanting to hide, but it was mixed with other scents that you couldn’t recognize it—Maybe you were just overthinking, after all, there are a ton of predator hybrids here.

A windshield laugh had you snapping back to reality, finding Seokjin red in the face from whatever Sujin said. They were making small talk… The sight had you scrunching up your nose—Either a dumb or brilliant idea came to mind, gently tugging for Yoongi’s attention as you excused yourself for the “bathroom”.

Taking a deep breath, you quietly got up as the guys continued and left through a door that wasn’t entered before. Eyes widening seeing the long hallway that had multiple doors, but with a wider one at the end.

Something inside wanted you to explore, but another was whispering how this wasn’t a good idea and to go sit back in the safety length of the guys—You can guess what side won, your feline instincts forcing you to walk toward the door… It helped that the closer you got, the more hybrid scents seem to fade.

You don’t know what you expected, but it sure wasn’t to find hybrids on either side of glass panels—Hamsters, bunnies, sugar gliders, and so on… All going about in a playful manner, some hanging out inside or running back and forth through the open doors that lead outside.

Despite them in the Rodentia and Leporids family, you stiffened when all their attention was directed at you with calculating eyes—They knew what kind of hybrid you were, but something about how tense you were didn’t seem to scare them. Most felines walked like the world was their kingdom, but you appeared as if you’ve barely belonged on the runway. It was an odd sight for them to say the least.

Coughing, you straightened up and headed to the next room—The Felidae family…

“Well aren’t you cute,” A voice broke the silent walk, grabbing your attention to see a cougar hybrid. A grin upon her face and tail swishing in nothing but mischief… She was older than you and came off like a big sister than anything. “Are you lost?”

“No. I’m waiting for my…” You hesitantly trailed, flickin’ your collar as the hybrid seemed to understand with a nod. Not at all resentful that you had someone to leave with. In fact, the feline seemed to relax in almost a relief that you weren’t wandering around by yourself—That’s where it started, not being long until the cougar had you laughing, giving stories on the multiple pranks she pulled until Yoongi came for you.

“Darlin’ look! A lost little kitty-cat.”

Your whole body turned to stone, eyes widening as you stopped breathing for a moment. The cougar hybrid sensed your distress and change of mood… Eyes narrowing and growlin’ behind you—No… Please no… Please.

…” I’m sorry if you don’t mind us asking. That lady earlier had mentioned you were with a couple earlier—What happened to them?” Namjoon questioned, calming the boys down as Sujin eyes sadden. The shelter owner giving a tight smile as he looked anywhere but at them.

“Oh them… It hurts thinking about it, but about a year ago, this lovely couple actually lost their hybrid—Apparently there was an incident in their neighborhood and hybrid poachers broke into their home. The couple fought tooth and nail to protect their little one but… God, it’s awful evening thinking about it. The two barely were able to step in here, unsure if they were even ready to reminisce and care for another hybrid,” Sujin muttered, shaking his head to rid of the horrid images that currently ran through his mind. The story had Taehyung, Hoseok, Jungkook, and Jimin shaking, while the other three guys stared with a solemn expression. “…I pray that Y/N is at least resting in peace.”

Yoongi’s head snapped up, jumping out of his chair as it fell to the ground from the sheer force—Sujin’s eyes widening seeing an odd look upon his face… On everyone’s faces.

“What was their hybrid’s name again?”

Everything felt like slow motion for you, scrambling and slipping across the hallway floor as hybrids noticed your fearful state—Their calls as they all banged on the glass panel were mute to your ears, the pounding of your heart being the only music that was actually heard.

You’ve barged into the last door, coming face-to-face with multiple canines that jumped to their feet at your sudden entrance. Their curious eyes watching you twist around, shrugging off as much layers you could to free your tail and ears. It felt like you couldn’t breathe!

“Here kitty-kitty~ We’ve been so worried about you…”

…” Hurry the hell up!!” Yoongi shouted; fist clenched in pure white as Sujin frantically pulled up a file on his computer as the four hybrids glared at him with a predatory glint.

“I can’t control the speed of the internet!!” Sujin snapped, slamming the monitor in stupid hopes that it would speed up the loading process as it tried retrieving the information that was filled out for the last client as they did a background search. Eyes darting away from the computer screen in sheer worry hearing faint barking, roars, and growls in the background—Every hybrid starting a sudden ruckus.

“That’s it! I’m heading—”

“There!! It’s done—It says that Mr. and Mrs. Hyun owned a feline hybrid (black) that went missing around a year ago on a rainy day. Her name was…”

“Y/N! How we missed you… Now, why don’t you be a good little thing and come home—Oh? What’s this…?” A sickeningly chuckle rang throughout the room, your back against the glass as you sat on the ground in pure terror. Wild eyes staring up at the couple that was a mere inch away (Collar reflecting in the light), banging heard all around as each hybrid tried to break through to defend you. “A collar? You’ve got to be kiddin’.”

“Don’t worry, I know the perfect remedy that will take care of that,” The man sneered, body shaking as you saw the woman open her purse—Your face paled… She was holding a noose like a leash, hand instinctively reaching for your throat in a protective manner.

Then… You screamed, a bloody curdling scream that had the hybrid’s eyes turning into slits as they all transformed—Animal instincts running through their veins and throwing their bodies against the barrier between them, glass starting to slowly crack.

You’ve kicked, clawed, and reached for something to sink your teeth in as you fought to at least transform—It’ll help in multiple ways to bend for an escape… You were, in fact, faster on all fours.

“Nope! We can’t have that now, can we,” A giggle sounded, stepping on your wrist as her heels dug into your skin that had you hissing, already recognizing the signs of what was planned. Your eyes squeezing shut, teeth grinding together in hopes that this was a horrible nightmare.

“Y-You’re not real… You’re not—”

“Oh… Sorry to disappoint, but we are very much real,” They both said in sync, your breath hitching as one of their nasty fingers unclipped your collar to throw across the room—The familiar texture of rope touching your skin replacing the empty space. Although before they had the chance to tighten it like you knew they would… A screech and hiss was heard, their presence disappearing that had you snapping your eyes open.

“Do. Not. Fuckin’. Touch. Her,” Yoongi growled, shoving your old abuser against the wall with a tight grasp upon his shirt—Hoseok, Jimin and Taehyung transformed, all three corning the fearful woman as they showed off their sharp canines while Jungkook simply cracked his knuckles.

Sujin ran off to call security while Namjoon and Seokjin rushed to your aid… Only to back up when you screamed and flinched at their touch as if they just burnt your delicate skin.

Trauma is personal… It does not just disappear.

It’s forever engraved into the depths of your soul.

But…

Yoongi shoved the bastered into the open arms of security, glaring until the two were out of sight until whimpers and screams finally reached his ears. Turning around as Yoongi softened seeing the state you were in, curled up on the floor with the noose still around your neck.

When someone hears the screams.

Entering the pain of torture with a delicate hand…

Can the healing begin.

“Kitten…?” Yoongi whispered unsurely, crouching right next to your form as the crying stopped… Body freezing in place. Your eyes snapped up and through the blurriness you could see the familiar colors of him. The sight had you tearing up once more when Yoongi, with a softness, removed the rope around you—

“Yoongi!! I-I was…” You hiccupped, throwing yourself into his awaiting arms with a soft. Yoongi combing his fingers through your hair, whispering comforting words and humming, placing a gentle kiss among your temples.

And that’s… That is when you can truly be free from the dark past that haunts you.

“I know… I know. It’s okay,” Yoongi hushed, rockin’ you back and forth.

~~~~

Welcome to the fifteenth chapter of Changing One's Tune! It's been a while... So I decided to add a little angst to the mix. The past resurfaces, but sometimes you need to face it to properly heal.

Likes, Comments, Reblogs, and Follows are very much appreciated if you enjoy the story, its always exciting to know that you like my writing and gives me more motivation to update faster!

See you all soon, Stay Gold! <3

199 notes · View notes

real-total-drama-takes · 5 months

Note

Y'all can't handle this

Y'all don't know what's about to happen baby

Team 10

Los Angeles, Cali boy

But I'm from Ohio though, white boy

It's everyday bro, with the Disney Channel flow

5 mill on YouTube in 6 months, never done before

Passed all the competition man, PewDiePie is next

Man I'm poppin' all these checks, got a brand new Rolex

And I met a Lambo too and I'm coming with the crew

This is Team 10, bitch, who the hell are flippin' you?

And you know I kick them out if they ain't with the crew

Yeah, I'm talking about you, you beggin' for attention

Talking shit on Twitter too but you still hit my phone last night

It was 4:52 and I got the text to prove

And all the recordings too, don't make me tell them the truth

And I just dropped some new merch and it's selling like a god, church

Ohio's where I'm from, we chew 'em like it's gum

We shooting with a gun, the tattoo just for fun

I Usain Bolt and run, catch me at game one

I cannot be outdone, Jake Paul is number one

It's everyday bro

I said it is everyday bro!

You know it's Nick Crompton and my collar stay poppin'

Yes, I can rap and no, I am not from Compton

England is my city

And if it weren't for Team 10, then the US would be shitty

I'll pass it to Chance 'cause you know he stay litty

Two months ago you didn't know my name

And now you want my fame? Bitch I'm blowin' up

I'm only going up, now I'm going off, I'm never fallin' off

Like Mag, who? Digi who? Who are you?

All these beefs I just ran through, hit a milli in a month

Where were you? Hatin' on me back in West Fake

You need to get your shit straight

Jakey brought me to the top, now we're really poppin' off

Number one and number four, that's why these fans all at our door

It's lonely at the top so we all going

We left Ohio, now the trio is all rollin'

It's Team 10, bitch

We back again, always first, never last

We the future, we'll see you in the past

It's everyday bro

I said it is everyday bro!

Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on (espera)

Can we switch the language? (Ha, ya tú sabes)

We 'bout to hit it (dale)

Sí, lo único que quiero es dinero

Trabajando en YouTube todo el día entero

Viviendo en U.S.A, el sueño de cualquiera

Enviando dólares a mi familia entera

Tenemos una persona por encima

Se llama Donald Trump y está en la cima

Desde aquí te cantamos can I get my VISA?

Martinez Twins, representando España

Desde la pobreza a la fama

It's everyday bro

I said it is everyday bro!

Yo, it's Tessa Brooks

The competition shook

These guys up on me

I got 'em with the hook

Lemme educate ya'

And I ain't talking book

Panera is your home?

So, stop calling my phone

I'm flyin' like a drone

They buying like a loan

Yeah, I smell good

Is that your boy's cologne?

Started balling', quicken Loans

Now I'm in my flippin' zone

Yes, they all copy me

But, that's some shitty clones

Stay in all designer clothes

And they ask me what I make

I said is 10 with six zeros

Always plug, merch link in bio

And I will see you tomorrow 'cause it's everyday bro

Peace

-🍇

Why, grape anon,

#grape anon #long post #not a take

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perfectlywrongformend3s · 2 years

Text

The One- Luke Patterson

GIF: @gillespiecharlie

A/n: So I came up with this idea with the song 'He could be the one' by Hannah Montana and I know, but listen. You're saying some of the lyrics to Julie and your describing Luke, but you don't know that the boys are listening to the conversation. Feel free to listen to the song.

-Samantha

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your POV

I was in Julie's room waiting for her to come back into her room since she went to grab something. While I was waiting for Julie I couldn't help, but think of Luke. I can't really say much about when I first started liking him. Before my brain went any further I saw Julie walking in, which made me smile.

" Finally!" I said

She just let out a laugh and made her way to sit next to me. Once she got comfy she asked...

" So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

I looked down trying not to blush, but she saw a hint of red coming onto my cheeks.

" Ooh! Are we gonna talk about your crush on a certain ghost boy?" She teased

That just got me to cover my face. " Stop making it weird!" I whined in an embarrassment

" Y/n/n! I'm sorry. But I really want to know!" She said

I let out a sigh, before nodding. Once I was calm enough I started describing Luke in song form.

' Smooth talkin', so rockin',

He's got everything that a girl wantin',

Guitar cutie, he plays it groovy,

And I can't keep myself from doin' somethin' stupid,

Think I'm really fallin' for his smile,

Get butterflies when he says my name,'

I stop talking just to see Julie's reaction. She had such a huge smile on her face and told me...

" I want to hear more, keep going."

I let out a small giggle before saying more.

' He's got somethin' special,

He's got somethin' special,

And when he's lookin' at me,

I wanna get all sentimental,

He's got somethin' special,

I can hardly breath, something's tellin' me,

Tellin' me maybe he could be the one.'

Julie smiled and nodded...

" He definitely could be the one. Don't lose hope Y/n/n!"

I smiled and hugged her before continuing...

Luke's POV

The boys and I wanted to go hang out with the girls, but when we get to Julie's door we heard them talking about someone. I looked at the boys behind me if they are hearing this. They both nodded, and we all then just decided to listen to them gossip.

'He's lightin', sparks are flyin',

Everywhere I go he's always on my mind and,

I'm goin' crazy about him lately,

And I can't help myself from how my heart is racin',

Think I'm really diggin' on his vibe,

He really blows me away, hey!'

I was standing there shocked at what I'm hearing coming out of Y/n's mouth.

" Luke?" Alex whispered to me

I looked up to see him giving me a concerned look, which I just shrugged off.

" Dude! What's wrong?" Reggie whispered

I just shrugged him off too. I don't know why listening to her say this about me was getting to me so bad. It's not like I'm jealous cause I don't have any memory of liking her. Maybe I do if I feel jealous, but that's impossible, I'm a ghost it would never work. I was about to leave until I heard her talk again.

' And he's got a way of makin' me feel,

Like everything I do is perfectly fine,

The stars are aligned when I'm with him,

And I'm so into him.'

I looked down knowing that I could never give her what she wanted. Before Alex or Reggie coils say anything I left with a flash.

Your POV Right when I finished Julie was a giggling mess.

" You make it seem like you're really in love with Luke." she paused and then let out a gasp..

" Omg, you are so in love with him."

I looked down and blushed. " Yea, but it's not like we can ever be together."

I felt her wrap her arms around me. She started rubbing my back...

" Y/n/n! It's going to be okay. I know it doesn't seem like it will, but I have hope." She told me

I smiled at her and hugged her back until we decided to just sit around her room watching movies instead of facing the boys tonight.

Luke's POV

After I left the boys I made my way to the studio just so I could think this through.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was just messing around on my guitar when I heard the guys pop in. I looked up, but then back down at my guitar.

" Luke, how are you doin' man?" Alex asked in a gentle tone

I let out a groan. " Man, I don't know. I feel all kinds of emotions, but it's mostly just sad."

They both looked down. " Why are you feeling sad the most, Luke?" Reggie questioned

I shook my head...

" You want to know, it's because I have a crush on her, but it will never work because I;m not alive!"

They seemed surprised about my outburst, but I had to say it. I heard someone walk over to me. I could tell it was Alex onces I saw his shoes in front of me.

" Luke, I don't really know what you're going through since I've never been in this exact situation. But I'm always here for you man." He said

I looked up and gave him a sad smile. I then pulled him in for a much needed hug and I felt his arms go around me while I felt another set of arms go around me.

" Thanks guys." I quietly said

" Always Luke." Reggie said, while Alex just tightened his arms around me

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I really hope this is good, I really didn't know how to end it so feel free to ask me anything about it.

More coming soon and requests I promise. Thanks for all your lovely support and love, I am so grateful for all of you.

-Samantha

#luke patterson #Luke Patterson imagine #Luke Patterson x y/n #Luke Patterson x reader #Luke Patterson x you #Luke Patterson fluff #fluff #luke patterson x #Luke Patterson fanfic #Luke Patterson fic #mine #julie and the phantoms #charlie gillespie #charlie gillespie x reader #Charlie Gillespie

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selvie-blue · 5 months

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Why So Private, Dick? An An Opinion Piece on Joseph Dain and the Slow Emergence of Frontal Nudity in ENM Media

After looking into the matter, I am putting up this post, again.. And if you want the article with the uncensored pictures, go here.

Joseph Dain. If this name doesn't sound familiar, it should. Let me jog your memory with one memorable scene:

Bullet – 1996

Picture it: two arrogant college-rich kids arrive in the bad part of town to score some drugs. But when they're forced up to the roof of an apartment building, they're not taught about the evils of drug use via a resurgence of the D.A.R.E. program. Instead, they're made to hand over their clothes before their threads star in the latest remake of Tom Petty's “Free Fallin',” as envisioned by the thugs throwing their garments over the roof. What follows is the two naked and embarrassed guys wandering around the building looking for some help. However, they seem to have forgotten that this is a town on the wrong side of the tracks, and people are more suspicious than helpful. So their attempts are in vain, much like D.A.R.E. attempted to try and convince their target audience that “drugs aren't cool.”

While this part of the film may be a staple in the community of those of us who follow such scenes, and while, yes, even I have gotten off to it a few times, there is one important thing missing. While you do see the two guys' butts for a while, their fronts are covered by their hands. Not to mention that the camera doesn't dare go south of the equator unless it's shielded and covered tighter than the chastity device on Amy Yasbeck's character in Mel Brook's “Robin Hood: Men In Tights."

The aggressor was played by Micky Rourke. A former heartthrob from the '80s who starred in films like “Diner”, “9 ½ Weeks” and “Angel Heart”. The dark-haired guy was played by Joseph Dain.

From about 2003 to 2004, Joseph Dain would parlay this exposure into a very short-lived portion of his career, where he starred in a few softcore movies involving minimal plots and men wearing minimal to no clothing. Imagine something like 2000's Voodoo Academy. Except instead of featuring beautiful guys in their jockey shorts, they featured hunks sans jockey shorts.

However, the same can't be said of Mr. Dain. He decided to carry on his modest status, even in films like this. And, for the longest time, I never understood it. Here, you have this good-looking guy surrounded by a bunch of other hunky, built dudes just letting their ding-dongs flop in the wind, while Dain only goes as far as to show this much:

Let's take his debut into this foray, shall we?

DAYDREAM OBSESSION – 2003

In the film, Dain plays a character named Clayton. Clayton is secretly obsessed with his best friend, Brian, played by Chris Michaels. Clayton is living with not only Brian but a bunch of other dudes in this bachelor pad scenario. Of course, all the guys look like centerfolds. While pining for Brian, Clayton gets lost in these fantasies where he's picturing the various men fashioning the suits they were born in.

Here is a breakdown of some of those guys:

We have Julian Cocoa as Raymond. A rent guy Clayton hires to put on a private performance for him while his roommates are away. Raymond then puts on a strip show and bares all.

Then, we have Steven. A neighbor played by Adam Blinn, whom Clayton spies on while he's washing his car before proceeding to fantasize about said neighbor in the buff.

And then we have Chris Michaels, playing his best friend. Near the end, Clayton can't take it anymore and wants to make his fantasy a reality. So, he does the reasonable thing and confesses to Brian, and they have a deep, meaningful conversation. Actually, no, no, that's not what happens. Clayton goes a little psycho, ties him to a chair, and then proceeds to rip his clothes off.

Again, all this male nudity, all this dick flyin' everywhere, and how much does Dain show of himself? Let's review:

That's pretty much it. So, you're tellin' me that this actor is starring in a movie where all these other guys are running around the set and revealing everything they've got to the camera and, even in one scene, where Dain, himself, is actually tearing the clothes off of one of the actors and we still see his penis, but all we get to see of you, Mr. Dain, is your butt? Oh, bravo, man. How brave you are to wiggle your ass for a few seconds while your co-workers are showing far more.

This wasn't just a one-time thing, either. Dain continued this imbalance of exposure in two more films: 2004's Group Therapy and 2004's sequel to Daydream Obsession, Daydream Obsession 2: Infidelities.

After these films, he left gay softcore erotica and moved on to low-budget horror and TV, according to his list of credits on IMDB. However, his main page on IMDB lists him as “Joe” Dain instead of “Joseph” Dain. And even though his softcore films are included, you'd have to scroll down and expand the “actor” category to see them. They're nowhere to be found on his main list of films he's starred in. It's almost as if he just wants you to forget about them.

But let's investigate why Joseph, I'm sorry, “Joe” Dain would want to put these movies far, far behind him. Is it because he's a fuckin' hypocritical prude who refuses to show much of anything, despite that being the main point of the films he was the main character in? HELL, YES!! But, hey, I'm not bitter.

The other reason is because of Hollywood itself. Only recently has full-frontal male nudity become less taboo, both in film and TV. Film, however, is slower on that front. This is mainly because all the people on the ratings board are hypocritical prudes and are more ready to condemn anything more sexual than they are to anything violent. I highly recommend you watch the 2006 documentary “This Film Is Not Yet Rated” to get more information on that. Not only is it a fun film to see, but it is highly informative and reveals how antiquated and unnecessary the MPAA is in today's world.

There has been more of a stigma against men showing what they've got between their legs than against women. And if “Joe” Dain were to actually go full frontal in these movies, then he may not have been able to proceed into the career he wanted for himself. All because the studios would have likely taken one look at his previous work and said, Oh, it looks like you were involved in gay porn. I'm sorry, but we are cleaner than that here. Okay, let's get ready for that graphic, bloody death scene. As for you, get out of our sight! You make us SICK!

Maybe it wouldn't have been that extreme, but, I'm sure, there would have been some bias and prejudice, at least causing some resistance in him moving forward simply by showing his willy.

Even though frontal male nudity is becoming more common, when it has come to ENM scenes in the past, especially ones involving disrobing or being disrobed by force, the penis was still only doing one show a year:

The Heist – 1989 skip to 23:10

Pierce Brosnan plays a man who's recently been released from prison after serving a four-year sentence for a crime he didn't commit. In this scene, he lures two goons down on the beach and shows he's packin'. An actual gun, that is. He makes the two henchmen undress. And when one of them asks, “Keep our shorts on?” Pierce's character slyly smiles and says, “Please.” We see this time and time again. A guy is running around with not much on, and the other men in the scene are not only trying to shield themselves from seeing anything, but they're also acting like they need a bucket to vomit in. Because another man's anatomy is just so offensive and so horrid to look at that it traumatizes them to such a degree that they end up in a mental institution: Poor George over there. Can't talk, can't speak. Because he was playing a game of strip Monopoly, and he happened to see a male player's beef bus swing from the corner of his eye.

At least in this scene, Pierce isn't that blatant about it. And even when one of the guys says he “can't swim,” he makes it a point to look directly at the guy's bikini briefs and respond by saying, “Of course not. You're a hunter, aren't you?” I'm not necessarily sure what that means, but I'm certain it's something snarky and British.

Pierce plays the part with less repulsion and, let's face it, homophobia as some other actors of the time in scenes similar to this nature. There's still an underlying shadow of rigidity. Honestly, I think he does the best he can with the material he's given, and his charm and charisma kind of make it work. And I'm not sure if looking at the dude's package was improvised or not, but I'd like to think so. If only for the fact that he wanted to play it with a certain level of comfort and shy away from a heteronormative train of thought that was the reality for many films existing in that era. And while there were plenty of homoerotic scenes made in the oblivious attempt to display machismo (I'm looking at you, valley ball scene from 1986's “Top Gun") it was still understood that they were only supposed to be shown up to a certain point. Perhaps the two guys showing rear ends after taking off everything may not have been what the director envisioned. But if this were to show frontal nudity of these two muscle-bound bouncers, it probably would have been slapped with an X rating, and there would be no chance of this getting a wide release. The film probably would have been even more obscure had the men bared all, and it wouldn't have been so easily found on YouTube.

Peaky Blinders

Peaky Blinders was a British series brought to the States and streamed on Amazon. (currently not a part of Prime, though). In this scene, Cillian Murphy makes two men undress for the visual pleasure of a couple of women. While we do get a nice look at their butts, we don't see any frontal nudity... at all. The camera even stops at the waist.

Okay, first off, this show is British. We're talking about a country that has a reality show about naked people competing to hook up. So, they have a show like that, but they can't even show a couple of guys' dicks in what, from what I understand, is a pretty violent and graphic show? The UK is usually more liberal than that. America may have a history of minimal frontal male nudity on the screen, but I am not sure why Britain would be following suit.

Crown Vic – 2019

Thomas Jane plays an officer who pulls over a guy to get more information from him. While doing so, he has the man perform a strip search in the street. And he doesn't even let him have his clothes back. It's a hot scenario, and one that I've certainly gone to the self-service station with.

However, as hot as this scene is, I still would have liked to have seen some dong from the guy being made to take his clothes off on a heavily populated city street. However, I have to wonder: if that were the case, would this scene have been made public on ThisVid? As many of you know, while ThisVid is a great resource for ENM and even has quite a few scenes with frontal nudity, it's also notorious for the majority of those scenes being under lock and key, and whether you see them depends on whether the person that has that scene in their collection allows you access. I've found that that's kind of a 50/50 shot.

The actor that is being made to strip is played by Devon Werkheiser, who got his big break on the Nickelodeon show Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide. Maybe it was his choice not to go full frontal because this was how he got started. And, again, what does that say about our culture? That a man being seen fully from the front could do damage to his career? Why should it be? Wouldn't it show dedication to the scene? Be more authentic?

However, today, directors are actually taking more chances. In addition to queer storylines being put to the forefront, when it comes to ENM, the penis has been upgraded to a guest-starring role in more works. There's a liberation starting to happen:

Westworld – 2016-2022

Thandiwe Newton plays one of the robots that's been gaining more sentience in a futuristic park. In this scene, amidst a rebellion of the robots, she makes one of the developers, played by Simon Quarterman, strip completely naked, and you see Simon's uncircumcised penis flop around for a few seconds.

The Righteous Gemstones – Season 1, Episode 3

A group of thugs are hired to come in and start tearin' shit up to send a message to Eli Gemstone, played by John Goodman. However, Eli puts a stop to it with his handy gun and decides to send the person who hired these goons a message of his own. So he forces all of them to strip everything off.

While this scene does show some dick, I have to admit, I really would have liked to see some dick from the hot, beefy redhead.

From how John Goodman is playing it, I can totally picture him saying something like, Got something to hide? You weren't too shy about tearin' through this place. C'mon, let's see how much of a man you all are. You're all big and tough? Why don't you take those hands away and show us how proud and brave you are?

But, alas, he doesn't. I, personally, think it would fit the scene more, especially a scene like this brimming with bravado that is nearly devoid of any kind of homophobic or heteronormative subtext. If these men are made to take everything off, then we should be seeing them made to show everything off. Perhaps the ginger-haired actor in this scene didn't want to go full frontal, but how often do you think women were given the same choice in the past? Times may be changing, but there have been decades and decades of imbalance between male and female nudity to make up for.

And while we have made progress, we still get scenes like this:

Macgruber – 2021-present

The very hot and very hairy Will Forte is forced to strip completely naked by a group of mysterious kidnappers hiding behind the booming speakers from inside a tank. The scene is pretty nice, and it's another one I've certainly enjoyed in the past. However, when it comes to seeing Mr. Forte from the front, this is the best we get:

That is so far away that I don't even think Tumblr would consider this nudity. And why is the scene like this? Well, perhaps the answer lies in a comment made by Will Forte's character: “C'mon, guys, it's really cold out here!” Sure enough, everyone looks at Will's willy as if investigating the deep, philosophical answer to life's big questions.

Now, I don't know about you, but I'm getting a little tired of this. The ol' his-dick-is-so-small-it's-not-even-considered-fun-size joke as a reason to not show a dick in full display and close enough to appreciate it. I know that there are people out there who get off on the humiliation of small penises, or SPH, but I don't consider myself one of them. With that said, I'm sure even an SPH fan would have wanted to see what Will Forte had to show off, and not from FIFTEEN THOUSAND GOD-DAMN LIGHT YEARS AWAY! This may be a fetish, but I don't think that's why this scene was made. I think that this is a layover from the more restrictive days of TV. Using a guy's size to demean him and make him feel less than, and I, for one, would rather that be a relic kept in the past (aside from when it is a fetish and made for the sole purpose of satisfying that, I don't kink shame). In addition to the fact that there's this misogynistic intensity fused deep into the fabric of the thought process behind scenes like this. How often is there that joke made where a guy gets a magnum-sized condom to overcompensate? God forbid anyone to doubt your manliness and masculinity. Because you're a BIG MAN! Others shall cower at the sheer veracity, power, and strength of your throbbing piece of man meat. We should all be bowing to you and admiring such virility in the epitomes of masculinity. And while this probably wasn't what the director had in mind, it most likely is a joke that has its roots in such troubling groundwork.

For an example of a piece of media that's a little more brave, we have to go all the way to France:

Nu – 2018-present

Satya Dusaugey is certainly no stranger to frontal nudity, as he previously displayed in 2016's Tapette. Nu is a series about a police officer who wakes up from a coma and finds that societal standards about the body have changed. The law has made it so that, now, if you are clothed and covering up your private parts, it is considered indecent. Because of the culture shock, Satya's character endures due to this sudden pride in nudism and exhibitionism now being an integral part of society, he inevitably ends up in quite a few ENM scenarios. And unlike other works of media that involve a scene where a man's nudity is brought up in humiliating ways, they made this pretty much the entire premise of the show. Not only that, but they managed to work in some pretty complex emotions and even make it go deeper than just, well, skin deep. And Dusaugey, it seems, is not shy when it comes to his work. He plays the part to perfection. Because of his unabashed nature, we get many, many, maaaaany scenes where Satya's completely on display and has no qualms about acting in such exposing conditions. This kind of show probably wouldn't fly here in the States, even on streaming platforms like Netflix or Amazon, where actors like Nick Clifford have gone full frontal. While male nudity is getting there, I don't think the American streaming services may be ready for a show so matter-of-fact about the male genitalia.

As I said before, with platforms like ThisVid, the availability of ENM scenes involving frontal nudity being limited to private videos and a community that's split on the level of access to such media far outweighs the easily available videos you can find where a man is in a situation where his clothes are taken away and you see everything.

This video, for example, which I only know by the title:

Bearded Hunk Can't Keep His Clothes On

In this comedic short, a rather attractive man lives in a house that's haunted. But it's not haunted by any ghost. It's a ghost that randomly undresses him. The film work is inventive in how the guy's shirt opens up and his fly is unzipped, seen from accurate angles to give the appearance that his clothing is being removed by an invisible force.

This is an online video that I never really got into. I'm sure others will find it hot, but, as for me, it just pisses me off. Apologies to the actor here; he put a lot of effort and work into this short, and it shows. But for a video with such an inventive and sexy premise and this kind of talent behind the camera, there should be more of a pay-off, I think. You see, this ghost doesn't necessarily understand the concept of “naked.” It always stops at his undershirt and underwear. We don't even get to see his undershirt being removed. So, basically, he's dressed down to the point that he might as well be sporting a shirt and form-fitting shorts. Why aren't we seeing everything? Why isn't this unique and creative camera work being used to go further??

However, let's say it did go further. Let's say it not only stripped this nice-looking guy to nothing but forced his hands in place, and we actually see his dick swingin'. Would this actually be a public video? Would it be so easily found?

Let me answer that with a previous search I've done in the past. When I'm online and I go to just Google or Bing and look up “men forced to strip,” I do find scenes, but they're often scenarios and snippets either made for commercial networks where it's played safe or where it's just shy of seeing everything. But, in this same search, results of ENF, or embarrassed nude females, are mixed in. I didn't click on them because, well, quite frankly, I didn't want to, but I can tell from the titles and from the look of the images that it's fetish porn. And I can guarantee you that you see everything of these women.

So, in this same search where I'm looking for men, the results of frontal nudity are a rare gem to find. Yet, when it comes to women, there are actually more examples of forced exposure of frontal nudity, despite the fact that I just told the search engine that that wasn't what I was looking for.

A change is indeed happening. I'm seeing all around us that, as a society, we are getting tired of such an imbalance in the display of the female body compared to the male body. HBO, Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, and Shudder are all services with original works that include full-frontal male nudity. But when it comes to the fetish of ENM, that's still proving slightly more difficult to find. For the most part, a good number of them are still hiding behind the velvet rope of privacy functions and subscription-based platforms. And, ya know what? I get it. If you're a filmmaker, a creator who's spent money on resources to make and create such works, then, yeah, I believe you should have a profit. If you put in the work, you should have a financial benefit. But I also believe that if our ENM community had more creators who started making film projects with full plots and stories and resources to make a professional film that has fewer boundaries when it comes to male exposure, then who knows? It may have a snowball effect, and we can find ourselves in a place where these search results of fetish erotica actually have what we're looking for instead of the equivalent of having someone dig through the bargain basement bin and say, “Sorry, this is all we've got.” It's been the norm for women to be used as visual mediums of sexual expression pretty much ever since the first film near the beginning of the 20th century. That's still a standard and a basis of thought that has been sewn into the fabric of our cultural cornerstones, and it may be a while before we can move even further past that.

In fact, I have an idea for a future article where I'd like to list the stories I've written in the past that I would love to make into films. So, I'm getting the message out there. It's like that expression goes: Be the change you want to see.

Advances towards this movement may have started, but let's keep this train goin'. C'mon, filmmakers and show-runners, if you're going to have embarrassing nude scenes of men in your work, especially ones where they're forced to remove clothing or have clothing forcibly removed from them, let's see it all. Dick Tracy may be private in his investigations, but dick, itself shouldn't be concealed in evidence.

#enm #embarrassed nude men #gay #article #informal piece #men losing clothes #opinion post

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crystalninjaphoenix · 9 months

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Layers of Identity

A JSE Fanfic

SepticHeroes AU: Part 20

First Part | Previous Part

SPECIAL BONUS PART! Yes, despite me publishing a new part of this just six days ago, I was really into writing SepticHeroes and so I decided to write another part along with the usual schedule. And I have succeeded! :D Onto the summary! Jackie learns about a Hero who he’s sure he’s heard of before. After a brief meeting with SepTech’s Dr. McLoughlin, he decides to do some research. And what he finds SHOCKS him. I bet it’ll shock you guys, too XD Enjoy!

===============

Jackie had expected a lot of things when he joined the League of Heroes. But he hadn’t expected that he’d suck at rock climbing.

“C’mon, boys! You can do better than that!” Lorelai shouted from the top of the League Lair’s rock-climbing wall. She’d finished well in front of Jackie and Josh, who were still going. Jackie was only halfway done, but Josh was much closer. “Let’s go, Heroes, let’s go!” Lorelai chanted.

“You’re not being as helpful as you think you are!” Jackie called. He reached up for the next handhold, grabbing it tight. It felt pretty small in his hand. He took a deep breath and pulled himself up to the next foothold, momentarily dangling from just his hands and one foot before he could brace his other foot against it.

Up above, Josh reached the top, pulling himself over the edge. He turned back around to watch Jackie. “Is the flyer afraid of fallin’?” he yelled. “How ironic!”

“That’s not helping either!”

“Well encouragement didn’ work so I t’ought maybe you’d be the type to respond to taunts!”

“I’m not! And I’m not afraid of falling!” Jackie scanned the wall for the next handhold. There. He grabbed it. Then he scanned the distance between this handhold and the top, really taking in how much farther he had to go. “Oh god. I give up!” He let go of all handholds and pushed away from the wall, immediately falling backwards. The air caught him and slowed his descent. He did a somersault mid-air to reposition himself, then flew up to the top of the wall.

Lorelai was waiting with her hands on her hips. “Cheater,” she scowled. “The whole point of this is to not use your powers!”

“I know, I know, I just don’t think I’m good at practicing while people watch,” Jackie said, landing next to her and Josh.

“Should’ve put on a harness,” Josh said, twirling the rope connected to his own harness. “It would have stopped you from flyin’ too far. Taken away the temptation.”

“Eventually we all need to get used to doing stuff without powers to fall back on,” Lorelai said.

“I know,” Jackie repeated. He frowned. Spitfire Cat had said something like that once. “Uh... Why are you so good at this, Lorelai?”

“Well, my powers aren’t exactly physical.” Lorelai gestured, quickly opening her hands to indicate an explosion. “Pah! Pah!” Little multicolored fireworks went off around her fingers. “It’s all illusions. I’ve gotten pretty good at using them in combat, but I’m not like you guys. I can’t hit people with wind or rocks. I can’t fly or tunnel. I gotta use my own strength. Something I learned a while ago. Hey Jackie, are you approved for neutrinalin yet?”

“Yeah.”

“They used to give that stuff out to anyone, y’know,” Lorelai continued. “Very weak security. They learned why that was a bad idea quickly, partly because of me. I got in a fight with Echola and she snatched the dart gun from me before she ran. Showed up the next day and injected me with it. Boom, powers gone for a whole afternoon. I had to stop her heist plans with just my wits and strength.”

“Really?” Jackie said, interested. “I’ve never heard that before. But I know who Echola is. She’s like your nemesis, right?”

Lorelai laughed. “That’s just how they advertise the comics with me and her. We fight a lot, but I’ve fought a lot of other villains frequently, too. The marketing guys just like the pair-up. You know, Hero with control of light, villain with control of sound, it works out well.”

“Maybe t’is Puppeteer guy will be marketed as your nemesis, Jackie,” Josh said.

“I hope not,” Jackie muttered. “You end up fighting your nemesis a lot, and I’d like to take care of the Puppeteer quickly.”

Maybe it was irresponsible to be hanging out in the League Lair now that he knew just how serious the Puppeteer situation was. So many people being mind-controlled... But he wasn’t sure what he could do about that by himself. He couldn’t inspect everyone in the city for strings. He couldn’t even inspect everyone in SepTech—that’s why he had to coordinate with the people in charge over there. His meeting with Dr. McLoughlin was tomorrow. He wished it had been sooner. Who knows how many more people had been strung up in the three days since he let them know about the threat?

The whole situation just made him feel helpless. But... at least he didn’t have to keep this to himself anymore. He’d explained the Puppeteer situation to Chase, Schneep, and JJ at their dinner three days ago. They’d been understandably freaked out. JJ had looked like he was about to throw up. But at least they knew how serious it was. And... at least they were really supportive.

“I know you’ll take care of this, Jackie!” Chase had said encouragingly. “Windstorm’s taken down serious enemies before! It can happen again!”

It was really nice.

He’d also told Chase where he was going today; he’d been really excited about the idea of a secret superhero hangout. “Tell all those other Heroes I say hi!” he said. “Or, you know, that I exist at all!”

“Jackie? You okay?”

Jackie snapped back to reality. There were a couple pink lights dancing in front of his face. He looked over to see Lorelai doing jazz hands. “Yeah, I’m fine,” he said. “Why?”

“You were spacin’ out for a minute t’ere,” Josh said.

“Oh, I was just thinking about stuff,” Jackie said. “The Puppeteer... and stuff.”

“Hmm.” Lorelai hummed. She sat down on the edge of the climbing wall. “Well, let’s get down again and we can talk about ‘stuff,’ if you want.”

A couple minutes later, the three of them were sitting at a table together, having just grabbed drinks from the buffet in the Lair. “So, what’s up?” Lorelai asked, swirling her pink lemonade. “Is it Hero stuff or life stuff?”

“Kind of both, I guess.” Jackie played with the straw of his orange soda. “I, uh... told a friend... my secret identity.”

“Oh shit.” Josh put down his energy drink, the can clinking against the table top. “Did they not take it well?”

“Uh... it’s more that like... another friend overheard it, and another had it figured out for a while.” Jackie laughed. “They actually all took it surprisingly well! And it does feel good to not hide it, but... I don’t know. I’m just thinking about the implications. I don’t want them to worry about me.”

“Friends can’t help but worry about each other,” Lorelai said. “It’ll happen no matter what. It just means they care about you. And hey, I’m glad they took it well. My dad found out I was Pink Sunlight shortly after I became an official Hero. He got really mad. Always been a bit anti-super, but I didn’t realize how much until we had that talk.”

“Oh shit, I’m sorry, Lorelai,” Jackie said quietly.

“It’s fine.” Lorelai shrugged. “I stopped talking to him after that and Mom got a divorce when she found out he wasn’t supportive, soooo... all works out.”

“Yeah, could’ve gone worse,” Josh added. “One time, I told my girlfriend because I t’ought we were really startin’ to get serious. She was fine with it at first, but got all pissy because she couldn’t trust me. Said somet’ing like ‘how do I know you’re not havin’ flings with every girl you save?’ We broke up not long after t’at. Luckily, she hasn’ told. Still likes me enough for t’at, at least.”

“Always be careful telling your lovers,” Lorelai agreed. “Better hope they’re not bitter if you break up.”

Jackie frowned. “Have there ever been any ex-friends that were bitter enough to tell?”

“Probably, but I don’ t’ink you have to worry,” Josh reassured him. “It sounds like your friends are a good sort. And if it turns out they’re not, you always have us, Marvi—” He stopped short.

Jackie frowned. “What did you call me?”

“It’s not’ing, it’s just—” Josh cleared his throat. “You... remind me of someone I used to know.” He sounded... sad.

“Who?” Jackie asked cautiously. “What... happened?”

“I, uh... I-I t’ink I mentioned him once, in passin’.” Josh looked down at the table. “Hero called Light Phoenix. But his name was Marvin. Great guy. Great Hero. He could make t’is special kind of fire, hot enough to burn a hole right t’rough most t’ings. But his best power was t’is one he could pull out while stressed, his whole body got really hot and t’en white fire burst out and knocked down everyt’ing around him. Why he called himself a ‘phoenix.’” He looked back over at Jackie. “He would’ve been your age by now.”

“...‘would have been,’” Jackie repeated. “He died?”

Josh nodded. “It was sort of ironic, in a sad sort of way. A building burned down around him. All t’at was left was ash.”

“Oh.” Jackie paused, processing this terrible news. “Well, uh... they never found the body, right?”

“I know what you’re gettin’ at, but they did find remains in the ash.”

Jackie winced. “Sorry. That was insensitive.”

Josh cleared his throat, then smiled. “It’s okay, I know you were tryin’ to help.”

“Yeah... still. Sorry for your loss.”

“Mmm. It was years ago.” Josh took a sip from his drink. “He was pretty young when he joined the League, I t’ink he was in the middle of uni. Died five years later. Always very energetic, very optimistic, very fun. T’at’s why you remind me of him. T’at, and you look a bit like him.” He sighed. “I do enjoy bein’ a Hero, but t’ere’s a part of the job you never get used to.”

Lorelai nodded. “Yeah... I do think they should raise the legal age for signing up. So... stuff like that... doesn’t happen.”

Jackie was quiet. He’d been lucky enough to avoid a lot of near-death encounters in his two years of doing hero work. Had his fair share of severe injuries, but no real mortal injuries. The longer he did this, though, the more he would encounter. It was just the nature of it.

This was starting to get depressing. Jackie took a deep breath and said, “Well, thanks for the pep talk, guys.”

Josh and Lorelai laughed. “Sorry to bring you down, t’ere,” Josh said. “It’s fine, really. The t’ing with Marvin happened three years ago. I’ve accepted it. Enough with the subject change. The point I was makin’ was t’at if your friends cause troubles with knowin’ about your secret identity, you have Lorelai and me to back you up.”

“Yeah!” Lorelai agreed. “The League can help mitigate damage from what they call a UIR: an Unwanted Identity Reveal. Have you heard of witness protection?”

“Oh god, I hope it never has to come to that.”

“Ah, I’m just messing with you.” Lorelai playfully punched his shoulder. “That’s a last resort. There’s tons they can do. Media blackouts to stop it from spreading, red herrings to distract people, even body doubles so you’re seen in the same place as your Hero identity.”

“Really? Well... guess it’s not too hard to find people with your same general features.” Jackie knew four of them for himself! No, wait. Five. He forgot about that Dr. McLoughlin guy.

“Yep, you’d be surprised.” Lorelai nodded. “Anyway. You want to do anything else?”

“Uhhh... Jackie thought about it. “I haven’t seen what video games they have here yet.”

“It’s a lot of multiplayer stuff, mostly,” Josh said. “All t’ose Mario Karts and Parties, and a whole bunch of Wii games. Ooh! You should make a Mii for yourself. I have one, and I don’ even live here!”

Jackie laughed. “Alright, we can try that out.”

But even as Josh and Lorelai showed him the games they had and spent the next hour playing with him, Jackie couldn’t forget about that Hero... Light Phoenix. He was sure he heard the name somewhere else before. But where?

===============

Jackie expected the owner of a well-known tech company to have a big, expensive office. Especially for one that worked directly with the League of Heroes, and especially in the town where the company was founded. But Dr. McLoughlin’s office was no different than any other. The fanciest part was the glass wall behind the desk, with a great view out the front of the building. Other than that, it was pretty normal. Jackie was most surprised to see the various knickknacks scattered across the surfaces. A lot of it was merch from games and movies. Somehow, he hadn’t expected the head of SepTech to be into games and movies.

He was standing awkwardly in the room, looking around at all this stuff, when the door opened and Dr. McLoughlin walked in. “Windstorm, hi!” he smiled. “Sorry I’m late. We got caught up in something.” Behind him flew his customized SAM.

“No, it’s fine,” Jackie said, despite not thinking it was fine. “But this is very important.”

“I know it is.” McLoughlin walked around to the other side of the desk and put down a file.

Then why had he waited three days to call the meeting?

“Alright, so.” McLoughlin sat down. The SAM landed on the desk, right next to the computer. A USB popped out of the end of its mechanical ‘tail’ and plugged into the CPU. “This is about that Puppeteer guy. You say he’s infiltrated the company?”

“Well, maybe not him personally. Ah, Dr. McLoughlin, do you mind if I look at your wrists for a minute?”

“Huh? Ohhh. Smart.” McLoughlin grinned and pulled down his sleeves. “Here.”

Jackie leaned over the desk. There was nothing around McLoughlin’s wrists. Not even any bracelets or wristbands. He let out a breath of relief. It would have really sucked if the company owner was under the Puppeteer’s control. “Sorry about that,” he said as he sat in the chair in front of the desk. “I had to be sure.”

“No, I totally understand, I would’ve done the same thing.” McLoughlin nodded. “Anyway, can you explain the situation?”

“Right.” Jackie paused for a moment to get his thoughts in order. “I have it on good authority that there are people in SepTech being mind-controlled by these—these puppet strings. There are probably more people around the city as well, but SepTech is the central location. The people being mind-controlled are spreading the strings to other people. By now there could be a hundred people or more under the Puppeteer’s influence.”

“...wow.” McLoughlin looked shocked. “Okay. That’s bad.”

“It is, yes.”

“What do you want us to do about it?”

“Well...” Jackie wasn’t entirely sure, to be honest. “Is it possible to somehow... restrict access to SepTech systems? Change all the passwords and security? That would be a good place to start. And I mean for everything. We don’t know how many people are being controlled or how high up they are in the, uh, company.”

“Oh yeah, I can totally do that,” McLoughlin said casually. “I’ll reset everything and have the computer come up with the new passwords. But even though I can do that, doesn’t mean I, uh... can do that. I mean, I have the capability, but maybe not the ability. The board is going to be really upset if things just stop.”

“You own the company, can’t you override them?” Jackie asked.

“Well the board members all have an equal share of ownership with me,” McLoughlin explained. “If I do something they don’t like, they can vote to kick me out entirely, and I’m not exactly eager to lose my family’s company.”

Stupid corporate systems. “Alright, well, you don’t need to shut everything down,” Jackie said. “Just reset the systems. Then before you give anyone the passwords, require them to come in and be checked for strings. If they’re clear, that’s fine. And maybe if you can send some company-wide memo about watching out for strangers with strings—”

“Good idea, I can do that right now.” McLoughlin reached into his pocket and pulled out a remote with one button. He held down that button and said, “Send memo to all SepTech employees in the Daindover area warning them about the threat of the Puppeteer and suspicious individuals giving them strings.”

“Oh right. You have your... custom... Alexa thing,” Jackie said slowly.

“The term is ‘virtual assistant,’ and yeah.” McLoughlin grinned. “It’s great. Does so much more than every other assistant out there. It’s my second-greatest project, right after these guys.” He patted the top of his SAM, like it was a small animal. A pet mouse, maybe. Or a hamster. “You got one, right? We sent one to all the Heroes in the county, but I haven’t seen it out and about with you.”

“Right. I’m, uh, not exactly sure how to work it.” Jackie laughed awkwardly. “So I haven’t even taken it out of the box.” Except for when he took it to Spitfire Cat and the Disassembler showed how there were listening devices in the SAM!

“Really? Did they forget to put the instructions in your box? That sucks.” McLoughlin smiled. “Don’t worry, I can send an extra copy to the League and they can send them to you. It’s supposed to be easy to pick up, though. I designed them to be really intuitive.”

“Great, thanks.” Jackie coughed. “But back to the Puppeteer. Do you think you’ll be able to do that? Look at all the employees for strings?”

“It’ll be tough, but I’m sure we can.” McLoughlin pressed the button on the remote again. “Notify the board that all SepTech procedures should be halted until all employees are cleared for strings.” Then he let go of the button. “By the way, if we find someone with strings, what are we supposed to do?”

“Take them off, of course,” Jackie said.

“Is that difficult?”

“Well, the strings do want to wrap around stuff. I suggest not touching them directly. Use tweezers or something. The main problem will be the person with the strings. They’ll probably try to fight back. Just... be careful with them. They’re not in their right mind, they’re victims more than anyone else.”

“Right, it’d be a... what is it?” McLoughlin thought about it, then snapped his fingers. “A Clause 16 case.”

“Heh.” Jackie smiled a bit. “It's Clause 17, actually. ‘Any person or persons who commit criminal activity while under the control of a super with powers to affect the mind or body are considered not guilty of said activity.’ That’s not the exact wording, but it’s something like that. You know about the Super Laws?”

“Of course I do, SepTech works with the League of Heroes. They wrote the Laws, so we have to know them.” McLoughlin paused. “Always thought it was weird that they were able to do that.”

“Make the Super Laws? Well, they didn’t really do it, they just consulted with the government.”

“Hmm.” McLoughlin shrugged. “Oh by the way, I’ve been recording this whole conversation. Is that fine?”

“What?!” Jackie almost leapt out of his chair. “You’re supposed to tell people that before you start the recording!”

“...oops.” McLoughlin gave an awkward little laugh.”Sorry. I forgot.”

“You just forgot?!”

“Yeah, my memory can be wonky. I don’t know if it’s the ADHD or the interface or if I just suck like that. I can delete it if you want—”

“Wait, what was that second thing?” Jackie asked.

“The interface for my SAM.” McLoughlin tapped the side of his head. The SAM’s lens narrowed like a camera aperture. “It’s a bit experimental. Honestly, I don’t think I’ll ever release that to the public cause, well, that’s a slippery slope to say the fucking least. But it’s helpful for me.”

“Uh... o... kay.” Jackie had to lean back to process that. He hadn’t been prepared for some scifi shit when he walked into this office. “Anyway, uh. The recording is... fine. Just... remember to say something beforehand next time.”

“I will, promise.” McLoughlin gave him a thumbs-up. “That was a bit of a tangent there. Back to the strings. Do you think the League could offer some people to help with that? If what you’re saying is true, our security team could be mind-controlled.”

“Yeah, I’ll relay that to them. They’ll contact you the same way they did before.” Jackie leaned forward again. “Please get this done as soon as possible.”

“I’ll take care of it, I promise. Oh, do you have a Red Line on you?”

“Huh? Yeah.”

“Great. Take it out. I’m going to give you my number so you can contact me directly in the future if you want to check on our progress.”

Jackie pulled the Red Line out of a pocket in his suit and held it out. McLoughlin’s SAM unplugged itself from the computer and flew over to the Red Line. It put the USB from its tail into the slot in Jackie’s Red Line. A few seconds later, it flew back over to its previous spot.

“Great, I should be in your contacts now,” McLoughlin said.

Jackie opened up his contacts to check. “Oh yeah. There you are, in the M section. That’s pretty cool, but is it really that much easier than one of us just typing it in?”

A pause. Then McLoughlin laughed. “Oh my god, you’re so right. I just really wanted to show off. Sorry about that. But now that we’ve done that, is there anything else?”

“Not that I can think of,” Jackie said. “I’ll call you if I think of something or want to check on you.”

“Great. I might not answer right away so call as many times in a row as you need to. Sometimes I’m distracted. But I don’t have any projects right now so I might be less distracted.”

“Right.” Jackie put the Red Line back into his pocket and stood up. “I’ll call you, then.”

“See you around!” McLoughlin smiled. “Good luck with everything.”

As Jackie left the office, he felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. But when he glanced back over his shoulder, nothing was there.

===============

As Jackie flew back home, his thoughts wandered a bit. First they dwelled on the Puppeteer. Then he remembered his conversation with Josh and Lorelai yesterday. They’d talked about a lot, but what stood out to him was that Hero. Light Phoenix, who died tragically. He could have sworn he heard that name somewhere.

He couldn’t stop thinking about it. So, when he got home, he decided to try something. The League had a database of all the Heroes who’d ever worked for them. And Jackie, as a Hero, had access to that through his Red Line.

“Chase! I’m back!” Jackie shouted down the hall. He’d come in through his bedroom window, but even from his room he could hear Chase playing a video game in the living room. Probably Hollow Knight, from the sound of it.

“How was it?” Chase shouted back.

“Fine. Talk more about it later. Do you mind turning down the volume?”

“Sure, give me a sec!” After a solid ten seconds, the volume lowered.

With that settled, Jackie closed the door. Not bothering to change out of his supersuit, he took the Red Line out of his pocket and sat down on the edge of his bed. Time to check some things out.

He opened up the app for the databases and navigated to the Hero one. Then he typed “Light Phoenix” into the search bar. Several Hero profiles came up in the results—Light of the Phoenix, Right Phoenix, Phoenix Down, Ninja Phoenix—most of which he wasn’t familiar with. But only one had that exact phrase. There was a small purple flag next to the name, which he knew meant the profile was inactive, but there was also a yellow flag. Jackie frowned as he tried to remember what thatone meant. Something about clearance?

Well, the database let him tap on the profile. The page loaded for a moment before it opened up to a photograph of the former Hero Light Phoenix—

Jackie dropped the phone. It landed on the bed with a soft thump, and he quickly picked it back up. He brought it closer to the face, getting a really good look at the photo. There was no way. This had to be some sort of mistake, right?

But he knew there wasn’t. The League was very particular about the Hero profiles. Each one must have a picture of the Hero with and without mask, as well as a list of their powers, various affiliations, and personal information about their secret identity. It was one of the reasons some superheroes were reluctant to sign up. Jackie had always thought it was worth it, so he didn’t mind all the trouble he had to go through for the photograph. (He’d had to fly out to the middle of the woods where he met up with Leapfrog for the picture. She’d asked him several questions to be sure it was him and had him demonstrate his powers.)

The League wouldn’t make a mistake with a Hero profile.

This had to be real. But that didn’t mean he had to understand it.

He wasn’t even close to understanding.

The man in the profile’s photo—the secret identity of Light Phoenix, a deceased Hero—was Spitfire Cat.

Maybe it was a mistake on Jackie’s part. After all, he knew there were several people who all shared that same sort of face. The man in the picture was younger, his hair longer, past shoulder-length—and Spitfire didn’t smile like that. He didn’t smile that brightly. It could be his mistake. Right?

Jackie scrolled down to the information in the profile. ID number H-353-01-0069185. H for Hero, and 353 was the code for Ireland. Light Phoenix’s powers were described below the ID: Able to control an energy similar to fire. This energy can be colored white, yellow, orange, and red. It is hot enough to burn through most materials. Has also been described as being more solid than ordinary fire. The burst of white-hot energy Josh mentioned was also listed.

How many times had he seen Spitfire’s solid-heat energy? Too many to count. He knew what colors it came in: white, yellow, orange, and red. He knew that it could burn through a lot of different materials. And now that he was thinking of it... that white-hot blast. He had seen Spitfire do something that could fit that description. Only once, though. When he was being controlled by the Puppeteer. Josh had said that power came from stress, and that was definitely a stressful situation.

If Spitfire could shape his energy into whatever he wanted, he could, theoretically, make it look like regular fire. Fire that is more solid than normal.

Jackie scrolled some more. Light Phoenix’s secret identity was listed there. His name was Marvin Nedra. His age was listed as 26 years (deceased). Nationality was Irish. Height was 177 cm.

Spitfire was going by the name “Ned.” Jackie remembered how smug he’d been when he revealed that wasn’t his real name. Marvin “Ned”ra? Well, that could be a coincidence. But the rest couldn’t be. Spitfire looked around Jackie’s age. He could totally be 29—which was how old Light Phoenix would be if he somehow hadn’t died three years ago. Spitfire was also taller than Jackie, closer to Chase’s height. And Jackie knew Chase was 5 feet 10 inches—or about 177 cm. And Spitfire had always had an Irish accent.

He had to know more. Jackie scrolled further. Beneath this, there should be a physical description and a bunch of personal stuff like family members, address, and medical records. But instead, there was a black box with a lock graphic on it, and the words Higher Clearance Required.

“What the fuck?” Jackie whispered. Sure, he knew there were parts of the League’s databases that regular Heroes couldn’t access. But usually, this part of a profile wasn’t blocked off. Just to be sure, Jackie searched up his own profile, and then Lorelai’s and Josh’s, just to be sure. He could see everything on all three. Why was Light Phoenix’s profile almost entirely locked?

He’d gone this far. He couldn’t stop now.

Quickly, Jackie exited out of the database and dialed Magnify’s number. His leg jittered as he waited for him to pick up. A breeze ran around the room, ruffling the clothes in his open wardrobe.

“Hello? Windstorm?”

“Heyyyy Magnify,” Jackie said, trying to sound casual. “So, um, I’m looking up a Hero profile and I noticed that it was blocked, said I needed higher clearance. I was wondering if you could do anything about that?”

“What’s the profile?”

“It’s for a Hero named Light Phoenix. Josh—Terra-Man told me about him, and I got curious.”

A moment of silence passed. Then Magnify said, “Sorry, Windstorm, I can’t let you see that one.”

“What?! But—but it’s important!”

“You just said it was for curiosity,” Magnify stated.

“Well, it was, but now I think it might be really important!”

“I understand you’re currently dealing with this new Puppeteer villain,” Magnify said. “You also have mentioned that you were looking for the Specter, but we haven’t heard much on that case. Do you need to see Light Phoenix’s profile to help with either of those cases? Or some other villain?”

“Uh... not really, but—” Jackie stopped himself. He wasn’t really sure why. It was probably a good idea to let the League know that a supposedly dead Hero might actually be walking around as a villain. But... when he thought about telling Magnify that Spitfire Cat might be involved, he saw Spitfire’s face in his mind. Staring at him. Angry... and betrayed.

Because that’s what it would be. A betrayal. The two of them had built up some trust, albeit a small amount. Jackie didn’t want to throw that away.

“I’m sorry, Windstorm, but if it’s not for Hero work, I can’t help you.” There was some sympathy in Magnify’s voice, but it reminded Jackie of that fake understanding tone he himself had to put on for a lot of calls at his old job. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“N... no, that’s it,” Jackie said quietly.

“Alright. Call me if you think of anything. Goodbye.” And with that, Magnify hung up.

Jackie sighed, and leaned back onto the bed. He stared absentmindedly at the ceiling. After about a minute, he opened up the Hero database on the Red Line and looked at Light Phoenix’s profile again. He scrolled past the black box of “Higher Clearance,” wondering if there was anything at the bottom...

And there was. One single line.

Recruitment Liaison: Jenna Croakes (Leapfrog)

“No fucking way,” Jackie whispered.

That was where he’d heard Light Phoenix’s name before! Leapfrog had mentioned him. Maybe only once, but it was enough. Jackie sat up straight, already dialing Leapfrog’s number.

It rang for a long time before she picked up. “Hello?”

“Leapfrog! It’s Jackie—Windstorm. Can I ask you a sort of weird question?”

Leapfrog chuckled. “Sure, Jackie. What is it?”

Jackie swallowed a lump in his throat. “I’m looking at a Hero profile for someone named Light Phoenix. But, uh, there’s this big black box blocking a lot of it that says I need higher clearance. I remembered you mentioned him before, so I’m wondering if you could somehow help me?”

A moment passed. “Why?” Leapfrog asked, her tone cautious, skeptical.

“Well... Josh mentioned him. Terra-Man, you know him? He said I remind him of Light Phoenix. I-I got curious, and...” Jackie trailed off. This probably wasn’t going to persuade her. It didn’t persuade Magnify. “Look, I... it’s important. Trust me, it’s important. I-I have to see this.”

More moments passed. Then he heard Leapfrog let out a long breath. “You are a lot like him,” she said quietly. “I’ll see what I can do, but no guarantees. I’ll text you if I manage to figure something out.”

Jackie was stunned. He hadn’t expected that to actually work. “Thank you. Uh, thanks. A lot. That’s... that’s really helpful.”

“I try to be.” Leapfrog chuckled, though it sounded a bit sadder than her usual laughs. “Alright. I’ll see you later, then, Jackie.”

“See you.” And Jackie hung up.

Now, all he had to do was wait.

===============

Maybe it was a bit of a risk for Marvin to go back to that small shop on Zeit Way. It was only yesterday that Winstorm had outed him to his friends as someone he works with. And that doctor, Henrik—who was the fucking Specter, what were the fucking odds?!—had identified him as “the man in the cat mask.” Windstorm’s friends seemed like smart people. Could they put together that Marvin was Spitfire Cat? He shouldn’t risk it.

And yet, after he got off work, he found himself getting onto the wrong train, and stepping off at the Puppen Street station that was closest to Zeit Way.

He couldn’t help himself. He’d come to enjoy the sense of normalcy that came with visiting a small shop on a street full of small, cozy businesses. It was the routine of it all. And the friendliness of the people. It all felt so... personal. In a way that he hadn’t felt in a long time.

Besides, he had to see how Windstorm’s friends would react to him now that they knew he was related to Windstorm’s super business.

Jackson Legacy Crafts was open today. As it should be, according to the schedule in the window. He double-checked that the lights were on inside before heading in. He didn’t want to make the mistake of intruding a second time.

The shop may have been open, but it was empty. True, the shop wasn’t exactly busy, but JJ wasn’t even here. Marvin waited awkwardly at the counter. He stared at the Timekeeper poster for a while. He used to wish that Timekeeper had never disappeared. Used to wish that Windstorm had never taken his place. Marvin had admired Timekeeper. That was a superhero. Someone who relentlessly did the right thing. He didn’t ask for anything in return, not even recognition. When Timekeeper disappeared, Marvin had hoped he would return. But he didn’t.

Instead, a few months later, Windstorm showed up. Windstorm, someone who was open about his desire to join the League, someone who waved at cameras who filmed him. Marvin hated him. He thought that Windstorm was just taking advantage of Timekeeper’s absence to prop himself up. Showboating and punching villains in hopes of getting that oh-so-precious League acknowledgement. It made him so angry to think of someone like that in the city that Marvin had... for the first time in a year... taken action.

But he knew better now. Windstorm wasn’t what he thought he was. At least he really cared about doing good and not just being a do-gooder.

Footsteps. Marvin snapped to attention just in time to see JJ walk through the stairwell door and behind the counter. He smiled at him and signed, Hello again. Can I help you, Ned?

“Uh... I was just stopping by,” Marvin said. “To... check up on things here.” He glanced around. “Yep, it’s still a shop, alright.”

JJ chuckled. Marvin noticed he was wearing that same sweater from yesterday. The pink one with the long sleeves. It was rumpled. Did he sleep in his clothes? I’m glad to see you, JJ said. I want to apologize.

“Apologize?” Marvin stared at him. “For what?”

Jameson looked... well, Marvin wasn’t very good with expressions, but he thought he looked sad. For... not being open... yesterday, he signed slowly.

“Oh, it’s not that big a deal.”

It is a big deal, it really is. And I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry.

“Um... okay.” This was weird. Jameson was acting like he had deeply wronged Marvin personally. But, whatever. If that was how he felt. “Apology accepted, then. All is forgiven.”

JJ gave him a small smile. Did you want to buy something? he asked, quickly moving on.

“Uh, no, just... looking around.” Marvin put his hands in his pockets. “So... you know your friend is...”

Yes, I know about Jackie, JJ said. I know about you, too.

Marvin froze. “You do? Who told you?”

Well, Henrik mentioned a man in a cat mask, and I was already familiar with Spitfire Cat: the only super in the city who wears something like that. So I connected the dots. JJ smiled again, gently. I don’t mind. Really. I don’t think you’re a bad person.

“...oh,” Marvin whispered. That was the last thing he was expecting. Why did he feel like crying all of a sudden? He cleared his throat, and asked, “Do you ever want to... hang out or something? I mean, I know Winds—Jackie probably told you not to trust me, so I’d understand if not...”

I’d love to hang out sometime, but... I won’t be able to. Jameson looked away. He was staring at a clock on the wall. It was ticking, ticking, ticking. They all were ticking, ticking, ticking.

“Right. You’re probably busy with all... this.” Marvin gestured vaguely at the whole shop. “I’ll leave you to it, then.”

You don’t have to go! JJ signed hurriedly.

“I...” Marvin didn’t really want to leave. But something was off in the atmosphere. It was starting to unnerve him. “I can stop by tomorrow, if that’s okay.”

Jameson paused. Then nodded. Yes. Of course that would be okay.

“Great.” Marvin smiled. “I’ll see you then.”

I hope I’ll see you then, too.

As Marvin left the shop, the silence was filled with the sound of the clocks. All of them. Ticking, ticking, ticking. Counting down the seconds.

===============

About an hour after Jackie arrived home—long enough for him to change back into regular clothes, tell Chase about the meeting with Dr. McLoughlin, notify the League that SepTech needed manpower to check employees for strings, and spend a lot of time pacing around his room—he got a text from Leapfrog.

You should be able to access the profile now. But only for today. It’s a temporary solution. I hope you find what you’re looking for in there.

His heart leapt. No time to waste!

He tapped at the screen almost too fast to register, quickly navigating back to Light Phoenix’s profile. Yes! That black box was gone! Jackie scanned through the personal information there, not really taking any of it in, just looking for anything strange. Nothing really stood out, but some of it was a bit different. For example, Light Phoenix had no emergency contact. Every Hero was supposed to have one. The League had to let people know if something happened to them while out doing Hero stuff. Had the League removed the contact since Light Phoenix was supposed to be dead?

But Jackie stopped wondering about that the second he saw what was written below the personal info. Three words, in bright red letters.

Status: ROGUE (deceased)

A rogue Hero...? Jackie knew that happened sometimes. Heroes who decided to take matters into their own hands, who had joined up with the League but subsequently broke some of the League’s most serious rules. Rogue Heroes were considered criminals, same as any villain.

There was more information beneath the status.

Charged with the first-degree murder of Andras Brand (villain name: Hellferno). Committed on May 9, 2016. Villain was in League custody at the time of death, power-suppressed. Light Phoenix broke into the location of holding and killed the victim with a ball of fire through the heart. Light Phoenix then fled the location. Light Phoenix was on the run for thirteen days. On May 22, 2016, League forces led by Heroes Downpour, CopyCat, and Terra-Man cornered Light Phoenix in an abandoned warehouse on the edge of Dublin, Ireland. Warehouse was set on fire from inside. The blaze spread quickly but was contained by Heroes and other League forces. Human bone fragments were found inside, consistent with complete burning of a human body. Light Phoenix declared dead.

Jackie read the paragraphs over and over. Light Phoenix murdered a villain? And then “died” in a fire?

Spitfire’s burns.

He had seen them. His hands and arms were covered in old burn scars.

The pieces all fit together. There could be no denying the truth. Spitfire Cat was Marvin Nedra: the rogue Hero known as Light Phoenix.

...

How the fuck was Jackie supposed to deal with that?

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