Our Strengths
"What do we do now? Tucker asked. His voice cracking with stress and worry as he stared at the scene before him not able to look away as his best friend and his family were being dragged out of their home.
Danny cuffed in anti-ghost cuffs and knocked the heck out with a ecto-gun pointed at his skull by one of the GIW agents, they eventually tossed Danny into their van that was parked right outside the Fenton Works. Jazz was pleading, begging them to let her brother go, even though she too was cuffed and not caring that another gun was at her back. Maddie was hissing like angry feral mama cat at the two agents, ignoring the other two that were holding her shoulders to keep her from squirming around and saying "you dare touch a single hair on my babies I will rip-" before she too was lead away to the GIW van. The last to come out was Jack and he looked haunted and stressed, and despite being a huge guy he was trying to make himself look small. He too was sent into the van, and one of the last things Tucker could see before the doors close was Jack kneeling down next to Danny and going to cradle him but being stopped by the GIW agent in the van.
Sam chewed on her lip, her eyes wide and wild as she tried to think of... well anything to save her friend and his family from this.
To think Vlad would be so petty after Danny finally told his parents about being Phantom and them accepting and loving him regardless and even apologizing for trying to hurt him that he would go and tattle to the GIW about Phantom.
Danny hadn't even told them about Vlad being a halfa either. Not even a bit. All Danny told them was that Vlad made him super uncomfortable. About how the guy seemed obsessed with his mom but seemed to be shifting his obsession to him.
And for once Jack listened, especially after Maddie finally told him the times the man flirted with her and had even tried getting her to leave Jack. With only Danny. No mention of Jazz, only Danny.
After that Jack turned papa bear mode.
Say what you will about Jack Fenton but his love for his family outweighs any kind of friendship.
So yeah Vlad finding himself being 'cut out' of the Fenton's lives, realizing the only times he could even get close to Maddie and Danny was because Jack was always welcoming to him, and finding out Jack point blank said he no longer wanted him around his family, he raged and decided to get back at Danny was to go tell the GIW about him being Phantom.
No doubt the creep was going to show up later, 'save' them and start making demands or indebt them to him.
And now here they were. The Fenton's, after being told about Phantom, were being unjustified hauled away by the GIW while all of Amity watches from the streets and despite the protest from, mostly teens, Amity Parkers no one could do anything with both weapons pointed at them or the 'law' decree.
Closing her eyes, Sam took a breath. When she opened them back up she finally looked away as the van and the rest of the GIW began to leave, her hands clutched so tight that her knuckles were turning a deadly white. When she finally released her grip she felt something in her hand.
Confused, Sam opened her hand and gasped as she recognized a familiarish green sticky note and words written in purple ink. She's never read any of the sticky notes CW would send Danny but she has seen them appear out of no where.
She read the note, ignoring Tuckers questioning, and once done she snapped her head to look at him. It was so fast that Tucker jumped for a second. Her eyes were alight with a new found kindle of hope, determination, and a plan.
"Sam? What is it?" Tucker finally asked once more, he had a feeling whatever she had in mind was going to be insane but if it sent by CW and meant to save his best friend he'd do it.
"We play into our strengths and get some help." She said as she brought the sticky note up for him to see.
"Help? From who?" Tucker asked as he took the note and instantly noticed the drawn symbols on the bottom. When he snapped his head back up to look at Sam his mouth fell open and he said in shock, awe, and disbelief "No. No way. Them? But I thought-"
"Gonna stop you right there Tucker. Remember what Dani told us last month? About that new under the radar teen hero group?" Sam cut in.
"OOoooh. Them.... Yeah I can totally get behind asking them over asking the adults." Tucker responded, his mind coming up with a plan as the sticky note words played into his head 'Use your strengths'
"Good we have no time to loose. I'll contact Dani to find out where we can find their base, you get ready to hack and find what you can so I can use it to help... persuade them into helping us."
-x-x-
Young Justice was having a normal, well as normal as a bunch of super-powered and very well trained teens could have day.
Or at least it was until their comms and entire system were hacked by an unknown hacker, a goth girl appearing on their main sceen and her saying this
"Hey, Young Justice right? Look I'll be blunt about this. We need help, our best friend and his family got taken by some shady government jerks that wanna experiment on him and we need to save them. It's a long story. However, we do not like the JL too much and don't trust them, we have our reasons, so to make sure you don't go crying to them, we're taking your systems hostage and blackmailing you with things our hacker found out." Her eyes narrowed at them, her face in a scowl and it left no room for negotiations at all, she was determined to get things her way "So that's the deal. Help us save our best friend and his family while not letting the JL know, and we let go of your systems and forget about what we found out."
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Burden of Truth (Book 1) Chapter One
Father Figure! Marc Spector x Teen! Reader
Father Figure! Steven Grant x Teen! Reader
Mother Figure! Layla El-Faouly x Teen! Reader
Chapter One: In the Alps
Summary: (Y/N) goes to the Alps to find Ammit's scarab. They encounter much more trouble than they ever had before.
(Y/N) tugged on the ends of their sweatshirt as they walked through the village. The search for the scarab of Ammit had brought them unexpectedly to the Austrian Alps, but according to their information, the Followers of Ammit’s leader, Arthur Harrow, had many cult members there, and (Y/N) had to get to the scarab before he got possession of it.
Everyone in the village headed towards the town square, and (Y/N) drifted easily into the flow. If they caught sight of the person delivering the scarab, (Y/N) would pick their pocket and be on their way. They glanced over the crowd. They just had to be careful of the men with guns.
Their eyes landed on a man with a white hood pulled over his head. (Y/N) frowned. Isn’t that Khonshu’s avatar? They watched him look around almost in fright. That wasn’t like the man they’d seen before. He’d seemed much more self-assured then.
Still, (Y/N) remained on guard. They had never met an avatar other than him, and Khonshu hadn’t seemed nice, so (Y/N) wasn’t sure about getting closer.
Their attention went back to the crowd as they all came to a stop at the town square. Murmurs and excited whispers went up as they parted to let a single man walk through.
Harrow strolled through the crowd as they looked at him reverently. His cane tapped the ground rhythmically. Ammit’s followers bowed and murmured praise to him, thanking him for his presence and for the guidance of Ammit.
(Y/N) shivered at how honest all the devotion was.
The people around them jostled to get to the front. They all wanted to reach out to Harrow and even just brush his clothes. (Y/N) and Khonshu’s Avatar ended up nearer, and (Y/N) averted their gaze. They didn’t really want to deal with him. If he was there, it meant something dangerous might happen, and (Y/N) had done a very good job working in the shadows for seven years. They didn’t need it to change now.
“What a beautiful day,” said Harrow in English. “It’s like we’re in heaven.” He chuckled. “Only it’s not heaven, isn’t it? It’s a darkness.” He smiled kindly. “Sometimes it hides in our very hearts. We are here to make Earth as much like Heaven as possible.” Harrow looked around with a benevolent expression. “Who’d like to go first?”
(Y/N) watched as a young man stepped forward. They were about to see firsthand what had made Ma’at dislike Ammit so much, what made her want Harrow to never get closer to her teachings and power.
“You are a brave man, offering your soul for judgement,” said Harrow.
Judging before their time, before their death? thought (Y/N). But they have no Feather of Truth for their hearts to be weighed against. This was nothing but a perversion of the Judgement of the Dead.
“Wanting to serve out goddess even before she wakes,” said Harrow.
He rolled up his sleeves, and (Y/N) spotted the tattoo of scales on his forearm. He balanced his crocodile-headed cane in the man’s hands. The cane began to rock back and forth, and the scales on Harrow’s forearm moved with them.
“I judge you in Ammit’s name with but a fraction of her power,” declared Harrow.
The scales balanced and turned green. The crowd gasped, and Harrow smiled at the young man.
“This is the face of a good man!” he said benevolently. He hugged them, and applause went up in the crowd.
“Who would like to go next?” said a man next to Harrow.
“Me,” said an old woman. “Please, Harrow, I must know.”
“Call me Arthur.” Harrow extended a kindly hand to her. “Come.” She stepped up to him and allowed him to take her hands. “Will you accept your scales, regardless of the outcomes?”
“Yes,” said the woman.
The cane swung back and forth, and the woman stared at Harrow’s scales apprehensively. They froze unbalanced and turned a sickening red.
“I’m sorry,” said Harrow sadly, but (Y/N) felt the lie. He was happy to rid the world of people judged to be unrighteous.
“I’ve been good my entire life,” said the woman desperately, unable to understand the results of her judgement.
“I believe you,” said Harrow. Truth. “But the scales see everything. Perhaps it’s something that lies ahead. He sighed. “Well, I wish you could live to see the world we make. Yet, Ammit has decided.”
The woman gave a gasp that died in her throat. Her body froze before collapsing, dead.
(Y/N)’s stomach twisted, and they grimaced as every part of them surged angrily at the injustice of these people being given no chance, even for their future. It went against the proper order of life. It was just wrong, and (Y/N) could feel it.
Harrow knelt sadly beside her body before it was carried away. One of his men walked up and crouched, holding his gun tightly.
“I’m sorry. There was a problem with the exchange,” he said in German.
Someone already took the scarab? thought (Y/N). Their eyes went to Khonshu’s Avatar.
“We got ambushed. Someone killed two of our men,” continued the man.
It was definitely Khonshu’s Avatar’s doing.
Harrow stood. “Is he still here?”
“We think so, yes,” said the guard.
They know his face, thought (Y/N), glancing at him again.
Harrow looked out over the crowd. “Bow to Ammit!” he said in Ancient Egyptian.
The entire crowd knelt ((Y/N), too, to blend in). Khonshu’s Avatar was late, having no idea what the order was and not being part of the cult.
“Oh, bollocks,” cursed Khonshu’s avatar.
(Y/N) frowned. That was a totally different accent, English (weird English, too) instead of American. What was going on?
“You,” said Harrow, looking at him. “I know you.”
“Me? Hi, uh…” The avatar stood up nervously.
“Mercenary,” said Harrow coldly, and all eyes went to Khonshu’s avatar.
“ ‘Mercenary?’ ” repeated the man nervously as the crowd stood up again. “No, no. I’m not a mercenary. No, I’m a gift shop-ist. I work at a gift shop. My name’s Steven Grant.”
No lies at all, thought (Y/N). He really was Steven Grant and worked at a gift shop. Which, incidentally, made the whole situation more complicated because Harrow was also telling the truth. A regular job as cover? But what about the accents?
“I’m trying to get back home. To London,” said Steven nervously as Harrow approached. “London? I dunno why I’m saying it like that.”
“Well, Steven Grant of the gift shop,” said Harrow.
“Yeah?” said Steven.
“Will you return to the scarab?” said Harrow, holding out his hands.
Shit, can’t let him have it, thought (Y/N). Now that they’d seen Harrow judge people and kill them, they knew that even beyond Ma’at’s instructions they needed to stop him. (Y/N) refused to let innocent people get hurt.
“The…The what?” said Steven, confused. “Oh, alright.” He patted his pockets nervously. “Yeah, the…Oh, you mean…” He pulled the scarab out of his pocket. He stared at in, not having expected it to be there.
“You will give him nothing.”
Khonshu’s voice echoed over the street, and Steven looked around for it wildly. He swallowed and held out the scarab to Harrow anyways.
No! thought (Y/N). They took a step forward.
Harrow reached out. Steven’s fingers closed suddenly over the scarab. He looked at them in confusion.
“I strongly encourage you to return that,” said Harrow.
“I’m not-I’m…” Steven stammered, perplexed. He glared at his fingers, willing them to open. “I’m try—” He hit his hand with his other. “Come on, now. It’s like my fingers froze.” He tried to peel open his fingers. “But here’s some of that…I don’t know, maybe it’s part of the high altitude or something.” He managed to open his hand and grabbed the scarab. “Aha! There, take it, so strange. Sorry, but—” Steven’s hand swiveled behind him, again unbidden.
“I will not ask again,” said Harrow firmly.
“I didn’t do that on purpose,” said Steven. “I don’t know what’s happening.”
Completely truthful, thought (Y/N). This whole thing was proving strange.
Steven turned his whole body in an attempt to his hand nearer to Harrow. “There, take it, take it.”
(Y/N) couldn’t let that happen. They darted out and snatched the scarab. Steven and Harrow’s eyes widened, but (Y/N) didn’t wait around to find out their other reactions. They turned and made a run for it.
“Grab them,” ordered Harrow.
Several adults emerged from the ground and grabbed for (Y/N). They dodged through a few, but two snagged their arms. (Y/N) yelped and pulled to get away. It didn’t work, so they just curled their fist closed around the scarab, refusing to let go.
“Who are you?” said Harrow, tilting his head in confusion as his people tried to pry their hand open.
“Hey, wait, mate, you can’t hurt a kid,” said Steven, brow creasing in concern.
“Stay out of this, worm,” said Khonshu’s voice.
Ma’at remained silent, apparently uninterested in getting near Khonshu again.
The people holding (Y/N) twisted their arm, and they cried out, straining to keep control of their arm. They couldn’t let Harrow get the scarab, not when he was going to hurt people.
Steven’s eyes rolled into his head for a moment before returning to glare at Harrow and Ammit’s followers. The entire body language had changed.
“Finally,” said Khonshu.
Not-Steven—this wasn’t Steven—surged forwards and attacked the people trying to take the scarab for Harrow. He pulled them off of (Y/N) and punched them violently. One tried to attack him in return, but he kicked him to the ground and stomped on his head. (Y/N) stumbled back as their attacker let go, and Not-Steven swung for his head, catching the scarab as it fell. Another grabbed for (Y/N) again, and Not-Steven hit them in the face with the scarab. All the people fell to the ground against Not-Steven, left with bloody knuckles from no wounds on himself.
(Y/N) stared in surprise, as did Harrow and the crowd. Not-Steven turned to face Harrow, and then his eyes rolled into his head once more. He blinked furiously and looked around in confusion.
“No, the idiots back,” grumbled Khonshu’s voice.
Oh. (Y/N) put it together. Dissociative Identity Disorder. Steven and Not-Steven were alters, and one was clearly more of Khonshu’s avatar than the other. (Y/N) had met Not-Steven a year ago, and now they had encountered Steven.
Steven cleared his throat uncomfortably as he stared at his bloody hands. “S-Sorry…” He put his hands up and glanced at (Y/N). “A-Are you alright?”
(Y/N) nodded sharply, but they warily eyed the crowd backing off. They needed to get out of that village now. They had been seen by Harrow, which made them a target. If they didn’t leave with the scarab, (Y/N) was going to be killed. Or at least judged, which may end in death.
“We need to go,” said (Y/N), taking a step back as Harrow and the crowd approached again.
“Right, right…” Even Steven knew that was the best course of action now. He looked at Harrow warily. “I’m just gonna…we’re gonna go, alright? Yeah.”
Steven and (Y/N) ran around the crowd, dodging behind tractors and barrels before they could be grabbed. The only escape route they could see was the cupcake-truck. But, seeing as they were desperate, (Y/N) and Steven jumped on.
“Don’t you dare drop that scarab,” said Khonshu.
“Alright, alright, alright!” shouted Steven, starting the vehicle.
“Go, go, go!” said (Y/N), kicking away someone trying to open their door and locking it tightly.
“We’re going!” cried Steven, stepping on the gas and speeding out of the village onto the roads beyond. “What am I doing, what am I doing?! I don’t even have my license.”
“Just don’t crash,” said (Y/N), as encouraging as they could be considering the circumstances. They looked behind them. “We’ve got a lot of company.”
“This has to be a dream,” said Steven nervously.
“It’s not, Steven,” said (Y/N), grimacing as they saw Harrow’s men catching up. The cupcake van wasn’t going to outrun them.
“They’re gonna kill us!” cried Steven as he wound around the curves of the roads.
He tried to speed up, but a chicken-transportation truck appeared in front of them, and he had to slow down. The followers of Ammit rammed into them from the back.
(Y/N) grit their teeth and squeezed their eyes shut. This isn’t 2018. This isn’t 2018. They weren’t going to die in a car accident. They weren’t.
Steven honked and swerved around the truck of chickens. “Come on, move your ass!” he grimaced as he saw the old lady glaring at him. “Thank you. So sorry. Thank you.”
Shots rang out, and a guard jumped from the front of his car to the back the cupcake van. He pulled at the doors, letting them swing wildly in the wind.
(Y/N) scrambled into the back of the van and kicked him back. The guard fell onto the road, and they grimaced as the cars hit him and kept going. No sooner was he down, though, then another man jumped towards the open back. This time, he kept his gun raised, and (Y/N) dodged to the side. He grabbed for Steven and the scarab, and (Y/N) grabbed his ankle, tripping him. He stumbled and aimed downwards at him with his gun. Alongside them, another car was pulling up with a man with his gun trained on Steven.
“Wait, no!” shouted Steven, and (Y/N) pushed back to try to avoid being shot.
In the next moment, Steven—No, Not-Steven—grabbed the man aiming for (Y/N) and smashed his head into the steering wheel. He jerked back, and Not-Steven grabbed his gun. In one fluid motion, he shot the driver of the other car, sending it careening off into the mountain, and he shot the man aiming for (Y/N), letting his body fall back and out of the van.
No sooner was it done than his eyes rolled again, and Steven dropped the gun in shock and disgust. “I don’t understand what’s happening!” cried Steven.
“Truck!” shouted (Y/N), grabbing the seat they were behind as Steven screamed and swerved violently around a log truck. It tipped over and crushed a pursuing car.
Two others pulled up on either side of the van and tried to hit the sides of the cupcake truck. A man on either side raised a gun and aimed.
(Y/N) ducked and prepared to take the wheel if Steven got shot.
His eyes rolled into the back of his head, and Not-Steven’s eyes focused. He glanced at (Y/N) before spinning the wheel. (Y/N) held onto the seat as the van spun around, hit one car, and ended up backwards. The car crashed off the side of the mountain, and now the cupcake truck faced the final car pursuing them.
Not-Steven’s eyes rolled into the back of his head, and Steven focused again.
“I’m driving backwards!” he cried.
“Watch out!” said (Y/N), bracing as the car behind(?) them tried to hit them.
Steven threw the gun at the car, and (Y/N) groaned.
“Did he just throw the gun?!”
“I don’t know what I’m doing!” said Steven.
“Then leave us be, parasite!”
Steven panicked and turned the wheel, spinning the car around again. They sped towards the forest in the valley, and then…the engine died.
They coasted to a stop, and the car behind them pulled up to block the road in front. The men got out, readied their guns, and headed towards them.
“Come on,” said (Y/N), pulling Steven towards the back of the van to escape.
At the perfect moment, the logs that had come off the truck from earlier landed on the road and crushed the men.
“Oh, shit!” cried Steven.
“Oh, god,” said (Y/N), eyes widening. What an unfortunate way to go. Still…it meant they were alive.
“We need to go.”
(Y/N) glanced at the man beside them. It was Not-Steven again.
“Do you still have the scarab?” said (Y/N), following Not-Steven.
“Yeah,” said Not-Steven. They headed into the woods and walked along the road towards the next town over.
“What’s your name?” asked (Y/N).
“Marc,” said Not-Steven. He glanced back at them. “You’re Ma’at’s avatar.”
(Y/N) nodded. “You’re Khonshu’s.”
Marc narrowed his eyes. “Yeah.”
“…I’m (Y/N),” said (Y/N). They realized they should have introduced themself earlier.
Marc nodded. “Do you have a way back to…wherever you live?”
“Ma’at will tell me where I need to go next,” said (Y/N). “I’ll figure it out from there.”
Marc frowned. “You don’t live anywhere?”
“No?” said (Y/N).
Marc looked at them and furrowed his brow before turning back to the front. “Be careful.”
“I know,” said (Y/N). They were the avatar of a god and took back (stole) relics from criminals regularly. They wouldn’t be alive if they didn’t know to be careful.
But, still, there was something nice about someone saying it instead of (Y/N) having to just take care of themself.
l
“You were filming our judgement, correct?” Harrow smiled at a young woman.
She nodded. “Yes, Mr. Harrow.”
“Please, call me Arthur,” said Harrow. “Would you mind if I took a look?”
“Of course, Mr-Arthur,” said the young woman.
“Thank you,” said Harrow, smiling.
“Mr. Harrow,” said one of his guards, walking up to him. “They got away with the scarab, but we’re already tracking down ‘Steven Grant.’ ”
“Good,” said Harrow. He held up the phone with a still of the crowd from the video. “And I need you to figure out who this is.” (Y/N)’s face stared out of the crowd.
Taglist:
@jaytheaceenby
@severussimp
@dmitrytherat
@slytherinroyalty16
@grippleback-galaxy
@alexpangender
@thewittyfanficreader
@aew-kun-age-regression
@oscarissac2099
@amberforest08
@kyalov
@yyourmotherr
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