#which is to say. i made it to thr lab get together with an old lab mate. i really truely did not think i would | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

peanutpinet · 1 month

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Girl i need more of Johnny ans flower that was soooooo goood. If i understood correctly that requests are open could you do like a scenario where flower and medical girl are somehow together in thr nct tower building and ot goes on lockdown due to an attack pn it so jphnny and taeyong havw to save them together!?

Ours - Mafia Leader! Taeyong x Medic Girl & Mafia! Johnny Suh x Flower

Official TY’s girl name: Kim Eunji

Official Johnny’s girl name: Chrissanna Lee

A/N: hi anon! I’m glad you enjoyed reading my recent Johnny mafia fic and even read some of my old fics, literally the first NCT fic I’ve ever made. So sorry that it took me so long to write this for you since I was travelling and have been caught up with some freelance work and also recently started a new job which tbh I don't like :') but I hope that you enjoy the story and I'm sorry if it doesn't meet your expectations >.<!

Also, also!! Let me introduce you guys the official names for Taeyong’s medic girl: Kim Eunji and Johnny’s flower: Chrissanna Lee. Lil easter eggs of previous mafia fics

It was a rare peaceful day in NCT. Mainly because all the tasks that Taeyong had to take care of was actually done and he was just going looking over at his members’ businesses when his girlfriend and nurse, Eunji came by to his office, bringing him his lunch.

“Hey. I hope that I’m not interrupting anything boss” Eunji asked as she went into Taeyong’s office where Taeyong was with Doyoung and Johnny

“You would never interrupt anything” Taeyong smiled, standing up to greet his girlfriend with open arms and kissed the side of Eunji’s head

“Stop that. Your members are here. Hi Doyoung, Hi Johnny” Eunji greeted the other members

“Hey. It’s been a while Eunji. Sorry to ask you this but how’s Chris? Is she doing better?” Johnny asked, still worried about his girlfriend despite it being a few months since he got rid of the people who made them have PTSD

“Hey. She’s doing much better. She’s opening up more and we’re actually going to hang out together tomorrow” Eunji mentioned, grabbing both Taeyong and Johnny’s attention

“Tomorrow? Is that one of the reasons you wanted to come here and see me?” Taeyong sulked, making Doyoung fake vomit as Eunji kissed his cheek

“No. But I might as well say it whilst on the topic” Eunji replied whilst also handing over some paperwork from the lab

“And this is why I don’t want you coming when there are other members around. We don’t get any alone time and I barely get to see you” Taeyong sighed but Eunji just kissed his cheek, massaging his shoulders

“Well, Mr Leader, we just came back from a one-week trip together. Don’t you think that that’s enough for now? You know that it takes time to train the new recruits” Eunji mentioned

“Eunji is right, hyung, the new batch of recruits takes a lot of time to train because of how incompetent most of them are. The girls especially try to flirt with the dream members but you know how annoyed the boys with girlfriends are” Doyoung mentioned

“You should see Jeno almost wanting to strangle a girl because she was bad-mouthing his girlfriend when she managed to find her socials” Eunji added on, making Taeyong rise his eyebrow

“Jeno took care of it. He had Haechan broadcast a whole Twitter thread that that girl made” Eunji chuckled, remembering that time

“That’s Haechan. You can try to tease him but when it passes a line, he’ll make sure you’ll regret it” Taeyong mentioned, knowing his younger member’s habit of ruining someone’s life through hacking

“So, Eunji. You and Chris? You guys going tomorrow?” Johnny asked again

“Yeap. We’re not going anywhere crazy, trust me. We’re just going into town for a bit and we’ll come back to the NCT HQ. Is it alright to show her around the HQ?” Eunji asked

“I think that’s best. We’re actually going out on a mission tomorrow so if you can make it back before it gets dark, it would be better” Johnny mentioned, making Eunji look at Taeyong

“I too was going to tell you that I’m going to be out tomorrow but you came here first so, here we are” Taeyong shrugged, earning a light smack from Eunji

“How many of you guys are going to be out? What’s the mission this time? I can postpone my outing with Chris if you need me” Eunji asked but Taeyong stopped her by turning to hold her hands in his and kissed them

“No need for that. It’s just some light fieldwork. It won’t take that long anyway. We’ll be back by sundown. That is if Johnny doesn’t mind leaving his girlfriend for one day that is” Taeyong teased but Johnny just eyed him

“I’m not possessive. I just prefer if I was there with her but since Eunji will be with her, I’m completely fine. Chris has always wanted a girls day out” Johnny mentioned. “Thank you for looking after her, Eunji. I really appreciate it”

“Of course, John. It’s the least I could do after everything you’ve all done for me” Eunji mentioned

“Ehem, we should get going. Jaehyun told me that the others are already waiting for us” Doyoung mentioned, interrupting the conversation, making Eunji giggle

“You take care, love. Use my card. If I find you not using it, I’m gonna block yours. Don’t think you can fool me about that” Taeyong mentioned, wrapping his arm around Eunji’s waist as he, Eunji, Johnny and Doyoung left Taeyong’s office together

“I will. You guys take care of yourselves” Eunji mentioned, kissing Taeyong’s cheek

“We will. Call me if anything happens” Taeyong replied as Eunji nodded before Taeyong kissed the side of Eunji’s head one last time before she left the elevator first

The Next Day

Just as Eunji told Taeyong and Johnny the other day, she and Chris would be going out on a girls day together. Eunji and Chris went to the NCT HQ first and met up with their respective boyfriends who gave them each their own credit cards and made each girl promise to use the given cards instead of their own.

After spending almost all morning at the HQ, Eunji finally finished her paperwork and handed back to Xiaojun before bidding her boyfriend goodbye to spend the day with Chris.

“You tell me if anything happens, alright? We might be back by night but if anything should happen…” Taeyong rambled but Eunji shut him up by pecking his lips

“We’ll be alright, Tyong. We’re just going to have some lunch and then shop around town for a moment. We’ll meet you guys back at the HQ. I promise I’ll call if anything happens” Eunji replied, Taeyong still holding onto her hand

Sighing, Taeyong stood up and cupped Eunji’s face, his face softened. “Alright. I’m not going to hold you back any longer. Johnny just texted me that he’s waiting downstairs to send you both off. I’ll see you tonight then” Taeyong kissed Eunji’s cheek and let her off

After bidding Johnny goodbye as well, Eunji and Chriss went into town and headed to a local’s favourite brunch spot and after they’ve seated and ordered their food and drinks, they finally get to have some girl time.

“Do you work at the HQ every day or do you get to go on field missions?” Chris asked, making Eunji look at her

“Mainly in the lab. Ever since the incident, Taeyong hasn’t really let me go on a field mission on my own. I would always have to go with at least 2 of his members or with him. Otherwise, I won’t be allowed on the field” Eunji replied

“You went through a traumatic experience too?” Chriss asked and Eunji smiled back at her

“It wasn’t as bad as yours. Mine happened at the HQ and during one of the fieldwork. Both were because someone from within the recruits was a mole. It wasn’t as bad, trust me. I’m alright now. I was lucky honestly. I did have a trauma with guns since I was little and Taeyong helped me with it. I’ve gotten better” Eunji told Chriss who gave her a sad smile

“I guess we were both lucky to have met such amazing men and people to help us. I was completely alone for years and I didn’t think that Johnny would be the type of person that he is today. Or even when that night that I almost tried to leave but he stopped me” Chriss mentioned

“I know that it’s still hard for you to open up but trust me, you’re safe when you’re in the main circle. No one is judging you. Every other member in the main circle have their own traumas and difficulties. Even Taeyong who’s the leader and is supposed to be the strongest and toughest member. We all have our nightmares and different ways to cope them” Eunji mentioned

“How do you handle being part of this whole thing? I heard that you were one of their recruits back then” Chriss asked as Eunji sipped her coffee

“Well. That’s a long story. But to cut it short, I didn’t have such a happy childhood like yours. My parents were killed in front of me. By the time the police and the government found me, I was so weak and bloody. They took me in but trained me to be part of the NCT recruit system. Eventually, I joined the recruits and rose in the ranks. I partially think it was because since a young age I had to learn everything on my own. I also had to survive on my own. But despite being able to excel in just about anything. I couldn’t overcome my trauma with shotguns. Not necessary that I was afraid of shotguns but I just couldn’t shoot anyone in their vital parts. Especially when someone is holding a gun within an arms range towards me. I would be petrified. It happened once and I fainted on the spot. That’s why since then Taeyong won’t really let me go on field missions without any NCT members” Eunji replied

“Is it scary? To fight and see all the gruesome scenes?” Chriss

“It was in the beginning. But as time went on, the more I trained, the more used to it I was. Well, except for my trauma. But one thing that you should believe me is that the neos will try their best to keep their woman out of anything that relates to the mafia. Even if how they met their woman was through some traumatic experience like you” Eunji tried to reassure Chriss

“Now that last part I believe because Johnny has not told me anything about the mafia. He would tell me a bit of the entertainment agency he runs but aside from that, nothing” Chriss chuckled

The two girls talked and went around town, buying some things for themselves and their boyfriends until they saw that the sun was about to set. Realising that it was going to get dark soon, the two girls took the car back to the NCT HQ and told their boyfriends along the way who were still out with the majority of the NCT team on a field mission.

Arriving back at the HQ, the two girls went up to the top where Taeyong’s office was because aside from the NCT members, Eunji too had access to Taeyong’s office.

Feeling bored waiting for their boyfriends, Eunji invited Chriss to go on a little NCT HQ tour which she was more than happy to go because despite being in the building, Chriss has never actually explored the building because whenever she was with Johnny, he would just bring her to his office or the other NCT members’ office.

The two girls then headed through each floor with Eunji being the tour guide and explaining most of the rooms in the building. Because most of the people in the building knows Eunji, she would often stop by and greet them. Sometimes she would even check in on some of the new recruits.

In the midst of their tour around the building, suddenly, the building went on lockdown due to a breach in the system. Yangyang who was still in the HQ announced to the entire building to stay calm but Eunji grabbed Chriss and headed to where Yangyang was.

“Yangyang!” Eunji exclaimed, grabbing the young member’s attention

“Eunji! What are you doing here and is that…” Yangyang uttered

“It’s Chriss, Johnny’s girlfriend. What happened?” Eunji asked, striding to Yangyang who was overviewing the control room

“Someone tried hacking into the system. Haechan and Jungwoo are working on it. I’m helping them however I can from over here. Winwin, Hendery, and Chenle are searching around the building. Taeil, Doyoung, and Renjun are checking on the recruits and everyone to make sure that everyone is alright” Yangyang informed Eunji

Looking at each of the security screens, Eunji noticed that not all parts of the building were monitored. “Yangyang, what about the floor between 1 and 2” Eunji whispered

“Eun, I doubt anyone besides our internal members knows about that floor. No one should even have the access key to that floor because it’s DNA and facial recognition security” Yangyang replied back

“But you never know. I’ll go then” Eunji uttered

“Eun. Taeyong-hyung is not going to allow that. We’re in complete lockdown. Several of our members are already going around and the others are on their way back from the mission which they succeed by the way. You and Chriss should stay here and that’s final” Yangyang stated

“You’re forgetting something” Eunji stated, walking towards the door, grabbing Chriss with her

Yangyang who realised what Eunji was going to do tried to rush to her but she immediately disappeared behind the door along with Chriss.

“Hyung. I think we need to change our plans” Yangyang stated in his intercom

On the Secret Floor

“Was this place always here?” Chriss asked as both she and Eunji went into the elevator and Eunji pressed both the first and second floor while scanning her ID card

“Since the building was built. This floor is sacred and only the main NCT members and certain staffs…”

“Like you?”

“Like me. Gets their ID card with a specific chip for this. It’s sacred because, on this floor, we keep our top weapons that are still under development. Some of them can be deadly because they’re still unstable. Even if an intruder comes here and steals the weapon, it’s fine because it has a self-destruct system if an unknown person touches it. But the blueprint on the other hand, that’s what I worry about the most. No one should be able to get their hands on it” Eunji mentioned

As the door opened, Eunji instructed Chriss to stay nearby as they made their way through the floor and headed to where the weapon design room was. Going into the room, Eunji went through every single desk to make sure that all the blueprints were there but in the midst of going through the blueprints, Eunji felt something was off and immediately grabbed a backup weapon and turned around to point it only to meet the intruder who held Chriss as their hostage.

“I think it would be best if you put your weapon down and hand over all the blueprints” the intruder spoke, the knife he held almost pierced through Chriss’ skin until I let down my weapon

“You really think this is smart? I think it would be best that you let her go and turn yourself in before you regret it” Eunji tried to sound tough even though deep down she was shaking from the fear of what the intruder had up their sleeve

Within seconds, there were multiple footsteps that came but knowing NCT, those weren’t the typical footstep sounds that they would make and Eunji was right because there were some other intruders who turned out to be pretending to be some of the cleaning staff in the NCT building.

Both Eunji and Chriss were then captured by the intruders and used as hostages to get out of the building. The intruders took the majority of the blueprints that were in the room and were about to head out from the floor when the lights were suddenly off and gunshots filled the hallways along with loud combat boots sounds.

When the light came back on, the majority of the NCT members came, cornering the intruders who were on the floor, bleeding out as the members shot them but not at their vital organs. At one corner, Taeyong came forward while on the other corner was Johnny who did the same thing. Both men looked at the intruder who looked like he was going to pee in his pants but instead of shooting them or doing anything violent, both men moved forward and softly took their girlfriends away from the scene as the other members took care of the intruders.

NCT Penthouse - Taeyong’s penthouse

Back at Taeyong’s penthouse, both Taeyong and Johnny immediately got their girlfriends treated by Kun and XIaojun. After they were treated, Taeyong softly asked Eunji what exactly happened because Yangyang only told them that there was an intruder in the building and that both Eunji and Chriss were heading to the secret floor.

Once Eunji told them everything, both Taeyong and Johnny looked at each other and though the two of them want nothing more to torment the intruders, they knew that taking care of their girlfriends came first.

Taeyong decided to cook for the four of them while Johnny prepared some movie night to calm both girls’ nerves even if he and Taeyong were still angered at what happened.

“I’m sorry” Eunji spoke, grabbing Taeyong’s attention who was softly playing with her hair as she was laying on his chest while Johnny and Chriss were back at Johnny’s penthouse

“What are you sorry for? If anything I’m sorry for always getting you stuck in these kind of situations” Taeyong replied

“It wasn’t your fault, bubu. Plus, I was a recruit before I was your girlfriend. It’s still my duty to deal with these things” Eunji mentioned

“I know. I know you’re still apart of all of this and as much as I want to offer you a normal life, I know that I can’t just yet. But I’m grateful how understanding you are with all of this and how patient you have been with the situations. I just wish that you wouldn’t be so stubborn and go out of your way to deal with this on your own. At least ask a member to come with you” Taeyong lectured while Eunji just draw circles on his chest

“Lil rose…” Taeyong called out, making Eunji stared at him but decided to tease him by softly kissing his jawline, making the mafia leader groan in frustration before turning their positions around and pining the girl underneath him

“Don’t tempt me, babe, I’m already frustrated and annoyed about the intruders” Taeyong warned but Eunji wrapped her arms around her boyfriend

“I’m not. Plus, you’re not the only one that’s frustrated” Eunji smirked before squealing as Taeyong suddenly lifted her up

“Well then, let’s both relieve that frustration, shall we?” Taeyong smirked, softly pecking Eunji’s lips before carrying her to his room

Johnny’s Penthouse - Johnny’s POV

After we’ve had dinner and watch a movie at Taeyong’s penthouse, Chriss looked tired so I decided to let Taeyong know that we would be heading back to my penthouse first before anything else we have to do.

Back at my penthouse, Chriss and I were chilling on the bed while we watch through her favorite show, Avatar the Last Airbender. In the midst of the show, I noticed that Chriss fell asleep and smiled to myself knowing that she was able to rest despite what she had to go through today.

But right when I tucked her in, I noticed that her breathing was out of control and she started to stir around in her sleep. Worried, I immediately sat next to her and gently shook her until she woke up.

When Chriss woke up, I handed her some water before getting under the covers next to her, wrapping my arm around her small body. “It must’ve been scary”

But as I expected, Chriss just cuddled closer and grabbed my shirt, nodding her head. “I know that Eunji is one of your friends here but why did you take the risk and followed her when you know it could be dangerous?”

“B-because, I want to help her. I want to help you” Chriss let out, looking at me with her doe eyes which makes me want to just squeeze her tightly and never let go

“Flower. You’re too sweet but it makes me worry you know. I’m worried that something worse could’ve happened even if it didn’t. I know you’re bored staying here on your own and just going to college but I’m still worried about you. If you wanted to train some self-defense then I can help with that but other than that, I wouldn’t want you to be involved in anything dangerous, okay?” I rambled on which made Chriss chuckle

“What’s so funny? I’m being serious here. I’m worried you know that” I groaned but Chriss hugged me tighter

“I know. But you look funny when you ramble like that. You like more approachable this way” Chriss chuckled, making me smile bigger

“Only for you that is” I smiled, bringing Chriss closer and kissed the top of her head, being with her until she fell asleep

NCT HQ - 1:27 am (3rd POV)

After both their respective girlfriends finally went into their slumber, both Taeyong and Johnny headed back to the NCT HQ together and once arrived, they immediately headed to where they would always keep their captives.

Reaching one of the rooms, the two met up with Jaehyun along with Yuta who were both waiting for them. “Apparently they’re all just some kids. Well, they’re practically in their late teens, early twenties but kids nonetheless” Yuta stated

“I doubt they’re kids if they’re as old as some of our younger members. They’re old enough to take responsibility for their actions” Johnny scoffed but Taeyong made no comment

Instead, Taeyong made his way into the room and unlike previous rooms, this one actually looked like a classroom with the teacher’s desk in the far front and there were around 20 desks and chairs in the room. Only instead of students, the room was filled with the intruders who tried to steal from them and were tied down to their chairs.

“Were you really going to hurt them?” was all Taeyong asked to the intruders, specifically targeting towards the leader amongst them

When he didn’t hear any answer Taeyong sighed and went up towards them and in a blink of an eye, Taeyong managed to scare everyone by pointing one of his knives by the leader’s throat, making them swallow their saliva.

“Yuta was right. You all should be grateful that you’re just a bunch of kids. Granted that you’re as old as some of our youngest members. But that doesn’t mean we won’t discipline you. Isn’t that right, Johnny?” Taeyong stated, looking at his fellow 95 line mate who looked at the intruders with a smirk

“Of course. What kind of leaders are we if we don’t discipline troublemakers” Johnny smirked as the two most feared men in NCT tormented their intruders

A/n: I'm so sorry I've been MIA for 2 months but life has been busy. I travelled for 2 weeks, was sick for 2 weeks and now just started a new job, somehow have a lot of freelance to do and yea, life is pretty hectic. But I hope that everyone's 2024 has been good, if not, we're on the same page then.

Also, am so sad that TY is finally going to enlist but I shall wait patiently for his return :') also", does anyone play nct zone? If you do, please message me so we can be mutuals in the game. Kay. I have one more request for the NCT mafia fic. If anyone wants to request anything, even just a simple one-shot, just hit me up. I shall now go back to suffer this office job that I haven't even worked for 1 week yet :))

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vince-thrilligan · 5 years

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'Breaking Bad' Returns: Aaron Paul and Vince Gilligan Take a TV Classic for a Spin in 'El Camino'

The Hollywood Reporter | by Rebecca Keegan | September 18, 2019

In their first interview about the new movie, star and creator reveal why they risked messing with their defining show ("Is there another story to tell?") and how they shot the hot Netflix project in near-total secrecy.

One day late in 2018, the phone of an Albuquerque, New Mexico, man named Frank Sandoval started ringing off the hook. Sandoval runs a local outfit that operates Breaking Bad-themed tours in an RV identical to the battered Fleetwood Bounder that served as a mobile meth lab for Bryan Cranston's Walter White and Aaron Paul's Jesse Pinkman on the Emmy-winning AMC show. Five years after Breaking Bad went off the air, the distinctive vehicle had — suddenly and mysteriously — reappeared in town outside a diner on a main road. "People were calling us and saying, 'Is that your RV up there?' " Sandoval says. "We'd heard rumors for years that they were shooting. But nobody we talked to ever knew anything." Sandoval asked around about the mystery RV and eventually came across a printed flyer explaining that a New Mexico tourism commercial was shooting in town. He figured that explained it.

Not quite.

In fact, Jesse and Walter's old RV was in Albuquerque that day, as were Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan and his cast and crew, engaged in a secret project. They were shooting El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, which will premiere Oct. 11 on Netflix and in theaters in 68 cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Albuquerque, before it airs on AMC early next year. Netflix only just announced the project in August, after Gilligan had wrapped postproduction. That's because despite the Virginia-born writer's gentle Southern manner and almost pathological humility, Gilligan, 52, is a showman at heart, and he wants to lift the curtain at the last possible second. "I don't want to open my Christmas presents a week and a half before Christmas," Gilligan says, explaining his insistence on a covert production. Gilligan's producers say they had nothing to do with the tourism flyer, but they did use other means to keep the project hush-hush, including waiting until the last possible minute to share the script with crew, obscuring locations with trucks and screens and relying on a private jet to shuttle a key castmember in and out of Albuquerque without notice.

The two-hour feature film, which Gilligan wrote and directed over the past 18 months, is premiering six years after Breaking Bad ended with Walter dying and Jesse driving an El Camino to freedom from his imprisonment on an Aryan Brotherhood compound. (A trailer set to debut during the Emmys on Sept. 22 will offer a detailed peek.) The Netflix partnership fulfills a long-standing wish of Gilligan's for a Breaking Bad theatrical experience and follows the formative role the streaming company had in the series' success — Breaking Bad was the first cable show to benefit from a so-called Netflix boost.

El Camino centers on what happens to Jesse after he drives out of that compound covered in physical and psychological scars, and it features more than 10 familiar characters from the show. In deference to Gilligan's spoiler aversion, THR will name only two: fan favorites Skinny Pete (Charles Baker) and Badger (Matt L. Jones), the Beavis and Butt-Head of the greater Albuquerque meth community.

Returning to the world of Breaking Bad comes with some risk for Gilligan — during the course of its five-year run, the crime drama about a mild-mannered chemistry teacher who transforms into a ruthless drug kingpin came to exemplify a new, golden era of TV, engrossing critics and audiences with its dense, character-driven storytelling, winning 16 Emmys and delivering one of the most satisfying mic drops in the history of television with a finale that more than 10 million people watched on AMC. In the rarefied club of early Peak TV auteurs, including Mad Men's Matthew Weiner, The Wire's David Simon and The Sopranos' David Chase, Gilligan is the first to take a leap and make a film from his signature show (Chase's Sopranos movie is due next year).

There also is the danger of dwelling indefinitely in the world — however rich — that Gilligan created. Breaking Bad diehards already have the show's spinoff prequel, Better Call Saul, which just finished shooting its fifth season. "I'm hoping when the movie comes out, people won't say, 'Oh, man, this guy should've left well enough alone,' " Gilligan says in his first interview about the film. "Why did George Foreman keep coming out of retirement, you know?"

***

Gilligan works in a nondescript glass office building in Burbank with a view of a dry cleaner and a parking lot. This is the "fancy" office he reluctantly moved to before his team started making Better Call Saul — superstitious, he didn't want to vacate the derelict space deeper in the San Fernando Valley where they had made Breaking Bad, a building they shared with a private investigator, a music charity and an hoc threading business operating out of the women's bathroom. Also, for reasons no one can recall, there was a guy in the building who always wore a kilt. Gilligan, who lives on L.A.'s Westside with his longtime girlfriend, Holly Rice, chose the location because it was convenient not for him, but for his show's editor. When it came time to select offices there, he picked for himself the room that didn't have a window and housed a giant humming server.

His newer, comparatively luxurious space is decorated with Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul memorabilia — the special effects bust of Gus Fring's (Giancarlo Esposito) exploded head is next to Gilligan's desk, and bottles of Blue Ice Heisenberg vodka sit on a bookshelf. There also are model helicopters, tokens of Gilligan's other passion, aviation. At 50, he fulfilled a decades-long goal of obtaining his helicopter pilot's license. One of the locations in El Camino is a spot he used to glimpse while choppering with his flight instructor, 500 feet above the ground, en route from L.A. to Albuquerque. "When I'm flying a helicopter, I'm as happy as I ever get, which is not particularly happy, but still, as happy as I ever am," Gilligan says. "I'll never master it. It's one of those … Is that a Zen thing? When you have some sort of avocation that you're continually a beginner at. You're never going to perfect it. But in a weird way, that feels good, because you're never going to get tired of it either."

Gilligan first started ruminating on the story that would ultimately become El Camino before he finished making Breaking Bad. "I didn't really tell anybody about it, because I wasn't sure I would ever do anything with it," he says. "But I started thinking to myself, 'What happened to Jesse?' You see him driving away. And to my mind, he went off to a happy ending. But as the years progressed, I thought, 'What did that ending — let's just call it an ending, neither happy, nor sad — what did it look like?' " It was while planning events in 2018 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the premiere of Breaking Bad that Gilligan first told his inner circle he had an idea to revisit Jesse, perhaps a five-minute short film, he mused to his longtime producer, Melissa Bernstein. "He just started letting his mind run over that," Bernstein says. "And he started to realize, 'I have a lot to say about this.' "

Gilligan, who wrote the feature films Wilder Napalm (1993) and Home Fries (1998) as well as some unproduced feature scripts, found his comfort zone as a writer in the collaborative, deadline-oriented environment of TV while on the staff of The X-Files. "I was the laziest writer in creation," Gilligan says. "I'd piddle around. It took me two years to write a first draft of a movie script in the early '90s, just because I had no one holding a gun to my head. I just didn't have that work ethic. Working in TV changed everything for me." But on El Camino, Gilligan returned to the solitary lifestyle of a feature writer. "I had been working with excellent writers now for well over a decade, and I'd forgotten what it was like to write something by myself, and it was daunting," Gilligan says. "Suddenly I'm trying to write this and thinking, 'God, I really could use a writers room about now.' " Gilligan outlined the story using note cards, his usual method, and then began on his first draft at his time-share in the Bahamas.

As a business philosophy, Gilligan is a believer in the idea that you "dance with the girl that brung ya," and at a time when many other top showrunners are managing multiple productions and seeking nine-figure deals at streamers, he has remained at Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul studio Sony Pictures Television, re-upping with the company last year in a three-year, mid-eight-figure overall pact that includes his work on El Camino. When Gilligan told executives there about his idea for a Breaking Bad movie, "We all just fell silent in the room," says SPT co-president Chris Parnell. "It was one of the moments when you think to yourself, 'Did I just hear that? Is that something he genuinely wants to do?' " Together with his agent, ICM Partners' Chris Silbermann, Gilligan quietly walked the script into just a handful of offices in Hollywood before deciding to partner with Netflix, as well as AMC. Both companies represented a crucial part in Breaking Bad's history, AMC for picking up the show after FX passed on it and Netflix for building it into the binge TV era's first true streaming/cable hybrid hit.

In 2010, Breaking Bad was at a crossroads: With the show averaging about 1.5 million viewers a season despite being a critics' darling, AMC informed Sony and Gilligan that the series could end with season three. When Sony began shopping Breaking Bad to competitors — quickly finding a taker for two more seasons at FX — AMC reversed course. Netflix, meanwhile, was aggressively licensing shows for its nascent streaming service, and content chief Ted Sarandos made a syndication deal with Sony for Breaking Bad. Originally, the arrangement was for the series to start streaming on Netflix after its fourth season finished on AMC, but, with the show's future uncertain, Sony accelerated the plan, and new fans began discovering and bingeing Breaking Bad on Netflix in time to catch some of the fourth season and all of the fifth and final season on AMC. When season five premiered in 2013, the audience had more than doubled from its previous outing. "We felt that it was a virtuous cycle, where we were introducing the show to new fans, who were then going and experiencing new episodes on AMC, and then when we would launch a new season, we would again see another wave of new folks coming," says Netflix vp original content Cindy Holland. Since news of the movie broke in August, Holland says, viewership of Breaking Bad on Netflix is up, some from rewatchers and some from newcomers to the series. "We were a natural home for the movie," Holland says. "It wasn't a really long conversation. It was a simple, 'Yes, please.' "

Netflix also brought the theatrical component, which was crucial to Gilligan. "Every time we'd put out a new season of Breaking Bad, we would have a premiere in a big movie theater," Gilligan says. "We would watch this quote-unquote television show. I mean, I guess quotations aren't needed. It is absolutely a television show. But we would have this wonderful, very limited, one-time opportunity to watch our television show on a big screen with giant stereo speakers thumping, the image filling 40 feet across. I always thought, 'This thing, it looks like a movie. It doesn't look like a show.' I really want to be able to share that with fans." As with its other theatrical releases, Netflix will exhibit the film in independent theaters for a very limited period.

The secrecy on the project extends to the budget, which all interviewed decline to disclose beyond saying that it is significantly higher than what Gilligan had ever worked with on the show, including the $6 million for an episode in the final season. Gilligan's producers Bernstein and Diane Mercer went to great lengths to keep the film under wraps during production, shrouding locations from onlookers' view, covertly ferrying key castmembers to the set and warning crewmembers to be discreet around town. "Don't be sitting on a barstool somewhere and talk about the project you're working on, because God only knows who's sitting next to you" was the mantra, Gilligan says.

The movie, which plays like a coda to the series, is thick with details that will tickle the superfan base, which is its true intended audience, Gilligan says. One that only the most devoted may pick up on is a key address at the corner of Holly and Arroz streets — a wink to Gilligan's girlfriend (arroz is rice in Spanish). "If, after 12 years, you haven't watched Breaking Bad, you're probably not going to start now," Gilligan says. "If you do, I hope that this movie would still be engaging on some level, but there's no doubt in my mind that you won't get as much enjoyment out of it. We don't slow down to explain things to a non-Breaking Bad audience. I thought early on in the writing of the script, 'Maybe there's a way to have my cake and eat it too. Maybe there's a way to explain things to the audience.' If there was a way to do that, it eluded me."

Breaking Bad was particularly cinematic television, with its wide-angle shots of the stark New Mexico landscape, expressive lighting and deliberate pacing. At one point during the series, Gilligan and his cinematographer, Michael Slovis, made an unsuccessful pitch to Sony and AMC to shoot Breaking Bad in the CinemaScope format that Sergio Leone had used to shoot Clint Eastwood's Dollars Trilogy. On El Camino, Gilligan got his wish — Better Caul Saul DP Marshall Adams shot the movie on the ARRI Alexa 65 camera used for The Revenant and in a 2.39 wide-screen format that seems designed to showcase a gunslinger's squint across the desert.

Gilligan is perfectionistic in a way that television schedules rarely have time to indulge. El Camino proceeded at an even more leisurely pace than his shows. Instead of shooting six to eight pages a day as Gilligan had on Breaking Bad, he shot one and a half to three. Most of the 50-day shoot happened in the same Albuquerque locations where Breaking Bad is set, but the larger budget meant he was able to take advantage of some picturesque out-of-state locations, too. "This is my first movie as a director, and I have to say, it made me want some more of that," says Gilligan, who has directed five episodes each of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul and two of The X-Files. "You truly have time to get things right. It feels very decadent."

***

Returning to the character of Jesse Pinkman for El Camino was an unexpected career twist. While making Breaking Bad, Paul had grown as an actor under Cranston's tutelage and shed some fatiguing habits. "The first couple years were really torturous for me," Paul says. Often, after shooting had wrapped for the day, "I found myself in dark alleys in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at 3 in the morning, just to try to get more information, which was not a good thing. I just didn't want to mess it up, and so I stayed in that guy's skin, but I learned from Bryan it's OK to shake it off and wash up at the end of the night and just have time for yourself." When the finale aired, Paul says, "I really loved Jesse. I knew him better than anyone, but it was a big weight off of my shoulders to hang up the cleats and walk away. I thought it was goodbye, and I was OK with that."  In early 2018, while Paul was in New York shooting The Path, Gilligan called him and shared that he had written a movie about Jesse. "I'm like everybody else on the planet — I think Vince and the rest of the writers really nailed the landing with the ending of Breaking Bad, and why mess with that?" Paul recalls thinking. "But it's Vince we're talking about. I would follow Vince into a fire. That's how much I trust the man. I would do anything that he asked me to." (Gilligan inspires a fierce loyalty, and most of his colleagues have been with him for years, starting with Mark Johnson, who discovered Gilligan while judging a screenwriting competition in 1988 and has served as a producer on Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul and El Camino.) Within months of answering Gilligan's call, Paul was back in Albuquerque's dark alleys, bearded and in scar makeup. "It was so easy for me to just jump into where Jesse's at mentally, emotionally, because I lived and breathed everything he went through and then some, and so, honestly, it felt like a part of me had gone through that as well," Paul says. "All I had to do was just memorize these words and then play them out when they yelled 'action.' "

***

Gilligan, too, grew up, in a sense, on Breaking Bad, and he has a wistfulness about how it has shaped his life over the last 11 years. "I'm about 25 to 30 years older than I was when I started," he says. "Yeah, I'm just worn out. I mean, part of what excited me about doing this was it was a movie, a closed-ended story of about two hours. If I was starting now, I'm not sure I'd have the intestinal fortitude to fight all the fights and expend all the energy."

Gilligan is not ready for retirement — not at all — but when he looks ahead to life after Better Call Saul, he sees something outside the universe of characters that have become his trademark creation. He plans to make another show after Better Call Saul ends, but what exactly that will be and where it will air, he doesn't know. "Personally, I'd love to figure out something different, which at this point would be, God, not another antihero," Gilligan says. "Is there something else I can do? Is there another story I can tell? But I've got to tell you, it's harder to write a really engaging good guy than it is a really engaging bad guy."

#el camino #breaking bad #BrBa #vince gilligan #i love himmm #i cut out some of the aaron stuff (like the mezcal business w/ cranston...and there's also a cute q&a video at the source)#hollywood reporter #aaron paul #.....his office. (why do you like to suffer vince?) it's like jimmy leaving davis&main to go back to the shitty nail salon closet #oh and marshall adams is the dp for el camino :))) i was wondering #i can't believe the guy in the kilt never came up on the podcast #el camino: a breaking bad movie

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eternallyyoungjustice · 5 years

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Wherever the Winds Take You: Chapter 10

A/N: Hey guys! I can’t believe we’re already on chapter 10...I decided to do this little bit from the comics because it’s just too pure not to write. God bless the team just being teens, you know?

Anyway, just a side note, the next couple chapters are probably going to be a little bit late because of finals, summatives, work, etc. Oh the joys of being a student in June (hahahakillmehahaha). Anyways, I hope y’all enjoy! Sorry for the length.

Martín Dance Studios, Paris

July 21

03:12

To say that Lina was flustered would be putting it lightly. As she hurriedly attempted to pack up her music equipment and put her clothes on over her dance-wear, all at the same time she felt as if she wanted to slam her head into the dance studio linoleum flooring that she had just been practising on.

“You know you don’t have to rush, yes?” The robust voice beside Lina spoke, sounding more than a little amused.

“You closed four hours ago Quinn. Of course I have to rush!” Lina exclaimed, sparing a hand away from her equipment to shove a tangle of sweaty brown hair out of her face.

Rolling his eyes, Quinn Martín found himself moving closer to his friend and took the speaker chord she had been attempting to coil out of her hands. "If I had wanted you out, I would've have kicked you out Lina. Even if it meant daring to intrude on you practicing."

The girl dared to look up to Quinn, still looking angry at herself, before sighing in defeat as she took his non-verbal hint to let him help.

"Thank you." She muttered as she stood and focused on putting a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt over the shorts and sports bra she had been wearing.

“So,” Quinn spoke as he continued to pack up the last of the stuff, “other than practicing here three hours a day and taking advantage of our business free of charge, what has the Fabulous Lina Dubois been doing?”

“Oh you know.” Lina shrugged, even though Quinn couldn’t see it. “This and that. Family to care for, crops to harvest, errands to run.”

“Teams to form and genetic labs to implode.” She wanted to add, but she had promised herself long ago that she would keep her only civilian friend as Lina, separate from her life as Zephyr, even though a small part of her always wanted to disclose her many adventures to him.

“That’s all? You lazy girl.” Quinn shook his head. “Maybe that’s why you can stay up, dancing your feet off after three in the morning. You must be sleeping so much…”

Once again, she felt compelled to tell him the truth. She wanted to explain that no, that wasn’t the reason. The real reason she could do this was because she had spent the last few days in Happy Harbor, so what little of an internal clock she had after two years of constantly having to bounce around the world, was set to Eastern Standard Time, where it was only currently dusk.

But instead, she simply laughed quietly and muttered a silent “Oui, of course.”

“You know,” Quinn stood up just as Lina finished putting her hair in a loose ponytail, both finished with their respective tasks. “Mina Élysée is hosting an old silent movie marathon next weekend, if you’re not too busy with family, crops, and errands…..we should go.”

Lina raised an eyebrow, “Hasn’t Mina hated me since I first came to the school?”

Quinn looked a touch embarrassed. “Touché...she didn’t exactly know how to react to someone with autism…”

Lina gave a half-hearted shrug. “You can always go without me. I bet Chloe would love to go with you…”

Quinn let out a deep, sarcastic laugh. “No thank you. Chloe may be sweet, but I don’t want to spend the whole night hearing how ‘whatever artist’ is better than ‘whoever’, and then have to try and find a good enough reason to fend her off at the end of the night.”

“Awww, wee lamb.” Lina mocked in English. “How cruel the world is that such a sweet girl is interested in you.”

Quinn rolled his eyes, then shoved Lina’s radio and devices into her as he gave his cookie-cutter excuse. “She’s not my type.”

Lina gave a small snort as she shouldered her equipment. Then, she was distracted by her phone buzzing in her pocket. As she pulled up the small glass device, she saw that she had a message from her newest contact.

HEy Lina!1

Wallyhad thr idea to gocamping twonigt! Want 2 joinn?

-Megan

Lina smiled, amused. It was becoming evident to everyone in the team that M’gann still hadn’t gotten used to human technology. The other day they had taught her how to use an electric oven properly (after yet another batch of hockey puck cookies). The experience was possibly the most dangerous thing they had done yet, including Cadmus and Mister Twister.

“What are you smiling about?” Quinn asked, as he leaned over to look at Lina’s phone but she quickly shut it off and shoved it in her bra.

“None of your business, Martín,” Lina smirked as she eyed-down her friend. As Lina’s light blue eyes met Quinn’s dark dark brown ones, he felt his resolve weaken. The pools of azure could have that effect on anyone if she wanted them to. He was just a little more vulnerable to it.

“It was my brother, he wants me home,” Lina spoke after a moment, a pang of uneasiness surging through her stomach as she lied to someone she considered to be one of her best friends.

“Well, it is three in the morning.” Quinn shrugged, running a hand through his shoulder-length black hair.

“You know how protective Calvin gets.” Lina shrugged. Quinn couldn’t help but let out a loud howl of laughter.

“Don’t remind me. Remember the first time I visited your place? The guy interrogated me.” Quinn laughed. “But I suppose you’re not much better…”

Lina frowned slightly at that. “What? I am not even close to being as protective as Calvin!”

Quinn gave the small girl beside him and gave her an unconvinced smile. “Whatever you say, Cherie.”

Lina, not catching the sarcasm in his voice, simply waved her hand in dismissal and made her way to the door. “Well, I best be off. Goodnight Martín, love you!”

When the door to the studio closed, Quinn remained in the studio; alone and the room darkened by the loss of sun gazing through the windows. He dug his hands in his front pockets, his smile left on his face.

“Goodnight Dubois.”

Happy Harbor

June 20

21:35

It didn’t take long for Lina to fly home at top-speeds, shower, get changed into some nicer civvies, and zeta over to the cave. Another talent she had picked up in her years as a hero; she had become very good at quickly changing clothes. Robin had once told her that it was one skill every hero grew into after time.

And just as she thought of the young, raven-haired boy; he materialized in the Zeta-tube beside her.

“Fancy meeting you here Airhead.” Robin cracked open a grin as his eyes met Lina’s figure.

“You as well, Boy Blunder.” Lina nodded. “I was just thinking of you actually.”

Robin’s smirk doubled in length, and a hand swept through his hair. “I knew my good looks and charm had to get your attention eventually.”

Lina let out a loud snort of laughter. “Mhmm, sure. I think you’ve been spending a little too much time around Wally.” She rolled her eyes. “Get back to me when you’re not a child, okay?”

Robin joined into the French girl’s laughter as they made their way into the kitchen, where they found Kaldur, Conner, and M’gann waiting.

“Ah, you two made it!” M’gann exclaimed happily. “Sorry for the last minute plans, but Wally’s idea to go camping sounded like so much fun!”

“No problem M’gann.” Robin shrugged. “Beats patrolling with Bats any day of the week in my book.”

“It was kind of you to invite everyone.” Kaldur nodded.

“But where’s Wa-“ Before Lina could finish her question, the ginger speedster sped into the kitchen with his hands full of camping supplies.

“Gathered a couple chairs, some firewood, scrounged the pantry for graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows; and now we’ll cozy up together outside…”

Wally’s voice trailed off as he entered the kitchen and caught a look at his teammates waiting inside, his expression full of surprise which led everyone to believe that these plans were not made with them in mind.

“We’re going to need a lot more stuff than that if we’re gonna go camping!” Robin smirked.

Happy Harbor

June 20

21:56

“This was a great idea, don’t you think Wally? Camping in the great outdoors…” The cheeky mockery in Robin’s voice could be heard a mile away.

After digging into some supplies around the cave, the group had found enough to be used for all six of them. Three two-person tents, a hammock, more firewood and food, a few chairs that could be used outside, even a cooler that the teens used to store the food in case of any animals that may be lurking in the woods.

It was the true camping experience, save for the actual home base that was less than a kilometre away from the campsite.

“I don’t remember inviting you.” Wally huffed. “Besides, I didn’t say anything about camping. I said a campfire. Big difference between just a campfire and the whole camping thing, I don’t like camping outside anyways…”

Wally sent a grinning look over his shoulder at M’gann, who was sitting far back from the fire. As Martian and Atlantean biologies were extremely susceptible to high temperatures, such as fire, both M’gann and Kaldur had to sit far away from the fire as to not receive any unwanted heat.

“...unless, of course, I’m camping with that special someone.”

“Dude, that was borderline creepy.” Robin cringed.

If M’gann had noticed Wally’s flirting or Robin’s line, she didn’t bother to show it. “Well, I think all of us camping is a wonderful idea!” The alien girl piped up.

“She didn’t seem to think my line was too bad,” Wally smirked.

Robin looked at Lina, noticing her holding back her on cringing. “She’s probably on a sugar overload.”

“Thanks to Wally, I get to try s’mores for the first time.” M’gann cheered as she took a bite of the mushy marshmallow-chocolate-graham cracker concoction on her stick.

“What can I say? I’m a sweetie!” Wally quipped. “Get it? Cause s’mores are sweet?”

Seeing the Martian girl enjoying her own s’more, Lina looked down at her own with an alien look.

“I do not understand this dessert…” Lina muttered.

“They don’t have s’mores in France?” M’gann asked, mouth full of gooey marshmallow.

Lina shook her head. “Marshmallows aren’t very popular, and graham crackers aren’t even available anywhere that I know of…” After poking the melted sugars white goo spilling out from the dessert, the girl wrinkled her nose and handed hers to M’gann; who ecstatically snatched it and popped the dessert into her mouth.

“So this is what you do when you go camping?” Superboy asked, gesturing to their makeshift camping grounds. “Sleep in these flimsy things called ‘tents’ and sit around the fire?”

“Yeah, that’s pretty much about it. So if you feel like heading home, I can sit here with Ms. M...alone.”

“You’re about as subtle as a train wreck, you know that?” Robin grinned. The flames reflecting off his sunglasses, which he was still wearing despite it being the middle of the night, made his mischievous features look downright malicious.

“You’re not going to catch any fish unless you go fishing dude!” Wally replied, then seemed to catch himself as he looked back at Kaldur-who was cringing a little at the metaphor. “Sorry, no offence.”

“Usually,” Robin cut in, crossing his arms, “you sit around the campfire and tell stories.”

“Oh!” M’gann exclaimed, whipping around to face Kaldur who broke off his eye contact with Lina to face the Martian. “I would love to hear your story Kaldur. Could you tell us how you became Aqualad?”

“I was thinking more of a ghost story type of thing but I guess…whatever.”

Seeing the flames continue to brighten the boy’s sunglasses along with the almost evil in appearance expression, a shiver ran through Wally’s spine.

“Dude, tone down the evil villain vibes would ya? You’re creeping me out!” Wally whisper-shouted.

“Oh, I suppose I could do that if you do not think it will be too boring…” Kaldur said, eyes darting around his teammates to get a reading on how they may feel about the suggestion. Everyone’s interests seemed to be piqued however, everyone’s eyes on him save for Robin’s-whose head was tilted in his direction but his eyes still lay focused on the flames before him.

“Not at all! I would love to hear it!” M’gann nodded.

Ever self-conscious about being in the spotlight, Kaldur took one more look around the campfire. When his eyes landed on Lina, whose head was propped up in her hands as she waited for him to begin. Her eyes displayed such excitement, even though she already knew his story from many a telling, and the Atlantean felt a sense of confidence flow through him. His mind began to formulate his story, piecing together the chapters of his life as his grey-teal eyes became entranced by the fire.

“Well, I grew up in the city of Shayeris, which is a city in Atlantis. Surface dwellers think all Atlanteans are the same, but our kingdom has many cities, many people, many cultures. When I was twelve, I completed my education and began my mandatory service in the Atlantean military-which is standard for all at that age.”

“After a while, I was transferred to the prestigious Conservatory of Sorcery in the Atlantean capital of Poseidonis. Queen Mera is the Head Mistress of the Conservatory and wife of King Orin, Aquaman. It was a very different time for me. It was difficult, as it would be for anyone at age fourteen I suppose, but also a time in my life where I met friends that I know will be with me for a lifetime."

"Then came a day...a horrible day when Poseidonis was attacked by the Ocean Master. I can remember it vividly, as if it only happened yesterday. It was the day Aquaman almost met his end."

"Aquaman and Ocean Master fought for what seemed like hours. When the two clashed it seemed to shake the very foundations of the city. Ocean Master had gained the upper hand, and nearly defeated Aquaman." Then, Kaldur paused. "Correction: Aquaman was defeated."

"Garth, a fellow student, and I intervened on the King's behalf. It was the only thing we could think of doing. The danger did not occur to us, the only thing that mattered to us at the time was that our King was in danger. It may have been one of the most foolish things Garth and I had ever done, as we nearly met our own end. We had no hope of defeating him whatsoever, but the time we spent engaged in battle against the Ocean Master was time enough for our King to recover. That was all he needed as Aquaman finally triumphed over Ocean Master."

"Aquaman is a being of two worlds. On the surface world, he fights for justice of all beings, under the sea he is a leader of many. Both carry the weight of responsibilities. Overwhelming responsibilities that only the best of men can carry for so long. Even Aquaman cannot do both forever. Realizing that on the surface both Batman and Green Arrow had taken on apprentices that could one day take over their respective mantels, King Orin had been contemplating the same idea. With this in mind, he approached both Garth and myself with the possibility of becoming his proteges. I must admit, the possibility intrigued me immediately."

"I had never been to the surface world, and I will be the first to admit that I am a bit of an adventurer. Many is the day in class that I would dream of visiting distant oceans and possibly, one day, even the surface world. Both Garth and I seriously considered the King's offer. But Garth ultimately chose to continue his studies with Queen Mera at the Conservatory of Sorcery. For me, however...the chance to visit the surface world was a dream come true. So at the age of fourteen, I became Aqualad. I miss my friends, Garth, Tula...but the chance to work with my mentor and King was an opportunity I could not pass up. I like to think the work that I am doing makes a difference."

"The rest of the story you know. Aquaman brought Aqualad to the surface world...and now I am here with you."

Kaldur's story elicited a smile from pretty much everyone, although on differing levels.

Lina stretched her back over the log she was leaning against, moaning slightly as she did. "I love stories of the fathoms below…" she sighed.

"So you wanted to be Aqualad?" M'gann asked.

"Yes, the opportunity alone...I could think of no other path." Kaldur spoke with a small, content and nostalgic smile on his lips.

"If you think he wanted to be Aqualad so badly, let me tell you about how I got started." Wally piped up.

"Oh this ought to be good." Lina heard Robin mutter.

"It literally goes back a couple generations. Each generation of Flash has started with a bang! Literally! Jay Garrick was in a freak accident: Boom! There it is. During the 40s and 50s, he was everywhere. 'The fastest man alive', Jay Garrick was the first Flash."

"Then, one day this guy comes along; a huge fan of The Flash, wanting to know all about this Jay Garrick-back in those days Jay didn't really hide his identity-he contacts Jay and the two spend hours and hours talking about his adventures and his accident that turned him into the Flash. This guy even goes so far as to re-create the accident that created the original! But whereas Jay Garrick's was a complete freak accident, this guy rre-createsit under laboratory conditions; he set the whole thing up in his lab and tried to make it happen. Result? Still a big explosion, but lo and behold he becomes speedy mcspeed-speed himself! Now he's The Flash. Well, not the original Flash, but the new Flash...the Flash we all know! Now that I'm saying all this...they probably could have used different names…But now this time, he was even faster than the old Flash! He had even more speed!"

Wally popped another s'more into his mouth, then continued his story.

"Okay, so check this! The second Flash is a fan of the first Flash-Jay Garrick-and it turns out great minds think alike! Cause I was a fan of the Flash! The second one, not the first. Well, I was a fan of Jay Garrick after I got to meet him, but he was a little before my time."

"Long story short, one day I was in my Uncle's house and stumbled across his old notebooks, and got the shock of a lifetime. That was the day I found out my uncle was The Flash! Once the shock had passed a bit, I kept reading. He had been keeping a journal of all his experiences and experiments! Especially the one that made him the Flash-the second one, not the first-""We get it already!" Robin interrupted.

Wally ignored his friend's outburst and carried on.

"When I found that out, I would kind of keep hinting to my uncle that Flash could maybe use and needed a partner. I mean, come on, by this time Bats already had Robbie over there, GA had Speedy, Aquaman had Kal...heck, even RT had Lina at that point! This was a total no-brainer! I've got to admit, Flash was a little resistant at first."

"Does this story sound confusing to anyone else?" Superboy asked.

"Just let me finish, and you will be confused no more Supey!" Wally winked, sending finger guns to the clone. "So, having his journal just like he saw the previous Flash's, I try to recreate the experiment with my own chemistry set. And what do you know? I was actually able to do it."

"The experiment actually worked?" Kaldur asked.

"Well...not at first, actually." Wally suddenly seemed a little uncomfortable. "I was hurt in the explosion, it was pretty bad...but although the super speed didn't kick in for a couple weeks, when it did; I was perfectly fine, and then I was off and running. I couldn't wait to show Flash! When he saw that I had powers, how could he not want me as a partner? You guys should've seen his face when I showed him! This time he jumped at the chance to have me as his partner, Flash couldn't wait to show me off to the world! He was beyond ecstatic, he couldn't contain his excitement! It was the greatest day in the history of the world! Why you ask?"

"We didn't." Robin snorted.

"That's the day the world got Kid Flash!"

Wally remained silent, as if waiting for people to applaud, then said with an air of victory and pride, "You. Are. Welcome."

"Ah yes, we're all so pleased that you're so speed-capable." Robin snickered. Wally shot a glare at him.

“What’s the matter? Jealous?” Wally asked.

“Sheeyah, right. Jealous of you?”

"What about you Lina?" M'gann cut in, catching the small brunette's attention.

"Moi?" Lina asked, then laughed awkwardly. "I can assure you, mine's not as interesting as fighting alongside great monarchs or sciencey explosions…"

"As long as it's not so confusing…" Superboy shrugged.

"C'mon Lin', you've got a great origin story!" Wally cheered on.

Lina sighed, a timid heat crawling up to her ears, and she found herself fiddling with a strand of hair.

"Well, then...I guess I should start with where I grew up. My family line worked in the circus industry for generations, right down to my parents, my brothers and I. We performed for a European Travelling Circus, Cortez' to be exact...it was my home. My father was a stagehand, he was never one for acts himself, but my brothers were a fire-dancer and an animal tamer respectively and my mother and I...we were an acrobatic duo! Aerial work, floor routines, silks, contortion, gymnastics...everything you could think of, we specialized in! Growing up in a circus...there's nothing else like it. The acts, the work that goes into it, the family...it's perfect."

Lina's eyes seemed to light up as she spoke, but then suddenly the light seemed to fade. "But then...there was a fire. The authorities never figured out how it started, but my mom and I got crushed in some debris when she tried to save me and...when the smoke cleared my mother had…passed. I was put into a coma lasting for months. Apparently, nothing in the circus lay untouched by the flames. With the destruction it wreaked, and then with one of the most prominent families in Cortez' history leaving after the death of their monarch...the circus closed before the end of the season."

"But then, while in my coma, this power in me suddenly manifested. Somehow, I don't know exactly how, I created a giant tornado in the France countryside. Thank God nobody was hurt, and the destruction was minimal considering. But when I woke, the Justice League was there. My family had explained everything to them and then; Red Tornado, Black Canary, and Batman came into my hospital room and talked to me. They told me of how Red was willing to take me in as an apprentice, teach me to control my powers, and Black Canary would help me heal while also teaching me hand-to-hand combat. My family wasn't too happy at this initially...but I agreed. I felt like I needed to do something so it wouldn't happen again."

"Then started a whole year of training. Being in a coma for months while I healed from serious wounds had left my body weak and brittle, so I had a lot of work to do. But as I'm sure you'll all find soon, Black Canary is the perfect person to 'whip you into shape', no matter what shape you start off in. And then, after I was deemed ready by both my mentors, I was officially given the title 'Zephyr' and I started fighting evil. And now...here I am, with all of you."

"...I'm sorry about your Mother." M'gann frowned. The girl looked a little guilty, but Lina shook her head and smiled.

"It's alright, I have made peace with her passing. And besides, I know that wherever she is...she's happy that her family is all well and safe."

"You really don't know where your powers come from?" Superboy suddenly asked. His question surprised Lina, but she answered nonetheless.

"I do not. The League has apparently attempted to find out, I even was the subject of a couple of tests at STAR Labs for a couple of days because we wanted to figure it out, but...we simply do not know." Lina shrugged.

“I’m sure we’ll figure it out soon.” Robin shrugged. “Just gotta find the right people.”

The French girl gave the younger boy beside her a smile and gently rustled his hair. “Merci...perhaps one day…”

“Can you tell us how you got started Robin?” M’gann asked.

Wally answered with a loud snort of laughter, which seemed to put Robin in a very bitter mood as the raven-haired male looked away and began to pout a little. “Are you kidding? Bats won’t even let him tell anyone his real name!”

Finally looking back at his best friend, Wally noticed that the youngest of the group was looking particularly uncomfortable. A slight blush was dusted on his cheeks, and his shoulders were slouched. The ginger also noticed the fact that Robin was avoiding looking at Lina at all costs. As if just looking at her, or as Wally knew-thinking too much about the story she had just told-would lead him to unravel. Wally sidestepped and reevaluated what he just said.

“I mean...you’ll probably get a better origin story out of Supey over there.” The ginger motioned to the shadowy figure across the fire from him.

“But you all already told me his story, didn’t you?” M’gann spoke. “You told me that the four of you rescued him from CADMUS.”

Wally nodded. “That we did.”

“Yes, chronologically Superboy is only 16 weeks old,” Kaldur explained

“And you don’t have any memories of what happened before you were rescued?” The Martian girl asked Superboy.

If Superboy was at all anxious from having the attention suddenly tossed onto him, he didn’t bother to show it. “I have some memories...from the g-gnome…it would teach me about the world outside while I was in the containment pod.”

This made M’gann smile but then frown slightly. “So you can remember things? When you were in the containment pod they would feed you information and you could remember it, right?”

“I guess so.” Superboy shrugged indifferently.

“Well if you can remember what they taught you, you must have been thinking about things as they fed you information,” M’gann said, her voice almost analytical in a sense. “What did you think about?”

“When I was in the containment pod, I was fed information. But I really didn’t start thinking for myself until I got out.”

“Well what kinds of things do you think about now?”

The group seemed unsure of why the sudden interrogation had sprung up surrounding Superboy’s thoughts, but when the clone hesitated in his answer the attentions of all the experienced proteges seemed to be piqued. And when the boy looked back at everyone with a gaze that was equal parts cold and empty, several warning signs began to go off in their heads. The only exception to this was Robin, who Wally noticed hadn’t reacted at all.

“The one thing that’s always on my mind...destroying Superman.”

Almost in unison, a chill crept up every single hero’s spines. Upon seeing the shocked expressions on their faces, Superboy stood from his chair and turned away from the group.

“Are you serious Superboy?” M’gann asked.

Superboy paused. “...it’s how I feel...sometimes. What if that’s why I was created? What if that’s the only reason I was created?”

“That’s not possible.” M’gann shook her head.

“Yeah! Look at all the good stuff you’ve done so far!” Wally exclaimed.

“What would be the possible reasoning behind this thinking?” Kaldur inquired.

Superboy sighed, and his fists tensed by his sides. “I just feel...I don’t know what I feel. Sometimes thoughts happen.”

“Those would be silly thoughts!” M’gann chipped. “You should put them out of your head.”

“He does have a valid point.” Robin pointed out, but the tone of his voice made it evident he did not want to be the realistic one in this scenario. “We really don’t know anything about what they did to him yet…”

Reaching up, Lina touched Wally’s arm and the two looked to one another for a moment, then nodded.

“We know he’s one of the good guys, and we know he’s part of the team,” Wally argued, standing up.

“We know he fought side-by-side with us to get out of Cadmus, and helped to free us from being cloned ourselves,” Lina added on, standing up herself and floating over to the clone. She was joined by Wally, spare s’more in his hand.

“In this world, actions speak louder than words,” Kaldur spoke. “Superboy has proven his intentions with his actions.”

“Hero, villain. Human, or otherwise. Each and every living being has a balance of good and evil in them. That includes all of us here today, whether we choose to recognize that or not.” Lina nodded and placed a caring hand on Superboy’s shoulder. “What matters is what part of that balance we choose to act on. You’ve proven several times that you act on the good.”

“Exactly!” Wally exclaimed, and shoved the s’more into Superboy’s hands. “So put those thoughts outta your head Supey! And while you’re at it, have another s’more.”

Superboy looked down at the s’more, his expression shrouded in shadow. “Thank you...all of you.”

As Wally and Lina sat back down, the former nudged Robin with his foot. “Dude, what’s wrong? Not like you to zone out mid-monologue.” Wally whispered.

“I guess Superboy isn’t the only one lost in thought tonight…” Robin whispered back, ever so mysteriously.

An awkward silence spilled over the teens. The only sound surrounding them being the cracking of the fire and the odd rustle in the bushes. Nearly everyone shifted uncomfortably in their seats, not wanting to continue in the awkwardness but not wanting to be the first to speak after such a dramatic moment. But never being one to like silence of any sort, especially amongst friends, Wally’s eyes latched onto the only person who had not given their own personal origin story.

“Hey! Miss M! What about you? What’s your dealio?”

“Oh...uh, I guess since you all told your stories…” M’gann cleared her throat, which had suddenly gotten very dry. “I guess, well, I’m from Mars…”

She slapped her head, “Hello Megan, you all already knew that!”

“All Martians live in underground tunnels because the surface is inhabitable. Our family lives are very intertwined because, as you already know, we mostly communicate telepathically. This helps the large families of Mars keep a sense of community and stay closer."

"Large families?" Wally asked, looking intrigued. "How many are in in your family?"

"Martian families are quite large. I myself have twelve sister and seventeen brothers. In my extended family I have over three hundred counsins." M'gann explained. Everyone's eyes widened at this, especially Wally's.

"Three hundred?" The speedster asked.

"Yes."

"Are they all girls like you?"

"Dude!" Robin exclaimed. "You are a class act!"

"Dude!" Wally called back. "Three hundred girls that look like her? Now that's a planet I want to visit!"

Lina nudged Wally with her foot. "Bordering on creepy again, KF."

"Well, half of my cousins are male, but yes. Most Martians look similar...mostly Green like my Uncle J'onn and myself. But there are other...differences. There are also Martians who are red and white...but some on my planet do not see the whites as equal."

"Well, that's a little ironic, compared to Earth…" Lina thought.

"My parents are both green, and I was raised in what would be called a 'liberal' type of environment. My family, I, have no issue with white Martians. Others...are not as tolerant."

"What made you come to Earth?" Kaldur asked, and Lina could notice a little bit of discomfort in his voice.

"Of all the brothers, sisters, parents, aunts, uncles; the family member I was closest to was Uncle J'onn. We had a great relationship." M'gann went on to explain. "We would watch exploits on Earth with the rest of the Justice League. He grew to be a true beacon of hope and stood for what our society could achieve. He became the most famous Martian in our history! And upon his return to Mars, it was considered a planetwide celebration! But his return was not for adoration...he had a more specific purpose in mind."

"Upon learning about all of you-Robin, Aqualad, Zephyr, Kid Flash, and Speedy-J'onn decided now was the time to introduce a younger Martian hero to Earth."

"J'onn J'onzz came back to Mars and declared he would hold a competition to find the next Martian champion that would be returning with him to fly amongst the heroes of Earth. I decided I would enter the competition, as it seemed so did half the population of Mars. I however, was coming to Earth. The competition was fierce and dangerous. It was exciting, and consumed the lives of every single Martian on the planet."

"At first, Uncle J'onn seemed as if he didn't want me to compete. I thought maybe it was because he didn't want me coming to Earth. I had seen some of his adventures, they were life-threateningly dangerous. But I was not going to let that stop me, I was determined to win! From everything I had seen and heard of Earth from that point...I had loved it. I wanted to come see it for myself, I would not be bested. I won the whole competition."

"My heart soared! I was coming to Earth! This was the most exciting point of my life, and now I am here with all of you! I am a part of the Team! I truly love it."

"We are happy you're here with us as well M'gann." Kaldur smiled.

"You could say that again," Wally added.

"And I hope we continue to live up to the...what's that word…'hype'." Lina reached over to pat Megan's leg.

Pulling the conversation away, Robin stood and stretched. "Well...I don't know about you guys, but I think I've had one s'more too many. I'm going to hit the old sleeping bag."

"Yes!" M'gann cheered. "This has been such an amazing evening, but I am so excited to sleep in a tent!"

"I'm right behind you." Wally piped up, only to be pulled back by Robin.

"Yeah, only you're sleeping in this tent right over here," Robin spoke, motioning to the tent that the two boys had agreed beforehand to share.

As everyone began to stand, M'gann turned to face Lina. "Are you turning in as well?"

"I believe so, I'll be in in a minute." The human girl nodded, stretching her neck to crack the bones. The girl with green skin nodded happily and zoomed over to the tent belonging to the two of them.

"Hey, next time you think we should go camping for real? Like in an actual camping ground instead of in our own backyard?" Wally asked.

"You don't strike me as the outdoorsy type...maybe next time we'll try down the hill a bit." Robin shrugged indifferently.

"You're certain your family is fine with you staying the night here again?" Kaldur asked the small French girl standing beside him, who nodded in response.

"Believe me, they are more than fine with it. Last I spoke with them my older brother said, and I translate, "it's good to have your sorry butt out of the house for once”.” Lina laughed a little. “What about you? I hope this isn’t stopping you from visiting Atlantis.”

Kaldur shrugged. “Atlantis will survive without me for a few more days. For now, my place is with the team-my friends.”

Lina smiled at this, and gently bumped her shoulder with his. “I’m glad to hear it! But for now, I think your place is getting some sleep.” Kaldur’s lazy smile turned into a chuckle.

“The same to you.”

“In that case,” The air-manipulator grinned and took a curtsy to both the Atlantean and the clone, who had been silently watching them with an empty expression, “I wish you adieu et bonne nuit.”

Kaldur watched Lina turn and leave, a small smile itching at the corners of his mouth, but Superboy just turned to face the flames once again. After a moment, the Atlantean focused back on the Kryptonian.

“That was a fun evening indeed, but I think I will be turning in as well...unless you would like some company, Superboy?”

“No, that’s okay.” The younger boy barely made a physical notion of whether he had heard Kaldur or not, “I’ll turn in soon. I just want to sit here with the fire a bit longer.”

Kaldur nodded but didn’t question the response. “Well, if you need anything; you know we are all here for you.”

And with that, Kaldur left to enter his own tent. But Superboy continued to stand, his eyes on the dancing flames but his gaze seeming to go straight through them. As if even though his body was standing there, in the makeshift camp site, but his mind and thoughts were...elsewhere.

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cauldronoflove · 7 years

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Ok so this is really obscure, but I've had this idea for a while now, and I'd love to see you work with it? Headcanons for a time travel AU in which Peter Parker is messing with Stark Tech and gets sent back to the 1940s? He could work with Peggy Carter in the SSR to solve the case and pretend to be her little brother. Plus in 2017 Tony and Steve working together to get him back. If you think it's weird or want to skip it no worries! If not, then thank you so much, I love your headcanons!!

i love this concept so much you dont even know?? but also okay i realized abt halfway through these 2.5k+ words that this wasnt exactly what you asked for and i feel kinda bad about that but i hope you still like it all the same!! also i wanna say thank you for thinking of me for this prompt im super flattered????

- peter wasnt technically supposed to be in the 4th basement of stark tower

- technically he was on his lunch break and was supposed to be using said time to both eat and work on his spanish homework

- but he'd heard these whispers from a couple of the older interns about some of the old stuff that mr. stark had thrown down there because he never had time to finish them and peter had an idea

- see, he's been wanting to move up a bit, have mr. stark trust him a little more, and what's better then maybe taking one of his old designs and making it better and making it work

- so thats why he's in the fourth basement of stark tower, trying to remember if he's had his tetanus shot because some of this stuff is seriously Old

- and then he stumbles onto this little pyramid shaped....doohickey

- its the only thing in 4 floors of Things that doesnt have a label or a file or a crude drawing taped to the front of it so now peter is Officially Curious

- he kinda fiddles with it for a few minutes until his phone beeps with his 'hey pete youre gonna be super late getting back to work again' alarm and he about drops this thing on the floor because like everyday the alarm scares him to death

- but because hes clumsy and because hes pete he actually does drop it and everything goes black

- but everything's fine because he wakes right back up and he's pretty sure that he electrocuted himself but thats happened dozens of times so he picks himself up and brushes himself off and realizes that he may have been out longer than he thought because theres fewer boxes in the room than before and geez his head hurts

- "are you quite alright?"

- oh god he mustve hit his head harder than he thought because that looks like

- "m-miss carter, no sorry, ma'am? oh, oh god i'm so sorry that was so rude, agent? agent ma'am?"

- "this is howard's fault isnt it"

- "howard? as in....oh god oh god"

- "do you know where you are?"

- peter parker loved a lot of things and one of those things was museums and one of those museums in particular had an exhibit on a certain mr. rogers and adjacent to that exhibit was a small plaque about the woman standing in front of him and oh god he was going to hyperventilate and throw up in front of a literal legend and hero at the same time

- "remind me to kill him later. right now lets get you something warm to drink, yes? maybe some new clothes, youre looking a little singed"

- flash forward half an hour and he's sitting in front of the agent carter sipping at some terribly bitter coffee while she pursed and unpursed her lips a few times

- (annnnd time skip back to present day)

- friday: mr stark theres a woman downstairs beating on the door asking for youtony, 47 names going through his head: ...go on

- enter may parker, in her pjs, fire in her eyes, carrying on the legacy of brunette women ready to end a stark's life

- "it is ten o'clock on a school night, i've talked to ned, i've talked to mj and liz, i've talked to every corner sub shop owner, i even had a nice long chat with pepper, yet no one could tell me anything so you better have answers as to where my nephew is anthony"

- and in that moment, tony stark's life flashed before his eyes

- "hey, friday, where is the kid?"

- "peter's vitals havent been detected since 1:32pm on floor D"

- tony: fu-

- (back to pete and peggy)

- so he's quickly caught her up on the gist of whats going on (aka he told her he's from 2017 ny and hed really just like to go home) and she's taking it surprisingly well, all nodding and hmm-ing and cursing howard stark under her breath, kinda how may is when tony does like.. anything

- but now shes leading him through their super secret base and he's trying not to stare because, has he mentioned, hes literally standing next to peggy carter

- "right, well, here's your cot. if you need anything, dugan can help you. he's that one, there, with the cigar. you get some rest and i'll find howard and see if we cant get your...issue squared away. oh, and whatever you do, dont accept anything dernier tries to give you, you've already blown up once today, i dont think you can afford another"

- present day

- tony's been working through the night, a marginally-more-than-slightly disgruntled may beside him, and an even-more-than-marginally-more-than-slightly peeved happy beside her

- ("how do you lose a teenage boy, tony" happy moans to his phone when he wakes up and sees all the missed calls and texts he has)

- good news: it only took like 2 1/2 hours and three shots of espresson for tony to figure out what happened to peter

- bad news: it wasnt even a Tony Stark Exclusive Design, it was a Howard Stark One-Time Use That Was Actually A Malfunction Design, he'd had several more coffees that werent even close to being strong enough, and he had a growing black eye from the punch may landed before happy could pull her away and calm her down (maybe that last part should be in the good news column)

- "so he's just stuck in the 40s alone, then" may surmises, rubbing at the tension headache in her temples

- tony doesnt respond because at this point he needs his other eye for miracle working and depth perception

- "well, probably not alone," happy begins. "i catalogued everything in that level, and that stuff came from one of howard's london facilities, so it was probably calibrated for that time, so he's probably with-"

- tony: "hap, please dont finish that sentence"

- may: "1940s london. so he's with steve, then, safe. with captain america. okay, i can handle that."

- tony: "no, ah, a little later than capsicle, probably"

- may: "so not safe with captain america"

- happy: "safe with agent carter, more likely"

- pete and peggy

- good news: pete made it through the night without being blown up by the howling commandoes

- bad news: once howard was finally located and sobered up, he explained that he hadnt built that particular device yet, so peter was kinda stuck

- peter wasnt coping well

- "i have a spanish test tomorrow! and a trig test on friday! and i'm supposed to hang out with ned on saturday, and then may's gonna kill me when i dont show up for sunday dinner, and shes gonna kill me in general because i never checked in because holy shit i never checked in!"

- howard: peggy he's crying what do i do

- peggy: do i have to do everything myself

- she advances on peter and takes his chin in her hand, locking eyes with him: peter, you know who i am, dont you?

- he nods as best as he can

- "then you must know that i'm going to do everything in my power and then some to get you back home, dont you?"

- "yes ma'am"

- "good. go take a walk while i talk to howard, and if anyone asks, youre my american brother in for a short visit." and then she pats him on the cheek and his soul kinda ascends then and there because agent carter just patted him on the cheek AND gave him permission to tell people he's her brother

- so he goes to take his walk but the thing is when he gets anxious, he likes to fiddle with the loose legos he keeps under his bed, building and rebuilding tiny structures to help ease his nerves

- needless to say, he's an Absolute Nervous Wreck while he waits for some kind of something from peggy or howard and there arent any legos to keep him busy

- so he kind of takes that walk right on down to the lab and starts poking around because even if he is a certified nervous wreck he's also thr most inquisitive little shit that ever did walk the earth

- peggy finds him two hours later with a pair of loose fitting goggles on his forehead, his sweater sleeves pushed up to his elbows, and some . substance on his hands

- "please dont tell me youre somehow howard's long lost son too," she says, taking his appearance in

- he shakes his head as the beakers in front of him emit a puff of green smoke directly into his already scrunched up face "no ma'am; it's just that mr. stark kinda has me on desk duty and never lets me get my hands dirty so i like to take every oppurtunity i can get"

- she nods, "good, because howard needs you to describe what you remember of the device, and then you and i are going to begin the slog through the logistics of it all"

- "ooooookay"

- which is how peter parker ends up sitting across from peggy carter, the both of them scribbling extremely advanced mathematics onto yellowing sheets of paper as howard stark tinkered with some spare parts he had lying around as he tried to construct a crude rendering of the device

- peggy mostly doesnt talk, actually, she hasnt spoken since explaining that shed picked her math skills up on an assignment shed once had where she learned she actually loved numbers and then howard had been letting her do calculations for him in her free time

- peter was too impressed to respond bc from what he gathered she'd only been on that mission for six months and she didnt have much free time which meant she'd had to pick it all up FAST

- anyway, they got at that for hours, until peter cant keep his eyes open and even howard is dwindling; peggy waves them both off to bed but stays and keeps scribbling away

- they repeat that routine for 3 days

- on the 5th night, after she waves them off, peter goes to his cot and he tosses and turns for hours, listening to the commandoes play poker and crack jokes, but he cant sleep

- finally he gets up and just starts walking, anywhere his feet take him

- coincidentally, his feet take him past what he quickly realizes is peggy's room

- "peter why are you still up? is everything all right?" she asks, pulling off these big hulking glasses that made him incredibly homesick because she reminds him so much of may in that moment, big glasses on, hunched over a book in her lap, hair pulled back out of her face

- and he apologizes, but she Knows something's terribly wrong, so she gets up and ushers him away from her doorway, and leads him down a hall or two and then theyre standing in an open space, and she's looking at him like shes trying to solve one of her equations

- "do you know how to throw a punch, peter"

- " whatever youre thinking i dont think its a good idea we dont have any gear and i dont want to get hurt-"

- she shakes her head and asks again, and he finally answers with a kinda

- "'kinda' will get you hurt; watch me" and she begins to demonstrate a few slow punches and he follows her movements and tries to copy them but hes a little sloppy but its ok because she corrects him and finally theyre just standing beside one another counting out punches when she asks "whats on your mind"

- and he doesnt even hesitate he just lets loose everything, how much he misses may and how terrible he feels that he cant get in touch with her, how much he misses ned and mj and liz, how much he misses his fire escape and the deli on the corner and the buildings and then he's crying again, but she gracefully doesnt point it out

- once he's done spitting out everything thats bothering him she gets this kind of sad smile and says, "you remind me of a man i knew. he cared so much about his friends, sometimes to the point of not even worrying about himself, whuch meant he was always in some sort of trouble, as you can imagine. but he always found his way out of a problem, even if he was the one who created it." she laughs slightly then. "i guess what i'm getting at is even if i cant get you back home, even if howard cant, i believe that youll figure it out."

- "are you comparing me to captain anerica right now because i'm already crying and i dont think i can take much more" he says through sniffles, his arms slack by his sides now

- she smiles and nods, keeping her stance, and peter feels an overwhelming sense of gratitude for this amazing woman who immediately helped him without much of a pause and who's made sure he was okay for the past 5 days and who's up at god knows what time showing him how to throw a punch and being his borderline therapist and he just wants to give her something in return

- "im not sure if im supposed to do this, because for all i know it could tear a hole in the fabric of time and space but i really want to show you this," he begins, pulling his wallet put of his pocket.

- he flicks the little photo holders out and theres may, and theres ned and mj and liz, and theres that cat he found that one time, and theres him and tony, and there, at the bottom, is the time he officially met steve after the whole fight thing and all

- "this was taken a couple months ago; well, a couple months for me, it's decades from now, but here," and he holds out his wallet for her to see and she looks over the photo curiously before she understands and a tear slips down her cheek and she smiles the most grand smile

- "thank you, peter" and she passes the wallet back and puts her hand on his shoulder and says "i promise i'll have you home in time for sunday dinner"

- and she does

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