#you could even tell a story where Danny runs away to another universe to prevent himself from becoming Dan

[iammyowncryptid]

Most dpxdc fics say that in the alternate timeline where Danny becomes Dan, Dan is ridiculously overpowered killed the entire JL. The problem is that idea only works if you ignore Batman entirely. Batman has a contingency plan for everyone. You could say that Dan caught him off gaurd, but tbh that’s kinda boring.

The only universes where someone managed to kill Batman, he was either killed by another Batman or by one of his children. Other Batman’s managed to kill him bc it’s a Batman v Batman battle and they’re evenly matched. For the other universes? Batman wasn’t fighting back all the ways he could.

Because here’s the thing about Batman: he has contingency plans upon contingency plans for Superman, for his rogues, for the entire JL. Superman goes evil in about 50% of the universes he’s in, and even with his friends he isn’t willing to let sentiment get in the way of saving the world from a potential threat.

But for his family? Batman doesn’t make contingency plans for his family. Even when he arguably should, even in universes where it leads to his death, Batman never makes a single contingency plan for any of his children.

What I’m saying is this, the only universe where Dan could successfully kill Batman is a universe where Dan is Bruce’s son.

And that, my friends, is a far more interesting story to tell.

[ikleesfiction]

Miss Americana

Fandom : Crossover Hawaii Five-0 x Chicago PD TV Word count : 5,610 words Pairing : Steve McGarrett x Danny Williams; Jay Halstead x reader

Summary :  You met Williams-McGarrett family in Los Angeles and they introduced you to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Your boyfriend, Jay Halstead, doesn't know anything about this. Yet.

Author's note :

This is the fourth one shot of "Will you follow through if I fall for you" fic continuation. It would be better if you read it first. But if you don't, here's the quick summary.

This happened after I listened to a few podcasts (1  🞂  2  🞂 3) of Scott Caan and Alex O'Loughlin, passionately talking about Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. 

This fic does not comply to the canon of Hawaii Five-0 or Chicago PD. So if you don't follow one of the other, it should not be a hindrance, I think. Here's hoping that I'm right.

Disclaimer

◢◤

"Would you like another cup of coffee?

You look up from the book in your hand to the waiter addressing you.

"Oh, I would love to. But it's already my fourth cup of the day," You grimace at him. "Maybe I'll take a bottle of water, please? Cold, if you have one."

The waiter grins at you, "Sure thing," then leave with your empty cup of coffee.

You are supposed to meet your friend, Tim, at his house on The Bird Streets to work on a song. However, he got a sudden appointment and asked you to wait for his call to reschedule. So here you are, sitting at a Cafe/Bistro somewhere in Los Angeles, drinking too much coffee.

You check your watch and your phone. It's almost lunchtime, but your phone is still showing nothing. Alright then, you thought to yourself, back to the book. Your eyes immediately find the last paragraph you read on Astrophysics for People in a Hurry.

Five pages later, the waiter puts a bottle of water on your table, "Here it is. You sure you don't want another cup of coffee?" He jokes with you.

You laugh in response, "No, really, thank you."

The waiter leaves with a smile and turns to the table across from yours. That's when you notice somebody's sitting there.

"Good afternoon. Only for two?" The waiter lays two menu cards on the table.

"Four. My husband and daughter are parking the car." The man answers him with a smile. He has a little boy sitting next to him. His son, you guess, since both of them have blond hair. Their noses look similar too.

"Danno, can I have ice cream for lunch?" The boy begs his father, pointing at one of the delightful pictures on the card.

"Hmm, maybe." The father hums his reply. He exchanges a knowing glance with the waiter.

"Do you want anything to drink while you're waiting?"

"Soda!" The boy yells from his chair, who laughs at his father's glare.

"How about two glasses of orange juice?" The father checks to his son before confirming it with the waitress.

"Okay, be right back with your drinks."

After the waiter leaves, the boy begins to prattle about everything to his father. About giraffes at the zoo ("They are so tall like Dad!"), about his favorite ice cream flavors ("Cookie Dough. But I like Kame's shave ice better, Danno"), about swimming at Venice Beach ("There's a lot of people there, Danno. I like our beach more")

The boy doesn't even look like he needs to breathe. You can't help but let out a chuckle. His father looks up at you and shares a grin. "That's great, Charlie," He comments to his son.

You let their conversation become a white noise while you read your book.

At your periphery, you see someone passes by. However, you don't expect a hand to suddenly sneak your phone from the table. Your hand instantly grabs that wrist, trying to stop it from stealing your phone. But the thief forcefully pulls his hand out of your reach and moves away.

Unfortunately for the thief, he runs straight to the father at your neighboring table. The man has no problem flipping the thief over and pushes him to their table. When the thief squirms away from his clutch, the man lifts the thief's elbow high up and turns it behind his back in a very painful lock. The unpleasant sound coming out of the thief's mouth proves how excruciating it is.

The man's eyes wander. Many shocked faces are staring at him, including yours. "It's okay, I'm a cop," He explains.

In contrast to the crowd, the boy looks at his father in awe, gleefully clapping his hands.

"Charlie, why are you clapping? You're not supposed to clap at this. Oh my god, you are just like your father! Happy to see any aggression," The man rants as he takes out a cable tie from his trousers' pocket. You don't even know why he got cable ties in his pocket. He efficiently ties the perp's hands behind his back and forces him to sit.

Only then, the man addresses the crowd again, "Has anyone called 9-1-1?"

"I did. The police are on the way," One of the cafe's staff squeaks from the door, with a phone still in her hand.

"Excellent! Did you hear that? Your ride would be here soon," The man tightly squeezes the thief's shoulders. The thief could only reply with an agonized grunt.

Everybody else resumes their activities with a sporadic look to their table.

The boy picks up the stolen phone from the floor. It fell near his foot during the short scuffle. "Danno," He hands your phone over to his father.

"Ah, thanks, Charlie," The man ruffles the kid's hair and kisses the top of his head.

"I believe this is yours?" The man returns the phone to you. "Hope it's still working?" He cringes at the spiderweb marks on the phone screen.

"Thanks. Probably not. But it's alright." You smile at the man and offer to shake his hand, "Y/N Y/LN, thanks again for helping me,"

The man takes your hand, "Hey, no big deal. Danny Williams. And this is my son, Charlie," Danny brings Charlie in front of him. You extend your hand to Charlie as well.

All of a sudden, you hear voices yelling from behind you. "Danno! Charlie!"

You look back to see a tall, dark, imposing man and a beautiful teenage girl rushing in your direction. Charlie shouts back at them, "Daddy! Gracie!"

So you guess they must be Danny's husband and daughter.

This new man drops down to Charlie's level and checks on him, trying to see if he's injured. "Are you okay? Charlie?"

"Dad! Dad! Danno was soooo cool! He pushing and then flipping and then that man went aaargh!" Charlie re-tells the scene to his father, holding his elbow behind his back to show him.

Couldn't really understand his son's story, the man asks his husband to elaborate, "Danny, what's happening here? Why are you arresting this man?"

"I'm not arresting anybody, Steve. We don't have jurisdiction to make an arrest, you know? Since we are in LA, not Hawaii? I'm just holding this man until LAPD shows up," Danny clarifies to his husband, Steve.

"But why?" Steve is still confused.

"This guy here, what's your name?" Danny barks at the thief. But his mouth stays glued. "Really? Would you prefer my ex-SEAL here asking you the question?" Danny gestures in Steve's direction.

Steve stands tall. His hands are folded in front of his chest. His biceps bulge in his tight t-shirt. The thief's face turns green, looking fearful. Steve's scowl was probably not helping either.

"Danny?? What's going on here?" Steve begins to lose his patience.

"What?? It's no big deal, babe!" Danny yells back at Steve. "This guy here tried to nick this woman's phone. I'm just helping her," Danny motions in your direction.

"Y/N, here's my husband, Steve McGarrett, and our daughter, Grace," Danny continues to introduce you to his family. You shake their hands and exchanging simple pleasantries.

"As I said, I just helped Y/N to get her phone back. Now we are waiting for LAPD," Danny ends his explanation.

Shortly a police car comes, and two officers quickly take their statements. Initially, the police officers are bemused to find the thief already sat with his hands tied behind his back. After Danny explains that he is a Detective from Honolulu PD and how he prevented the attempted theft, the police officers understand the situation. They ask if you'd like to press charges on Tom Norris, that's the thief's name according to his ID. Considering you're not hurt, you decline on pressing charges. The police are gone with the thief sooner than you expected.

"Can I treat you lunch for your trouble? Shoot! A super late lunch?" You corrected after checking your watch.

"Hey, don't worry, it's no trouble at all," Danny says to you with a big smile.

"No, no, seriously. You guys were on holiday, I guess. But still bothered to help me. Lunch is the least I can do."

Before long, they arrange to get a table for five and talk a lot during the meal.

◢◤

"So you guys are from Hawaii? That's nice!" You tell the family.

"See, Danno? That's what you're supposed to say about Hawaii. You're the only one who describes Hawaii as a pineapple-infested hell hole," laments Steve to his husband.

"I'm just telling the truth, babe. How about you, Y/N? Where are you from?" Danny tries to find out.

"Originally from The Netherlands, Amsterdam. But I moved to Chicago last year," You reply.

"Now that, Steve, is a city that would appreciate seasonal changes," Danny nods his approval of Chicago.

"Only you, Danno, who whines about constant sunshine." Steve grumbles.

Grace and Charlie don't react much to their parents' bickering. Too used to their silliness. But you still find it quite funny.

"So you guys are here for vacation?" You ask the family.

"Kind of. We are on holiday. Also, we are visiting the colleges here for Grace, who will graduate high school next year," Steve throws his right arm around Grace's shoulder.

"Yes, we are on an excursion to prove to Grace that LA universities are not better than the University of Hawaii," Danny quips from Steve's left.

Grace whines at his father, "Danno..."

"Danny here doesn't want his children to be far away from him," Steve enlightens you. "But I think going to school in LA would be better than The Netherlands. Wouldn't it, babe?" Steve winks at Grace.

"Do not joke about that, Steven!" Danny elbows his husband hard.

Grace looks thoughtful for a moment, "Y/N, did you go to college in the Netherlands? What do you think my chance to study there?"

"Gracie, can I come with you to This Otherlands?" Charlie innocently chirps to his sister.

Steve is laughing so loud, even after Danny punches his arm.

"What about you, Y/N? What are you doing in LA? Are you on vacation too?" Danny questions you after the laughter receded.

"I'm here for work. Most of the time, I'd do it remotely from Chicago. But sometimes I have to make the trip here or to Amsterdam," You tell them.

"What do you do?"

"I'm a music producer," You give a simple answer.

"What instruments do you play?" Steve is curious. "Guitar?"

"Mostly piano and synthesizer. I do play guitar, but I'm just an okay guitar player. I wish I could play better,"

"Dad plays guitar too!" Charlie happily declares as he points at Steve.

You cheer at Charlie's enthusiasm, "Does he? That's great!"

"Yeah, he plays very well. Maybe Dad can teach you to play better," Charlie directs you.

"Oh, yes, that would be awesome," You wholeheartedly agree with Charlie, as the rest of the table laughing at the idea of Steve teaches music.

◢◤

"Danny, I was wondering if you could explain something to me," You turn to the man.

"Shoot," Danny nods as he puts down his juice glass.

"The arm lock that you did to the thief. Where did you learn that? Did Steve teach you that?" You ask him, genuinely want to know.

"Well, even though Steve here was the Navy SEAL," Danny glares at his husband, who replies with a smirk, "I have been working as a cop for more than 20 years now. I know some moves too,"

"But that's not a cop's move," You contradict him.

"How do you know any cop's moves?" Danny confronts you back.

"My boyfriend is a cop in Chicago," You give Danny a sheepish smile.

"Ah, I see. Did your boyfriend teach you self-defense?"

"He did. I'm nowhere near good as Jay. But it's a start," You answer Danny.

"Of course. If he's not good at it, then he's not a good cop," Danny comments without sounding too arrogant.

"Jay also taught me about guns. Personally, I don't like it, but he needs me to know about it, especially gun safety. So..." You shrug.

Danny nods his understanding, "Yeah. Be glad that he doesn't bring home grenades or other explosives," Danny gives Steve a stink eye. "Unlike some Super!SEAL here,"

Steve is immune to that look. It doesn't seem to affect him anymore.

You smile at their interaction, "Jay was an Army Ranger. After he came back, he went to Police Academy,"

"Really?" Steve looks interested.

"Oh, here we go," Danny sighs at his husband.

Steve grins but decides not to comment on it any further. He goes praising Danny instead.

"But Danny is being too modest here. He is a great fighter. Sometimes he's even better than me. Which lots of people find it surprising, considering I was a SEAL,"

"and don't you forget it, babe," Danny smirks at Steve, who returns it with a chaste kiss.

You sigh internally. Looking at the lovely couple made you miss your boyfriend, Jay.

"In all seriousness," Danny begins, "I practiced Jiu-Jitsu since high school. That's where the moves come from," He pauses to sip on his drink.

"I got my Blue Belt when I entered The Police Academy. For me, I think, I learned how to fight better in Jiu-Jitsu than what they taught us there," Danny continues.

"Do you also teach it to Grace and Charlie?" You ask the parents.

"Yeah. Danny taught them both as early as possible. Grace already got her Yellow Belt when we first met. Now she is working for her Purple Belt," Steve brags. Danny also looks so proud. Grace, though, tries so hard not to roll her eyes at her parents.

"Me too! I will get my Yellow Belt soon! Right, Danno?" Charlie exclaims.

"Of course you are kiddo. After that, you surely can beat your Dad here," Danny ruffles Charlie's hair. Steve offers his palm for a high five, but Charlie punches it instead. He giggles when Steve is faking to be hurt by Charlie's tiny fist.

"Do you think I could learn it too?" You inquire to Danny.

Danny and Steve look at each other. You're waiting for their answer, hoping that they will agree.

Before they decide anything, Grace interrupts, "We can go check out the place that Sensei Egan told us, Danno."

"Yeah, that's a great idea," Steve agrees to his daughter's suggestion. "We can check that dojo for Grace, meeting the instructor. Maybe could show some moves too for y/n,"

"Okay then. Grace, share the dojo address with y/n. We can meet you there tomorrow morning, what do you say, y/n?" Danny asks you.

You're supposed to fly back to Chicago next afternoon, but what the hell, you are very interested in this offer. "Yes, sure. If you don't mind me crashing your holiday plan again?"

"No, not at all. We need to check out that place anyway." Steve waves off your worry.

Grace passes her phone to you. "You can puy your number there. I will forward you the address,"

You tap your number to Grace's phone before groaning when you remember that your phone is dead. "Could you e-mail me instead? I don't think I could replace my phone soon,"

Danny doesn't even try to hold his laugh at your poor luck.

◢◤

The next day, you take an Uber to the gym. No, it's The Dojo. You correct yourself. When you step in, Charlie is shouting at you from across the room. "Y/N!" Standing next to his sister, Charlie crazily waves at you, worried that you could not see him.

You remove your shoes, placed them accordingly at the remarked spot. Walking towards Charlie and Grace, you see the Williams-McGarrett clan wear similar outfits with other people in The Dojo. The only differences between them are their belts. Danny wears a Black Belt with a red stripe, while Steve wears a Brown Belt. Grace has Blue Belt, and Charlie has a White one. Knowing that you will do some workout, you wear a black t-shirt and training pants. Definitely a contrast in a room full of jiu-jitsu outfits.

Danny and Steve are talking to a guy on the other side of the room. This guy has a Black Belt with more stripes than Danny's, indicating that he is the instructor here.

"Hey, guys. Good morning," You greet Grace and Charlie. They reply with a big smile.

"Just out of interest, do you guys always bring your uniform on your holiday?" You gesture to Grace's clothes.

Grace laughs at your question, "It is called Gi. Yes, we are always bringing them along on holiday," She laughs again at your shocked face. "No, I'm joking. It's because we know we will visit this dojo, so we have our Gi with us,"

Soon Danny and Steve come over to your side. "Hi, y/n. So I talked to Sensei Marcus there," Danny gestures to the guy he spoke to. "We are going to follow their training for today. You can watch from the side if you're not sure you want to do it. The first hour would be the class for Kids and Teens,"

You see Grace and Charlie lining up in the center of the room with other children. They seem to be divided by belts instead of age.

"The next hour would be the adult class," Danny pauses for a moment. "If you want my suggestion, I encourage you to join the Teens class. I hope you don't feel insulted by that."

You chuckle at his words, "Not at all. I understand,"

"If it's too much, don't hesitate to stop and move aside. Everyone will understand," Steve adds.

You exhale softly, readying yourself, "Okay," before joining the line.

The first fifteen minutes, they start with stretching. So far, you have no problems with it. You practice Yoga for the last few years. You know how to stretch.

The next one, they teach you how to fall correctly. Which turns out to be a hard thing to do. At first, an instructor's assistant helps you. After a few moments, she moves away to help others. But you're still not doing it right. So Danny pulls you aside and teaches you privately for the rest of the hour.

You fall so many times until it tired you out. You cannot even get up from the mat. Your shoulders would have been bruised with so many times you landed incorrectly.

"Still interested to learn this?" Danny grabs your hand to help you get up.

Even though the lesson exhausts you, you feel great. You learn a lot, even from doing the same thing over and over again. "Hell yeah!" You grin at Danny.

"Crazy woman!" Danny pats your shoulders. Right where it hurts the most. You can't help but flinch away.

"Hurt, wasn't it? Why don't you go sit down on the outside of the mat with Charlie?"

Charlie sits on one side of the mat, a bottle of water in his hand. He is watching Grace, who has her hands on Steve's Gi, trying to throw Steve down.

Danny silently pays attention to his husband and daughter on the mat. But you can see his hands slightly move as if he's the one sparring.

Shortly, Grace has a chance to push Steve. Steve lost his balance for a moment before countering her attack. Grace would've fallen down hard if Steve didn't hanging to Grace's Gi so tight to slow her fall.

"That's great, Grace," Steve says to his daughter as he helps her up. They bow to each other to end the spar. Danny is clapping from outside the mat, "Good job, Monkey,"

Of course, you and Charlie follow Danny's example to cheer for Grace.

You still sit on the side of the mat, now also accompanied by Grace. You watch the next class practice, where Danny and Steve spar with other students for about an hour.

After the class is done, Steve taps on Danny's shoulder, "Danny, could you help me with this move?" He nods in the direction of the mat.

Danny responds with rolling eyes at his husband's antics.

Grace runs commentary in the background, "Dad didn't actually need help from Danno. However, you're not allowed to ask a higher belt to spar with. It's a sign of disrespect. But Dad and Danno often work differently between each other,"

You see Danny and Steve taking place at a ready position. It takes time before anybody falls, or one locks each other. They move fluidly. When one throws the other, they quickly bring them down along then keep them in a lock. The locks are soon countered, and they back up again. The great thing is they look like they enjoy sparring with each other. They share a laugh whenever someone throws the other or someone holds the other in a lock. You find that very interesting.

The sparring ends when Danny makes a grappling move that Steve cannot counter, so he has to tap out.

After the sparring, Steve sits back with you and his kids while Danny goes over to Sensei Marcus. Steve asks your opinion about Jiu-Jitsu, whether you're still interested to learn it.

"Very much, yeah. The first thing I will do once I'm back in Chicago is to find a Dojo," You excitedly tell Steve.

"Well, lucky for you, Sensei Marcus here knows a lot of Jiu-Jitsu instructors," All of a sudden, Danny joins your conversation. Sensei Marcus stands beside him.

"Sure, if you want to keep learning Jiu-Jitsu, I will give you some references of my fellows in Chicago," Marcus informs you.

"That would be awesome!"

Marcus shakes your hand, "Good luck!" and moves to shake hands with the rest of the Williams-McGarrett family. "Thanks for visiting our dojo. Please come again whenever you're in LA,"

They all look tired, but their smiles beam as bright as Hawaiian sunshine.

◢◤

Two weeks later, in Chicago,

You see your boyfriend's truck parked in front of your house as you walk home from the bus stop. You walk much slower than you used to. Your body is hurting all over the place, but you feel elated.

The day after you came home from Los Angeles, Jay was caught in a hard case. He had to fly out to New York and liaised with NYPD SVU to solve it.

You missed him a lot, for sure. Jay called you whenever he could for these past two weeks. Texted you every day too. But you have not got the chance to tell Jay about your new interest in Jiu-Jitsu.

After your last trip to LA, you promptly checked out the Dojo that Sensei Marcus referred to you. You were thrilled to find out that it's only fifteen minutes bus ride from your house.

You met with one of the instructors there and asked for a private class. Because that's what Danny advised you to do. "After you have a better understanding of the lessons, then I want you to go train with other people at the dojo. But for the first five or six months, you might've been better with one-on-one lessons,"

The instructor, Professor Louisa, is delighted to provide. You work on a schedule three to four times a week. The professor initially suggested only two meets in a week. But considering your occasional trip abroad for work, you prefer to do more lessons when you're in town.

This is the third week you've been learning jiu-jitsu in Chicago. Scraps and bruises are inevitable. Jay would freak out if he saw them before you could explain to him.

Jay's flight back from New York landed about two hours ago. He must've been coming directly to your place from the O'Hare. The house smells amazing when you enter the room. Following your nose leads you to the kitchen. You find your boyfriend pulling out what seems to be garlic bread from the oven, "Hey, babe. You're back!"

"Hey, you! Perfect timing!" Jay secures the tray aside before stepping closer to you. He puts one hand on your waist, the other one on your back. Moving even closer to kiss you.

His passion makes you forget your bruises for a moment. When Jay pushes you playfully, your shoulder hits the nearest wall. You instantly cry out in pain. "Argh!"

"What's wrong?" Jay stops everything he's doing to you right away.

"Nothing, I just got some bruises," You rub the pain from your shoulder.

"How come?" Jay begins to take off your t-shirt to check on the bruises, but you move away from his grasp.

"Hold on. Let me take a shower. I must've been rank from sweat. Then I'll tell you everything," You kiss Jay one more time before going to the bedroom.

As you eat the pasta primavera that Jay made, you ask him about his case in New York, "How was it?"

"It's done. We did what we have to do,"

Not interested in talking about his case, Jay interrogates you instead, "So, where did you get the bruise? I swear, I only left the city for two weeks, and you're already in trouble," Jay shakes his head.

"I'm not! I just joined this gym. Dojo, I meant. I'm taking Jiu-Jitsu lessons!" You cheerfully tell Jay.

"You what?" Jay pauses from drinking his wine.

So you told Jay the whole story. About how someone tried to snatch your phone when you're in LA. How you met the Williams-McGarrett family from Hawaii. How they got you into jiu-jitsu.

"It's so fun, Jay. Yeah, sure, I got bruises and scraps. But whenever I got stuck with my work, I go have a practice at the dojo, and then I come home feeling energized," You confess to your boyfriend.

"Really?" Jay looks at you, disbelieving.

"Uhuh," You nod as you swallow your spaghetti. "You know what, you should come and see the dojo. It might interest you too,"

"I know about martial arts, babe. I taught you how to punch, remember?" Jay reminds you.

"Yes, you did," You say in giggles, "Professor Louisa said she won't teach me how to punch,"

"Of course, Jiu-jitsu has a different approach than other martial art, say karate. Or boxing," Jay puts down his fork on the empty plate. "You sure you enjoy it?"

You hold Jay's hand and look into his eyes, "I am. This is something I want to do seriously, Jay. I admit part of it comes from you and your job. Like you always said, I need to be able to defend myself. Because you think I could get drag into your case one day,"

Jay puts his other hand on top of yours, looking somehow regretful, "Babe..."

"No, no. But I also do this for myself. Even though my body hurts, I feel great about myself. I feel more confident. It's really inspiring,"

Jay brings your hand to his lips, "Okay then, as long as you're happy with it. But I'm still going to take you to the gun range,"

You roll your eyes in response, "Of course, you will,"

◢◤

A week later, Jay walks up to The Dojo on the second floor. Someone greets him at the entrance, "Hey, man. Can I help you?"

"I suppose to pick up my girlfriend. She is training with..." Jay tries to remember the instructor's name. "Louisa?"

"Ah, yes, Professor Louisa. You must be y/n's boyfriend. I'm Professor Andy, the head of this dojo," The man offers his hand.

"Jay Halstead," Jay shakes Andy's hand.

"I think she will finish in ten minutes. You wanna see her practice?"

"Sure. If it would not be disturbing?" Jay hesitates.

"Not at all. Y/n is the only one in there right now," Andy directs Jay inside the dojo. He asks Jay to remove his shoes before stepping into the room.

Jay watches his girlfriend silently. He winces a couple times when you fall down. But he is amazed to see you immediately stand up again.

"She's resilient, your woman is,"

Jay chuckles at Andy's remark, "Yes, she is,"

Shortly after you bow to your instructor, you see Jay standing on the side with Professor Andy.

You walk towards them with a smile, "I see you met my boyfriend, Prof,"

"I did, yeah," Andy nods. "I don't think Jay would be interested in jiu-jitsu, though," He comments.

"Correction, I'm not interested to see you got thrown down repeatedly," Jay points out.

"Hey!" You hit Jay's arms as both Professors laugh at you.

"But that's how we are supposed to learn. If you don't know how to fall, you won't get back up again," Louisa says serenely.

Andy hums his agreement before ushering you out. "Alright, get out of here, you lovebird,"

When you're in the locker room, changing your Gi, Jay approaches Andy again. But before Jay could say anything, Andy hands a leaflet to him.

"Y/N told me you're a police officer. You might be interested in these classes,"

Jay takes it with a laugh, "Thanks, man. I'll check it out," He puts the leaflet on his jacket pocket and pulls out his card.

"If anything happens when Y/N is here. Or if you need anything I can help with, please give me a call," Jay sounds solemn.

Andy takes the card, "Don't worry, man. We take good care of our students here,"

"I know," Jay nods.

Soon you come out with a gym bag on your shoulder. "See you next week, Prof!"

Andy waves to the couple, "Bye, y/n. See you again, Jay!"

◢◤

Two years later,

You step out of the record store in Pilsen empty-handed, failing to find the vinyl you're looking for. You start walking west to the bus stop when you hear a commotion ahead.

You see a guy pushing people out of his way. He keeps looking behind his back like he's running from something.

"Police! Get out of the way!" You hear other voices shouting.

So this guy seems to be running from the police, you thought to yourself.

The man tries to shove you aside, but your reflex is much better. Your hands instantly grab the front of his shirt. When he tries to push you away, your right foot finds his inner left calf and sweeps him down.

When he tries to move away from your grasp, you lean down and grip his right wrist tightly with your right hand. You put your right elbow beside his right ear while your left elbow is placed underneath his elbow. Your left-hand moves to hold your right wrist from below his right hand. His arm is essentially locked when your left bicep snugs against his right tricep. You raise your elbow slightly from the surface. The more he wiggles his way out, the higher you raise his elbow from the surface, the more painful the lock is.

You hear an impressed whistle from above. When you look up, you find Jay and Hailey standing in front of you. Jay gets a huge grin on his face while Hailey is sporting a shocked look.

"Nice takedown, babe," Jay compliments you.

"Thanks. You might wanna take over from here, though," You say to your boyfriend as you hear few more steps rushing towards you.

You loosen the lock after you are sure Jay gets his hand on the perp. He grabs the suspect up from the floor and pushes him towards the wall.

You find a hand extends in front of your face, offering to help you stand up. You look up to see it was Hailey. You take her hand with a soft thanks.

Once you're back on your feet, you look around to see the other members of the Intelligence Unit staring at you. Adam, Kim, and Kevin are mirroring Hailey's initial look of surprise. Jay's boss, Hank Voight, looks impassive as always. But you catch an amused twitch at one corner of his lips.

"Man, at least give me time to feel my hand again! That bitch could break my arm, you know!" you hear the perp complaining when Jay prepares to cuff him.

Without saying anything in response, Jay folds the perp's wrist inside. The perp yells even louder because of the wristlock.

Kevin moves to take the man away from Jay before any further damage could happen. He ushers the perp right away to a nearby cop car.

Jay turns to check on his girlfriend, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good." You nod back at him.

"I didn't know you could do that, Y/N," Hailey tells you. "You never tell me that your girlfriend practiced any martial arts," She continues to slap Jay's shoulder.

You answer with a sheepish smile, "It's kinda new,"

"Blue Belt in Jiu-Jitsu is not "kinda new" babe," Jay elbows you playfully.

The team boss pats your shoulder once before walking back to his car, "Good job, Y/LN,"

Kim, who's partnered up with Voight today, quickly follows. But not before inviting you for drinks, "You have to tell me all about this over drinks!"

"See? Even Voight agrees. We'll make a cop-out of you soon, Y/N," Adam offers his fistbump to you.

You meet his with your fistbump but shake your head, laughing, "Not in a million years, Ruzek,"

He only replies with his laugh and walks towards Kevin and the perp.

Jay puts his arm around your shoulders with a huge smile, "C'mon, Kev and Ruz can take care of the perp for a while. Hailey and I will drop you home."

[renee-writer]

Guardians of the Stones Chapter 4 Past, Present, and Future

Back in 1946, Mother Ruth is working to get Frank out of Inverness. She knows from being in his room to get the supplies for Claire, that he had been offered a job in Oxford. She knows from a letter from another Sister, a Guardian of the Stones from the future, that he will meet his next wife there.

She was the Sister currently on assignment at the Stones. Keeping an eye on Frank was taking her away from her main job. He was bugging the local constables to find his wife, claiming a Highlander he saw looking up at her was involved. He wasn’t, not in her disappearance. Finally Ruth had enough. She has a friend, a mate from school how was the Mother Superior in St Aloysius. Mother Gene was happy to help, knowing the dean of the university that Frank was destined to serve at. She understood the situation and, a few phone calls later, Frank is off to Oxford where it is harder for him to try to find his wife.

Meanwhile in 1740, Jamie and Murtagh arrive at Lallybroch. They, especially Jamie, are greeted with enthusiastic hugs.

“It is happy we are to have you home Jamie. We wish you could stay longer. But, your Uncle Column needs you to help set up the horse breeding program. You will help him out for a few months and then return here. We need your help with the expansion of Lallybroch.” His da tells him after enthusiastic greetings from his mam and sister.

“Da, I pray this doesn’t mean marriage. I really wish to not have a lass thrust on me. I had enough of them throwing themselves at me in Paris.” Brain laughs.

“Nae son. We will have you choose your bride.”

At the Castle

Hamish becomes a shadow under his healer's feet. Where she is, you can usually find the young lad. He helps carry her supplies, accompanies her to the garden to collect herbs and other medicinal plants, even leaves his da's side to dine with her.

“I am sorry he is so attached to me.” She tells Column one day when she is massaging him to give him some relief from his leg and back pain.

“Dinna fash Mistress. Since the death of his mam,” The both cross themselves,” He has hungered for a lass to give his child's heart too. You are a good influence on him. I dinna mind.”

Lallybroch

The month passes quickly as Jamie catches up with his family. He is soon heading to Castle Leoch to serve his uncle. He will miss Lallybroch but at least he is still on Scottish soil.

First sight

His Uncle Column introduced them at the hall at dinner the first night he was there.

“Jamie lad, there is someone I would like you to meet. “ He stands and then almost falls back when he sees her. Her brown curls, as out of control as his own, frame a beautiful face with the most esquist eyes. “James Alexander Malcolm Mackenzie Fraser meet Claire Elizabeth Beauchamp, a widow from near York and London. She is the castle's healer. Claire, my nephew Jamie.”

He bows low before her. “Your servant ma'am.”

“Sir,” she curtsies.

“Miss Claire, come. Our dinner is getting cold.” Her escort stands and her arm. She is usually thankful for his presence. The Laird's son keep all but the most enthusiastic suitors away. But, there is something about this Jamie.

“Hamish, where are your manners. You aren't even going to say hello to your own cousin, Jamie, before you jerk Mistress Beauchamp’s arm off.” His da scolds him.

“Hello cousin Jamie. How was Paris?”

“Hello Hamish. It was good but I am glad to be home on Scottish soil. You have grown quite a lot in the last three years.”

“Aye. I am twelve now. May we speak later so I may escort Miss Claire to dinner?”

“Aye.” He bows again to her. “It was very nice to meet you Mistress.”

“You too.” As Hamish drags her away, he notices her arse. Ah Dhai!

“Uncle, is the widow Beauchamp being courted?” he asks his uncle over dinner,” By anyone other then your son.”

Column laughs. “ He does have a crush, eh. But, he will outgrow it when a lass closer to his own age catches his eye. As for Mistress Beauchamp, nae. Not for lack of the lads trying. I have had three men come and make serious offers for her hand. She has rejected them all. I haven’t made inquires to the state of her marriage when she became a widow. I fear her late husband wasn’t a good man and it will take the lass time to trust another.”

“Hmm. But, she is a good healer?”

“Oh aye. She saved Mrs. Fitz's nephew, Danny, from poisoning from a plant at the black kirk. Father Bane though him possessed. Was a relief to all when he ended up just sickened by the plant and she was able to bring him back to full health.”

Over the next week, he spend most of his time in the stables separating out the best horses, coos, and sheep, for the breeding program. He is joined by his wee cousin, as his da wishes him to learn the secrets of breeding.

“So Hamish, how is your arm?” he asks him one day when he sees the lad rubbing it.

“Oh it is better. Miss Claire gave me exercises to do to strengthen it.” It is the opening Jamie had been waiting on.

“You like Mistress Claire then?”

“Aye. She is nice to me and not just because I am the heir of Column. I wish her husband hadn't treated her so bad.”

“Bad how?”

“He hit her. When Father Mackenzie first brought her here, she had bruises. And there is a sadness in her eyes sometimes.” Jamie’s hands had fisted up. Men are not to hit women!”

“But he is dead, her husband?”

“Aye. But, she still rejects the lads who wish to court her. Da says it is because she doesn’t trust them. She trusts me though.” He says with some pride. Jamie grins at him. He canna blame the lad. He feels the same.

“What else do you ken about her?”

“She loves to take the horses out and gather strange flowers and herbs. She can heal with them.” His eyes get large in wonder,” she hums songs as she works but they are like no song I have ever heard. She bathes daily.”

“How do you ken that?”

“The maids whisper about bringing up water for her ever night.” He replies with a blush.

“You shouldn't ken that lad.” The blush on the lad's face deepens.

“She has knifes in her surgery.” He tells his cousin to change the subject.

“Does she now?” Before the lad can answer, Donas, one of the more ill tempered horses, runs in from the outside paddock. He heads straight for Hamish. Jamie jumps in front of him and places his hands up.

“Slaodadh sios balach tha a h-uile dad gu math. Chan eil duine airson do ghortachadh. {slow down lad all is well. No one wishes to hurt you.}” he tells the horse. It stops with a snort and then reaches out and bites Jamie's hand. “Iffrin! You wee bastard!” he calls out as blood runs down his arm.

“Cousin Jamie, we must take you to the healer.”

“I will be..” but he doesn’t finish as a wave of dizziness takes him over. Auld Alex and Willy, the other men in the stables also insist. Hamish gets his arm around his waist and helps him to Miss Claire.

“Miss Claire, my cousin has been bitten by a horse!” He calls out as he enters. Claire hurries over.

“Owe!” She helps Hamish lower him down onto her table.

“Tis' just a horse bite. I've had worse.” He says as he looks into her incredible honey whisky eyes.

“This one is bad. Will need stitches. Hamish, run down and fetch some hot water and whisky from Mrs. Fitz.”

“Aye Miss Claire.”

“The alcohol here is not for drinking.” She explains as she carefully presses a clean cloth over the wound to slow the flow of blood. He would ask her what her alcohol was for but, even pressing down hard on his wound, her hands feel so bonny on him, ti' all he can concentrate on.

Hamish brings the requested items back. She pours Jamie a good shot and then another. “Okay, this is going to sting. Quite a lot. I am sorry.” She pours a good bit of the hot water over the wound followed by some of the alcohol. It hurts like the devil and he bites his lip tight not to scream. “Sorry. I am trying to prevent it getting inflamed.” She gives him another shot of whisky. “I am going to close it now. Your hand will have to be in a sling for a bit as it heals.”

“Do as you need.” He is feeling pleasantly buzzed by the whisky and her presence. She tips the needle at thread in more alcohol and starts to sew. She does hum as she works and Jamie is distracted some from the pain by trying to place the song. It is like none his mam had sang to him, like none of the songs he had grown up hearing.

She coats it with honey, wraps a clean cloth around it, and places it in a sling. “Rest here a bit Mr. Fraser.”

“Jamie. I am Jamie.”

“Claire. Rest Jamie.” He closes his eyes and a few of his curls fall forward. She brushes them back and he smiles. She does too.

Fort William

Lt. John Grey enters Captain Randall's office. “You called for me sir?”

“Yes, you recall the lady we found in Inverness two months ago? The one found in just her shift. The one Father Mackenzie came to see?”

“Yes, she died in her cell.”

“So it would seem. But, when we went to bury our latest, they dug near where her body should be. We have only a few women buried here. She isn’t among them.”

“I escorted the grave diggers out myself sir. I saw her buried. Why she isn't there, I truly can not tell you.”

“Fine. You are dismissed.” The Lieutenant leaves with a bow and Black Jack returns to the letter from his wife. She wrote with news of her pregnancy. He wrote her back offering congratulations but reminding her she is to have a son.

It isn’t a love match between them. She had been married to his brother. He had died and, his family not wishing to loss her money, insisted that he marries her. He has the men here and about to play with. If she gives birth to a son, he wouldn’t debase himself to lay with her again. He would much rather lie with Lt. Grey. With a sigh, he returns his mind to the problem of the missing widow.

Lt. Grey has his own story. He had been serving Her Majesty’s army in Afghanistan in 2009. After being injured, he was sent home. He decides to explore around before deciding what he wishes to do. While hiking in Scotland, he ends up touching the same stone Claire had. He woke up close to three hundred years in the past. Thank God for Father Mackenzie and Sister Ruth. Father Mackenzie provided him with papers and a commission. He hurries to his room to write the good Father about Black Jack discovering that Claire's body is missing.

1946

Sister Mary Luke, is the newest Guardian. It is only her second time in this time and she is still a bit nervous if prepared. Frank comes in

“Sister, is the good Father about?”

“I am sorry sir, he isn't. May I help you?”

“I really need to see him. I have found love again, you see. With my first wife gone, I seek the church’s permission to remarry.”

“I see Mr. Randall. He will be back soon. Where can he find you?”

He tells her which B and B he is staying in and leaves. Sister Mary smiles. Twi months. Father Mackenzie will be pleased.

[ty-talks-comics]

Best of Marvel: Week of March 15th, 2019

Best of this Week: Daredevil #5 (Legacy #617) - Chip Zdarsky, Marco Checchetto, Sunny Gho and Clayton Cowles

The “Man Without Fear” miniseries brought Matt Murdock low, but Chip Zdarsky managed to bring him even lower.

Beginning right after the end of the last issue, Matt goes after The Owl and his crime ring, hoping to put a stop to whatever big plans they have going on. Still wearing Punisher’s shirt, Daredevil takes on all comers. With expertly drawn art by Checchetto, he manages to take down a guy with Iron Man level armor using the momentum of a speeding truck and a hook, sending the truck careening into the air and letting the guns and drugs spill out. Soon after, Matt grabs one of the doors and storms through a hail of gunfire and begins tearing through Owl’s men before getting overwhelmed and being saved by the other Defenders; Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and Iron Fist.

He passes out and wakes up later in Danny’s apartment and breaks down, saying that he just wanted to do one last good thing as Daredevil before they take him in for accidentally killing a criminal. What I liked best about this is that they’re there for him. Jessica assures him that they’re not going to take him in and they’ve all been in the same position. Jessica’s likely killed people under Killgrave’s influence, Luke’s killed one or two of his villains and Danny’s entire Immortal Iron Fist run by Ed Brubaker and later Matt Fraction was dark. They know what it’s like to work through all of that pain and guilt.

Matt, however, struggles with the idea that they’ve all killed people and runs away from his friends because of it. One of the biggest themes of this run thus far is how Matt is coping with what he did and his religion on top of it. Murder is a cardinal sin to Catholics and Matt Murdock has more Catholic Guilt than any of them have ever had. He dresses as the devil for chrissakes and uses the mask to blind himself to the violence he commits out of his personal sense of justice.

When he returns home, he senses the presence of someone strong. Someone he says has immense power, but doesn’t know it. The best of them. Spider-Man then confronts him in his home, telling him that he can see that Daredevil’s not all there. He wouldn’t have been able to follow Daredevil home if he were and acknowledges everything that Matt’s done up to this point, calling his attack on the Owl a “suicide mission.” He tells Daredevil that he’s done and if anyone sees him out there, they will stop him.

All of this scene was a work of art. When we see Spider-Man he’s shrouded in shadow. Spidey is often considered one of the biggest beacons of light in the Marvel universe and having him stand in the dark drives home the message of how serious things are. Every close-up shot with Daredevil feels even more personal as the weight of his actions are drawn on his also heavily shadowed face. It feels personal, depressing and as he slumps back into his wheelchair - gut wrenching.

It breaks my heart to see Matt like this again. He’s tried so hard to pull himself out of the hole he’s been digging for long, but the whole time we’ve been reading, the hole’s just gotten bigger and bigger. Eventually just engulfing him in darkness as his mistakes catch up to him.

I don’t know where he goes from here. Back to the life of a lawyer? He’s been disgraced and was serving out of a broom closet the last time he tried. Another position in city office? Wilson Fisk would NEVER risk that again. Maybe a position in the church? I don’t know, but whatever the future holds, I know it’s going to be an amazing and somber one.

---------------------------------------------------

Kraven has always seen Spider-Man as his greatest opponent.

Runner Up: The Amazing Spider-Man: Hunted pt. 5 #21 (Legacy #822) - Nick Spencer, Gerardo Sandoval, Victor Nava, Erick Arciniega and Joe Caramagna

The Spider has thwarted his greatest plots and schemes and proven himself to be the stronger man half of the time. The only time that Kraven has ever felt superior was when he “proved himself better at crime fighting” than Spider-Man in Kraven's Last Hunt, killing himself soon after. He found peace in the dark only for it to be ripped away years later and surmises that the only way for him to achieve true death was for Spider-Man to kill him.

This Hunt that he set up with the animal themed villains served three purposes. To rid the world of these undeserving hunters, to kill off the more pathetic animal themed villains and to finally push Spider-Man over the edge.

Swarmed by clones of Vermin, Spider-Man monologues internally about how “this is it” and apologizes to Mary Jane, thinking that the Vermin are going to kill him only for Kraven to come to his rescue. He passes out and later wakes up, injuries healed and chained to the floor in a new Black Suit. (Not actually the Symbiote, just what Kraven considers Spider-Man's most significant costume, unknown how many he's made)

Doctor Curt Connors is also in there with him. He explains that the collar around Spider-Man's neck is rigged to explode and that his inhibitor chip won't let him rip the collar apart as it prevents him from hurting people. Kraven then shows a live feed of his son catching up to Black Cat and Billy Connors, almost certainly with a killing intent.

Dr. Connors says that the only way that he can save his son is by taking the chip off, but given that it’s attached to his spine, Spider-Man thinks it'll kill him. In a great moment, Connors says that it's a chance he's willing to take and hearkens back to Peter's power and responsibility speeches and that Spider-Man doesn't know what real responsibility is because he doesn't have kids yet.

It's a good character driven moment that brings Connors full circle. When he didn't have control of the Lizard, he actually killed Billy. After his resurrection, he wondered if his son remembered what happened, but was too fixed on just having his family back to ask. And now he has the chance to make up for his horrible actions by becoming a beast again? It's good stuff.

Peter begrudgingly agrees to help, but this is what Kraven wanted. He needed to test Spider-Man to see if he could go the extra mile, to see if he was finally ready to face the Hunter. By removing the chip, he's also removed a part of himself; the part that would have held back, the part that would have found another way, the part that wouldn't rip kraven apart.

Garardo Sandoval's art absolutely smashes this issue. It's visceral and makes everything look so much more serious while still maintaining an almost 90s look. The thick jagged lines give everything an edge, making you feel when Peter's being attacked by Vermin. Kraven showing up in his iconic clothing has weight to it as he's portrayed in ominous shadow and The Lizard looks absolutely horrifying.

This story is almost at its conclusion and I'm so excited. In story time, all of this couldn't have been more than a few hours, but it will have aged Peter considerably. As much as any story has pushed him to the brink, everytime he has to deal with Kraven at his most dangerous, he loses something major in himself. Honestly at this point, I want to almost say that Kraven is absolutely one of Spider-Man's archenemies and Hunted is the cement of that.

[hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger]

Did Spider-Man being married make finding big name writers hard (SPOILERS: no...)

One of the frequent arguments used against the Spider-Marriage was that it allegedly made high caliber writers unwilling to work on the series and/or made filling the role of writer difficult to do.

In particular Roger Stern’s unwillingness to work on the series due to Spider-Man being married and Ed Brubaker’s public frustration with how the marriage prevented him from writing a story he had in mind is cited to corroborate the above argument.

But let’s deconstruct that idea a little bit shall we.

Prior to the marriage’s introduction in 1987 there had been a total of four Spider-Man titles. Amazing Spider-Man, Marvel Team Up, Spectacular Spider-Man and Web of Spider-Man, which had replaced the cancelled MTU series. So for 25 years (Spider-Man was created in 1962) there was between 1-3 titles per month, 1-3 writing positions that needed to be filled.

And who filled these roles? Well a lot of people and I’m not going to list them all but broadly speaking (and prioritizing people with actual runs not fill in works or who only did side projects of annuals) we had:

Stan Lee

Steve Ditko

Gerry Conway

Roy Thomas

Bill Mantlo

Al Milgrom

Tom DeFalco

Roger Stern

Denny O’Neil

Marv Wolfman

Peter David

David Michelinie

Louise Simonson

Danny Fingeroth

Len Wein

Christopher Priest/Jim Owsley

That’s a lot of people and some HUGE names there. Of course some of those names got huge later on or else got huge ON their Spider-Man runs.

What was the state of affairs during 1987-2007, during the years the marriage was around?

Well if I recall correctly among the titles published in which the 616 married Peter Parker had an at least semi-recurring starring role we had ASM, Spec, Web, No Adjective Spider-Man (later rebranded Peter Parker: Spider-Man), Spider-Man Unlimited Volume 1 and 3, Spider-Man Team-Up, Marvel Team Up Volume 2, Marvel Team-Up volume 3, Spider-Man Family, Sensational Spider-Man, Marvel Knights: Spider-Man (later rebranded as Sensational volume 2), Webspinner’s: Tales of Spider-Man, Spider-Man’s: Tangled Web, New Avengers, and Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.

Bear in mind this is excluding guest appearances, one shots, mini-series, annuals, What ifs, alternate universe appearances or flashback titles like Untold Tales of Spider-Man.

As you can see that is far MORE titles than in the 25 years preceding it. Now in the interests of fairness obviously those were not all published at the same time and some of those titles were anthologies wherein stories might not be set in the present day where Spider-Man was married...but most were.

In fact at any given time during the 20 years the marriage was in place there was always a minimum of 3 titles in publication and on some months in the 90s there could be as many as 5-7.

That is a lot of writing roles that need to be filled and on occasion writers would handle the chores on multiple books. But that was not the norm the majority of the time each book would have their own individual writer.

There was never ever an instance where there was a gap in the schedule that couldn’t be filled because there was just no writer available willing to work with the marriage, that just plain never happened.

Moreover looking at the glut of titles during those 20 years Marvel apparently felt confident enough that there WOULD be writers willing to work with a married Spider-Man because they drastically increased the amount of space about a married Spider-Man that needed to be filled. In particular there were multiple anthology books during those 20 years meaning there would be even more space per book that needed to be filled. 

But hey, that just tells us they found writers willing to plug those gaps. It doesn’t address the criticism that the marriage was turning away writers of high pedigree.

After all the unmarried Spider-Man had all those names I listed above work on his titles and after OMD he had the likes of Dan Slott, Mark Waid, Joe Kelly, Marc Guggenheim, Christos Gage, Chip Zdarksy and the guys from Jimmy Kimmel and Agent Carter!

Was the pedigree of writers during the marriage anywhere close to those guys?

Well we did have...

J.M. DeMatteis who during the marriage authored 3 all time classic Spider-Man stories, had an iconic Batman story and an iconic run on Justice League International that forever defined Blue Beetle and Booster Gold and continues to be influential to this day

Todd McFarlane co-creator of Venom, creator of Spawn, a founder of Image comics and the guy responsible for the highest selling Spider-Man comic book of all time

Acclaimed Playwright, showrunner of Riverdale and powerful editor of Archie comics Roberto Aguirre Sacasa

Gerry Conway, Co-creator of Firestorm, Killer Frost, regarded as the Goeff Johns of his day and oh yeah the guy who killed Gwen Stacy

David Michelinie co-author of the greatest Iron Man run of all time, co-creator of Scott Lang and Taskmaster and co-creator of Carnage and the most popular Spider-Man villain of all time, Venom

Tom DeFalco, editor-in-chief of Marvel and one of the two people who helped introduce Spider-Man’s iconic black costume.

Mark Millar co-creator of the Ultimate Marvel Universe specifically the Ultimates who became a major influence on the 2012 Avengers movie and MCU, such as the decision to cast Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury

Paul Jenkins, generally speaking acclaimed writer in particular on his work on Hellblazer/Constantine

President of Entertainment for Black Entertainment Television (BET) Reginald Hudlin

Acclaimed novel and comic book writer and author of the greatest run of the Incredible Hulk of all time, Peter David

Acclaimed science fiction writer and creator of Babylon 5 J. Michael Straczynski

Oh and by the way, among the people who did small projects or fill-ins were:

Ann Nocenti, acclaimed X-Men and Daredevil writer.

Roger Stern acclaimed Marvel writer, author of what many regard as THE greatest Doctor Doom story of all time and one of the greatest Spider-Man runs of all time where he created the Hobgoblin.

Acclaimed (for some reason beyond me) author and co-creator of The Boys Garth Ennis.

Once upon a time acclaimed and former Geek God Kevin Smith who was poised to be the main writer of Amazing Spider-Man once upon a time.

But that’s not all because want to know who ALMOST wrote for a married Spider-Man?

Acclaimed comic book writer on countless works and (for some reason) fan favourite Grant Morrisson, credited as authoring one of the best Batman runs and Superman stories of all time along with THE best Justice League run of all time.

But he isn’t even the biggest name who almost wrote Spider-Man. Because in the mid-1990s the then editors almost convinced a very big name creator to return to working on Spider-Man. Unfortunately he was turned off of the job when he saw Untold Tales of Spider-Man, a series about a teenage single Peter Parker.

His name is Steve Ditko.

You might remember his work as the creator of the Question, the second Blue Beetle, Doctor Strange and THE CO-CREATOR OF SPIDER-MAN HIMSELF!

Now I’m not saying every one of those marriage era writers did great jobs. I’m not even saying they were all necessarily great writers.

However all of them had a lot of prestige to them and either support from fan adoration or critical acclaim. 

And most of them probably could’ve turned the job of writing a married Spider-Man down if they wanted.

J. Michael Straczynski in particular did not need the job and had more than enough credibility to pick many of his projects.

He is without a shadow of a doubt the single most high profile writer to ever write for Spider-Man exempting Stan Lee himself.

And he not only accepted the job of writing a married adult Spider-Man he actively embraced both facts of the character’s existence. 

As did the author of the greatest Hulk run of all time, the co-author of the greatest Iron Man run of all time and the author of maybe the greatest Spider-Man story of all time.

So...it seems that being married didn’t make it particularly difficult to attract high profile ones.

But please, tell me again how Spider-Man being married was bad because we were turning away big name writers like the guy primarily known for resurrecting a long dead character, killing and resurrecting the hero and replacing the hero because screw originality I guess 

P.S. Wanna know another big name writer who didn’t agree with making Spider-Man unmarried?

This guy...

Who happened to create...this...

[imalifegen89]

A Legacy Left Behind - Chapter 2 - The Lions of the Valley - Part 1

Rating: Mature

Category: M/M

Fandoms: Stargate Atlantis /Stargate SG-1/ Hawaii Five-O (2010)

Relationships: John Sheppard/Steve McGarrett

Characters:  Steve McGarrett, Danny "Danno" Williams, Junior Reigns, Kono Kalakaua, Adam Noshimuri, Joe White, Anton Hesse, Victor Hesse, Wo Fat, Clay Garcia (OC), Bradley Jacks, PO Higgins (OC), Kamekona Tupuola, John Sheppard, Mr. Smith (OC), Wraith (OC), Goa'uld Character(s)

Warnings : Crossover/ Canon Divergence/alternate Universe/Violence

Summary of the series:

The Ancients fled the Milky Way galaxy after annihilating the enemy they had unknowingly given birth to, themselves-  or so they thought. What if the enemy was still here? What if they are aligning themselves with others to regain power? Well, it was a good thing some of the Ancients left behind a gift; a legacy to prevent that exact eventuality, wasn't it? But will it be enough? An Alternate Universe where the Wraith originated on earth and the SGC have to pick up the pieces where the Ancients left off and continue the fight against the Wraith- since it's the survival of humanity that is at stake!

Summary of the chapter: The Lions of the Valley - Picks up the story where we left off Steve & his team, how they wrapped up their operation, and glimpses of what goes on the side of the enemy.

Beta — Salchat — She's the best!

Part - 1

Physical Training Facility, Naval Personnel Housing Complex

Bagram Air Base - Afghanistan.

Two days after Major John Sheppard's retrieval from Parwan.

"Whoa, what’s with the pummeling fest on the bag Steve?"

Senior Chief Petty Officer Daniel Williams swerved to avoid a face full of punching bag and wrapped his muscular arms around it, to stop it from returning to sender.

"Let it go, Danny," Steve said in irritation, glaring at his second in command. The man was interfering with his work out- well, that is if you could call the full-blown venting he was indulging in, raining kicks and punches on the bag in their gym- a workout.

"Now, how well do you know me, hah? You know it's useless asking me to do that. So tell me, what's bothering you, babe? Why are you feeling guilty?"

"Why would you say I'm feeling guilty? Maybe I'm angry!" challenged Steve, making a grab at the bag. But Danny wasn't letting go easily. And Steve wasn't honestly feeling like engaging in a brawl over a punching bag with his annoyingly perceptive friend.

In fact, he must have been at it for a while because he felt the exhaustion taking over, leaving him feeling drained. He started to unwrap the tape around his knuckles slowly.

"Well, you see that is because I do know you. Now, if you were angry, you would be in the ring, sparring with that crazy Jap, Noshimuri, kicking each other's asses to hell and back. Frustration would have taken you to the shooting range and there'd be many very-dead targets, shot through the head by now. This is where you come to, if the guilt is the winning contender in your crazy head. So I ask again babe, what’s wrong?"

The New Jersey native let the endearment slip in, whenever he was concerned about his young charge. Danny was six years older than Steve and had been in the Navy that much longer than Steve as well. Danny was given this freshly-out-of BUD/S, green as grass, young Lieutenant five years ago to keep alive. And then to train him in the field, if he could manage the first task. He had managed to do all that and remain Steve's 2IC throughout the years. The guy needed a steady and sane keeper.

Danny admitted to himself that the young officer had come a long way and had earned his respect and loyalty along with his friendship. The guy was as crazy as they came - laboring under utter delusions of bullet-proof superman tendencies- in Danny's humble opinion. But the guy had proven his worth and mettle under fire many times over the years.

The Lieutenant had a keen intelligence and the base nature of a hell-hound that was extremely useful when it came to tracking the baddies the brass let him loose on, disguised as missions. Danny had come to understand the obscure methods deeply hidden under the wild chaos that was Lieutenant Steven J. McGarrett of the Navy SEALs.  And to somewhat his consternation, Danny found himself devotedly invested in the said Lieutenant’s general well-being.

..........

Steve huffed and finished what he was doing. Then ruffled through his duffel bag until he found two bottles of water and sat down cross- legged on the mat on the floor near the workout benches. Danny was not going to go away anytime soon and he might as well get it over with now, Steve thought to himself. All mental bitching aside, he found that talking things out with his NCO, did help him more often than not.

Danny left the punching bag and came to sit down beside Steve. Steve gave him the other bottle of water and let out a sigh.

"It's Sheppard. I can't get it out of my head Danny. I keep hoping and praying that those people got to him on time. But from what little I saw... it was bad, man. And to think that our own people did that to him, that I fucking hand-delivered him for that ... shit."

He stuttered and came to a stop, his breath hitching. Danny had a comforting hand on his back.

"It's been what, two days now since those classified fucks disappeared?" Steve asked, giving voice to the thoughts that had been swirling in his mind. "There's only a skeleton crew there in that village now, the one they'd secured earlier, right? And another one, milling around looking for those two missing assholes, that had John. Nobody's telling me shit except for an all polite 'I'm sorry sir, It's classified'. I spoke to Joe too. He says he doesn't know anything either. It's not like I'm looking for goddamn state secrets here, is it? Just tell me where they took him and if the guy is alive or not... Fuck."

Steve was mortified, realizing that he had worked himself up to a full-blown rant. That was what Danny usually did. Steve was the stoic one. But the guilt and the frustration were eating away at him and he suddenly felt like he needed to go down to the firing range right the fuck now; ok- so Danny was maybe onto something there.

"Hey, I know you two were close. Hell, I helped nudge you two knuckleheads along to get your acts together and get into it. And I'm sure that he is being taken care of, Steve. I mean they sent a fully-fledged Colonel to the field, to a war zone, just to retrieve him. And they would not have done that, if they were not very keen on keeping the zoomie alive. Shep must be important to someone higher up there for something and you must believe, for now, that is a good thing." Danny continued.

"And Steve, you did what you had to do, babe. Arresting him and handing him over was the only play you could make with the intel you had at the time. We all heard Hart over the line, Shep could have taken off with all of them, and instead, he got crazy and ran away," he gave a moment to let that sink in. "Now, you told me that you believed this Sumner guy, when he said that Shep was away saving lives? Not running around like a maniac," Danny asked after the lengthy pause.

Steve gave a grudging nod.

"Then you've got to cut yourself some slack and believe me when I say that you did the right thing at the time too;" Danny took the nod as a yes and continued. "Colonel Sumner wasn't there then and they didn't train you on telepathy or precognition at Annapolis or Illinois or anywhere else. So there is no way you could have known what Shep was doing. Anyone of us in your shoes at the time would have done what you did. Hell, orders came from Joe to hand him over to that fucker at Parwan and you couldn't have disobeyed a direct order. You think Joe would have ordered you to do that, if he knew they were going to torture the man?"

Danny answered his own question after a beat. "No babe, I don't think so."

He seemed content to leave it at that, picking up on the reluctant agreement in Steve’s face, even though Steve did not say anything.

“Then what the hell happened to Freddie?” Steve asked quietly after a moment. “Who or what killed him and his team? And what the hell could possibly have made him sound so pissed scared like that? You knew him too Danny, it wasn’t like him at all!”

Danny contemplated his answer and let out a sigh.

“Yeah, I was thinking about it too. He did sound a little crazy on the line. But you’ve got to realize babe, he just crashed. Maybe he was a bit out of it? On the other hand, your Colonel said it was something to do with his mission and that they were targeted by something that we don’t know about?”

“Sumner said they believed Freddie and his team were compromised the minute that call went up in the air or maybe before even that.” Steve replied.

“Well then, there you go. There is so much classified shit around that chopper; we simply don’t know what happened. Maybe it was like the Colonel said or maybe not. We just don’t know. That’s the job Steve. We all know what we get ourselves into when we take on our missions. And things don’t always go our way and missions do go FUBAR. And then we die. We just have to hope that this Colonel of yours will find the people who were responsible. It was their op after all.” Then Danny brought up the matter of more practical and relevant issues. “Besides, we have our own group of assholes to worry about. You need to get your head in the game, Steve. That’s our mission.”

Steve didn’t say anything for a while. But he knew Danny was right. There really was nothing he could do for Shep or Hart right now. But he could do something about the bad guys he already had in his sight. That would have to be enough for now.

Danny let him just sit in silence for a few more minutes. Then he stood up decisively.

"Come along, grasshopper- let’s go get some grub. Maybe we can talk Kono into seducing one of the hush-hush fuckers to cave in and tell us something. Maybe it was your ugly mug that had them clamping up on you. Kono is way prettier than you. Fuck, even that Jap's got more charm; what with the husky bed-room voice and dimples…"

Steve felt his lips twitching involuntarily at Danny's muttered musings. He let out a chuckle and got up to follow his friend. His feelings were still dangerously close to the surface- but he felt somewhat in control of them. He was glad that Danny found him when he did; the man had a way of getting him out of his funk. He was not going to say any of that out loud though; it wouldn't help him one bit to let his NCO's head get any bigger.

Base Commander's Office, Bagram Air Base - Afghanistan.

Commander Joe White summoned Steve to his office the next day.

“Get yourself a coffee and sit down Steve,” he invited.

Steve did as asked, knowing that whatever came next- had to be quite important. Commander White was like a father to Steve and often mentored him; in both his professional and personal lives. But the Commander rarely indulged in private chit-chat while on active duty.

“I know you’ve been upset over the whole incident regarding Hart and that pilot Sheppard. Hell, I am a little upset myself.” He gave birth to the understatement of the day.

“I’ve had contact with Colonel Sumner. Now, I can’t tell you about whom he works for or what Hart and others were involved in. And I can’t tell you where Sheppard is or how he is either. Why? Because I don’t know. But, here is what I can tell you - according to Sumner, the chopper that went down with Hart and others was involved in one of their operations. They are investigating what happened to them still, because apparently, they were way off from their destination-”

Steve nodded along. This was what the Colonel had informed him while he was taking Steve’s statement as well.

“They're not sure yet if any foul play was involved from their end or how the enemy got to their transport in the first place. And they are still investigating everyone who was included in that operation.”

Steve bristled at the insinuation that Freddie might have been consorting with the enemy. He had known the guy for a while and been down range with him several times. He was pretty sure Freddie wouldn’t do that.

Commander White held up a hand to forestall the argument he could see coming his way.

“I know he was a friend. But it’s their op and they have to find out what happened. Anyway, that’s not the point. The point is that Sumner agreed to let us keep the bodies of the three SEALs with us. The team he has here will take the bodies of the civilians with them. He said that Hart and the other two SEALs were recruited in Canada. Apparently Hart was a part of the NORAD exchange. God knows how he managed that.”

Steve wasn’t sure whether his CO was referring to Freddie or Colonel Sumner. But he kept his doubts to himself and sipped his coffee.

“So he offered to return their bodies to the base in Canada, but I said we'll take care of it. That’s what I wanted to let you know. We have the bodies with us and I'll be making arrangements to return them back to the States within the week or so. I thought that maybe if you wrap up your mission here by that time, you can accompany them.”

“Thank you for arranging that, Sir.” Steve said with heartfelt gratitude. Escorting his friend’s body home was the least he could do for him.

With that he left his CO’s office to get back to the operation he was running. He was on the field team today, for the surveillance on the enemy base.

Naval Command and Control Center, Bagram Base - Afghanistan

Four days after Major John Sheppard's retrieval from Parwan.

Steve and his team found themselves gathered in the CIC (Command and Information Center/Command and Control) after dinner, for the day's review. Well, what was left of his team at the base anyway; since some of his team was still in the field. They were discreetly observing the activity in the enemy base they had tracked the weapons convoy to- earlier.

Thanks to several GPS trackers they had managed to install on the trucks, they now had the exact co-ordinates of the hidden base, the infamous Hesse brothers kept disappearing into.

……….

The SEAL team had been tracking the four suspicious vehicles, that split up from Kandahar and had been cruising all over the whole northern region of Afghanistan. The team had also split up, in order to tail each of them.

Finally, around about ten days ago, the vehicles, now full with illicit cargo of weapons, money, ammo and other assorted inventory enough to invade the whole country, had regrouped and continued towards the valley of Panjshir.

Anton Hesse had got into a truck along the way and continued with the convoy as well, which Steve considered an ad ded bonus. Wherever the elder brother was, the younger was not far behind and that saved them the trouble of locating the two assholes later. The convoy had continued until it ran out of the road and then into a barely navigable route in jungle terrain, leading towards the Hindu Kush mountains.

Continuing for about another day, deep into the jungle, the convoy had finally reached a small yet well-hidden base right up against the valley. It was located well away from the smaller villages scattered around Panjshir, but nestled quite close to Hindu Kush mountain range. Steve suspected that they probably had a network of cave entrances and even underground bolt holes, apart from the base they could see from the surface.

So nine days ago, this was where they were, when Steve had to divert to help the unfortunate Black Hawk; which then led to Sheppard's subsequent arrest.

Steve and his team had been taking turns in keeping up constant surveillance around the clock on the hidden base to get a feel of their operation. After the initial convoy they tracked, there had been three more arrivals. The brothers never left the place- but they were seeing the evidence, that somebody even higher up in the terrorist food chain had shown up. Only the previous day, the security had been beefed up all over the base considerably, after an armored SUV had delivered the said leader.

They had been gathering in the CIC every day since the discovery of the enemy base, to view all the information and footage whichever field team of the day managed to send through. They had been making plans for attacks; war gaming various scenarios and adapting the plans according to the changes that were happening at the enemy base.

……….

Today was different because their CO, Commander Joe White was present for the live review with them. Usually, Steve just handed over the day's report to him after the viewing session.

"Alright, listen up people!" Commander White called everybody for their attention.

"We've got the word down the line today. The mission's been green-lighted by the Naval Intelligence Command. They want your platoon to move in and shut it down.  The strategy is to kill or capture the two known targets and the unidentified target. Whatever other resistance, you deal with as you see fit. They want you moving within 24 hours. This is it, ladies, the operation 'Mountain Goats' is a go."

The only lady that was present at the CIC, Agent Kono Kalakaua tried her best to hide a snicker at that, but only partially succeeded. White sent her a look on his way out of the room. Steve could have sworn he saw a smirk on his Commander's face; but he was much better at hiding it than Agent Kalakaua.

Those two had a long debate going on about the silly little names the Naval Intelligence (ha ha) came up with, against the professionalism, the alphabet soup agencies displayed, with their use of alpha numeric IDs, for operations. And Steve was wisely staying away from it.

……….

Steve had been on the trail of these particularly troublesome Hesse brothers for a few months now; all the way back from India. He had followed them around half the world from India, Pakistan, Indonesia and Thailand before finally settling up for the long haul in Afghanistan.

The Naval Intelligence had caught wind of a strange deal going on- Victor and Anton Hesse had come up as big players. Therefore the NI had Steve on the field following them on ground discreetly, hoping to put a stop to whatever the Hesse brothers were planning. Although he was given the support of various SEAL teams available in every country he found himself in, Steve had managed to keep his second in command SCPO Danny Williams, Lieutenant JG Bradley Jacks, PO 1st class Junior Reigns, and PO 1st class Clay Garcia as permanent fixtures on his team.

Special Agent Kono Kalakaua of the Special Activities Division of the CIA, formerly of the DEA and with two tours under her belt as a soldier in the US Army before that, had been following a trail of arms deals when she had crossed paths with Steve. Realizing they were after the same terrorists, they had joined forces in Pakistan to continue the observations. She was a beautiful woman with Korean heritage and Steve thought he saw Danny always go a little bug eyed, every time she flashed her dimples at him.

Lieutenant Adam Noshimuri had come with Kono, as a package deal. He was an American/Japanese dual citizen with experience in JMSDF (Japanese Maritime Defense Forces) and Japan's PSIA (Public Security Intelligence Agency) and had been tracking a Yakuza connection to illegal armsdealing and smuggling. He had been seconded to the CIA almost a year ago, as part of a Japan-American Intelligence sharing venture. Kono and Adam had made a number of arrests and shut down some major smuggling routes. But the leadership of the enterprise had proven elusive. The CIA, in conjunction with its' Japanese counterpart, had given the blessing for the dynamic duo to join the SEAL team in order to get to the bottom of it. Danny believed that Adam was the calm, steady and reasonable presence to the wild hurricane that was Kono; much like he was to McGarrett.

Fourteen other enlisted SEALs from the Naval Base Bagram, including two more NCOs, completed Steve's platoon for the operation 'Mountain Goats'.

Navy SEAL Ready Room, Bagram Base - Afghanistan

The team was divided into four groups. Lieutenant Steven J. McGarrett had the overall tactical command of the operation and was going to be on the lead attacking team. He had four other SEALs and one Adam Noshimuri, whose field MO (Modus Operandi) was not that different from a real-life ninja.

Senior Chief Petty Officer Danny Williams would be leading a team into the base from the right flank and if anything were to happen to Steve, would be taking over as the ops lead. Petty Officer 1st class Junior Reigns had command of the team that would be attacking from the left.

These ground attack teams carried their standard primary weapons, HK MP7 4.6X30mm sub-machine guns with suppressors and Sig Sauer P239 subcompact 9mm hand guns strapped to their thighs, as secondary weapons. They all put on their standard body armor, night camo and face paint with their tac vests and field kits filled up with extra ammunition, several kinds of grenades, field med kits, comms gear, batteries, field rations and water. The team leaders also carried portable compact screens that they could use to tap into their night drone feeds that were observing the enemy base even now. They were all equipped with NVGs (Night vision goggles) and cameras with live feeds connected to their CIC, as it was the standard for any SEAL team raid.

PO Higgins was seen lovingly hugging his affectionately called Pirate Gun, a modified M79 grenade launcher as he carried it along with his standard kit to the helipad. The big man easily over 6’4" with a width to match, made the big gun look positively tiny and harmless.

Agent Kono Kalakaua, who was equally enamored and just as lethal with her beloved Sniper rifle McMillan Tac-338 that fired the deadly .338 Lapua Magnum rounds, had the lead of the snipers. She and three other SEALs made up the team that would take the 'Over Watch' position when they were at the field, keeping the asses of the ground team covered. Lieutenant JG Jacks, carrying an M82-50 caliber, extreme long range, anti-material sniper rifle and SEALs Garcia and Terrance with their MK-11 medium sniper rifles, completed the team. They also had special image intensifiers, thermal imaging cameras, and sound suppressors to aid the night vision and stealth.

……….

The three SEALs who were already at the enemy base conducting surveillance, would keep on aerial surveillance with the two drones they had in the air and would provide live feed for the team leaders and if the need be for the snipers to tap into, during the raid. They would also provide back up and act as field medics.

……….

After the order from his Commander, the whole team had gone over the objective and attack plan in detail. Steve had encouraged everyone to ask questions and state concerns. After two hours of intense discussion and planning, he had dismissed the team for a quick break with the order to be ready and report to the helipad at the west end of the complex by 0200 hrs. He had then gone to update his commander on the agreed plan. Joe White had given his approval, seeing that Steve and his team had everything covered.

West End Helipad – Meeting Point, Bagram Air Base - Afghanistan

0155 hrs

Being the professionals that they were, Steve found them ready and waiting eagerly, when he reached the meeting point at 0155 hrs with Commander Joe White in tow.

"Alright team, just so we are clear on the plan again. We go there, make sure the things are as they should be, go in hard and fast. We don't let them regroup. Stealth is the name of the game for the entry. You know what the Hesse brothers look like and we ID the other leader on the go. It's kill or capture for those three. And all the Intel we can get, we need to keep intact. That means keeping an eye on Anton, as he’s the tech guy. For the rest of the base, it's open season." He re-capped the quick and dirty version of the game plan.

"Go give them hell boys!" Joe White delivered the traditional order.

"Hooyah!" Came the enthusiastic reply from the platoon.

The Enemy Base, Panjshir Valley - Afghanistan

0245 hrs

The two Stealth Black Hawk helicopters had delivered the team some distance away from the objective due to the landing difficulty in the jungle terrain the enemy was based in. A half-hour trek through the jungle had brought them near the entry points and they were ready to begin.

Steve sent out a roll call.

His team, designated H1 through H5, stated each of their readiness into their comms. Steve was designated HL as he was the team lead.

Danny and Junior also had similar checks running through their own teams, designated R and L respectively. They were positioned at their entry points in right and left flanks and were ready to move on mark.

Kono reported to Steve the readiness of her team last when all of the snipers had dispersed and taken various Over-watch positions. They were perched on hills, trees and in Jack's case, on top of a Humvee parked at the highest point behind thick vegetation closest to the mountains. They had the enemy base covered from four positions and the three ground teams would breach from the points in between, providing each other maximum cover.

The ground teams would also change into hand signals after Steve's order to move in and only the snipers and drone teams would make verbal reports, keeping everyone on the loop. PO Higgins, acting as the team’s demolitions expert, would divert from Danny's team after the initial entry, to place explosives on strategic locations.

They would leave nothing behind when they were done.

Steve checked in with the ops controllers at the CIC in Bagram some 60 miles away, who were watching over the live feeds, for the final Go/No Go order.

"Hotel Lima, you are a go. I repeat you are GO." The confirmation came from the tech at the CIC.

Steve took a deep breath; sent a quick mental prayer to any god who watched over the crazy SEALs to keep his team safe and gave the order to move in.

The Lions of the Valley-Hidden Freedom Fighter Base, Panjshir Valley - Afghanistan

0300 hrs

Salim Khabir positively hated the night shift as a sentry. It was cold, humid and the mosquitoes would not leave him alone. There were three others guarding the main building tonight, sharing the misery with him; a fat lot of good that did...Not.

The flat-faced, dead-eyed, Chinese guy had everybody on their toes and Khabir had had to chip in as a guard, to keep up round-the-clock security. He was their official cook. There were altogether fifteen of them on duty tonight. Four for the main building, two for the storage shacks, three of them for the barracks where the soldiers were based and six patrolling the perimeter. And there were many others awake and guarding the miserable nights away inside the buildings as well.

"Shit. I had to draw the short straw again! What wouldn't I do to be inside the cozy guest house guarding that?" he thought to himself sourly.

"Whatever that Chinaman is about, he must be important. I have never seen the Hesse brothers cower away like that from anyone ever before," Khabir slapped at a mosquito on his forehead.

"Oh, I wonder what's up with all the hush-hush dealings going on in those caves? Nobody goes in there except for the brothers. And the weird China guy of course..." he kept up his mental dialog while scanning the surrounding area. It was a hopeless gesture though; the night was dark and the visibility was quite poor.

"And what the hell kind of name is Wo Fat, anyway?"

All the private musings that were keeping the hardships of the night sentry duty away, also kept Salim Khabir from noticing the red cigarette light, ten yards to his left, disappear into the night.

By the time he did notice, there was nothing he could do anyway. He may have opened his mouth to shout out a warning- but the knife across his throat put a stop to it, before the thought to shout even fully formed.

……….

Steve had sent Adam and Leonard to take care of the patrolling guards on their side of the entry. Those two had disappeared into the moonless night to neutralize the guards without breaking stealth. Two patrol guards with their throats slit and one guard shot in the head with a suppressed MP7 later, it was done.

Steve and his remaining three SEALs had silently trekked through the dark, while the patrol was busydying. They had gotten close behind each of the sentry guarding the main building- and all of them- including clueless Khabir, were dispatched thoroughly and quietly, with their throats slit open.

Steve then directed two of his SEALs to drag the bodies away while waiting for the team leaders to signal in, with clicks on the comms.

……….

Danny spared a couple of seconds to watch his two guys- Ruiz and Hicks- taking off after the two guards who had the misfortune to wander towards the entry point- where Danny and his team were positioned. The third guard held Danny’s full attention now. Poor sod had taken a detour into the thicket to relieve himself only maybe three yards off to his left. Danny waited patiently until the guy finished and tucked himself in; then blew his brains out with his suppressed MP7, point blank.

Signaling Steve and Reigns with pre-arranged clicking codes on his comms, he moved his team towards their target, as Higgins went away to plant his deadly gifts.

……….

Team leader PO Junior Reigns was listening to the signal of all clear/moving in from Williams while watching his point of entry. Lt. Jacks, the sniper who was closest to him and had the birds' eye view of Reigns' entry, was giving him a terse report.

"Six patrol guards are down. Reigns you are clear to move. You've got two at the shacks and one moving from the barracks towards them. You got about thirty seconds to move before the third joins the party-"

Reigns directed Jones and Derrick to take care of the stationary guards and moved towards cover behind the shacks, to meet the arriving guard. He heard the soft gurgles that erupted from the dying guards and then the swish, as the bodies were dragged aside by his team. He observed the arriving party getting a little bit agitated and waving his torch around, as he couldn't see his fellow guards where they were supposed to be. Junior had seconds to act before the guard panicked and raised the alarm.

He took his k-bar, calmly took a breath, and sent it flying. His aim proved true as the knife found its mark, burying itself deep in the third guards' throat.

He signaled his advance as the rest of his team joined him after tucking the bodies behind the storage shacks.

……….

The smaller building they had identified earlier as the point where the base security was coordinated, was tucked away to the side of the main building. Danny's team had the task of breaching and securing it while Steve and his team breached the main building from its entrance and exit simultaneously.

Danny directed Bryce and Klein from his team to detach and reinforce Reigns' team according to the plan- Junior had the unenviable task of breaching the barracks where the terrorists slept.

Danny, Ruiz and Hicks made their entry through the only door the security hut had. Hicks, who was on point, mule kicked the door and Ruiz threw a frag grenade. They entered, leading with their MP7s and the still stunned and confused enemy had no hope of putting up a reasonable resistance.

There were ten of them in all and within ten minutes all of them lay dead where they were with shots to the chests and heads. Danny then got busythat with the computers. He inserted the data retrieval units they were all issued prior to the raid by the Naval Intelligence Command for this purpose. The NIC was anal about collecting every scrap of data they could.

Ruiz quickly cleared the rest of the building while Hicks kept watch.

……….

Steve, Riley, Wilkes, and Nelson positioned themselves at the front entrance of the main building as Adam and Leonard made their way toward the exit. This team had to be cautious with their entry because it was suspected that the leaders were housed in the upper section of this two storey building. They breached at the same time Danny's team did, to preserve stealth to the last possible minute. Wilkes kicked the door in and the grenades were thrown in. Steve heard Adam and Leonard making entry through the back as well.

Gunfire erupted as the confused and injured guards started firing blindly. Steve took cover behind an upturned sofa and returned fire, covering his fellow SEAL’s entry. They moved in tandem covering each other and within seven minutes, they had cleared the ground floor of the mail building. Eight enemies lay dead with kill shots to heads and chests.

Meanwhile, Kono reported in, saying she had taken care of two guards upstairs. Both were unfortunate enough to move towards windows wandering into Kono's cross-hairs. Taking the stairs that was the only way up from inside was proving difficult, now that the enemy was up and alert. But the element of surprise and shock and awe tactics were still working to their advantage, keeping the enemy somewhat confused. Steve managed to shoot down two more as they peered down from the upstairs railing.

Then five of the enemy got organized and positioned themselves behind cover from above to block the SEALs from gaining the upstairs. Steve waited until Adam and Leonard joined him. He then signaled Adam, who nodded in response.

Both of them popped from the cover they were behind and lobbed two grenades in perfectly timed simultaneous throws; both grenades sailed in elegant arcs and landed near the two clusters of enemies upstairs. The SEALs were already moving and at the base of the stairs when the grenades went off, killing the five targets instantly.

Steve and Adam got to the top together and Steve turned left while Adam turned right. They had three main rooms to clear on the second floor.

Riley and Nelson followed Steve to the left with Leonard and Wilkes following Adam to the right. Steve moved cautiously with his two SEALs flanking him, clearing closets and bathrooms. When they reached the bedroom door, it exploded outwards showering them in wood splinters. They all ducked on reflex and rolled to find cover.

"Come on you mother fuckers!! Come get me, I dare you. You fucking cunts!!"

They all heard hysterical screaming and swearing coming from the room. They had found Anton Hesse. It made things easier for them. If Anton was here screaming at them, he was not busy deleting their databases.

"Come out with your hands up Anton. It's over." Steve calmly ordered while keeping his weapon pointed at the door.

Sound of a breaking window was followed by a report from Garcia on the Over Watch. Anton had tried to take a leap off the balcony and Garcia had firmly discouraged the notion.

Anton Hesse did not come out with surrender as ordered. He came out shooting his shotgun in a blazing arc trying to catch the SEALs in a sweep. It was a dumb thing to try to use a shotgun as a machine gun and he only managed to make a couple of massive holes on the walls and a wooden closet door. Steve and his team were again showered with splinters, pieces of bricks, and dry plaster of walls but none of them were seriously harmed. Steve took careful aim and shot the maniac on the thigh. Anton let out a squeal; dropped his gun and then dropped to the ground hugging his injured thigh, wailing miserably.

Riley calmly secured Anton Hesse while Nelson quickly patched the wound with a field dressing. They would properly treat it after they had him transported back to Bagram. The field bandage would keep him from bleeding out and going into shock.

Steve was about to order them to take him to their exit point when Garcia came on his comms again.

"Boss, I've got movement. One bogey on the roof moving fast towards the back of the building. He is making a run to the caves. I repeat bogey moving north on the roof top. I do not have a shot."

The urgency of the report had Steve running into the room Anton had just vacated. He ran into the balcony and jumped on the railing. Using it as a step to propel himself up, he managed to grab hold of the rainwater drain at the edge of the roof. He hauled himself onto the roof and took off running after the enemy, whom he could see already gaining distance. He had a feeling this might be the third and the unidentified target.

He barked orders to Nelson and Riley to secure the prisoner and take him to the exit point while on pursuit. He ignored Danny's shouts through his comms to wait for goddamn backup before running after maniacs by himself. Steve knew Danny would follow and get to him on time anyway, despite his bitching.

……….

Adam, Leonard, and Wilkes were having a relatively easier time compared to Steve and his team. They were clearing the right-wing, when they came face to face with Victor Hesse. He had a bomb strapped to his chest and a dead man's trigger clutched tightly in his right fist.

"Now, just lower your weapons and raise your hands."

The older Hesse ordered calmly with his German-accented English. Seeing Adam and the two SEALs obeying his order- boosted his confidence.

"I will be slowly walking out of here, down the stairs, and out of that door. And you will let me- otherwise, all of us go to hell in an ugly boom, and sort our shit down there in front of the devil." He informed them with an arrogant smirk.

Adam tracked Hesse's slow movement towards the stairs with a slight smile. When his mental count reached six seconds Adam said "Ouch."

Victor Hesse had about a second to wonder about the strange reaction to his seemingly working plan to get away. Then he heard a splat and felt a spray of liquid on his face. His brain went offline for a moment and when it came back online, he registered a bloody stump where his right fist used to be. The dead man's trigger and his right fist lay scattered to tiny pieces on the floor. His eyes rolled back his head and he fell to the floor, unconscious.

"Ouch is the word brah." Said Kono in Adam's ear jubilantly.

Adam kneeled down by the passed-out Hesse to put a tourniquet and wrap up what was left of his hand. Wilkes slowly divested Hesse of his deadly ornament now laid on his chest harmlessly. Once finished, Adam directed Wilkes and Leonard to take Victor Hesse away and join the other two from Steve's team. Adam himself took off with the intention of finding Steve. He had a feeling Steve was going to need help.

……….

PO Junior Reigns and his team were engaged in a fire fight with enemies in the barracks. One of them somehow had woken up before they could breach and alerted his buddies. They had barricaded the entrances to the complex and started shooting at Junior and his team. EneThe enemymy had the cover of their building and Junior’s team was scattered around the building behind whatever cover they could find. They had both the entrance and exit of the building covered and had already killed three enemy combatants who tried to come out of the building. Now they were locked in an impasse; with Junior’s team outside and the enemies inside.

Junior popped up from behind the truck he was taking cover and took a couple of shots at the enemy who was aiming at a running SEAL. Derrick was moving from his cover to get behind another nearby tree. The terrorist ducked inside and Derrick made it behind cover safely.

Then Reigns spotted the man he was waiting for. Higgins had been busy planting explosives. He had just finished the shacks and the security hut and was moving towards the main building when Reigns signaled him to divert towards him behind the truck instead.

"Ah Junior, you want me to break up the tie?"

PO Higgins was all smiles realizing he was getting to use his Pirate Gun, the modified M79 grenade launcher.

"Yes, Higgins. If you would please do the honors,"

Reigns gestured him with a sweeping hand and took a step back to make space for the big SEAL and his big gun. He signaled his team to take cover and cover their ears.

Higgins took a knee, aimed his grenade launcher towards the housing complex, and let loose.

Four strategically placed shots from the Pirate Gun later; the housing complex was reduced to half-collapsed rubble. The terrorists, suffering from various injuries, came spilling out and it was shooting fish in a barrel for Junior and his team then.

Higgins took a mocking bow and sauntered away to complete his original mission.

……….

Danny cursed when he heard Steve taking after the bad guy all by himself. He hurriedly directed the rest of his team to finish data retrieval from the security hut and then continue to the rest of the available

identified data points to keep gathering everything they could. He then took off after Steve, berating him about the back-up all the way.

……….

The target had continued his mad dash over the roof, taken a running leap onto a truck that was parked below, rolled off its' hood and continued running through the thicket towards the mountains.

Steve caught up to him just as he was stepping into an obscure area that most probably led into a cave or a tunnel system. He didn't want to lose the guy in a maze; so he took a couple of shots on the run, trying to steer him away while closing the distance.

The man was quick on his feet as he veered away and continued running alongside the hills still aiming to take his chance disappearing into the jungle. Steve matched his stride and vector and put on a burst of speed.

Then the man somewhat surprised Steve, as he changed direction again; this time running straight at Steve. Caught off guard, Steve went down with his target on top of him in a tangle of limbs.

They fought fiercely. The bad guy didn't waste time raining punches on Steve's face while trying desperately to grab his gun. Steve held on to his gun with all his might and managed to aim an elbow to his opponent's face. The man took it on the jaw and rolled with it; when he disengaged from Steve, he had Steve's MP7 in his hands.

The man got to his knees in one smooth motion and aimed the gun at Steve's face. His finger tightened on the trigger and a smirk graced his face.

What he didn't realize was that when Steve aimed an elbow at his face, his other hand was going to his hand gun which was strapped to his thigh. That move loosened Steve’s grip on the MP7, letting the bad guy have the weapon.

So by the time he rolled off Steve and took a knee to aim Steve’s own weapon at him, Steve already had his hand gun tucked close to his chest, aimed at the smirking asshole's face.

A second later, the bad guy fell to the ground face-first; a neat hole in his chest, because Steve had changed his aim at the last second to keep him alive.

……….

Adam and Danny both made it to Steve at the same time. They had been directed by the drone team to his whereabouts. They found their leader kneeling by the fallen body of the bad guy, with both his palms pressed against a bleeding wound on the bad guy’s chest.

Adam contacted the medics for the field stretcher to be brought in to transport the man while Danny took time to fuss over Steve, to make sure the SEAL wasn't about to keel over from an undisclosed wound as well.

……….

Calls were made and the choppers were brought in. They had space to land at the enemy base which was now firmly under the SEAL's control. All three wounded targets were transported to Bagram along with the medics and one more SEAL to keep an eye on them.

The rest of the team dispersed around the base to secure everything. The hard part might have been over; but they still had to go over everything to take inventories, to make sure they didn't miss any data they could retrieve, and to sweep the area for any stragglers hiding away.

After two hours of thorough search throughout the base, Steve was satisfied. He called his team to the chopper that was patiently waiting to take them back. They all got in and once the bird climbed high enough in the sky, Steve called Higgins to deliver the coup de grace.

The Petty Officer gleefully pressed the buttons in his remote detonator. Explosions rocked the enemy base in answer, taking in all the illegal weapons, ammo, buildings, and bodies and turning them into dust and rubble.

Lt. Steve McGarrett congratulated his team on a job well done; boisterous hooyah's were shouted in reply.

The Lions of the Valley was no more.