"Walter Crawford, also known as Leviathan, is still at large after escaping prison three weeks ago. We have footage from a shootout that happened last night in South Clarkson just off West 112th Street. Some viewers may find what we're about to show disturbing-"
The television was abruptly turned off. A tanned hand sat the remote back down on the table in front of the football player. Graying, black hair blew as the breeze from the fan passed over them both. Deepening smile lines creased as a frown appeared on an aging face. He knew what was going to be said before his mentor even opened his mouth, but he remained silent.
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"You should go check on the Crawfords. With you and Tate reconnecting, and this new knowledge that he has abilities, things are sure to be tense." That tanned hand tapped on the table between them both, as if to get his full attention. "I mean it, Giovanni. I'm worried that since Walter has escaped there could be a dangerous path your friend is about to take."
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Gio didn't know how to respond for a moment. Everything Isaiah had just said were all things Gio either knew himself or had been considering. He knew Tate too, though. It was definitely possible that Tate was going to do something he would regret later, especially if he was angry. Gio hadn't even spoken to Tate in almost a month, all of his texts had gone ignored, but there wasn't a doubt that Tate was angry over this.
"You can't tell Tate what to do…" Gio started his sentence off, letting out a sigh as he saw Isaiah's brow raise. "But, you're right. I should go make sure they're all okay. This has to be hard on them. Penelope's probably a mess over this." He frowned at the thought.
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That last statement got a short chuckle out of Isaiah, who looked back at his wife as she finished cleaning up from the breakfast she made for Gio and her husband. Isaiah looked over the back of her frame for a long moment before nodding to himself. "Love does that to you. I remember how in love she and Walter were. I'm sure this is all painful for her, which is why a visit from her godson is sure to cheer Penny up." Isaiah was right, like always. So Gio picked up his phone and sent a text to all the Crawfords that he had the numbers of.
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It didn't take long for him to get a reply back from Tana, who agreed her mom and little siblings would love to see Gio. He asked about Tate, but only got a vague answer back as a response. This meant Gio would need to bite the bullet and just go. He contemplated bringing flowers, but what good would those do? No one had died, and the flowers would sit in a vase and just decay. It would just delay him and be an excuse for him to take more time getting to their apartment complex.
The ride on the subway there from Isaiah's loft was tense, as if the closer Gio got to the Crawfords the more his anxiety peaked. He really didn't need or want to have a panic attack over seeing his best friend, but at the rate he was going it seemed to be leading there. Overthinking everything while trying to plan out what he should say or what he should avoid bringing up. His feet carried him through the motions, but Gio wasn't even aware of his surroundings until he was walking up to the Crawfords' door. There was a point when Gio had a key to this place. When he could just walk in without giving any notice or knocking. He'd been part of the family, after all. Sleeping on the floor with Tate when he stayed over. Acting as if that was completely normal and never judging them for not having the money to get a better place.
Gio reached out to knock and he hesitated, his hand trembling for a moment. He took a steadying breath and finally knocked, hearing loud footsteps inside as everyone moved around. The door unlocked and Gio had to look down to see Julia, the second youngest, opening the door. She was giggling and excited to see who it was, her eyes lighting up as she peeked around and saw it was Gio. Before she could exclaim loudly that "Pretty Gigi" was there, Ky quickly grabbed her by the back of her shirt and yanked her away from the door.
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"Jules, how many times do we have to tell you to stop just opening the door when people knock? Stranger danger, brat." Ky scolded her, causing her to pout and her eyes to tear up. They looked up at Gio, raising their eyebrows. The last time Gio was over he had accidentally called Ky, Kyla. It was the first time he'd seen Ky since they came out as being nonbinary, but it was still something that Gio beat himself up over. "I didn't think you were actually coming, sorry."
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Ky didn't mean for that line to hit the way it did, but it struck Gio right in the chest. He didn't want to be someone that promised them something and never followed through again. He didn't want to be like Walter to them. Ky let Gio in and immediately Julia ran over and clung to his leg and side. She practically crawled up to him, causing him to have to hold her as he tried to walk. Her excited squeals and non stop babbling of questions about why he was there, where he had been, and if he would stay to play were near deafening. He attempted to answer everything, ruffling her hair as he looked around. The apartment was mostly clean, Ky flopped down on a living room couch beside Emmalie, the baby sister. She was watching cartoons, pretty entranced by what was on the television. It was a rare sight to see Em out of bed and without IVs giving her fluids. That meant today must have been a good day. It was even rarer to see Penelope out of bed, but as Gio tried to wrench Julia from his leg there was a gasp from the kitchen archway.
There stood Penelope, still in pajamas but drying a sippy cup with a rag. She looked far healthier than the last time Gio had seen her, but still too pale and too thin. The fact she was even standing meant the new treatments were working, so he assumed they were also working for Em. At first Penelope seemed to be stunned seeing Gio standing in her home again. She had been there, along with Walter, during the last fight he and Tate had. She knew both sides, as she called to check on Gio after everything happened. Penny Crawford was like a second mother to Gio. She'd been part of his life since he was nine years old, from the moment his father Alessandro and Walter Crawford had introduced their families to each other. Penelope and Francesca got along well, so it was only natural that their sons would, too.
Quickly turning to set the cup and rag on the tiny kitchen island, Penelope walked up to Gio afterwards. He was an entire foot taller than her, looking down at her disheveled dark brunette waves that were supposed to be tied back in a bun. There was once a time when you would never see her without her hair set perfectly in place and clean clothes on, but her age and illness had changed that rapidly. Gio didn't mind, nor did he mind as she reached up with an ice cold, bony hand and gently caressed his cheek with the love that only a mother could show a son. She brushed his dark curls back off his forehead, as if she needed them out of the way to get a better look at his face.
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"You've grown so much, Giovanni." Penelope beamed up at him, eyes squinting as her smile took over her face. "Look at that jawline and stubble! Very handsome." She gently pinched his cheek, hugging his neck tightly afterwards. "My little Jewel..." she let go of Gio and addressed Julia, looking down at her and signing to get off of Gio's leg. Julia pouted, but listened, looking up at Gio and signing that she was sorry.
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Gio squatted down, reaching up to poke her nose. It made the pout go away, but him signing that it was okay made Julia giggle and run off towards the couch. "I'm glad Tate worked with her so much. She's already trilingual and only ten." Penelope nodded in response to this. Gio stood back up, smiling at Penelope. It was his turn to hug her, and give her a kiss on the forehead as he did so. "I came to check in on all of you. It's been a while since I heard from Tate. I'm glad to see you out of bed."
The two chatted shortly about how her and Emmalie's disease had been far more manageable. Most days were still hard, but it seemed like the new treatment they were both on could offer Emmalie an actual full life. She could probably go to school for the first time, could live to see her twenties, could maybe even have kids one day if she wanted without the fear of dying. Gio noticed that Penelope spoke only about Emmalie's future positively, but not her own. It seemed she was still resigned to dying soon. That her autoimmune disease would be the cause of her death, but at least it didn't seem as if she had fully given up. There were times back when Gio was seventeen and he came to sleep over that he saw Penelope at her worst. As if she were just a husk — a shell where a soul used to be. Those had always been her worst days. It took such a toll on Tate, especially when Penelope would take out her anger on him. They always made up, so Gio was just always there when Tate needed him.
After several minutes of the two catching up, Tana finally emerged from their single bathroom. Her hair was dripping wet, but she had makeup on. Gio immediately took note of how it was concentrated heavily on her jawline, probably due to her covering a bruise. He averted his eyes from it, hoping to not draw attention to it. He could ask her about it later, away from her mom so they didn't worry her. Though he was concerned, he was sure Tana had handled any fight she had gotten into.
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"Hey, you did actually come." Tana grinned, lightly punching Gio's arm. "I could hear your loud mouth even over the shitty water pressure in there." She joked with him. Penelope crossed her arms and gave Tana a stern look at the joke.
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"Where do you think you learned to be so loud from? Tate? Surprise, it was me." Gio joked right back with her, furrowing his brows shortly after. "Speaking of, where is that grouch?"
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He noticed the subtle change in Tana expression, the way her eyes widened slightly and her shoulders tensed up at the question. She glanced over at her mother before answering, rather smoothly, with "uh, at work." Then she nodded curtly, but it was clearly an affirmation to herself instead of Gio. "Yeah, he's working a double shift today. But hey, we can hang out for a while." She was covering for him. She must have known about his identity as Spitfire, that was the only answer Gio could come up with. She reached up and wrapped one of her arms across Gio's shoulders before tightening it and nearly taking his head off as she yanked him down closer to her own height. He had no idea when the hell scrawny little Montana Crawford had gotten so strong, but he would keep in mind not to piss her off.
Gio wound up sitting on the floor while playing with Julia and Emmalie's toys. Both of the girls declared he was the best at playing dolls, far better than "Na". While playing with them, he chatted with both Penelope and Tana. Ky had long since found a quiet corner away from them all and was reading a book. It was just like old times, except very different without Tate. Gio enjoyed catching up with everyone. He had been there one time before, recently, but Penelope and Em were asleep so he didn't bother them.
Even without Tate there, Gio felt blissful. He didn't want to bring up Walter when they seemed to be so happy, as he knew it would only make them sad. Instead, Gio just enjoyed the presence of his second family. Penelope told him to come by more often, but Gio wouldn't do that unless Tate was okay with it. As the sun started to set, Gio had to say his goodbyes. He promised to at least come back and visit soon, and to play with Julia and Emmalie again. Tana walked him out, shutting the door behind her as they both stood in the hallway. Gio could tell she wanted to talk to him, he assumed she knew about Tate and his abilities, so he wanted to make sure Tate wasn't out doing anything stupid.
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"I know about Tate." Gio blurted out, causing Tana to raise a brow as if questioning what exactly he meant. "I mean, I know about... how he's the reason Walter was arrested." Gio lowered his voice, not wanting anyone to hear them even though no one else was out in the hallway with them. The walls of that apartment building were practically paperthin, though. You could hear the neighbors breathing quietly in their apartments when it was silent enough.
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Tana nodded, showing that she already knew, and looked over her shoulder before speaking. "Tate's trying to find our dad. He's been out tracking him down every chance he gets. Tay... he's really not taking this well. I told him you could help-" Tana cut herself off, covering her mouth quickly. Tate must have told her, but Gio didn't mind. If there were any people outside of his parents that he would tell about his life as Sentinel, it would be the Crawfords. Maybe not Julia, but just because she would get too excited and tell someone. He still loved that kid either way.
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"It's okay." Gio wanted her to know that he wasn't mad. He really had no room to get mad at Tate for telling Tana anything. "You're right, though. I could help, I want to help. There's equipment at Isaiah's dojo that we could use. I've been keeping up with Walter and every place he's hit, I'm seeing a pattern. I think we could pinpoint where he may strike next and be there to take him down." Gio was keeping his voice low, but the eagerness in his voice was causing it to elevate slightly. He just wanted to help Tate in any capacity that he could. It was probably fueled by his desperation for them to get back to where they had once been, if that was even possible. After having just a few interactions with Tate again, it was like Gio craved more. He’d never been as close with anyone else as he had been with the angry little artist that had a bad attitude and even worse mouth. Not even his ex, Pippa, and they had almost gotten engaged.
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Tana agreed to let Tate know, to give him the address, and Gio left. Back to the loft over the dojo to explain to Isaiah what happened. Hopefully Tate would show, they could talk, and he would accept Gio's help. Isaiah seemed hopeful, told Gio he believed in him, and went out with Myla for a romantic dinner. That left Gio alone, waiting, and overthinking. Something he was perhaps the best at. Letting his mind go to the worst possible places imaginable.
He resorted to the only other thing he knew how to do well — train. Using the training dummies in the dojo he centered himself, and put his focus fully into that. Hours passed before he even realized it, the sun had been set for a while, and there was still nothing from Tate. Gio was starting to think he wouldn't hear anything from his friend, but when he heard a creak come through the shadows he threw the stainless steel Wing Chun ring he was holding in his hand at a high enough velocity to do some serious damage. Prepared for a fight, his stance dropped when he saw Tate step out of the shadows, holding the ring Gio had thrown.
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"Almost got me." He tossed the ring back to Gio, who caught it in mid-air. "I was told you can help us." That last word didn't go unnoticed by Gio. Tate implied he was already working with someone by that wording. Gio wasn't left to wonder for long who the other person could be, as someone wearing his Spitfire suit stepped out from behind him. It was only then Gio saw Tate seemed to have on a new suit, one that was blue and black rather than red and black like his Spitfire one. Once they revealed their face, Gio was surprised to see Tana. She quickly put her mask back on, probably protecting herself in case Isaiah was around. In fact, now that Gio was seeing them both standing side by side, it was clear to him that Tate had gotten bigger. Once the two siblings had been nearly the same size, but now Tate was getting closer to Gio’s own rather tall stature. No longer was he the scrawny little kid that could be shoved into a locker and have the door closed on him. Maybe that was why he’d given his old suit to Tana.
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"Yeah, everything is in the back room." Gio motioned for them both to follow him, leading them back and unlocking the "employees only" door. It opened to reveal a rather large room, filled with equipment and monitors. There was a large screen that nearly filled an entire wall. Gio walked over and pressed a button. As the entire screen lit up, it was partially covered with a map that had blips on it and the rest had Walter's mugshot and information on him. Gio didn't know, but this room reminded both Tate and Tana of their own little lair they had in the abandoned maintenance room of a subway route.
Gio was worried the mugshot might upset Tate and Tana. They both stared at it for a moment, hesitating as they saw his face. Eventually both of them looked away and it was immediately down to business. Gio had tagged every location Walter had been seen at, or that he believed through his own investigations had been at, since he escaped prison. It was starting to show a pattern, with the few random locations that made no sense. Each place Walter popped up at there were bodies. Those bodies appeared to almost always be people with abilities. It was concerning Isaiah and Gio alike, neither of them had abilities but yet the dojo had always been like a sanctuary for anyone who was considered a super or a mutant. Isaiah taught kids with abilities about control and discipline. Two things that often helped them better understand their powers. It made the dojo a possible target, but that would be a massive step and it seemed as though Walter hadn't escalated that far yet.
The fact that Walter had graduated up from smuggling weapons with the occasional body to what appeared to be mass murder and targeted hate crimes clearly upset Tate. Obviously it would. He had put Walter away only for him to escape and start doing worse shit. Gio could see it written clearly all over Tate's face, the resentment… the want to kill. It scared Gio to see his friend like this. It scared him enough that he dared to ask the question-
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"What are you planning on doing if we capture him?" His voice abruptly broke the tense silence that had settled over the three of them. Tate was gripping the back of a computer chair so tightly that he was close to ripping through the leather and cushion.
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"I made Walter a promise. I told him that if he ever fucking got out, I would be there. I told him that I would put him in a body bag myself so that he couldn't do shit like this!" Tate let go of the chair and Gio let out a small sigh of relief. How was he supposed to explain that to Isaiah, if his favorite chair had been brutalized? What he wasn’t relieved about, however, was how upset Tate was.
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Gio knew his next words were going to make things worse. He knew it and yet he still had to say them. He had to voice how he felt. "I can't let you kill him." His voice was firm, stern. It was like a threat and promise combined, unspoken. He would not let Tate kill Walter.
Though Gio's words? They definitely struck a nerve with Tate. He was prepared to be hit, to defend himself, but the almost deranged laugh that came from his friend concerned him even more. It shook through Tate's body as he threw his head backwards, turning around to look at Gio with crazed eyes and a scowl.
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"Do you think you can stop me?" Tate took a step towards Gio, who took a step defensively back. "I put him away once and look at what good it's done, Gio. What the fuck is the point of doing this the right way, if the right way doesn't put a permanent stop to this?! Look! Look at all the people he’s killed!" Tate yelled so hard and so loud that he became red in the face, something that never happened. He was so angry that he was shaking, pointing a jittery finger in Gio's face. "You don't get to tell me how to handle my own father-"
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"This isn't like you!" Gio yelled back, balling his hands into fists. He wasn't going to be backed into a corner by Tate Crawford, he refused. "I get it, Tate. He's hurt you, both of you. He's done a lot of messed up shit and he deserves to be punished for all of this! But killing him? No, I won't let you turn into him!"
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Tate's eyes widened at Gio's words. His brow furrowed and his nose scrunched up as his mouth downturned into a sneer. Tate was beyond mad; he was absolutely fuming. The blue sparks that lit up within his eyes as he glared at Gio were enough indication that Gio had drug that nerve out and shot it to death, not just struck it. Tate's hand was balled into a fist at his side, shaking with how hard he was gripping his fingers into his palm. It started to glow blue, very faintly.
"You think you know what this is like? Huh?” Tate spit the words out. “The rich asshole with the perfect fucking family. The business mogul father and the celebrity beautician mother. Never struggled for a single goddamn thing in your entire life — and you understand?” This was worse than their last fight at Gio’s high school graduation. And yet, the taller man could see that the resentment was still very much there. “You know what I'm feeling?!" Tate took another step forward, bringing his fist up and catching Gio right in the chin. "Fuck what you think, Capitani!"
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The hit was enough to stagger him, but the real pain came from Tate's energy output. It felt like getting burned and shocked at the same time, a searing sensation that zapped the area that Tate had made contact with. At least he didn't get Kamehameha'd with power level 9000 this time, like poor Carrie had that day. Tate had held back, he could have broken Gio's jaw if he really wanted. He could have put Gio into a wall, but he hadn't. He'd purposely held back and that alone told Gio that even though his words had hurt, Tate was thinking about what he'd said. With Gio now sitting squarely on his ass, he brought his hands up. Ready to block the next hit. When it didn't come, he got back to his feet immediately.
Standing now between Tate, Tana, and Gio was Isaiah. Tux on, weapon drawn, pointed directly at Tate. Gio hadn't heard him and Myla come in. Tate took a step back, away from Isaiah and Gio, as he looked between the two of them.
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"I think it would be best if you two left for tonight. You can discuss this tomorrow, when everyone has calmed down." Isaiah slowly put his tonfa baton away, but never took his eyes off Tate. "And Mr. Crawford… I think you need to take Giovanni's words into extreme consideration.” Isaiah didn’t once take his eyes off of Tate while speaking. Knowing that if he did, the boy could easily attack. The last thing any of them needed was the wrath of Valkyrie being unleashed inside the small dojo, and Myla was known to fiercely defend her husband. “Though our emotions are high and we think that we must enact our own justice, the price of our humanity costs more than we may believe. Think on what has been said here, and be sure of the path you wish to take before you start down it. Lest it be filled with perilous impasses." Isaiah’s voice was level and stern. He’d always been a calculated and almost calloused man, and this time was no exception as his disdain was apparent. He abhorred killing, and had drilled that into Giovanni so hard that he’d never budge on that moral no matter how bad a person was.
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After Isaiah invoked his zen wisdom upon Tate and Tana, the siblings left. Gio was left to explain what had happened to Isaiah, who had heard most of the argument. He only stepped in when he feared Gio may take a dangerous hit, but was surprised to see that Tate had held back. Isaiah wanted to know what Gio had planned, and wanted to know if needed to come out of retirement to help. Gio just told him the truth, he had no clue what he was going to do... but he had an idea. "We're gonna need more help. I'm calling Nia.”
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The final brick of our hero team’s foundation was about to be laid. Calling upon someone older and wiser than our three current young heroes, Giovanni believed that she was the only one who could truly help bring the team together. Perhaps having someone else with the same ideals as him, who refused to take a life, would help an angry Tate see that there was another way. Perhaps it wouldn’t help at all. One thing was certain, the resurgence of Walter as Leviathan had driven the young man out of retirement, and we were all about to witness the birth of a new hero known as Conduit.
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