Important info in the Author's Note

Chapter 40: Return Of...

"Good morning Jade. It is 8:00 a.m., September 29th. The weath-"

"Can it J." I mumble into my pillow, after being o-so rudely awoken.

"My apologies Miss. It was requested that you be awake and ready by 11." Jarvis says.

"And who the hell requested that? Especially when I haven't even had 4 hours of sleep."

"Miss Lillian Nightshade."

"Son of a bitch." I groan rolling onto my back and rubbing my eyes. I throw the covers off myself only to shiver at the cold. I look down. Man, I was so tired last night, I didn't even put on pants. I let one more shiver rush through my body before sitting up and crawling out of bed. I walk to my closet, patting down my hair and running my fingers through it in an attempt to tame it. I grab a pair of shorts and a hoodie, zipping it as I walk out. I pass the TV, almost tripping over Natasha's shoes. Oooooo, hold it right there Sawyer. I look at my reflection in the TV screen and cringe a little at my smeared makeup. I go into the bathroom and rig my face of any makeup. Oh good God, you would think after washing my face, I would be awake. Welp, coffee it is. I stretch as I exit my room and walk down the hall, my back and shoulders cracking, inducing a satisfying morning moan. My arms flop down to my sides as I enter the empty kitchen.

"Good morning." I turn slightly to see Steve coming in from the elevator, wearing jogging gear.

"Good morning." I say after yawning. "Why are you awake?"

"I've slept enough for a lifetime. Why are you awake?" Steve asks, grabbing a bottle of water out of the fridge as I pour myself a mug of coffee.

"I have a feeling you've used that line before." I say adding creamer and sugar. "For me though, I was requested to be awake and ready by 11." I take a sip of the coffee. Mmmmmmmmm...

"Who's request?" Steve asks after taking the bottle away from his lips. I look at him, keeping my lips to the cup as I glance at him.

"Lilly."

"Oh, how is she?" He asks, leaning on the counter across from me.

"Last time we chatted, there was a situation. So hopefully she's worked things out."

He nods, taking another gulp of water while I sip at my coffee. Breaking the peaceful silence he asks, "So how did you sleep?"

"Oh the three and a half hours of it were wonderful." I tell him then proceed to nurse my coffee. He smiles and places the bottle on the counter.

"Do you want some break-"

"Jade! Why am I awake and who the hell is Lillian Nightshade?" Darcy shouts while stepping out of the elevator with a very tired looking Ian. Oh, okay so I did see those two go off on their own last night.

"Lillian is a friend of mine and since you're awake, I'm assuming she wants to join in on you taking me to the mall." I say. She opens her mouth, I'm sure to complain, but her voice is replaced with Pepper's.

"Wonderful. When are we meeting her?" She and Tony walk in from the hallway, Tony only in his boxers and tank top.

"Eleven." I say, placing my empty mug in the sink. Darcy rolls her eyes and trudges back into the elevator, as it opens revealing Thor and Jane.

"Not much of a morning person, that one." I quietly say turning back to everyone.

"Good morning!" Thor says brightly.

"Thor, buddy, remember what we said." Tony chastises rubbing his temple.

"My apologies Tony, I forget how alcohol sometimes affects mortals." Thor says, softer. Tony nods to Thor while taking a seat at the counter bar. Pepper walks over to me and I move out of her way. She opens the cabinet I was in front of and takes out a bottle of pain killers, scattering four pills in her hand and handing them to Tony as well as a glass of water. As Tony downs them gratefully, I snicker at him, standing next to Steve.

"What are you laughing about? You drank as much as me." He says bitterly.

"Yes, but I do have a higher alcohol intake then most people."

"You're like 5"5' and 115 pounds, how could you possibly-"

"If you go by the math that I've only been drinking for four years. But I haven't." I cut Tony off.

"She's right. Most kids begin having a drink with their parents during dinner around age 10." Ian says.

"True, unless you have my parents. Then it's from when you can hold a wine glass." I say. Yup, that's what growing up in wine country will do. Also, having to go undercover at many regal events as a teenager. "My body adjusted to alcohol at a younger age, much quicker, making it easier for me to handle more."

"Whatever." Tony grumbles, taking another sip of water. I smile at him while the elevator open again. This time, almost everyone walks out, only Johnny and Ben are missing. It seems that Darcy simply wanted to put her hair up and glasses on.

"Hey Jarvis, I bet hash browns and eggs would taste great right now." Clint says taking a seat at the table. Natasha, Thor and Jane join him while Erik and Bruce get coffee and Reed, Sue, Darcy, Ian and Peter take spots on the couch. Seconds later, Ben comes trudging in. So much for a quiet morning.

"Tell me about it." Steve mumbles to my so I can only hear. I sigh, tapping my nails on the counter before walking around Steve and out of the kitchen.

"Well I guess I'll go get dressed." I say walking to my room, but stop as the elevator doors pull open again. Now Johnny, I was expecting. His plus one on the other hand...

"What the hell are you doing here?" A women with boobs pushed up higher than I remember says to me, voice still nasally as ever and filled to the brim with Jersey Shore accent.

"You know, life rather enjoys brutally chucking lemons at me, but every now and then it gently hands me the richest of them all." I say looking at everyone before my eyes land on, you guessed it, Sharkisha. I smile and then look to Ash for Brains. "So Johnny, did you bring us home a girl?" Johnny rolls his eyes before guiding Sharkisha out of the elevator and going to the kitchen. Sharkisha stands awkwardly in front of me, dress and six inch heels from last night.

"So I take it you know each other?" Peter asks from the couch.

"To a degree." I say.

"She stole one of my dates." She says.

"Yeah, he's my neighbor Sharky."

"Then why are you here? Banding the Hulk?" She sneers, as if it's an insult. Which in all honesty, angers me. Any women would be lucky to be with Bruce.

"No, I'm actually here with friends. And quite frankly, you could never manage a man like Bruce. I doubt you could even manage an actual relationship. You're just lucky Flame Brain found you attractive. And I hate to break it to you Sharky, I really do, but you're just another notch in his bedpost. A one night stand, on her walk of shame. In fact, Jarvis? You know the drill." I say rather heatedly. Seriously, this chick is getting on my nerves and I'm going to do something about it. "I think you'll enjoy this." I say as another P!nk song begins. I'm sorry, but it just fits so well. (A/N: That's actually from me guys! XD) 1 step, 2 step, counting tiles on the floor. "I gotta say Tony, I love your computer system." 3 steps, 4 steps, I hold up my finger accordingly. Guess this means that I'm a whore. I point at Sharkisha. Uh oh, hell no, how long 'til I reach the door? I walk over to her. Fuck me, my feet are sore. I bump my waist with hers causing her to stumble slightly. I'm wearing last night's dress, but I look like a hot ass mess. Although my hair looks good cause I haven't slept yet. I pick up a strand of her hair, letting it slip through my fingers. Make the elevator come a little faster, She turns for the doors, but I slide in front of her, my back to her. I then begin pressing the buttons, but thankfully, Jarvis doesn't comply. I'm pushing all the buttons, but nothing's happening! I spin around to face her. Please God, don't let anybody see me. Please God, I'll do anything you ask of me. I walk around her, and walk back into the kitchen. I promise, no more walks of shame. So walk this way. I gesture for her to join me. We're walking, we're walking. So walk this way. We're walking, we're walking.

"Um, what is she doing?" Sharkisha asks no one in particular. Last night's bubblegum, no more bubbles no more fun.

"Whatever the hell I want, sweet cheeks." Where'd I get the wristband, tell me there's no tramp stamp. I walk around her glancing at the small of her back. One, two, three, shoot, no I know this shit ain't cute. I point at her. But damn the man it sure is fun to party 'til the sun wakes up. I continue to walk around her. Okay now raise two hands if you've ever been guilty. I grab her hands and pull them up with my own, because, well I have "been guilty." And clap, clap, clap, clap, clap it out if you've walked with me. As the chorus starts again, she's fuming mad. I'm actually quite surprised there isn't steam coming out of her ears.

"Just because you didn't have fun last night doesn't mean you can parade and pout about it." She complains.

"Says you. It's not my fault you decided to sleep with Charizard. Or that you came to the main floor with him. And just because I didn't drop my pants last night doesn't mean I didn't have any fun." I say crossing my arms. I shouldn't have let you take my keys, take my keys, and left me here with too much beer. My friends they hung me out to dry. "It's not my fault and that's why, you're doing the walk of shame." I wink at her which might have been a bad idea. Or, you know, it would be if I wasn't a master assassin. The song continues and she stomps over to me and I can't help but laugh. She swings her arm out at me. I duck down and slide to left, straightening and wiping non-existent dust off my shoulder.

She releases a high pitched and agitated grunt before saying, "do you know how annoying you are?"

I tap my chin as if in though before looking her in the eye. "Yes." She swings her arm at me again, which I dodge by simply stepping back. We repeat this several times, almost rhythmically with the music, me quietly saying, "And we're walking, and we're walking." I can tell by the time we get to the elevator, she's about to put all of her force into one last swing. So, I hit the elevator button behind me and swiftly jump out of the way, right as the doors open, causing Sharkisha to fall and screech on the way. The doors glide to a close, perfectly as the music ends. "Okay, now I'm going to get dressed." I say with a satisfied smile. I hear several chuckles as I walk down the hall. I go to my bathroom and do the whole shebang of getting ready for the day. It's when I'm getting dressed that I get a message from Jarvis, telling me to meet the girls in the main room once I'm dressed. I throw on a pair of skinny jeans and my black Jack Daniels shirt, with a maroon cardigan, black beanie and wedged sneakers. I grab my bag, making sure wallet, phone and blahdy da whatever else I'll need is there. I walk into the room and see everyone waiting. Except Sue.

"Where's Sue?" I ask.

"She wanted to help Reed, Bruce and Tony in the lab." Jane says.

I nod to her, as Pepper ushers us towards the elevator. "Perfect, let's go." Pepper says once she sees me.

"So who is this Lillian?" Jane asks as we walk down the street.

"Well she's kinda like me. In the sense that she's stubborn, perhaps more so than I, sarcastic, oh and an assassin." My casual manner throws Jane off as her eyes widen. "She's from a different universe, but Avengers, X-Men, Fantastic Four are all there too." This actually makes her stop in her tracks, causing Darcy to run into her and push her to move again.

"Another universe?" I nod to her, smiling at the baffled expression stretched across her face. "Is it like Thor and the nine realms?"

"Somewhat alike. But Lilly has her own Thor and Asgard. Her own everything. Thor is actually her uncle." I say.

"Well how does it work? How is she here? Have you gone to her... dimension?" Jane rattles while we enter the large building.

"Don't know, I'm guessing she walked, and a handful of times." I say looking at my phone, as it buzzed, notifying me of a txt from Lilly.

Food court.

"How can you not know! This is a break through!" She boasts as I pull her along, everyone trailing behind us.

"Don't get so excited, unless people ask questions. Then we all go to this building. But enough of this. That's her over there." I say pointing to Lilly as she finishes off the drink in her hand and tosses it in a waste receptacle. She look at her phone, I'm guessing to see if I texted her back. "You know Glacé (Icy), when you said 'wreaked havoc' I didn't picture us aimlessly wondering a mall." I say approaching her.

"Well I didn't want to interfere with your, girl's day. Plus I thought rampaging around Manhattan would be counter intuitive to your new job." She says with a smirk, facing me.

"Eh, the worse they can do is fire me." I say, returning the smile.

"So you're the famous Nightingale. Nice to formerly meet you." Natasha says stepping forward and shaking Lilly's hand.

"Likewise." Lilly replies.

"I'm sure you already know who they are, but this is Jane Foster and Darcy Lewis." I say stepping aside, gesturing to the two women.

Darcy shakes her hands and says, "Hi, yeah, next time, don't wake me up."

Lilly smiles. "No promises."

"Hello, how are you here?" Jane asks, clearly not letting this go.

"I took a cab...?" Lilly says, looking at Jane then to me questionably.

"Yes, but how are you-"

"Jane, drop it. Let it be." I interrupt her. She shakes her head and looks back to Lilly.

"You're right. We're here to have fun."

"Wonderful to finally meet you Lillian." Pepper says. Lilly nods to her.

"Okay, let's get this show on the road. Mama needs some new pumps." Darcy says taking the lead. I stand back with Lilly, not wanting to follow, as I eye a soft pretzel place next to us, but Lilly pushes me forward. I groan, tromping along, making it evident I'm not into shopping. Especially at a crowded, pungent, and loud shopping complex.

"Having a good time, are we Belle?" Lilly asks.

"Belle?" I say looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah. Like Beauty and the Beast. You're the French princess."

"Okay, well when you find a princess covered in ink and metal with the mouth of a sailor, give me a call."

"Well I'm still calling you that." Lilly says with a roll of her eyes.

I chuckle as we continue behind everyone, but my expression sinks as I see that we're walking to the prissiest store possible. Lilly nudges me and I look at her. "It's not that I don't want to spend time with them. I'd love to, but clothes shopping... isn't really my forte."

"I hear you, but it beats being kidnapped by your father."

I nearly choke on the air I'm breathing. "What?"

Simply, she continues, as if not hearing me. "Yeah, and turns out, when we travel through the dimensions, our own take a pause."

"Oh really, neat, but I utter again, what?" I say, over pronouncing the "h".

"But enough of me. What's going on in snake world?" Enough of her? We've barely even begun with her! I look at her flabbergasted, but she continues looking straight.

Words seem to be trapped in my throat for a minute or so until I shake my head. "Um okay, well, not much. I'm an agent now, but other than that, nothing really." I say with a dry laugh.

"Oh, come on, that can't be all. What about you and Peter?"

"What about me and Peter?" I ask as we enter the store Darcy chose.

"Well weren't you two fighting?" She asks.

"Oh yeah, kinda, but we're fine. Sang it out, hugged it out."

"Just hugged?" She asks as we stand in the corner of the store, the girls off looking at the seemingly endless amounts of clothing racks.

"Uh-huh...?" I say leaning against the wall.

"That's it?"

"What else would there be?" She purses her lips and sighs almost agitatedly. "I'm sorry, was it something I said?" I say crossing my arms.

"No, I just owe Stella ten dollars now." She say bitterly and walks off, kicking her heels against the ground.

"Excuse me?" I ask trailing her.

"This would look super good on you." Lilly says holding up a blouse to me.

"Nuh-uh honey, you evaded me the first time and I let it slide cause it was your life, but this is my life, so you tell me why you owe Estelle." I say pushing the shirt away, and crossing my arms again.

"Okay well I thought you and Bug Boy would make up a little differently, and Stella didn't." Lilly says after rolling her eyes.

"W-wait, do you think Peter and I are... romantic?" I can't help but laugh.

"What's so funny?"

"You, everyone. I mean, Peter is a great guy and any girl would be lucky to be with him. But I don't really see myself dating anyone, again. That is if you could call the one person I've been with, dating."

"But you two work so good together and-"

"Lilly, come on, I doubt anyone would want to be with this mess." I say gesturing to myself and then contorting my face in a grotesque manner while squishing my arms up like a velociraptor.

Lilly slowly raises her hand up slightly and says "You're actually pretty awesome, I wouldn't mind." I roll my eyes, standing straight again. "And apparently I'm not the only one." She points behind me. I turn to see a rather muscular man with black hair, standing outside the store, he turns just as I do, facing the crowd and rubs the back of his neck.

"Oh please, he was probably checking you out, or anyone of the beautiful women in this store. Look there's one over there, and there and-"

"Jade, if you keep slamming yourself, I'm going to slam you into a wall."

"Well if there was a way to shut someone up..." I say clearing my throat.

"You need to understand how outstanding you are! Peter, Steve, that guy, any guy would be lucky to call you theirs." Lilly says, clearly fed up with me.

I feel my cheeks heat up slightly and ask, "why did you say St-"

"Jade, Lilly! Are you going to participate or not?" Darcy shouts across the room. I whip my head her direction and see Lilly walk by me, apparently ending our conversation.

"So did you find anything you like?" Jane asks as Lilly and I walk over.

"Nope." Lilly and I say in unison. We look at each other for a moment and both snicker at each other.

"Next store then." Natasha decrees, walking ahead of everyone. We follow her out of the store, me, once again slumping along and bringing up the rear. We take an escalator to the second floor and walk into yet another store that is most certainly not my style.

"Jade, I think someone likes you." Pepper whispers to me as I push through the clothes, only halfheartedly. I look to where she points and see the same dark haired man as before, at one of the kiosks outside the store.

"Yeah Lilly pointed him out earlier, but he's probably just getting a phone case or something." I say looking back to the clothes, but walk away finding nothing.

"Wait, he was looking at you before? Well go talk to him! He's cute." Pepper says excitedly.

"I think I'll pass." I say picking up a leather jacket.

"Are we talking about tall, dark and handsome over there?" Natasha says as we walk over to her and the others.

"Yes." "No." Pepper and I say simultaneously.

"What, he followed you up here?" Lilly asks.

"I'm sure it's just a coincidence." I say.

"Or fate." Darcy says more dramatically.

"Hey guys look! I found something I like!" I say with fake excitement, trying to distract everyone. Pepper, Jane and Darcy actually do take the jacket and begin examining it, but Natasha and Lilly are clearly unconvinced, crossing their arms. "Why are we making this such a big deal?" I ask walking out of the store.

"Because this is what girls do." Natasha says with disinterest.

I turn around to face them, but keep walking backwards. "Yeah well, I'm not like most girls. None of us are. And besides, all of you, minus Natasha, have boyfriends." Lilly opens her mouth to protest, but I continue before she can. "No matter how complicated the relationship may be. And I doubt a date would really fit in right now, what with everything that's going-" I cut myself off by releasing an almost inhuman squeal as I step on... something, causing me to lose my balance. I begin flailing my arms, but I know I'll fall unless I put this momentum into something. I spin on my heel, saving myself a bruised ass, but my still spastic arm comes in contact with... with a face? The person, I literally smacked upside the head, falls to the ground, holding his face and squeezing his eyes shut. He groans as I squat down next to him saying, "I am so, so sorry." My hand covering my mouth in embarrassment, while Lilly and Natasha snicker behind me. He opens his eyes mumbling into his hands something I can't make out. His eyes lock with mine and I can't help but get a déjà vu feeling when looking at him.

"Dave?" He says into his hands, squinting at me. Or at least, I think he said that.

"What?" I ask, looking at him perplexed. His hands move from his face and he sits up. I immediately gasp, my hand slacking away from my mouth.

"Jade?" He says, much clearer.

"Luc?"

The chatter behind me ceases, but I can only look at the hazel eyes I never knew I missed so much. Despite the growing bruise on his cheek, the smirk that used to... oooo still makes my heart flutter makes it way to his features.

"Good to know you right swing hasn't faltered, love." He says, French accent still thick as ever, looking up at me. I smile as I take his arm and help hoist him to his feet. Sorry about that." I say, completely disregarding my American accent. "Are you okay?" I ask, cupping the bruised side of his face. He winces at my touch so I remove my hand and take a step back.

"Fine, perfect even. What are you doing here?" He says, unable to hid his smile. He steps closer to me and takes my hands. I step to his side, pointing behind me, but see Lilly and Natasha scarce form where they were.

"Well, I was with friends." I look back up at him, but my expression drops as my eyes meet the deep purple splotch on his face. "Come on, let's get you some ice." I pull him along to a medical area in the corner.

"Jade, I'm fine. There's no need for medical attention. Especially for something as mild as a bruised cheek." He protests.

"So you say, but unfortunately for you, purple is not your color." I say as we reach the desk. I ask the women for ice and place it on his cheek, ushering him to sit down. I stand in front of him examining his cheek, as Luc holds my hips and absentmindedly rubs his left thumb up and down. As I place the bag back over his cheek I contemplate everything that just happened. I physically ran into the one person from my past I don't want dead, the one person I've ever been in love with, and we go about things as if it hasn't been 7 years since I've seen him. Oh, holy shit... It's been 7 years... I look back to Luc, who hasn't taken his eyes off of me. I move my free hand from his shoulder and run it through his messy, black hair. I'm about to speak and address the situations, but am distracted by a mother and her two kids walking in. She walks her teenage son to the desk, but her younger daughter walks over to Luc and I.

"Is he okay?" The, I'm guessing, ten year old asks.

"I'm fine. I just scared her and she fell on me." Luc says smirking.

"I did not." I try to scold, but end up laughing.

The little girl's face lights up and she asks, "Are you French?" We both nod and she giggles. "Are you like the French people on TV that are really, really, really, in love?" Before either of us can answer, her mother calls her back.

Luc stands up, removing my hand from the ice and setting it on the chair.

"Jade I know we can't go back to how we used to be." He starts, taking my hands. "But I do want to talk. First, though, I want you to go back to your friends and not worry about me. I'll meet you at the coffee shop off of 42nd and Main at 7." Before he leaves, although he hesitates, he takes my chin and tilts my head to the side, gently kissing my cheek. He walks out of the medical center and leaves me slightly dazed. I shake my head and make my way out and back to the store I left the girls at. I walk back to the store and almost don't notice Lillian.

"What's wrong with your face, is... is that a smile?" She asks, bringing me back to my senses. I'm ready to give an equally smart ass comment, but remember that she was the first one to spot Luc.

So I punch her in the arm.

"You could have told me I was going to walk into someone."

"Hey, I didn't know you were going to slap him. Or that he was your long lost lover." She says dramatically. I'm compelled to punch her again, but everyone joins us.

"Long lost lover? So that was the infamous, Luc Tristan Levett." Natasha says, everyone laughing. And yeah, it's basically like this. All. The way. Back. To. The. Tower.

***

"And then he kissed my cheek."

"Awwwww..." Darcy, Jane, Natasha and Pepper all reply to the end of my interaction with Luc.

Make sure to tell me how things go with Lover Boy. Lilly texts me. She left after we finished at the mall.

Will do. Make sure to tell me how things with Daddy go. She doesn't respond, but I'm sure she's scowling.

"Okay, tell it again." Pepper pleads. I sigh, but it turns into an aggravated groan as I exhale. I walk out of the elevator, trying to end the conversation, but, of course, tony is right there.

"What's with the..." He mimic my sigh. I glare at him before rolling my eyes and falling down on the couch. Steve, Peter, Clint Thor, and Ben in the sitting area while Bruce, Reed, Sue Johnny, Ian and Erik are in the kitchen.

"Sue we really missed you today." Jane says, but before they continue, Darcy bursts, "Guess who has a date?"

"Uh, a-a what?!" Ian frantically asks.

"It's not a date!" I say sitting up.

"Wh-what happened?" Peter asks. I look at him and open my mouth, but nothing comes out.

Eventually, I do find my voice, ignoring trying to dance around this. "Luc was there. And he wants me to meet him tonight at 7." Everyone is silent and shocked. Steve, though, looks almost angry and Peter... scared. "It'll be okay. It's just coffee." I try to reassure them.

"Jade, you were in love, do you honestly think it's just coffee." Clint asks. I think for a minute before answering. I look down at my hands in my lap, feeling a smile creep onto my face.

"I don't know."

"Is... Is that a smile on your-"

"Lilly beat ya to the punch, Metal Head." I cut off Tony. He looks genuinely disappointed as he trudges into the kitchen. Slowly but surely, everyone goes back to their conversations and whatever they were doing before. Peter actually stands up and goes to the kitchen. I almost collapse back on the couch, but notice Steve staring at me. When my eyes meet his, he seems to come out of his daze.

"When are you meeting him?" He asks. I move closer to him so we aren't shouting across the room.

"Seven." I say.

"Are you excited?"

"Honestly, I think I'm more nervous than anything. We went about things as if it hadn't been 7 years since we've seen each other."

"What do you think's going to happen?" He asks, his jaw clenching slightly.

"I really wish I had an idea, but... I don't."

A/N: So this chapter gave me some issues... Not writing it, actually uploading it... But it's here! And I hope you all enjoy it! I sure had fun with it.

Video attached is Walk of Shame by... P!nk... Yes I know! Last one! For now...

Picture is, yes... Luc!! I was sooooo excited to finally have him and Jade meet again! Although I was hesitant on including the picture. Oh well, here it is.

Now, the important part. I bet you all have some questions for Jade... Luc perhaps? Yes, that's right everyone, here comes another Question and Answer!!! It's been awhile I kinda need something easy, because school starts in 2 days... I figured with a Q/A I can do that, still write and focus on which teachers I need to be a kiss ass too.

Quick question from me before I sign off. What do you all normally do on your first day back? Me, I try to give my best first impression to the teachers, and also memorize where their classrooms are. Then comes how I should travel through the halls, factoring in which hallways are busier and then when I can stop by my locker. It's a big mess in my head when it comes to school. Although, when isn't my head jacked up?

Okie dokie all, thank you so much for reading! I love every last bit of every one of ya! Don't forget to ask as many questions as you can think of! No matter how crazy, random, philosophical, or sensual they are! And to whoever you want! Even me!

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