Long haired, stubble, angry murder strut, who look like sunshine and rainbows when they smile, who have done unspeakable things and do not believe in redemption for themselves because of what they’ve done but will do anything to protect their families, who buy fresh fruit, ex-military and could probably kill you just by looking at you, very familiar and comfortable in Slavic countries
example: see Bucky Barnes and Eliot Spencer
who have a sarcastic friend with the best one-liners, who initially don’t get along but now have a secret handshake, both are underestimated, but are the kind you want backing you up in a fight, will crack a joke while saving the world and often the voice of reason
example: see Sam Wilson and Alec Hardison
and their blonde crazy friend getting into fights too big for them, lack impulse control and have both jumped off a building/plane with no safety net and/or parachute, can handle it on their own but forget that they don’t need to
And yeah. Let’s never introduce Steve and Parker. Especially not somewhere high up. Like that restaurant at the top of the Space Needle? VERY BAD IDEA.
NO. DO THE THING.
The faces of exasperation of Elliot, Hardison, Sam, and Bucky would be GREAT!
and their gorgeous friend who’s a master of reading and manipulating people who is often the voice of reason, someone has a heart of gold and whose mysterious origin story is hinted at but never fully explored
example: see Natasha Romanoff and Sophie Devereaux
and their alcoholic friend who’s driven by his personal trauma, brilliant and charming when working a crowd but a bit of a failure in personal relationships, and spends an awful lot of time spiraling around personal implosion
So I got my sibling hooked on “Leverage”…so much so that @singlecobrawanted to trade art of favorite characters.
Which is kinda super awesome!
In the alternate universe where John Rogers started working full time on comics instead of staying in TV after Leverage ended, this would be the art for the Leverage continuation series.
So, as you might expect, Eliot’s state of mind starts out with disbelief when Hardison claims to be Jewish, which very quickly shifts to annoyance when he sticks with the story.
On his way out, just imagine a litany of “Damnit, Hardison. He just makes this shit up as he goes along. Takes my sandwiches when I’m saving them for later, but won’t eat the one I made special for him. This is all some kind of joke to him, but food isn’t a damned joke. Thinks he’s going to stump me by claiming to be Jewish. He’ll see.”
And then he takes it as a challenge, and you know how Eliot is about challenges. He does a quick stop for new dishes – gets a couple of pots and pans, measuring and mixing equipment, stuff for leftovers, and exactly one plate knife and fork. Then he goes for food, making sure to check everything for kosher for Passover marks. And he finds a kosher butcher to get the turkey.
Once he’s home and busy with the cooking, his annoyance disappears because he’s too busy cooking. He kind of gets lost in the technicalities of making Passover stuffing and rolls (I do have the recipe for Passover rolls somewhere, if anyone wants it – my mother always makes them because my dad hates matzah). He plates with exacting precision, partially because he’s still annoyed and partially because – as he told Parker – cooking is how he shows his love. And he’s started to remember that and wonder what Hardison’s reaction will be.
Hence not looking at Hardison after dropping the plate next to him. And then, faced with Hardison’s definite and vocal appreciation, embarrassment rises. Also, he finally accepts that yes, Hardison must be Jewish. Because he isn’t making snide commentary about the new meal.
Having had some time to think about it, here’s how the Leverage Acquires a Random Baby Job would go down.
Eliot hears a woman screaming and runs in to chase down the attackers. He finds a woman who has not been raped or robbed and is now unconscious on the ground. Then there’s another scream, and he finds a cleverly hidden baby nearby.
They get the woman to the hospital. But, with no idea of the motive for the attack or who can be trusted, they keep the baby. It turns out that Hardison is good at turning crying babies into laughing babies because of foster siblings. Babies like shiny things, and Parker finds him teething on colorful gemstones and falls in love. Eliot does all kinds of research on baby food to make sure the baby only gets the best. Sophie talks to him in all kinds of accents and languages.
And, of course, Nate is the best at changing diapers and dealing with sleepy, cranky babies. They get to the base in the morning and find him asleep in a chair with the baby asleep and cuddled against his shoulder. (Hardison takes pictures.)
Hardison starts calling the baby Sam, because they don’t know what his name is (“and it was either that or Alec Jr.”) It catches on with the others. (Don’t ask why they don’t know the baby’s name.)
Meanwhile, they’re figuring out who the woman is and why she was being attacked. It quite possibly has something to do with the baby/who the father is. They do whatever needs to be done to run the attackers off and ensure the continued safety of both mother and child, and when the mother gets out of the hospital they give the baby back. (Hardison tells her not to throw out the mobile made of colorful gems and international coins – it’s Parker’s contribution to his college fund.)
the canon OT3 we’re not being coy like in the Rundown Job job
the one-off not quite canon within the story supernatural/fantasy elements job
the fake a cryptid (either bigfoot or el chupacabra) job
the circus job (I really want to see Parker the acrobat)
the explain how their clients even find them job. Like seriously do they advertise??? How does this work???
Hardison’s Nana comes to them because some fake debt-collection agency is hounding her for bills she already paid (or rather, that Hardison paid, via the Bank of Iceland). She is played by Nichelle Nichols. There is at least one Star Trek reference.
YES I need this like breathing. Nichelle Nichols is Nana now. Nobody can convince me otherwise.
And the circus job! No one can tell me that the entire crew wouldn’t get in on the circus job and be really into it.
Parker as an acrobat trying to get used to the idea that people are supposed to see her when she’s performing, and then getting into it and loving the applause when she does something extra fancy and death-defying with her ropes.
Eliot randomly is an expert at fire-juggling, because of course he is. He performs shirtless. The crowd goes wild. Never has there been so much thirst in a single room.
Sophie as the fortune teller. Sophie as the fortune teller who’s way too good at her job and has to tone it down a little bit because she’s freaking people out. She also does the knife-throwing act with Eliot, posing beautifully while he throws knives around her. She knows he’ll never miss.
Nate, of course, is the barker. “Step right up, step right up. See the beautiful, the death-defying…”
Meanwhile Hardison is behind the scenes bringing the technology into the 21st century. The light show to go along with the choreography has never been more beautiful, the sound system has never been so good, and the rigging has never been more safe. Also there are bugs everywhere so he can listen in and catch the bad guy, but that’s almost secondary.
In the end Eliot gets to fight the circus strong man, Sophi out-cons the bad guy, and the plan comes together like puzzle pieces falling into place right at the end so you can hardly believe it worked. Just like a good performance should.
They give the circus back to its tearfully grateful original owner and drive off into the sunset–ready to con another day.
There's a Mirror on the Wall 