L
LocalAreaMan
Guest
Original poster
Taking the subway to school was a right of passage for some of the students at Manhattan Academy. As they were all on the 12 train, clad in school uniforms mixed in with the other assorted goofballs and weirdos that NYC public transportation brought with it. Amongst all of them though sat a young man who even in his cleaned uniform looked disheveled. Fiddling with his smart phone he had completely hacked and modified beyond recognition. The phone had a connection to his personal desktop and laptop. With a small bluetooth keyboard Reed was typing in equations for a small scale experiment he had back in his storage unit behind the house turned lab.
It wasn't nearly as nice as Tony's, but it worked.
With that Reed's attention turned to a text message he got from that exact person. 'Meet in front before class?' It said, Reed indifferently sighed before going to respond…
'Sure thing '
Before his fingers could start to continue with the message Reed paused, blinking quietly to himself as he stared at his phone. He has had a difficult summer to say the least. It wasn't difficult in terms of anything straining physically or anything. More just emotionally distressing to unhealthy degrees.
Before the summer started Reed was a perfectly normal nerd. However all it took was one evening in Latervia to change everything. All the missteps, and all the mistakes he had made. It left him and the others either missing or now mutated in ways Reed felt like he couldn't even begin to understand. The others had varying degrees of accepting what had happened. Johnny seems like he's on cloud 9. Always talking about how he was going to become world famous and spent months working on a superhero name. Susan at least on the outside seems alright but Reed knew deep down it's all been bugging her.
Ben though, even though he's so far able to switch in and out of… Reed wasn't exactly sure what to call the form he takes on. Johnny's naming of 'that thing' was good enough for everyone at the moment. But even with the provision Ben has been miserable. It didn't help Reed convinced Ben to go solely because he could do the heavy lifting the others couldn't. Just another layer of guilt for Reed to try and digest.
Out of all of them though, it didn't compare to the guilt Reed felt for the still missing Victor Von Damme. Although Latverian authorities have excused Reed and the others since it was an accident. Reed knew deep down it was his fault that his friend was gone, maybe even for good. Not only that, but one of the last things Victor said to Reed before the fated experiment still rang in Reed's head every so often.
"If you think this is the right thing to do I'll go with you… but listen. If this goes wrong, it will be on your conscience."
Victor always had a way with words… even when they poisantly stung you deep.
On top of everything else, Reed was now a changed man. His body was now more cartoon character than normal human being. Granted, the curious and scientific side to Reed sees it as a present. A curious puzzle of limits, possibilities, and all the ways it might have improved his life. Still, it wasn't something he wanted people to just know about him. He was already socially awkward as it was. Being able to stretch his limbs all around probably wouldn't help that.
So Reed has been trying to decide who should know about the truth of his new form. He did show his mom, who already fainted when she first saw what happened to her little boy. Has come to accept it. Though Reed hasn't shown his two younger brothers yet, he's not sure he wants them to know. They're crazy rough housers as is, finding out they can turn their oldest brother into a living breathing play doh didn't sit well with Reed.
That left the biggest, amongst the admittedly small sample size, friend Reed had, Tony Stark. The billionaire playboy and him seemed like it should be an oil and water combination, but their combined smarts have made for interesting conversations and shared projects. Plus, Tony had his Iron Man suit which Reed was one of the few to know about, and even fewer to have actually had a hand in building. Although it was in a small way, using a fabric he made to line the inside of the suit with.
Finally the real world crept back into Reed's conscious, and realizing his stop was coming up quickly. Reed decided to put on his best YOLO (that is the term right?) and finished the text.
'Sure thing, but sometime today I need to talk to you, personal matter.'
Sent, Reed grabbed his backpack as the subway train came to a slow stop.
Reed approached the academy and immediately the day brought somewhat of a strange feeling to it. He had heard the academy had gotten a new dean, but the school seemed to have an influx of new students to go along with it. A school like this typically only really got new students in the form of the incoming freshmen. But there was students more around his grade showing up. It was interesting, though Reed wasn't exactly as interested in all the new blood coming in as he probably should be.
Approaching Tony, Reed subconsciously fiddled with his glasses. Getting a quick reminder that even after getting fascinating superpowers, he still needed the optics assistance. Way to kick him while he's down life….
Approaching Tony another student came up asking for help with all the first day prep. Reed paused and with a raised index finger gently butted into the conversation. "Well, actually when you go in. In front of the admins section should be a desk where all the new and first year students should get their information and other things." Reed noted to the presumably new student before awkwardly coughing.
"I mean that's what it was when I first came here…." Reed meekly added.
-------
Margaret had started to see some friends and teammates to chat with as she watched her father walk into his first day as academy dean. Agent Coulson was there, who Margaret considered an uncle even if lacking a genetic link. He was brought in to play dean's assist all the while really being liaison to SHIELD about the group.
Peering around at all the other new students she tried to keep an eye on all of the other project members. She saw a few, Ben had found Matt Murdock and the two seemed to be getting along well enough, Nico looked miserable, and Peter had ran towards Tony who had Reed join them. She still needed to figure out when and where to talk to Tony and Reed about the project. Hopefully at the same time, if she willingly let herself be around Tony privately she'd either have to pepper spray him or kick him in the nuts.
Glancing back to Ben and Matt though the two seemed to acknowledge Nico, perfect timing. According to reports Matt was late coming into town so he hasn't met his new roommate yet. Margaret excused herself from her friends as she approached Ben and Matt. "Hey Ben, looks like you're fitting in well!" Margaret gave Ben a light hug, a more friendly greeting than what the reality of her vague knowledge of Ben would suggest. More to keep appearances that she knows him to the others.
Margaret though turned to Matt, "Hi, I don't believe we've met yet but I'm Margaret Rogers. I'm sure they've told you about me." She suggested to Matt, keeping things vague enough as usual. "Listen though, before I get too ahead of myself. You haven't met your roommate yet have you?"
It wasn't nearly as nice as Tony's, but it worked.
With that Reed's attention turned to a text message he got from that exact person. 'Meet in front before class?' It said, Reed indifferently sighed before going to respond…
'Sure thing '
Before his fingers could start to continue with the message Reed paused, blinking quietly to himself as he stared at his phone. He has had a difficult summer to say the least. It wasn't difficult in terms of anything straining physically or anything. More just emotionally distressing to unhealthy degrees.
Before the summer started Reed was a perfectly normal nerd. However all it took was one evening in Latervia to change everything. All the missteps, and all the mistakes he had made. It left him and the others either missing or now mutated in ways Reed felt like he couldn't even begin to understand. The others had varying degrees of accepting what had happened. Johnny seems like he's on cloud 9. Always talking about how he was going to become world famous and spent months working on a superhero name. Susan at least on the outside seems alright but Reed knew deep down it's all been bugging her.
Ben though, even though he's so far able to switch in and out of… Reed wasn't exactly sure what to call the form he takes on. Johnny's naming of 'that thing' was good enough for everyone at the moment. But even with the provision Ben has been miserable. It didn't help Reed convinced Ben to go solely because he could do the heavy lifting the others couldn't. Just another layer of guilt for Reed to try and digest.
Out of all of them though, it didn't compare to the guilt Reed felt for the still missing Victor Von Damme. Although Latverian authorities have excused Reed and the others since it was an accident. Reed knew deep down it was his fault that his friend was gone, maybe even for good. Not only that, but one of the last things Victor said to Reed before the fated experiment still rang in Reed's head every so often.
"If you think this is the right thing to do I'll go with you… but listen. If this goes wrong, it will be on your conscience."
Victor always had a way with words… even when they poisantly stung you deep.
On top of everything else, Reed was now a changed man. His body was now more cartoon character than normal human being. Granted, the curious and scientific side to Reed sees it as a present. A curious puzzle of limits, possibilities, and all the ways it might have improved his life. Still, it wasn't something he wanted people to just know about him. He was already socially awkward as it was. Being able to stretch his limbs all around probably wouldn't help that.
So Reed has been trying to decide who should know about the truth of his new form. He did show his mom, who already fainted when she first saw what happened to her little boy. Has come to accept it. Though Reed hasn't shown his two younger brothers yet, he's not sure he wants them to know. They're crazy rough housers as is, finding out they can turn their oldest brother into a living breathing play doh didn't sit well with Reed.
That left the biggest, amongst the admittedly small sample size, friend Reed had, Tony Stark. The billionaire playboy and him seemed like it should be an oil and water combination, but their combined smarts have made for interesting conversations and shared projects. Plus, Tony had his Iron Man suit which Reed was one of the few to know about, and even fewer to have actually had a hand in building. Although it was in a small way, using a fabric he made to line the inside of the suit with.
Finally the real world crept back into Reed's conscious, and realizing his stop was coming up quickly. Reed decided to put on his best YOLO (that is the term right?) and finished the text.
'Sure thing, but sometime today I need to talk to you, personal matter.'
Sent, Reed grabbed his backpack as the subway train came to a slow stop.
Reed approached the academy and immediately the day brought somewhat of a strange feeling to it. He had heard the academy had gotten a new dean, but the school seemed to have an influx of new students to go along with it. A school like this typically only really got new students in the form of the incoming freshmen. But there was students more around his grade showing up. It was interesting, though Reed wasn't exactly as interested in all the new blood coming in as he probably should be.
Approaching Tony, Reed subconsciously fiddled with his glasses. Getting a quick reminder that even after getting fascinating superpowers, he still needed the optics assistance. Way to kick him while he's down life….
Approaching Tony another student came up asking for help with all the first day prep. Reed paused and with a raised index finger gently butted into the conversation. "Well, actually when you go in. In front of the admins section should be a desk where all the new and first year students should get their information and other things." Reed noted to the presumably new student before awkwardly coughing.
"I mean that's what it was when I first came here…." Reed meekly added.
-------
Margaret had started to see some friends and teammates to chat with as she watched her father walk into his first day as academy dean. Agent Coulson was there, who Margaret considered an uncle even if lacking a genetic link. He was brought in to play dean's assist all the while really being liaison to SHIELD about the group.
Peering around at all the other new students she tried to keep an eye on all of the other project members. She saw a few, Ben had found Matt Murdock and the two seemed to be getting along well enough, Nico looked miserable, and Peter had ran towards Tony who had Reed join them. She still needed to figure out when and where to talk to Tony and Reed about the project. Hopefully at the same time, if she willingly let herself be around Tony privately she'd either have to pepper spray him or kick him in the nuts.
Glancing back to Ben and Matt though the two seemed to acknowledge Nico, perfect timing. According to reports Matt was late coming into town so he hasn't met his new roommate yet. Margaret excused herself from her friends as she approached Ben and Matt. "Hey Ben, looks like you're fitting in well!" Margaret gave Ben a light hug, a more friendly greeting than what the reality of her vague knowledge of Ben would suggest. More to keep appearances that she knows him to the others.
Margaret though turned to Matt, "Hi, I don't believe we've met yet but I'm Margaret Rogers. I'm sure they've told you about me." She suggested to Matt, keeping things vague enough as usual. "Listen though, before I get too ahead of myself. You haven't met your roommate yet have you?"
