Marvel's Academy Alliance

[mr_pibbs]

Character Sheet: Here
Location: The Bus
Mentioned: Reed Richards (@LocalAreaMan)
Interactions: Reed
Outfit: School Uniform

Peter perked an eyebrow at Reed as he mentioned how the substance would be 'like webbing'. Smirking at him, Peter reached into his backpack and pulled out a pencil. With lightning quick reflexes, Peter let go of the pencil fired the web-shooter on his right hand at it, causing the pencil to instantly snag on the line, which Peter pulled back towards himself. Wrapping up the pencil with webbing took no time and very little of his web-fluid, but in a matter of seconds, he had a fully web-cocooned pencil which he handed to Reed to further examine. The webbing was incredibly sticky and firm, feeling as if it were made of hundreds of microscopically sized steel beams; needless to say, it was incredibly strong, but surprisingly flexible.

As Reed spoke about Susan, it became super apparent to Peter, even without a sixth sense, that there was definitely something between them. A closely knit friendship, but some might say there was more lurking beneath the surface. Peter didn't want to speak up too quickly about it though; he was already bad at making friends, the last thing he needed was to make a bad impression on the one person who seemed to take an interest in him. "That's pretty cool, sounds like you guys are really close. My dad never really brought home friends from work... Well, uh... Primarily because I didn't know him too well. Same with my mom. They kind of disappeared one day when I was a kid... I've lived with my Aunt ever since." Peter said, not quite ready to bring up his Uncle. Peter had already accepted Ben's death, but he wasn't about to go talking about the incident unless it was brought up directly. He just preferred it that way.

But soon, Reed was off talking about his powers and how he acquired them, which got Peter interested. He had heard about some kind of incident in Latveria over the summer, but didn't think it had anything to do with teleportation. He thought a bomb went off by accident or something; it happened. But it was still interesting to see how Reed had mysteriously acquired stretchy-powers after a teleportation rig failed. "That's pretty bizarre, but I honestly can't say I'm any better. I got bitten by a radioactive spider... Well, it wasn't quite radioactive as it was 'genetically modified', but most people find it easier to understand when I say 'radioactive'. But yeah... My body mutated to a degree and now I can do anything a spider can... Spiders have kind of become my motif."

But Reed soon sought out Margaret's attention in order to pick up something at his home, which prompted an eyebrow-raise from Peter. When Reed explained it was for a customized suit he had designed to function with his powers, it caught Peter's interest, but also made him feel a little inferior. "That's cool... Mine's just something I tossed together to help keep my identity secret. Only thing that really helps is the goggles; they help me focus on stuff so I can better utilize my environment." he mentioned, reaching into his bag yet again and pulling out his mask for Reed to examine. "But yours sounds way cooler. Apparently they said I'm getting a new one today... But I don't know; this ones pretty good too, right?"

 

[Camleen]

When Simon responds to her words, she gives him an odd look. She knows plenty of guys that take the 'wounded heart' route waaaaaay to quickly. She really hopes Simon isn't like that. She really didn't mean that, about the past. Rather, she didn't mean it as he understood it.

Nico looks back towards Molly as Simon does, and her eyes return to him as they both face front once more. She also just now notices he sighs a lot. That can be annoying. She shakes her head a little as Simon closes his eyes, and now she sits up a little in the seat. She gets a little sneer on her face, and she reaches up to pluck the nearest earbud from his ear. She holds it away from his head a little as she speaks. "Hey, don't go putting up some kinda mopey wall with me." Her tone a stern one. She keeps the earbud held between her fingers. "Whatever you heard me say, that isn't what I said. I didn't say 'dude stop dwelling on the past things' or something, like the 'they' people apparently have. I meant today's supposed to be about our new beginnings, right? So let's focus on that. Let's focus on that for right now. And besides" She now sits back a little in the seat, and she kind of drapes the earbud over his ear. She doesn't want to actually put it back in his ear, that's a little tooooo much of a personal space issue. Even for Nico. "There's gonna be pleeeenty of time for me to bore you with my sadsack tales. They got everything in 'em. Gods, supervillains, alien boyfriend that's actually an alien girlfriend, 110 year old kids, cowboy werewolves trying to steal oil.. somethin for everyone." She nods and now rests her hands on her lap, glancing out the window as she continues. "And don't be such a stiff, man." She then looks back to him, her head cocked to one side. "Don't take everything so literally… or seriously… Like robotish." She blinks at herself, and laughs lightly "Wow, look at me. Lecturing you already. Aren't you lucky?" She says with another light chuckle.

Molly looks in Ben's direction, nodding immediately to his curious tone. "Yeah dude. Memorized. Ya know" she pauses… it actually takes her a few moments to think of another word "Enthraaaaalling" she holds up her hands and wiggles her fingers, as in a 'lookit my bling' motion. She then makes a dissmissive motion to Ben "Don't worry newbutt, I'll keep ya in the loop." She nods, and her attention is then drawn towards Margaret as she hears her name "Whut whut" her gaze snaps to Margaret, and then she looks passed her towards David. Immediately she gives a lively wave, a big ol goofy smile on her face. "Hiiiiii David!"

The bus starts to pull away, and Molly then jumps a little and turns in her seat. She now sits backwards in her seat on her knees, her hands grasping the back of said seat. She narrows her eyes at Ben. "You sure you're that old? Ya seem older. I mean… 16 is old. Like.. guh… but iunno." She suddenly leans towards him, her face stopping just a few inches from his. She stares into his eyes as she leans forward towards him. "You're weird, Baker." She leans back as she sits up on her knees still, grasping the back of the seat. "I'm gonna call you newbutt for now. I know, I know ya feel special cause I gave ya a codename. But ever'one'll get one once we get to the place with the stuff. And then I'll go all secret identity and wreck shi-" her eyes widen as she cuts herself off, looking over her shoulder toward Margaret at first, and then up towards Coulson. Whew.. they didn't hear that. She thinks. Immediately she looks back towards Ben. "Wreck stuff. Cause that's what I do. Wreck badguys. And they try ta shoooot me and I'm like dude really now you're gonna go flyin and then I send 'em flyin this one time I did a knock knock joke with this jerk that was talkin up me and I was like knock knock and he's like who's there and I'm like boo and he was like boo who and I was like oh I'm sorry I made ya cry cause I hit ya so hard and he was like oh hey little girl you didn't hit me and then I just decked him it was eeeeeeeeeepic and I think he lived he like hit a wall pretty hard but I made sure he was breathing and then we had to beat feet outta there cause we're flippin ninja like man ya know live and work in the shaaaaaadows which I'm good at cause I'm eeeeeeeeeepic like that."

Most of that was one sentence. She didn't even have to take a breath.

Molly seems to be keeping her attention on the small group around her. Perhaps intentionally having her gaze avoid the front of the bus, where Nico sits with Simon. And apparently she's completely forgotten that she was angry. But Margaret is right, and that's one of the reasons they're pretty good friends. Molly doesn't hide her emotions well. But she does redirect that energy sometimes. Instead of being angry… she can get chatty.

And without looking, Molly reaches over and starts to ruffle Margaret's hair a little. Only because Margaret was trying to fix it. All the more reason for Molly to mess with her a little. And perhaps Molly's quiet, discrete way of showing she isn't terribly mad.

 

[Gands]

Simon Graham Williams

For the several moments he was getting chastised by Nico, Simon was quiet, thinking back. He wanted his old life back. Very little of him wanted this new freaky stuff. New beginnings.. right. Like the damned psychologist said for seven god damned months.

* softly * " Look Nico, you are probably right. I still have issues to work out. My people skills are out of date and rusty. I have any number of interesting excuses as to why they weren't all that good in the first place. I just wanted to be friendly. Poor timing on my part. Yeah, I've always been a little stiff I suppose. With all of this crap, I think I'm going to need help, friends, people I can talk to. So, I can find my mojo again. I apologize if I screwed up in how I started this with you. "

After that, he puts the earpiece back in his ear. Yep, one continuous screw up when it comes to people. He moved his player to start on his blues section. It was going to be a long school year.

 

[Laivindur]

Ben didn't move, but glared back at Molly as she broke his personal space. She was lucky to move away in time, and for that Ben softened. He thought of Molly as the annoying little sister who craved attention, and Ben didn't mind a little sister actually. To amuse the other two, he glanced at Molly to make sure she knew he was listening, but at any given time, he looked at Margaret and David with a discreet exasperated grimace, as if amazed about her stamina in talking. Molly went on and on and on about her awesome person, simply cutting off David's introduction with a huge story about herself. As Molly couldn't seem to stop talking Ben leaned his cheek into his palm, and waited for her to finish. Even though he didn't seem to pay attention, he listened. He looked bored and amused in turn. After rolling his eyes, Ben pretended to fall asleep. He closed his eyes, and made snoring sounds right at the end of her long tale. He didn't want to give her a chance to smack him across the head though, so he opened his eyes to try to block any attempt. He also had to see whether his antics had caused Margaret or David to smile. Perhaps even Molly would gain some insight and see Ben's reaction for what it was: a friendly reminder that she talked too much.

 

[Brea]

Character Sheet: Here
Location: Bus
Mentioned: Ben ( @Laivindur )
Interactions: Raven ( @Ms.Ezra )
Outfit: School Uniform

"Oh," was all Gwen could think to say when Raven revealed she might be interested in the boy who was talking to her earlier. Like a school girl, Gwen glanced over to him briefly, getting s good look at him now. His black hair gave him a nice contrast from his paler skin, and he did have pretty eyes... Ben was now conversing with Margaret and Molly, and she couldn't help but wonder if the boy was just a flirt.

"That's cool, then," Gwen finally mused, looking back to Raven. Just because she wasn't looking for anything romantic didn't mean she wasn't excited by other people's budding romances. She was still a teenage girl, after all. Gwen's blue eyes swept over all of the people on the bus. Some of them were very chatty, some of them not so much. She wondered if they would all end up working well together. Or, would their so called 'team' just be one big super-powered chaotic mess?

Only time would tell.

Gwen watched the buildings fly by outside of their bus, hoping that the ride wouldn't be too long. She didn't want to be out all night, she was still going to need to be to school again in the morning. Her gaze then shifted back to Raven, trying to think of something to say to the girl. Alas, nothing really came to mind. She wasn't sure what they would have in common. Thinking about it now, Gwen thought that they wouldn't even be sitting beside each other had they not ran into one another that morning.

Still, she had to try and make friends. "How were your classes?" She asked at an attempt to make small talk. Hopefully she could at least get the ball rolling with her admittedly generic question.​

 

[LocalAreaMan]

~ Margaret Rogers ~


While Molly, for lack of a better explanation, proceeded to talk poor Ben's ear off metaphorically. Margaret made sure to engage in some small talk with David Layton. Was the trip out alright? Was he able to settle in okay? Was he going to need anything from SHIELD before he started school tomorrow. David came off aloof, quiet, though respectful as he was busy assuring Margaret he was all set and shouldn't have any issues.


As Margaret turned back, realizing her hair was a bit frizzled again and adjusting it back. She heard the tail end of Molly's little story of punching people. It's a favorite subject matter for the young SHIELD agent in training. Ben's reaction was pretending to have fallen asleep though he clearly had a cheekiness to show he was only kidding.


"Trust me you'll have a hard time getting Molly to stop when she gets going like this." Margaret told Ben as she had turned in her seat. Butt still firmly planted down but she had a hand on the top as she turned to look over at Ben at an angle. "No joke, I once listened to her have what felt like an hour long argument, with herself mind you, over the merits of punching a guy in the stomach versus punching a guy in the face." Margaret noted as she pointed to her co-hort a little over in the seat.


Soon though Margaret's attention turned to the front of the now slowing bus as its brakes squealed slightly. "Alright Reed this is your place right?" Steve asked down towards the young scientist. The bus had stopped at the corner near a small, suburban home that rested in the Bronx.


~ Reed Richards ~


Reed Richards looked enthralled as he played with the pencil encased in webbing. Though the sticky webbing made him have to pull his fingers out to release them from the substance. Listening as much as he could to Peter talking about his own story, losing his own family, how he got his powers (bit by a spider? Reed had to wonder…), and Peter's own suit. "Well, I'm no stranger to losing loved ones as I'm sure you're aware…" Reed mentioned to Peter, the tinge of sadness over the subject clearly showed that was all Reed would be willing to say regarding his father. As much as he wanted to bring up the idea he had that his father was out there and that he thought he knew where that was. Reed also knew there probably wasn't enough time to really go into the detail. Maybe when the two could hang out in a more intimate like setting.


Soon though Mr. Rogers from the front of the bus caught Reed's attention. Causing him to accidently launch the pencil from his grasp up and onto the roof of the bus. Something he didn't notice as he stood up and looked over at what was in fact his house. "Uh yes sir, thank you I'll be right back…"


Getting off the bus Reed quickly but carefully made his way into the backyard through a side fence. He had told his mom he was going to be out late for something school related via text message. But hadn't gone into details and thus he didn't want her seeing him go into his shed. Picking up a pair of his unstable molecule suits, along with a unique looking pair of goggles and a notebook that looked well used.


By the time Reed got back on the bus, and quickly there after the bus began on its way again. Reed with the small handful of goods retook his seat next to Peter. "Alright so this is what I was talking about…." Reed noted, unfolding one of the blue and white suits in front of the two. The entire thing looked surprisingly skinny and a little small for the 6'2 Reed. Though at the same time it also had a surprising amount of craftmanship to it. The stitching looked good, everything looked well measured and spaced, and it even came with gloves and boots. "The idea was a almost genetic modification of spandex down to its very molecular level. The material is designed in a way where it can almost add onto or lessen itself when its pulled. Meaning that in theory you could pull on it and, while it would break eventually, it would take a very long time for that to happen to say the least." He told Peter, tugging on the suit itself as he casually tossed the goggles he brought with him over his head and down to dangle around his neck.

 

[Ms.Ezra]

Collab with @Brea
​

"Classes were good. They do grades different here, I see. That will be the most confusing part of being a student for me." Raven answers and looks back at Ben. Her eyes narrow a little to see him talking to the head girl and the little dynamo. But that look fades when she looks back at Gwen and speaks in a quiet voice. "So I did not want to pry, but I could not help noticing you look right at that brainy boy." She points at Peter's direction with her lips to be discrete. "He say something to you very flattering as well?"

Gwen joined Raven in glancing back at Ben, causing her to miss the look that crossed Raven's face. Raven then mentioned a 'brainy boy,' and Gwen followed her gesture to figure out just who she was talking about. Gwen's eyes landed on Peter, causing them to immediately widen. Her face suddenly felt very hot, and she hoped to God that it wasnt turning red. "Peter!?" Gwen whisper-yelled as she looked back to Raven. "Oh God no, he's just... the absolute worst." The disgust was clear in her voice, but her face showed only embarrassment.

Raven's eyes go wide at Gwen's reaction, but she giggles and taps her temple. "What is the saying in English....um...the fraulein..protests too much." She snaps her fingers and smiles proudly "Ja! The fraulein protests too much."

With knit eyebrows, Gwen stared at Raven for a moment. She'd never heard that exact saying, but she assumed it meant the same thing as, "The lady doth protest too much," from Shakespeare's Hamlett. Which hinted that Raven did not believe Gwen's protestations on Peter. "No," the blonde insisted, shaking her head. "You don't understand, he is truthfully the worst person on the planet. Wait a few days, you'll hate him just as much as I do."

Raven looks over at Peter "Looks nice enough to me." She looks back at Gwen and puts on a concerned look "If he bothers you, I will help. I am tougher than I look." She smiles.

A look of unsurety crossed Gwen's features, but it was quickly replaced with a smile. "Nah, he's mostly harmless. Just a pain in the ass... nothing I can't handle," Gwen dismissed her offer. Then, as an afterthought, she added, "But. Thank you." She was pretty sure by this point that she liked Raven, and she hoped their budding relationship would continue.

"Anyways..." Gwen started, deciding it was time for a subject change. She thought about asking Ravin what her super power was, but then realized that there'd be plenty of time for that once they got to their destination. Instead Gwen settled with, "What do you like to do for fun?"

"For fun?" Raven tilts her head side-to-side "I like to shop, that is always fun. I like to exercise, to swim." Raven looks away from Gwen and out the window, speaks up a little more since they were no longer gossiping about others "And back in Munich I would love to watch American shows, and I am excited to see more of New York now. Not just scenes in Law and Order. I saw some of it last night. So beautiful."

Gwen nodded in agreement. She considered telling Ravin that Law and Order was not the best representation on New York, but then she remembered all the crime she had stopped in the last week. The last month. Maybe it was an accurate depiction. " I imagine you'll probably get to see more than just New York," Gwen said. "I mean, if this program is anything like what I've imagined it to be. It kind of sounded like wherever there's crime is where they'll send us." Gwen shrugged her shoulders. She was hoping that her new job would have her traveling, but truthfully she didnt know what she was in store for.

"Oh right!" Raven says ecstatically looking back at Gwen. "Fingers crossed for crime near Grand Canyon!" She says this as a means to portray Raven as a naive girl who is completely misunderstanding the serious nature of the program they were now in. The real Raven has seen too many movies to truly believe this program will be like a working vacation.

 

[Camleen]

With a wide grin Molly watches Ben's reaction, as if she were expecting… well more. Maybe a story about how awesome (thinks) he is, or telling what his powers are, or how he likes to mingle. Since those are about the only things Molly has observed thus far about him. But when he feigns 'falling asleep' with her story, she grins even more widely and starts to reach for him. Maybe to juggle with him… not as a partner but as one of the juggling balls. But as she leans towards him, the bus hits a bump and Molly almost falls back on the seat she is sitting backwards in. She looks towards Margaret as she addresses them, and then Molly looks back towards Ben. Another deep breath… and "Most people I beat up on're like bigger than me I mean like taller cause I'm not that tall and people are tall and badguys are grownups usually" she stops talking abruptly, looking out the window as they stop "Ew is this Harlem? Gross.." she shakes her head and looks back to Ben. Deep breath… and "So punchin 'em in the tummy is easier, cause I'm bout chest height to most guys. If I puncheded" she actually says 'puncheded' "in the face I'm like" she stretches her arms up to try and touch the ceiling of the bus "awww come on down here face to I can punch you!" and then back to Ben she looks. "So I think punchin in the tummy's easier. But I bet he" she blindly points in the direction of Margaret's dad "Punched people in their stupit faces all the time. No no I bet he kicked people in their stupit faces all the time"

She now leans forward on the seat, her arms crossed over the back of the seat "There's lotsa new people here. You think they'll all wanna be cool agents like me? Wait.. is that sposed ta be a secret?" She blinks and glances to Margaret, and then back to Ben "It's suuuper possible I just gave away top secret information. I think I'm sposed ta be a secret agent. Like.. Bond but prettier. Buuuuut did ya see Scorpio? That was cool." she STARTS to go off on a tangent, but reins in her brain before it gets out of control "That's why we wear awesome costumes… but I wanted awesomer costumes I was gonna make. But Marg'ret didn't want pink sparkles with her outfit." She wrinkles her nose at that. Who has a superhero/superagent costume without sparkles? That's like some communist crap there. "So cause I'm a secret agent I think a secret agent I got this thingy that hides my face" her hands grasp the collar around her neck, and she then slides her hands up to mimic her lower face behing hidden "You want a cool costume, newbutt? I can make ya one!" Her hands fall back to the seat as she smiles widely.

Someone's happy with new people around her.

And someone is not happy with new people around her.

Nico watches Simon out of the corner of her eyes as he speaks. There's a faintly amused look upon her features as she thinks about his words.

He is really a head case.

But she's known the type before, that's for sure. Simon starts to listen to his music again, and Nico looks out the window with a gentle sigh. Her eyes draw towards those around her.. some of the guys seem to be getting along. The cheerleaders seem to be hitting it off, good for them. Molly is talking someone's ear off, whoever it is Nico feels bad for them. She slouches slightly in her seat, and she reaches into her small pack suddenly. She fishes around for a moment, and then produces what looks like a brand new iPod. Blood red in color. Because Nico.

Once more she sits up a little as the bus comes to a stop… and she glances outside the window again as her thumb scrolls through the iPod menus. They stopped in the city, and one of the talky boys gets off. Nico looks around, no one else really notices. Even Simon seems to be in his own little withdrawn world, so Nico assumes this isn't their last stop. Glancing down, her iPod has found the playlist she had been looking for. But as she is about to say something, Reed is back on the bus. Curiously Nico watches as he sits down again with Peter… and he holds up what looks like a superhero costume, showing it to Peter. Nico's eyes widen, and she looks right towards Mr. Rogers as she motions to the costume Reed seems to have come up with. "No way." Meaning she absolutely refuses to wear something like that. One of the first rules her group came up with… no spandex.

But she seems to forget about it, and now she pokes Simon hard in the shoulder. Though he would barely feel it most likely. She pokes him again, intending to either bother him enough for him to curse or for him to give her his attention. She holds the screen of her iPod up to him as she speaks "Dude, listen to this the rest of the way to wherever we're goin. Just…do it." she motions him to take the iPod, and she glances at his music player "If that's depresso mood music, you don't need it. Listen to this instead for now. Just till we get to wherever this magic bus is taking us." She nods and holds the iPod out to him, clearly intending to not stop bothering him until he does what she wants.


Poor Simon.

 

[Gands]

Simon Williams

Simon is sitting in his space, soaking up the Blues Brothers, pulling himself within and becoming nothing. Something one of his Shield trainers taught him. It was a meditative process, soothing nothing.

Of course.... it was not to last long.

Something poked at his arm.. it didn't seem hard. Then it happened again. He sighed and opened one eye to turn and glare at Nico. After a moment it was plain to see, she wasn't going to be intimidated. Girls ! ... Okay, lets try this again stupid * thinking to himself. * { He sighed.. again } He rolled his eyes but she couldn't see that behind the red glasses. He stretched his arms out, twisting away from her so as not to touch her, then turning back with a more friendly expression.

" Thanks Nico "

His expression had in fact softened and relaxed. He took the iPod and put in the headphones. The music was at once peppy but relaxing in its own way. As a way of relaxing, he studies it while listening.

" If you don't mind Nico, I'm going to try and relax a bit. I hope that doesn't bother you. "

He carefully takes off his sunglasses for a moment. Then even more carefully takes off the industrial strength cosmetic eye pieces. He keeps his eyes closed and puts the heavy contact lenses in his pocket and puts the sunglasses back on. He is making an effort for now to now show his freaky weird red eyes to anyone.

" And thanks ! it's not too bad. You can look at mine if you'd like. My friend put a lot of music on mine. I haven't looked at all of it yet. Fritz sorted it out for me when he put the music in there. "

He slowly reached out as if she were going to explode if he touched her. Some of the Shield guys made sure he know that touching girls without permission wasn't a good idea now. He drops his fancy MP3 player into her hand or lap and starts to withdraw back into himself, the music easing him back into the nothing.

It should be noted, When Nico pokes him, his arm doesn't have much give.

If she looks at his mp3 player, it has an extraordinary collection of music in it.

 

[Laivindur]

Joint post between Laivindur and LocalAreaMan, with intro to the Alliance Academy HQ at the end. (I'm so making Ben joke about AA meeting at some point! Anyway, moving on:)
Characters: Benjamin and Margaret.
Location: Bus --> AA HQ.
Time: After school. Early evening?
​

Laivindur:
To Molly's ongoing monologue about her being a secret agent, her preference in suits, battle tactics, and much more, Benjamin made sure to express only a portion of how amused he felt about it, and her. He revealed just enough to keep her talking without giving any notion of them being best friends. He believed this was not going to be their last bickering, and smiled at that thought. Benjamin hoped he wouldn't have to bail on her, or any of these people in the future, or ending up on either of their wrong sides. As the interesting and detailed sneak peak into Molly's outgoing personality had been settled with a friendly tone, Ben replied to her "I'd love for you to make me a suit." Grimacing and lowering his voice as if they were scheming Ben added "However that would have to wait until after we let them think I'll wear whatever they give me." The conversation between Ben and Molly ebbed down, and once over, Ben settled his bright, smiling eyes on the outside.

Pretending to just rest there, he simply gathered info about where they were; the streets, signs, people and weather. It was a short retreat to remind himself that if he was heading straight into danger, he could do something about it. While fooling both himself and others to think of this as acceptable conditions for him to be in, he held onto the safety line of his powers. He could always rely on them. Soon however, Margaret wanted the seat next to him, and Benjamin didn't want to keep her waiting. Without thinking, the raven hair moved quickly back against the window seat to give her room. As he poked himself on a couple of sharp books that was in his bag there, he arched away from the perpetrators with an obvious look of contained surprise, embarrassment- and finally, disdain. Stubbornly suppressing all sounds conjured by the encounter with the corners of the books Ben pulled the treacherous bag forth to shove it down by his legs. With a light tinge on his cheeks Ben finally gave room for Margaret to sit. Embarrassed he thought Great, not only a voluntarily clown, but a real clown as well...Super, Ben! You're now living up to your fate as a King's fool. Now, say something! Sitting back against his seat by the window Ben tried to ignore the fact that he most certainly made his inner Loki face palm when uttering defeated "...Ow." He hoped for a friendly smile in return when looking coyly at Margaret, admitting his humane failure, which hurt more than the poke to his side.


LocalAreaMan:
Quietly while Molly was going onto another tangent about... whatever. Margaret had asked Ben if she could take a seat next to him. Around the time Reed had hopped back onto the bus with his supplies in hand. Carefully scooting over next to him as Molly admitted boredom and suddenly went quiet.
"Hey." Margaret started as she made sure to give Ben space as she slid in. The last time the two had ever really talked was at that diner however long ago. Since then it was small moments and her constantly getting the sneaking suspicion that he was just another person in this whole thing who didn't trust her or any other part about it. "So I take it you now have a pretty good understanding about the ways of Molly..." Margaret joked to start, adjusting her fair as she leaned back on the cheap not really leather seat.


Laivindur:
As Margaret didn't seem hung up on his clumsy act of chivalry Benjamin's mood perked. Not wanting to talk behind Molly's back he simply nodded and smiled thinly. She'd been a handful, but still a cute handful. The way Margaret kept touching her hair was quite cute as well, Ben thought. "I had a really hard time deciding which classes to take," Ben admitted, and added with a humble smile "I take it you already had yours picked out long before school start, eh? You seem to be the type of girl who's got it all planned out."


LocalAreaMan:
Margaret chuckled to herself at Ben's sly, but more important silent agreement. For all the mysterious aura that surrounded the young man, he did have a genuine charm to him. "Yeah I guess it's kind of obvious huh?" Margaret asked as she adjusted her own bookbag, letting it gently rest on her lap. "I take what I do at the school seriously, it might come off as me being an attention whore. But... I guess I just have a lot of aspirations." She suggested aloud, almost just as much to herself than to Ben.


Laivindur:
Benjamin lifted his dark brows in surprise. "It's weird hearing you say that," Ben said. He smiled when adding "I mean, go ahead, it was just like...watching a shooting star." Shaking the fact that Margaret had just said whore away, Benjamin continued "Anyway, yeah, you do look the type." Shrugging softly Ben said friendly "Still though, there must be something about you that's not stereotypical. What others might think of you, I mean. I'm interested in getting to know the real you."(edited)


LocalAreaMan:
Margaret chuckled, "You mean like how I've been trained in secret agent affairs every weekend since I was little?" She suggested with a tone that, while lighthearted, made it clear she was very serious. "When your dad is a legendary WWII hero, there are certainly some unique expectations that... maybe aren't said aloud... are expected of you." Margaret waved off going too much more of a tangent with Ben. But she did sigh, "I will say though, its nice to be more open about stuff like that. I might have been all secretive before, but since you guys are in on the project I don't have to play the secrets game anymore with everyone I know." Margaret told Ben, glancing over to him with a turned head. "It's nice."


Laivindur:
Ben nodded seriously with a compassionate smile in his eyes. "You're making your father proud, I am sure of it," Ben said and smiled softly. "Still though," he said looking ahead with his hands relaxed on his lap "There must be something you're not perfect at." Grinning he turned his head to look straight at her "Miss Cheerleader."(edited)


LocalAreaMan:
Margaret paused at the question Ben posed to her, something she wasn't perfect at? It was weird, it felt like there was a billion things she's done in her life. Never once did she ever feel like any of what she was doing was a struggle. She didn't like the idea she was some perfect being, it felt disrespectful to everyone around her. It felt like the very definition of arrogance. The conflict on her face wasn't very long, but it was clear as day she didn't want to think about it any further. "Well enough about me." Margaret was quick to change the subject, "I mean you've been going through all this, moved in with Simon over there." Margaret quickly gestured to Ben's roommate sitting a few rows down. "I mean we are going to be more open about the plan. How are you feeling?"


Laivindur:
Ben sobered by the look on Margaret's face. He was certain he'd poked a painful spot, and answered with a concerned look "I feel like I just...Said something that stirred your eggs the wrong way..." A teeny tiny, discreet look of realization struck Ben's eyes as he was getting the picture of accidentally mentioning her internal eggs to be stirred the wrong way, and not the chicken kind of eggs he meant. Ben hoped Margaret failed to connect those dots, and instead connected the dots he meant for her to connect, namely that he'd touched a vulnerable subject. Margaret might not even have heard the saying before as it had been something odd Mrs Swan and Benjamin had said as an internal joke after he'd stirred the chicken eggs the wrong way, according to the old lady anyway. When in the process of making her scrambled chicken eggs for breakfast Ben always remembered to stir clockwise, just like she wanted. Chicken eggs would always remind him of her, and it was bittersweet, for he was not allowed to see her anymore. Mrs Swan had been so kind, accepting and safe to be around for Benjamin. Together, they had spoken about people stirring their eggs the wrong way, as if they were someone who failed to understand them. Not wanting to risk an unpleasant respond from Margaret, Ben said "I mean, like...Rubbing you the wrong way. No, I definitely didn't mean to step on your toes." To make her smile he said "No matter how cute they might be." Suddenly remembering, he planted a palm on his raven colored scalp, saying "Of course! That must be where your weakness lies! Your toes are disgusting!" Benjamin grinned from cheek to cheek hoping to distract Margaret from her expected perfection.


LocalAreaMan:
There was a brief moment where reality crashed back down on Margaret as she looked at Ben with a look. A look that suggested Ben was officially being weird. It did kind of snap her out of her self realizations so it was kind of helpful in an odd roundabout kind of way. Still all it did was reaffirm her feelings that Ben was certainly still an enigma in a lot of ways.
Finally at the mention of her feet Margaret had something she could latch onto as she watched Ben scramble from an egg metaphor to talking about her feet. "Well... I am due for a pedicure very soon." Margaret noted as she glanced down at her black leather loafers.
As Margaret noted that little fact, the bus had arrived to the large doors on the side of an otherwise unremarkable looking building. Pushing in the button on what looked like a garage door opener. The large metal door slid open sideways revealing of all things a sleek looking lit tunnel he started driving into.


Laivindur:
Sitting back and lowering his hands to his lap Ben was certain that, if his old self, King Loki, was watching, he would be laughing his ass off. Benjamin's self esteem dropped when realizing he not only failed at being gracious and chivalrous, he failed his objective, and trying to cheer Margaret up. Obviously uncomfortable Ben leaned his elbow onto the window sill as the bus entered the spooky tunnel. Benjamin muttered with his chin leaning into his palm "Sorry, I say weird stuff when I'm nervous..."


LocalAreaMan:
Margaret watched Ben slump a bit, realizing that for all the strange nuisances of Ben, and the fact that even after all this time recruiting him she still didn't know much about him. It was hard to deny he was at the very least good at putting on a good, friendly appearance. After one last glance down at the bus floor she reached over, putting a hand on Ben's forearm. "Hey its okay, I appreciate the effort." Giving his arm a light pat she slid back upright. "Besides this isn't as bad as you're imagining it I'm sure." Margaret did pause for a moment, she did know where they were going. But she hadn't seen any part of it up until this moment.


Laivindur:
Margaret caught Ben's attention with the touch to his arm, however in the end he quipped "Oh, no, 'cause a pity party after failing a joke isn't bad. Nah, not at all." Ben's smile held no scorn, but as he leaned back into his hand he was obviously nervous. He watched how the walls of the tunnel passed them by, and thought that if he just stayed close to the other teens, he would be okay. Ben knew he was ignoring her real questions, and perhaps she would feel left out, but Ben had never trusted anyone- Not completely anyway. Finally he said without looking at her "You're right though...I just got here. I've never settled." He glanced at her and smiled weakly when saying "Now I live with red shades...And am about to enter a spooky tunnel with strangers...I feel great!" Again Ben tried to lighten the mood with sarcasm.


LocalAreaMan:
Margaret shook her head with a smirk that also showed no scorn to Ben's reactions as well. She figured again all the vagueness was making him nervous, as it probably was making all of them nervous. "Hey saying it like that makes it sound weird or something..."
Soon though the bus arrived in what seemed like a small underground parking lot. There weren't many cars there, except for a cherry red 1950's Corvette that looked quite well kept. The bus pulled into a spot and the engine stopped. "Alright everyone, we're here." Steve told the group as he stood up from his seat. "Go ahead and follow me, I'll give you guys a little tour of the place before we get into the details." With that the front doors swung open, Steve stepped out first, stretching his arms a little as he did so. Heading over to a set of doors Steve went to a small screen that was next to them. Keying in some commands which opened to reveal what looked like a futuristic room with a large rectangular table in the middle, various round pods around the outside, and a large screen at one end. Inside some of the pods were what looked like freshly made new costumes hung up with metal plates on top with names like 'Spider-Man', 'Spider-Girl', 'Lightbringer', and 'Captain America'. Along with all this were a pair of older agents in uniforms like the one Molly had on. Who approached Steve and were quietly talking about something as Coulson waited for the group to head off the bus.


Laivindur:
Pursing a smiling back at Margaret Ben really hoped he wasn't in for a hell of a lot of trouble. It wouldn't be the first time he met with the doorstep of trouble, though this organization seemed much bigger than simple theft, or fraud. He could be in real trouble. The bus stopped, as well as the engine, and returning to his withdrawn state, Ben followed everyone inside the fancy room, which Steve lead them to. It was too good to be true. This couldn't be real. The raven haired teen would wake up any time soon, and realize he'd been dreaming! But, no, this wasn't any of his dreams. As Ben walked closer to what had to be his suit, he forgot to be cautious for one sentimental moment. His name was unmistakable: Lightbringer. He put his electric blue eyes on Steve as he spoke with his agents. Benjamin could not sense any danger, or evil in the man, or the room for that matter. Finally, Ben could start to truly believe he'd been given a second chance. In fact, he started to feel nervous he couldn't step up to his dream, but this was his chance. He needed to make things right, and couldn't screw it up. Even if it all proved to be a scam in the end, he would definitely keep that, white, green and golden suit. When speaking about how he wanted his suit, and what he wanted to do with the powers of a superhero, Ben had never thought they actually took him seriously. Lightbringer...He wanted to light up the darkness, in the world, and in others. Looking back at the suit Ben pushed back tears and swallowed against the need to jump around and hug everyone. He wanted to put it on right away, and after a good long look at it, it was on. Just like that, a magical field started at the top of his head, and ran down his body like a shimmering wave of golden sand. His school uniform was Benjamin knows where, and the superhero suit was now on!
Ben's hair was pulled back by a golden crown that kept its golden wings in place above his brows. The shapes of gilded armor on his shoulder pads stretched down to frame green shimmering scales on his torso, shaped like a big heart. His golden calf protectors and bracers covered the white clothes he had underneath, and between those two layers of white and golden Ben had another set of green leather armor to protect his outer thighs. The mask to keep his identity hidden was left inside the pod. A simple anonymous, friendly mask, which was astounding, but difficult to read.

 

[Gands]

Simon Williams aka Wonder man

Simon, with the motion of the moving bus now stopped, took out his earpiece and got up from his seat. He was not exactly nervous, but he was excited. Stepping out of the bus, he followed Steve Rogers over to the opening of the building. He had a smile on his face. He had frankly waited a long time for this and was really glad of it starting up. From the moment shield picked him up off the street, he had been awaiting this moment.

He would have talked more to the others, maybe Ben... but he was too far back among the others yet. He would enjoy this moment for several seconds. Should Ben catch up or anyone that has spoken more than a sentence to him, they too would know he was spectacularly excited about this moment in his life.

 

[Ms.Ezra]

Raven looks out the bus window, taking in street signs and distinctive buildings/other landmarks in case she ever had to find it on her own. All the while she has this look of blissful daydreaming across her pretty face. So far Raven believes she's fooled Gwen into buying her charade. Easy enough. Now that head girl, Margaret, would be the hardest to fool given how their first interaction went. Still, she was formulating that into her performance as well. Naive yet mischevious teenagers were not too far-fetched after all.

And thinking about her, Raven takes the focus away from what's in front of her eyes to what she could hear. She tries to eavesdrop on the conversation between Margaret and the cute boy through the other chats going on. They're having a fairly deep conversation, from what Raven is able to get snippets of. Hearing a couple parts of it affect her more than she wants. Margaret's father being the legendary WW2 hero is no big surprise. A bit old to be a father, but given his unusual nature not the weirdest thing. Accounts for the take-charge attitude, her achievements.

Hearing the part about there being 'unsaid expectations' does make her grimace internally. Margaret doesn't know how well she has it with such things being unspoken. Less pressure. Less judgement. Ben's following statement/assurance that "You're making your father proud, I am sure of it." causes her to stop listening. Face still away from Gwen, Raven's eyes falter and she tenses her lips a moment to close her eyes and recompose herself before her face relaxes again. Raven is thankful she's put so much effort in self-control. Otherwise Gwen might have been startled to see Raven suddenly become fully green.

Raven is glad when the bus finally arrives at their destination. Which looks at first like a normal empty underground parking garage. Her eyes are glued to the classic car, a very nice one like one of those in her family's warehouse back home. "They pay well if someone can afford that car." Raven says upon seeing it and before following Gwen off the bus. The girl is quiet as they are led into the building and the auspicious room. The name 'Spider-Man' is familiar to her, the others not so much. Before she can ask Gwen if any of these costumes were hers, she sees the cute boy go for the one labled 'Lightbringer' and have a visibly emotional moment in front of it. She wonders why, uttering an almost inaudible 'Hmm' as she ponders and then a "Wow" when she witnesses Ben change into said costume in a dazzling manner. It makes her think she should show her ability. The thought is dismissed quick as it comes. No this was not the right moment to do that.

Still Raven thinks this is a good time for a small chat with the boy. So she approaches him from behind and makes and impressed whistle to get his attention. "Verrry nice costume." She looks up at him smiling, eyes darting to the mask still in the pod then coming back to wink at him with her right eye. "Shame you will have to hide your face."

 

[Laivindur]

As Raven approached him firstly from behind Ben turned his beaming grin to her, and said "Thank you!" Her comment on his face made him chuckle as if a thousand butterflies suddenly brought out his growing glee. Composing himself shortly after he said "I know! Such a shame." His cheeks were still smiling even though he glanced expectantly around at the others, wondering what they might think of him and his fabulous display. With his electric blue eyes he looked back at Raven to make sure she didn't feel ignored. He was not going to ignore her even though he kept a close eye on how everyone else fared. His entire being glowed with anticipation. Benjamin was like a happy, nervous puppy, not wanting to do something to upset Mr Rogers, or someone else who mattered. Still though, he longed to spend his powers on something that could bring glory to his name.

 

[Gands]

Susan Storm aka Invisible Woman

Susan stopped reading her book when the bus stopped and shuffled out with everyone else. She went over curiously to her pod, but her stuff down inside it and promptly changed into her Reed created super heroine outfit. Not surprisingly, it fit well. Reed is nothing if not precise... well, 99% of the time at least. She sighed. again the thoughts of the disaster and the missing Victor flash through her mind.

She shook her head and looked at the outfit in the mirror. It looked fine. She decided to introduce herself to long haired Ben and Dark haired German girl Raven. But, she would walk that way invisibly, after testing first in the mirror.

Susan walked over to where Raven and Ben were talking. Appearing from invisible several feet away to one side so not to scare them too much.

" Hello Ben, Hello Raven. I"m Susan "

@liavindur @Ms.Ezra
( ignore the 4 )

 

[Gands]

Simon Graham Williams

Simon finally shook himself loose a bit and went inside his pod. Delighted, he found a suit there. He gave a little shout and immediately went into his changing room and got his new suit on. He did put on a set of red goggles after that and then ran outside.

" I have a suit.. Ben, I have a suit too ! " ( shouted with happiness )

 

[Brea]

Character Sheet: Here
Location: Bus --> Reed's House --> AA HQ
Mentioned: Raven ( @Ms.Ezra ), Ben ( @Laivindur ), Susan & Simon ( @Gands ), Reed & Steve ( @LocalAreaMan )
Interactions: N/A
Outfit: School Uniform --> Super Suit

For lack of a better word, most of the bus ride was boring. Gwen did make some conversation with her new friend, Raven, but for the most part she played on her phone. She was too busy watching her friend's snap stories to notice they made the pit stop at Reed Richard's house, frowning slightly as she watched all of her friends go about their days without her. She felt seriously left out, disregarding the fact that she knew her friends would go on without her. She just couldn't help but feel jealous as she watched their stories about their own first days of school.

As the bus pulled away from Reed's home she switched over to Instagram. For whatever reason, she felt much better looking at her friend's photos than she did watching their stories. Before long Gwen was snapping her own selfies, suddenly realizing she was having a very good hair day. Once she took a photo that she was satisfied with, she posted it with the caption, "New school, same old me #NoFilter." She smiled to herself before continuing through her feed.

The next time Gwen looked up from her phone the bus was entering a dark tunnel. She tucked it away in her backpack when Steve announced they had arrived, and stood up with the rest of the group. She looped her fingers through the straps on the bag as she walked with everyone to the room they were being led to, looking around once Steve let them inside. Gwen made no effort to hide her excitement as her gaze shifted around the space.

Then, her eyes landed on the pod marked "Spider-Girl." Inside was a beautiful super-suit, which she reasonably assumed belonged to her. She followed closely behind Ben as they both approached their own pods, though she hardly paid him any attention. But, while she was staring at her own suit, she did catch sight of him magically changing into his own in his reflection on her pod. It only made her want to try her super suit on more.

Gwen turned slightly with the intent on asking permission to try it on, but before she could get the words out she noticed Susan and Simon already retrieving their suits to put them on. With a eager smile, she followed their lead. As she reached out to her pod the clear glass slid to the side, allowing her to reach in and take the suit out. She made her way to the changing room, quickly putting on the suit and stuffing her school uniform into her backpack.

She knew she should get back to the group, but Gwen couldn't help but stand in front of the mirror and examine herself. She looked... great, honestly. The suit was form fitting and breathable, the color scheme was exactly what she had asked for. The teenage girl couldn't find a single thing wrong with it. With a glance over her shoulder at the door, Gwen bit down on her lower lip before fishing through her backpack for her phone.

Her camera was opened the second her phone was unlocked. Despite being completely sure this was likely against some kind of rule, Gwen just had to have a picture of herself. She wouldn't post it, obviously. She just loved her new suit so much- it was so much better than her old leotard and white tights. She took a few pictures without the mask, then a few of them with it on. Gwen was surprised about how comfy the mask was as well- and she could see and breath just fine. Though, she did worry it would ruin her hair.

She did notice that her mask had an ear piece attached on the left side, and she wondered what it would be for. Probably for communicating with the team, she assumed. It seemed the most obvious reason. I wonder if I'll be able to sync my music up to it... The thought of fighting bad guys and jamming out at the same time sounded like a blast. Gwen moved the photos she took of herself to her secure folder, and then shoved her phone to the bottom of the bag.​

 

[mr_pibbs]

Character Sheet: Here
Location: The Bus
Mentioned: Reed Richards & Margaret Rogers (@LocalAreaMan), Gwen Stacy (@Brea)
Interactions: Reed
Outfit: School Uniform, New Duds

Though it didn't take long for his new friend to return after skipping off the bus, Peter had to admit he was surprised that Margaret even told Coulson to pull over to begin with. He wondered what would've happened if he had forgotten his suit at home, but then again, it was mentioned that he would be getting a set of new duds when they arrived to the base. Though Peter was very particular about the design and after coming up with his original and current outfit, he began to work on designs for an upgraded version of the suit (ranging from a simpler wetsuit inspired design to a Chronenburg styled look, to a darker version of his current outfit dubbed "The Black Widow" (though the design of the latter was abruptly stolen from him after he saw 'Spider-Woman' make her debut, rendering the whole 'costume change' a little pointless in his eyes since he planned to pursue that as an alternate identity). As Reed pulled up his own self-designed costume and explained how it would function, Peter let out an amused chuckle and nodded. "If it's as impressive as you say it is, then man; I'm looking forward to seeing you do the 'hero thing' in it."

But before long, the group arrived at the super secret base of heroism... A grungy parking lot with nothing of any notable significance. Surely, he thought, there must be more than this. Even without a Spider-Sense, Peter knew that S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn't just spring for a big empty space. If personal experience told him anything; it was to never underestimate the nut-bars behind the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Devision. After all, you had to be insane to create a government agency with that long of a name.

As it was soon confirmed, there existed a massive underground bunker that the team was led into. With a smile, Peter followed the crowd, sticking towards the back of the line not out of shyness, but more so to get a proper examination of the facilities without anyone rushing him to move. It was highly impressive, full of the latest tech and gadgets; tons of new toys for him to meddle around with (and as he imagined, Reed would be right behind him). But what truly caught his eye was the series of cabinets positioned near the back wall, all of which contained the alias' of the other heroes. He spied his locker, but stopped short as he noticed the Spider-Woman sign next to his. Worse yet; he noticed Gwen Stacy walking towards it. "What. The. Hell." Peter muttered to himself, stunned at the sudden revelation. Gwen was Spider-Woman?! The self-entitled little girl who had tried to belittle him and steal his thunder as an academic in school also just so happened to be the hero who's identity was stolen almost verbatim from his own?

Needless to say; he would have words with her soon enough. But first...

Without really saying much, Peter walked over to his locker and swung it open, revealing a neatly organized red and blue spandex suit. Along with it came a note, hand signed by Captain Rogers (something Peter swore he would keep forever in his collection of Hero memorabilia, right alongside the autographed photo of him standing next to Hank Pym), which went into full detail the make and functions of the suit. Vibranium nano-mite tech infused into the fabric to provide enhanced resistance and durability, retractable additives such as 'Web-Wings' that would allow him to glide or the six 'Spider-Legs' he could use whenever he needed a few extra hands, customized web-shooters built into the suit and programmed with a variety of different functions (such as web-bomb, zipline, and thousands more); the list went on. If Peter didn't know it was September, he would've sworn that today was Christmas and he was eager to play with his new toys.

With a soft smile on his face, Peter set down his bag and got to work slipping on his costume. Upon first putting it on, Peter noticed the suit was extremely large and ill-fitted. The entire thing sagged on his body and he was almost embarrassed to wear it. He was about to speak up until a piece of the note caught his eye; To engage 'self-adjusting' mode, tap the Spider emblem after putting the suit on.

Not one to object with instructions, Peter did just as it said and suddenly, the suit let out a small puffing noise as it seemingly vacuum-sealed around his body, fitting perfectly and comfortably around his lithe form. He blinked a few times, noticing how his goggles seemed to follow the expression of his eyes and enhance his vision more so than the set he had designed for his original suit. Touché, S.H.I.E.L.D.

But despite wanting to try out all the spiffy new features of his enhanced suit, above all else; Peter wanted to see how he looked.

So, noticing the mirror at the back of the room, Peter ran over, flipping through the air with ease like a professionally trained acrobat, firing off a line of webbing to test out his new web-shooters. They were faster and the fluid stuck harder than ever, as Peter went soaring through the air, letting out a happy cheer as he swung through the cave. Finally, he let go of the line, flinging himself towards the wall and stuck the landing, catching himself on his feet and hands in his natural 'crawling' stance. Making his way down the wall and headed towards the mirror, Peter tested the flexibility of his new suit and worked all of his joints to see how the fabric felt. Soon though, he reached the mirror and peeled himself off the wall, doing a backflip as he did so and struck a heroic pose, extending his right hand as if he were about to fire off a stream of webbing.

With a smile, Peter- nay, Spider-Man, spoke.

"Look out; here comes The Spider-Man."

​

 

[LocalAreaMan]

As the bus finally came to a stop at the new base of operations for SHIELD's super initiative program. Margaret seemingly was the last one out, as everyone shuffled out in a mixture of paces. She took a deep breath, having seen the location during its construction and in design plans. Now though she was seeing the finished product with the rest of the team. She strolled over to her booth. Seeing the Captain America suit inside that unlike the others, she didn't seem particularly excited over seeing. Really though, she had worn it in the past, so the only real thing about it that was exciting was the area around it really.


Strolling into the changing room Margaret suited up, finally she realized she didn't have the shield yet. Looking around she finally found it hanging to the side of the room. With a small orange post it note stuck to it.


'Margaret,


We've both been waiting for this moment a long time.


I know you'll do great!


Go get em kid!


Love,

Your dad'


Feeling her legs quiver a little Margaret had to take a seat at the small bench. Cupping her hand over her mouth as she had to fight back the small bits of tears welling up. She owed a lot to him, for everything both good and bad about her. It was a strange, inflective moment to really dwell on it. Seemingly for hours even though it was only a minute or two. Finally she had to get herself together, she's the leader dammit. Leaders don't get all emotional and shit!


Stepping back out she ended up peeking over to see Reed himself coming out of the empty changing rooms in his blue and white attire. The same design Susan had on, and sure enough it looked just as well made and fitting on him as it did her. The only major difference was the glasses he had on were replaced by a pair of goggles with an elastic strap going around his head. "Oh sorry, was I not suppose to use it?" Reed asked Margaret, gesturing back to the changing room. "I just didn't see any for me so I figured I could use any of them."


Captain America smiled, patting Mr. Fantastic on the shoulder. "Hey its fine, just clean up when your done alright? We can make that one yours though if you want." The suggestion made Mr. Fantastic pause in thought over it as Captain America finally noticed that her dad was talking with a small group of SHIELD agents. Who had with them Molly, Nico, David, and Matt all with them. Looking a mixture of confused and upset.


"I suppose…" Mr. Fantastic scratched his chin before turning back to Captain America, not even noticing her concerned look. Instead his eyes slipped just a little south to the metal shiny object she was holding. Gasping with nerdy glee when he realized what it was. "Say, that's not vibranium is it?!" He asked.


Margaret's attention was completely away from Mr. Fantastic as she absent-mindedly handed him the shield. "Yeah just… here give me a minute." She asked the elastic hero who quickly started fondling and looking over completely the rare metal shield. Margaret didn't even notice though as she came up to the group. "What's… what's going on here?"


Steve turned from the agents, as they began to gently escort the four young heroes away. "Well… turns out HQ was wanting to put them into some other programs or give them some more training. So they're out of the group." He admitted, sounding a bit miffed about the situation himself.


Margaret needed a moment to process it, once again, just as she had things under control mentally and emotionally another damn curveball showed up to inconvenience her life. "So… that's it?" Margaret asked, her tone going from surprised, to pretty angry. "Are they seriously just going to leave us high and dry like this?"


Steve held out his hands to get his daughter to calm down. "Just relax, they are having some others come in as replacement. One was a very recent pick up, another is on loan from the X-Men. They should be coming in any minute now…"

 

[Michale CS]

For me, this whole ride started a few months ago, when I arrived back in New York...​

It didn't take me long to contact people at Rand Corporation. What took a little while was them believing I was who I said I was. But, I can be both convincing, and insistent. Because of the details I knew of things, outdated as they were, the Meachums, lifelong family friends, had enough motivation to actually do a DNA test on me, which of course proved I was who I said I was. After the initial disbelief faded, I was welcomed back.

I had no illusions of walking in and becoming the CEO of a major corporation when my major qualifications are martial arts and meditation, so I accepted what they told me initially and after some quick testing, they sent me to an exclusive private school.

Then, well, I saw something bad happening and intervened, as only an Immortal Iron Fist could. That got the attention of some special people at the Academy. Very special people. Which brings me to the present. I'm sitting in the back of a limo with a couple of other new people to the program - whatever the program is, they were sort of vague on that. As long as I can continue using my abilities to help other people, I can let them worry about the details.

One of them is a big guy. Really big. Like pro wrestler big. That's not the half of it though. When we picked him up, get this, the guy looked like he was literally made of metal. He swapped back to the human-looking guy when he got in and the limo bottomed out. We definitely need to get one with better shocks if we're taking this guy around.

The other, skinnier guy, wiry. Probably stronger than he looks. I've seen plenty of that in my time.

I really don't know what to say, so initially I just smile. Eventually, I get up the courage to speak, just as we're entering the super-secret tunnel to whatever base or hideout or whatever we're going to. Again, used to it. Secrecy is kind of par for the course in K'un-Lun.

"Hey. I'm Danni. Nice to meet you?"

​

First there was the farm. That was good. Good times. Then, the Professor came, and I went with him along with my sister to America. It took some getting used to, but they became family there. But one day, the Professor tells me that he wishes for me to go to another school, to continue my training among others. I almost protest, but, well, the school is not far and lately Illyana and I have been having more sibling squabbles than usual - well, she is having more problems with me, I am mostly silent when she gets so angry. But sometimes you need to give freedom in order to become closer, so I agree.

A big fancy car comes up to the mansion. Not the first time, but it is bigger and fancier than usual. Anton gets into the car first. When I do, it becomes apparent I cannot travel in this car transformed, and so I resume human form.

It goes silently at first, then the other girl who is in the car with us speaks. She looks fit, very much so. And yet somehow nervous. I am familiar with being awkward around people. It happens to me more than you might imagine.

"Hello. I am Piotr Nikolaievitch Rasputin, but you can call me Peter if you like. This is your car, da?"
"Yes and no. It belongs to the company my parents left me but I'm not currently in charge- eh, let's say yes to make it simple."
I let her rambling flow over me like water, and smile slightly. "Ah, well then. Is nice car."

"Yeah, it is." I let that fall silent for a moment, genius at social interaction that I am. "Well... let's listen to some music on the way, huh?" I fumbled for my smartphone which was already Bluetooth linked to the car's speakers, and pulled up a playlist as we made our way toward... whatever base we were headed to.

​

 

[Ms.Ezra]

"Ja ja, such a shame" Raven replies and grins back, even giggles and makes a motion like she's going to reach up and do something to his face the moment before Susan suddenly appears near them. This causes Raven to be startled, and exclaim "Geist!" . Raven had seen the others go into their pods and was fairly certain she hadn't seen Susan leave hers yet. And then the others did leave theirs, at least one of the other boys and Margaret. The other boys' was quite colorful, and himself very excited to have it.

"Hello Susan, sorry for my surprise. Will take time to get used to....whatever it is you are able to do." Raven greets Susan.

Raven does notice Nico, the firecracker named Molly, and one of the other boys being gathered and led away without any announcement. Perhaps that had been the plan all along? Multiple teams? Her eyes then catch Margaret and her father the Dean having a short conversation about it. Their supposed leader wasn't too happy about it, the father reassuring.

Well this girl just had everything going for her...