[hr][hr][center][img]https://i.postimg.cc/SR52k84p/54b4e63d635603b22d80f72a4ba2be54.png[/img][hr][img]https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq8b9dRaf2Zv1AQ0fikA7gzt01DMioNslCQzQ8rLL2VrnjnjkLbhvI0tUPhycYMhj8o5itQg9caavnZebD31dlNau-9Y-cv1H7HiMAK6ErHDLtYdykQ1uZ3EklNnNG3gsaZPLXbN8AM5lS/s1600/tumblr_oiyxqzUGeY1r3ifxzo2_400.gif[/img][hr][@BlueSky44][@Nallore][@Trainerblue192][@Achronum][@PatientBean][@Forsythe][@Blizz][@Kirah][@Natsu][hr][h3][color=AC3EFF][b]10:20 PM - Tue. November 23rd, 2038 - Margaret Carter Institute[/b][/color][/h3][/center][hr][hider=Trick or Treat 2023 Records][list][*]Mary Sue - Trick - Her backpack was stolen in the library! She'll have to replace her laptop/books/etc. 
[*]Vicky - Trick - Through a misunderstanding with a teacher (Usagi) Vicky has detention for the entire month of November
[*]Sabine - Trick - someone hacked Sabine’s socials and put up some disgusting, bigoted content pretending to be her
[*]Andy - Treat - Magneto sends her a gift, it’s a pair of vambraces that fit her perfectly, they’re made out of an unknown material and can deflect bullets and the like 
[*]Zari - Treat - On Halloween morning, Zari also gets a present from her family. It’s an enchanted tool belt. Whatever tool she needs if she reaches for it, it’s there
[*]Leah - Trick - After the Monster Mash when Leah returns to her room, there is a postcard on the wall from Oslo. Written on it is her birth name. Nothing else.
[*]Dorian - Treat - On Halloween day, Dorian’s father sends him a ~spooky~ gift. It’s a mini dinosaur! And by mini I mean like 6 inches tall. But it’s alive! [/list][/hider][hr]	The past few weeks had been intense. The four teams who had qualified for the Contest of Champions were regularly pulled from classes to practice - four hours, starting at 2 PM every day. Of course, they were still expected to catch up on the coursework that they were missing, and watch recorded versions of the lectures. The week after the dance, they had all been fitted for combat uniforms specially made for the Contest - these uniforms were resistant to most types of damage that would come their way, and for students with special needs, those were provided for them. Headshots were taken for promotional images, and their official superhero names were registered. It wasn't [i]just[/i] a frenzy to train - it was a minor media circus. 

	And yet, despite all of that, it was still clear that the school wanted the Young Avengers to win. The Young Avengers were excused from classes every Friday for the entire day, and were allowed to participate in missions - [i]real missions[/i]. To say the deck was stacked against the lesser experienced teams would be an understatement. And everyone knew. The school board wouldn't approve sending out the other three teams, not to mention the fiasco of parental permission that had already been hard enough to get squared away for the Young Avengers. 

	But while the adults were unwilling to help, Ed stepped in. 

	He wasn't particularly good when it came to combat, but he had been studying the Framework, optimizing programs. And the day before everyone left for Thanksgiving break, it would be easy to hop onto the machine - to give extra practice time to the other three teams and level the playing field. He'd developed programs that approximated the other teams in the Contest, including the Young Avengers - programs that they could fight and train and get that crucial edge they needed. 

	Ed didn't care if his team won. He just needed the Young Avengers to lose. 

	At 10:30 PM, everyone needed to be at the gym ready to go - ready to enter the Framework. And of course, not get caught by teachers on their way over. [hr][hr][center][h3][b][color=42A9FF]April Flynn[/color][/b][/h3][img]https://64.media.tumblr.com/d1723ee57b9df2da0b9489e9cee7a408/90f917e93b713a17-04/s400x600/d38c484659a7a81a4da2f137683399e7922fc1ea.gif[/img][hr][b][color=42A9FF]Location:[/color][/b]   Stark Hall - Fifth Floor
[b][color=42A9FF]Skills:[/color][/b] N/A 
[b][color=42A9FF]Fit:[/color][/b] [url=https://www.hawtcelebs.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/sydney-sweeney-heading-to-a-gym-in-los-angeles-06-07-2022-0.jpg]Gym Clothes[/url]
[hr][hr][/center]	April's mental health was at an all time low and she knew it. 

	The Contest of Champions was less than a month away - weeks away, actually. It was scheduled for December 15th. And they were hopelessly unprepared. The Young Avengers were in the news saving people, fighting [i]real[/i] threats, and the Huntresses were still just practicing against monsters Lady Nimue summoned. For a perfectionist who dreamed of winning the Contest, that was enough already to stress her out - not even accounting for all the other teams who would be there, all filled with incredibly talented people. Then there was the mountain of homework and exams she was falling behind on, as every waking moment she spent training, pushing herself harder. 

	Then there was the situation with Leah - the paranoia, the knowledge that her father was just lurking around the corner, waiting to strike. He was inevitability. April didn't know how to fight that - didn't know how to protect Leah, as much as she desperately wanted to. And Sabine too, Sabine was so strong, but she'd been hacked - and she'd seen something that night as well, something harrowing. 

	There was also the fact that lately, when April stared in the mirror, she didn't recognize herself - she didn't recognize her body. She flinched when people referred to her in conversation by things other than her name and she didn't have the mental space to know why. At night, in her dreams, she saw that same nightmare replaying over and over again - saw Magneto's helmet on her head, saw herself transformed into something else, something horrible. 	

	She had just finished an assignment for one of her science courses with less than ten minutes to spare until they had to meet up with Ed. She was jittery with nerves and caffeine and sugar as she changed into a nondescript gym outfit - gray yoga pants, matching sports bra, and a hoodie. [color=42A9FF]"You ready?"[/color] she asked Mads, dark shadows under her eyes, as she cracked open an energy drink and began to sip it. 

	With her other hand, she sent off some texts rapid fire:

[hider=@Sabine, @Leah]See you both soon!! xoxo[/hider]

[hider=@Danni, @Dori]You two ready??? Mads and I are leaving soon!![/hider]

[hr][hr][center][h3][b][color=ed1c24]Percy Novikov[/color][/b][/h3][img]https://i.pinimg.com/originals/fc/6e/e9/fc6ee97291be7f014bd7c86399f42181.gif[/img][hr][b][color=ed1c24]Location:[/color][/b] Stark Hall - Fifth Floor
[b][color=ed1c24]Skills:[/color][/b] Omnilingualism 
[b][color=ed1c24]Fit:[/color][/b] ~Academy Uniform Lol~
[hr][hr][/center]	Percy's roommate had more or less officially withdrawn from the school at this point, leaving him with a single. However, while he would have enjoyed his own room's environment much more, he also understood that one of the expected functions of a boyfriend was to spend time in Dorian's room. So after packing his bags for a brief visit to see his moms for the upcoming Thanksgiving break, he had taken his laptop and gone over to Dorian's room, dutifully typing away at an essay he was writing on the [i]Odyssey[/i] for a class. He was currently typing the essay out in a bizarre mixture of Russian, English, and Ancient Greek - he'd edit it all into one concise language later on. 

	He understood the importance of tonight's training session, but he wasn't particularly stressed about it. He wore his same academy uniform as always, and he glanced at his watch, frowning slightly before hitting save on his document and closing the laptop's lid. He left the laptop on the desk, just in its proper place, before turning to his boyfriend. [color=ed1c24]"Πρέπει να πάμε,"[/color] he said, his mind still stuck in Greek. [color=ed1c24]"Apologies - we should go,"[/color] he then repeated, standing up to leave and putting his blazer back on, before offering a hand to Dorian.