[hr][hr][center][img]https://i.postimg.cc/SR52k84p/54b4e63d635603b22d80f72a4ba2be54.png[/img][hr][img]https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AA1ti5x2.img?w=640&h=264&m=6[/img][hr][@Achronum][@Blizz][@Forsythe][@Kirah][@PatientBean][@Trainerblue192][hr][h3][color=AC3EFF][b]4:20 PM - Sun. December 12th, 2038 - New Orleans, Louisiana[/b][/color][/h3][/center][hr] Something unprecedented happened for the Margaret Carter Institute. They had brought three teams to the Contest of Champions, twenty students in total. Not all of them had gone through the examination yet - not all of them had been cleared to compete. But before even thirty minutes had passed, not one, not two, but [i]seven students[/i] would no longer be participating in the Contest of Champions. This is how it happened. [color=05794C]Zari Raynordattir[/color] had been about to go complete her examination, having wandered briefly on over to her girlfriend, when her watch began to beep. There was a brief parting in the multiversal storm that was preventing her from leaving this dimension - a brief moment in which her home reality was accessible to her once more. She grinned at her watch, chattering eagerly at Mr. Eyeball and Mr. Jaws, before she glanced up at Andy. [color=05794C]"Bye, Andy!! It was nice knowing you!!"[/color] And then, in the blink of an eye, she was gone - back to Earth-257, back to her family, back to where she really belonged, with all of the people who mattered to her. [color=8181F7]Zelda Flynn[/color] had almost successfully completed her examination, when the last question forced the truth from her. She did not want to compete in the Contest of Champions. She didn't even want to attend the Margaret Carter Institute. All she wanted to do was design costumes - she wasn't a hero, wasn't a fighter. And after her sister's mental break, who could really blame her for wanting to choose a different path? One of the Strange Academy professors was kind enough to provide her with a teleportation portal to go back home - to go back to her parents in Washington D.C., where the conversation they would have would result in her withdrawal from the Margaret Carter Institute - and instead, her parents would look into arts schools for her to attend. [color=ff48a5]Mary Sue Sullivan[/color] similarly did not wish to compete in the Contest of Champions - the trauma of Arcade and the trauma of Thanos was too much for her. Her speedster father came to pick her up almost immediately, as he and her mother were in the area. The conversation they would have would result in her transferring to the Braddock Academy, much closer to home in the British Isles. [color=7FFFD4]Madalyne Crane[/color] had finished her examination, and was speaking with Agatha when she was pulled away - not by a stranger, but by her father. He had discussed things with her mother, and they had come to the conclusion that Madalyne would benefit from connecting with her more demonic side. The two of them left for Limbo to reconnect, and her mother would soon after send in the forms withdrawing Madalyne from the Margaret Carter Institute. [color=32CD32]Diana Novikova[/color] had seemingly passed the examination, until the blood work analysis concluded, revealing that she was taking a significant amount of mutant growth hormone. This drug resulted in her immediate disqualification. A later investigation would reveal that this drug was the source of Diana's powers, and that she had been born as a baseline human, rather than a mutant like her brother. She would then be expelled from the Margaret Carter Institute. Gideon Pearlman was disqualified from the contest due to an unfortunate and avoidable situation - she was failing her English class, and in danger of (again) being unable to graduate. [color=ed1c24]Percy Novikov[/color] withdrew from the contest due to his entanglement with Dorian Gray, ensuring that his boyfriend would be allowed to compete, as they were on different teams. [hider=The Examination...]Rather than doing a million collabs, [b]send me a DM on Discord for character-specific questions that will come up in your exam.[/b] The exam consists of a standard physical, followed by one more apt for superheroes. The superhero screening consists of a mystical portion, where passing an amulet over your head three times will indicate what enchantments, if any, are present based on the color the amulet's quartz stone begins to glow. There is also a scientific screening, where blood samples are rapidly analyzed to look for the presence of both performance enhancing drugs, as well as varying forms of radiation. A device created by the Future Foundation then examines the student on a quantum level, picking up evidence of time-travel, quantum entanglement, and cosmic powers/entities. At the end of the examination, students are then asked to place their hand on the Tome of Izneth, and answer a series of questions. The answers to these questions [i]must be truthful[/i], as that is the power of the book. [list][*]What is your name? [*]Who are you? [*]Do you want to compete in the Contest of Champions?[/list][/hider] [hider=Reminder - A Selection of Contest of Champions Rules][i]This list is non-exhaustive - please ask if you have questions / if there is a major rule you believe I have missed![/i] [list][*]Eligibility: [list][*]Students may be between the ages of 12 and 19. [*]Students are only allowed to compete on one team. [*]Students must be enrolled and in good standing at their home institution. [*]Students must be eager and willing participants.[/list] [*]Combat: [list][*]No animals / pets / other companions may be brought into the arena. However, summoning of creatures is allowed. [*]No maiming or killing. [*]No usage of performance enhancing drugs, such as Mutant Growth Hormone. [*]No summoning world-ending entities, such as Galactus or the Phoenix[/list][/list][/hider] The Vision, understandably, was having a rough time. Leah had come up to him and informed him she was going outside to wait for Sabine, evidently wanting him to go outside and chat with them - he was concerned about whatever it was they wanted to tell him, but they were not the only ones coming to get his attention. Andy did not know about Nemo's passing, Diana was hardly delicate in explaining it, and then Zarina dumped her girlfriend and disappeared before his eyes. "Excuse me, one moment, Ms. Andy," the Vision apologized, as a contest employee called him over for a moment - and gave him the rundown of every disqualification or withdrawal that had been summarized above. "I see," he murmured, his brain operating at a thousand miles a minute, as solutions were generated by his software. "I believe I have a solution that will work for most parties. Please do not process Mr. Novikov's withdrawal yet." He then sighed, wishing he was not the only faculty member present. Diana Novikova's case needed a second adult present to handle. He blinked, as he shot off a series of messages quickly back to the school, asking for Coulson to arrive as early as possible to speak to Ms. Novikova, and decide what was to be done. "With the other disqualifications, the students of Excelsior and the Uncanny Avengers can consolidate to a single team - in which case, there would be no violation for Mr. Novikov and Mr. Gray, correct?" Meanwhile, Agatha grimaced a bit as Mads left her presence, going back to hell. "Yikes, hate to see what happens when you're grounded, Mac," she commented, shaking her head slightly. However, her attention was quickly caught by a student screaming her name and running towards her - her hands immediately went up to defend herself, glowing purple energy surrounding them, before a smile broke across her face. "Why, if it isn't little Danni Kingston, my favorite little gay disaster!" Agatha cackled. She then gasped, seeing the tiny dragon with him. "Ah, you have a baby!!! Awww! Ebony's skulking around here somewhere, I'm sure she'd love to meet her daughter - you know how mothers get with their kids. How are things back at school, kiddo? You miss old Agatha already?" [hr][hr][center][h3][b][color=42A9FF]April Flynn[/color][/b][/h3][img]https://i.pinimg.com/originals/d6/92/80/d6928017c3826e20629dcdf0dfe3641c.gif[/img][hr][b][color=42A9FF]Location:[/color][/b] New Orleans - Strange Academy: Medical Waiting Room [b][color=42A9FF]Skills:[/color][/b] N/A [b][color=42A9FF]Outfit:[/color][/b] [url=https://img.i-scmp.com/cdn-cgi/image/fit=contain,width=1024,format=auto/sites/default/files/d8/images/canvas/2024/06/07/56dd11b6-7b39-4a99-b4a8-058c18f4a3fc_7390c88c.jpg]Khaki-Colored Work Jacket + Grey Tank + Light Wash Jeans + Combat Boots[/url] [hr][hr][/center] April gasped, her jaw dropping. Danni and Dorian were [i]related to Harry fucking Simmons?![/i] She screeched slightly in surprise, completely shocked. She knew that their parents were well connected, but she didn't know they had a famous pop star for an uncle! Had she not been in such a good and hyper mood, she might have been annoyed at them for not telling her - instead, she was just completely in awe at how close her friends were to a literal star. [color=42A9FF]"Oh my god oh my god oh my god!!! That's so cool!!! I didn't know he was your uncle!!!"[/color] Before she could beg Dorian to get them tickets to see one of Harry Simmons' shows, though, he was already off, having made a beeline for one of the open exam rooms. April pouted slightly. She hadn't gotten in [i]nearly[/i] enough hugs from him! She didn't see the issue with both of them going into the exam room at the same time, either. As pumped up and energetic as she was, her thoughts felt scattered - a little hard to form, a little hard to keep things coherent. So as much as she tried, she couldn't quite arrive at the same conclusion that Danni had - and any discomfort or confusion with that was quickly eliminated, as she giggled as Amélie tried to chew on her hair! [color=42A9FF]"It's okay if she eats my hair!!! Honestly it doesn't even feel like my hair most of the time - like it feels like it's hair that belongs to someone else, like it's so long and girlie and stuff - like it feels like Barbie's hair, y'know? Like I'm some sort of a doll and I can't change things because I'm made of plastic and I'm a collector's item or something, so they're never going to take me out of the box,"[/color] she rambled. [color=42A9FF]"So she can eat it, it's chill! It's not really mine!"[/color] She whined a bit as Danni untangled them, but it was fine - they had a mission to do! April nodded seriously at Danni's instructions - she wasn't exactly sure what her job was going to be in this, since Danni had the dragon and just needed to bring her to Agatha, but she was ready to do anything he asked of her for this. Maybe he wanted her to run interference? There were plenty of kids with water bottles in the room - she could clear the way for him by blasting a path through the crowd? Use the water to box Agatha in so she couldn't leave? Was that what he wanted? She didn't know, but she was going to do it! [color=42A9FF]"Got it, sounds good!!"[/color] She couldn't help but giggle more, watching as Danni made his way on over to the exam room, ducking under people at some turns. He was so silly!! April then spotted another room that was about to have an opening, and miraculously didn't have a huge line in front of it, allowing her to slip on in relatively quickly. Inside, the exam room wasn't like any sort of doctor's office she'd ever been to before - not that she went super often to the doctor's. Well, not until recently. Her mother had done most of her examinations growing up as a kid, only taking her to the actual doctor's if she needed to get a second opinion, which was rare. Dr. Bonnie Chase was SHIELD's medical science director for a reason. This didn't look like her mom's office at home, and it definitely didn't look like any of the exam rooms at CAGE, or even the nurse's office at AA. If anything, it looked like a doctor's office for a new [i]HalloweenTown[/i] movie. [color=42A9FF]"Hi! I'm April Flynn. Here's my paperwork! Let me know what you want me to do!"[/color] she introduced herself, as she held out the forms to a red woman dressed in white and a gigantic tree person. Definitely aliens, but her brain was blanking on what kind of aliens exactly, even though she could have [i]sworn[/i] she'd read about tree people before. "I am Groot!" A branch quickly grew out from the tree's arm, wrapping around the forms and taking them from her. [color=42A9FF]"Hi, Groot!! That's a cool name! It's nice to meet you!! I love your bark!! Did you grow it yourself?"[/color] "I am Groot!" The pink and green woman shook her head slightly. "His name ain't Groot, luv. It's Gwit." April titled her head. Didn't he just say twice that his name was Groot? Was she misunderstanding something here? She opened her mouth for a moment, before closing it again, as the woman introduced herself as Doc E, and set about running through the exam. It was pretty similar to the tests that had been done on her at CAGE - checking her vitals, her organs, her heart, her eyes and her ears, followed with some more specialized measurements. A magical amulet that Doc E spun around her head, an alarmingly fast bloodwork analyzer, and a glorified radar gun that Gwit manned. "Alright, luv, last thing. Need ya to place your hand on this book, and I'm going to ask ya some questions." "I am Groot!" "That's right, Gwit, no lying, understood? Izneth will be right upset if she catches you fibbing." [color=42A9FF]"Wait, what'll happen if I lie?"[/color] April asked. [color=42A9FF]"What if I don't think I'm lying but I'm not telling the truth - like if you ask me what the capital of California is, and maybe I think that it's San Fransisco, when it's actually Sacramento, does that count as a lie? Is it the truth or is it my truth? And who is Izneth? Can I meet her? Or or or is she in the room but she's invisible?"[/color] That had happened to Zelda - April's sister had found a way to fully disappear, becoming the ultimate wallflower. At least the invisibility wasn't wasted on her. "Mm, you don't want to know. Now, poppet, what is your name?" She froze for a second. What was her name? Suddenly, that question about lies that she thought were true seemed really relevant. [color=42A9FF]"Umm, April - right now, at least."[/color] "Who are you?" [color=42A9FF]"I'm... I'm still April? Was that not the right answer? Or do you mean like... like what kind of person I am? I think I'm a good person? I hope I'm a good person? Or was I supposed to, like, come in here telling you that I'm a support player or a DPS or a tank - I think those are the terms, right? I haven't played a lot of video games, but I have played some Rivals before - Dorian gotta reeeeally into it, I'm not nearly as good as him - he's my best friend, well one of my best friends, my other best friend is Danni. I thought I was besties with Mads but, like... she visited me in the hospital and it felt really weird and I think I actually don't like her very much - and it's not because she's a demon or anything, it's because she like... she feels kinda empty when I talk to her. Does that make sense? Is that normal?"[/color] "Do you want to compete in the Contest of Champions?" [color=42A9FF]"Yes!!! Obvi!!!"[/color] It didn't bother April that the doctor hadn't answered her questions - or the way that Gwit practically shooed her out the door, repeating [i]I am Groot[/i] over and over again - she was still so incredibly pumped, so incredibly excited! She was riding an energy high that she hoped never ended. If she could keep this up, she knew they would win the competition for sure - she felt like she could take on the Young Avengers all by herself in this moment! [hr][hr][center][h3][b][color=ed1c24]Percy Novikov[/color][/b][/h3][img]https://i.scdn.co/image/ab676161000051748a415cc649022ca4d5582ed8[/img][hr][b][color=ed1c24]Location:[/color][/b] New Orleans - Strange Academy: Medical Waiting Room [b][color=ed1c24]Skills:[/color][/b] N/A [b][color=ed1c24]Outfit:[/color][/b] [url=https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/0d589277-9f3d-4fdd-9f52-2e1e122326d2.jpg]Dorian Approved Outfit #2 - Sunglasses, Flannel, Skinny Jeans[/url] [hr][hr][/center] Percy was not surprised to receive a text from his boyfriend almost immediately. He must have been told the same thing - that they could not both compete in the Contest of Champions. But had they informed Dorian that he would no longer be competing, that Percy had solved the issue for them? He frowned, biting his lip ever so slightly as he considered it. [i]”We need to talk, where are you?”[/i] It didn't give him very much information to go off of. He did know, however, that [i]we need to talk[/i] was a much maligned phrase to receive from a partner - he'd done a similar dive into research after he'd started dating Dorian, in order to try to be a good boyfriend. [hider=@Dorian][color=ed1c24]Dearest Dorian, I withdrew from the competition, so there should be no issues with you participating. You may find me at the far end of the room, near the mental health awareness poster depicting a skeletal cat. With love, Percy[/color][/hider] He then put his phone back into his pocket, as he made his way towards that end of the room - it was quieter over there, with not nearly as many prospective champions crowding about, so he hoped they could have a conversation with some amount of privacy. He had solved the problem, though. His presence in the competition was the issue that would prevent Dorian from competing, so he'd withdrawn. It was simple. He wouldn't allow Dorian to give up on his dream for him, and Percy could always compete again in the future. If he were to be honest with himself, it was his pride that had caused him to care about this anyways - his inability to let others see him as weak, as helpless. He wanted to win to show that he could. Dorian's reason was better. But even though he'd made that choice, he couldn't help but feel a strange hollowness. He didn't know what the feeling meant - he didn't have the words to describe it or the tools to examine it. Instead, he just was filled with this pervasive emptiness as he stared at the buzzing crowd of students, all of them excited and chattering - all of them ready to prove themselves, to show the world what they were capable of. He'd watch from the stands, no different really from how he had watched on the sofa in years past, his moms making idle commentary. As for the entanglement itself... He hoped that Dorian wanted to keep it - that he wasn't scared of it. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, as if he could reach out and feel what Dorian would feel, as if the lines had blurred where one of them ended and the other began. For a brief second, he felt a flicker of something - a buzz of energy crawling up and down his skin. But it died as quickly as it had come on. He opened his eyes again, and he fidgeted slightly, suddenly unable to remain still - pacing back and forth in the small space as he waited for Dorian. It didn't occur to him that his boyfriend might have been upset about the decision he'd made.