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Is that boy a girl too?

That comment somehow stuck with April, threatening to take her focus right before the fight began. Somehow, she'd hoped that the question had been about her, even as she knew the heckler meant the lone boy on the Hex Girls' team. But any brief unconscious insight into her own gender would have to wait - the match was beginning, and they were so close. They'd fought tooth and nail to be here, pushing themselves to the limits these last few days. The tremors in her hands had thankfully stopped too, and her mind felt clear, sharp, and focused as her heart pounded furiously. One match stood between them and the Young Avengers. One match was all they needed to win to get to the finals, to have a shot at winning the title. One match and then the rest of their lives would begin. It was going to be perfect. It was everything they'd worked so hard for, everything they'd dreamed of, it was -

... The hottest people she'd seen in her life smirking and harassing them - harassing her ex-girlfriends.

April gasped at the offer Thuy delivered to Sabine so glibly, and as the hellfire shot towards her ex, she acted without thinking. Barrels of water had been provided in the arena for her to work with, and at her call, the water rushed out of the barrel, flying through the air towards her - and then past her, a protective cocoon shaping itself around Sabine. The fire collided with the water, the integrity of the sphere failing immediately, as steam hissed and rose up towards the arena ceiling. "Shut up, you can't talk to her that way!" she snapped, as the remaining water fell towards the ground. But rather than let it hit the floor, April froze it, forming an icy shard that she shot across the field, on a collision course with Thuy. "It's not okay!"

---

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It was the moment they had been working towards.

Sabine had mentally prepared herself despite recent events. The fiasco at the Kingston-Gray household that had nearly ruined her still had moments of gray. Danni storming off and not talking to anyone (least of all her), Leah essentially proposing marriage, and Vicky speaking to her about how they can now read each other's thoughts had all merged into a lump in the pit of her stomach. She had been looking forward to this. Did she still want it as badly as before?

They were facing off against a team she knew very little about. The only recognition she had was the girl she met at the hotel. The one who shamelessly flirted with her. Sabine glanced at Leah inadvertently. She didn't do anything, but did she stop it?

"This is going to be an interesting fight," she thought, knowing Vicky would hear it.

Another sinking feeling: she had no one in the stands rooting for her. She figured the Kingston and Gray families were here for Danni and Dorian and, by extension, April. She-Hulk would be for Leah. Percy had family, she was sure. Andy had family, also. She knew her father and stepmother would not be here. She was here for herself and her team, and that would have to be enough.

The battle commenced with trash talk. Before she could respond, she saw Thuy lash out at her, fiery chains aimed to hit her. She instinctively held up her arms but felt nothing. Well, not entirely true. She felt a cool presence. She looked and saw a sphere made of water wash over her, taking the brunt of the attack. The sphere dissipated and Sabine was unhurt.

She looked over at April, at how she had stuck up for her, for Leah also. Sabine wanted to run over, take April in her arms and hug her until it hurt, but now was not the time. "Thanks April."

She focused her attention back on Thuy. "I'm good, thanks. I go out with winners."

Sabine noted that, while Thuy was tough, her team were getting prepared themselves. Sabine knew she was not a powerhouse by any means. She would need to support others and take the Hex Girls down to their level.

Sabine moved back, allowing the heavy hitters to go forward. If they could protect her, she could supplement them. She eyed Dorian and briefly sent a telepathic link, allowing her to boost his abilities. He would be able to do more damage. "You got this Dorian!"

Its finally time! Its finally time! Its finally time! The semi-finals, and soon after THE FINALS. Dorian was more than ready to wipe that look off of the Young Avengers faces. This was the year, he'd take the crown before they could retire the contest and become heroes out in the world. But first there was one small obstacle. The Hex Girls of Strange Academy. But that was nothing his team and friends couldn't handle. He'd been watching every fight, checking their moves and developing strategies as best as he could. All signs pointed to the immediate removal of their leader, Thelma. But of course that wouldn't be exactly as easy as he wished. She'd warded herself in an attempt to protect herself while still being in command.

Dorian blew a tuft of hair away from his face. Looking over the other contestants in the team. The only guy amongst them having made eyes with his boyfriend. Dorian's lips pursed, his hand balling into a fist as he wanted to punch the smug look off his face. But he knew their tactics. He knew they'd try and goad them into fights they couldn't win. But maybe that could be used to his advantage. ”Perce, ready to take these third rate Sorcerer’s down a peg? I say we start with the wanna-be.” He said motion towards Skylar.

Percy glanced to his side, taking in the anger across Dorian’s features. His heart fluttered slightly at the sight. Clearing his throat slightly, he nodded. He couldn’t help but be somewhat apprehensive, his powers had never been the most reliable, but practicing with Dorian had really helped and he’d had a breakthrough recently. Focusing on smaller jumps had helped - short distances to travel, not large ones. He offered his hand to Dorian.
“I think third rate is being a bit generous,” he offered dryly. “They’re cosplaying sorcery at best.”

”True.” Dorian replied as he took Percy's hand in his. He could feel Sabine's powers strengthening him. He just had to land his shot and make it count. That's all. No pressure. He let out a long breath before sprinting towards Skylar, Percy in tow. Dorian stopped just short of the illusionist wizard. ”Shoddy spellwork like that isn't going to get you anywhere near my boyfriend. I mean the nose isn't even the same on all of them, but nice try.” Dorian said with a smirk. His arm extending past Skylar's face as he flicked towards Thelma in the back lines, a wave of Telekinetic energy hurdling towards her before dissipating uselessly against her ward. ”Shit, Perce now!”

Percy nodded, the pressure on as he prepared to make the jump. He wished he’d had his axe - that he could just swing it through all the images, hit the real person, and call it a day. He felt vulnerable and exposed without it. ”I’m on it,” he affirmed. Just a few more seconds and they’d be out of there.

---

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Andy’s heart was racing. The day had already been intense and now they were here in the penultimate round of the contest. Not something she had anticipated happening. She opened and closed her hands, she still wore the gloves, but these were fingerless. Designed originally to allow her to use her vampiric touch, now that wasn’t needed, but the gloves offered her metal studded knuckles for her punches.

Gideon’s shout confused her for a second, an old song from the early 2000s. Her brain then catches up with her and she ducks. She doesn’t know if that is why Gideon was yelling, but it doesn’t matter. Things have gone into full swing of action. She sees Dorian and Percy going for Thelma and is about to follow after them, ready to punch the woman with her electrified fists. But the shield around her doesn’t crack, she shifts gears quickly. There is someone else on the field that is causing confusion with illusions. If she can take him out then that’s one less thing they have to worry about. She moves and punches out at Skylar.

The electricity that she always feels coursing in her leaps from her fist at him. She prepared for retaliation.

Danni was living for this. The adrenaline, the close calls and near misses, the thousands of onlookers as he and his friends ran circles around the other teams and were well on the way to proving they were meant to be the best! It was enough that the uncomfortable evening the night of the sleep over faded away under the excitement and the nerves of the first day. Waffles were a must and bacon and eggs and coffee and OJ and toast and pancakes and milk and oatmeal and biscuits and gravy and… Danni may have gone a little overboard, but he was excited and cooking was better than burning!

But they were on the field now and damn, if not everyone on the Hex Girls absolutely slayed. Like damn, they had to be using magic to look that good. Even their lightning at every angle was perfect! He wasn't nervous - sure they had a sharpshooter and a real nasty piece of punching that liked to zip around the other team giving out black eyes like candy on Halloween and a crazy chain lady and a psychic who was really into giving time outs but what did that matter? Nothing in the face of the friendship of Excelsior!

“OMG! Why are we doin’ t'is everywhere now?!” Danni shrieked as Skylar flirted with Percy. “T'at is a taken man! Keep it in your pan-” Danni's head cracked as he whipped around and stared at Thuy in disbelief. “I wish I ‘ad more arms. I need t'em to serve ‘ands ta all these creepers!” Danni kicked off, fire igniting under his feet and he took aim. It really was a coin toss - little witch boy or demon girl both deserved it - but he figured he could help knock out the small fry quickly with Andy as she launched lightning at him. Thin the herd and all that!

“T'ink fast, jerk!” Fire built up in the tips of his fingers and he sent it rocketing after Andy's shock.

---

---

The talk with Sabine earlier went differently that Tori expected. Before she could get a word in, Sabine came with a wish slash instruction from the Kingston-Grays to not blab about what she saw in Casper's mind. Victoria could readily agree to that - To be frank, she found the memory quite unremarkable. Casper has obviously gotten better and could help provide a good home for two of her friends, so props to him. What came before then was not of interest, and even if it was, Victoria never had the intention of sharing that with anyone.

The interesting conversation happened afterwards. Once the news of Victoria's overhearing of Sabine's thoughts and it cutting off shortly after Sabine went to talk with the masters of the house was floated around, the duo experimented with it shortly. Vicky found it highly ironic that a mutant family was so liberal with issuing power dampeners, but once said dampener was removed, the intrusive thoughts came back. Moreover, they apparently transmitted in both directions.

In the end, there wasn't that much time to study their new... ability, Tori guessed, in detail. Victoria promised to try not to think too distracting thoughts during Sabine's matches, but she did express a want to meet later to see how this new connection they gained could be controlled and utilized. Or, heck, how or why it even worked. Was Sabine unknowingly doing this, or was Vicky now a psion, albeit very, very selective? If they could understand and develop this unexpected gift... That gave Victoria ideas regarding it's use.

In the meantime though, she was stuck here in the grandstands, watching the circus, because... She didn't know. She had no interest in the contest, other than perhaps cheering Leah on. She was still on the fence about cheering for her sister - not that the Young Avengers apparently needed much support, although she supposed showing up in an YA t-shirt and baseball cap would have been a nice way to troll her classmates. Thinking of her sister brought another unpleasant thought to the foreground. Their mother was either a no-show, she took steps to steer well clear of Victoria... or Victoria overdid it with the counter-admin macro and made herself completely unable to perceive her instead of simply censoring any verbal or nonverbal communication her system could interpret as an order. Although she liked to think she could code such a simple thing well enough.

So, ASTRA did what ASTRA does - Used the time to catalogue the people and powers on display, expanding her threat library more in one day than in the entire year prior. The whole Leah's dad situation was ever present in the corner of her mind - supposedly it was some kind of a hoax, but if the man intended to fuck about, well... there was enough distractions here to perhaps pull something off, so she kept her eye on the bushy-haired woman when she could.

Speaking of, the MCI team has filed into the field again, and Tori tried to tell her mind to not think at lightyear per second speeds. Gideon's loud screech made her think about expanding her people-ignoring macro by a few non-admin names.

"Focus. Your team is cobbled together from the remnants of three others, the Hack girls have advantage on their side due to synergy alone." she thought back to Sabine as the fight was beginning. Okay, maybe there were two more people she respected enough to root for. "You can marvel at the nuances of the fight after you're done sending them home crying!"

She did chuckle when Leah ripped the Hex girl's little telekinetic cage into pathetic wreckage, though.

---

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The games raged on, and as the stands began to fill, birds flew above their heads cawing and circling before perching above spotlights and rooftops. A cool breeze blew through the stands as a familiar young man began to make his way down the line and past other onlookers within the stands. He was dressed in a wool overcoat, a dark gray color to contrast against his stark white undershirt and bright blue sweater. He'd spied his prize already, all thanks to his wonderful brother, and made his way over to them. Walking past a pair of empty seats, he now stood before Gideon, tilting his sunglasses down slightly to look down at her own. A sweet scent being carried by the wind as he spoke to them. ”Youre in my seat. Move.” Without much of a fuss, the himbo got up and left.

To the other side of Victoria sat Franklin Stein, a student of Strange Academy who had already learned of the twins…behaviors. He quickly gathered his items without being asked as Barty turned to face him. “Already moving out of your way. Just wanted to keep the seat warm.” He replied as he scurried away to find another open spot. Barty smiled, turning to face the stage as he flicked his coat off the back of the seats so that he wasn't sitting on it. ”We meet again it would seem, and not for the last time. It's been a while since last we talked, and I think I finally know how to put that favour to use.” Barty didn’t even look at her, his eyes watching the fight before him with pure amusement.



Max snatched the bag of kettle corn, opening it up as he began to eat what was clearly meant to be Sunshine's snacks. ”Thanks for the snack, I was missing one.” He said before sticking his tongue out at her and then shoveling a mouthful of kettlecorn in. Once he finished swallowing he continued. ”You didn't miss much, match has just begun and already it's a tough spot for both teams to be in. Oh, and I wouldn't have had to enchant your wardrobe if you wore something appropriate for today's event. Regardless, I was waiting for you guys before I put on a big show. Sooo.”

Max set the Kettlecorn bag aside, building up magic within both his hands before having it flow across the entirety of the stands and come to a crescendo behind the Hex Girls and in view of Excelsior. Silent fireworks bursting into the air in dazzling colors and sparkle that read ”Danni, Dorian, Sabine, April, Leah, Andy, Percy, Upward and Onward to Greater Glory! Excelsior! We're So Proud Of You All!” Max then turned to She-Hulk and the other parents in the stands with him as he belted out ”Let's show our kids some support! C'mon!”

---

Eva was smiling. She squeezed her wife's hand and tried to hide the smile from her. She was watching the action in the field, but that hadn't made what had just happened any less funny.

"Now, which kid is which?" She knew of the kids via some stories, but she had no idea who was who. Let alone other than Danni and Dorian, how they were connected to the family.

---

Connie rolled her eyes as Barty forcibly moved a couple of students. He was talking with someone Connie didn't recognize, as if he knew them. She squinted, trying to figure out how Barty knew the girl. She certainly didn't go to Strange Academy.

"Frankie, sit here." Connie gestured to a free seat near her. She liked the techie, and he was one of the few that was still at Strange Academy (that wasn't a professor) who remembered Connie from her first year. He was her longest friend.

---

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Ben was not thrilled with being here. He wasn't thrilled with being in the States. However, adoption had brought him to the other side of the world.

"Look, there are some other kids your age. Go sit with them, make some friends. I see someone I recognize." Ben's adoptive father, and blood uncle, Matt Moss, urged him. Then waved at a woman in colored glasses. "Novikova." Matt's voice was loud enough to carry. Ben winced and moved away. Of course, there were people he knew here. It wasn't as easy as just sitting with strangers to make friends. Ben joined the row of students. He had no idea who any of them were. They might be students at Margaret Carter Institute, or some other school that he had never heard of or cared about. There were no Braddock Academy students.

He sat with arms crossed, sunk into the seat. He didn't know who was who or anything. Cheering for a bunch of strangers, even if he would be attending their school in the following month, didn't sound like a good time. The only reason he was here was that Matt had decided he should see what the school taught, hoping it would make Ben less annoyed when he was sent to Margaret Carter Institute, which was closer to his adoptive mom's workplace.

---

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Excelsior’s opening strategy was powerful, offensive, and exactly what Thelma wanted. She watched it all, unphased as their attacks failed to meet the mark, and noted exactly who needed support the most on their team. She barely glanced in Dorian’s direction. His attempt, and all the effort behind it, to phase her was novice at best. Power danced in her fingers, casting long shadows across her face, before it drifted into Thuy’s ear and vanished. Thelma hissed as her hands throbbed. Thuy froze.

For a moment nothing happened. But long inky lines followed Thuy’s veins beneath the skin and fire flickered out her mouth with every breath. The scent of brimstone and sulphur took to the air and her shadow danced all on its own. Her telltale chains clinked and clattered out of sight, hungry for their next victim. But she was told to wait, so wait she would. Patient but hungry. “Bet, princess. Dinner’s at 8.” Thuy laughed, a motley collection of voices following.

“Don’t be jealous, pretty boy.” Skyler laughed. “There’s enough of me to share. I don’t mind getting in between, if you know what I mean. And if you wanna be a little mean-” He snapped a quick incantation, the crackle of lightning slowing to a crawl, and he shifted just enough for it to pass him harmlessly; bracing for the lesser of the two evils as the fire rocketed at him. It caught, but only just a little. A shimmering golden shield caught the brunt of it, a crook of Wil’s finger causing it to whirl back to them. He hissed in pain as the fire burned up his arm. “Have I told you you’re a saint today, Wil?” A glowing barrage of magic pelted Leah and the area around her from his outstretched hand.

“You could always do with telling me a bit more.” Wil laughed. With their illusionist in trouble, Ava broke off from Leah and left Wil to fend for themselves. She bolted, mace high, and shouted as she took a shot at Percy.

Tatiana darted in, the three of them weaving in between each other. She’d been left alone, unbothered, and it was no effort to reach the telepath. “Don’t know why Thuy’s so obsessed with a basic white girl, but she’s never had good taste.” Tatiana spat as the illusions all shifted into a fighting stance Prudence took the opportunity as it was, bringing up a barrier around Tatiana and Sabine and sealing them into a cage fight.





A decade or so ago, Sunshine would have threatened to cut Max for touching her food. She’d been incredibly territorial about food, even on Genosha when they didn’t have to scrounge through the trash and steal what they could to get by. It was a huge sign of her progress that she instead gave him a side eye, waited for him to finish casting his spell (she didn’t need another classic Max magical misfire right now, as funny as it would have been), and then she slammed her entire body weight into his side. ”Someone’s picking up strays again,” she observed. ”And here I thought I was your favorite delinquent,” she pouted slightly.

Val nodded slightly at Eva’s question. ”I have no idea,” she admitted. She was trying not to obsessively dig up information on people before interacting with them. Resisting the urge to do a deep dive on Danni and Dorian’s friends to verify there were no skeletons in their closets was just a small step she could take. ”The flaming one is Danni,” she supplied. ”And then the one holding the tiny one’s hand, that’s Dorian.” She knew that much, at least. She was 99% sure she hadn’t mixed up Danni and Dorian. It had been easier to do when they were babies, but the flames helped. Not that Dorian wasn’t also flaming. She would have been surprised if he wasn’t, given the family he was raised in.

She was very glad the Contest of Champions hadn’t existed when she had been attending Xavier’s school. Harry would have wanted to compete, and she would have hated every second of it.

"Holy shit is that... is that Andy?"

Similarly attention-adverse, Dominika was relieved - but also troubled - to be sitting next to Matt. A familiar face was helpful, putting a bit of her fears and anxieties to rest. Yet at the same time, she knew that he would be able to read her - and probably would have questions as to why Maria wasn’t present. She did notice however that his spouse was also absent. Maybe then there wouldn’t be questions. Maybe he was in a similar boat. ”Matt,” she echoed. She wasn’t going to stand up and scream Percy’s name, despite Max’s suggestion. She knew her son was too much like her and that he’d hate that. Being here in the stands was enough.

But someone else did find themselves spurred on by Max’s antics.

From her spot down below, standing next to Excelsior’s coach, Vision, Agatha Harkness spotted Max’s magic. She scoffed. “Really, Max? You want to play this game?” She pulled her attention away from her girls - they were winning and it was painfully obvious. The standards at Margaret Carter must have really gone downhill since she’d left. Yikes. She didn’t even spot her protege down on the field. What a disappointment she had turned out to be. And Billy, Billy was exactly where she wanted him. The power of the demiurge…

But she was getting distracted. She hummed ever so softly, tracing a few arcane sigils into the air, and she pushed them out, the magic pulsing. All around the arena, the same message - scaled to twice the size of the one Max had crafted - appeared in swirling, sparkling purple, next to the image of a cat - the Strange Academy Familiar, their mascot for the year.



In the stands, Magneto’s eyes narrowed. ”Absolutely not,” he practically snarled, before all across the arena bits of silverware, watches, any metal he could find shot up into the sky, creating an EVEN LARGER sign with a simple, one-word message: ANDY.

“Ugh, I don’t have any magic to do something, that’s so lame!!!” She-Hulk pouted. “Max, can you make a giant image of Leah for me? Pleeease? I know it’s in your character sheet that you can do that!”

Ignoring the nonsense happening a few rows above, Nicholas unwound the weave of magic around him and became visible once more. He’d already settled into the vacated seat on the other side of Vicky and made no pretense of examining her. “A creature with no aura and entangled in my brother’s favor. Curious but whatever foul means you deny yourself magic makes you perfect for our needs.”

---

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The wizardly dude, the only guy on the other team (at least he seemed like one, fuck if she knew) started pelting Leah with magic missiles. They stung, and one got her right in the face. Ouch. She wondered if they were supposed to hurt more than that. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the blonde bitch start smoking like a fire. one of her teammates did something, and sent something to her. It was most likely some kind of boost with magic that made her hit harder the way Sabine could enhance someone else. That didn't bode well, but it meant she had a play to make.

"Go fuck yourself, wizard boy," She muttered, swinging her arms wide. Pillars of stone shot up out of the ground at odd angles, overlapping each other until the rough shape of a dome was left. It rose up over Skylar and Thuy, until not even the sun could get through. For the moment, the sniper and the girl with the heaviest stopping power were locked out of the fight. Maybe whatever Thuy was given worked off a timer, or only worked on the next spell she was going to cast. Either way, it was a wrench in their plans.

They couldn't immediately slag the first person on her team to make a move.

"GET THOSE MOTHERFUCKERS!"

---

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If Skyler’s plan was to distract Percy by playing to his jealousy, then it was definitely succeeding. His brain glitched for a moment, as the flirting shifted from centering on him, to centering on both him and Dorian. The slight thrill of seeing his boyfriend jealous and protective vanished immediately. ”Absolutely the fuck not,” Percy growled. No one else was going to be getting with Dorian. He’d have to be dead first for that to happen. And even then, he’d be irritated if his boyfriend didn’t mourn, at least for a little while.

Before he could even consider how obvious a strategy this was to cloud his judgment, his situation shifted - and his body, already preparing a jump, reacted for him. Someone was screaming and charging at him, a blunt object held high. Dorian’s hand slipped from his grip, as Percy blinked in and out of existence, reappearing ten feet away as he finally identified what had been flying towards him. A mace.

Hmm. He could use a mace.

` Percy's shadow dancing was all.the warning he got. The rattle of chains followed close behind and he was caught: Thuy cackled in the distance as his flesh began to burn, trapped in her grasp.

He wasn’t going to dignify these assholes with a scream, as the chains surrounded him, gripping tightly. For a brief second, there was a flash of pain, the contest’s no killing rule echoing in his mind, before it dissipated, replaced with a cool splash of water. Just as it had surrounded Sabine, a sphere enveloped him and protected him, breaking almost immediately on contact with the chains, but leaving him unharmed. He made a mental note to ask Dorian later what April’s favorite coffee was and ensure she had it first thing in the morning the next day.

His eye caught Sabine. She was in trouble. But he wouldn’t be able to get to her in time. Someone else would have to help her. His teleports were more consistent than they had been, but their range was still limited.

So much happened in a blink, then again that's how these things always go. Skylar continued his attempt to goad him, distract them. It worked. Not enough to have their muscle memory slipping as Percy's reflexes kicked in, but enough to have him abandon him on the battlefield. But that was alright, it was about time Excelsior got serious. ”Perce I don't t'ink I gotta tell you t'is but don't let ‘im get to ya. ‘E's tryin' to catch you slippin’.” His eyes scanned the field quickly, trying to take in what he could and figure out a plan. He'd watched so many replays of the Young Avengers, so many fights over the years to know this moment would come and he'd be on some highlight reel. Focus.

Sabine was trapped, Thelma was still shielded, but aside from the others most of them held their pose. Why? They're preparing for something? Just as he was about to speak, Leah formed a dome of earth around two of their members. ”Yes Jotunn!” It gave him enough room for an idea. How well could they defend if they lost their biggest defense? Thelma wasn't his target anymore, and Skylar & Thuy were now sectioned off along with another of their heavy hitters. ”Hot Shot, Luna Minor, on me and follow my lead. Cascade if you can break out our lovely Psion Amnesia that would be appreciated. Perce, remember that technique I showed you last night in my room?”

Percy’s face flushed immediately. ”… Right now? In front of everyone? In front of our parents?”

Dorian's face flushed pink before he quickly tried to veer Percy in the right direction. ”If you see a weapon –”

”Oh, thank god,” Percy muttered, before nodding. The other technique Dorian had demonstrated. He hadn’t been exactly thrilled when his boyfriend snatched his book away from him, but the point had been made.

Percy took advantage of the distraction provided by his boyfriend rushing off, and he quickly moved back up to Ava, reaching for her mace and trying to snatch it away from her. His technique had flawless execution, doubtless from nights of practicing this very technique with his boyfriend, and he tore it from her grasp. It was a nice mace. He was going to have fun with it. And then, to ensure she couldn’t grab it back, he blinked ten feet away. ”Finder’s keepers,” he taunted with a smirk.

”On it!!” April confirmed, taking her eyes off of their front line for a second to look behind them. She winced. Sabine couldn’t protect herself in the ways others could, and being off by herself behind them all? It was no wonder it had left her exposed. Leah had locked down roughly a third of the opposing team, and they needed Sabine able to make a play for them to be able to take advantage of this. So rather than use Leah’s opening to strike, April threw a burst of ice at the trap. It wasn’t her most powerful attack, but she was already finding herself spread a little thin, and she wanted to keep her mental stamina up.

It wasn’t enough, though. The ice crashed into the telekinetic barrier, the energy rippling for a moment, but remaining intact. ”Fuck!” she hissed, regretting her choice immediately. Someone else was going to have to save Sabine.

Oh Good. Percy had figured it out. He didn't need that move telegraphed out otherwise it may be harder to pull off. Dorian began rushing past the rest, hoping Danni and Andy would follow to some degree. Sword out and to his side as if he was going to come up and attack her. Instead he halted in place and slashed his sword in the air, a wave of telekinetic energy bursting out towards Prudence. ” 폴터가이스트 블라스트?!” The wave slammed against the gothy witch dropping the barrier around Sabine. ”We got t'is Cascade don't worry!”

---

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Andy could hear some of the shouting in the stands, and her name floating in the sky caught her attention. She smiled but tuned it out. Now was the time to focus on the fight. She had always done 1v1 matches, so this was interesting. It did require paying attention to a lot more than she was used to. It sort of reminded her of the fights with the MU. She smiled, knowing some of them were in the stands right now.

With Skylar and Thuy locked away behind some rock, Andy ignored them. She turned her attention to what was going on with Sabine. Dorian called her over. April tried to take out the barrier but couldn’t, so Dorian did. That left Prudence open to attack. She punched out at the woman. Lightning cascaded from her arm. She prepared herself for some retaliation.

---

Sabine had backed up to get some distance from the onslaught. Some of the Hex Girls hit hard and she didn't want to be near any of them if it could be helped. She was not a front fighter, she did her best work from in the back. She felt her connection to Dorian still up, hoping he would use it to their advantage.

Sabine's attention was momentarily distracted seeing their names up above. Perhaps there was someone in the audience for her. Someone else had taken it upon themselves to hype up the Hex Girls also.

In that moment, Sabine felt someone watching her. Rather, someone with intent watching her. Before she could move a telekinetic barrier surrounded her. Sabine glanced around and her eyes landed on another figure. This one was a powerhouse by the looks of things. And she was inside the barrier with her. The two of them.

Fuck.

Sabine had been unprotected and part of that was her own doing. She needed to do something and fast. If she couldn't attack the barrier itself, she would have to stop her opponent. And the best way she knew how was to mess with her head. Literally.

Before she could, the woman, Tatiana, chastised her regarding Thuy's affection. "Then you can send her a message for me when I kick your ass. I am #NotInterested."

What happened next was quite the feat. She noticed outside of the barrier that April had attempted to attack the barrier with ice. It looked impressive and powerful. Again, her heart leapt at April trying to help her, to come to her defense. But the barrier remained. Sabine winced, knowing Tatiana was getting ever closer to knocking her down.

Sabine had a thought: perhaps she could get Tatiana to help her out. She normally would hate controlling another person, especially after the previous night, but she was in a competition and enemies before her would not treat her like a child in the future. She crecked her neck and prepared to unleash a command when the barrier clicked and dissipated.

Sabine looked over at Prudence and saw that the team had stunned her. The enemy's powerful telekinetic was out for now. Which meant their minds would be exposed.

"Time to waste a memory." Sabine stood her ground and sent her telekinetic link into Tatiana's mind. She wanted to find a nearby memory and she had one in particular. She wanted to see if she could eavesdrop on a strategy section and erase it. If one of hteir heavy hitters couldn't remember what the plan was, it left her vulnerable.

Sabine saw one she liked and entered it.



Sabine had lots of questions now, but no time to process what she saw before she erased the memory in its entirety. She returned back to her mind and quickly made a beeline for Leah. She needed to be near someone who could stand their ground and protect her. "Hey, mind if I keep you company? I can't be out in the open. I saw a memory of their strategy. Tatiana is going after the weakest, which would be me. The rest are either targeting the defensive or going after the offensive. Agatha told them information about us."

Sabine left it there, but there was more. Something else was bothering her. While finding out information on your enemies wasn't agaisnt the rules as long as you did so legally (she would have to talk to Agatha), what was that candy she saw? It gnawed at her. So she sent out a quick thought to the one person she knew would hear her.

"Vicky, I know you can hear me. I saw a memory of the Hex Girl's strategizing and something in it bothered me. One of them held a small greenish, purpleish piece of I assume candy. I think there's more going on here, but I am obviously not capable of finding out much. Can you see if you can figure out what that might be?"

“‘Ey, ‘ey, ‘ey! What’s wit’ t’is shield t’in’? T’at’s not cool!” Danni pouted as most of the impact of his fantastic shot was eaten by a glowing shield. His attention caught his name up above them all and he preened, doing a little flip in the air while he was flying. He oohed and awed as Leah clapped not one but both annoying targets in a stone prison. “Yeah, Leah! Put t’em in time out!”

The plan was in place as Dorian barked out orders. Easy enough to follow, even for him, but he wasn’t satisfied with his fire gettin’ blocked off so this time, he’d put some effort behind it! Fire bubbled up on his finger tips, a familiar friend, but Danni wanted more. He wanted it bigger. He wanted it hotter. He wanted it the size of the sun, if he could. Danni trembled with the effort it took him to build the fireball but once it was done, Danni grinned. “Catch this one!” Danni shouted at Wil, before sending the screaming fireball straight at Pruedence.

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Frankie nodded towards Connie, grateful that she was allowing him another seat. He sat down next to her, allowing Igor to scramble out from under his shirt and sit atop his lap, watching the fighting that ensued before them. “Thanks Connie. At least I still have a decent seat to the match.” Frankie said before Igor squeaked as his tiny fist pumped into the air cheering on the Hex Girls. Franklin ruffled the tuft of hair atop Igor's head, jostling his tiny goggles a bit. “What're the odds our illustrious team will defeat the Margaret Carter team? They were said to be in favor 20 to 1 but…” He watched as three students ganged up on Prudence. “They fight better than I expected given it was a last minute team put together if rumors were right.”

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Squeezing his way past others on the bleachers was a somewhat tall teen, pallid skin with deep dark circles under his eyes. He has short dark hair and wore mostly black clothing, a short sleeved button up with a hoodie tossed over it unzipped. He snagged a bag of kettle corn from a nearby kid before vanishing into shadows. A few moments later from Ben Moss's shadow he arose, taking the seat next to him as he threw his arm around the kid and pulled him in, using the same hand to grab a bit of kettle corn and pop it into his mouth, eating atop Ben's head. ”Is this great or is this great?” He asked before releasing Ben and looking him up and down. ”Geeze, did you use a whole can of Axe spray in a single go? You know it's meant to last a while right?” He asked as he wrinkled his nose a little bit at the stench before moving closer again, this time facing towards the arena, both elbows firmly planted on his knees as he leaned forward and ate. He shook the bag towards Ben, a few pieces falling out and onto Ben's shoes. ”Want some? Best foods always free. Anyways what team are you rooting for? Personally I'm hoping short stack over there gets pummeled to the ground.” Chase said as he pointed in the direction of Percy.

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And just like that, her day got worse. Well if it isn't my second least favorite wizard... she barley resisted planting her face in her palm. "What do you mean, it's been a while? That was yesterday." she deadpanned, likewise not deigning him with a look, albeit her interest in the fight was nigh nonexistent. Her eyebrow raised slightly at the mention of the favor. It looked like Barty intended to cash it in sooner rather than later.

She took a breath to ask about it, but before she could utter one thing, she felt being pulled up and out of her seat, her sensors screaming about magnetic anomalies. She grabbed onto the edges of the seat to hold herself in place, feeling the frame bend and the bolts holding it down strain. "Old man, please, could you focus a bit?!" she turned to glare daggers at Magneto. Or tried to, at least. The expression that came out on her face was more like 75% embarrassment, rather than anger.

Turning back at the sound of another voice, she scrutinized the other guy. "You must be the more responsible brother I've heard about." she turned back to face the arena, "Well? Is either of you going to tell me what do you need of me, or are you going to be cute about it?"

When she received the thought from Sabine, she mulled it over for a bit. From what she knew, items were allowed so long as they were declared. What was not allowed was using any performance enhancing drugs. Could be perhaps one of those, but it was a stretch. "Bold assumption. With wizards, it could be anything from a mint to a grenade. Just look at Max, he can make power dampeners as small and inconspicuous as a ring, whereas any created with conventional tech are significantly bigger. I'll see what I can do, starting by forwarding the intel to Vision, have him check whether they declared any such items if he can. But I think you have it backwards: You're in the best position to find out more. The people that know about it are right there with you in the arena. Pry the facts out of their heads, just like you learned about it in the first place." Victoria thought back, wondering why Sabine didn't think of that. She wanted to think that the psion was pacing herself, but there was a non-zero chance that due to her past, she was thinking of using her powers as the very last resort, especially with the 'fresh wounds' from yesterday. Also, she thought of another potential source that might know, but she refused to go there, as there would no doubt be an unspecified price to pay later. If Sabine wanted to indebt herself to wizards, she would have to leave Victoria out of it.

Doing as she said, she reached for her phone in her pocket, quickly tapping a message:

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Barty didn't deign to respond to Vicky's comment about how long it had been, not even with a change of expression. What was a day to centuries? For all he cared a week could've passed by and it would still appear a drop in the sands of time he has lived. His expression did change, however, when Vicky began to have trouble sitting on her own seat. Amusement at the slight torment she was now facing. Serves her right for the snide comment when all i did was come in with a warm welcome. Nicky had picked up on Vicky's atrocious aura as well. Good. That made Barty all the more confident at what he was about to task her with. ”Darling everything I do is cute. We are throwing a party later on, win or lose, the students at Strange Academy know how to party. You will be in attendance, and don't worry we'll invite your little teammates too. But that isn't the favour, merely the pretense for how you'll be doing it. Back in that dingy hotel you lot are staying in, there is a red colored gem within a vacant room. I need you to fetch it for me before the party and hand it over to me when you arrive to it.”

”Am I missing anything? Or you believe that to be suffice enough?” Barty asked his twin within his mind.

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Eva noted, "Kid on fire is Danni. That'll be easy to remember." She smiled. Then frowned. "Who is Andy?" The name was in the list of names that Max was holding up, and much more prominently in the metal that Magneto had manipulated. Old fears rose within Eva for a moment, but he was with Max, and Max was one of the 'Family Friends'. She watched the fight as lightning and fire flashed brightly. The children moving in a dance of battle. Eva was thankful she had never had to fight. One of the children could move stone and earth, and she knew how terrifying a power that could be.

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"How have you been? I haven't seen you in a while." Matt, now that he was sitting next to Novi, spoke quieter. "I didn't know you had a child at Margaret Carter. I'll be sending my nephew there with the new semester." There were some assumptions in that statement.

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"Rumor was they lost basically two full teams during disqualifications. Everyone who was left from the three teams got grouped." Connie told Frankie. "They've made it this far. Perhaps the fights they've experienced so far will have tempered them somewhat. I am still cheering for the Hex Girls."

Connie might not like everyone on the Hex Girls team, especially since getting into the Contest had been something she wanted to do, but failed to accomplish. Part of her hoped they'd get hurt and be sorry not to have a healer. The rest of her had too much school pride to let that be how she presented herself. "Did you put a bet down?" She asked him, a bit concerned. Connie didn't care for gambling.

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Ben wiggled, trying to get out from under the strange kid's arm, and was thankfully released. "Who are you?" He asked, annoyed. He considered the popcorn and shrugged, taking a handful. "I'm not rooting for any team. I'm only here because my Uncle made me." That wasn't the whole story, but Ben didn't care. He didn't want to tell the whole story. Especially not to someone he knew nothing about.

Out of the corner of his eye, he kept an eye on the other kids who were sitting near him. It seemed to be a mixed group, some from Margaret Carter, and some from another school. He glanced over his shoulder and saw his Uncle chatting with the woman he had called to. The adults there were also being super weird and had signs and literal metal spelling out names. He sank more into his chair, suddenly very thankful he wasn't one of the children on the pitch.

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There was a moment of peace as the prison settled and Prudence, for a moment, seemed fine, until she gripped the sides of her head and her mouth opened in the silent scream. She was frozen for the moment, overwhelmed by whatever Dorian's attack had done.

The moment was all the peace lasted. The sounds of a pissed off demon could still be heard through the rock wall and Thelma, separated from the rest of the group, felt her eye twitch. Thuy was going to be difficult to reign in after this. Shots were heard inside the prison, chunks of it blowing out until it crumbled, Skyler's shots bringing it to rubble.

“Burying your gays, really?” Skyler rolled his eyes, waving out the sting in his hands from casting so quickly. “That’s homophobic.”

“Jeez, you're kinda mean, you know that?” Ava pouted as she panted from their brief struggle. Thelma took a step forward through the rubble and Ava's head snapped in her direction. “Hey, I hope you're as good at that with people. Boss lady's finished!” Ava laughed, her magic rising off her skin and bursting, wrapping itself around Thuy and Thelma.

Wil swore under their breath, shields whirling at lighting and fire once again followed one after another and Wil caught both, but Wil's shields weren't enough to stop it entirely. Wil saw Thelma entering the fray. “Oh thank fuck.”

Thelma stopped next to Prudedence, one hand settling gently on the telekinetic's shoulder, while the other swirled magic, weaving it into fine, crackling threads, and tossed it at April. Thuy, scowling as she shook dirty from her hair, sent burning chains from around Thelma at April, Wil's shield following close behind. “What the fuck, bitch?! Can't you fucking tell I am trying not to kill all of you?” Thuy barked at Leah. “Bury me again and I will let them tear your ass limb from limb!”

One second Tatiana was primed and ready to fuck someone up. The next moment… she wasn't really certain. It was definitely the Contest of Champions and they were definitely fighting but who these people were and what they could do, she had no fucking idea. It was like a bad fucking trip and she wasn't even sure how the fuck she'd gotten here. “What in the…” Tatiana needed a moment, but as chains flew out at some blond headed bimbo with Wil's shield close behind, Tatiana shrugged. If they wanted to fuck that bitch up in particular, who was she to question it? “I don't know who fucked me up, but let me return the favor!” Tatiana was practically a blur and with April's back wide open, Tati was ready.





“I am.” Nicholas offered no further information. He pulled out a worn wood pipe and a tin, popping innocent and beginning to pack tobacco into it. “Remind your debtor that though abandoned, the jewel is still a potent danger. Handling it without their ward will bear consequences.”

At the same moment, Vicky would receive a series of messages quickly from her synthezoid ally:


Val sat there in complete disbelief, looking out at the stage. Andy hadn’t been seen in over a decade. She’d vanished after Genosha’s fall, disappearing alongside Selene - a task Val had not discouraged her from taking upon herself. A wave of emotions hit her, and for a brief moment, she flickered in and out of sight. There was relief in seeing Andy - but shame, too. ”She was one of us,” Val explained to her wife simply. Had everyone else known? Had they not trusted her with this information? Had they brought Andy back? She bit her lip, before deciding solidly on remaining invisible, vanishing from sight but not leaving her seat.

”I’ve been,” Dominika hesitated for a moment, before deciding she didn’t have the energy to pretend otherwise. ”Shit. How about you?” She then nodded slightly, holding up two fingers. Well. Only one now. Diana had definitely been expelled after this. ”My son’s the tiny one,” she added, indicating Percy on the field.

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They broke out quick enough, and that was fine. It was pissing the demonic bitch off, apparently.

"Now just what in the fuck makes you think your scrawny ass could kill ME?! You've gotta be really fucking arrogant to think you've got a chance at that, you goddamn stuck-up magical BITCH!!! TRY IT!!! I FUCKING DARE YOU!!!" Her voice was like a war drum, it made the ground vibrate immediately around her as she shouted like a maniac. Leah clenched her fists and swung her arms in a practiced motion. The ground rumbled and broken chunks of it began floating. Her target was one of their supports, Thelma, who was using wards and other supportive magic to make things easier on her team.

She must've had some kind of anti-rock ward. When Leah went to put her in a stone box, the rocks just bounced away.

Shit.