---

---

---

“It just never stops,” Percy grumbled, as he was directed again to go save someone. He’d always imagined himself as a more of a melee fighter in this competition - instead, he seemed to be on an endless loop of fetch quests, a term he’d picked up from Dorian. He only pretended to be reading a book and not paying attention when his boyfriend streamed. He liked to listen to him. He took a hold of April, who mercifully hadn’t gone far, and teleported them - avoiding most of the wreckage of the arena, thanks to Stature rapidly expanding to free herself. Idiot.

With April safe, he did a quick survey of the arena, noticing that everyone was accounted for… except for Patriot. He didn’t want to help the other team. But he also didn’t know how effective the enchantments really were about getting competitors out the moment the damage would prove fatal. And as he took in his surroundings, he spotted a portion of the rubble that seemed to be shifting. Patriot must have been down there. Dorian, this is another great example of how I am NOT a bully. He moved over towards that portion of rubble, scrambling over rock and stone, and peered on through - he could see Patriot stuck, maybe 10 feet down or so through the small opening. He bit his lip, steeled his nerves, and teleported down - it was a good thing he was so tiny - and grabbing onto Patriot, he teleported both of them out, the older boy collapsing on the ground next to him.

“You’re welcome.”

April, strictly speaking, was not actually safe. Only she didn’t know it. Sabine had approached her. Was she alright? She seemed… angry. Probably because of that punch. April couldn’t blame her. It looked like it had hurt. “Sabine? Are you okay? I mean, obviously you’re not okay, and the anger looks really good on you, by the way - love the righteous vibe you’re giving off - but I more mean physically - I think we can ask them to pull you out and take a look at you, if anything feels off? Not that you want to sit out, I know, but if she hurt you then we should–”

CRACK.

SLAP.

Her face stung. There was blood running from her nose to her mouth. She reached up with her hand to cradle her nose and the pain flare up was so bad she almost screamed. Her nose was broken. Her nose was fucking broken. Sabine had punched her. Sabine broke her nose. ”Whaa….? Is this about when I kissed you?”

But then, Sabine didn’t attack her again. Instead, she turned on Hulkling, her sword raised, and blamed him for this. Did he have psychic powers or something??? She didn’t know, but she almost immediately forgave Sabine. And seeing her slash at Hulkling with her sword, bubbling with rage… It made April weak in the knees. She threw up a bubble of water, trying to restrain him to help Sabine get in some attacks, but the bubble didn’t catch. So instead, she lashed him down with water, forming chains around his wrists and ankles - and then finally, as the finishing move, she blasted him with as much water as she could. If nothing else, it would make Andy’s strikes really pop.

April looked at Sabine again.

That same feeling overcame her.

It must have been the way Dorian felt when he looked at Percy.

Blood on her face, she kissed her ex-girlfriend… again.

And then as she pulled away, she noticed the elephant in the room - the ten foot tall Entity, floating in the sky above the arena, looking like a small galaxy come to life. “Uh… What the fuck?”

Percy didn’t know what to make of it either - except he felt a small tug deep inside of him, urging him to go closer - to let the Entity consume him, body and soul. He reached for a language to address the Entity, but found none that felt right - no words that seemed like they would be its native tongue. So instead he stared, almost mesmerized. It was beautiful in a way nothing he’d seen before had been.

---

Cassie’s eyes widened as Leah screamed at her. She bit back what she wanted to say - that it hadn’t been her idea to be phased into the ground when she was that big, that it was Excelsior’s recklessness putting everyone in danger, and wouldn’t the Earth bender be the best person to put the arena back together, rather than screaming? But Leah clearly had some sort of vendetta against them. She’d heard her yelling the entire match about how they were nepo babies - a term she’d heard before, but one that still stung. “I’M SORRY!” her voice boomed instead, as she focused on the feeling of being small.

It was more challenging than normal - she felt like she was swaying, being this big, her head threatening to split open at any second. It was dangerous, going this large. And where muscle memory failed her, the feeling of inadequacy - of being hated by a person who didn’t even know her - took over and guided her. Cassie felt incredibly small. And so she began to shrink - no longer the size of the arena, but the size of a Hulk - still large, but more respectfully and feasibly so.

And as her mind switched out of combat mode and into search-and-rescue, she saw the teleporter appear with Eli. Her heart shuddered! He looked bad - bad even by super soldier standards. Without a second thought, she rushed over to him - each step leaving indents in the rubble she crossed. “Thank you!” she said to the teleporter, before kneeling down next to her friend. If anyone tried to get to Eli, they’d have to go through her first. His healing factor was doing its job - they just had to be patient and he’d be back up on his feet.

Patriot’s vision was blurry, his breathing painful. Some of his bones had been crushed under the rubble, pulverized really. He’d inhaled a good amount of particulates as well, some from the destruction of the arena, other from Leah’s sandstorm. Each breath sounded like it belonged to a 90 year old smoker - not a teenager in peak physical condition. Still, he smiled wearily up at Cassie. He didn’t want to worry her. She was the most sensitive one of the group. “Stop looking at me like I’m going to die,” he teased, before another hacking cough hit him. “I can do this all day, ma’am. Just like Cap.”

He forced himself up into a sitting position, feeling the broken pieces of bone in his arm slide against each other, and he stifled a scream. He wasn’t down. Not yet. He leaned on his shield, covered in dirt and grime, and directed his attention across the field - to where Hulkling was imprisoned in watery chains, cut off from the rest of the group. “Teddy!” Patriot coughed. “You’ve got this, man.”

He shifted his weight next, moving his knees out in front of him, before slowly, painfully, he rose to his feet, acutely aware of the unique sensation of his bones rapidly stitching themselves back together.

Teddy couldn’t help but be moved by that - to be relieved to see his friend alive and (somewhat) well, and inspired by how Eli didn’t quit, didn’t give in. It allowed him to go beyond his own limits, driven by sheer determination, as Hulkling broke free of the watery bonds. His wings unfurled and he flew upwards, out of range of the telepath. “I don’t know what you think I did, but I didn’t do it,” he told her. And then, he frowned, as he saw something that didn’t belong. A large entity, its body seemingly made of twinkling stars, had appeared. He shifted his body posture, no longer angling to attack Sabine or the others of Excelsior, but instead taking a more defensive position.

“Who are you?” he asked the Entity.

America had shifted gears too. She had fully intended on continuing to fight Danni - and she was definitely interested in having a photoshoot with him, it sounded fun - but the Entity’s arrival was a new priority. Staring at it sent a shiver down her spine. It looked so familiar. It reminded her of that day - of that day in the Utopian Parallel, when stars fell from the sky - the same stars she saw in the Entity. The same stars that had driven her mothers to sacrifice themselves. The same stars that the Demiurge had failed to protect them from. Her face paled. “...madres?”

She squared up, ready to defend if the Entity attacked - if the stars fell from the sky once more.

It was Patriot who recognized the being - who was speechless for a moment, standing in the middle of an arena that was definitely no longer safe to fight in. “...Billy?”

There was so much going on.

Danni was starting to feel a little overwhelmed: The deafening apology and the now Hulksized Stature, Beanie turning on Princess (almost burned Beanie too), Beanie blaming Hulking (Hulkling can do that now?), Princess kissing Beanie… Danni audibly gasped at that. Princess was being messy AF. He was itching to take a photo but he didn't have a phone so instead he resolved to tease her mercilessly after they won.

However, Danni had one America to outrun. He'd clearly marked the right person, but the arrival of an interloper threw everything off. He pouted. Danni was looking forward to that little race but nooooooo, this twinkle twink popped up outta nowhere and stole everyone's attention. Fire balled in his hands, even as the others took defensive stances. Danni deserved to be the center of attention not… He peered into the starry form suspiciously. It seemed… familiar.

They had spent, quite literally, every waking moment of their life together. Even the brief period that Dorian was at that dumb x-man boarding school, video calls, gaming chats, and weekend hangouts were mandatory and aggressively enforced. Every photobook had more photos of them together than separate, every present given with the both of them in mind, every trip and activity planned for two, not for one. There wasn't a universe in which Danni wouldn't recognize his best friend, his brother, his platonic soul mate in whatever form he was.

“You cheater!” Danni screamed, blasting his way across the field to half directly in front of… whatever Dorian was now. He shook a finger in the Entity's face. “I put up wit’ it when ya went ta t'at awful school, I tolerated it when you made t'ose really “friends” on your streams that say wierd t'in's in your chats, I understood when ya got Spicy because ya can do… sticky t'in's t'at I ain't doin’ wit’ you, but t'is?! T'is?! I t'ought I was special! T'at I was t'e only one ya wanted ta be in and now, ‘ere ya are inside your old crush. Just ‘cause ‘e ‘as magic and all t'at? We spent years workin’ on moves t'at let you be in me while we fight and you ‘aven't wanted to team up even once! ‘ow is t'is fair?!” Danni stared tearing up and sniffling as he shouted at the thing in front of him.

---

---

---

Leah's attention snapped to the tear in reality. Something walked through it, carrying a sword and looking familiar. It didn't immediately attack anyone, but Leah put her hands up out of habit. But it looked familiar. That face, the shape of its body, she recognized the appearance of the Astral Plane behind it from what she saw in books. Was it a spell, something Wiccan summoned? No, they weren't even on this plane when she last saw them, Dorian had isolated him. Why did-

Wait.

Patriot called it Billy, Leah heard America call it Madres. Leah scowled, she recognized what was happening here.

Leah hung around Dorian and the internet enough to know a thing or two about Genosha. She had a thing for digging into absurd conspiracies and the history of anything like superheroes doing shady shit or whatever assassination contract her dad completed most recently. Not one of her finer qualities, by far, but it was important to know your enemy. She used to spend hours reading about this kind of thing. Wiccan and Dorian were one person. The figure they were looking at was both of them and also neither.

Her friend, and Hulkling's partner, but a third thing as well.

Leah walked forward through the arena, and raised her hands high up. Rubble began to float into the sky around her, and then from further away. Further and further still, until all the debris from one edge of the arena to the other was levitated off the ground.

"Everyone... Hold still for just a moment!" She called out. Her hands clapped together, causing the rocks to liquefy. Everyone could see it, like the stone and concrete just melted before their very eyes, turning to heavy quicksand that fell down without floating in the air. It filled in cracks and fissures, sinkholes and pits, moving like water and settling to the very bottom. There wasn't even dust clinging to the wind, everything dropped lower. Anyone paying attention may have felt the ground shifting in odd ways beneath them, almost like standing on a waterbed.

It took about forty seconds, and then Leah stomped the ground. A jolt went through it, and everything went solid again. Just like that, the arena was a solid, flat plane once again. Like it was brand new.

"Okay." She took off slowly, in the direction of the strange entity. "No one attack them! That's Poltergeist and Wiccan, they fused!" She announced, so neither team would snipe their own side. "They used to do this back on Genosha... You two made a Circuit in there, do you recognize any of us?"

If what she knew was correct, there was a possibility they’d see themselves more as the third thing than two other things. They’d have to be sure, no one could fight like this unless they all voted to kick Wiccan and Poltergeist off the field while someone sorted them out. That wouldn’t be good.

---

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---

If you were to give Sabine 20 guesses as to what would have happened next she would first tell you how weird it is that you were giving her 20 guesses during all of this, but then there would be no way she could have forseen any of this.

First, April's face made Sabine even angrier. She didn't know how it had happened, if Hulkling had some mental abilities of his own or if her own power had reversed back to her, but either way she was growing tired of it. And she had hurt April as a result. She wanted to tell April no, it wasn't because she kissed her (though that needed to be revisited after all of this). But April, sweet April, had seemed to put it all togeher and....

Okay once may have been a fluke, but twice?

Sabine was stunned into silence, which was abnormal, but considering everything else that transpired after her mind stopped swimming, that was par for the course.

The arena was holding on by tatters, no one was fighting each other anymore, and to top it all off, some large being had manifested. Its body looked like the cosmos and it wasn't doing anything. That didn't mean they weren't in danger. Was this part of the other team's strategy? That seemed wildly unfair.

But then Sabine noticed the others were just as stunned, if not more so, by its appearance. Sabine looked around again, wondering what to do. Did they fight it? Was it friendly?

And then Leah spoke up. Whatever this thing was, it was Dorian. And Wiccan. Fused together.

Right, totally normal.

Was this wanted? Did Wiccan drag Dorian into this form? Did Dorian accidentally do something when trying to stop Wiccan and this happened? Sabine wanted to rush forward, intercept their minds, see if she can break them apart and stop whatever this was. She wanted to help, she needed to help.

And then she stopped.

She remembered Max's words. She remembered his kindness after she messed up badly with Casper. The hurt she saw in his eyes. In James'. And she remembered feeling disappointed in herself. Now was not the time to rush blindly. There did not seem to be a danger present. So Sabine walked towards the new entity. Slowly, at first. "If you two are in there, are you both safe? Do you need help?" This was a pointed question mainly to Dorian. She did not want to break his trust and assume control of him, but she was there if he needed her.

---

---

---

The Entity was composed of its parts, yet was more than just their sum. The pieces of it that had once been Billy Maximoff were distant and unaware, as if submerged deep down beneath the waves. There was no jolt of recognition at his name, nor at his boyfriend and friends. Instead, those pieces curled inwards, falling deeper into the trance, into the spell.

WHY WOULD I NEED HELP? the Entity asked, its voice booming in the minds of all assembled.

Dorian was looking around, he could see his friends, his current rivals in the contest, but all of it felt…hazy. It was as if every limb was on pins and needles, asleep and detached from his own sense of self yet fully there. His movements were like wading in water, yet he remained. He could hardly feel Billy there, but he did feel the presence of another. Or…was it also him?

The Entity blinked, though it appeared more as if two stars had died and been relit than anything else. Within the minds of all bearing witness, he would speak once again. It's body stiffened, back straightening as its hand gripped the sword tightly. He looked towards Danni, then all the others before he spoke. WHO IS A GOD TO RECOGNIZE OTHERS? WHY WOULD A BEING SUCH AS I NEED HELP? Their body floated slightly higher before looking down and locking eyes with Danni. YET YOUR SPARK IS ONE ID RECOGNIZE IN ANY LIFETIME DANNI KINGSTON. YOU MAY JOIN ME BECOME PART OF THE ONE He said as he reached a hand out for Danni to take

---

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---

---

A surge of panic went through Andy. She had already started figuring out what had happened, but Leah sealed it. A circuit. She had been in one once. They had saved the world. The world knew it had happened, but it felt distant and like a story here. She had lived it. Leah's fixing the field helped a lot, but Andy knew they didn't stand a chance against this thing. They needed to convince Dorian and Billy to separate.

How had they done this? How could they reverse it? She remembered wanting to be herself, wanting to be an individual. So they'd have to convince the pair of them to separate.

"Hotshot, if you accept, you have to convince them to separate. I don't know if we can from out here. I doubt we can force them to separate." The term god that the entity had used was not entirely inaccurate. When Andy had done this, they had imprisoned Selene and brought back the dead.

---

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---

This was not supposed to happen.

The Contest of Champions was a universe-renowned competition, showcasing the best and brightest upcoming superheroes. It eclipsed most sporting events in popularity, with some of its critics referring to it as a socially acceptable Hunger Games. It came with fame, brand deals, attention from famous superheroes, a million dollar cash prize, Fortnite skins - everything a young hero could want. And while in the past its matches had been more complicated, from convoy escorts to rescuing hostages and disaster mitigation, this year’s tournament had been more simple - asking one team to dominate the other, to fight to the last hero standing.

There was no scenario in which this was supposed to happen.

No scenario in which two mutant boys from opposing teams would merge together, the boundaries becoming blurred where one ended and the other began, their souls losing consistency and structure and resulting in… this.

A newborn cosmic Entity, flexing Its muscles for the first time.

At least Leah had fixed the arena. A sudden display of teamwork and camaraderie as the competitors worked together to free their opponents from the rubble wasn’t good for ratings.



The Young Avengers left on the field had no experience when it came to Genosha. Their only mutant members were the twins, Wiccan and Speed - Speed was in medical, and while Wiccan’s body was still suspended in the air above the arena, his soul had been fused into the Entity. Hulkling and America’s own interests tended more towards the cosmic side of things, whereas Patriot focused on super soldier programs of the past. Cassie was more into street level threats. They were out of their depth. So as Leah explained that she had an idea of what was going on - and as Andy added that she knew how to stop this - they were relieved and complied.

“A god…?” Patriot muttered, incredulous. Gods were a dime a dozen in his world, but he had a feeling that the Entity meant something more than someone like Thor. He felt incredibly overwhelmed, but forced those feelings deep down. If the plan was to have Danni join the Entity and break it apart from the inside… Well, he could use some encouragement - maybe even some inspiration. “HotShot? You look hot as shit right now. You’ve got this, man,” Patriot called out.

“Y-yeah! You can do this! But you don’t have to, if you don’t want to, we can figure something else out?” Cassie encouraged.

Hulkling hated this. He hated how powerless he felt. He hated that he didn’t know what he could do, that his boyfriend’s body was floating lifeless, and that his soul apparently had been merged into this thing. He flew forwards, gently taking Billy’s body into his hands. He didn’t know if the Entity would care to keep Billy safe. He wasn’t going to risk it. This wasn’t how today was supposed to go. It was supposed to be a fun sparring match - not… not existential dread. “Billy… If you can hear me, baby, come back,” Hulkling pleaded quietly. “Don’t choose this instead.”

“Yeah - if you don’t undo this, I’m going to kick the shit out of you, Billy!” America chimed in - her tone clearly playful, with only an undercurrent of threatening.

The Young Avengers weren’t the only ones finding themselves on the knife’s edge, yet somewhat powerless to take further action. Percy’s stomach churned. That… that was Dorian? His boyfriend had merged with Wiccan - with Billy Maximoff... He didn’t… He didn’t like that. He didn’t like that at all. His face felt hot, his hands clammy, and for a moment he felt like he was going to vomit on galactic television. He knew that his boyfriend loved him. He knew… that his boyfriend had crushed on Billy first. And… Gods, he wanted a drink. He wanted to steady his racing mind, especially as Andy explained that… that this was a choice… and the - and Dorian, he… He was extending a hand out to Danni, and he didn’t…

Percy stumbled backwards slightly, the world feeling like it was spinning, like he couldn’t breathe. Usually his emotional response was anger, but this… This he couldn’t… Didn’t… He kept on moving backwards, as his body threatened to betray him - and even if he had been able to open his mouth to speak, he wouldn’t have known how to communicate - he was used to having every language at his finger tips, and now they were all gone, and Dorian… Dorian was choosing other people and… It was a choice… That was all Percy could focus on… That this was a choice.

He didn’t want to be here anymore. He wanted to leave. Blue energy crackled around his body as instinct kicked in - instinct that he couldn’t fight - as he teleported as far as he could from the stage, reappearing somewhere in the stands.

As for April… She didn’t know what to do or what to say. Danni was clearly hurt - a pain that she couldn’t help but wince at as he expressed. This blowup was a long time coming. The sort of blowup they’d danced around throughout the school year so far, tiptoeing up to the conversation but jumping away from it at the last second. She just sort of stood there, at a complete loss. Billy and Dorian had willingly combined together to make an Entity… why? ”So um… Are you two… or one… still wanting to compete? Or like… what was the end goal here… do you have a name you want us to call you by?” she rubbed the back of her neck, feeling incredibly awkward.

Would the referees tell them they had to get on with it? Was this somehow against a rule? If Danni went to join the hive mind, would he be able to encourage them to end it? Would they ever end it? Had she just lost her best friend to… whatever this was? Dorian wanted to win the contest more than anyone, more than anything - so… there had to be a reason behind this. Had something gone wrong? Had something gone right? Should they take advantage of the pause to attack the Young Avengers, knock them out while there were just four of them on the field? Was she going to lose Danni too? She saw Percy teleport, but not where he’d reappeared - did he have a plan? Some other way to fix things… if they needed fixing?

She shivered, scared, and looked towards Sabine. She didn’t know if Sabine could hear her thoughts all the time, or just when focused on them, but… If they don’t want help… I think they need help…

---

---

---

Sabine looked at the situation growing more concerning before her. The Entity did not want help, but that did not mean it didn't need help. For all anyone knew, Dorian and Wiccan were trying to get out and whatever power was causing them to merge was taking over.

Sabine looked over to the others, all with varying levels of worry, concern, and fear. Her mind was so far from the fact this was still the Contest. She didn't care anymore. She wanted Dorian and Wiccan out safely.

April was especially worried. Her look towards Sabine said "do what you have to do". But could she? Was this a situation where she needed to intervene? Would Max approve if it meant saving his son? Or was the underlying fear of telepaths so strong that even he would tell her to stand down and not go near Dorian with her powers? The uncertainty of what she needed to do was like a cancer spreading through her body. She felt herself tremble and fought the urge to grab her wrist again.

The Entity reached out for Danni and Sabine again fought off the instinct to run in guns blazing to protect Danni. If Danni could get in then maybe Danni could reach Dorian and Wiccan and help them through this. Sabine had to let him try. Sabine looked over to Danni and sent a mental boost his way. He would feel it like a friendly warmth filling him up.

However, Sabine wasn't stupid. She was prepared to take this thing out if need be. If it so much as looked at Danni the wrong way, she would unleash hell. Consequences be damned.

---

---

---

Leah walked backwards away from the Entity when it declared itself a god. That really didn’t sound good. This thing was part Dorian and part Wiccan, and it considered itself distant enough from both that, somehow, it was superior to all of them. For a moment, she had to wonder if Wiccan planned this. Making a Circuit so one of Excelsior’s strategists would be tied up- The Young Avengers didn’t need Wiccan, they had enough heavy hitters without him. But without Dorian, they were down a wildcard and a team leader. This affected them more.

She backed up further until she was near April and Sabine. And then she kept her voice low.

”It’s way too convenient that their chaos wizard got stuck in there with one of us. I think Wiccan got desperate, and hoped his team could turn the fight around...”

Her eyes turned upwards to America, who hadn’t dropped to the ground when Leah fixed the battlefield.

”I bet they’re going to attack us the second Danni’s off the field. But none of us can help those two better than him.” Oh, how paranoid she sounded. It made perfect sense in her head, and besides, they couldn’t just call the fight off.

And maybe being reminded that a fight was going on would wake them up.

Leah made a fist, and swung her arm in the air. A rock no bigger than a watermelon cracked upwards and went flying into the air to smack America. It shattered against her face, and Leah saw the indignant look. Barely a scratch.

”Hotshot! Go!”

---

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---

---

Danni's rage and hurt embedded away as the Entity reached out to him. Danni could join? Does it recognize him? And… well, Danni wasn't going to say no. Everyone else was freaking out and honestly, Danni thought this was the coolest thing in the world now that he didn't want to fight Dorian for abandoning him for other people. Danni stared at the Entity and he could feel the edges of himself blurring as he touched the Entity's hand, a grin on his face, and turned to face the rest of the stadium.

“Don't worry! Ain't no where Dee goes t'at I can't get ‘im back.” Danni promised, eyes tearing up as Beanie's power warmed him from the inside out. The feeling as he ignited, his form and edges fading away, until only a blazing orb remained and the Entity held it for a beat. The hand closed as streams of fire streaked down its arm and faded into the ink darkness between the stars. The pinpricks of light in its body shifted and moved as the Entity froze and a single bust of light appeared in its chest.

A sun, bright and boiling, burst to life where its heart should be.

Dorian felt the familiar presence of Danni's soul with him. He'd possessed him so many times before, it was like second nature. The instant Danni had fully formed inside the being Dorian came rushing towards him, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him into a tight squeeze. ”Oh may god oh my god oh my god! Danni I messed up!!! Billy and I were ‘avin’ dis epic wizard battle and I ‘ad ‘im on t'e ropes! T'en ‘e tried to Jinx me and I asked ‘im very nicely to drop it and ‘e wouldn't so I tried to possess ‘im and well…” Dorian motioned to everything around him. ”’e's not respondin’ well to the connection so far, t'ere's anot'er presence ‘ere but its like its a part of ‘im, yet suffocatin’. T'en Leah was all ‘Do you recognize us?’ And I wanted to joke around and say ‘noooooo’ but now everyone's all serious and t'e fights ‘alted and I don 't know what to do!”

There was a beat of silence as Dorian took into his breath. Looking back towards Billy's curled up body and then towards Danni. He'd had a thought that had been stewing in his mind, something crazy and daring but that could only be done with this immense surge of power he was feeling coming from Billy. Dorian leaned in and whispered something to Danni, a secret only he could know, one he wasn't allowed to share with anyone else. He pulled away and gave him a look of resolve. ”What do you t'ink?”

If Danni had a tail, it'd be wagging faster than a helicopter blade. He laughed, a strange thing to do in this soup mess, and he wasn't really certain where he started and the other began. Dee's possessed him so many times but this was something else. Dee wasn't just with him - he was him and he was Dee and they were…

Danni brushed against something quieter and withdrawn. He was curled in on themselves, lost in the space between everything, and Danni couldn't help but see how easy it would be to sink into the waves of emotions and sensations that surrounded him. Danni laughed again as Dorian whispered in his ear. “I love it. T'ey'll love it!”

If Danni let his mind drift a little, he could see it all. The stadium outside and Leah taking advantage of the confusion and concern to throw a cheap shot (Give t'em ‘ell, girlie!) and he realized he could reach them all. Here and now, there was no limit and Danni marveled at what they'd become.

---

---

The Entity, frozen for a heartbeat as their mind whirled with the new addition, shifted as it rose further into the air. It seemed surprised as it turned its gaze back to the field and its laughter echoed through the minds of all in attendance, soft, affectionate, and light. “And I've been here… Oh! I've been here the whole time!!” The Entity didn't have a face, but its surprise and happiness at the revelation lingered in the minds it touched. “Well then, we suppose the only way out is through and the only way to begin is by beginning, so without further ado…”

The Entity touched down and gathered in on itself before launching itself in the air with a swirl. A pulse of magic rushed across the ground, up the stands, and out beyond the stadium and flickers of starlight followed behind it. It touched down again and took a bow. “Thank you, thank you! No need for applause! We do this because we love it and we look damn good doing it.” The sun in the Entity's chest glowed brightly for a moment before going out. “Farewell for now and remember w-”

The Entity exploded in a kaleidoscope of colors. Wispy vapors brilliant in the colors filled the stadium and enveloped the audience, the teams, and everything in between. Where the entity stood, two silhouettes formed slowly - shadows against the brilliant light.

And in between it all, Danni pulled on the last of the fading power and ran. The vapors took his shape next to April, Sabine, Leah, Andy, and Percy out in the stands and hugged them. All of his fondness and affection, all his determination and pride, his deep trust for his friends and teammates poured out of him even if he couldn't form words in this shattered state. In a flash of vapors, Percy reappeared on the field with a reassuring presence at the back of his mind that he was loved too - the gentle ruffling of the hair - and the moment passed, the vapors rushing back into the silhouettes and Wiccan's body and Dorian and Danni snapped back into focus.

Danni blinked once, twice, and immediately clapped his hand over his mouth, slumped against the wall, and heaved.

---

As the finals progresses and the world didn't seem to be ending, Victoria's paranoia started sublimating away before she eventually stood down to defcon 4.

The fighting was mildly interesting, if one got over the fact that she was watching her friends and family beating the tar out of each other, but nothing crazy happened yet.

Her mind started to wander. Tori pulled up the documentation Hope gave her. The keys to the kingdom - or, at least, to the mind palace she was exiled from. Following the manual, she reviewed the code down to the table that held the list of admin orders.

She hesitated before sending the SELECT * command to it. For weeks now she was worrying whether she was working to be a protector because it was forced upon her or whether it was her own free choice. Now she could find out in a heartbeat, but wavered. If there was something forcing her to do all this... Should she get rid of it? And if she would, who would she become?

Allright, time to put those pholosophy classes to use. Kicking the decision down the road solves nothing, that's not an option. Therefore, I need to decide what to do with what I find.

If there is an order making me good and I leave it there... I might be suffering a loss, but I'll keep being a benefit to others. According to Cipolla, that makes me Helpless.

If there is an order making me good and I remove it, I am benefitting, but might cause harm to others. That makes me a Bandit. No, wait. That makes me have a choice, and until I do, I am Inconsequential.

There wasn't really any way to come out Intelligent out of this without factoring in her own skills, but that would always be the case. Being Helpless almost sounded better than being Inconsequential, but the logic was clear: If she wanted freedom, she would also have to accept responsibility for her actions. Decision was made.

SELECT * FROM AdminOrders;

...

ID | Order
1  | Unit designation: ASTRA Universal Prototype
2  | Unit serial number: A-U-0
3  | Order removed

For a brief moment, her mind went back to Haloween. Her system was such a mess then, but order #3 was where the Veil protocol used to be. She mentally frowned at the sloppy solution. Even messed up by Ultron she should be able to execute operations neatly!

DELETE FROM AdminOrders WHERE ID=3;

The real feeling was elsewhere. No evidence of any order forcing her to be a hero. They trusted her. Or, they trusted they could order her to stand down if she went rogue. Those fools. Wasn't one Ultron enough? But much appreciated, nonetheless.

Victoria was pulled away from her introspection by Cassie exploding the floor of the arena. That was a move she has not seen before. And if she was to be honest, she would have called rock beats flesh, but she was happy it was the floor exploding and not her sister.

She almost jumped the railing when the contestants were about to be buried in a landslide, but managed to remember where she was. They should be whisked away before any serious permanent harm. And they and the judges would eat her alive if she interfered. She settled back down, albeit unhappy about it.

If she thought that would be the end of the craziness, the next few moments would prove her wrong as something arrived onto the battlefield. From the discussion that was happening down on the arena, Excelsior actually had a good grip on the situation. Vicky made a quiet note to look up in detail what the hell happened in Genosha. Shouldn't be difficult, considering people that were there were available. Because she would really like to know why feeding Danni to the thing was a good idea, and even more so why it worked.

Her eyes darted to Sabine. Was noone else seeing the opportunity down there? "Game's still on! You can hit them while they're down and distracted!"

---

---

---

---

Andy remembered being there. Remembered the power. She had eaten an unknown number of souls before they had done the circuit, and she had been powerful before the circuit. During it had been overwhelming, and in a way intoxicating. They could have lost themselves to it. But they had let it go. Chosen to release it and become individuals again. Andy didn't know what the world would be like if they hadn't.

She knew Danni was the shadow giving her the little hug. When the three of them went back to their bodies, she let out a little held breath. Relief went through her. They could focus on the fight again. Somehow, through all of that, no adult thought 'Hey maybe we should step in.' Yet again. Andy wasn't surprised. It was what she expected. She had been helping save the world long enough to know that wasn't all that unusual.

"Hotshot, you okay?" She asked Danni, who looked like he was trying not to puke. Andy did not blame him for that feeling at all. At least he had all of his clothes on. She had lost her piercings and scars after her experience with the circuit. Andy made a mental note to ask Danni and Dorian if they had had any scars that were now gone.

Andy rolled her shoulders and looked at Hulkling near her. "So, are we still doing this, or will you guys quit because our team really just did that?"

---

---

---

April looked on in awe, mesmerized by the events that unfolded before her. A stray tear fell from her eyes, as the Entity reached out and embraced everyone, a warm familiar sensation enveloping her. And then as quickly and suddenly as the Entity had formed, it was gone - replaced by her dearest friends, by Danni and Dorian, and her cousin’s spirit, slowly falling back into his still floating body. She was speechless and still for a moment - a little stunned at Leah’s hit, given that Leah had been the one to call for a ceasefire. She hadn’t thought Leah could be two-faced like that. It unsettled her slightly, thinking about her obtusely honest ex-girlfriend being capable of deceit… so she set it aside.

“Are they allowed to do that?” she asked, as Andy suggested that the Young Avengers simply surrender in defeat, after everything that had happened. She knew that she ought to have made an attack - but she felt guilty. She didn’t want to fragile the tentative peace, not until she was sure that everyone was okay - Danni looked like death, and she wanted nothing more than to rush over to him to check on him, and Dorian… April bit her lip. She didn’t know how he was doing.

But at the same time, this was the contest she had been preparing for for years - she didn’t want it to just end like this. She didn’t want the Young Avengers to give up. She wanted them to fight till the last one standing - for them to be able to really prove that Excelsior was just as good as them. “But if you guys are good to fight… I’d love to continue beating the shit out of each other for the prize?” she rubbed the back of her neck, before pulling water around her fists like boxing gloves.

Percy, of course, was having an even worse time. He’d fled to the stands, only to be pulled back down by the Entity, hugged and his hair ruffled. If he had been on the edge of a meltdown, the physical contact pushed him over. His skin felt like it was on fire, swarmed by ants with the touch. He couldn’t control his face or his emotions, as the ugliest tears roared out of him, so thick that he couldn’t see. He wanted to be anywhere else, he couldn’t breathe, he didn’t know where he wanted to be, but he knew that he didn’t want to be. The roar of the crowd was deafening, what he could see of the lights was blinding, and even the feeling of air on his skin was like a lash. He was beyond overstimulated, every sense dialed up to a thousand. His heart was going faster and faster, the energy of his powers swelling up around him, and then… Suddenly, he was gone, reappearing not on the stage or in the arena, but in medical, the doctors having made the decision to remove him from the competition.

April’s eyes widened. “Um… Percy?”

---

As for the reigning champions, the Young Avengers, America flew down to Danni, cheering for him with a victory whoop. “That was incredible!!” she enthused, clapping him on the back. “You’ll have to tell me what that’s like! And with the demiurge mixed in, dios mío that’s intense shit you just did!!” She was positively beaming, until her face fell for a moment. Her clap on Danni’s back had been a little too strong, evidently - as he collapsed to the ground in a faint, and vanished, evacuated to medical a moment later. “Shit… I didn’t… Oh boy… I really need to learn my own strength, huh?” she bit her lip, before looking over to Leah.

America pointed at Leah, and then at herself, and then banged her fists together. She had an iconic plan - grapple Leah, and fly with her up into the sky, so high up that she wouldn’t have any access to Earth. And this plan would have worked, had she not been greedy - had her first attempt to grapple Leah leave her overpowered, and on her second, pinned - ending up in the very situation she had envisioned for Leah. With her arms pinned together, she was struggling, straining, unable to fly. Awkward.

Patriot wasn’t doing well either. He was in bad shape, one punch away from collapsing and not getting up. Each breath was agony, as if metal was scraping up against his lungs. “Cassie - try - try plan - fuck - just - make some space!” he hacked out. He hit his own abdomen, as if that would jumpstart his healing factor, but it did little for him. “Billy - get your - get your fucking head in the game!” he added.

Cassie nodded - in her giant size, she had a relatively easy way to make space. The threat of a fireball had gone away, so it was okay for them to group up. And with Billy clearly rattled and Eli on his last leg, they needed to defend each other better - the few of them left. She flung her arms out, knocking back Andy and Sabine - Sabine who would be seeing stars, already so critically wounded from America earlier - Leah and Dorian and April managed to dodge the attack, in one way or another. But the goal had been to create space, and to that effect, it worked, as Cassie prepared herself to defend.

“C’mon, Billy… If you don’t want to do this, you don’t have to,” Hulkling said softly, mid conversation with his boyfriend. It had started telepathically, as Billy had slipped back into his body - and continued through gestures, as he guarded his boyfriend, flying them down to where Cassie and Eli were. “I don’t care about the contest. I care about you.”

“‘M fine,” Billy murmured, the blue magic in his eyes somewhat dimmer, as he chanted out a protection spell, a glowing astral shield appearing around him. Voices and visions were rattling around in his head, and he was there, but not really there. The Entity had been a beautiful dream for Danni and Dorian; for him, it had been a nightmare, one he hadn’t quite woken up from even now. “Let’s just finish this,” he grumbled, as his chest heaved slightly - as he almost fell to pieces.

“Are you… Fine, we’ll finish this. But we’re talking about this after, okay? We - we promised each other. No more secrets,” Teddy argued, setting his jaw. He then glanced out at Excelsior. “Come on, then! Finish us already! Whatever you have to throw at us, we can take it!” He blinked back the tears that threatened to spill. “What are you waiting for?!”

---

---

---

What makes a hero?

This had been a question Sabine asked when she started attending Avengers Academy. When she first got here, she was unsure if she even met the basic criteria of a hero. She had been shown by others that her powers made her inherently untrustworthy. She had been accused and blamed for a multitude of things outside of her control and generally kept at arm's length, even before her powers manifested. So when she came, she intended to be the villain everyone painted her as.

And then she met some good people. People who showed her that she could be more than what society deems her as. More than the struggles she faces every day she wakes up. More than the depression, the anxiety, the trauma, all of it combined.

Perhaps a hero is someone who helps others. Or it is someone who knows the difference between right and wrong. Someone who will stand up and say "this is wrong" even when everyone else around them is encouraging them to do it anyway. Wasn't history filled with people who spoke up, who walked against the grain, who ran back into the fire while everyone else ran away?

She wasn't a hero. Not yet, anyway. But she wanted to be. And that meant she needed to take a stand.

The Entity was still in front of them, her at the ready when there was a moment, however briefly, the Entity intended to do Danni harm. The Young Avengers seemed equally taken aback. "They don't know what's happening either," she thought to herself. There was no ill will. They were their opponents, not their enemies. And they were reeling from this just as much. She noted Hulkling was especially worried. Her anger subsided.

Danni had gone to help Dorian and Wiccan, and she needed to let him. As much as she wanted to rush forth to help, she needed to wait, to see how this played out.

And then she felt movement beside her. Leah walked up, speaking to her and April in a low voice. Convenient? No, this was more. It didn't take a midn reader to see this situation was beyond anyone's scope. The competition was over as far as Sabine was concerned. Both sides had done some significant damage, significantly.

But then Leah attacked. Sabine couldn't stop her as she saw the chunk of rock fly towards America, who, upon impact, looked shocked. "Leah, no! What the fuck are you doing?!?" And then she wanted things to continue. For the fight to resume as if there wasn't some cosmic being that took over two of their friends, with another locked in some ethereal battle within. Even Vicky was getting in on it, sending her a thought about getting back into the battle.

Now was not the time.

Sabine shook her head in utter disbelief. She hadn't even seen the Entity move, flying towards the sky as it spoke and shattered. Danni looked worse for wear, and Dorian and Wiccan both backed. But the others wanted to continue.

The Young Avengers didn't seem like they wanted to fight anymore, but they resumed despite this. Sabine was winded a bit from being sucker-punched by America before as well as whatever distortion happened with Hulkling, as she was sent flying back from Cassie's pull on the battlefield. She stood up, feeling broken and battered. She was upset, but more than that.

She was pissed.

"What is wrong with you all? The competition does not matter this much. Look around you? Everyone is at varying stages of trauma or despair. Some cosmic being formed by the two of them just exploded, and who knows how they are handling it, and you want to continue? Nothing is worth this. This is not how heroes act. If you all want to keep battering people at their lowest, be my guest. I won't do it."

She stepped forward. She thought of her friends, her teachers, Vision, and Max. How would they react to what she was about to do?

"I abstain."

---

After the words left her, she felt herself being transported, and she wound up in the medbay. She felt a little woozy, but gentle hands helped her to a nearby bed. The same people who took care of her last time started working on her. She looked around and saw Kate and Tommy nestled together, watching the fight. She saw Percy on the other side with a medical professional performing breathing exercises with him. Danni was there too, being worked on.

She rested finally, allowing herself to be healed. Whatever happens next, she was proud of herself, at least. She hoped someone else would be too.

---

---

---

Once again, this contest was unlike anything Dorian had imagined it would be. From the underhanded tactics of the Hex Girls, to the way contestants looked at him after the battles in which he'd possessed them. How they avoided his gaze and wouldn't even shake his hand for a good fight. He thought that maybe with the contest it would be different, that the understanding it could happen would make it ok, but even with that…

Dorian scanned the battlefield, some more ready to fight than the others. He looked at the space where his boyfriend once stood, the tell-tale signs of his powers of teleportation having not been active when he vanished from view. Teddy's screams then caught his attention and Dorian knew this wasn't right. Even if they continued to fight, even if they won, it wouldn't be a victory worth winning. So much damage had been done already and much like the victory with the Hex Girls, it would be hollow.

Dorian flew off towards the middle of the field and put his hands in a T formation. ” Time out!” He subtly twisted his hand, feeling another aid him as he began. Every camera currently televising the event was now facing him. His face, his voice, was being seen and heard across the galaxy. ”Amnesia is right! All year we study and learn how to become heroes. How to do what heroes do. Some believe that being a hero is a full time job, but in truth it's in moments like these that anyone can be heroic. It's not about winning, it isn't about being the strongest or fighting to the end or flashy moves, it's about knowing when you need to fight and when you need to lend a helping hand.” As he spoke, Dorian made his way down and around the arena towards where Hulking and Wiccan were. Cameras followed each step until they zoomed in to him offering them a hand as an olive branch.

”There are some amongst us that can still fight, that would still like to fight, but there are others that should step away from the battle or that may want to. Allow us a brief moment to decide what the two teams would like to do. ” Dorian turned to face Billy and Teddy, his voice lowering to speak to them personally, the cameras turning away to pan to the audience instead as he gave them privacy. ”Wiccan, you did an amazing job even in the Astral. I'm sorry things happened this way, but I think for your sake…and Hulklings, you should step away from this fight but I'd love to meet up afterwards if that's ok?” Dorian had wanted to defeat the Young Avengers so bad, he wanted to be the one to dethrone them before they left the Academy. But not like this, never like this.

Billy hesitated for a moment, feeling the eyes in the crowd on him. He didn't want to give up. He didn't want to let people down. He didn't want to let his friends down. He didn't want to let Teddy down. He'd let them all down lately - too much and too often. But this - none of them wanted this. He then nodded, and felt the tension leave Teddy's body at his concession as Billy took Dorian's hand. The cameras having panned back towards them after Dorian had finished speaking.

---

---

---

What the fuck is wrong with you?

Leah didn’t get a chance to stop and think of why Sabine would ask that. America had fallen down from the sky and tried to grab Leah. It would’ve worked, but Leah was a front-line fighter much taller than her. All she had to do was step back and then back in, and her hand was firmly around America’s throat. She had a huge advantage being airborne, and she’d just given it up by getting in close range of a boxer. She raised America off the ground by her neck with one arm and block the huge woman’s swing with the other, ready to hurl her into Patriot who was barely hanging on. The only reason she didn’t was the shattering of the strange entity that Danni had broken up. Leah wanted to distract them in case they felt more confident without the pyrokinetic on the battlefield.

Leah would have happily sent her flying. She could have cemented her friends’ victory by taking out their leader and breaking one of their tanks over him. And perhaps Hulking and Wiccan would have yielded in the face of that, perhaps Stature would’ve shrunk back down.

Leah was in a pretty good position to set her friends up for the crown. It would’ve been everything they wanted, and they’d all be happy.

She wanted them to be. But Leah didn’t attack.

Sabine was pissed. And she had a point that made Leah freeze. Everyone here was battered in one way or another, even the friends she’d gone so far for were sputtering and hurting in ways that weren’t physical. As if these fucking jokers weren’t just playing around this whole time like a cat playing with a dead bird.

And she left. Sabine quit, she was done.

Her girlfriend, who’d been training for this alongside all of them, was absolutely disgusted by what Leah was doing. Her hands tightened into fists. She suddenly felt uncannily aware of where everyone was looking, who was saying and doing what, and the words in her own head. More aware than the moment before.

Why would she be angry? The Young Avengers were assholes, and they were losing. Excelsior had them, they could've-

Her head whipped around to Dorian. He called another timeout. Everything they were doing wasn't necessary, it wasn't about winning? She wanted to scream, that was everything here. The blood underneath her skin screamed against her veins, something inside Leah wanted to tear itself out of her chest. She couldn't believe what he was saying. All that time they spent fighting, losing sleep, feeling sick to their stomachs with dread because they had to win a fight against these people. Their futures were shaped by this, they believed in what they were doing. It was the whole reason why Leah was even here. For them.

When the cameras went off, Leah tried to speak. Her mouth opened and nothing came out. Why, she didn't know.

Her lungs rattled in her chest. Her friends had all died in the name of this fight they were in.

They hadn't trained to be superheroes, as much as that was the goal. The entire time they were at super school, they were training for this. The Contest was drilled into their heads repeatedly, they fought other teams- One that could've fucking killed Victoria once- Just for the chance to be on the bracket. It was this, or they might as well have stayed in normal, everyday school for everyday people. And then they finally showed up for their moment, Leah watched the reigning champions laugh and joke. They didn't care. Everything Excelsior had clawed out of inconceivable odds was nothing to them. If they lost, it'd just be another day in some adventure to them. But if Andy lost? Or Danni, Dorian or fucking April? It'd hurt them and the future they wanted.

It drove her mad. The Young Avengers, up in their ivory tower smiling and waving at cameras while the people she'd only recently come to fully trust broke themselves over this event. And now they didn't want it.

Leah relaxed her grip on America's throat, and lowered her to her feet.

"This isn't who I am," She muttered, to no one in particular. "This is how he'd want me to win."

The cameras didn't see her leave.

---

Leah blinked, and was back in the medical room. The others who'd been removed from the fight were in here. She stumbled on the way in, not being used to that teleportation spell. Her hand went against the wall for a second, and then she quickly started off in a straight line. A nurse had ran over to tend to her.

"I'm fine," she lied. The little five foot three woman practically bounced off of Leah, who shoved the doors open and was out of sight in moments. She'd already broken down enough recently, she didn't need to fucking do it again. Not here.

She turned the corner and ended up in a locker room, ripping a metal gauntlet off her wrist like it was paper. Zelda had made it for her back when she still looked human. It was plate armor too heavy for anyone without super strength to comfortably wear, and the back was padded with a dense fabric that would last a lot longer against her hair. Some of it wasn't salvageable after her scrap with Andy, which broke the illusion she was ever born on Earth. Now, she was about a foot taller, and most of it didn't fit. The chest area and the shin-guards were fine, the gauntlets just needed to be adjusted. It all came flying off in a flurry of motions and crammed into a locker with a thud.

Then, in the quiet of the room, with no one around, she stared into the floor.

What the fuck is wrong with you?



This was for all of you.

I never wanted this. We didn't need to win, we know how to be heroes.

I don't get it.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck.

Please don't be angry.

Was this how April felt? Did her bones buzz like insect wings, too? Did she ever want to crawl into the ground and hide from the sky? Did she feel like everyone was royally infuriated with her existence? Leah felt like a fucking moron. Yesterday, several heroes had to be alerted to an international terrorist for the first time because of her, and she'd made a fool of herself in front of Stephen Strange thinking Imperator was really back. And today, she'd fucked up. If she hadn't thrown that rock and grabbed America, they could've just called a draw.

What were they all saying in the medical room now? The whole galaxy was watching, and maybe her real parents were on Jotunheim right now, balking at their estranged kid who just strangled someone and breaking a truce she called. Why?

Because she didn't fucking trust them not to do it first.

Maybe they were laughing at her, glad they didn't have to keep her. Maybe her team was laughing.

She shut her eyes and remembered the book Whitehall gave her. Leah might've thrown it out, but she enjoyed reading books, so she stayed up all night after talking to her. She asked herself a question, Why am I feeling this?

Because she felt like she messed up. Okay, easy enough.

Because she went to great lengths to help her friends. Okay.

Because she was a stubborn idiot… Less okay.

What could she do about it? Doing nothing wasn’t the worst option, and she could do nothing right now. Nothing but breathe and let herself feel how she felt. That she made a fool of herself, that her girlfriend was unhappy with her. Leah felt these things for a reason, they weren’t unfounded. She didn’t want to think about the possibility that Sabine saw her differently now. That maybe she’d revealed some ugly side of herself to a girl she thought the world of, or that Leah had an ugly side reminiscent of her dad that she never knew about. The book Whitehall gave her said that not thinking about things didn’t make them less true, or less real. But if she thought about it too much, she’d lose her mind.

She took in a deep, deep breath.

Then she let it go.

There is something deeply wrong with me.

She was right. Okay. After... Yeah.

After they talked it through. After they got the chance to yell and- After they talked to Leah about the Contest. Then she'd do something about it.

Fuck.

---

---

---

---

Why were these damn fights making her feel like a bully? Andy had fought for her life. She had clawed her way through surviving again and again. She had killed. She had gone through the process of dealing with the fact she had killed. Andy had felt guilt about it when she was younger. A lot of that guilt had been erased over the years and months. But this felt like...taking candy from a baby.

Why?

"This feels dirty." She mumbled. The groups started dropping people like flies. They were down to three each. Dorian having convinced several people to just surrender. Cassie had pushed her aside so she was no longer in punching range of Patriot, which was a little unfortunate since he looked about ready to topple over on his own, especially if he kept punching himself.

Andy didn't need to win. She had joined this because it had been basically required. Andy tightened her fists. She wasn't going to attack but she wasn't going to stand down. She hadn't before and wasn't going to start now. Even if the reason was stupid.

"Hey, look I'm not going to back down. I've fought some nasty pieces of works. I fought the X-cutioner, I fought for Genosha over and over. My team, my friends, have fought and clawed their way to this moment. None of them want the stain of punching you guys out on their hands. I respect that. I don't particularly want it either. But I have been in a real fight. I know who I am when I am back against the wall. When my life is on the line. When the world is on the line. I know what I am willing and capable of doing in moments like that. So I don't need this fight. I came to school to learn my letters and numbers for the first time in safety. I came to school in this time because it was the first time since I was eight that I could do that without fear. I could do that because I fought for mutant rights long before any of you were born. So you guys could have this life. I am not backing down because I haven't backed down once since I decided that I would fight. If you want to keep fighting then I will keep fighting. If you want to surrender I'll respect it. Make your choice."

Andy let some lighting crackle on her gloves, she crouched down in a fighting stance, and waited to see how the Young Avengers would react. There were only three of them left, two were in a fighting state. She'd probably lose if April and Dorian both left her. She wouldn't blame them. But Andy would go down fighting before she ever surrendered.

---

---

Ever since she had started at Avengers Academy, April had wanted to win the Contest of Champions. Her parents had never explicitly set out expectations for her, but they had been implied nonetheless. She had to be great. Her father was a SHIELD agent and a powerful mutant, and her mother a brilliant doctor and avatar of a Greek goddess. She had to be perfect. She had to achieve the highest grades, excel in athletics, take to superheroics with the weight of her parents’ legacy on her shoulders. She was meant to be student body president, to score straight As, to be voted royalty at the school dance, receive offers to an Ivy League college, win the Contest of Champions, and so much more. She wasn’t meant to crumble or be ill - she wasn’t meant to hang out with the wrong people or get weird ideas about the world and her place in it. Under so much pressure, she wasn’t allowed to break.

She had refused to see her parents when she was in CAGE. But in truth, she didn’t even know if they had tried to visit her. She’d persisted anyways, committing to her training, even as the lithium keeping her even made her hands tremble. She hadn’t wanted to let them down - even if she didn’t know who they were anymore.

Was she scared of letting down her parents - people who always chose her sister over her, whose faces she knew weren’t in the stands today?

Or was she scared of letting down her friends?

Danni and Dorian.

Leah and Sabine.

Andy and Percy.

They’d all worked so hard. She hated to think about it, but they’d died for this. They’d been - she’d been so stupid, trusting Arcade. If she hadn’t wanted this so hard, so much - if she hadn’t been straining under the weight of a dream she wasn’t even sure was hers - would she have been so easily tricked? Could she have stopped it in time? Had it even been worth it?

Had anything she’d done because of her supposed ambitions been worth it?

Where did expectations end and she begin?

Danni had fallen. Sabine had surrendered, morally objecting to the fight. Leah followed her. Dorian - Dorian, he didn’t surrender, but her urged others to do so. Billy and Teddy. Her cousin - her cousin that was essentially a stranger to her, the side of herself she had never been allowed to explore. He surrendered.

Was this dream about to die?

She stood, consumed with uncertainty, as the paths diverged before her - as Andy… her teammate, but someone she couldn’t remember ever spending time with outside of training, every really getting to know, despite all they’d been through - as Andy laid her soul bare. And affirmed why she would continue to fight - why she would never surrender.

Her heart swelled with emotion.

Andy was incredible.

She knew who she was.

April wished she could be more like her - that she could know who she was, when all of the bullshit and trappings of others were taken away. And this, this moment, she had a choice. She could follow her ex-girlfriends off the field. She could say that the Contest of Champions wasn’t her dream. And it would be okay.

But it would be a lie.

This was her dream.

This was about more than fighting for others.

This was about fighting for herself.

Maybe she didn’t actually care about dance royalty or student body president or perfect grades - but she cared about this. She didn’t have a family there to tell her she was making the right choice, that they were so proud of her. But she was proud of herself.

Even if they lost.

Even if the others didn’t want to continue.

April hit her fists together, and gave Andy a grin. “With you till the end of the line,” she said with a wink.

---

---

---

Patriot

Eli didn’t come from a grand legacy. He didn’t come from money, or power, or fame. When people looked at him, they didn’t see a hero. They didn’t even see a kid. They looked at him like he wasn’t human - the very same way those scientists had looked at his grandfather. He couldn’t enter a store without eyes following him, without hearing the words whispered at his back. He knew he was lucky - knew that things were supposed to be better - but gods, did they still fucking feel exactly the same. New era, same hatred. He had to work twice as hard just to be seen differently - just to be seen as good, to be seen as an equal to someone like Cassie or Kate.

He beat his fist against his abdomen again.

He hadn’t come so far just to give up now. All across the world, hell, maybe even across the galaxy, there were people who looked just like him, cheering him on. Begging for him to get back on his feet, to last just a little longer - to show that anyone can be a hero, and a damn good one too. And it was hard. It fucking sucked. He hated feeling the weight of that on his shoulders. No matter how much he tried to share it - to share it with America - to share it with his mutant cousins, Billy and Tommy - he couldn’t shake off the weight.

His chest expanded, rising and falling, as slowly, he began to breathe a little easier. He spat out a bit of blood that had pooled in his mouth, as he lifted his shield high. “I can do this all day. If you want a fight, I’ll give you one.”

Stature

When Cassie had been a little girl, her father was her hero. He wasn’t tough like the Hulk, strong like Thor, smart like Iron Man, cunning like Black Widow, or brave like Captain America. He wasn’t like the larger than life characters she saw on the television screen. He was more than that. He was her dad - her dad who always came home in time for dinner, who made her smile and laugh, who valiantly chased away the monsters underneath her bed. She hadn’t understood when he was sent away, and why her mother was so upset when he came back one day, claiming that he had changed. He hadn’t changed, though. Not yet. He was still her dad. She still loved him.

But he wasn’t just her hero anymore. He was a hero to so many more people. She’d ask him why, why he did the things he did - why he was Ant Man. And he’d explained, it wasn’t because it was cool (which it definitely was) - but that you were supposed to help the people you could, even if it hurt you. That he had gone away for a while because he’d helped someone else. And now, by being Ant Man, he could help even more people.

Cassie wasn’t at Avengers Academy because she wanted to be famous - because she wanted to win the prize money in the contest. She hadn’t taken the Pym Particles that day in the lab because she wanted to be a hero. She’d done it because she wanted to help people - because it was the right thing to do - and the thought of standing on the sidelines, of staying home, when people were out there suffering… It crushed her. Not trying would be worse than failing.

She wasn’t here for the glory. She was here to get better at helping others - knowing that with each punch she took, each plan that didn’t work, she’d learn and she would grow. The Contest of Champions was her opportunity to face the best young heroes in the world - to learn from their mistakes and their triumphs, to expose herself to new scenarios without risk of fatality.

So if Eli wanted to continue, she’d fight on with him. Not to win the prize - but to be a better hero for the next person who would need her.

“Okay! I’m in!”

Miss America

America Chavez wasn’t from this world.

She came from the Utopian Parallel, a realm created by the grace of the demiurge - by Billy’s future self. Her home was a paradise, free from the strife that marked this world. There were no plagues, no hatreds, no wars, no suffering. And of the blessed, she had been truly fortunate - the child of its leaders, her beloved mothers. Her mothers who had taught her to be brave, to be strong, to always speak her mind - to never give up and to fight for what she believed in. Even now, she could hear their voices crystal clear in her mind, lifting her up with love and warmth.

Voices she wished so desperately she could hear again.

But she knew that they were with her, always - that even in this other world, they were by her side, each step of the way. As she looked out into the stands, she imagined them sitting there, cheering for her. America gave them a wave. “Te extraño,” she whispered. “Te amo.”

They’d want her to continue on - to be brave.

“Hell yeah! There’s nothing I love more than a good brawl!” America exclaimed, breaking out into a grin as she wiped some tears away from her eyes. “I’d love to go a few rounds with you, if you’re up to it,” she then added, challenging Andy directly. “Don’t hold anything back.”

---

In the infirmary, everyone was being tended to as best as the staff could. But with eight patients, it was easy for people to slip through the cracks - namely Leah, leaving the medical ward and entering the backstage area. The lockers where they had suited up, a green room filled with snacks, even a designated space for meeting with the press - and a plethora of camera equipment - all of these things were back here. The arena had been mystically constructed for this tournament, contained within a pocket dimension. Should Leah manage to find the exit, she could make her way back to Bourbon Street - and from there, to the Kingston-Gray house, the hotel, or any other locale that suited her.

She’d receive a text on her phone from She-Hulk: You did great, kiddo. I’m so proud of you.

As for the other patients, Percy’s breathing had begun to slow, as the amount of stimuli slowly subsided. The Young Avengers were huddled up together, Tommy frantically running back and forth as a healer attended to Billy - aside from some burns caused by Danni, his main injuries seemed to be psychological. Teddy was in okay shape, waving away his physician.

“I heal fast,” he assured them. “Thank you, though.”

Kate frowned. “No, no, no. You both are getting looked at. Save the martyr act for later, Teddy.”

Billy chuckled slightly, a small light rekindling in his eyes that hadn't been there a moment before. "Please, Teddy. For me?" he pouted his lip.

Teddy crossed his arms, and huffed. "Those eyes don't work on me anymore, Kaplan."

"Don't they, though?"

"Billy."

"Hey - I'm just saying!"

Separating from the Entity was not easy. Zipping around and reminding all his friends he loved them? Amazing. Making one tiny, infinitesimal change in the world? Super. Separating from an eldritch being after wielding power Danni was clearly not accustomed too? Instant regretti.

Magic suuuuuuuuuuuuucked.

Darkness crept in at the edges of his vision. His heartbeat sounded in his ears. The whole world spun and it took everything in him to stay standing. His stomach protested, what little still in it churning violently, and he trembled with the effort it took not to actually vomit on live television. Distantly, he registered people talking and maybe even to him but he knew if he tried moving, it was over. He forced himself to take deeper breaths, trying to even himself out, when a burst of pain flared up his back and everything he'd been doing came crashing down. The darkness swept over him before he could vomit.

---

Danni heard voices before he saw faces and he groggily blinked in the sudden light, the healer fussing about a bit before pressing some water into his hand and helping him drink. He realized he was suddenly parched and although he tried, the healer wouldn't let him gulp the water down no matter how much he whined. It took more energy than Danni cared for but finally, he was allowed to settle back and come fully to consciousness. He took in his surroundings, seeing Tommy and Katie, Spicy vibing in the corner, and more importantly, Beanie.

It was no little secret that Danni was a clingy guy. He knew it, they knew it, everyone loved it at all times! So Danni saw Beanie's personal space and decided it was perfectly Danni shaped. He swung his legs off the bed and stumbled a little as he lighted himself, padding clumsily across to Sabine's bed and dove right in, snuggling right up to her, throwing an arm over her stomach, a leg across her's, and rested his head on her shoulder.

“Hi, Beanie.” Danni's giggle was quickly taken over by a yawn. He spoke softly, exhaustion leaving him subdued. “Thanks for t'e ‘elp wit’ t'e big mess Dee made. It ‘elped soooooo much, like ya don't even know. Dee was all like I'm sups excited ta be ‘ere in t'is. Unlimited power, blam, blam and Billy was like I don't even wanna do t'is. I don't get invited ta t'e after party and I'm fightin’ stuff no one believes in but wants ta kill everyone so why do we do a stupid contest and it was super intense ‘tween t'em ya know and t'at little bit of Beanie ya gave me ‘elped me keep my head on in t'err ot'erwise yeesh, I don't know if Danni was gunna come out ya know? I know it's been kinda tough t'is week wit’ t'e ‘rents and all t'at, but ya know you're always allowed in t'is noggin’ right? Trust ya til I die.” Danni squeezed Sabine tight before shooting up and shouting at the Young Avengers.

“OMFG you don't get ta go ta t'e after party?! T'at's so mean! Beanie, Beanie we gotta t'row our own party. We gotta…” Danni slumped back onto Sabine, curling back on her. “No, nap t'en party but I'm comin’ for t'e ‘ex girl's left shoes and settin’ t'em on fire. When I ‘ave t'e strength again.”