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April frowned slightly, her mental hackles raising slightly as she saw the interaction between Percy and Chase - it had been hard to miss it, with the silverware and dishes flying towards the pair. She didn’t know Percy very well, and he’d always been a prickly, somewhat difficult person to get along with… but he was also a freshman, just a smol, spicy guy. Andy had stepped in already, putting herself physically between Chase and Percy. She didn’t think crowding him would be the right thing to do, it would probably only make things worse. She could, however, be ready to step in if anything else happened - she didn’t know who the new kid was, and she had a bad feeling about him.

She did, however, take the opportunity of Danni vacating his seat for Patriot’s lap to go and sit down next to him. “Someone’s comfy,” she teased. Everything else seemed to be going fine - although it looked like Tommy’s efforts at starting a food eating competition were unsuccessful. She didn’t mind that, though. She had just spent the week competing in the contest, and before that, it had been the only thing she’d allowed herself to think about. It was nice to be able to just sit back and relax with her friends. She leaned over, putting her head onto Danni’s shoulder - paying no mind to how awkward that might have felt for poor Eli. “You’re going to dance with me too, right? After Eli?” she pouted, before giving her brother a kiss on the cheek.

It was then that she did another glance around the area, and saw another person she’d never met before. She locked eyes with them - a cool, punkish skater chick. They definitely couldn’t have been a student at their school - April would have remembered someone like that. She knew all of the hot girls in their grade and one above, and she’d never seen her anywhere. She swallowed slightly, still riding out the high of their victory, as she sat back up, and began fixing her hair. “Who is she?” she whispered, nudging Danni. And then, without waiting for a response, April hopped back up to her feet, and walked right up to the new girl - up to Marlena, bubbling with newfound confidence.

“Hi! I’m April - do you have a name? Or should I just call you mine?”

---

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Dorian practically beamed at the proposal for a food eating contest. Turning his head at break neck speeds to face America as an idea flooded his brain. ”Oh! Oh! Can I possess you to open a portal in your mout’ like Kirby?! I can totally win t'e contest t'at way!” He grinned towards Billy, excited for this less lethal rematch that showed no signs of potential merging and traumatizations. He grabbed a fork and knife, readying himself when from amongst the shadows someone had called his boyfriend by a nickname. Dorian's grip tightened, wanting to do nothing more than ask who dared to be all cute with his boyfriend?

He turned to face the culprit, seeing his arm around Percy and all he could see was red. Dinnerware flew and the dark brooding teen was coated in food. Shock ran through his face as he tried to figure out if he'd just done that himself. Percy had never used Dorian's powers before, and he was known to have explosive episodes of poltergeist activity when his emotions ran high. A sliver of him felt bad, this wasn't how heroes should act, but seeing Percy's face, the tears streaming down his cheeks, and all of that sympathy for the dark teen faded away. Instantly he floated over towards his boyfriend, great full force Andy's presence as he sat next to him and whispered. ”What do you need mon cœur?”

“aide-moi”

Without skipping a beat, Dorian looked towards Danni who had already begun to shepherd the party onwards and then Andy, whispering a ‘thank you’ as he reached towards Percy and pulled out his Astral Self, taking them into the plane in full. It was a location he'd frequented often while in his dreams, one of the many beauties of this realm. A lush garden with floating fountains with waterways that didn't dare obey the laws of physics. ”You ok? I know today's been a lot…” He also could tell that kid was a jerk, but he wasn't going to bring it up of Percy didn't want to.

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Over at the adult’s area at the bar, Casper was watching the events the kids had going on with some interest. Everything was messy and dramatic - and he couldn’t help but smile fondly, remembering the shenanigans he and his own friends had gotten up to as kids, and even later in the Underground. He didn’t know who the new kid was who seemed to have upset Percy - and Dorian too, given the Polter-bomb - but James and Max had it handled. Casper’s responsibility was to sit and look pretty - a responsibility he took incredibly seriously! He hadn’t wanted to upstage Danni though, so he toned things down a bit, wearing a Morticia Addams-esque gown that concealed the shibari his husband had so lovingly tied him in.

He watched as the baby trans kid, though, went up to approach one of the other newcomers, a kid Casper was mostly certain they weren't responsible for taking care of - but he couldn’t be sure. Ben sometimes took kids home with him who hadn’t been placed anywhere for foster care yet, she could have been one of his. And then, as the kid delivered an incredibly bold yet terrible pickup line, Casper scream-gasped…

… Only to immediately find James’ hand covering his mouth.

“AwwwJamesyyouknowbetterthantocovermymouth!”

Casper licked his husband’s hand, and held his tongue there against it.

Ben rolled his eyes a bit at Casper’s antics, as he headed over to the bar area. He’d been in the restroom as everything had happened, and he noted the chaos he had left behind. Silverware and dishes were all over the ground near Andy - and a slumped over, unconscious Percy. He did a quick headcount and noticed that his son, Dorian, was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s Dorian? Everything okay?” He then turned back to look at Andy, his tentacles shooting out of the pit in his stomach as they quickly set to work picking up the debris, stacking them nearly onto an unused table.

Sunshine was present, but was currently in the restroom with her wife, Marrow. Dominika was also going to be present, but was running late - a call with her (soon to be ex) wife had turned explosive in the hotel room. She-Hulk had trapped Magneto in a lengthy conversation about the precedent established that age regression caused a person to no longer be guilty of crimes they’d committed in a UN trial a few decades back - a conversation Magneto desperately wanted to exit. He’d brought a gift for Andy - a set of custom metallic knuckles, constructed from scrap metal he had found at the arena.

As for the newly arrived adults, David was currently flickering between personas to have fronting - he tended to let one of his other personalities out when he was around the Kingston-Grays, and he knew their discomfort with telepaths. Eventually, his others decided on who to have front, as Legion suddenly became super strong and super durable, as Brunhilda took control. “Ah! Arm wrestling! Shall we have a bout?” Brunhilda smirked, eyeing Harry. “Or are you too weak to face me?” she taunted.

Val was quiet for a moment, visibly tensed as she took in their surroundings. Things were simultaneously chaotic and calm. She didn’t like that things had gone flying, that there was clear tension between some of the kids here. She’d grown up at Xavier’s, and she’d managed a cell of the Underground. She knew how quickly things could go wrong when emotions went high and powers were added to the mix. She kept her shields at the ready, prepared to throw them around her friends and loved ones at the slightest provocation. There was a bit of a haunted look in her eye.

At Millie’s question for introductions, it seemed Danni had that handled better than she would - so instead Val preferred to observe and brace.

As for the kids, Gideon went over and lounged next to Andy. She glanced at Percy’s suspended body with some curiosity. “Think Ghostie would kill me if I drew a mustache on him?” She had absolutely no idea who Millie was, but she noticed Eva immediately. What were the odds?

Tommy was huffing and pouting at the lack of interest in his food eating completion. “What’s the point in stealing my food then man, if you’re worried you’re gonna get puffy?” he sulked. He was too focused on his food to notice the pop stars.

Teddy and Billy had gone off to the open area, where the music had started to play and the two of them danced. They were joined a moment later by Cassie and Kate, the two pairs swaying to the beat.

“Don’t look now… but Harry Simmons, Eva Moore, and Millie Broadway just entered!” Billy whisper shouted to Teddy.

As for Eli and America, they were thrilled to be in the company of their new best friend, Danni. Eli didn’t mind the way Danni crawled into his lap, or the way he felt up his biceps. Billy used to do that all the time. He put his arms securely around Danni to keep him from falling, and as he inhaled, he tilted his head slightly. “What scent is that? It’s nice. I like it.” He listened as Danni rambled, and he wasn’t going to be able to respond to everything as it was a veritable verbal onslaught, but at the question about workouts, his eyes lit up. “You wanna hit the gym with me, bro? I’d love that. I’m in a cross fit era right now - lot of lifting, too, America and I have some friendly bets going on. You’ll have to keep up, though, we go fucking hard.”

“Oo, that sounds like so much fun!!! Idk when we are going to go deal with the Mother, we gotta put the calendars together ‘cause a bunch of us have some vacays we wanna take - and I know Tommy wants to drop out of school like a looooser so we gotta see when works for everyone. But we should def do that!! Also, if you hit the gym with us, I’ll send you a link that helps you figure out when and where you’re supposed to do stuff - the school will even pay for personal trainers, you just don’t ask for permission first and they’ll do it, since it would look bad on them if they don’t. That’s how we do most stuff tbh - just don’t ask.”

---

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Percy didn’t fight it as his soul was ejected from his body, and his boyfriend took them both into the astral plane. He had been incredibly thankful for Andy’s intervention, and if he hadn’t been reduced to such a mess he would have told her. She hadn’t known his history with Chase - no one did. The only person who knew was his mothers, and even they didn’t know the full story - even they didn’t know how the bullying and the violence had begun. If Andy hadn’t stepped between them, if Dorian hadn’t pulled him to the astral, Percy didn’t know what he would have done besides run - run as fast and as far as he could, teleport without aim or destination, any careless action he could take to increase the distance between him and his shade.

At Dorian’s question, Percy shook his head helplessly. He wasn’t okay at all. And the frustrating thing was, he’d been doing better. He’d spent a few hours in quiet darkness in the Kingston-Gray house, sleeping on and off, and the feelings that had threatened to overwhelm him had begun to dissipate and fade. He’d felt up to going with everyone to dinner - felt up to being around people, even if he hadn’t been keen on being particularly social. He’d felt a little bit like a person again. And one touch from Chase had been all it took. One touch, one reminder of the first boy he’d ever liked, and the first person to ever raise a hand to him, that had been enough to break him - to shatter him along the mended fault lines he called scars.

He buried himself in Dorian’s chest, as loud, agonizing wails ripped out his throat. Even if his eyes had been open, he wouldn’t have been able to see through the thick, heavy stream of tears. He could scarcely breathe through his pain. He curled up as much as he could, trying to be as small as he felt.

“C’est lui, c’est lui, c’est lui,” Percy sobbed. He hadn’t had a meltdown like this in a year. “Ma brute, mon premier béguin.”

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”Hmm.” She stared the emo, goth ass looking motherfucker down for a moment while thinking about whether she’d seen his face before. And it turned out that literally living under a rock for some parts of the time she spent at AA meant she wasn’t great at recognizing people. ”No clue who he is, but I’m guessing he goes to our school if they let him in. I think Andy’s about pack him up, but if she doesn’t, I’ll get him.”

The way Percy was just floating in the air now thanks to Dorian, Leah wondered if the dollar store Eric Draven looking son of a bitch was about to do something nefarious before those two got back from the Astral Plane.

”You’d think the actual Avengers in the room would sort him out,” Leah commented. ”He can’t be that tough, with this many of us in here. He probably-“

Leah’s attention was grabbed as a few more people appeared. Some girl with a skateboard, and… Wait a damn minute. There was no way. The blonde one, Leah recognized her. That was Millicent Broadway, and she knew that because her girlfriend was a fan of her! She wasn’t a big fan herself, but when someone she loved ran their mouths about their interests, she listened.

”Is that… Millie Broadway? Damn. ‘Bine, look who just walked in.”

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”They call me Marlena, but you can call me anytime,” she answered, without missing a beat. A cute face with a bubbly smile, in a place like this? Ohhh yeah, Marlena was gonna be eating good. In more ways than one. Marlena flashed April a toothy grin, spinning her board against the ground. ”You’re Cascade, right? Saw the fight, came in person. You’ve got a good team.”

Was it disingenuous to make a move on someone who she just met, that also just catapulted themselves into interplanetary levels of fame? Perhaps. But then again, the girl in front of her was hot. And Marlena loved getting to know hot girls. She wasn’t usually a fan of those kinds of events, where mutants and wizards and demigods and all the other colorful characters under the rainbow hammered each other for sport. But it was a new experience, and definitely not one she’d regret.

”We’re going to the same school, so you’ll probably see me around back in Cali. I’m new, so I don’t know many people yet.” She omitted any questions about whether April might like to change that. After all, she wasn’t even here for five minutes yet.

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Chase watched as the lightning thief made her way over towards him, moving right past as she snagged a chair and sat down between him and Percy. That's fine, that toy was broken for now anyways. Maybe superhero school made him weak, but he could've sworn the kid could take a few more ‘punches’ before he panicked like that. Lame. He brushed food off himself, feeling the eyes of the school's so called Champions on him. Yeah, real tough the lot of them. His eyes wandered the joint as he made his way away from Percy and further in. There was a skater chick who seemed cool, but she was talking to one of the contestants who kept getting saved by Percy. They may have been close, which meant he'd need a wider birth from her too for now.

He watched as one of the many pretty blonde things looked towards him, following his path. Around her was an imposing mountain. One that got easily distracted it seemed. While she was busy staring at the group that seemed to appear out of thin air, he decided to make his move. Closing the distance between him and Sabine as silently as he could. Plucking a bit of shrimp off his hair and flicking it off to one side, he chuckled with a bright smile as he began to speak. ”Seems dinners on me tonight.” He paused before looking off a bit awkwardly. ”Aaaand that was a lame introduction. But you were amazing out there on the field. You were all, shields? Spells? What spells? Bam! It was enchanting really.” He looked down at her hand before looking back up into her eyes. ”May I?”

He took Sabine's hand in his, lifting it up gently before placing a kiss on it. ”Names Chase, and what may I ask is this goddesses name I get the pleasure of speaking to?”

---

Max studied the hologram that Vicky projected. He wondered what she was doing with one of the students of his school, but that was a different conversation to have. ”Thank you Ms. Van Dyne. I'll see if I can identify the students in this recording and figure out how they aided them exactly. Now, why don't you –” The clatter of dishes disrupted his conversation with the young student before the other parents shared the same sentiment. ”My sentiments exactly, if he even appears to be making a move on him, he'll find himself in a quick reminder why we don't condone such actions within our quarters. For now we watch, the kids seem to have it handled.”

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"I don't know, but if he does bother Percy anymore, I think we have a whole room that would step in. Hell, we have all the adults here who probably wouldn't stand for it, even if you or Andy steps away." Sabine didn't really want things to devolve into a fight, physical or otherwise. They were here celebrating a win, they had people here that cared about them, they were vibing with the Young Avengers (or Andy and Danni were, at the very least).

Sabine looked over to see another unfamiliar face. She appeared to be some skater girl in style and probably substance. And April made a beeline for her. While Sabine couldn't hear what was being said, body language suggested the duality of shooting shots and Sabine felt....weird. April had kissed her twice for no reason and now here she was, flirting with someone new. Sabine was happy, proud even, but it also felt...fuzzy.

Sabine was feeling fuzzy overall. She wanted to let loose and celebrate but she also felt like she needed to keep her defense up. Make a show of being Leah's girlfriend because damn she was trying, but the two of them hadn't talked after the contest and there was still some weirdness. She also wanted to talk to April.

Leah made a comment and Sabine heard the words 'Millie' and 'Broadway' and turned to look. Sure enough, the pop princess that dominated her Spotify playlist was standing there, looking around. Accompanying her were some other people, two of whom were identified music icons of their own. Sabine took a beat to ensure she was seeing things correctly. "Holy shit, you're right! What is she doing here?"

Sabine nearly bounded from her seat, but she stopped when she sensed someone else nearing her. She turned and saw the edgy guy from before, the one who seemed to be pestering Percy. Before she knew it he was complimenting her and kissing her hand. Sabine felt warmth in her cheeks and instantly felt guilty. She took her hand back, though not aggressively, and took a deep breath. "Well, thank you, I guess. But I think the team did more than I. I'm Sabine. I don't think I've seen you around. Are you new? You seem to know Percy, who is a good friend of mine." The last part was a hint, almost a warning: choose your next words carefully.

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It seemed she would be expected to fend for herself as her aunts and uncle interacted with various other patrons. Thankfully, she heard the telltale octave of her cousin, by love not blood, Danni. She hadn't seen him in a long while and that was on her. Grinning with anticipation she made her way over to him and awkwardly hugged him as he was currently in the lap of one very cute guy. "Danni! How is my favorite cousin! Don't tell the others!" she said, jokingly.

"I forgot you tend to do rapid round questions. I hope I can answer them all. Life is a little chaotic, not gonna lie, but we do our best. Rents are....well I tend to spend most of my time with my aunts and uncle, they actually brought me here. I was watching the contest the whole time and, umm, hello badass! The way you handled that Entity thing was nothing short of spec-fucking-tacular! Your whole team did amazing! And...I'll be so real Danni, I do not know what a She-Ra is. Unless it's some new band I haven't kept up with much else. You'll have to tell me all about it over some food. You said gumbo?"

Millicent pulled up a chair, not wanting to push anyone out so she sort of...sat hovering nearby. "Oh, since we're here I may as well share the news. I will be joining you all at school! Super excited for it. Maybe you and Dorian and April can show me around? Where are they, by the way?" she asked, glancing around as she identified where April was. "Oh, let's not bother her. Look's like she's trying to get some. You go April!"

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Andy was on high alert now. Ready to fight if she needed to. She was tense and looking around watching for threats. April was introducing herself to some skater chick, she was valid for that.
Someone else caught her eye, and Danni was yelling at her. Another someone with a silly nickname. She smiled. Andy had no idea who the new girl was, but she was about their age. They didn’t seem like a threat.

Andy nodded at the whispered thank you from Dorian. She glanced over her shoulder when she heard Percy move. She saw that his body was slumped over. Andy knew that Dorian had possessed him and took Percy into the astral then. She nodded to herself and decided she’d keep watch over him. America would be fine if she kept Percy safe for a bit. She had her whole team here to vibe with. She’d hopefully understand, if not... well good to know that now.

”Hey Ben. He is chatting with Percy. That guy,” She nodded in Chase’s direction, ”I don’t know who he is or anything but Percy does not like him. The guy got into his personal space, touched him, and Percy’s face...” She trailed off for a moment and then quietly, just loud enough that Ben would be able to hear her. ”He had that look that kids get in the homes where the foster parents beat them. Like someone who had been hit and was flinching, ready for it to happen again. I don’t know how he did it but all the dishes flew at the guy. I’ve never seen him do that. Normally he just teleports around or speaks Greek.”

Ben kept his composure, but his heart sank. He knew exactly the look Andy was describing. After his resurrection, he had wanted to find a way to help folks meaningfully - to be more than just a mildly strong guy with tentacles. He’d earned his GED and then his bachelor’s in social work. “Thank you for telling me,” he said quietly. He then looked across the room, and motioned to catch the eye of one of his partners, before nodding in Chase’s direction and tapping underneath his eye.

Gideon had come over and joined her. Andy smiled and bumped her shoulder. ”Thanks for joining me. Probably best to not risk it. I’m gonna keep an eye on him while they are gone. Do you want to order food?”

It was then that she noticed someone else that had appeared out of nowhere. She knew that face, it was older, but Andy wasn’t surprised by her being here. Especially since Andy knew a lot of the MU were still friends. Veil wasn’t alone. Harry was there too, and the guy Harry had started dating on Genosha. She didn’t remember his name. Something with a D?

She sat up straighter. ”Veil.” She whispered. When Andy thought of her time back at the MU Veil was who she thought of first. Veil was who pulled her out of a fight, literally, and got her into a safe building, and a warm bed. Veil was the leader of the MU. She was the one who had asked Andy for help. Had told her she didn’t need to, but if she wanted to she could stay and help. Veil had risked her life for Andy’s. They hadn’t even known each other for twenty four hours yet. Veil was... The first person who treated her as a hero.

“Go on, I’ll protect him.”

Val turned and made eye contact with one of her biggest regrets, one of her greatest questions, as she was called a name she had not gone by in a long time. A name she had left in the past alongside that life - or at least, she had tried to do so. She shouldn’t have been that person anymore - the mutant terrorist or liberator, another protege Xavier had discarded, tossed aside to run a project he didn’t believe in, and one she desperately did. She had seen the worst of humanity, had given her life to see her people safe, to see her people free. It had devoured her own personhood, her identity, her personality and sense of self.

And as she looked at Andy, it was like she’d never left that life behind. She cloaked the two of them in invisibility, immediately assuming that Andy wanted to speak to her privately, hence the whispers. And then she motioned her head towards the dance floor, towards the musicians whose instruments would cover their words.

Eva winced. She was proud of the steps that Val had made, but concern passed through her. She knew that the girl who had just disappeared with her wife was someone important from the past. But she hadn’t gotten details yet. It wouldn’t be until they could be alone that Eva would ask. She could get details from the others, from Harry, or Max (not Casper) about this kid, but that wouldn’t tell her what was going through Val’s mind.

”Thanks Ben. Sorry to leave again, Gideon. This is someone from my past. I should talk to her for a bit. Get me some gumbo. I’ll be right back.” Andy stood up and joined Veil. Andy had never considered herself a hugger, but becoming friends with Dorian and Danni had sort of forced it upon her. She held back. She wanted to hug Veil. Thank her. But Veil had never come across as the hugging type. She had been so strong. So much had been going on that was insanely overwhelming but she had done everything to keep the MU together. Andy had felt bad when moving out of the MU apartments and into Magneto’s place because she didn’t want to disappoint Veil. She had taken Selene because she didn’t want to disappoint Veil.

“Hey,” Andy had been riding a bit of a high from the Contest and ‘kissing’ Gideon. She felt all of that drop away. Nerves started to take over. That fear of being rejected. She had left without a word and sure Max and Magento both said they weren’t mad, but would Veil be?

”Sorry about leaving without saying anything. It was just that, Zari’s watch, it told her she had stopped the thing she had gone back in time to stop and she had to go back right then and there. I had a choice. Go with her... See what my future could be. Or stay and...” She trailed off. What had staying meant? She remembered Magento once telling her to finish her sentence. “Struggle to find peace.” She admitted. Staying meant she’d struggle. Running away meant that she’d leave all of that behind and she could start again.

Andy couldn’t look her in the face. She was so scared to see disappointment or anger there. So scared that Veil, who had been ready to get Andy out of there and to safety when they had been overwhelmed by the M-Pox that Andy had been one of the few capable of fighting left, would treat her as the child she still technically was.

Veil hadn’t known what to expect from Andy - but in no universe did she feel she deserved an apology. She had done her best to protect Andy, to keep her safe and alive, but at the very end, she’d failed her. She’d given her a burden she never should have had to bear. She’d forgotten that Andy was just a child, and instead saddled her with Selene, with an immortal mutant they had barely managed to defeat. She’d been no better than Xavier in the end. And Andy wasn’t the only one present she had hurt. Her gaze flickered to Ben. To Max and James and Casper. To their children. How could they forgive her when she couldn’t even forgive herself? When she had been the one to advocate for the person that hurt them so dearly?

“You don’t owe me any apologies, Andy,” Veil said quietly. “I’m the one that owes them to you. I never should have asked you to take Selene. I treated you the same way X treated me. As a soldier, instead of as a person.” She shut her eyes, feeling the swell of a force field growing around her skin. “I’m so, so sorry. I only ever wanted to do right by you, by our people.”

“She's my mom. I have to protect people from her. But Max has her right now. I needed to be able to focus.” Andy smiled, it was a small nervous smile, as she finally looked up at Veil.

“You saved me. If you hadn't been there I would have never survived to make it to Genosha in the first place. And without Genosha I wouldn't have found my family. I wouldn't have made it here. I was fighting for my life already and you gave me direction, focus. If not for you I would have broken. Things were rough the last couple of months, but that's been in a relatively safe world. Look,” She gestured around them. ”Seventeen years ago, this could never have happened. These people are all here in one place celebrating a game. Hell, I've been in school. I don't even think in the last several months I have even talked to someone who wasn’t a mutant or something ‘non-standard.’ Until today. Where we got brand offers. If anyone is exploitive it is those suits. Not you. It was probably dumb of me to skip the last seventeen years, but I got to go to a future where this can happen.” She gestured around again.

”I wouldn't be here if you hadn't been there. So thank you. And yeah I am sorry I left the way I did. It was a dick move. You all thought I was dead or something. When really Zari was a time traveler and I just basically ran away because I was scared.”

Andy didn't fully believe the world was perfect or safe. But it was safer than it had ever been before for her. She would be ready, always ready, for when things shifted. But for this shining moment she had a bit of hope. And even if things did go badly in the future she'd have this day to remember that the world could be safe.

Veil shook her head. Maybe once, she would have believed that - that it was the child’s responsibility to deal with their megalomaniacal mother. Not anymore. Andy had been through more than she ever should have had to, but she was still a child. And her only responsibility was to live. That was it. Nothing more, nothing less. “Andy, I want you to hear this and promise me that you will remember it. You are responsible for no one but yourself. Your only sins are your own,” Veil said firmly. It was a lesson she herself had struggled to accept - one she still grappled with. She didn’t always believe it. Right now, she certainly didn’t. But she didn’t want Andy to turn out like her - to suffocate under the weight of other people’s actions, to claim them as her own.

What she said, though, about how the world had changed - it made her eyes misty. It was an incredibly different one from a few decades past. But it wasn’t like this everywhere. There were still places where mutants were hated and feared, still places where Purifiers and the Friends of Humanity and Orchis and Coven Akkaba and so many more gathered, plotting to undo them. Even entire realms were devoted to their hatred of mutants - Otherworld was particularly nasty. It was safe here in the United States - but for how long? How long until being pro-mutant fell out of fashion, and facism rose again in its place? How long would Andy and Danni and Dorian and Millie and countless others be safe to just be children?

How long until mutant suffering became profitable again?

They couldn’t stop fighting, even now. And it was a fight Veil longed to rejoin, one that her abstinence from threatened to drown her in guilt. She was in her forties, with a beautiful wife and an amazing life, and she still wondered about if she had made the right choice - if it was right to leave Veil behind and just be Valerie.

But these weren’t thoughts she wanted to put on Andy. They were her burden to bear and hers alone.

“I’m still going to be here for you,” Veil promised. She reached into her pocket, and pulled out her two phones - one personal, one for… other purposes. “This is my main number,” she said, reciting the personal one. “And this one is for if things get bad,” she added, saying the second one. “If you need anything, any time of night or day, any place, let me know. I’ll be there as soon as I can. You deserve to be safe and free, Andy. I wish it could have happened on Genosha. But I’m glad it’s happening here, now.” Even if she didn’t know for how long.

Andy had a lot of her own sins. That was something she did have to carry. But she tried to keep her smile up and nod. “I will.” She told Veil seriously. She pulled out her own phone and entered the two numbers, the second one she put an E next to to indicate ‘emergency.’

“Thank you. I appreciate that. I wish it could have been on Genosha too.” She paused for a moment. ”I was scared the whole time it would fall apart. That something bad would happen. That that little bit of safety would be ripped away.” She looked away, her eyes burning. ”That feeling hasn’t left. I’m trying to not let it consume me this time. I can’t let it. Everytime I have had this feeling it has happened. But I realized that it doesn’t matter because right now I am happy.” She took a deep breath. ”I have friends and I am happy. Right now. I can’t let tomorrow’s woes suffocate me before I ever face them. I’ll be prepared for them, but tonight, I will be happy. I’m going to keep grasping onto those things that make me happy. I’ll drown myself in people that are good. Because I have them right now. Fear made me so unwilling to trust or love people for so long. It took me too long every time. But I lost them anyway. I loved them and I lost them. So now I will love them harder and sooner. This little slice of happiness is where I will go when they are gone. I won’t forget them, no matter what. And no matter what I will fight to keep this.”

She had promised Magneto ‘Never again,’ in a way she was making that promise again to Veil. Andy refused to let the world become what it had been. She would be ready for it. She’d fight it. Because days like today were worth it.

“When did you become so wise?” Veil asked, her heart breaking. She knew exactly what Andy meant - felt exactly what she was feeling. It was the only way they could carry on. It was the only way they could live, knowing that tomorrow was never promised. Her gaze flickered over towards the people she loved, the people who were not promised to her - the people she would fight until her last breath to protect. Eva. Harry. Davie. Millie. James. Casper. Ben. Max. Danni. Dorian. Andy. Magneto. Her family. She wiped her eyes on the back of her sleeve. “Come on, there’s someone I’d like you to meet - my wife.”

Valerie dropped the invisibility on the two of them.

”Therapy.” She shrugged. ”And Danni, and Dorian.” She paused and gasped. ”You got married! Yes, I must meet her.” Andy grinned. She didn’t react to the tears, she had them in her eyes too.

Val couldn’t help but laugh slightly. “You two? Harry dragged me kicking and screaming to therapy a few years after Genosha,” she admitted. She put an arm around Andy, and pulled her in close for a moment, before leading her on over to her wife - to Eva. “Eva, this is Andy - she was part of the Mutant Underground cell I led. Andy, this is my wife, the incredible Eva Moore.”

”Good.” Andy said. She leaned into the hug. Thankful for it in a way she couldn’t entirely express. A sense of relief washed through her. Things with Veil would be okay.

”Hi,” Andy offered her hand out to Eva who shook it. ”Nice to meet you.” Andy had no clue who Eva Moore was. But she did see that Eva looked surprised.

”Hello. Nice to meet you too. I saw you during the Contest. You were impressive. The others mentioned you were part of their group. It is wonderful to meet someone else from Val’s past.” Eva was smiling, she had given Val a worried glance at first, but relaxed.

”Thank you. It was fun.” Andy had fought for her life. During the Contest she had known she wasn’t in any true danger so she had never been worried. Andy did look at Val, she had never known her real name. ”Is Val... That’s your name?” She didn’t want to ask if it was her real name, or if it was just what she went by now.

“Oh!” Val was surprised for a moment - she’d gotten so used to folks using that name with her, she’d almost forgotten Andy hadn’t known it. She had exclusively gone by Veil back in the days of the Underground, and whenever a human name was needed, she would pick an alias. Andy was more likely to know her as Kayley Webber than Valerie. “Yeah. It’s short for Valerie. I don’t really go by Veil anymore, it’s a… it’s a long story. I’ll tell you about it another time.” She gave her a bit of a pained smile. “But the short version is, I crashed out in a major way, got help, and left my life as a domestic terrorist behind.”

”I like Valerie.” Andy smiled. ”I’m glad you got help. We all need it. Sorry for calling you Veil, not that I knew better. But I saw you and it was like... Well six months ago or so. Time travel is kind of a bitch.”

---

---

April was on cloud fucking nine and tunnel visioning on the hot girl in front of her. Her pores were clear, her crops were watered - the world was beautiful and wonderful. They had won the Contest of Champions!! She still couldn’t quite believe it, couldn’t quite believe that this was real and not just a dream, not just a fantasy. Of course she knew her team was destined for greatness but this was proof of it! Who else could manipulate fire like Danni? Throw hands like Andy? Rearrange the earth like Leah? Manipulate memory like Sabine? Blink around the field like Percy? Go ghost like Dorian? No one! She hadn’t felt this good in a long, long time, and she wasn’t going to let anything steal her bliss from her. Her impulse told her to go flirt with the hot girl and right now, she had the confidence to do it. Was it a symptom of a manic episode? Who cares!

She grinned wickedly as Marlena returned her come-on with another. “If I can call you anytime, I’ll need your number, then,” she said smoothly, as she opened up her phone, created a new contact, and handed it over for Marlena to fill out.

April then nodded, rocking back and forth on her feet slightly as Marlena complimented the fight. A line popped into her head and before she could even feel embarrassed about it, it fell from her lips. “I’m glad I could make you come in person!” April winked. “But yeah, I’m Cascade - but please, call me April - and I know! I’m really really lucky. I’ve got the best team in the world,” she puffed out her chest a little bit with pride. “And honestly, the best friends, too. Dori and Danni are basically my brothers, Leah and I have been besties since we started at this school, Sabine and I are broken up but we’re so chill now - and Andy and Percy are both incredible!” she gushed.

She then paused for a moment, and pulled her hair out of the ponytail she’d put it into, letting it down as she shook it over her shoulders slightly. “So you said I’ll be seeing you around in Cali, then. What about in New Orleans?”

“Duh, Princess.” Danni easily accepted the kiss and offered one in return. Danni giggled as April found another interest and waved as she decided to go shoot her shot, Danni beaming at Eli's compliment. “‘ey, you like it! I ‘ad t'is cologne tucked away for a bit and I never seemed ta quite find t'e right time for it, but it's vanilla and cedar! ‘onestly, I was streeeeesy ‘bout what scent ta wear and I t'ought ta myself ‘bout what I t'ought ya'd like and boom! T'is came ta mind immediately! Glad I guessed right!” Danni booped Eli in the nose but whined and laid his head on his shoulder.

“Oh gosh. Please remember I am not on your level! Feel my arms Eli. Lean muscle, not bulk muscle. And while you and ‘merica are drop dead gorgeous, I would not carry t'at well. I got a silhouette ta mainatin and sure I wanna stay super flowy in t'e sky, I would be v. annoyed if I ‘ad ta let out clothes ‘cause muscle bulk. Y'all got t'e market down on t'at and I am ‘appy ‘ere wit’ my noodles. But I can def. cheer ya on if ya need support!” Danni mimed waving pom-poms and laughed. Danni called out to Tommy. “I promise it was just a little prank! I'm sorry if I ‘urt your feelin's! I can make it up ta ya if you want me to? Just pls not a food contest. I can make ya food? I'll make ya lunch at some point? Or, or, or idk. You're faster at like… everyt'in’ so Idk what I can ‘elp wit’ tbh. Eli, what can I ‘elp ‘im wit’?

“Oh waddup, t'ey'll pay for personal trainers? Hmm, but I wanna ‘ang at t'e gym wit’ you guys and if I ‘ave a trainer I might not be able ta. Ooooooo, def get me t'at link girl. T'at way, I can figure out what I need and I can do somet'in’ reasonable while y'all rock t'e weights!” Danni wiggled in Eli's lap, shifting a bit to see Millie a bit better. “Omg, you're comin’ ta t'e institute?! T'at's amazin’! I can introduce ya to everyone! Omg, we can start right now! T'is is Eli and America, t'ey're on t'e Young Advengers and tbh are like, t'e face of our school. T'ey're really amazin’, t'ough you saw t'at! Eli and ‘merica, t'is is my cousin, t'e singer, actress, song writin’ Milli-illi-illi-illi-pede! Isn't she a cutie? But she got so busy and forgot all ‘bout us. T'e world is cold and cruel and my cousin forgets all ‘bout ‘er little backwaters family. Woe are we.” Danni threw himself back dramatically, fully trusting Eli to keep him steady. Still, he giggled.

“Oh, shoot. People are already dancin’! Eliiiiii, when are we dancin’?! Millie, you gotta come dance too unless ya wanna meet more people. You want me ta introduce ya ta everyone ‘ere? Oh! We can introduce ya on t'e dance floor, round robin style! It'd be so fun! And t'en after t'e party, we're watchin’ as many episodes of She-Ra as possible ‘cause its a crime ya ‘aven't seen it yet; it is cinema mastery!”

---

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---

Dorian sat there, arms around his boyfriend, rubbing his back as he felt his chest rapidly rise and fall with screams, tears, and sobs. He stayed quiet through it all, letting Percy get it all out. He was so used to seeing him bottle everything in, store it into a cancerous aggression that he'd use in a fight or training, that when Percy broke as they entered the Astral it had caught him by surprise. He heard what he'd said, heard the final three words that pained Dorian so. Not because he'd liked another, no Dorian had had plenty of crushes before Percy and he was certain Percy had done the same. No it was the fact that someone he liked had hurt him so deeply, Dorian couldn't imagine that sort of pain.

Percy didn’t know how long he cried into Dorian for - how long his body was wracked with almost primal sobs. Chase’s sudden appearance had pushed him over the edge, yes, but it wasn’t the source of all the pain that filled him - all the pain he couldn’t keep inside any longer. It was Dorian merging into the Entity with Billy, it was all of the cameras and the lights of the contest, it was the interviewers pestering him with questions, it was the hour long photo shoot following their victory, it was his fear that Dorian’s family didn’t approve of him, it was every gentle touch that felt like an attack, it was the want to drink that was rapidly developing into a need, it was their near deaths at the hands of Arcade, it was his loneliness as despite being surrounded by his peers, he couldn’t count any of them as friends. He sobbed for all of that and more, even if he didn’t realize it. But eventually, even as the hurt remained, he ran out of tears to shed.

When the sobs finally softened, turning more into sniffles as energy was spent, Dorian pressed a gently kiss atop Percy's head. ”You wanna talk about what ‘appened back t'ere?” He didn't force him to meet his eyes, made no attempt to alter his face or form, he wanted to let Percy be in which ever state he needed for now.

Percy was effectively curled into a ball up against Dorian’s chest, trusting in his boyfriend to keep him from falling - although he wasn’t quite sure how gravity worked in the astral plane anyway. He had his arms on him in a bit of a death grip, trusting but simultaneously unconsciously fearing that his boyfriend would vanish into air and leave him here alone. His eyes were still closed. “Okay,” he mumbled into Dorian’s chest. He didn’t know what to say - he didn’t even know where to start.

”Oook…we can start wit’ somet'in small, like who was t'at guy? Or if you're up for it…t'e bullyin’ you mentioned…maybe why you vanished at dinner earlier today after t'e press? I know it's been a long day, especially for you, and I really do appreciate t'e effort you made to come out ‘ere for t'e victory party. You deserve as much as t'e next member. You ‘epled so much and kept all of us up and goin’. A true ‘ero.”

He shook his head at that. Percy didn’t feel like a hero. He hadn’t done any of it to be a hero. He’d done it because it was important to Dorian and he hated losing. He wasn’t like the rest of them - he wasn’t at Margaret Carter because he wanted to help people. He was there selfishly. He wanted to be an adventurer, with all the glory that came with that - heroism had never factored into it.

“You don’t need to lie. I’m not a good person,” Percy said quietly. “His name is Chase O’Brien. He was two grades above me at Gates Academy.”

”T'at was t'e school before ‘ere right? Before your powers?” Dorian wasn't going to touch on the first subject, knowing already it would be an uphill battle on a NASCAR track.

Percy nodded. He could answer that much, at least. “I only got my powers in eighth grade. The language came first. Teleporting came in the spring.”

”And Chase was…your boyfriend? Or just a crush?”

“… You’re my first and only boyfriend, Dorian.” He lifted his head up slightly.

Dorian pressed another kiss, this time on Percy's forehead as he looked at him. ”T'en let me in Perce. I can't ‘elp you if I don't know what's ‘appenin’. Why did t'is Chase, who by t'e way looks like a walkin' ad for sleep aids, ‘ave you so startled.”

Percy looked away again, his entire body shuddering as he remembered. He couldn’t talk about what had happened without the images and scenes flashing through his head, of a healthier looking Chase hunting him down in the halls of the school, shoving him and throwing him into any crevice he and the others suspected Percy might fit inside. He clutched Dorian a little tighter, his arms trembling from the extent his muscles were contracting. “He… he… He was physical. I couldn’t hide. He’d always find me. The words, the insults, they hurt. But the bruises hurt more… he made it into a sport, shoving me into lockers and seeing if they would close, tossing me into trash cans like I was a basketball…” his voice was thin, fragile - on the edge of breaking down once more.

Dorian's grip on Percy tightened. One part protective, wanting to hold him closer to make sure he understood he was there to shield him from harm. The other part was darker, hearing how someone treated him, how they could treat anybody, it was just like a Flatscan to target other people and it made Dorian's stomach churn. In the back of his mind he thought of ways to get back at him, to use him the way he used Percy and show him how it felt to be treated as lesser. But those thoughts quickly washed away as he could feel himself think ‘That's not what Heroes do. Everyone deserves a chance to change.’

”Perce I'm so sorry, I…’ad we been t'ere, ‘ad any of us known…I just…why didn't any of your friends ‘elp you?” Concern coated every word, but each syllable was laced with anger and hatred.

“I didn’t have any,” he mumbled.

All the anger that had been ebbing inside of, threatening a tsunami of pain later, dissipated with those four simple words. Dorian's heart broke, a sharp gasp leaving him as his grip on Percy loosened ever so slightly and his body ran cold. He didn't have any friends Dorian held Percy tight, pulling him in deeper as he squeezed him, tears falling onto Percy's head. ”I– I didn't, Perce…” He squeezed him once more, as if trying to make up for every hug, every kiss, every embrace he missed out on back at that horrid school.

Percy shook his head slightly, his chin wobbling as a fresh wave of tears hit him. He couldn’t see his boyfriend crying, but he had felt it, and it was enough to push him back over the edge again. “Not your fault,” he choked out. “I’m - I’m not - I’m not likable.” The pressure was helping, but it wasn’t enough at the same time. He wanted to be held so tightly he wouldn’t be able to breathe - that the thin barrier between where he ended and Dorian began would melt away. “That’s why… He… I-it’s why I can’t handle touch from people. I-I used to be able to… used to be able t-to h-h-hug my moms… b-but now it feels like I’m being electrocuted.”

Dorian pulled back as Percy said he wasn't likeable, holding him within his hands on his biceps and staring straight at him. ”Percy Novikov, you are extremely likeable! A bit abrasive at times sure but you're still likeable. T'ere's a whole room of people back t'ere t'at like you.” It was then the other words struck Dorian's mind, his hands letting go slightly as they hovered just outside of touch from Percy's arms, barely able to feel the fuzz off the fibers of his shirt. ”I…oh, Should I stop t'en? I t'ought you were fine wit' me touchin’ you but if you want me to stop… Perce I don't want tl ‘urt you”

The anguish shot back up within him as Dorian pulled away. Percy shook his head quickly, as he practically dove back into clinging to his boyfriend. “Doesn’t hurt when it’s you. Please don’t stop…” he bit his lip. Dorian had asked for him to let him in. “C-can you be as strong and tight as you can? F-firm touch is best.”

Dorian smiled. ”Typically t'ose are called bear ‘ugs. But I can give it my best shot as a twink” He joked before pulling Percy in to the tightest possible hug he could manage. One usually reserved for when he saw Danni or his parents after coming home from a long stint at Xaviers. ”Where do we go from ‘ere? We can't ‘ide away from t'e party forever. But I don't want to make you go back if you don't want to…t'ough it may be good for you if you did. We ‘ave a whole room of t'e mightiest Champions AA ‘as ever seen, t'e four strongest mutants in New Orleans, a whole Underground of Mutants support, and if t'ats not enough an endless buffet of seafood boil you could toss at ‘im.”

He sniffled, but his breathing gradually steadied out again as he was trapped in Dorian’s grip. He nodded a bit as Dorian walked him through all the safeguards with Chase. He forced his eyes back open, already red and puffy - or at least, they were for his astral self. And then he swallowed, the nerves spiking again. “C-could you do the thing where your telekinesis wraps around me, when we go back?” he asked softly.

But Chase hadn’t been the only thing Dorian had asked him about here - not the only thing that had driven him to cry. His body tensed up again, as Percy forced the words out. “I-I don’t do well w-with having my picture taken - o-or with blinding lights or l-loud sounds… Th-that’s why I hid away earlier, that a-and… I was jealous of you and Billy.”

”Well we may ‘ave to do more photos for my family and Danni. No avoidin’ t'at. But as long as we pose well and quickly it'll be over soon. But, why on eart’ were you jealous of me and Billy? ‘E's wit’ Teddy.”

Percy’s face flushed, and he hid again in Dorian’s chest. “I-I know you really liked him a-and… you two merged on a fundamental level. We’ve never been that close,” he mumbled. “It’s dumb. I’m sorry.”

”We merged because I was about to lose and as a stupid ‘ail Mary i decided to try and possess ‘im. Turns out, possessin' someone's Astral Self while your yourself are also Astral can ‘ave some weird consequences. Probably didn't ‘elp t'at t'ere was some…ot'er force t'at was a part of ‘im. Yeah, I crushed on Billy Maximoff, but ‘e's got not'in’ on you chère.”

He lifted his head off of Dorian’s chest again. “Vraiment?”

”Oui mon cœur, toi et moi contre le monde.”

He sniffled again. “Je t’aime toujours.”

”Et moi toi. Now, let's ‘eat back to t'e party and get ourselves some beignets. I t'ink we've earned at least 100.”

Percy nodded slightly. He was starving. But not entirely just for beignets. He moved his hands from Dorian’s back, instead placing them on his chest, and he pressed his lips to his, initiating a tender kiss that grew a little greedier with each passing second.

As the couple kissed, Dorian pulled them back down, moving from the Astral Plane into their own and then finally in their bodies. Dorian was sat next to Percy, but his legs were over Percy's lap, his arm around his waist, and the other behind Percy's head as he continued to kiss him for what felt like the first time today.

Percy wanted Dorian closer - no, he needed Dorian closer. He was so wrapped up in the kiss he hadn’t noticed them return to their bodies, hadn’t seen the change in scenery. He pulled on Dorian’s waist, repositioning his boyfriend so that he was straddling him - and with each kiss, his tongue grew a little more forceful, his teeth grazing Dorian’s lip before even that wasn’t quite enough, and he started to suck on it, and…

Ben cleared his throat awkwardly. “Boys.”

Dorian jumped. The table pushed back, the silverware chattered atop it, and for a moment he'd gone astral again. Phasing through the table and onto the floor to the other side of it, looking towards Percy, and Appa sat right there. ”Hehe…Uh, did you save me any beignets?” He asked his father with a smile.

---

"Bartholomew Hammish Montgomery Macleod." Victoria spared Max the searching oh so helpfully. Vicky loathed to admit it, but schadenfreude felt great, at least in this case.

She tried to ignore the craziness of dishes suddenly levitating and homing in on a guy that popped out of nowhere - which gave Vicky flashbacks to a former roommate - but what she could not ignore, and ever unsee, was how Ben Gray's powers manifested.

Finding an empty and relatively isolated seat, she had a look at the offered food. Sea vomit. she thought bitterly and returned the menu to its place. Then she frowned.

Roommates. Hers was gone, which reminded her that half of her dorm room was now cluttered by things belonging to someone who was no longer in this universe. Sure. Leave me your mess to clean up, Raynordattir, why don't you. Awesome. She made a mental note to ask Andy later if there could be anything dangerous and if she wanted any of it.

Losing a roommate also likely meant getting a new one. With her track record, she'll end up rooming with the bully that just got dunked in food.

And then it got worse. People decided that dancing was to be the fun activity of the evening. The android was suddenly mighty interested in the door, and most importantly, trying to look anywhere but at her sister, as not to remind her of her existance. She did not want to give Cas any ideas about trying to make Vicky dance as well. Why do I do things? I don't even like crowded places like this! I could have been a fifth of a way home already at best speed. I should just return the rental jewelry and beat feet.

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Gideon watched for a moment as Andy reappeared, deep in conversation with Eva Moore and a brunette she didn’t recognize. Had she seen Valerie with Eva just a few days ago? Yes. Was Gideon a himbo in every sense of the word, including when it came to recent memories? Abso-fucking-lutely. She had her gigantic buster sword strapped to her back, and she unbuckled the sheath from her back, laying it out across her lap. It made things easier for lounging. She usually took the sword off to shower, fuck, and laze around - she even tucked it into bed at night.

“So,” Gideon said to Ben Gray.

“So,” Ben repeated, raising an eyebrow at her.

“What’s it like being dead?” she asked.

He sighed slightly. This didn’t happen very often, not as much as it used to, but it still did from time to time. Gossip in the superhero community tended to be cyclical - today’s news would be buried tomorrow, only to be later unearthed and reexamined once nothing else interesting was going on. He tensed his jaw slightly at the realization that his kids - that all of these kids here - were about to learn that lesson the hard way. Their real names weren’t publicized for the contest, but the reporters had already figured out who each of them was earlier during the interviews. He didn’t want to think about what the trolls and sycophants online would be saying about his boys - public opinion was a battlefield he couldn’t protect them from as easily.

“Why do you want to know?”

Gideon shrugged. “Curious. I can’t die. So.”

Ben tilted his head slightly. “Hmm.” He normally didn’t answer this question. It tended to just freak people out - knowing what happens after they die, or at least, what had happened to him. He hadn’t moved on, hadn’t gone fully to the other side, instead lingering on this world like a shade. “It’s like if you’re spectating a really dumb friend in a hero shooter game,” he explained. “And no matter what you do, they won’t let you help them. All you can do is watch.”

She nodded slightly, and picked at her fingernails with her teeth. “Sounds kinda lame.”

“Yeah,” Ben agreed. “It is kinda lame.”

And then, moments later, his son reappeared, sucking face with Percy. Both of them were clearly feeling better. At Dorian’s request for beignets, Ben blinked for a bit, before a tentacle snaked out and snatched one of the nearby plates, bringing it on over. “I’m… going to go over there, you two let me know if you need anything,” Ben said awkwardly. He stood up, ruffled Dorian’s hair, and walked back over to the adult’s area.



In the midst of the courtyard, equidistant to all the various groups assembled, Valerie shook her head. “You don’t have to apologize - I’m not upset about it,” Val reassured her. “If anyone would be upset about it, it’s my lovable oaf of a brother,” she motioned with her thumb over towards Harry, rolling her eyes slightly. “He always hated it. Like Echo’s any better.”

She then chuckled slightly. Time travel was one of the things she had yet to experience - and she was perfectly happy to keep it that way. She had too many regrets, too many what ifs that she knew she would chase down. She’d go back to Genosha if she could, save them all - go back to the Mutant Underground, save Cayden and the others - go back and go back and go back… but she would never move forward. She’d never live. “I think we’re all better off without time travel.”



America and Eli looked at each other for a second, with the practiced nonverbal communication of a long friendship. They shrugged at one another, before America spoke up, “what is a She-Ra?” she asked. “It’s a show? What kind?” The shows they had in this world were really different from the ones back in the Utopian Parallel - she was still trying to catch up, and having ADHD meant that it was incredibly difficult for her to get through the absolutely massive backlog. As for Eli, while he hadn’t grown up in an alien dimension, he hadn’t had streaming services growing up. His family hadn’t been able to afford it. Most of the cartoons he’d watched growing up were from local cable stations, ones they’d manage to steal when they aligned the antenna just so.

Of course, Eli didn’t mind that Danni was sitting in his lap. He didn’t mind at all. Again, Billy had done this all the time before - and then Tommy had started to do it to mock his twin - and then Cassie had started doing it in earnest - and Kate did it to mock Cassie - and America did it because everyone else was doing it and she didn’t want to be left out. Teddy was the only one who didn’t crawl all over him like a cat. But as Danni was shifting and squirming around, and threw himself backwards trusting in Eli to keep him steady… Eli hadn’t been paying close enough attention.

So rather than Danni and Eli staying firmly seated in the chair, the chair lurched backwards, Eli tried to hook his leg onto the table to keep them secure - his foot pressed up against the bottom of the table, he had to make a game time decision on whether to continue to hold Danni with his arms or flail to try to regain balance - he let go of Danni, but it was too late to stop the fall, to stop the momentum. The chair fully tipped over, spilling them onto the ground - and Eli’s foot shot upwards, kicking the table and flipping it - and the food on it slid to the ground, plates shattering, drinks splashing… onto everyone except for Danni.

Danni, who currently had Eli pinned to the ground in a classic meet-cute pose.

America gasped. “You just spilled on me! And Milli-illi-illi-illi-pede the famous popstar!! And yourself!!” she shrieked. She then took out her phone and started immediately taking photos. “This is going straight to SuperLink!!”

Eli groaned a little. “‘Merica, please.”

“Nope!” America giggled. “Milli-illi-illi-illi-pede, wanna dance? I bet you got some sick moves! I can teach you some too if you want - I spent a few months in this one universe where everyone communicated through dance and song, it was so so so cool. You’d probably have loved it - or gotten immediately very tired of it. Kinda a polarizing place.”

Over on the dance floor, Cassie spotted her sister and squealed. “Vicky!!! Come dance with us!!! Kate, my sis is so good at the Robot, you have no idea.”

Kate raised an eyebrow. "That feels kinda offensive, Cass."

---

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Well.

This was a lot.

Can’t a girl get some peace and quiet after kicking ass all day? Some guy who looked like he lived underground his whole damn life sat down across from them and got handsy with Sabine. Right in front of Leah, no less. The audacity. Leah could hardly object to the way she noticed Sabine heat up a little. It was cute, and they did both have experience in a polycule. But then again, who the hell was this guy? Leah’s immediate judgement of him was that he felt like digging for gold. Her second judgement was that she shouldn’t be so damn harsh about someone she just encountered. Hell, maybe the guy just had excellent taste in women.

Leah leaned forward, resting her head on her hand. She turned her face in such a way that Chase couldn’t see past her voluminous hair. And she gave Sabine a smirk. Not a jealous look, or even an indignant one. Because she found it cute to see her get timid like that.

But then her face went slack as she saw a fucking disaster across from their table.

A table and its chairs flipped over, drinks went flying all over the damn place, and now everyone was eating concrete. And Danni and Eli looked like they were about to fucking from the pose she spotted them in.

”You know… I think they made this a private thing for a reason.”

Oh, god. Dancing. Leah could not see that going well.

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Marlena Evans was a cool and level-headed woman. She didn’t spare a passing thought to the chaos going on in the background. The only thing on her mind was the blonde girliepop she magnetized to. With a smirk, she accepted the phone and punched in a number. ”Came with everyone else on the plane, so I’m staying at the hotel for now. I’ll definitely be around, more out in this part of the city than indoors. I get out a lot, if you’re ever in the mood for hanging.” She handed it back to April with a wink.

She was feeling hungry. And not just for food. But food certainly sounded nice.

”Sounds like a dance party’s about to happen. How about I find a table and get something to eat, then we talk some more?” She offered.

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Max pinched the bridge of his nose as more chaos ensued surrounding his own children. This was why it was a semi-private event and the rest of the restaurant was shut down for the night. It helped that he and the others had helped the French Quarter a significant amount while also bringing down crime and helping ease the lives of all who lived within it. If that wasn't enough, his magic guaranteed nothing damaged would stay that way for long. With a wave of his hand, cosmic energy swirled around all those who had been coated in food (including Chase) as well as all the dishware and tables that had fallen. Those dirtied were clean (a good thing Ben Moss wasn't present), the tables that had fallen were lifted back up and those that hadn't were enchanted to stay on the floor moving forward. Broken dishware mended itself and everything else was back as it should be. ”As always Ms. Van Dyne, your aid is greatly appreciated and knowing their name will no doubtedly make this easier. No please, enjoy the festivities. You kids deserve it after everything you've been through."

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”Please, you're just being modest.” Chase pulled out a chair to sit next to Sabine (and Leah), noticing how the other girl turned away from him in such a way that he couldn't see her face. Great. ”I'm new to Margaret Carter, transferred over from Gates Academy when I got powers. As for if I know Percy…I do. We went to Gates together, practically grew up with each other really. He was a good friend, he deserved better than me. In the end I just ended up hurting him, then after summer…I didn't see him again this year, now I know why.” A part of him had thought something had happened to him, that maybe he was in a separate but similar program to the one he got put into. It seemed he just left instead.

The truth stood silently behind Chase as he offered Sabine something more beautiful. ”I had come here to see what Margaret Carter had to offer given the transfer, saw Percy out there on the field and well…I got excited, for a moment there I saw my old friend, I forgot that I'd hurt him. I want to apologize to him, it won't fix anything, I know, but I still think I should even if he doesn't accept it.” Chase glanced behind him towards the Parents who were no doubt watching him, and the kids who had formed a sort of barrier around Percy. ”I don't think I'm going to get that chance though, not with so many people here. I thought maybe…maybe I could give him one more victory tonight, to celebrate. You know? But, I fucked that up already.” Chase let out a sigh before pushing his hair back as he ran his fingers through it. ”I am so sorry Sabine, I didn't mean to be such a downer, you're so easy to talk to I caught myself monologuing. I'd grab a bite but…seafood isn't exactly my favorite. Maybe there's dessert somewhere. Or…a dance?” He looked towards Cassie and the others who had begun to dance, looking back towards Sabine wondering if she'd like to.

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Immediately, April shot a text to the number Marlena had saved in her phone - hey, this is April, the cute girl from the party! 😘 and then she slid her phone back into her pocket. She was planning on spending the night with her teammates, continuing to celebrate their win, and ideally fall asleep in the midst of a cuddle pile. Nothing would happen with Marlena this evening, but there was always the future - and the rush of her confidence being rewarded with a cute girl’s number was intoxicating. “Totally!” April grinned. “Wanna come sit with me and my friends? I’ll introduce you!”

She didn’t really wait for Marlena to respond, before motioning for her to follow April on back to the table she’d left Danni behind at. America and Eli were still there, along with a new face - April gasped. Millie Broadway?! She was here? She did a double take, before noting even more celebrities - Harry Simmons and Eva Moore! In all the excitement and drama of the contest, she’d almost forgotten how she’d run into them at the hotel on the first day. And then she looked again, seeing Danni sprawled on the ground with Patriot on top of him - no one seemed worse for wear, at least. Almost like magic.

“You okay, Danni?” April asked. “Also - Millie! Can I call you Millie? So cool to meet you! Are you - are you coming to Margaret Carter? Or just in the neighborhood?” She was beginning to get used to the insane number of connections Danni and Dorian had. They knew almost every mutant on the planet it seemed - and almost every celebrity, too. “I’m April, by the way - or Cascade, if you were watching the contest - but just call me April!” She hesitated for a moment. Did she offer a hug? A handshake? What were you supposed to do with celebrities? “Do you hug?”

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Percy’s face was bright red, mortified as they ended up kissing deeply in front of Dorian’s father. Between James potentially catching him with alcohol in his system (nothing seemed to have come of that, thankfully - it must have just been his paranoia getting to him, there was no way he’d noticed anything wrong…) and Ben now having a front row seat to the two of them making out, he had no idea what Dorian’s family must have thought of him. He glanced over at the area where the adults were congregating, and relaxed slightly as he didn’t spot either of his mothers among them. If they had seen his near meltdown, followed by an incredibly public display of affection…

He took a bite of a beignet, suddenly ravenously hungry. If he was lucky, it was the beginning of a growth spurt. It probably wasn’t, though. He hadn’t gotten any taller all semester. He’d checked.

He cleared his throat slightly, before standing up and moving over to Dorian, where he’d fled to the opposite end of the table. There were a few options for where they could sit. They could go sit with the adults - a terrible choice. They could sit with Leah and Sabine… and Chase - out of the question. They could sit alone, which would be Percy’s preference, but he doubted it was Dorian’s. If anything, Percy would be very happy to go back to Dorian’s house and give his boyfriend a victory present or two. So the remaining choice, then, was the table with April, another blonde he didn’t know, America Chavez, and Danni and Patriot sprawled out on the floor…

“Where do you want to sit?” Percy asked Dorian, mostly as a courtesy, as he had already determined Danni’s table would be the least terrible option. He was dreading how popular the dance floor seemed to have become. The music was nice, at the very least. And he wasn’t necessarily against dancing, he just hated the physical touch that seemed to come along with it. His old school had done dancing units in physical education, and Percy had conveniently been sick for each and every one of them.

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There was something about Chase that reminded her of something. Sabine leaned back in the seat, glancing over at Leah with her big shit-eating smirk. Sabine stuck her tongue out in retaliation. Leah did not seem to vibe with Chase and, admittedly, first impression was not great.

But if Chase was telling the truth, he had known Percy early on. Perhaps the two had a jokey friendship? Percy didn't seem into it, though.

"What the fuck are you doing Sabine? You know how this plays out. That boy is corrupt, as the song went. Stop thinking with your lower half."

Perhaps it was the high of the win still, the fact she had earned a sizeable paycheck she planned to cash in soon. Perhaps it was being close to her friends. Perhaps it was something in the air, the night.

And what of Leah? The two of them had never spoken about exclusivity when they had April with them. And even then, it never was a topic. Was their relationship open? Surely the two of them would have to agree on matters like that. Didn't Leah speak about marriage during their slumber party and didn't it freak Sabine out? Was she ready to put down roots or did she still want to flourish?

Whatever the case may be, she was young, she was hot, and this was a fucking fantastic night. So fuck it.

"I don't know your history with Percy, Chase. For all I know, you are telling me sweet nothing lies, and you were actually a real fucking asshole to him. It seems like he wanted nothing to do with you. I, however, am not Percy. I am Sabine fucking Bassard and I am one of the winners of the motherfucking Contest of Champions so know that if I find out you are in fact fucking lying to me I will spend the entite day in that pretty head of yours doing all sorts of nasty, dirty things until you are nothing but a piddling mess on the ground crying for mercy. I hope that I made myself abundantly clear. Now," Sabine stood up and maneuvered around Leah and Chase, extending her own hand, "Let's dance!"

Sabine waited for Chase, but she looked over to Leah. "You coming with?"

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Millicent laughed at Danni's antics. She forgot how silly and unabashedly himself he was. This school transfer was sure to be a good thing. Right? "Yep! Got my powers a little big ago. Probably saw the video of it. You know, the one with the big guy who stormed the stage to like...hug me or something. Still don't know what he wanted but yeah, sure enough he got close and poof! I was gone! Well, still there, but gone. And was protecting myself with a force field. Storm came after that. Lotta people angry over it, though mainly here in the states. Canada is a bit cooler, but still. Rents and rent adjacents felt it might be best for me to be amongst people like me, learn what I can."

Millicent focused her attention on the others now. "Umm, yeah Danni I know who they are. I watched the entire contest. And even if I didn't, the Young Avengers are supes popular on the socials. Pretty sure I even invited them to come on stage one performance but they never answered my call. But we're here now, let's party!"

She stood up with some of the others, but a little mishap wound up on her clothes. "Ah, good thing I can turn invisible huh? Makes having a bad hair day a breeze sometimes." She boogied over to America. "Girl, you know I love to dance. Only way to prove it is on the dance floor and, perhaps, a DANCE BATTLE? It's so on!"

As Millicent made her way over April, who had finally unlatched herself from the other girl, had come over. April appeared starstruck, but recovered. She would have to get used to that, she assumed. "April! Hello, girl, how are you doing? I feel like I know so much about you already. Yeah, I'll be coming to school with y'all next semester. We'll have to tour the place. You can tell me all the cool spots. And of-fucking-course I hug! I'm related to Danni and Dorian. Get in here!" Millicent pulled April in and gave her a tough, warm squeeze. "You all did so good during the contest! I want to hear all about it, but I believe the dance floor is calling my name!"

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Victoria's head slowly swivelled to Cassandra, giving her a flat stare. "You know damn well that as far as music is concerned, I don't play or dance, I sing." she replied through clenched teeth, tone polite so far but promising consequences over the winter break if sister dearest didn't let this go.

"Besides, this music is cr-" she caught herself as her eyes landed on the live band, "-not my style. Too slow. Too smooth. And too much brass." her nose frowned a little at that.

Her arms flew up in an over the top shrug, "So, while the machine goddess is real... NO."

Kate wasn't wrong though. Even though Cassie was on the list of people who were allowed to make the robot jokes, Victoria would take the casus belli. And as she thought of something to do with it, a shark grin plastered itself over her face. "Although... you are my sister. You deserve at least some effort from me. Since you want Kate to see some new dance forms... Here, let me enable you." She sent power to four of her MFGs. This is a supe party after all. About time it started looking like one, no? So far the most super thing here was the clean up crew. Vicky thought, and sent the field equations to the emitters, targeting the area around Cassie with an upwards vertical repulsor field that slowly dialled up to 1G in an effort to make gravity take a vacation from pulling her sister and her partner towards the ground.

The result was not as spectacular as negating the gravity altogether, more like making her sister dance on the Moon, but Vicky decided that was good enough - And probably sounder for the structural integrity of the pub.

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Andy gave a little shrug at the comment about being better off without time travel. Because time travel had brought her here, and it had saved all of her friends once. Maybe they could have saved Genosha without Zari, but the students on her team wouldn't be alive without it. They'd have all died at the hands of a villain wanna be. They had died at his hands, but that timeline had been snuffed out.

"I'm going to go back to my girlfriend," Andy gestured over to where Gideon sat. She saw that Dorian and Percy were both back and sucking face. Good for them. "I'm going to eat so much gumbo I feel like I'm going to burst. Then I'll eat a beignet or two, and dance. Maybe not in that specific order. It was a pleasure to meet you...uh."

"Eva, Eva Moore. Your girlfriend knows who I am," Eva said, smiling. It was rare enough that people didn't know who she was. Even stranger that they'd recognize Val before her.

"Right, thank you, Eva, nice to meet you. And Valerie good to see you. I do want to catch up more sometime soon. Okay." Andy waved and headed back over to Gideon, who was sitting where she had left her. America was on the dance floor.

"Sorry about that. Long story, but she's an old friend. I haven't seen her since Genosha." Andy wasn't sure how much Gideon had picked up on Andy's history. The two of them hadn't spent an incredible amount of time together. Though, as Andy thought about it, she was certain Gideon had been flirting with her since the beginning. She sat down next to Gideon and leaned against her.

For a moment, before everything flipped and food went flying and the table hit the ground, Danni felt like he'd been slapped. How did no one know She-Ra?! It was a cinematic masterpiece, a piece of creative genius, the crème de la crème of animation and these heathens had the audacity to stumble around ignorant and uniformed. Danni could a She'Ra watch party starting to form.

However, he shrieked instead as he tumbled around. The chair? Unbalanced. The table? Flipped. The plates? Broken. And Danni? Well, Danni failed helplessly, wrapping himself tight around Eli as his stomach lunched and the ground came rushing up to meet him. He squeezed his eyes tight, bracing for the smack of hard ground on his soft skin, but hit something much softer instead. Danni peaked an eye open and then blink, staring down at Eli under him with a little food in his hair. It took Danni a second to process and then he snickered, laughter taking over him as he buried his head in Eli's shoulder and his own shook with laughter. “Oh my g- oh my god!” Danni howled, muffled by Eli's shirt. “T'at was ‘hilarious! What ‘appenened?! One second I was chillin’ and t'en we're- we're-” Danni heard America mention Superlink and Danni popped up and posed, flashing a little victory sign and winking at the camera where he lay on Eli. Once America had her fill and Max's magic cleaned them up, Danni slumped back down on Eli and beamed at April.

“Yeah, Eli is sups comfy!! He saved me from ‘ittin’ t'e ground ‘cause ‘e's just so great!! Gotta add ‘im t'at t'e cuddle pile list.” Danni replied, resting his chin on his hands and beaming at Eli. “We ‘ave great cuddle piles! Princess ‘elps cool stuff down when it gets too ‘ot for people and if its real cold, I can warm us up right quick! All t'e comfortable, none of the temp probs!” Danni caught the skin care disaster slinking up to Beanie and… Danni blinked, pushed up off Eli partially to watch Beanie have her hand kissed, and squeezed, kicking his feet.

“OMG, t'at's so cute!!!! If someone did t'at ta me, t'ats it. I'd be a puddle on t'e floor. Actually, I might catch fire but still, I'd probs be ‘ead over ‘eels immediately. Like, idk what Spicy's deal wit’ t'at guy is but…” Danni sighed dreamily. “‘pparently knows ‘ow ta treat a girl right, ya know? Bet ‘e'll give little massages when ‘is partners are sore or like, get little chocolates or flowers or like, listens ta no, ya know?”

Danni, who had in fact watched the video, had all follow up thoughts banished at the idea of a dance battle. “OMG yaaaas! Time for t'e dancin’! Come on Eli, I wanna dance wit’ you first!!! Do you know Lindy ‘op? So fun but ‘eckin’ intense!” He yanked Eli to his feet and hit the dance floor as fast as his feet (and fire) could take him, hand held out for Eli to join him as he started spinning with the music in Vicky's lunar field.

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Dorian nodded furiously before grabbing a beignets from the plate and beginning to eat. His attention briefly snapped over towards his brother as their whole table went clattering down and he ended up on top of Eli while everyone else ended up with food on them. He laughed briefly to himself as he elbowed Percy and motioned to the chaos of them all. All before his Pa finally set things right across the whole party. Dorian's eyes danced across the area until he saw Chase and Sabine together. He couldn't quite tell what the vibe was, but he was surprised that she was even talking to him. Then again he hadn't even known about Chase until moments ago so…it made sense? Dorian couldn't make heads or tail of it anyways.

Dorian put the beignets down and looked towards Percy, a smile on his face. ”Oh Perce please! We ‘ave to dance, it'll be fun c'mon.” He grabbed Percy's hand, not so much as giving him a second to protest against it as they made their way onto the dance floor. They began to levitate slightly as Dorian wrapped an arm around Percy, smiling. ”T'is is just like Pride and Prejudice, except wit’ Jazz.” He laughed, leading the dance for the pair. Now that he thought on it, he wasn't sure if Percy knew how to dance.