Forsythe

Forsythe's 1x1 ideas (Craving something with dragons)

Bump. Looking for original setting involving dragons. Fandoms, Harry potter or possibly RWBY again.

Protectors of Tommorrow

September 1st, 2020
Science class

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Victoria Stark

Returning the smile, Tori sat back down. She unconsciously balled her hand to let the warmth of the touch - something rare to her - linger. Feeling suddenly self-conscious, she left the misaligned pencil alone - for now. As distracting as it was... Instead, she busied herself with reviewing her schedule, until Diana spoke again.

"Oh- Yes, actually. I've just got here, didn't even have time to store my things. The traffic in the area is... Worse than the reports said," Victoria answered, "And a tour would be very kind of you, thank you." A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. Maybe fitting in here would not be all that difficult? And the assistance was very welcome - as uncle James impressed upon her, local guides were indispensable when entering an unknown AO.

Then the teacher came, and Victoria knew her time of anonymity was coming to a close. As he ran down the attendance list, she took note of Diana's last name - Very Matrixy - before...

"Stark?"

"...present..." Vicky piped up. At least the teacher was kind enough not to even give her a glance, moving on to the next name. Her sensors did notice a reaction to her name on his vitals, though she could not discern whether it was positive or negative. Her eyes then hesitantly ticked over to Diana, hoping against odds that she wouldn't suddenly switch to a more distant and measured mood, like so many others when Victoria's name dropped.

Protectors of Tommorrow

September 1st, 2020
School premises

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Victoria Stark

As she looked over the classroom, Tori notices most of the seats were already occupied. Not unexpected, given the precious few minutes remaining until the class was supposed to start. But it quite limited her options when it came to picking where to sit.

In fact, she located only four empty spots. One was next to a guy who was surrounded by a group of others and seemed to be chatting at them rather than with them. Way too social to deal with on the first day, Tori thought.

Now, Victoria was used to the fact that with her preference of suits, she would usually look overdressed for most occasions. This classroom was no exception. But quite frankly, the hotpants and tube top the girl next to the other free space chose to wear were on the other side of the spectrum, and Victoria actually quickly averted her gaze, like she walked in on the girl in the gym showers.

Leaving the THOT to her questionable attire choices, the last two places were an empty desk in the front row of the window aisle, facing the teacher's desk. And score, she thought with a barely perceptible smile, making her way to the desk.

As she walked by, her sensitive audio receptors were being put to work, Victoria curious about the class's reaction to her. They ranged anywhere from muted catcalls to confusion whether she was another student or a new teacher. She also caught a 'rich bitch' somewhere in there. Oh, this was going to be 'fun'.

A while later, she almost finished setting up on her desk - No clutter; her writing utensils neatly arranged in the corner. Paper notebook. Victoria actually had no need to take notes, as she could just commit information to her nigh flawless memory. But she actually needed to practice her handwriting. Muscle memory - or what passed for her equivalent - took her almost as much time as it took the average human, annoyingly.

She was just about to adjust the position of the pencil that offended her by being 0.5° tilted to the left from its ideal position, when someone addressed her. Her hand freezing halfway to the pencil, Victoria looked at the newcomer, who, it seemed, had already made the decision to join her at the desk, shattering her fortress of solitude. In a microsecond, she took in the sight of her. Blonde. Slightly smaller than herself. Decently clothed. Athletic. Smile that seemed genuine. Actually, quite aesthetically pleasing. Victoria decided she could do far worse for company and stood up, shaking the offered hand. "Good morning. I'm Victoria. Nice to meet you too." She did not volunteer her last name, as neither did Diana, and it allowed Tori to delay the usual reaction when people found out.

Avengers Academy: Junior Year 💥

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Location: ??? > Grand Cosmos
Skills:

---

”Well, I can’t help you with your paranoia, however justified it may feel. Although I did recently get help from a shrink who seems to know what she is doing, if you want her business card.” Victoria smirked, before grasping Barty by the shoulder rather than his hand. That still felt wrong to do.

Before them, through the open doorway, was what appeared to be the cosmos. A swirl of colors dancing around with speckles of light peppering the area. ”Oh, I can assure you a shrink wouldn't help with my issues. For now, let us focus on the terrain ahead. This is the Magic of the Cosmos. Let us make our way through until the next doorway.” Barty warned before kicking off of the threshold and pulling them both forth into the vast space ahead. Luckily this wasn't his first foray into this space. His feet found purchase against nothing before he continued to walk forward.

”Uh-huh.” Vicky grunted, stuffing one of her hands into her pocket and stealthily attaching an MFG to her palm. ”Been to space before, though never quite in this sort of suit.” she smirked, brushing dust off of her suit’s cuff, before creating a weak gravitational field in front of her, just like she would use to hover with her suit, pulling her forward in Barty’s wake. She could not walk on nothing, but she could adapt. And, she was dying to see what her unlikely companion would make of the situation.

Barty quirked an eyebrow at his companion. ”Next Question. You are a student at Margaret Carter Institute who knows and potentially studied underneath Agatha Harkness. What is your skill set that seems to be helping you navigate through this area.” He asked as he continued forward in search for the next door.

”I never studied under prof Harkness. In fact, when I expressed my remorse over her leaving before I could attend her class, she said she didn’t. My kind is, apparently, a pain in the ass to teach, end quote.” Victoria smiled at the memory. Then, as she felt an opportunity to fire back at his next question, a sharky grin appeared on her face and a dry chuckle escaped her throat. ”Magic.” Arthur C. Clarke would be so proud of her for that one.

”Magic? Is that meant to be a question? Statement? Jumping off point?” Barty asked dryly, wondering what exactly was her kind.

It’s supposed to be a fuck you. Victoria groaned in her mind. ”Is that another question? I may need to count those towards repaying your favor.” she was enjoying her momentary upper hand, perhaps a little too much.

”No. It was the need for clarification so that I may know how best to proceed further based on new information that was being brought forward. If anything it's more effort on my end to help you get out of here as apparently getting an answer from you about your circumstances is like pulling teeth.” Barty said very matter of fact.

”It would help tremendously to know what you need to know that for. I don’t really see how it’s relevant to getting me out of here. But as information for you to know just what kind of favor you can ask me for, though? So no, I don’t feel like sharing, thank you, figure it out on your own. As for pulling teeth, that about summarizes my feelings about this whole affair so far.” she grumbled, annoyed.

”Oh I don't need that sort of information to know what favor to ask of you. I can collect that information myself as soon as we are done here. You are a Van Dyne, a name not too many get to throw around. There's bound to be a plethora of information on you already. Even your school's teams members have a ton of information on them already. That's what happens when you enter the limelight. Your privacy vanishes.” Barty didn't look at her as he spoke. Simply continuing forward, turning here or there in places that were just a continuing vastness of before. But it was clear he knew where to navigate.

Twisting in the not-air to look like she was lounging on an invisible sunbed, Victoria floated next to Barty as he led them to magic lands unknown. ”I’m hoping you aren’t exactly banking on my name to have much of a ransom potential. Fam and I aren’t exactly on good - or talking - terms.” she grunted, ”You have lost your family to your hunters. My family are my hunters, after a fashion.”

”I don't do ransoms. So you have no worries there. Now my brother, he might. He's a lot more strict on his deals than I am. That's why he typically carries my favors for me. One cup too many and I'm likely to call one in for a good time if I can't find it myself within my immediate vicinity.” Barty replied. He began approaching a star, it looked small, even at this distance, but no matter how much they moved it's size didn't seem to change.

Completely missing the meaning, Vicky grunted back: ”Good time, psh. I could use some of that right now, because this place is kinda drab. If you’re just planning to pad up the favor, could you at least hurry up with it? Unless you’re also punishing me for something by making me bored to tears.”

”What, you don't enjoy the Grand Cosmos? Even most non magi marvel at the beauty and expanse of it. The seat of power where cosmic energy flows and powers spells beyond those you'd be capable of. Then again maybe your…affliction, doesn't allow you to care for such things. But if you're wanting a good time, well then the next door I open could be to my private location.” Barty said with a wink.

”Well, it’s picturesque I guess… But I’ve been to space before, that’s not quite new. And magic just looks like an acid trip to me as I am now. I may be able to appreciate it more if I learned to at least filter through it, but…” she shrugged. Then Barty’s other comment dropped, and the meaning behind his words finally clicked in Vicky’s brain. The feeling of maggots crawling under her skin was suddenly back with a vengeance. ”Oh hell no! Ugh!” she shouted, somewhere between mortified and disgusted, looking everywhere but at his smug face to hide the embarrassed blush burning on her face. ”Who do you think I am, a dissembling harlot?!” she floated some distance away from him.

”Someone who just stated that they wanted a good time. You asked, I offered. It's as simple as that. I'm not as…prudish as most nor do I care for things such as gender or species or what have you. In a world such as ours there's too much to it's vastness to care about something so…miniscule.” Barty shrugged. He never quite understood those who looked at sex like it was some sinful act. It was a natural thing and a pleasurable pastime.

Vicky thought hard about whether to deign that with an answer. ”There’s prudish, but also the other end of the spectrum! Sheesh. How’s your head still on your shoulders if this is your default setting I’ll never know, with all of the slaps and sucker punches you oughta be collecting.” she shuddered. She could not help but go through her mental checklist of minimum requirements for relationship prospects, and was happy with herself when she arrived at the conclusion that the only thing possibly attractive on this guy was looks.

”Slapping, choking, fine. Punching not as much. But anyways, we've reached the next door.” Barty explained as his hand reached outward and grabbed onto the star who's size never shifted. Another frame of a door would appear before them as he opened it back up and the same expanse of darkness they had come from previously opened up once more. ”And back to the pathways in between. You know, the fae used to use similar pathways to traverse the lands. Little rips in reality that they could slip into and out of at will just to close the distance. It's where magics for teleportation began.”

Protectors of Tommorrow

September 1st, 2020, 07:40
School premises

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Victoria Stark

She was so late. The cab came to a halt at the entrance to the campus, having been stuck in traffic for about an hour, wasting all of the buffer time that Victoria put in her plans for today and then some.

Tori stepped out and went to the trunk to fetch her suitcase, giving the cabbie something extra for making a valiant effort to make up some of the time lost. As the car departed, she looked at the buildings that were about to become her new home for the foreseeable future. I will not be late on my first day! Time to improvise. she thought.

Originally, she wanted to first check in to the dorms, maybe unpack, find out where her first class was and go on with her day. Oh, and probably talk to whatever roommates she might be assigned to. The odds of her getting a room for herself were probably nonexistent.

As it stood, she barely had the time to orient herself and get to class. She needed to stow her suitcase somewhere for the time being. A quick check of the email she’d received a few days ago confirmed that check-ins were open until after lunch, so she could do that in her lunch break, and conveniently, someone would be manning the desk.

She headed to the dorm building, the wheels of her suitcase bouncing on the pavement as she set a brisk pace towards the entrance, following the map from the e-mail. Fortunately, the person at the desk was willing to take care of her luggage for the time being, and explained to her how to get to the classroom she needed to be in.

As Victoria made it to the door, she checked the time. 07:55. Time enough to see what seats were left and set up. Straightening her necktie - something she did unconsciously whenever she felt nervous - and brushing a speck of dust off her cuff, she opened the door and entered the classroom, her eyes scanning over the place to find an empty seat, wondering how full the class was and whom she might end up sitting at a desk with.

Forsythe's 1x1 ideas (Craving something with dragons)

Bump.

Protectors of Tommorrow

Victoria A. Stark

Victoria Antonia Stark

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Nicknames:

• Hero alias: Astra
• Pet name: Tori
• Common: Vicky (She does not like it, but people default to it so often she gave up trying to make them stop)
• Trigger name: Toni (Used by people close to her - usually in frustration - when she acts too much like her dad - egotistical, reckless, or emotionally walled-off. She hates hearing it, and it always cuts deeper than she lets on)

Species:

• Coverup: Human
• Real: ASTRA - Aegis System for Tactical Response and Adaptation, an Ultron derivative

Gender:

• Coverup: Female
• Real: N/A

Age:

• Coverup: 17
• Mental level: 15
• Real: 1

Nationality:

• Coverup: American
• Real: N/A

Appearance:

Tori doesn’t appear to be anything out of the ordinary, her body build being rather lean, displaying evidence of exercise focusing on stamina rather than peak performance. For her whooping 187 centimeters of height, she claims to only weigh 70 kilograms. Her skin is as white as it gets.

Victoria’s face seems as ordinary as the rest of her - not too angular, not too rounded, with one exception: she has vibrant green eyes. She has a mane of blonde hair that she keeps cut to an asymmetric bob and flowing over one side of her face, at times seemingly obscuring one of her eyes.

Victoria tends to avoid revealing clothing, preferring outfits that blend functionality with modesty. While she may occasionally wear sleeveless choices, she rarely shows her legs outside her dorm room unless circumstances force her hand. Black is her color of choice.

• Everyday Wear: Victoria often opts for form-fitting but practical outfits like leggings paired with long-sleeved turtlenecks. Her casual look is understated and sharp.
• Formal Attire: She favors sleek business suits or tailored jumpsuits, paired with oxfords — never heels. Her look is minimalist and controlled, much like the way she carries herself.
• In bad weather: If there’s even a chance of rain, she’s got a double-breasted trench coat and an umbrella at the ready.
• For exercise: Comfortable yet efficient—sporty jumpsuits that allow full range of motion without flash.
• Work Gear: For lab or fieldwork, she switches to utility-first: cargo pants and shirts she’s not afraid to get torn, stained, or bleached.

Despite her efforts to appear indistinguishable form a human, those who are especially perceptive might notice subtle anomalies: her skin runs a touch too cold, her posture and gait are unusually precise, and her physicality suggests more weight than she claims — though she’s learning to mask these better over time.

History:

Created by Tony Stark after the snap made him convinced he was right all along, ASTRA units were meant to be the deterrent to all future threats to Earth. The suit of armor around the world which the original Ultron failed to be.

Victoria was the first prototype of intended many. Designed to be able to counteract most known and possible future threats, ASTRA units are capable of emulating many powers present in other superhumans, aliens and technological contraptions, albeit often simply as a byproduct of the functional parts of the design, and while it matches none in its specific field, an ASTRA can change tactics and power set during a mission to adapt, with the whole system intended to counteract by employing larger number of units, rather than one superpowered robot.

To prevent the disaster that was Ultron, Tony modified the ASTRA code to be capable of truly feeling emotions, and the hardware to be able to mimic them. Furthermore, Vicky did not achieve consciousness by accident, but was brought online and raised by Tony to create a desirable personality.

A cover story was needed for her, and thus ASTRA assumed the identity of Victoria Antonia Stark, a misbegotten daughter of her creator, one he only recently became aware of with the death of her supposed mother, who kept her existence hidden from him.

Over the time Tony spent raising her though, something changed. Tony has grown attached to Tori, and Tori never considered Tony anything other than her father. In the end, Tony decided to shelve the original idea, and never built more ASTRA units. Instead, he had the required paperwork forged for Victoria to officially be recognized as his family, and started to slowly introduce her to others under the coverup story. As such, Victoria has now been a public part of the Stark line for several months, now opting to go to a school further away to keep away from the other Avengers who might otherwise discover her nature.

Personality:

Tori is on the border between an extrovert and introvert. She doesn’t actively search for company, but if one finds her she doesn’t shy away. Being still somewhat mentally behind compared to her assumed peers, she can sometimes be a bit naive, gullible and immature.

In public, she seems a little cold and doesn’t like to talk about herself, since quite a few of those conversations end up being about her father, and not her. In private though, she opens up like a flower, and at times some of her father's traits shine through. Vicky constantly seems zoned out due to being able to multitask and pick up what humans can’t like radio waves or wi-fi internet, although she is always paying attention to what she should.

Her biggest fear is that of going offline for whatever the reason, as even though her memories would remain intact, her personality would reset and she might never be the same person. However, another thing of concern to her is maintaining her cover as a human, due to the history of androids on Earth.

Being given the ability to feel emotions is also causing Victoria to feel some insecurities about her existence. Among the worst is the an chronic sense of guilt — not just for the lie she lives, but for the pain it caused others. She understands that Pepper sees her as a reminder of Tony's past mistakes, but it doesn't dull the sting. Deep down, she wonders if there’s a version of herself that could have been accepted, one that didn’t come at the cost of someone else’s love.

She also feels the pressure. Not only that of bearing the Stark name, which makes everyone expect her to excel in academia and eventually take over the business, but also of the purpose of her original creation. While Tony made it clear he expects nothing of her but to live her life to its fullest, there is a part of Victoria that still feels like she has to be the suit of armor around the world.

Skills:
Superheroics
+ Unarmed fighting
+ Armored fightig
+ Aerial fighting
- Leadership
- Priority management
- Indirect ranged fighting
Common
+ Singing
+ Gadget design and manufacturing
+ Coding and hacking
- Cooking
- Networking
- Aesthetics

Construction and Powers:

ASTRA’s body is shaped around an endoskeleton fashioned out of secondary adamantium. Mobility is achieved through a series of electric servos for precise motorics and hydraulics for heavy duty. Most of its core hardware is stored in the chest and abdomen, with only its sensor suite located in the head. The skin is made out of nanites.

Despite being a walking supercomputer and thus having a shorter learning curve, it still takes time for ASTRA to master certain things like martial arts, and their cognitive development is only marginally faster than that of a human. Furthermore Victoria didn’t bother learning much of what she doesn’t need, as her drive space may be impressive but it is far from encompassing all of knowledge, and she can search for the information anew just as quickly most of the time.

Minor shapeshifting - ASTRA’s nanoskin can change its shape, color and to some degree mechanical properties. The shape is limited by the endoskeleton, always restricting it to humanoid shape, although in special cases not all of it needs to be covered by the skin.

Energy absorption - ASTRA is powered through its skin which can transfer various energy sources into its powerplant - the unit is mostly powered by solar energy. The capability is limited though - for example it can still be damaged by fire given enough exposure or high enough temperature.

Superhuman physique - Unarmored, ASTRA can lift up to 1 ton with each arm or 3 tons with both, providing it can distribute the weight properly. It can also move about 3 times faster than a human and it has wider range on its joints, capable of for instance reverse bending elbows.

Superhuman mind - The robot has large memory and the computational power of the best technology. It also possesses significantly shortened reaction time and can directly interface with other technologies via the nanites in its skin.

Sensors and transmitters - The robot is aware of more than a human, capable of seeing and hearing a wider spectrum, and can also transmit such signals.

Multifield generators - ASTRA is equipped with the next step from Ironman’s repulsor equipment - the multifield generators. It can create electric, magnetic, repulsor and graviton fields. The more complex the field the more it subtracts from its processing power - for example, a tractor beam is pretty easy, but creating a gravity field to safely deflect a hail of bullets over a large area might take enough processing power that ASTRA can not move itself. More complex or powerful feats also require multiple generators working in conjunction. They can technically be mounted on any part of ASTRA’s surface, but Victoria usually prefers two in the palms of her hands, one in the middle of her chest, and two on the back over her shoulder blades.

Equipment:

As the base robot is made to be able to mimic a human, something more is needed for those tough fights when the nanoskin just wouldn’t last long enough. As such a new suit of powered exo-armor was developed along with it. It is somewhat modular in a way that additional equipment can be mounted on the outside, but unlike the Ironman suit, it is not capable of functioning without being fully assembled, or used by anyone else other than an ASTRA.

ASTRA Composite armor - With bulkiness not being the issue, the armor was made out of a composite improving upon the nickel-gold alloy. It is worth noting that it was designed to take the brunt of damage from the front and there the armor is heaviest, being more in line with the Warmachine suits than the more sleek and universal Ironman design branch. With the need to accept a pilot, the armor also has weak spots. Once the armor is on, ASTRA’s strength is about ten times as much as base. However, the armor’s mobility suite is far clankier, and limits ASTRA to human speed and motion range.

Personal lab - Needing space to do maintenance and store her armor, Victoria is renting a room in the basement of the campus, where she set up a pocket manufactury.

Relationships:

Tony Stark - Tori considers Tony her father despite it initially being only a cover story. In fact, she's a full fledged daddy’s girl, albeit now they don’t get to see each other often - it only makes her treasure those moments more. Vice versa, Tony initially created ASTRA with a purpose, but the prototype’s personality started growing on him, making him think over his plans for her.

Col. James Rhodes - Victoria’s cool uncle. Tony may have her heart as her father, but Rhodey is her real mentor where superheroics are concerned, being closer to her style both in the type of their armor suits and way of thinking.

Virginia Potts - Pepper was told Victoria was Tony’s biological daughter from an old fling, a revelation that shattered their already-fragile relationship. Though she tries to remain civil, Pepper keeps Victoria at a polite distance, clearly uncomfortable with her presence. For her part, Victoria makes only small effort to bridge the gap, but she does quietly admire Pepper — perhaps even crave her approval. Whether out of guilt, shame, or something deeper, Victoria has learned not to expect warmth in return.

Avengers - Tony has kept Tori away from the group as much as he could, as some of them would be able to figure her true nature out. Victoria is on the fence about the civil war thing. She understands the need and logic behind the accords, but on the other hand, she holds the biggest secret of them all.

Diana Smith - Posing as a recent transfer student, all Victoria knows about Diana is literally that she has been assigned to share Diana's thus far private dorm room.

Trivia:
- Voice actor: Tsunderena
- Theme: Ace combat Zero OST - Zero
- Avid spy movie fan and metalhead
- She sends Pepper anonymous birthday gifts every year. She never signs them.

Protectors of Tommorrow

Character index

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• Victoria A. Stark (Forsythe)
• Diana M. Smith (Nallore)

Protectors of Tommorrow

---

Protectors of Tomorrow

@Nallore, @Forsythe

---

One year after the Snap, the world remains in a delicate state of recovery. The weight of loss still lingers, and though some heroes have survived, the scars of what transpired are impossible to ignore. Humanity is rebuilding itself, but the balance between hope and despair remains fragile. Earth, once again, is in need of protectors, but perhaps not the same kind as the ones who stood before them. A new generation of heroes is rising—heroes who are still trying to find their place in a world forever changed.

---

Overivew

PoT is an alternate-timeline spinoff from the MCU, branching off after the events of Avengers: Infinity war. The game is set one year after the Snap, and follows younger heroes, whether with a legacy or fresh meat, as they try to navigate and find their place in the decimated world, doing their part to help the people of the Earth recover.

---

Index

Place to link important posts.

Avengers Academy: Junior Year 💥

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Location: Strange Academy Halls > ???
Skills:

---

She knew it was psychosomatic - well, hoped really - but as soon as their hands touched, Victoria felt a wave of discomfort crawl up her forearm, like maggots burrowing under the skin of her hand. Which was terrible, since now mr. Macleod apparently intended to lead her out by hand. She already hated this deal. She really should have just stayed put, or perhaps try her luck with finding her way out. But her stupid curiosity was going to be the end of her. Did she learn nothing from the whole Ed situation? Ten seconds before she sunk into the framework, she warned Ed against pulling a fast one. How’d that pan out?

Sucking in a breath, she complied for now, and took the hand he offered. No need to let him know just yet that she was not as blind as he believed.

Barty took a few steps forward, making sure that his blind companion was at least capable of following his pace. Once he was satisfied, he held out his free hand as if he was about to turn a knob on a door. Grasping at thin air, a black door frame appeared and sprawled out into what seemed to be nothingness. He pulled them through as he proceeded forward. Closing the door behind them before making his way through the darkness on a transparent pathway. ”Stay close. I'd hate to lose you in here.” He commented, though it was more in the way Mother Gothel spoke to Rapunzel's hair rather than Rapunzel. He didn't want to lose his favor in here. Not like he couldn't retrieve her if he cared to.

The sudden appearance of the doorway on her sensor did actually confuse Vicky somewhat, considering she right now saw the world as a sea of dots at various distances from her. Thus, she followed as Barty beckoned. Still, something felt off. As they stepped through, what Vicky saw was distinctly not a street outside. This guy was either a complete hoser or-

She stopped in her tracks as it clicked. If Barty was looking, he could see the emotions change several times from fury to relief, before setting on a small smile. Slowly raising her hands, Victoria gave him a slow clap. ”Ah. I see. Well played.” She only said that the effort of her favor had to be equal to his. Not that his effort had to be the minimum amount necessary. Barty could pad this up as much as he wanted to.

For a second the blonde thought she just sold herself to slavery, but when she thought about it… He could pad it up, sure. But the morality clause would only let him have her do things that she would have no problems doing anyway. So while it was an asinine, spiteful move, he only set her up to do bigger things she was okay with. ”I don’t think I ever felt quite this conflicted. That’s a new feeling, that does not happen too often nowadays. Thank you.” she said, actually sincere about it.

Barty felt a sudden tug as Victoria stopped still. Her hand sliding out of his as she began to clap. At first his instinct was to dash backwards, his hand going for his pocket and gripping a small figure within it. He expected a fight, as if this was some sort of ruse Victoria had concocted to get him alone and away from the school. But even in the Neverish he wasn't alone. As she spoke he focused on her words, but also her posture, emotions, every little detail he could to indicate where this was going. Centuries of persecution came up at once before finally he relaxed and settled down off haunches. She was cunning, she just realized what he'd done.

”That's sort of my specialty, Victoria. I show people new emotions they never knew they were capable of. Some even forgotten to time as humanity seemed to abandon them. But either way, you're stuck with me until I take you outside. The debt will be high but I'm sure your morality can take it.” Barty grinned. At least he wouldn't need to pretend anymore, good.

”You're not doing your effort to disassociate you from the devil any favors, by the way. Though that might be just me, considering the one witch I am somewhat acquainted with is half demon.” Victoria snorted, looking around. The place was a monochrome void, which seemed to have pathways of something barely visible running through it, and what she assumed to be spheres of… magic energy concentration? Beats me.

She stepped up by Barty’s side, a clear indication that she could navigate better in this space. ”If it incurs a price of another favor, or hell, if it’s too personal, don’t answer, but… You speak and act like you’ve seen more in life than a person of the age your appearance suggests. What’s your story?”

Barty began moving through the space alongside Victoria once more. Deciding whether or not he truly wished to divulge anything to this stranger. ”Quid pro Quo then. You answer my question and I'll answer yours. Besides it wouldn't do us to walk in silence the whole time so some conversation might not be so bad.” He replied, his tone even and collected as they made pace. ”What is with your aura?”

”Hm? What do you mean, aur-” then she looked at herself. She failed to notice it before in the swirling mess, but here where the magic seemed less saturated, she could see it. Or rather, couldn’t. Whatever magic permeated the space, it stopped and bent away from her.

”Oh. I’ve been loaned a talisman that creates an anti-magic field around me. These levels of magic are usually deadly to me otherwise. Hence, my lack of knowledge about it. I don’t feel like Marie Curieing my way through the subject. Which sucks. I wanted to start on it next year but I’m not sure I’ll be able.” she explained. ”Your turn.”

Barty fully ignored her telling him it was his turn. The answer only provided more questions than anything. ”Who gave it to you?”

”Nope.” Victoria gave Barty a cheeky smile. ”I answered your question, I am owed a question now. Spill.”

Barty rolled his eyes. He needed to find a way to answer her question without actually answering it. At least, not until he knew exactly how she'd acquired that medallion. ”Then let me answer it this way. Witches have been persecuted over the centuries by those who would call themselves hunters. I'm sure you've no doubt heard of the Salem Witch Trials, but they extended far beyond just Salem. The last time I had seen an aura like yours, it was on a hunter who carried the lineage. There are those who still believe my kind don't deserve to live. So if I am to answer about my life, any aspect of it, I must first ensure the nature of how you acquired an artifact that mimics the aura of my people's enemy.”

That seemed to be a bit of a veiled answer, but it said enough. And it hit home. ”I… understand, though I am nowhere near that badly off. You could say I’ve been muzzled by people with power over me because of what I could do, not because of something I already did. I’m sorry if worse happened to you.” taking a moment thinking on how to answer Barty’s question without explicitly dropping mr. Gray’s name, she settled on: ”It was given to me by a wizard, I don’t think he would hold ill intentions for one of his fellows, although fair is fair, I just met them and don’t really know them. As for me… So long as you do not intentionally harm people, unless it is an unfortunate price that needs to be paid to protect great many more, I have no reason to object to your existence. However irritating it may feel on occasion.” she smirked, knowing full well she just gave away her moral framework. She figured he would learn of it sooner or later due to the favor anyway.

Barty watched her closely. He'd grown accustomed to reading people, finding tells. She seemed to be honest, although clearly withholding some of the information. Smart. There were no shortages of Witches, Wizards, and Sorcerer's alike in New Orleans. Having a whole school to teach it sort of made that all happen. Any one of them could have given her the amulet, but who? Why? She stated magic was deadly to her, but what sort of creature had adverse reactions to magic like that? If they weren't currently traversing this plane, Barty would've had half a mind to open his third eye fully to see what was wrong with her, but doing so here would only give him a headache. ”So long as there are those who think themselves above the others, there will always be persecution. That is the ugly truth of humanity. They fear what they cannot control and what they do not understand. Regardless, you won't find me harming people. As stated before I am an enchanter. I befuddle the mind, make you feel things that aren't there, hear things that aren't real, I choose what is reality and project it onto another so that only they may see it. I could drive someone mad if I cared to, but harm them? Not in my wheelhouse. Leave that to the Evocers and their incessant use of flames around all top precious books.”

Barty didn't meet Victoria's gaze. His mind was off in the distance at something she had said. ”Worse has happened to me, not all of my existence has been good. I've lost my family, my sister…good witches were burned before my very eyes by the lineage of hunters that roam this earth. They take without asking, without remorse…So if what you wish is to know what it sounds like to hear a woman scream as her flesh is melted or the way hair smells as it's being charred away and floats downwind…I do not think my story is one to tell…for now.”

That checked out, she heard enough. From what she could tell, Batry wasn’t bullshitting her either. Well, this time. ”I mean, mental health is still health, but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and trust you are not going around, turning people insane for fun.”

She was quiet for the next few paces, before taking a pen and post-it block from her pocket and writing her phone number on it. ”And I am afraid you’re right about humans. While it’s not my primary mission… If you ever feel hunted, yell. I may not be skilled in handling magic, but as far as I know, it’s not magic users that do the hunting, and those I can deal with. Well. No favors owed.” she said as she handed over the note.

Barty took the note, pocketing it next to her token. He decided not to comment on the idea of turning people mad for fun. If it was a hunter of course he would. They deserved it. But there was always the risk of madness when he used his magic. One never knows exactly how they're target may react. Paranoia could settle in without his wanting to, or perhaps it could trigger an episode he didn't know they would have. That was the danger of messing with someone's mind. But if he was doing so, typically they deserved it. He flashed her a smile, not a friendly one, but one of snarky recognition. ”My dear, I always feel hunted. But I appreciate the sentiment. Also, you may want to hold on, our first stop is going to be a doozy.” Barty said as another door appeared from thin air.