With the bell rung, it summoned everyone to the dining area. Dobbs, stopped off to wash his hands and face.
“Your girlfriend tell you the deal?” he asked Marco.
Emily
Location: Camp Lava Lake Trail Skills:
Emily made a few extra notes in her notebook as she and Nancy returned to the main building. ”Perfect, Dobbs, do we have trail markers or do I need to place an order?”
“Place an order,” he said succinctly. Emily tore a page from her notebook and wrote down a few things. She left it, and the pencil on the table for anyone else to add to.
Then food was served, the places and flatware had been set out, but they’d have to serve themselves. That was easy enough, and the group was soon sitting at one of the tables. Marco’s breakfast was delicious. The quiche, a primarily veggie dish with some bacon, was delicious. There were also eggs, bacon, and toast available for everyone. As for drinks, they were much more limited. There was only water, and milk. That was until later, when Emily would crack open the bottles of homemade booze. She was not bringing that to breakfast, even if Dobbs wasn’t there.
Ben had finally gotten his Uncle Matt to drop him off at the skate park. He had been hoping he could go to Venice Beach, but Matt hadn’t wanted to go there. Another day he supposed. This skate park was near the school.
Danni had suggested that Ben could probably make friends at the skate park, but so far he hadn’t had much luck. He had gotten some time on his wheels, which was what he wanted more than anything. He had also started asking around for what the parkour scene in the area looked like. There were some options, which he was thankful for.
To Chase, there was nothing more freeing than feeling the wind against his face, the ground beneath his wheels, and the sound of them rolling against the pavement. It was one of the few pleasures Chase had nowadays, especially at night when the world was asleep and he was unable to doze off like the rest of them. His eyes were closed as he fell down the bowl, using the sounds and feeling to help him navigate when to open them next. But just as he did, he spotted a familiar looking Bug Boi off to the side, board in hand though all alone. The second Chase's board went airborne, a shadow opened up before him and he vanished, the sounds of his wheels and board appearing behind Ben as he pressed back to stop and twirl around him. ”Sup Bug Boi? I didn't know you skated.”
Ben did not know what to think of his luck. This guy was from the stands at the Contest. He hadn’t expected to meet him here. He had sort of hoped that the guy was going to go to Strange Academy or something. Of course he was transferring to Margret Carter. He frowned, realizing he had never gotten the guy's name.
”My name is Ben. You know you never told me yours.” Ben moved up in the line as it progressed forward for the next person to have their turn in the bowl.
Chase held his board behind his head, hands dangling from over the top of it as he walked backwards to keep Ben in sight. ” Oh Riiiiight. Big Ben the Bug Boi. I'm Chase by the way.” He said with a sly smirk as if his name was some sort of secret.
From out of the bowl came Marlena, riding on a board that went down, then up, and over the entire park for a brief moment. She practically flew overhead, her feet miraculously sticking to the board as if she had stuck magnets in her shoes earlier that morning. In the air, she lazily turned 360 degrees, and came falling back down. The wheels hit the surface of the bowl, and she went back the other way.
She flipped again, only forward this time, then caught the board in her hand, and landed on one knee. That was a trick she was still working on, and she’d made progress with it so far. With a satisfied smirk on her face, she walked away from the rim and into the direction of the line.
Ben ignored Chase for a moment as he watched Marlena do her trick. He was in fact impressed. He did wonder if she used powers to get it to work. But couldn’t be sure. He turned back to Chase.
”Alright,” Ben said. He wasn’t sure what else to say about it. At least now he knew what to call Chase. Other than annoying popcorn guy.
Chase let out an impressed whistle as he turned to see what had snagged Ben's attention so fiercely. He recognized the girl, she'd been at the victory party after the contest, something Bug Boi was oddly not present for. He ruffled Ben's hair before motioning for him to follow. ”That was a sweet trick, I've gotta know how she did that. C'mon I wanna talk to her.” For some reason he didn't wanna leave Bug Boi behind. He looked a bit pathetic all alone waiting for the bowl, and a skate park was no place for lonely bullshit.
”Who, me?”
Marlena flipped her board around, rolling the desk across her wrist like a stick and letting the momentum carry it up into a resting position against her shoulder. Marlena was wearing a black button-up shirt t-shirt, printed with roses all over it. Half a dozen bracelets of different varieties hung off her wrist, and a pair of sunglasses were draped around her neck, suspended by a yellow rock necklace.
Ben seriously considered staying in line for his turn. He was a few people away, but it was a short enough line that he didn’t mind losing his spot. If he had gone to Venice Beach he probably would have cared. He also wouldn’t be dealing with Chase.
Ben sighed and followed him. He nodded at the girl. His own board held sideways tucked against him, wheels in, at a slight angle. He wondered briefly if Danni would consider this making friends. Back in London his friends had all just sort of happened because they all lived in the same complex. They were the same age and all inhuman. Their friendship had been one mostly of convenience. But he still missed them. He dropped his board, wheels down and put one foot on it, rolling back and forth.
”Ain't he just a man of many words? That's Big Ben by the way. We were admiring the trick, definitely had to have a bit of power coming behind it yeah? So how'd you do it?” Chase dropped his board from his shoulders, placing the tip of the it onto his shoe with the bottom of the deck outwards to show off the designs and stickers he'd placed on it over the years.
”Give you three guesses.” Marlena held her hand up a few inches away from her board, and the whole thing began to float out in front of her. She swiped a finger left, causing it to pivot on its side like someone had spun a top.
”Name’s Marlena.” She flashed a smile at the quiet dude.
”TK.” Ben said in almost a half whisper. His powers, while he liked them, weren’t that flashy. Mostly he had ended up with increased proprioception and the ability to talk to insects. If it weren’t for the fact that the insects obeyed him his powers might have been dismissible. Telekinesis was wicked cool though. He wondered what the limitations were for Marlena.
”Nice to meet you. That is a rad power.” He did not want to explain what his powers were suddenly. He felt a little small. Not just the height difference between him and the other two. They were both about 16 centimeters taller than him.
”Sweet. That's Telekinesis right? I just got shadow powers, no idea if they have a name for that or not.” Chase held up his free hand as shadowy smoke began to dance in his palm before he snuffed it. ”It comes in handy at times. Especially for traveling, its much quicker than walking, and quieter too if I need to be stealthy.” He did of course neglect to mention his other power, but no one needed to know about it.
”That’s the one. I like pushing forward and keeping the board to my feet with it. Good practice. You do anything fun with that? As in not sneaky or walking.” She pointed at the shadowy smoke.
”I think that is just Shadow Manipulation or Shadow Teleportation,” Ben said. He was thankful that no one had asked what his powers were. It was cool that Marlena could use her TK to control her board.
Chase shrugged. He didn't pay much attention to the naming of powers really. His own were fairly new, but a major part of him now. Especially with how drastically it altered his body. ”Oh shit, aren't you also going to Peggy Carter's School for Mystical Delinquents?” He asked as he looked towards Ben. ”Bet you've got some super cool power, the quite kids always do. What is it? Super strength? Laser eyes? Wait hold on…you can morph into a massive kaiju!”
”Who’s Peggy Carter? I know there’s a Margaret Carter…”
”What?” Ben looked at Chase confused. What he was confused about was not the most apparent thing.
”Peggy, Margaret, Maggie, who gives a shit. It's just California's call to heroism. Nothing more nothing less.” Chase rolled his eyes.
”You guys are going there, too? I’m pretty new myself, just got here a few weeks ago.”
”Yeah I’m going. I don’t start till the new year. I just moved out here.” Ben’s accent indicated he was British. He did not answer Chase’s question about his super powers.
Chase crossed his arms, dropping his board to the ground and placing his foot atop it as he rolled it back and forth. ”Same. New rents are making me go, says it'll be good for me. Feels more like community service than anything, but at least it'll be cool to learn powers I guess.”
A part of him wanted to ask them how they got their powers. Were they born with it? Given them? Or were they like him? One of the many other kids taken and experimented on. His face soured for a brief second before he pushed the thought away. Deciding to himself he wouldn't want to bring the subject up, if only because it would mean they'd want to know the same of him.
”Pretty much how I got here, too.” Marlena grabbed her board out of the air and leaned on it like a cane. ”My dad sent me here, thinks it’ll be good for me. Hoping he’s right, since I’m a long way from home.”
Ben shifted, looking at Chase fully. ‘New rents.’ Implying old ones. Meaning Chase was either a foster, or adopted. Like Ben. He wasn’t sure about Marlena. She said ‘my dad,’ which probably meant her actual father, but not necessarily. Were all three of them orphans? Were all three of them in the same boat? Struggling to figure out who they were in a world where their parents didn’t exist any more. He had felt so lost and unmoored since his parents’ deaths. They had been so instantaneously removed from his life, and he was expected to just keep going. To change everything around him completely and still function like a normal human when he barely found reason to breathe.
“My uncle adopted me. He brought me here.” He nodded in agreement. He was here because someone else decided it was the best plan for him. Uncle Matt hadn’t even considered staying in London. Hadn’t considered letting Ben go to Braddock. Just moved him to the USA, to California, to LA for some other place and school and people Ben didn’t know or care about. Braddock had been the place he was going to go because his friends were going there. Now they were going to go without him. If they saw each other again, like in the contest next year, they’d be on opposite sides of the field. Ben sighed. He didn’t want to skate anymore.
“Do either of you know parkour?”
Chase looked towards Ben. Debating on if he should say what he wanted to say. It was weird, all three of them seemed to have a few things in common, skating and some parental figure said this school was ‘good for them' and dropped them off. ”Least your uncle took you in. My new rents are total strangers, they're cool though. Even if they put me here.” He wanted to ask Marlena how far was far? He knew from Ben's voice he was at least from across the pond. But Ben's question took him by surprise.
”I know you have to yell it before you do a trick or you'll fall. Aaaaand that a skate park may not be the best place to do it, but…that can change. Could try and make everyone else here vanish, or make us scarce and head somewhere else.”
”I think I’ll stay in Cali for now, maybe another time.” Marlena liked the occasional adventure, but she knew better than to run off with strange boys she just met. ”Never did much parkour, unless you count the board and wheels. Must be different, climbing building instead of sliding off them, yeah?”
“Pft. I mean kind of. It’s cool if you don’t want to right now.” Ben shrugged. “It’s the other thing I do. Other than skating.” And talking to bugs. He didn’t want to pressure Marlena. And he wasn’t sure he wanted to hang out with just Chase. With three of them the situation could be a little less intense than it was during the contest. He was warming up to Chase a little. He had no idea about Marlena yet, but she seemed chill. “I think I’ll get back in line for a turn.”
Chase raised an eyebrow towards Marlena's comment. ”I wasn't exactly planning on taking us outside of Cali. I figured just another location or maybe an In'N'Out or something.” He looked towards the line before them and back at Ben. ”Wanna skip the line Big Ben? I'm sure they'll let you if I ask.” He grinned.
”There’s gotta be something around here that’s less packed. It’s December, did everyone in town just get a board for Christmas?” Marlena joked.
Ben's uncle was sitting in his car waiting. So Ben didn't want to leave either. The incident at the store had made Matt happy in the end, but he had laid down some ground rules.
”Nah, no need to break skate park etiquette.” Ben shrugged. He just wanted wheels down. He wanted to move. “This isn't the biggest park. I think it is just busy because no one has anything else to do. At least it is near the school. It'll be easy to visit.” Ben was glad the conversation had drifted away from heavier topics. He didn't want to talk about his family or his powers. He just wanted to skate or move. Parkor was his usual way of doing that.
”Skateboards and Puppies. The only two acceptable gifts that people give each other this time of year.”
”Clearly, you’ve never been given a copy of Mortal Kombat,” Marlena sassed. ”Good to see there’s a skate scene in this city, I’ll be content. How often do you guys plan to come here, in the near future? I bet you’ll see me around a lot.”
”It’s close enough to school I’ll be here on weekends and probably quiet school days. It is close enough to home that during the break I’ll swing by as often as I can. Just to get out of the house. It is chaos right now.” Ben shook his head. ”So yeah, I’ll see you around.”
”I skate everyday, only time I don't come is when I'm told something bad gonna happen. Kinda have to listen to someone who can see the future you know? Beyond that…its how I clear my head, especially at night.”
”See the future? Got some psychic in the family?”
”If that’s the case I’ll keep that in mind. If I don’t see you here, just leave.”
”Is it really a psychic if its just a mutant power?” Chase joked. ”You're cool enough I'd shoot you a text if I knew to avoid it. Can't spend all my life here anyways, and I do skate around.” He pulled out his phone and went to toss it towards Ben before he stopped and simply just handed it to him. ”Feel free to add your number.”
”Mutants can be psychic, can’t they?” Marlena leaned over the short boy’s shoulder, pulling her phone out.
Ben held Chase’s phone. He had to think to remember his number since he got a new one when he came to the US. Then he typed it in with his name Ben Moss. He could tell Marlena was leaning over him and he glanced up, waiting for her to copy the number before passing the phone. He offered it up to Marlena if she wanted to put her number in too.
”Thanks.” His phone now had two local people in it. ”Shoot me a text to let me know who you are. Not many people have my number yet here but I don’t want to mix you up.”
Chase shrugged. ”Beats me, I'm not mutant so I don't really get all of that.” He took back his phone, quirking an eyebrow towards Ben before texting him so he knew who he was. Hey Big Ben, it's your boyfriend from the stands.
Marlena put her number in next. Then she sent a text from her phone, just a skateboard emoji to verify it actually worked and that she wrote it in properly.
”Uh...” Ben’s face was red hot. ”No. I...” He cleared his throat. ”You’re joking right?” He asks Chase.
Chase looked at Ben, a smirk on his face. ”You tell me Big Ben, do you want it to be a joke?” He handed his phone over to Marlena so she could input her number too, not once breaking eye contact with Ben.
”You guys need some privacy, or…”
She typed her number into his phone too, and just gave Ben a knowing look.
”I... I don’t know.” Ben admitted, answering both Marlena and Chase. He hadn’t really thought about it. He wasn’t even sure if he liked guys that way. He felt very hot. And crowded. He took a step away from both of them. They were so damn tall. It was a little frustrating. He needed to move.
”I don’t know.” He said with a bit more surety in his voice this time. ”I’ve known you for like five minutes. Maybe. I’m not against the possibility of that kind of relationship. But I don’t know.” He was repeating himself. He had seen the text from Marlena come in. A simple skate emoji. He’d know easily it was her now.
”I’ve never been in any sort of relationship.” Ben told them. ”I don’t really know what all is involved in that.” He felt like he was spiralling a little now and shut up.
Chase grinned as Marlena asked if they wanted some privacy. Chase may not have minded it, but he wasn't going to push the subject. He ruffled Ben's hair with one hand before wiping it back off on his pants. ”Hey no worries! We can take it slow little bug, I'll let your rent know I may take you out to a burger joint some time, see how you feel. The real wine and dine experience…minus the wine I guess. Maybe a Coke.”
Ben fixed his hair. He nodded nervously. He wasn’t sure how to proceed. He didn’t even know what to do with his hands now that he had fixed his hair.
”Nice.” Marlena was not a hypocrite, she could hardly judge the quick jump to hitting on someone just after meeting them. After all, she did have a certain waterbender’s phone number in her contact list as of a few days ago.
”Speaking of Coke, I don’t think the line’s getting any shorter.”
”Right, skating.” Ben mentally thanked Marlena a dozen times and moved back into the line. He needed the distraction from the conversation. He had been annoyed with Chase in the beginning but he had grown on him a bit. They had stuff in common.
”Don't sweat it. Future boyfriends got you covered.” Chase looked towards the line before him, feeling as the luck around him rose. ”Hey, new kid here's trying to use the bowl, y'all mind letting him go first?” At once the crowd looked towards Chase, then Ben, then decided to disperse to other ramps and grinds at the park, leaving them the only ones waiting. ”See? Just gotta ask nicely sometimes. Now go skate your little heart out.”
Ben looked up at Chase a little surprised, but smiled. ”Thanks.” He moved forward and dropped over the edge of the bowl, a proper acid drop. All the stress and freaking out that he had just gone through disappeared as his wheels hit the concrete. Ben had a regular set he liked to do, he had already done it once here before he had run into the others. But the comfort of the moves felt right, it was almost a form of meditation. Up and down the bowl he went. It wasn’t too long, not so as people would get annoyed waiting. He hit a couple of his kickflips better than normal. And he did a full 360 instead of what would normally be a 180, that had almost thrown him off but he was able to finish his set. He landed and was grinning. Feeling better with it. Of course it had been less spectacular than Marlena, but he didn’t have the powers to make the tricks she did work.
”Nice, man!” Marlena called out when he landed. She remembered struggling with kickflips once, they were always a good trick to see someone else pulling theirs off with ease.
”Kinda cute right?” Chase commented to Marlena as Ben began to skate. He watched him, focused, in his own world. It reminded him of…well himself. How he felt when he was on wheels. When Ben finished, Chase held out his hand in a fist bump. ”Sweet moves my Big Ben, I didn't know you could ride like that.”
Ben grinned and fist bumped Chase. ”Thanks. I’ve been skating for years, so I'm just new to town.” He looked over at his shoulder as the line started moving again the next person dropping in.
”How did that work? I’ve never seen a group of people lined up move aside like that before.”
”I never said what you were new to. Not my fault if they think I mean skating.” Chase flashed a smile at Ben, kicking his board up into his hand as he held them both up in a surrendering motion towards Marlena. He began to walk backwards, trying to pull on Lady Luck's might, but struggling to do so at first before he finally felt it click. ”No idea what you're talking about Mar, I simply just asked.” He dropped his board onto the ground stepping on it with his left foot as it hung off the edge of the bowl, facing away from it and towards Ben and Marlena.
Chase dropped down backwards, arms out wide as he let the momentum take him for a bit before he placed more weight onto the back, lifting the front of the board in the air as he swiveled out of fakie and into a normal ride. To those watching they'd see that Chase rode Mondo style, not typical or widely accepted, but neither was he. He ramped up the speed, flying off the side and grabbing his board as he got some air, performing an airwalk into quick kickflip before landing back down. Keeping momentum he shot back up into an Alley-Oop, landing just off where he'd wanted to and having his board snag the corner of the bowl and causing him to fall backwards. Shadows quickly enveloped him and spat him back out at Ben's feet. ”Look at that, already falling for you.” He managed to get out through winces before he laughed at his own failure.
”You do that often?” Marlena watched him teleport and eat dirt, and an amused grin was on her face. It was cool that superpowers could be used to ride in unique ways.
Ben rolled his eyes at the cheesy comment. But he offered his hand for Chase to help him back to his feet.
”With that landing I doubt it. Though, the rest was good.” He wondered if his own power could be used more for skating. He had found that it mostly was focused on combat while doing parkour but maybe he could expand it. His friends had messed around with that sort of thing but he hadn't gotten to test it out.
”Only when there's a cute boy around, so I guess there must be. Unless you mean slink in the shadows, that's a new trick and one I am very very fond of. It's helped me out more times –” Chase froze for a moment as fresh memories flooded back before he blinked them away. ” than I can count…Sorry must've hit my head harder than I thought. I'm gonna have a sit, go board if you'd like. Bowl’s all yours.”
”Going next.” Marlena dropped her board to the ground, gave it a kick and leapt onto it. Her knees bent down, pushing momentum into the board. Then, she popped the board up, and careened down the side of the bowl. She kept most of her weight low to the ground, and rose up as she neared the other end of the bowl.
When she began to ascend, Marlena let the laws of physics take the wheel. First, her momentum pushed the board towards her as she grabbed the nose. Second, she started to spin wildly. Like a tire rolling away, backflip after backflip. She pulled three before the wheels of her board hit solid ground once again, rolling away slowly.
As Marlena skated, Chase tilted his head up and looked at Ben, still standing behind him. ” Man she's so good. I haven't really been in my game lately, mind keeps wandering.” He paused, watching as invisible gears seemed to turn within Ben's mind. So…no relationships before huh?”
Ben watched Marlena, impressed again by how smooth she was in the bowl. He stood near Chase and when he spoke Ben looked down at him. ”She is good. Kind of wish I had seen her before she had powers. Just to compare. I’m sure she was still good though. That skill isn’t coming from any power.” He nodded to the question.
”None. Just my mates and I hanging out. There were some relationships in the group that went beyond just friends. But I never had anything. Not even what I’d consider a crush really.” He thought of his mates, he thought of the schoolmates. None really were interesting in that way. Danni came to mind.
”Not against a relationship. Not really. I just never found anyone I liked that way.”
”Makes sense I guess.” Chase stared forward towards the bowl, a part of him wondered what that was like, having no crushes. He'd had a few, gotten his heart broken a fair share of times and broken others as well. ”Yeah, she's got a good set, both for powers and skill. I wonder what else she can do.”
”Well, we all go to the same school now. I’m sure we’ll be seeing her around more. That competition was intense. Maybe next year we’ll see her on a team.” Ben was glad he hadn’t been in the competition. He would not have held up as well as the others. He wasn’t as good at fighting as half of them. The only thing he could have hoped to do was freak the competition out with bugs.
Chase laughed ”What? You don't want to compete in it too?” He leaned back onto his hands, staring up once more at the dark curly haired kid. In some ways he reminded him of an old friend. ”Suppose that means I'll be seeing you around more too. Maybe we'll even room together.”
”Not really. I believe there are other ways to be a hero. You don't have to fight to be one. My parents were heroes in their own way. My dad was completely human, but he saved lives.” Ben shrugged. Chatting with Danni had helped him realize this. He hadn't ever wanted to fight not really, but knowing there were other ways to be a hero felt right.
”Maybe. I won't know till the semester starts.”
”I don’t know, seemed fun though. Being able to let loose with your powers, hero or not. The money is certainly nice at least.” Chase knew Ben was adopted, recently too from the sounds of what he'd said back at the contest. He wondered how fresh that wound was, how vulnerable he would be willing to be? He didn't have any love left for his own late parents, not anymore, but it seemed Ben still did. ”What'd he do? Your dad I mean.”
”He was a pathologist,” Ben said after a moment of hesitation. Maybe if he hadn’t met Danni and already talked about this he wouldn’t have said anything. Or maybe since he knew Chase was adopted too he was willing to talk about it.
The only pathological thing about his parents was that they were liars. Chase's eyes darted away to the ground. ”A doctor? Damn, that is hero material huh?” It was clear he must've liked his father quite a bit, he wondered what that was like. ”What was it like going to school in Britain? Got funny uniforms or something?”
“He had a doctorate, but he considered himself a scientist.” Ben was wishing Marlena was done with her run. She was a buffer. But the change in subject was easier. He could talk about school.
”Yeah we had uniforms. They were pretty standard. Modern outfits. The school had a lot of normal people and a mix of students that might be something else. But the education was good. Better than what I've heard about here.”
Had Ben been holding Chase's hand, he would've felt how cold it ran the moment he mentioned his father being a scientist. A bit of panic ran in him, illogically asking himself if he was one of the ‘scientists’ he'd slaughtered. One of the many who poked and prodded and experimented on him. But it couldn't be, he was from England, too far away to be connected, yet his mind raced all the same. He realized he'd stayed quiet for too long, stayed in his own memories for too long. Chase cleared his throat. ”Yeah, the programs here can be really weird. My last school, the one I'm transferring from, has some weird ass program. They asked a lot of odd questions, made us watch videos for what felt like hours sometimes. Some sessions I barely remember. But, I bet you looked adorable in those uniforms.”
The sound of Marlena’s board cut in, as she swerved back over to them. She put one foot down on the ground and knelt down on the other. ”Are we sharing tragic backstories? I just got sent here from Brooklyn, personally. The weather's rough this time of year.”
”What was Brooklyn like? So far I’ve only been here and in New Orleans.” Ben hadn’t seen Marlena as he hadn’t gone to the after party. The different parts of the United States were so different. The place was massive. Each state almost a country on its own. Ben had seen so little of it he couldn’t be sure about any other part of it yet.
Chase scoffed at Marlena's interruption. Nothing against her, he actually found her (and Ben) nice to be around. ”What's so tragic about that? Brooklyn can't be all that bad and Cali's real nice. Skates great, Surfs great, got everything you could want. “
”Oh, Brooklyn’s nice. Wouldn’t trade it for the world. Imagine LA, but it snows more and there’s an island. It’s New York, so it’s bigger. Louder, but you get used to that.”
Chase looked towards Ben, then Marlena, then back at Ben, as a wicked idea formed within his mind. ”Maybe we can visit it sometime. No rents, no distractions, just us three and Marelna's usual spots for food, skate, and fun. Could try and go cross country, may take a bit but I think I can swing it.”
The idea of traveling cross country to go to a city Ben had never seen was a little thrilling. He had taken the tube and in general had a lot of freedom back home. His uncle was a bit stricter about things but maybe he would settle down. The US was new and different so he was willing to let some of the new restrictions stay for a while but Ben knew he would chaff under it eventually. His eyes widened at the prospect and he found he wasn't against the idea. It sounded cool and fun. And the US was so big there could be things to do as they made their way.
”That sounds wild. I'm in.” He agreed. It would have been something him and the mates would have done. Maybe a back packing trip eventually. They never wanted to be totally tethered. And there were so many new bugs to learn and meet in the US.
”Sounds fun. We’ll have to do that sometime, not soon though. My dad will lose his mind if he calls and I’m off in Narnia or suddenly back home.” Marlena did enjoy a good adventure. Her dad already had a few conniptions about the way she was out late at night. She didn’t want to give him a stroke.
Chase was dumbfounded. He hadn't exactly expected either of them to say yes. He worried if his powers could even take him that far given he'd never tried to jump states before. But he could always drive if he needed to, or hitch a ride in a train going the direction he'd wanted. There was one that took them from one coast to another. ”Sweet. Well let me know when soon is soon enough ok?” He looked towards Ben, thinking about how he may want to see some sights between locations too. National Parks maybe? Those were always cool, and it helped with orienteering a bit, not that he'd done so since the fall out.
Chase pulled out his phone, quickly typing a text over to Ben.
”If Marlena can't make it, you wanna visit some National Parks over break? My treat. ❤️”
”I would have to get permission too. My uncle is here, waiting in the car for me. But I doubt he’d let me go right now anyway.” He pulled out his phone when it buzzed and looked at the text, he hadn’t been surprised that it was from Chase considering he had just used his own phone. He felt a little bad about texting a separate conversation right in front of her. He thought about it, it was still early in the break between Christmas and the start of the school year. That was in mid January. He sent a quick response.
”Yeah, I still gotta get the green light. I'll hit you up after I chat with him.”
Marlena pulled her phone out to check the time. They were here a while, it seemed. ”I’m thinking… Maybe after things wind down at the school? Because it’s gonna be January soon, it’ll be a lot.”
Chase leaned back onto the palms of his hands, looking back up towards the sky. ”True. Guess there's a lot to do before then huh? Don't really got much time.” He ignored the buzz of his phone, Chase hadn't expected Ben to be so obvious and reply right away but here they were. While he was starting virtually a brand new life, he didn't have much to do if he was honest. Being incapable of sleep gave you an extreme amount of time to do things, he was also still within the same area of where he used to live to now so the ‘transition’ had been fairly painless.
”We’re still moving in and settling. My uncle moved too, he was in San Francisco before. But he can work from here.” They had unpacking to do.
”School starts on the 15th right?” Ben wasn’t sure what else to talk about with them but he did want to talk still. Chase obviously wanted to do something else. Ben couldn’t tell what Marlena wanted to do.
”Think so. I still need to figure out what I have to take and what I can get away with putting off.” Marlena sighed. ”Not looking forward to fighting someone, but I’m guessing that’s what they’ll make us learn.”
”Please, that's the easy part. Besides its probably fighting dummies or something. I don't think they'll condone kids fighting each other.”
”I dunno, the whole world watch some kids do that a few weeks ago,” Marlena noted. ”Should probably head back soon.”
”We literally met at a place where they summoned a god basically. They have some science stuff I’m going to take, not just fighting.” He glanced at Marlena, ”It was good to meet you and hang out. We should hang out again.” As awkward as it had been, he did like her company.
”We should. Won’t be hard to find me.” She grinned. ”Guess I’ll get moving. See you guys around, maybe?”
”See ya, Lena. I'll stick around a bit.” Chase looked over towards Ben to see what he'd do.
Ben waved, ”See ya.” He looked over to Chase. ”I’m down with sticking around a bit longer. Probably can’t be too much longer though, my uncle will want to go soon.”
Chase stood up and gave a gentle punch to Ben's bicep. ”Sweet. Wanna roll?”
”Yeah.” Ben grinned, wheels on the pavement was why he had come here after all.
Andy had gotten a financial advisor. That alone was something she had never considered a thing she would use. But she was rich. She had sat down with them and quickly laid out some ideas. One of which was what she wanted to do right now. She was determined to get her friends some good gifts this year. Andy had never done that before. She also wanted to update her wardrobe. So she had part of the award money set aside for Christmas shopping.
It felt a little weird asking Percy, who she barely knew, to get Sabine and Leah to her. In exchange though, he got to hang out with Dorian. So it seemed to be alright. Andy wanted to spend some time with both Sabine and Leah. She was closer to Leah of the pair, but the friendship there was almost always in the ring. Not that Andy had an issue with that. But she was trying to build up better friendships and deeper bonds. Asking Percy had been Leah’s suggestion. So they asked and he said yes. She now stood on the porch and waited for him to show up with Sabine and Leah.
A second later, the trio materialized out of thin air on the street in front of Andy’s house. It was by no means Percy’s smoothest landing, as he was sent stumbling forward from residual momentum. His body was used to the strain of teleporting, even if cross country was a relatively new thing for him - but he eyed his two passengers, a little worried that he might have made them ill before they could begin their shopping trip. It wasn’t that different from a sudden, jerky landing from a plane.
He straightened himself up, fixing the collar of his shirt, before he cleared his throat. “Erm. Hello, Andy. Where am I taking you three next?” He didn’t particularly mind serving as a taxi for them. He and Leah had become somewhat close during their time in Jotunheim, and it was as good an excuse as any to come see Dorian, and a chance to practice his powers. He hadn’t meant for them to land in the street - he’d aimed for the sidewalk - but given the distance they went, he considered it to be within margin of error.
Leah ate the pavement.
She fell face-first into the concrete like a bug going splat on a windshield.
”Ughhhhhhhhhhhhh.”
Sabine had, meanwhile, managed to stay upright, if somewhat woozy upon arrival. ”Give us a minute. That was….are you sure you’ve done that before Percy?” She took a few minutes to gather herself as she eyed Leah on the ground. ”We still got somewhere to be Leah, so suck it in and suck it up. We’re are we going?”
”I know… Fuck-” Leah clambered up to her feet and dusted herself off. She hated teleporting. ”I know there’s a pretty fancy mall here. I don’t really shop a lot, so I don’t know a lot about where people with a lot of money buy stuff.”
”Hey Percy.” Andy winced as Leah hit the pavement. Sabine did look a little green too. But the pair of them put themselves back together. As they did Andy said, ”Not sure yet, but just so you know, we’re going to be doing a big party for the last day of Hanukkah if you’re available.”
As for shopping options Andy would be little help in deciding on where to go. She had little experience when it came to shopping. She had both grown up poor in the foster care system and had lost seventeen years of time due to time travel. She had no idea what options there were.
After a few minutes of ensuring she was not about to unleash today’s breakfast, she considered. She was used to shopping, but both Leah and Andy were not. If they were going to do holiday shopping, they would do it correctly. ”Well, if you want your quintessential holiday shopping, you can’t beat New York City. Tons of holiday decorations and any store you can think of. Or if you are looking for a place for high-end gift giving, we could go to Rodeo Drive or the Champs-Élysées. Could also go to Michigan Avenue in Chicago or Regent Street in London. There’s tons of options.”
”Okay, let me think…” Leah did want to grab a few gifts for people other than herself. She fully intended to give them fancy rocks that fit them. But now that she had money to spend? She could do better than that. ”If Percy’s willing to make more than one trip, New York first and then Rodeo Drive? Then if there’s still time, do the other places?” All of the above, she figured.
Percy sighed slightly. He’d wanted to go spend time with Dorian without interruptions. He could make extra jumps, and at least staying on the East Coast for New York would be a little less taxing. He’d definitely need more caffeine. “Fine, I can do that. I won’t stay with you, though. You’ll have to call me when you need to be chauffeured to the next location.” He then paused for a moment. He hadn’t asked for any money for doing this - this was just a favor. “I also want coffee. Nice coffee.” He ignored Sabine’s comment about whether he was sure he’d done this before. She probably didn’t want to know that he’d only made this trip a handful of times before. He did, however, make a mental note of the Hanukkah party. That would be nice.
”You’ll get coffee so fancy that I’m not the one picking it,” Leah agreed. ”And books, because I’m nice like that.”
”I’ll help pick the coffee. I may not be as picky as Dorian, but I’m sure I can find something you’ll enjoy.” Andy was tempted to ask him what flavor profiles he liked. But decided against it, for now. ”So it sounds like we are going to New York first? I’m going to get a warmer jacket then.” Andy popped back into the house real quick and grabbed a thicker jacket, a puffy black one. She had no desire to wander around a place with actual snow on the ground without a jacket. The jacket still had her gloves in the pocket too. ”Ready.”
Sabine hadn’t been to New York in a while, but she remembered enjoying it, especially around the holidays. The decorations everywhere, the sheer number of stores within a few miles of each other. It would be perfect. They may not even need to go anywhere else.
Percy pulled out his phone, going into the maps function and pulling up views and photos of where he was taking them. He’d been to New York a few times before to visit his mame’s family, so it only took him a quick refresher. “Alright. Hold on,” he put a hand on Leah’s arm, avoiding direct skin to skin contact, and waited for the others to hold onto Leah. Once they were all making contact, he displaced them in space-time, the group of four emerging on a bustling New York street - with another bumpy but successful landing.
He wiped away a bit of sweat from his forehead, feeling for a moment the strain of moving himself and three others a few states over. “Call me when you are ready for the next place,” he requested, before he vanished.
”Thank you, Percy,” Andy said just before he disappeared. She pulled her gloves on and looked up and down the street. ”Alright, I don’t know New York City very well. Where do we want to be?” she asked Sabine.
Leah stumbled into a street lamp, and looked around. She hadn’t ever been here either. ”I’m guessing wherever has the most Christmas decorations lit up around, it right? Or the most traffic.”
Sabine merely shrugged. ”I can direct you to the wider area, but I want you both to decide where to shop. There’s literally stores for anything you can think of and there’s nothing wrong with going in to a place, looking, and walking out with nothing if there isn’t anything that catches your interest. I am open to wherever you want to go.”
”Well let’s go this way then.” Andy pointed as a large group of shoppers exited a store. ”We can start there.”
”Yeah, let’s do that. I’ll pick something after. Or try to.” Leah blinked the dizziness out of her eyes and ignored the stares of people who had never seen grey skin before. Then she took off in the direction of the store.
Sabine eyed the store. It was well decorated for the holidays with lots of lights, tinsel, and well-accentuated windows. The store itself was Bergdorf Goodman, a department store. As far as choices went, this was a good one. ”A good choice. They’ll have lots of stuff in here. Clothes, gifts, toys, you name it. They’ll probably even have a coffee place inside if you want to grab it for Percy. Lead on then.”
Andy’s shoulders relaxed a little at Sabine’s approval. She had no idea about the store at all, but with all those options it might even work as a single stop. Andy wanted to do Christmas shopping, but she didn’t want to stress about it. She led the way into the store and almost tripped over her own feet as she took the place in. It was fancy. Like fancy fancy. She was having sticker shock and hadn’t even looked at any of the price tags yet.
”Holy smokes. Uh, I suppose... Let’s look at the gift section first.” Andy looked around for signage that would indicate where they could find stuff like that.
Leah’s eyes were big as full moons for a minute. Everything was so shiny and glittery, it looked like she’d walked into some rich guy’s mansion. She was suddenly glad to not be the only person here. How did people do this?
”Yeah… Where is it, though?” That was a lot of signs. Holy shit, that was a lot of signs. Oh, there it was. Leah pointed off to the side. ”That way.”
Sabine was enjoying coming along for the ride. Seeing Andy and Leah fumble over themselves was all she needed this holiday trip (though she would, of course, be doing some shopping). ”There’s directories on every floor if you get lost. Or you can always ask someone who works here. But with it being Christmas they definitely have an area specifically for gifts for the holidays. You can tell because it will be the place in the store with the most decorations.”
Leah gave Sabine a most inscrutable look. ”Floors… As in there’s more than one? Oh, fuck me.”
Andy looked in the direction that Leah had pointed, there was a lot of extra holiday decorations there, and what looked like gift boxes. She started moving toward it. There was a lot of people. Her attention started bouncing around, keeping track of people, and the exits, she felt a little dizzy. Maybe she could blame that on the teleport from Percy. Her stomach twisted a little and she shifted from trying to pay attention to everything to focusing solely on the display.
A memory popped up, a winter day in DC, avoiding those machines that scanned people as they entered and beeped if the person was a mutant. That wasn’t here. She had hated those. It made everywhere unsafe.
Andy approached the display and looked it over. There were boxes of perfumes and bath kits and so many other boxes of mixed and matched things. It felt... impersonal. She was breathing a little fast.
”Who all are you guys buying for? I’ve got to get some Hanukkah gifts too.” She figured she should get something for everyone on the team, and all the old MU peeps she had seen, and of course her girlfriends.
”April, She Hulk, you two, Percy, pretty much everybody.” Leah squinted at some of the labels on this fancy stuff. Why would someone want to throw a bomb into a bathtub? That sounded dangerous. ”I’m gonna grab some stuff for myself too, but after.” She assumed a place as big as this was likely to have a bookstore, Percy would love that.
”I’m buying for everyone on our team, including Vicky. I’ll get something for the Kingston-Grey’s also. My father and stepmother can suck it for all I care. Apart from that, no one else really. And yes, buy for yourself too. You have treat yourself money now.”
”Yeah I want to get everyone on the team something. I was thinking something unified for that. Not sure yet. I should get something for Vicky too. Then my old MU friends, including the Kingston-Grey’s. God I know so many people suddenly.” Andy laughed, it was a nervous laugh as she was clearly either hyper focusing on something or her eyes were darting around the crowd. It was like she couldn’t decide how to deal with being in the building with so many people.
”Maybe avoid getting the same thing as someone else? Like I don’t know say I get the bath bomb for April, no one else do that? Not that I think I’d get a bath bomb for April. I barely know April I don’t know what to get her.” Andy was rambling a bit.
”April loves camping and anything pertaining to the ocean,” Leah offered. ”Board games are a good one, too.”
”There’s also no rules to any of this. If you get someone the same gift as someone else that’s not a bad thing. Bath bombs are nice but they are a single use item so if someone else got April a bath bomb, say, she’d have two, which is better. Look, I am happy to help you both along with this, but it’s shopping. No stress involved if you don’t want any. Like I said, look around, buy something if you think it will be a good gift, and if you don’t see anything we leave and go into a different store. Simple as.”
Leah nodded. ”If we get separated and can’t find each other, and the WIFI in here happens to suck, wanna meet at the front doors? I’m gonna go look for stuff.”
Andy nodded. No stress. Sure. Yep. She could do that. There was not going to be a Purifier coming into the store and trying to kill her. Did the Purifier’s even exist anymore?
”Can do. Front doors.” Andy nodded again. She closed her eyes and tried to ignore the sounds of all the people. ”If we’re splitting up I might listen to music.” Music made crowds tolerable. She liked concerts. If she just pretended this was a really weird concert, it would work.
Splitting up seemed like a good idea, but she hoped that Leah or Andy would be all right with shopping. ”All right, we split up. Meet at the front doors in, what, an hour or so? Should be enough time to look around at a few floors and so on. Plus, you know, phones. Good luck and happy shopping!” Sabine turned and made her way to the elevator. There was a floor she wanted and a gift she had in mind immediately.
”Sounds good. Also means I can get you two gifts without you knowing what I got you.” Andy smiled, it was a shaky smile. She put her ear buds into her ears and stepped around the table. She opened a note pad and wrote down everyone’s names that she could think might expect or want a gift or she thought might be giving her a gift.
Several people on the list she wasn’t certain on what to get them. She didn’t know a lot of the team well. Part of that was her fault, part of that was just that everyone had been thrown into the same team at the last minute. There was no going back now. This was their group for the rest of the time they were at AA. She smiled. She had a group of friends. She had made most of the friends by herself.
Andy started picking through all of the things that were around the store. She found a silk scarf that was various shades of pink that made her think of Sabine. She found a board game that was about different species of marine animals that made her think of April. She already had a gift for Dorian and Danny. She found a book, an updated version of Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes by Edith Hamilton; it had a lot of annotations by modern scholars. That was for Percy. And so on she went looking until an alarm she set for one hour beeped. At that point she headed back to the entrance. They could hopefully wait in line together. The music had helped with keeping calm and as she had gotten into the flow of things she had sort of lost herself in the shopping. She could see why people liked this when they weren’t in the Christmas crowd.
Leah took off and spent a great deal of time pondering her choices. She considered herself a strategist, and applied that here. She knew Sabine’s favorite color was red, that she was far better at being fashionable, and she enjoyed dancing. So she snagged a few pretty things. There was an aisle that had posters from dance performances she recalled Sabine talking her ear off about a few times. There were even a few with that Broadway girl Sabine couldn’t get enough of. For April, she found a rare edition of Twister. It was She Ra themed, and Leah knew other people understood that. Then she found herself surrounded by the clothing section. And that part haunted her.
Leah was awful at fashion. She wore Carhartt to the beach. But she definitely knew a thing or two about what did and didn’t fit Sabine. She’d seen that on the floor enough. Granted, she didn’t fuck most of her friends, so she played it safe: Ugly Christmas sweaters. One with a ghost on it that said Never Too Late for Halloween. A reindeer drinking eggnog. A joke about gingerbread houses and gingerbread men. They were corny and she actually found herself amused by them. Then came books, quite a few books. Then came pastries and snacks and other edible things Leah would not have dreamed of touching before she had this kind of money.
Sabine had made her way up to the jewelry department. She had decided she would get Leah something, but she knew Leah did not care about fashion and name brands. Sabine wanted to get her something though, something that said she thought about Leah. As she looked around the various necklaces, bracelets, and rings she saw something that caught her eye. A charm bracelet. Leah may not care much for jewelry, but she knew Leah cared about making memories, deciding for herself what she chose to memorialize and what she would forget. This way, Leah could add to it whenever she pleased. She had the salesperson grab it and opted for the silver one. She chose two charms with it: one was the French flag (a symbol of Sabine) and the other was a waterfall (a symbol for April). Despite them no longer being together, Sabine wanted to remember the good times. If anything, the relationship was formative for their future. She had the salesperson wrap it up nice. Once she was satisfied she made her way to the front doors. She had other gifts to buy, but she knew which stores she would go to to obtain them.
Andy smiled as the others rejoined her. She paused her music and pulled the ear buds out. ”I still need to check out. But otherwise I think I’m done at this store.”
”Yeah, got all I’m getting from here. ‘Bine, you weren’t kidding. They had damn near everything.” Leah had a lot of shit by the time they met back up. ”Let’s go pay for stuff then grab Percy.”
Sabine chuckled softly. ”I paid already. Department stores have registers on every floor. You guys go on ahead and pay, I’ll wait here. Also decide if we are continuing to shop in New York or want to move elsewhere. I am good either way.”
”Let's stay in New York for now?” Andy said before moving off to find a register and checking out. It did take some time because there was a line. Though because of there being so many operating it went faster than Andy would have expected.
”Sounds good.” Leah sauntered off with her pile of gifts and rang up. The total was about $1000, which was actually less than she expected out of this place. She wasn’t gone long, some people actually let her go ahead of the line because of how easily recognizable she was from the contest.
She quickly spammed a text at Percy before meeting back up with the others.
Earthbender: weres taying in nuc fkr ow so if you got something planenr wndorian gonabead
Earthbender: thankd for tp btw
”Okay…” Leah stuffed her phone away and hoisted some rather heavy-looking bags. ”Ready to look for somewhere else?”
Dear Leah,
I have the mutant power to comprehend easy language. I only need to hear or read a few words in order to speak it. This includes dead languages, as well as invented ones. In my life, I have only encountered one language that I could not comprehend: the inscription on my watch, gifted to me by Agatha Harkness.
And now, I have the good fortune to have encountered a second one.
What in the world are you trying to say?
Sincerely, P. Novikov
Once all three of them had re-gathered at the door, Andy pulled her gloves back on. She didn’t need them to protect her from touching someone on accident. She did however need them to keep her fingers from freezing off.
”Ready?” Back out into the blistering cold the three of them went. So many of these stores seemed like just clothing stores. She supposed that shopping at a clothing store was fine for herself. But since she wanted to get gifts and clothes often felt... impersonal to her, she wasn’t sure where to go next.
”I picked the last place. Someone else’s turn.”
”Go for it Leah. I know my way around here, but I am curious what store speaks to you. There’s tons to choose from.”
That legendary stonefaced look found itself on Leah’s face. How was she supposed to know where anything was?!
Normally, she might have just gone to a damn Goodwill or something. But… She didn’t want them to think she was being difficult. So she sat down on a bench and grabbed her phone once again, and started looking at stuff in the area. As she thought about it, she came to the decision that she’d want to go to another place with a lot in one area.
”Hm… Herald Square’s not far from here. Let’s do that.”
”Alright, sounds good.” Andy smiled, she didn’t know the way. She had only lived in upstate New York. ”Which way?”
It was like babysitting toddlers. ”You both have phones. You know you can get directions on there right? Thankfully, I know the way.” She started walking, allowing for them to follow. ”If there’s a store you see on the way that you want to go in, just say so. There’s tons of places to check out. Plus, we need to keep an eye out for some coffee for Percy.”
”I did just look up the directions on my phone,” Leah sassed. ”Next block over.”
Andy stuck out her tongue at both of them. ”Sure I’ll just look at my phone when I know that Leah did just look and Sabine knows the area.” She teased. Andy followed Sabine. ”The last time I spent any time in New York it was 18 years ago, and I was in Rochester.”
”Yeah, I’ve been here a few times. Family came every year during the holidays until recently.” She was used to the hustle and bustle of the city. Every major city was like this even outside of the holidays.
”I used to get dragged around the planet a lot,” Leah chimed in, walking with them. ”Never to places like this, though. Mostly places a few dozen floors off the ground or somewhere that everyone was wearing a suit that cost six digits. This is the first time I’ve been to New York in particular.”
Andy considered both of these new data pieces about her friends. She had not told people a lot about herself until more recently. She decided to open up a little.
”When I first came to New York state I was sure I’d eventually come to the city. That I’d be able to melt into the crowds and get forgotten in the hustle and bustle. But I never made it here. And soon there were these machines at the entrance to most high end stores. They were like metal detectors but they’d scan people and if you were a mutant it would go off and then law enforcement would show up. I was so afraid of getting picked up and put back in the system or ended up in a high max place.” She shivered at the thought.
”That’s pretty fucked up. No wonder you did the time travel thing with Zari.” Leah imagined she’d just beat someone over the head in that situation, but then again, she was neither a mutant nor in that situation. It was probably way worse than she imagined.
Sabine had known about this, of course. In her conversations with Max he had mentioned that sort of thing. Plus, she grew up around people who made horrible comments about mutants. The fact she had abilities of her own, somehow connected to mutants but apart from them also, made her never want to have a voice in the conversation. ”I would like to say things have gotten better, and they have to an extent, but like all bigotry, there’s still horrible people around. But today, we are with friends and celebrating a wonderful time of year.”
Andy nodded in agreement. ”I am happy here. This is a good time. I don’t think any time is perfect, but there have been some pretty great people here.” She gently bumped Sabine’s shoulder and elbowed Leah.
”Yeah, I’m glad you’re here and not whenever the fuck that was.” She grinned.
Sabine approached their destination, but left it up to Leah and Andy to determine where they wanted to go. This was their shopping trip. ”All right, we’re here. Leah, it’s still your turn so, go nuts.”
”I’m going to Macy’s, then Sears if I don’t forget. You know, maybe we should’ve bothered Max about one of those magic bags that Dorian has. He has something that just teleports things he puts in it back home.”
”Damn that would be useful for this. I was also thinking Macy’s It is another department store, like the last place we were just at. We can split up again.”
Sabine merely shrugged. If Macy’s was what they wanted, then Macy’s was what it would be. ”Fair enough, I will probably find the coffee place there and get a pick me up. The rest of my gifts are more specialized. But you two go nuts. Check out the holiday shop. It’s full of cute decorations for all the holidays.”
”I’ll go there too. After I buy two, maybe three huge tote bags to dump all these smaller bags into.”
”That’s a good idea.” Andy nodded and headed into the store. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to get here. She still hadn’t gotten gifts for Leah or Vicky. She had no idea what to get either of them really. Vicky she didn’t know super well. Leah she at least knew, but the things that came to mind for her weren’t something Andy thought she could find in a Macy’s. But there was likely to be something.
As she stated, Sabine headed for the coffee place within Macy’s, located on the ground floor. She ordered a caramel macchiato and made her way to a table. She scoured a catalog she saw on her way there in case she was wrong and could find something for the others here. As she did, she remembered spending time at various stores when her parents took her. Sitting on Santa’s lap, watching the windows, and marveling at the themes every year. Now she was in a position of finding new holiday memories to form.
Leah went straight in, a bit comfortable doing this now. First came some reusable tote bags, she got three of the biggest ones possible. Then, several of the smaller bags she was carrying went straight in. She spent ten, maybe fifteen minutes looking through clothing racks and was pleasantly surprised to find that some things were actually made for people as tall and huge as her. Normally, fashion didn’t matter to her, but these days, it wasn’t easy to wear her old stuff without something being torn. She told herself she’d make some effort to be considerate towards herself today, and that consideration was now fulfilled. As she walked out of the clothing section, she found herself surrounded by the jewelry. Someone gave her a poorly disguised look of tension, seeing someone so damn massive just strut around all the glass cases. But, thankfully, Leah wasn’t that airheaded. Her eye was caught by some of the pretty things, though. They were by no means the sort of thing she paid much mind to, but a thought occurred to her.
So she got someone’s attention and had them box up a metal chain with a pink-red hue. Rose gold, according to him. He asked Leah if she’d like it to be decorated, but she declined. She had an idea for that, and it made her a bit giddy to do it. A surprise for Christmas day. Next was Sears, where Leah got herself a pair of winter gloves, because her hands were actually really fucking cold. After the Jotunheim situation, she was taking that a bit more seriously. And, one day, she wanted to go back a bit more prepared. Leah swung by another aisle near the front and saw some coffee packs. She did say someone else would pick that, but then again, it looked like the fancy stuff.
So Leah walked over and grabbed three different packages of completely different ones. Then she checked out and turned down the street. Only to find a small music store just two spots down. Leah’s curiosity got the better of her and she went in. It was a lot of old stuff, and immediately she thought of Andy and Vicky. They had fucking CDs and cassettes. Leah got several, since she miraculously recognized a few of the labels on them. And she knew those two would as well.
A little over an hour went by before she met up with them, loaded up on stuff.
”I never want to hear anyone say money doesn’t buy happiness again.” She gave Sabine a devious, ominous grin.
Andy’s wanderings took her up and down through the stores. She found herself buying random things that she thought people might like, and even a few things for herself. Andy hadn’t had a lot to spend on herself most of her life. Since she grew up in the foster system. The closest she had ever come to being able to get whatever she wanted was while she was living on Genosha, and there money didn’t even exist. It was a nice change of pace. When the hour was almost up she headed for the cafe, knowing that that was where Sabine had gone to wait for them. She had decided what to get Leah, but that was a special order, not something Macy’s carried.
”Hey,” Andy sighed, she looked a little on the tired side. ”I think I’ve gotten everything and everyone covered now. Do you still want to keep going? Or head back to New Orleans?”
”I think it’s Sabine’s turn.”
Andy turned to Sabine and raised an eyebrow, ”Up to you then.”
Sabine wanted this moment for the two of them, not for her. She was content as she was. ”Well, I can do the rest of my shopping back in California, so if you both are done why don’t we go do something fun to end this trip? We can go ice skating in central park or go see all the lights in Time’s Square? Also, did anyone pick up something for Percy as thanks for all this?”
”Of course I did. Speaking of, here…” Leah shook one of the tote bags she had, and another one fell out, into her hand. She tossed one in Andy’s direction. Then another in Sabine’s. Way easier to carry stuff with these, she found. ”Got him a bunch of fancy ass coffee packs. I have no idea how to ice skate. Anyone willing to laugh and watch me fall on my face?”
”I got something for him, yes.” Andy placed her stuff into the extra bag from Leah. ”Thank you, Leah.” Andy smiled, she had never gone ice skating either. ”I’m down for ice skating. I’ve never done that before either so we can fall together.”
Sabine kept her mouth shut that she had been ice skating multiple times, ”All right, let’s head over there.” It wouldn’t be a long trek, but the foot traffic and cars would make the journey a little bit annoying. ”After this we can go back to New Orleans.”
”Sounds good. I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, but I cannot wait to go home, wrap stuff up and celebrate goddamn Christmas by giving people stuff.” If someone told her she’d be doing this a year ago, Leah would look at them like they had three heads.
”Heh, isn’t that a wild thing.” Her last Christmas had been... awful. This year was shaping up to be basically perfect as far as she was concerned. She had a roof, a family, and friends. She had never had all of that before. It felt so good.
”When we get back, I’m sitting next to the heater for an hour.” She was cold, and very glad that she had picked up a heavier winter coat, and had her gloves on.
Central Park was always bustling, but today it was more so. The cold kept some people away, but the skating rink had a decent amount of people there. It was also decorated to celebrate the holidays with lights all over the trees and a big Christmas tree in the middle. ”Ok, let’s rent some skates and get going. I’ll walk you through it. It’s like riding a bike!” Which, as far as she knew, neither Andy nor Leah knew how to do also.
”Oh, good, I’ll just learn that real fast,” Leah snarked, heading over to the rental place and finding some that she could wear.
Andy snorted at Leah’s comment. She was, in fact, in the same boat. She didn’t know how to ride a bike. She found a pair of skates a lot easier than Leah though. It was easy enough renting them, handing over her current shoes, and then getting those tied on. She watched the kids and adults already skating, trying to get an understanding of the movements involved in skating. Andy could tell she would definitely hurt herself at some point during this little excursion. But that was okay, it was going to be fun.
”We’d have to find a bike big enough for you. I don’t even think mountain bikes would work.”
”Probably not. I’m only six-one, not that big, but it took some getting used to.”
Sabine had entered the skate park and moved around some, gliding through. She made her way back as Leah and Andy got ready. ”Want to hold my hand through this? It’s easy! You just have to distribute your weight without going too far forward or back.”
”Fair enough,” Andy shrugged at Leah’s comment. Andy raised an eyebrow, unsure if Sabine was offering her hand for both of them or just Leah.
Leah waddled over, skates on, like a damn penguin. ”Maybe. I might be able to…”
She leaned forward and planted one of her feet on the ice, and let momentum carry her in. She floated forward and kept her arms out. And, surprisingly, didn’t eat the ground.
”There you go! You got this!” The fact Leah was upright was a Christmas miracle. ”All right Andy, offer is still there if you need a hand.”
Andy was competitive at heart. She grinned as Leah stepped onto the ice. ”If I eat it, I eat it.” She shrugged and joined Leah on the ice. Andy wobbled a little, but apparently her paying attention to the other people on the ice had paid off. She was surprisingly good at it despite having never ice skated before.
”Oooookay. I’m on ice and not on the ground…” Leah looked over at Sabine. ”Now what?”
”Now we skate!” Sabine started moving around the rink in a circle, slow enough for Andy and Leah to catch up. ”You got the hang of it, now you just need momentum.”
Andy laughed, it was a bright and clear laugh. She started to move. The simple attempts of someone who had never skated before. She was surprised at how quickly she picked it up though. Andy had always been a bit of an athlete. It hadn’t been until she had met the Drummonds that she became a trained athlete. But even as a kid she had been quick on her feet. She had mutated at eight, that probably helped a lot.
“This is delightful.” She wondered if there was another place like this in L.A., indoors obviously, that she could skate at more.
”Momentum. Okay…” She looked over at Sabine, then turned one foot perpendicular to the other. Then, she pushed forward and put all her weight on that leg. It worked, and she started gliding forth.
”Woah- Oh fuck, fuuuuck-”
She collided with a wall and nearly tumbled over. She pushed off again, and this time tried leaning to one side to steer. ”Am I doing this right?” This was fun, actually.
”Well, you aren’t supposed to run into walls typically, but yeah, you got it. Eventually you’ll be able to move more easily. Now, get ready to turn. Lean a little towards where you want to turn and make sure your feet move in that direction, putting a bit more weight on the foot closest to the turn.”
Andy started carefully trying to find balance on one foot as she moved. She was wobbly, but after a few practice attempts she was able to slide along on one foot. She listened to Sabine's directions as well, leaning into the turn of the ring. She was being passed by superior skaters and that made her want to improve even more.
“How much ice skating have you done, Sabine?”
Leah nodded and tried to do exactly as Sabine instructed. Lean forward to the left, then push her foot left… And it did work. She leaned left and went swerving left. A smile was plastered over her face. She was basically standing still, yet moving anyway. It was new, odd and pretty damn fun.
”Holy shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit.” Leah’s voice tapered off as she disappeared into the other end of the ice like a dog in a park.
Sabine laughed, shaking her head at Leah’s antics. ”Quite a bit. We came to New York a lot for the holidays growing up so I learned young. Apart from that, I’ve gone every now and then back in France. Haven’t done much since moving here.”
”If none of us break a limb and have to go visit James, want to do it more often? I’m sure we can find an indoor rink that rents out to dumb teens.” Andy giggled, watching Leah zip off.
While they were shooting the shit, Leah was just going in circles. Long, lazy circles as she worked on getting the hang of this. She was moving awfully fast, too. As if eating a chunk of ice wasn’t on her mind. She was racing around the rink like a mutant speedster that got their powers days ago.
If one listened closely, they could hear laughter.
Sabine thought she heard something, but figured it was some child enjoying the ice. ”I’d like to do it more, sure. I’m glad you both took to it. This time of year can be hard, but I’m grateful to have people to spend it with.”
Andy smiled sadly. This was her first Christmas in this time, in the future. She had lost so much and left even more behind.
“Yeah, it is a rough time of year. Thank you for spending it with me.”
The trio spent some time skating, enjoying themselves. When they were finally worn out enough, Leah messaged Percy that they were ready for pick up. They gave him coordinates and after a bit he transported them back to New Orleans. In New Orleans, they exchanged gifts for the ones that were there. Andy gave Sabine the multi-colored pink scarf and let Leah know that her gift was shipping, it was an extra durable punching bag. Sabine gave Leah the bracelet. Leah’s gift for Sabine is an amethyst that she shaped and set on the necklace she had bought, however, since her rock collection was back in L.A. she couldn’t give it to Sabine right now. Sabine let Andy know her gift would be later. Percy was given a metric ton of coffee. The group ate a meal and warmed up, before they headed back to L.A., Andy staying behind at home.
TuHo's Mega Market was Danni's favorite place to shop for food in the area. Filling up an old warehouse, TuHo barely paid enough to have the mandatory equipment in the place: at least one cooler was always broken, the restrooms were poorly maintained, there were sixteen ceiling fans and only one worked, the AC blew hot in the summer and cold in the winter, and the list went on. Thinking about it only made Danni want to look closer so Danni chose not to think because in the year he'd known TuHo's, Danni had never been disappointed in the quality. The seafood was always fresh, meat properly cut and sealed, veggies and fruit were plump and perfect, and if it was an international delicacy, TuHo's was guaranteed to stock it. Danni had his doubts when he was first introduced to it. A stray comment on a video he posted where he had only found old stale Ajwin to work with directed him to TuHo's. A little research and a lot of support from local followers and Danni had braved the certainly roach infested supermarket.
Now, Danni didn't shop anywhere else if he could avoid it.
And today was a particularly special trip. Danni's plan to showcase his awesome friends started off with Leah who, without begging Danni would like to state for the record, reached out to him about hanging out in the kitchen. He hadn't expected her to agree when he put out recording a cooking challenge video and when she added spicy to the challenge, Danni could have fallen in love. So, here he was to see if he could get his hands on some of the spiciest peppers on the scale: The Carolina Reaper, The Dragon's Breath, and The Trinidad Scorpion. Danni was practically shaking with excitement when he approached, nearly running into the automatic door before he realized it wasn't working. A shabbily written sign pointed to the regular door next to it. Danni shrugged and opened it.
As expected, the holiday music over the speakers was tinny and low. The place smelled like produce and burlap bags and grease. Danni could feel his pores clogging but it was worth it. TuHo's hadn't failed him before and it certainly wouldn't fail him now. He beelined it first for produce. It was unlikely they had them fresh since they technically required special handling, but this was TuHo's. They probably didn't care!
Matt had dragged Ben out of the house. This had included a series of requirements and promises in exchange for coming shopping with him. First Ben had to take a damn shower. Second Matt promised that once everything was put away back in the fridge and freezer at home Matt would take Ben to a skate park. Ben was itching to get out and about on his skateboard again. Matt for some reason didn’t think children should be unsupervised.
Matt, however, was busy comparing ingredients of some canned food. Ben had found that when Matt got distracted in such ways he could slip away. This store was massive and Ben wondered how the heck someone who did not grow up or live in Los Angeles had found this store. Matt and Ben were both from London. Matt had lived in the US for some years, mostly while working with S.H.I.E.L.D. To Ben’s knowledge Matt had spent most of that time in San Francisco.
They wouldn’t even be living in LA if Matt hadn’t met an ex-coworker of his while at the Contest. Ben, hands in pockets, wandered the isles trying to find anything that looked familiar. All the food in this store was so different from what he was used to. He just wanted some Jammie Dodgers and tea. American tea was unhinged. They overcomplicated it. Just heat up some damn water and put a tea bag in it. Why the heck was there ten ingredients in tea?
Ben ended up in the produce section. Even that was weird. There were some veggies and fruits he had never heard of. His home store had had plenty of variety but this place had several types of things that Ben hadn’t even been aware had different types. Like what was even a plantain? It looked like a banana.
Danni frowned at the typical assortment of pepper red and yellow and green to spare. He didn't want dried stuff, he wanted fresh stuff! He didn't want Leah to think he was lame ‘cause he got bad peppers. Danni huffed quietly to himself, continuing on and staring intently at each and every label just in case and only barely caught himself as he nearly ran into someone standing and staring at plantains. Danni went to apologize but stopped short, peering at the kid in question. He seemed familiar, but Danni couldn't quite put his finger on it. Maybe it's because he was looking at the side of his face so Danni leaned in front of the plantains and then beamed.
“‘eeeeeey! You're t'at guy I almost ran into at t'e Contest! Fancy runnin’ inta your ‘ere! It's like you're stalking me!” Danni laughed. “You live ‘round ‘ere t'en? You already know where I'm stayin’ most of t'e year. You t'inkin’ ‘bout doin’ somet'in’ wit’ t'ese? Pretty good all fried up. Not too sweet, a little better t'an a potato chip, t'ough tostones are delicious too. T'ough, if we're talkin’ chips, I prefer beet chips tbh, so pretty and delicious! ‘a you ever ‘ad t'em? They sell a good brand of t'em ‘ere so you should get t'em! My taste is fire so you'll like ‘em, I can tell!” Danni sneezed softly, a high pitched, soft sound.
“Oh gosh, and let me know if you want some cologne tips. I don't like it too much, but Dee really does so I can get ya some recs so you don't ‘ave ta wear t'at stuff. It's genuinely a terrible product, Axe, but everyone's gotta start somewhere. I'll ‘elp ya get ahead. Say, ‘ave ya seen any Carolina Peppers? Or Dragon's Breath? Or a Trinidad Scorpion? I gotta guest on my channel t'at likes t'e spice and it'd be lame if I got t'e dried stuff and not t'e fresh stuff. I know, I know safety but I ‘andle fire on a regular so I should be fine wit’ t'is yeah? I t'ink so and even if I'm not immune I'm tough. I won t'e Contest! Oh, ‘ey, did you like it? What did you t'ink? Where you t'ere just ta watch? Oh, do you watch my channel? Oh, are ya gunna come join t'e school too?”
Ben took half a step back when HotShot leaned into his personal space looking at his face. He did recognize him immediately. He tried to follow what he was saying, and asking him but between the strong accent and talking faster than Ben thought anyone had any right to talk he wasn’t totally sure what happened.
Ben had attempted to say something at least three times and finally gave up. He didn’t even know where to start with answering any of the questions that HotShot had asked him. Ben wasn’t certain what the guy’s actual name was he just remembered the lineup. And even that had been a vague memory. It was easy to place this guy though because of how he had almost collided with him in the stands.
”Yeah. That was me. I’ll be honest I don’t know what you’re talking about since you seem to be talking at two times speed. But uh...there were some peppers over there.” Ben gestures to a few bins he had passed. While near them his eyes had watered.
”Yeah, I live near here. Just moved here. I knew my Uncle moved us close to the school, but I didn’t realize it was so close you could just come here. I will be starting there next year. ” Ben shrugs not sure how to explain everything without going into more detail than anyone could actually care about.
“Yeeeees, t'at's exactly what I'm lookin’ for!!!” Danni cheered, dragging Ben over with him. He donned the gloves provided and started sifting through peppers. “Don't worry. You'll get used to it. I know, t'e accent makes it ‘ard for people ta keep up wit’ me so it's chill. And you'll love t'e Institute! Super fun. It was our dream school as kids and t'en once we got in, we knew we ‘ad ta do t'e contest toget’er. We've only ‘ad a villain try ta kill us once and even t'en, we won! And ‘onestly, club accommodations are ten outta ten would in fact, recommend. It's a blast!” Danni settled on two of each, sealed them away safely, and plopped them into his basket.
“Oh, ya know, idk your name. You know mine, obviously. Danni, ‘otShot, Cutest member of Excelsior, most photogenic, best cook, etc. Its funny runnin’ into ya again.” Danni chuckled at the joke, elbowing the other gently.
Ben allowed himself to get dragged along, though he didn’t care for the intense nature of the peppers that he was now standing near. Danni, thank god he finally knew the guy’s actual name and not just the code name. He really hadn’t remembered what it was. Ben didn’t want to come off as rude, aloof sure, but rude wasn’t really what he liked to be.
”I’m Ben Moss.” He paused and then looked at Danni really confused. ”I’m sorry did you say a villain tried to kill you already? I was supposed to go to Braddock, but because of...moving here I’m obviously not.” Ben seemed to have changed what he was going to say.
“Oh, yeah, totes. It kinda comes wit’ t'e territory, ya know? Powerful ‘eroes, powerful villains, and t'en everyone t'inks t'at just ‘cause we're kids, we're easy push overs. We got sucked into a virtual trainin’ machine, trapped ina deat’ game, and timey-whimey stuff ‘ad ta ‘appen or we would be dead! And a buncha t'e group got upsetti ‘bout it but we're all briethin’ and t'at's what counts!” Danni wrapped his arms around Ben's shoulders and steered him to the pasta isle.
“So, what's your deal, Ben. Tell me ‘bout you. Wantcha want for t'e future, whatcha see yourself becomin’, whatcha do in your free time, whatcha t'ink about angel ‘air pasta and standard spaghetti?”
Ben was confused. Why in the world was this guy who he barely knew dragging him around the store? He glanced around and didn’t see his Uncle Matt anywhere. Hopefully he still hadn’t noticed that Ben had left him alone. Ben didn’t want to admit it but he liked Danni. It wasn’t like when Chase had sort of forced himself into talking with him at the Contest. Danni was nice. Even if he did talk a mile a minute.
Ben was still processing the whole actually died part of what Danni had told him. Ben had almost died. Had gotten so close and if he hadn’t gone through terrigenesis he would have. Thinking about the future hadn’t really been something he had considered, even before that.
He shrugged. ”Honestly, before moving here I didn’t have a lot of plans. I was just going to go to Braddock with some of my mates. We were all supposed to go through terrigenesis together. But that didn’t work out. Now I live with my Uncle.”
”Free time though.” Ben smiled. ”I’m really into skateboarding, parkour and insects.” He said the last one a little nervous. ”My mates back home, we all skateboarded and did parkour together all the time. London was perfect for it. We sometimes got into trouble because we were in places we weren’t supposed to be, but we didn’t care. We just wanted to have fun. We weren’t trying to mess with anything.” Ben spoke with a bit of longing. He missed it, missed his friends.
”Uh...angel hair pasta is good for lighter sauces. If you have a heavy sauce you should use the standard one.”
“Oooh, good answer, good answer! Someone knows t'eir stuff!” Danni booped Ben on the nose. “Skateboardin’? T'at's cool! I got good balance in t'e air and on t'e ground, but add wheels inta t'e mix? Yeeeeesh, can't even rollerblade and tbh, bikin’ is also a spooky t'in’ ta me. Thankfully, parkour isn't really a t'in’ I gotta deal wit’ since airtime and all. Barely ‘ad any control at t'e beginning of t'e year and now ‘ere I am, zippin’ ‘round wit'out a care in t'e world. Except in specific airspace. Didn't realize people owned t'e sky, but ‘pparently lots o’ cities don't like it too much when ya fly around over'ead. Or military bases. Or t'eme parks, which I t'ink is wierd. Why can't I fly over and just drop in for photos wit’ a character and t'en blast back out? Disappointing. And little creepy crawlies is your jam? Back ‘ome in New Orleans, we got lost of people who like ta sell pretty beetles, butterflies, moths, and stuff all pinned up, you mean like t'at.”
Danni grabbed a thing of angel hair and a thing of spaghetti and, just for fun, some penne pasta. “Also, I realized ya said Braddock but idk what Braddock is and t'en you said a really big word, Teriogentresis or somet'in’ like t'at. Sounds spooky tbh.” Danni peered at the different rice bags. “Hmmm, big bag or small bag. Do you t'ink a giant will make a big spicy dish or a small spicy dish, Ben?”
Ben was starting to get used to the flow of how Danni talked. Not just his accent, but also how he bounced around in the conversation. He didn’t always respond in order, but that was okay. Ben realized that he might be responding in the order he thought was most important. He couldn’t be sure. Danni definitely liked food and cooking. The nose boop had been weird and Ben had almost tripped over his own feet when Danni had done that, but he hadn’t and he was proud of himself for that. He considered what order to respond to Danni in and decided he would respond in the order he cared about most.
”I don’t like dead insects.” Ben harrumphed. ”That’s just sort of cruel. I mean I suppose it can be fine if you find them dead, but if people kill them to do that it is messed up.”
”I’ve always been into entomology. But after I went through terrigenesis,” he said it slowly so that Danni could hear the word right this time. ”I could sort of control insects, which is really neat. I can talk to them now. Terrigenesis is how inhumans get their powers. I don’t have an X gene. I’m an alien sort of. I mean my grandparents and their parents were all born in London, so not like actually from another planet, but my grandparents are inhuman and my mom was. So is my uncle. I’m not a mutant. We get exposed to the mists and that causes us to change and get our powers.” He explained.
”As for Braddock Academy it is in Wales. Our team was the Knights of X.” He paused, ”Their team... They were in the contest. I never went there so not really ‘our’ team.” He had spent so long planning on going to Braddock that thinking of it not as his school was something he needed to get used to.
”Uh, giants like a lot of food right? So a big dish?” Ben didn’t like spicy food so he was glad he wasn’t going to be eating this dish made by a giant.
“Big bag, big bag, big bag…” Danni eyed his brand options, picked a familiar one, and threw that in the cart before continuing down the next aisle. “‘ow did I make anot'er friend t'at says so many big words? Its wild ‘ow I find y'all. And I don't t'ink we went against an X team. I would ‘ave def remembered an X team. And- Oh, shit, sale on spices yeeeees.” Danni shook Ben in his excitement as they neared the wall of jars, a Buy 2, Get 1 Free sign. He grabbed paprika, cumin, thyme, coriander, cumin, basil, oregano, salt, pepper, cayenne, and several more off the shelf.
“Okay spices aside, I never really t'ought ‘bout it. We don't ‘ave any bugs in our ‘ouse at ‘ome and I t'ink most places just bug spray everyt'in’ so much t'at t'e buggies just don't come ‘round. I see your point t'ough. I don't want Dee or Rillie or any of my friends ended up in a picture frame wit’ a big ol’ needle t'in'y t'rough t'em.” Danni replied thoughtfully. “And you can talk wit’ t'e bugs? Gosh, you gotta ‘ave all t'e best gossip. When you spill tea, it's gotta be scaldin’! T'ough, startin’ off wit’ t'e somet'in like t'e alien/not-alien t'in’ is difficult ta top. I just - gettin’ all gassed up is onet'in’ but t'at process sounds scary. You like, good besides your powers stuff?”
Ben took a moment to parse through what Danni had said. ”Well your team didn’t go against them because they were eliminated earlier in the bracket, they were on the other side of the bracket anyway. You basically never would have gone against them unless for some reason Young Avengers hadn’t won their bracket. The Young Avengers beat them in the second round.”
”Who are Dee and Rillie? And a lot of people spray for bugs. I get it. But bugs are super important for the environment.” Ben had gone over the rant a dozen times but he bit it back right now. ”Anyway, maybe I’ll start a business where I just ask all the bugs to leave people’s homes. Though it won’t work for spiders because they aren’t insects technically.” He shivered. ”Spiders freak me out. Can’t talk with them. Honestly, bugs are not the best conversationalists. I can get basic things out of them but they don’t like have long memories or remember stuff.” Finally Ben was at Danni’s last question and he really didn’t totally understand it.
”I don’t really understand what you’re asking. I mean I was raised here on Earth. Technically my Uncle helped with the moon stuff or something. He almost died during the M-Pox stuff fighting to stop it, but that’s how my parents met so we always tried to be positive about it. And my powers are good. I like being able to talk with bugs and have them do stuff for me. I also can use my parkour skills really well. Like I got a huge boost in doing it after I went through terrigenesis.”
Danni's eyes widen at thought of a bug removal business. “OMG, t'at's such a great idea I love it! Et'ical bug removal services. Would ya keep all t'e bugs or would ya just like, relocate t'em ‘cause t'en I feel like you'd just ‘ave keep showin’ up but I guess t'at could be a "good" way ta keepin’ doin’ you're t'in’. Feels kinda villiany ya know, so def keep t'em. Or put t'em in t'e woods. Bugs like t'e woods so t'ey can snuggle up and make little bug ‘omes.” He swung by the meat section, grabbing chicken, some beef, and a chunk of pork belly. He peered into the basket and clicked his tongue disapprovingly before heading back to produce. “I didn't know spiders aren't bugs. T'ey look like bugs and t'ey actually like bugs. T'at's kinds wierd.”
“T'ey're my siblin's! I mean, obvi we're like ‘dopted and all t'at, but ya know! Dee's been wit’ me since I could t'ink and Rillie joined up a few years later and bamp, power siblin's! Alt'ough, ya did see t'em! Dee was t'e g'osty boy i’ t'e fights! Jumped inta Cassie and t'en made t'e big glowy t'in’ wit’ Billy. Which I ‘ad ta ‘ave a long convo after t'at. T'ere was a lotta flirtin’ before t'at when t'ey poofed away and I needed like, a gallon o’ brain bleach ta get t'at outta my head. Wild stuff, tbh. Need some onions… Should I get…” Danni grabbed a few, peering at them intently. “And t'en Rillie was t'e water girl, who ‘ose down people and made t'e bubbles ta keep everyone up and rockin’. She's was datin’ Joutunn and Amenesia, Leah and Beanie, and seems like ta be gettin’ a little messy wit’ t'em. Idk exactly what's ‘appenin’ but t'ats a poly t'at needs a little less action and a little more yappin’, ya know? And t'en Andy's gettin’ in wit’ t'e YA polys and Gideon. Everyone's gettin’ inta sitches wit’ each other, it's kinda wild. What do ya t'ink, t'is onion or t'is onion?” Danni offered Ben the two he was considering.
”This onion.” Ben pointed to one of them on instinct. It was the one he recognized more.
”Oh yeah I remember them both from the Contest. Your team was really good. I didn’t think you’d beat the Hex Girls. That last fight against YA though was wild. No one expected any of that to happen. Andy was the girl who broke America’s leg right? They are dating now? That’s a choice I suppose.” He wasn’t sure how to respond to Danni’s obvious aversion to people dating each other.
”Are you just against relationships in general, or the ones your siblings are in?” Ben decided to ask.
Danni stared a little longer at the onion Ben hadn't picked before putting it back and bagging up the other. “Oh god, I know. T'e ‘ex girls were… a lot. And after dealin’ wit’ t'e whole glowy t'reesome t'in'y, I don't really know ‘ow t'ey ‘andle magic all t'e time ‘cause I touched it for like ‘alf a second and it made me feel inside out, for real. I wanted ta nap for as long as I could. And t'at was apparently like five minutes ‘cause t'en t'e show down ‘appened and we beat the YA! And ‘onestly, t'e others were complainin’, but we ‘ad five hours of interviews and photos and all t'is other stuff and I was livin’ for it. What can I say, I like attention and I look good in the spotlight so-” Danni laughed before turning Ben's question over in his head.
“I mean, I'm not??? I mean yeah, I t'ink t'at just ‘cause you get in a relationship you shouldn't abandon your friends and stuff. Dee's boi has a list of insecurities taller t'an me and Dee flirtin’ wit’ Billy, who is also taken, is not great. Percy wouldn't stab t'e shit outta someone. He's gotta real nasty axe and I like ‘aving Dee ‘round, even if ‘e did kinda throw me aside for a bit ta ya know, do t'e ‘anky panky wit’ ‘is boyfriend. T'ough, Spicy and me are bestie now so it's all chill!” Danni pushed the cart with one hand as he talked, gesticulating wildly. “And t'en Rillie ‘ooked up wit’ my ot'er friend Beanie, who t'en also got wit’ Leah t'e giant on our team, and t'ey were in a poly for a bit and bot’ of t'em again didn't ‘ave time for me anymore ‘cause t'ey were too busy canmoolin’ or whatever it is and t'en Rillie tried ta take an early left, ‘ad a grippy sock vaca, and dumped t'en and t'in's got reaaaaaaaal awkward ‘cause like, wanna be supportive of Rillie and t'eir stuff but like, Beanie is a great friend too so like t'en I was caught in t'e middle and it was a mess. And t'en Rillie made out with Beanie in the stands after Beanie punched Rillie? Idk. Sometimes I just t'ink ta myself, ya t'ose are t'e people I choose and roll wit’ it. And I've dated. T'is girl Momica when I was a freshmen, could see in t'e dark and like thermal images and stuff and really liked photography like me and was like, real energetic and bubbly and fun, but we kinda got into it a few months in an decided ta split. We still hanging out and talk about shoots tho! She's usin’ ‘er t'ermal vision ta do some wicked landscape night shots.” Danni paused at the coolers in produce, picking up heads of lettuce.
“And t'en in sophomore year, I joined ‘ome econ club ‘cause I was a little overwhelmed wit’ just class and trainin’ and I dated Javier for a few months. Guy spoke French too, so we could ‘ave whole conversations wit'out anyone else listenin’ or buttin’ in. Laid back, a little messy tbh, but real good control over ‘is power. Used electrostuff ta power his own stuff, charge ‘is phone, power ‘is scooter, so one and so fort’. When I was ‘avin’ some trouble perfectin’ my ‘otShot actually, ‘e's t'e one who suggested I try usin’ my powers ta cook instead, ‘old t'e ‘eat of t'e fire and all t'at. Still, fizzled out a bit of t'e way in l. Still friends t'ough. Can't really avoid ‘im at club, so we still chat, just we don't ‘an’ out.” Danni shrugged as he picked up lettuce, a few bags of spinach, leaks, and green onion. “So like, don't get me wron’. I like datin’. Its cute, its fun, its nice ta ‘ave someone, yadda yadda yadda. Kissin’ is fun too, ya know? But why am I gettin’ cut out ‘cause someone else wants ta go roll in t'e ‘aye, ya know?” Danni sniffled as he felt the feelings from the beginning of the year come back and he stopped, waving his hands to dry hia eyes.
“But t'in's were talked out, we're good, I still get involved, and t'at's what matters!” Danni looped Ben into a one armed hug. “‘as anyone every told you you're a great listener ‘cause you're doin’ a great job so far! Ten outta ten, would recommend Bennie Boy. Sooooooo, I spilled my guts ta you, now ya gotta spill t'em back. Any special friends you're leavin’ back ‘ome ‘cross t'e pond?” Danni teased, pinching Ben's cheek.
Ben did not know why he was relieved. He pushed that thought aside. ”No, not like that anyway.” He rubbed his cheek where Danni had pinched it. ”I have my mates. There were like six of us, we all lived in a flat complex together. All of us are inhuman too, so we all knew eventually we’d go off to Braddock. We just had to get permission to go through the mists. The change is dangerous. It can kill so officially it is only done in controlled situations.”
”I get where you’re coming from though. One of my mates, Ricky, he got a girl friend and we barely saw him for months after that. They broke up though and Ricky came back to skate with us. We told him if he got another girl friend he wasn’t allowed to do that again. He had to skate with us. We wouldn’t let him back if he left us for a girl again. Two of the guys dated each other for a while, and then had a big fight and both almost stopped hanging out with us. For a while they’d switch days who was with the group. We got annoyed with that and told them to get over themselves. They started dating again after a month. At first they tried to hide that from the rest of us but they were really bad at it. We told them that if they wanted to date that was fine, they just couldn’t break up the group. No one wants to be the person that breaks up the group.” Ben looked at the ground and scuffed his foot at the flooring. ”Guess that ended up being me. I barely got to say goodbye. Cause my grandparents took me in at first and I was living with them and they have a house. Not even in London or anything so I wasn’t anywhere near my mates. I couldn’t even visit them; it'd take an hour to get there. Then my Uncle came and they all had a big conversation about me and what to do with me. Gran said she was happy to keep me there, but she wasn’t sure how to deal with all the super power stuff. She had grown up before too many people were out and definitely was afraid after Cardiff got destroyed. Not that she lived there. But she figured if one giant purple guy was willing to destroy Cardiff she had no idea how to help or protect anyone. She said she was too old to deal with it all. So my Uncle who has been active in super power stuff for years said he’d take me, but he needed to live in the US for work.” Ben shrugged. He realized he had said a lot more than he had planned to. It had just sort of all come out once he started.
”You’re a good listener too.” He admitted quietly. He missed his friends and his flat and what he thought his life was going to be. Now he felt adrift.
Danni came to a full stop as Ben spoke and stared. “Omg, t'ats so sad!” Danni wailed, throwing himself at Ben and wrapping him up tight. “I know its not t'e same, but ya can ‘an’ out wit’ our group! All t'e people in Excelsior are real nice. Idk if anyone skates so we can't ‘elp ya wut’ t'at, but we can show ya new stuff! I can't image ‘ow awful it would be if I couldn't see Dee and Rillie and Beanie and Leah and Spicy and Vicky and Andy and everyone! I mean, Pa can just ‘port us around but in t'e event ‘e couldn't, t'at be terrible! Omg, what's your favorite food? I'll make it for you. You ‘ave ta be so ‘omesick! It's okay, we gotchu now. You're gunna love ‘an'in’ out wit’ us if it kills me!”
Ben hugged Danni back. He was a little hesitant about it. His friends weren’t the touchy feely type much, but it was nice. ”Thanks. Uh, I suppose my favorite would be bangers and mash. Are you sure your friends would be okay with it?
“Yeah, obvi! T'ey'll love ya, it'll be great!” Danni sniffled, straightening back up and plucking out a few tissues from his pocket. He offered a watery laugh. “I'mma bit of a crier, sorry. But bangers and mash are your favorite? Let's see what's goin’ onot'ere.” Danni wiped his nose and tossed the tissues in the trash, his phone in his hand at light speed and immediately reaching how to make Ben's dish.
“Okay, okay, sausage, gravy, mashed potatoes… Yeah, t'is looks easy enough. Okay, cool yeah, I can totes just come over and make t'is no problem. You got plans for dinner already? My cookin’ is probs better so like, you should just cancel. Unless its a real nice restaurant and that'll I'll understand I guess. I need stock for t'e t'in’ tomorrow anyways and t'en I need ta get more garlic and onion for t'is and t'en I need ta add sausage to the cart and let's see what else do we need…” Danni started heading back to the onions as he scrolled through the recipe.
”I think my uncle is making dinner. He is really getting into the single dad thing with me.” Ben rubs the back of his head. ”I can talk to him though and see if there is a day he is alright with that. He’ll probably be happy I made a friend. He’s been going on about how I need to make new friends. He said it is a skill. I don’t think I have that skill, but you do.”
“Oh. Okay, we'll reschehule, I guess.” Danni pouted. He still.kept the ingredients so at least he could do a test on Bangers and Mash. He'd never tried to make it before so it would be a fun experiment. “Let me know if t'ere's anyt'in’ different ya like ‘bout it from like a normal recipe so I can add it in. Keep me updated on when ya wanna do it; wanna put your number in my phone?” Danni offered his phone for Ben to take.
“Eh, I guess it's a skill. Just gotta wanna make friends and t'en you will, super easy! And now t'at you got me, you're gunna get a whole lot more so your Uncle is gunna be cryin’ wit’ joy!” Danni laughed, circling once more to get potatoes. “And you're an easy guy ta talk to! Don't know why ya don't make many friends. Skate parks always seemed like one of t'ose place you make lots of friends like, automatically. T'at's ‘ow t’ey always show t'em in TV and movies. You don't just get inta a skatebattle and t'en t'e bonds of brot'er'ood and friendship just ‘appen?”
Ben took Danni’s phone and put in his contact information. ”I’ll also give you my snikt!.” Ben said, adding that to the contact page. ”I post mostly vids of skateboarding or parkour, and otherwise it is pictures of cool bugs I find.” He hands Danni his phone back.
”Yeah, I was sort of hoping to find some people that were into skating too when I went later. But my friends were the best cause we were all inhumans too. It was perfect.” He shrugs. ”I’m sure I’ll meet some people still. But I promise I’ll hang out with you even if I make other friends.” Danni had expressed how upset he was about being left out of his friendships and Ben didn’t want to start a new friendship by hurting him.
“Aw, see a little sweetheart right ‘ere.” Danni giggled, pinching his other cheek. Danni immediately took his phone back and started scrolling t'rough Ben's Snikt!. He saw exactly what Ben suggested, skating tricks and parkour. “Dan’, t'is is super cool! You're gunna do great in phys practice and combat sims. T'at parkour- omg, ‘ow did ya not die t'ere, t'at's crazy! Damn, you really know you're stuff, ‘u’? So cool! You should check out mine too! It's not as cool as flippin’ off stuff and ‘oppin’ rails, but my cookin’ is pretty good and I got flyin’ stuff on t'ere!” Danni sent a follow request to Ben on the site and pocketed his phone.
“Okay, well plans on ‘old for now so what ot'er random stuff should I get for t'is video? Got a decent chunk o’ t'e basics, but I kinda wanna get some real funny stuff for Leah ta see if I can shock t'em. What ya t'ink I should add? It's a spice challenge once we vit’ make our dishes, btw. I'll give your account a shout out if ya want one too!”
Ben opened his snikt! and accepted Danni’s follow, he followed back and then blinked at the follower number on Danni’s account. Ben had only a little over two-hundred. All of his followers were friends and other skaters or parkour people he had met or were following people he knew. The number of people who followed Danni was wild.
”I don’t know spicy foods very well to be honest. I don’t really eat it. So I'm not sure what to suggest there. Sorry. And um...you can I suppose. I don’t want you to feel like you have to or anything.”
“It's lit no big deal. Takes less t'an two seconds! So, we need some wierd and random stuff… Not t'at its for t'e actual dish, but as like… an option? Like, ha ‘here's whatcha can use in your dish and see if t'ey can get creative wit’ it, ya know? I wonder if t'ey ‘ave Duran. I ‘aven't used it ‘cause it stinks but its super vers t'e internet says, ya know? Like, some people make ice cream outta it and t'at throws me for a loop. Ooooo, t'at reminds me ta get ginger and ‘eavy cream. Idk if she'll wanna make an Indian dish and t'ey always want a really good cream sauce in t'em.” Danni muttered to himself before setting off. “Oooh, you know what. I def wanna get tamarind and anchovies now t'at I t'ink about it.”
“Hm… bugs. You ‘ave any funny prank stories? Dee loves possessin’ objects and stuff to spooky people. T'ough its also real useful when he slides inta me and I just get ta enjoy t'e ride when I'm a little overwhelmed.”
Ben’s jaw dropped at the phrasing that Danni used. He coughed and recovered. ”Uh, not really. I only started being able to control bugs a few months ago, and it was... after I moved. Well just before I moved in with my grandparents for a bit. So I didn’t really get to mess with my friends with it.”
“You need some water? I can get ya some!” Danni offered when he heard Ben cough, as he inspected the prickly Duran fruit. “What a missed opportunity. You'll ‘ave ta prank some people when you get ta t'e Institute! There are some many little ‘idin’ places; t'ough, don't send them after me. I am a reflexive fire starter and I don't wanna burn your bug friends. Oh…” Danni paused.
“Do you t'ink bugs are afraid of dragons? I don't t'ink I've ever seen Amélie eat a bug, but I don't really know. Can you ‘ear a bug die if it guts munched up? Should I carry around ear plugs for you?”
”Uh, no I’m fine. I don’t need any water. Thanks though. You just... uh... that was some odd phrasing is all. And noted don’t prank you with bugs.” Ben paused, ”Wait dragon?” The rest of the questions that Danni had asked got lost behind the DRAGON.
“Oh, yeah! Amelié! She's on all my socials! Isn't she adorable? T'e best baby in t'e world.” Danni, never on to miss an opportunity to gush about her, suddenly had his phone out and was pulling up a folder with almost 3,000 pictures in it. “Okay, okay, okay. I'll show you my favorites. T'is is ‘er first time seein’ snow. She really liked t'e idea of snow and t'eeeeen she touched it and I ‘ave never seen a dragon move t'at fast or ‘ave claws t'at cold. She was under my sweater in a ‘eartbeat. And t'is one is us, snuggled up in bed. She likes ta sleep on my chest, under the blankets, and even t'en sometimes she still grumbles if I don't give ‘er a little fire for a bit, just ta make it extra cozy. Man, t'e the first week she slept in my bed t'ough, she tore clothes left and right. I stopped wearin’ a sleep shirt ta bed for a bit ‘cause Pa wasn't always around ta fix ‘em.”
Danni swapped to another one and a giggled. “‘er first time chasin’ a butterfly. Funniest t'in’ ever. Barely ‘atched and she was stumblin’ all t'rough t'e fields tryin’ ta get t'is t'in’. Was right after I ‘ad a good convo wit’ Andy ‘bout judgin’ ‘er clothes since she's somwt'in’ outta time. She was friends wit’ t'e rents and now she's ‘ere, lookin’ still like a kid and is still a kid. I dunno, t'e timey stuff is confusin’ and it make my ‘ead ‘urt so I don't t'ink ‘bout it!”
Ben was a bit confused, but it seemed like Danni was so he just listened. He’d ask the others for clarification later. For now he enjoyed the pictures of Amelié. She was in fact an adorable dragon.
”Okay, that is wicked cool. How did you get a pet dragon?” Ben accepted the possibility of dragons existing. Why not? Aliens did. Who knew what other things that were supposed to be stories weren’t. He sure didn’t. So he went with the flow.
“Oh, okay, okay, so we ‘ad t'is Professor named Aggie, like Aggie ‘arkness, and she was transferrin’ ta Strange Academy ‘cause magic prof teachin’ at t'e magic school makes a lot sense, riiight? So Aggie was all like ”You're all so cool and t'e best students in t'e world and Imma reaaaaally miss ya, so I'mma give you some stuff. So she sent up a tent and did a whole readin’ for you and she said I was gunna be a knight who charged ahead wit'out t'inkin’ and… ‘u’, yeah t'at sticks tbh. Anyways, t'en she went on ‘bout omega mutant fire burn always and forever and its super important you get a hold of it and I was like duh, t'at's why I am school right? And t'en she said t'at t'ere was someone equal but opposite and t'ey could ‘elp me and idk what t'at meant so I kept talkin’ and t'en Aggie was like You're t'e best so ‘ave a dragon egg.” Danni explained, struggling to remember everything in order. Honestly, he was proud of how much he did remember! “And t'en I ‘ad t'e egg for a ‘ot minute. I kept it nice and warm and safe and I tried ta do research, but t'e Academy ‘ad like (1) one raggity old book t'at just said go ta a different dimension ta learn more and I was like, I ain't got time for t'at. Like, who ‘as time for a casual cross dimensional jaunt just ta read books? I was busy trainin’ for t'e contest! But t'e I got real upsetti at Dee ‘cause he casually dropped on me and Rillie t'at ‘im and Percy rolled in t'e ‘ay and I maaaaaaay ‘ave set t'e dorm and myself on fire, but I ‘ad t'e egg in my bag and ‘cause it got so ‘ot, Amelié decided ta come out and boom, dragon daddy!”
”That is wicked cool.” Ben was a bit jealous. He wasn’t sure if he even got a pet dragon what he would do with it. His uncle would likely not let him keep it. Not that Matt was against pets, but a pet dragon seemed like a lot. ”How do you care for it?”
“Oh! Really easy tbh ya just gotta watch out for t'e teet’ and t'e claws and t'e real ‘ot but not actual fire breat’! So, Amélie likes t'e real savory stuff. Like, just straight, heh, meat ya know? But she likes it wit’ a little charcoal so I'll blast it a little bit too. T'en, we ‘ave ta give ‘er a bat’ like every few days ‘cause she likes ta roll in gross stuff like dirt and mud and roadkill but she doesn't sweat, she just-” Danni let out a little puff of fire from his mouth and blew it away. “Ya know? Super cool, alt'ough she ‘ated t'e cold so you always gotta ‘ave somet'in’ warm for ‘er. T'ankfully, can't get much ‘otter t'an me so she normally just cuddles up wit’ me and if it gets too cold, I just breathe a little fire over ‘er! T'e playtime is a big one. She's got soooo much energy, it's great!!! And she's tryin’ ta get ‘er little wings ta work, bless ‘er ‘eart, so she's constantly hoppin’ off stuff ta get ‘er t'at bit o’ air. Def my favorite wittle menace! Ah! I guess, t'e answer you are lookin’ for young palawan is t'at you take care of a dragon a lot like a vicious, lovin’ puppy! Feed t'em, play wit’ t'em, keep t'em from teet'in’ on t'e furniture, ya know t'e whole nine yards! You wanna meet ‘er when we ‘ang out on campus? She stays wit’ me!”
”I’d love to. Sounds like she’d be way too much for me to handle. I can’t use fire magic at all. That’s alright, I’ve got basically all the insects in the world as my friends.” Ben smiled. He was impressed at Danni being able to handle such a creature. Ben was actually starting to look forward to the new school. He would miss his friends no matter what, but at least now he had something to look forward to.
Danni picked up a duran fruit and turned it back and forth, but snapped back up to look at Ben. “‘ey, ‘ey, ‘ey, Mister. You gotta ‘ave some confidence in yourself; ot'erwise, you're just settin’ yourself up ta fail off t'e bat! I believe in ya. If you can ‘andle t'e bugs t'en ya can ‘andle a dragon! ‘owever, I would stay far, far away from magic. Lemme tell ya, waaaaaay too much. T'at was wild.” Danni advised Ben on before returning to staring at the Duran fruit. “‘ow do you tell if one of t'ese are good? I ‘ave never tried ta deal wit’ one, ya know. Like, its so spikey and fleshy. Idk if t'at means its good or bad. I could always just risk t'e biscuit. But I kinda want my biscuit wit’ jam, not duran. Eh, lets not stress I guess! No stressy wit’ my spagetti!” Danni plopped it into his cart before continuing on.
“Okay, so you're goin’ ta be a ‘ero school so why ya wanna be a ‘ero, my Benny boi?”
Ben stared at the Durian. He knew what the fruit was. He had never seen one in person. But he could smell why it was notorious. Not even cut, it smelled intense. He frowned when Danni asked him why he wanted to be a hero. Ben didn’t really have a straight forward answer. Braddock was just always where he was going to go. Once he and the others went through the mists they’d all go to Braddock together. Now he was alone here in California.
He thought about it. Ben had always looked up to his uncle. He remembered holidays hearing stories about things Matt had done. But it was what his parents had done that had been more important. Their work on the cure for M-Pox had saved lives. It had taken a lot of work and they weren’t the only ones who had worked on it.
”My parents were scientists.” He said quietly. ”Not heroes. Not like my uncle. I’m never going to be the type of scientist they were. I’m never going to be the type of hero my uncle is. If anything I’ll just work with bugs. It was all I was really interested in doing even before I got powers. I figured no matter what my powers I’d study insects still. I got kind of lucky, I guess, that my powers matched that part of me. But my mom and dad, they were pathologists. They didn’t fight anyone. Dad was human. He was never a super hero, not at all. Not like you’d imagine a super hero to be like. He worked in a lab. But he saved lives. Sure he was just one of hundreds working on cures for all sorts of things. He helped though. I just want to help. I don’t care about being recognized or anything. I just want to know that the things I do make the world a little bit better.”
“Pat'oltists? What are t'ose? Seems fancy. Did t'ey travel a lot? Did t'ey leave you at ‘ome a lot? Oh, but t'ey made cures! T'at's so cool t'ough ‘cause like sure I could totes like, burn up a tree t'at fell over on t'e road, but someone is sick? I can't really do anyt'in’ ‘bout it. Not like I can go inta someone and just burn out t'e sickness. T'en I'd burn t'e person and t'at would not be great.” Danni threw his arm around Ben's shoulders again and bonked his head against his. “Sorry your ‘rents are gone t'ough. I can't imagine losin’ mine, t'ough technically I'm adopted so I guess I already did, but I was less t'at a year so like idr t'em at all and I'm ‘appy wit’ Pops and Papa and Pa and Appa so like I'm all chill wit’ t'at ya know? But if you're ever real sad, I'm your friend now so give me a ring or just come on over and I'm happy ta make ya laugh or cry wit’ ya. I'm real good at cryin’. And t'en once ya meet everyone else, it'll be just like t'at too! We'll all be t'ere ta ‘elp!”
Ben leaned into the hug. He hadn’t really talked about his parents. Not since they died. His uncle had tried to get him to talk. But it was weird because Matt missed his sister, it wasn’t the same as losing your parents. Ben was a little surprised to learn that Danni was also adopted. Interesting, but how different was it when you had been your whole life.
”Guess we have that in common then. Both being adopted. I will, call, if I’m sad.” Ben promised. Maybe Matt would get off his case about making friends now for sure.
The PA system crackled to life. “THIS IS A CODE ADAM. ATTENTION ALL STAFF THIS IS A CODE ADAM. THE CHILD IS A 14 YEAR OLD MALE, HE IS 5’4”, HIS NAME IS BEN MOSS. THIS IS NOT A DRILL, THIS IS A CODE ADAM.”
Ben face palmed. ”Bloody hell he didn’t even text me. Just went straight for, obviously he has been kidnapped. I gotta go find him. I’ll text you later.”
“Do you want me ta come? Explain t'at I accidently snatched ya up?” Danni offered.
Ben paused mid-step, ”Actually, he might go for that. Come on. I’ll introduce you.”
Location: Two Sisters Skills: Enhanced Reflexes (Passive)
School would be going on break soon. Andy had plans to go to Magneto’s...her home. She had plans to go home. She’d hitch a ‘ride’ with Dorian and Danni. It was very convenient that they lived next door to her. Andy was determined to spend some time with them over the break. She had a lot of plans.
Andy had made an appointment with Dr. Whitehall as soon as she could. There was a lot she wanted to talk about. It was nice that the feeling of ‘you can’t talk about this’ was completely gone. Meeting Max, the others and more importantly Magneto had made it feel less like she had to hide who she was. When Andy thought about it she had been hiding who she really was basically her whole life.
Now that Selene was in Max’s hands and not Andy’s responsibility anymore she felt it was safer to talk about. Divulging that your mother was personally responsible for genocide was not something she had wanted to get into before learning that Max, James, and Casper had brought back almost everyone that had been lost. That was a relief. It also was now completely public knowledge that she had been on Genosha and fought for it. She had revealed that during the Contest.
Andy knocked on Dr. Whitehall’s door and waited for permission to enter. She was a couple of minutes early for their meeting so she didn’t expect to be let in immediately. It was possible Dr. Whitehall was with another student. Andy hoped not. It could be awkward if she was.
Dr. Whitehall had watched the contest. She promised she would and she was always one to keep her promises. She didn’t make them lightly as that could break the bond held between therapist and client. So she watched Excelsior wipe the floor with the Hex Girls and watched, in mild concern and horror, during the Young Avengers fight with the Entity. She could only imagine how some of them were feeling. She didn’t expect to hear from any of them, it was always their choice and she made it clear the first time, while mandatory, did not mean they had to continue.
So when she received word from Andy about wanting a session, she felt a touch of pride, especially in her. Admitting you need help, wanting to talk about tough subjects, it was brave. She was preparing for said session when she heard the knock. Andy was early. ”Come in!” Dr. Whitehall stood up in preparation for Andy, allowing the girl to sit where she wanted. The office was different than last time. This time it was what Dr. Whitehall’s office normally looked like. Warm colors spread throughout, two comfortable armchairs and a sofa, a small coffee table with some magazines, fidget spinners, coloring supplies, and books. A large bookcase that held heavy subjects in psychology, psychiatry, and sociology as well as some fiction books, some self-help novels, and a few children’s books about gender identity, bullying, and other various subjects.
”Nice to see you again Andy. Please, take a seat anywhere.”
”Hi Dr. Whitehall.” Andy greeted and sat down in one of the armchairs. She had looked over the room as she sat, picking up one of the quieter fidget toys. She liked having the things to play with but didn’t like the noise some of them made.
”It is crazy a lot has happened since the last time I talked to you. No joke. I need to do some explaining before I can even get into what I finally feel like I can talk about.” Andy was smiling. Maybe it was the joy of winning the contest or something else, but she looked relieved. Like a huge weight had been taken off of her shoulders. She still had the nervous energy about her, and worry and fear were bubbling in the back of her mind, but it wasn’t like before. Before it seemed like she was waiting for a grenade to go off.
Dr. Whitehall sat in the other armchair, one leg over the other. ”Yes, a lot has happened. Congratulations on your win. You all should be very proud of yourselves. You seem to be in great spirits which is wonderful to see. So, please, the floor is yours.”
”Thank you! I am very proud, of everyone on the team. Alright, first some context. So, as I mentioned the first time I came that I had time traveled here from 2021. That was from just after the fall of Genosha. My mother is Selene. She’s the one who tried to basically destroy the world. We stopped her. Then I came here with Zari. Well when we left we didn’t say anything to anyone. We just had to go. Right then or never. So I joined her. Probably not the best choice, but I am happy I came. I don’t know what would have happened if I hadn’t come and I don’t really want to think about it. Not important. But I had my mom trapped in some sort of magical rubix cube thing. But she changed into this doll. She could sort of interact with the world. I was always afraid she’d get out somehow. Anyway, at first I was hiding all of that. I wasn’t telling anyone. But after I talked with you I did tell Dorian. His parents are friends of mine from Genosha, and before. So we go to the contest right, but we’re staying at Dorian and Danni’s place in New Orleans. So both of their parents, are old friends of mine, and it is the first time I’ve seen them since the fall of Genosha. Turns out they thought I was dead. No one had really believed that Zari was from the future. Well Max, he’s a big shot wizard guy now, was able to trap my mom so I don’t have to worry about her right now. Oh, she’ll definitely come back and be an issue in the future, but right now, I am not worried some powerful wizard is going to show up and sacrifice people to her to free her. Or something equally unhinged.” Andy paused and took a few deep breaths. During her little speech she had been playing with the fidget or kicking her feet.
Dr. Whitehall listened carefully. This was clearly important for Andy to unload and, from the sounds of it, a lot of pressure and stress had been on her shoulders for a while. Once it appeared she settled, Dr. Whitehall spoke up. ”That is a lot to process for myself so I can only imagine how you are feeling about it. I know we talked a bit about you time traveling and coming here with Zari, but it is nice to get further context. I am happy to hear some pressure has been taken off of you. Maybe you can share a little insight for me. How does it feel to have that pressure from your mother taken off your shoulders, albeit for some time?”
”It is like I was Atlas and suddenly that weight is all gone. I was so afraid. All the time. I couldn’t do or think about anything but the possibility of her getting free. When the thing with Arcade happened. We died. I mean that. We all died. I only came back because Ardere touched me. I was an energy vampire and I ate her soul to save my life. I don’t feel bad for it. Not really. But good news! Turns out that was a curse mom put on me and Max took me to this voodoo guy in New Orleans and he removed the curse. I am no longer an energy vampire. I cannot eat souls anymore. I was so afraid of becoming like mom because of that. That’d I’d be willing to do that to people, not just accidentally, or anything, but want to do that. Because I came back though, Zari and I were able to go back in time and save everyone. So I don’t regret it, not really. I’m sorry she died, but I didn’t have control over that. And I saved everyone else. The point though is if I hadn’t come back. If I had died. Who would have protected Selene? I don’t mean she needs protection. The world needs protection from her. We have to keep her contained. But this was before Max and them knew I was alive. They wouldn’t have known. It was stupid of me to leave without saying anything, but I didn’t have a lot of a choice. I should have reached out as soon as I was here though. I feel like yeah I’m still scared that Selene can come back at any moment. But with MU we stopped her once we can do it again. Alone...I can’t. Just like the contest. I couldn’t have won that fight if I had been the only one to stay. Without April and Dorian we wouldn’t have won. I can’t do things alone. I was trying to do that.” Andy admitted. She hoped that answered the question. She hadn’t even finished telling Dr. Whitehall everything yet. She wanted to tell her how she had reunited with Magneto, but she was already bouncing around a lot in her explanation.
”Admitting we need help can be a heavy burden, especially when you have had to shoulder a lot of things by yourself. And it is never a bad thing to admit it later in life. I am happy to hear you have such strong supports behind you. It sounds like you’ve processed a lot of this already, but having this space to have it settle is important. Please, continue. I get the sense there’s more you want to say, but feel free to take a moment if you need it. I can also get some tea or coffee if you want.”
Andy nodded, ”There is more. So I reunited with Danni and Dorian’s parents, which was a big thing. I missed them a lot. But it turns out that their neighbor is my adoptive father.”
“While on Genosha, before I knew that Selene was mother, Magento adopted me. I was in a bad place at the time and just going with the flow. The Drummonds had...” Andy paused and took a deep breath. ”Actually let me start there. My last Christmas was 2020, just before M-Pox. I was living with the Drummonds. They had taken me in two years prior and they were planning on legally adopting me. It was a bit of a battle because legally...I was a runaway. They were really struggling to get it to work, but that Christmas they finally had the paperwork approved. We were going to finalize it.” Andy’s hands were shaking.
”Some Purifiers broke into their Gym. They burned the gym down. With the Drummonds inside. I got out. I fought them and ran. After that I met up with the MU. Everything just was in so much chaos. I didn’t have any breathing room. I was just going from one insane thing to another. But here, with the MU, I was somewhere safe. Somewhere that wanted to protect me. I had seen Magneto fight for his daughter, Polaris. He had tore the building we were in down around us to get to her. No one had done that for me. Not ever. The Drummonds probably would have.” She paused again looking up at the ceiling.
”I haven’t told anyone, not a single person. Not even Zari. About what happened to the Drummonds. But there I was on Genosha. Finally feeling a little bit of security and Magneto offered to take me in. Offered to be my family. He swore to protect me.” Her eyes watered and tears fell.
”This was before anything had even happened on Genosha. Before we ever had to defend it. Before I knew who I was. He didn’t care. He saw some scared kids and took them in. Later, during the fight with Selene.” She smiled at the memory. ”He yelled at her to unhand his child. He defended me. He protected me. I felt so bad for leaving and not saying anything. I was so afraid I’d find out that he had died. He was old back then. But he is alive. He is healthy. He lives next door to Dorian and Danni. I saw him. We talked. I’ll be going home to him.” She started crying again. This time instead of the intense grief that she had over the Drummonds it was relief and happiness that she cried with.
Dr. Whitehall reached over to move a tissue box closer to Andy, if she needed it. Dr. Whitehall knew of Magneto, knew the polarizing views on him and mutant-kind. Despite the progress made, there was still hatred. ”I am so sorry to hear what happened to your family, Andy. Given how young you were and going through that, no child should ever, but the world is unkind, especially to mutants and the like. But you powered through it and found a home. And found family. To have someone willing to stand not just by you, but for you, can be so rewarding, especially after so many hardships. And in all that time you were never able to just be a kid. So I hope with your mother being safely squared away for the time being and you being reconnected with your adoptive father you can make time to enjoy yourself and let yourself breathe. You deserve that.”
Andy took some of the offered tissues and dabbed at her eyes, trying not to mess up her make up. She nodded at what Dr. Whitehall was saying. She hadn’t been able to feel normal since she was eight when she found out she was a mutant. She had lived in fear for so long. Andy wasn’t even certain she knew what it meant to be a kid.
”I remember when he showed up for Polaris I was jealous. I wanted that. I wanted someone who cared that much about me. The Drummonds tried. They really did. And in a world where they survived and I never left Rochester I would have been happy. God it would have been a good life. A quiet life. I’m sure there is some universe where it happened. I am okay not being in that universe though. Because I’ve worked for this one.” She then bit her lip.
”There is one more thing I think I should tell you. I never talked to Zari about anything. She left before I could. I shouldn’t be surprised. She left Genosha without saying goodbye. So I figure she sort of broke up with me. Now...well I’m trying out some things. I won’t say anything is serious, but it is nice to try things.”
”Sometimes we have people in our life for brief periods and that doesn’t make it any less valuable. And being open to trying new things is great. And it is within your power to define what that looks like with others. Boundaries are still important and communication is key, but I don’t have to tell you that, I’m sure.”
Andy smiled. She had had a bit of a roller coaster of emotions during this session, but she seemed settled now. Like telling someone everything had made it something she was past and done with. There were still bits of doubt, worry, fear, and guilt, but in general Andy was happy. Originally Andy had had a ‘kicked puppy’ look about her. Maybe it was finding her family and friends, maybe it was winning the contest, who knew what actually had made it happen, but she wore the confidence of the ring outside of it now. She was comfortable with who she was. Something she had never been before.
”Thank you Dr. Whitehall. I will keep that in mind. I don’t think I could have quite figured it all out without your help. I didn’t have anyone that I felt would listen to me. I do feel like I have those people now. Between the Kingston-Gray household and having my dad back in my life. I know that I have people who would stand by me through literally the end of the world. But I don’t know if I would have gotten this far without your help. I don’t think I would have told Dorian that his parents were my old friends. That was a delight.”
”I am glad I could be of help, but this was also very much your achievement too. Being able to ask for help and then use the help can be difficult and you made those choices. And now you get to enjoy your time with your friends and family. The door to healing never closes fully, either.”
Andy nodded. ”Yeah, but I figure I should still say thank you to the people who helped me get here.” She stood up. ”I’ll come back. I know I sort of just went over a lot of context today, but it was important. You had to know certain things to understand. I probably should have told you some of it the first time. But I wasn’t ready. I’ve also been talking with my dad. He’s helping a lot. I’m thankful I found my family again. We may have only been a family for a short time, but that is okay. Blood isn’t what makes family.” She smiled and left.
Lunch was not ready. Anyone who wandered into the dining area would be informed by the staff that it would be ready at three. That the lunch would be light and informal, as dinner would be more formal. If anyone asked what was for lunch, they’d be informed that it was Salade Nicoise, Jambon-beurre, and some pastries for dessert. There would be tea, coffee, and juices available as well.
Ralph
Location: Château de La Lune Skills: N/A
”A change of clothes and some food sounds great,” Ralph agreed. He was quiet for a moment as they dried themselves off. He took off his shoes, but carried them with him when they went upstairs. ”Lena seems like she’ll be easier to find. She’s always in that corner of the bar, right? She is very involved in her tech.” He wondered if Lawrence would be in there too. He didn’t know where Richard spent his time. They’d probably have to look for him.
”Do you mean tell him that we know Renee was his daughter?” Ralph was nervous about that idea. Were they sure he was? The paper said there was a match, but not with who. The text was separate. Who had sent that? There were a lot of questions.
”Of course my dearest,” Finley told Dysphoria. ”I always have time for you.”
Upon receiving the other blood samples, Finley set to work. They kept the samples of blood from each of the four of them in their separate jars. Finley removed from their pockets some leaves, sticks, and a bit of spiderweb. They broke apart each of the items so there were four piles. All four piles would be sympathetic to each other, having the same parent item. These items were added into the jars of blood, and whatever the hell Rohan called his body fluids.
The magic combined as did the fluids, Annika and Rohan’s blood took longer and was a bit harder, but in the end, Finely was able to manipulate the blood into become an anchor. They, as a group, would be able to use the sympathetic magic of the mixture like a compass.
”Here is my contribution.” Finley held up the glass container. The liquid did not look exactly like blood, but its original source was obvious. It was a deep red, like port, and watery.
”If you consider proper documentation hesitancy, no wonder everyone has gone mad looking at this, and left nothing to show for it. Did your coven, who were trying to map it, leave anything behind? Or are you destroying their documentation?” Connie asked, irritated. She gave Croan a scathing look and stood.
”You can keep it in your room,” Connie suggested to Jake. She smiled gently at him. Glad that he appreciated the gift. Connie did note that Nick had apparently given Jake a gift too. That concerned her. The Macleod twin’s ‘gifts’ often came with strings attached to them. They were much like Fin in that way.
Connie considered her options. Barty’s suggestion of a different look at things was interesting. Even if Croan automatically dismissed it. She did not particularly care what he thought. He had been giving this Mystery for how long and had still failed to crack it. Her other option was insanely dangerous.
Connie’s transformation magic may be exactly what was needed here. In theory, she could cast stone to flesh. But she didn’t trust the object. She didn’t trust that her magic wouldn’t just be eaten and she drained of it all. That fear was enough to convince her to hold off on that idea... for now.
So, self-transformation and becoming a bird it was. Connie shifted, one moment she was a human woman, the next a bird.
In the air, Connie flew over the statue, taking in the appearance of the markings. She was not entirely surprised to see that it looked the same; nothing stood out to her.
Location: Two Sisters Skills: Enhanced Reflexes (Passive)
Andy giggled as Gideon nibbled on her ear. Her cheeks felt warm, and her insides felt like they were on fire. She was not against a round two. When Gideon came back with the food, Andy dug in. She was very hungry. It had been a long few days. Today had been physically and emotionally exhausting too.
Though in the end she was still happy. Her anxiety had faded back and was not overwhelming. She wondered, as she ate and watched her friends dance, how much of her stress had been about her mom. How much of her brain was constantly thinking about how Selene could and would cause the end of the world if given half a chance. As she ate Andy decided she'd let Max keep Selene for now. She'd finish school and then take her back, but until then she needed to focus on herself. Focus on learning, focus on her relationships. Focus on not being overwhelmed by a weight of something beyond her comprehension.
When she was full, she asked Gideon, "Do you dance? I'm not any good at it, but willing to be dumb for a bit with you."
”Emily, or Em is fine,” Em responded to Demi. ”Sorry, I forgot your name, something with a D right? Food will be ready in a bit. He’s making a quiche. He’ll ring the bell.” She pointed to a large bell that was on one end of the porch, the side opposite the oak tree.
”I’m not afraid of a little dirt on my camping bag, Aster,” she yelled after him. She shrugged at Ezekiel’s recommendation and put her backpack down on the porch. She grabbed a notebook out of it.
”Alright, let’s go.” Emily started down the hill, her eyes searching for plants and paths.
M I S C E L L A N E O U S ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ►Character Info Full Name: Their Grace the Kniaginia Yekaterina Fyodorovna Yusupova of Molot Imperii Nicknames: Katya; Katyanyushka (lovers only) Birth Place: Molot Imperii Age: 26 Nameday: March, 19th Gender: Non-binary (AFAB) Pronouns: they/them Sexuality: Pan Build: Ectomorph Eyes: Dark brown Body Modifications: N/A Education: Classical nobility with private tutors Habits: Chewing her lip, taping her fingers when thinking Hobbies: Tinkering with projects, reading, discussing current events and politics
►Fears Losing control of Blood of Bathory Dying Horses
►Likes Air ships Labour movement Romance Sun rise Card games The Ivory Disobedience Movement
►Dislikes Blood Runners The Court of Iron Exploitation of the masses Waste Being dirty Stand-up comedy Humidity -
P O S T I N G N O T E S ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ►Relationship Notes Relationship Notes
►Important Posts Note/Link Note/Link -
C H A R A C T E R H I S T O R Y C H A R A C T E R H I S T O R Y
Please include:
Motivation for joining the expedition. - this ship is cool, also family needs them out of the way
Level of Education - raised with your classic nobles education, focusing on etiquette, social interactions, dancing, fencing(?), etc etc
Home and family
Opinion on the Empire and the Spires
Opinion on the factions
Katya is the youngest daughter of the Yusupov family. They were spoiled and spent most of their early life in a bubble of family beliefs. (more here discussion with GMs on family life, relationship with parents and siblings)
They were educated classically. (more education information here, higher education leading to their love of technology)
Katya went into the factories, this was the start of their downfall. Katya started to recognize the disparity between their life and the life of the masses. Because of that Katya became a Labourist. After this Katya also struggled with the Blood of Bathory more, since she was afraid to exploit people she went to the bare minimum of blood that she could. They sometimes played chicken with the disease and slid below the recommended allotment.
Katya started a minor rebellion in the family’s factory trying to encourage the workers to create a union. (what happened with the rebellion? A friend? Lover? Died during the rebellion? Someone related to Katya? Maybe the heir. )
Katya was forbidden from returning to the factories, they were cut off from anyone that Katya met in the factory. Katya had a few arguments with their father. He gave them an ultimatum. Katya’s options were to be moved to the capital and get married or go on the expedition. Despite being afraid of her own mortality Katya decided to go on the expedition. They hated the idea of being forced to marry someone more, especially since they’d have no choice in who that was.
For all that Katya thinks herself worldly and educated they have not spent much time in the real world. They wouldn’t know how to survive without the structures of society that she is railing against. (some more details about this)
Katya is extremely opinionated and critical, especially of her family, the government and society. They disapprove of anything that smacks of exploitation. Katya hates that they are dependent on blood, and will sometimes wait as long as possible before consuming.
They have learned that most of their opinions are not acceptable by their family. As such Katya has a ‘family/public’ face and opinion. However, if they are with people that they trust and know would not report them; Katya will share their real opinion.
Below is the list of organizations and Katya’s official opinion and private opinion (when different). The Imperials - Publicly Katya toes the line of respectful and critical. They like to think that there is a path for redemption for the government, but they don’t believe that fully. Privately Katya believes the whole system will need to be destroyed before a better world can grow. The Ivory Disobedience Movement - Privately Katya approves of this group. They think that this group has the right idea. If they thought they could have gotten away with joining and helping them Katya absolutely would. Publicly Katya would claim that the people’s rights are important, it is vital to go through the right channels and not cause damage or disruptions. Katya will expressly say, publicly, that the disruption of the Blood Maids is most damaging. In their heart Katya thinks ‘damaging to their reputation and that they may get more support if they didn’t do such actions.’ The Court of Iron - Depravity, and cruelty is all this organization stands for. They do not care for human lives and that angers Katya. Katya is vocally against this group, much to her family’s chagrin. Leveilleur Exploration Society - Katya believes that understanding the world is important. They appreciate that someone is working on it. Smog Runners - Privately “Workers unite!” These people are vital for society to function and should be treated with more respect and paid better. Publicly Katya wouldn’t say much differently, though with less labor movement behind it. Blood Runners - Katya dislikes this group immensely. They like the idea of being honest about who the nobility is, they do not like the kidnapping and exploitation of people. Katya believes no one should ever be dried. There is no need for that. A single human has so much blood in them, more than anyone should ever be consuming. Katya is vocally against this group.
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I am bad about keeping this updated
RP's (Updated 2/13/25)
[u]Upcoming[/u]:
Northwood - A slice-of-life horror rp
[u]Currently Running[/u]:
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5595988]Château de La Lune[/url]
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5623805]Camp Lava Lake[/url]
[u]Currently in[/u]:
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/189613-avengers-academy/ooc?page=4]Avengers Academy[/url]
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/195905-strange-academy-journey-into-mystery/ic]Strange Academy[/url]
An incomplete and in no particular order dead or ended RPs I have participated in:
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[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/163808-x-men-cosmic-crusades/ooc]X-Men[/url]
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/195600-the-season-of-the-enlightened/ic]Season of the Enlightened[/url]
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/195033-welcome-to-havenwood/ic]Welcome to Havenwood[/url]
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/176265-heroes-of-olympus-the-next-age-of-heroes/ic]HoO[/url]
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/191794-the-dead-dont-die/ooc]Dead Don't Die[/url]
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/185787-ride-or-die-for-the-republic-morose-kirah-nallore/ic] Ride or Die for the Republic (Morose & Kirah & Nallore) 1x1x1[/url]
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/179952-once-upon-a-time/ic]OUAT[/url] (completed)
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5456713]Inferno - STRIKE THE MATCH![/url] (completed)
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/181849-heroes-of-olympus-the-hidden-gem-nallore-morose-kirah/ic]HoO Romans 1x1x1[/url] (completed)
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/172808-agents-of-shield-the-terrigen-bomb/ic]AOS[/url] (completed)
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/176039-the-gifted-thisisforever/ic]The Gifted[/url] (completed)
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/182285-hotel-valhalla-the-gods-of-asgard/ooc]Hotel Valhalla[/url] (completed)
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/166080-the-wolves-of-red-lake-completed/ic]Wolves of Red Lake[/url] (completed)
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/181921-forgotten-space/ooc#post-5109978]Forgotten Space[/url] (A spiritual successor to Liquid Memories and Darkness Below, closed due to time constraints)
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/91286-salem-witches-institute/ic]Salem Witches Institute[/url] Canceled
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/180901-harry-potter-and-the-alchemists-quest/ic]HP[/url] Canceled
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/169901-through-the-doors-of-our-hearts/ic]Doors[/url] (completed)
[url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/80219-finite-incantatem-au-harry-potter-rp/ic]Finite Incantate[/url] (Co-GM) Canceled
[url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/81224-invincible-chapter-i-origination/ic]Invincible[/url]
[url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/81373-wink-murder-who-killed-mr-jig/ic]Wink Murder: Who killed Mr. Jig[/url]
[url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/79223-wolf-manor/ic]Wolf Manor[/url]
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/171303-for-queen-and-country/ic]For Queen and Country[/url]
[url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/80486-northwood-academy/ic]Northwood Academy [Open to new apps][/url] (GM, spiritual successor to the school in the woods)
[url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/80083-the-town-at-the-end-kirah-apollo/ic]The Town At The End[/url] (1x1)
[url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/78659-among-the-ruined-season-4/ic]Among the Ruined (closed)[/url]
[url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/75858-the-triwizard-champions/ic]Triwizard Chapions[/url](1x1x1)
[url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/66106-forsaken-children-of-war-kirah-and-mchaggis/ic]Forsaken Children of War[/url](1x1)
[url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/92946-ch-teau-de-lalune/ic]Château de Lalune[/url] (GM, closed)
[url=http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/137021-hogwarts-world-tour/ic]Hogwarts World Tour[/url] (Closed)
[URL=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/88884-the-mundane-small-town-teenage-superheroes/ic]Mundane[/url]
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/83121-frontier-full-sci-fi-firefly-inspired/ic]Frontier[/url]
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/86402-sector-x-invite-only/ic]Sector X[/url]
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/83344-being-human-in-between/ic#post-2834120]Being Human[/url]
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/82451-cold-blooded-vampire-rp-continuation/ic]Cold Blooded (Vampire RP)[/url]
[URL=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/79382-hogwarts-school-of-witchcraft-and-wizardry/ic]Hogwarts School[/url]
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/81373-wink-murder-who-killed-mr-jig/ic]Wink Murder[/url]
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/75219-the-school-in-the-woods-mystery-fantasy-roleplay/ic]The School in the woods[/url]
[URL=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/78515-to-survive-the-end-reboot/ic]To Survive The End (reboot)[/url]
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/77989-the-golden-pelican-harry-potter/ic]Golden Pelican (HP)[/url]
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/76945-into-the-black/ic]Into The Black (GM)[/url]
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/70492-darkness-below/ic]Darkness Below[/url]
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/69882-alive/ooc]Alive[/url]
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/64701-hogwarts-we-are-now/ic]Hogwarts we are now[/url]
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/66022-threads-of-power/ic]Threads of Power[/url]
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/66109-liquid-memories/ic]Liquid Memories[/url]
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/65351-hogwarts-legacy-of-lord-voldemort/ic]Hogwarts Legacy of Voldemort[/url]
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/13573-the-monsters-under-my-bed-are-real-supernatural-rp/ic#post-301076]Supernatural RP[/url]
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/6053-through-time-and-space-kirah-and-carsgovroom/ic?page=5#post-374859]Through Time & Space (Doctor Who)[/url]
[url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/15852-doctor-who-im-so-sorry-me-and-kirah/ic]I'm so Sorry (Doctor Who)[/url]
[/hider]
<div style="white-space:pre-wrap;"><div class="bb-center"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/0BmP29s.png" /></div><br>I am bad about keeping this updated<br><br>RP's (Updated 2/13/25)<br><br><span class="bb-u">Upcoming</span>:<br>Northwood - A slice-of-life horror rp<br><br><span class="bb-u">Currently Running</span>: <br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5595988">Château de La Lune</a><br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5623805">Camp Lava Lake</a><br><br><span class="bb-u">Currently in</span>: <br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/189613-avengers-academy/ooc?page=4">Avengers Academy</a><br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/195905-strange-academy-journey-into-mystery/ic">Strange Academy</a><br><br>An incomplete and in no particular order dead or ended RPs I have participated in:<br><div class="hider-panel"><div class="hider-heading"><button type="button" class="btn btn-default btn-xs hider-button" data-name="Hider">Hider [+]</button></div><div class="hider-body" style="display: none"><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/163808-x-men-cosmic-crusades/ooc">X-Men</a><br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/195600-the-season-of-the-enlightened/ic">Season of the Enlightened</a><br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/195033-welcome-to-havenwood/ic">Welcome to Havenwood</a><br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/176265-heroes-of-olympus-the-next-age-of-heroes/ic">HoO</a><br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/191794-the-dead-dont-die/ooc">Dead Don't Die</a><br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/185787-ride-or-die-for-the-republic-morose-kirah-nallore/ic">Ride or Die for the Republic (Morose & Kirah & Nallore) 1x1x1</a><br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/179952-once-upon-a-time/ic">OUAT</a> (completed)<br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5456713">Inferno - STRIKE THE MATCH!</a> (completed)<br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/181849-heroes-of-olympus-the-hidden-gem-nallore-morose-kirah/ic">HoO Romans 1x1x1</a> (completed)<br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/172808-agents-of-shield-the-terrigen-bomb/ic">AOS</a> (completed)<br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/176039-the-gifted-thisisforever/ic">The Gifted</a> (completed)<br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/182285-hotel-valhalla-the-gods-of-asgard/ooc">Hotel Valhalla</a> (completed)<br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/166080-the-wolves-of-red-lake-completed/ic">Wolves of Red Lake</a> (completed)<br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/181921-forgotten-space/ooc#post-5109978">Forgotten Space</a> (A spiritual successor to Liquid Memories and Darkness Below, closed due to time constraints)<br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/91286-salem-witches-institute/ic">Salem Witches Institute</a> Canceled<br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/180901-harry-potter-and-the-alchemists-quest/ic">HP</a> Canceled<br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/169901-through-the-doors-of-our-hearts/ic">Doors</a> (completed)<br><a href="http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/80219-finite-incantatem-au-harry-potter-rp/ic">Finite Incantate</a> (Co-GM) Canceled<br><a href="http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/81224-invincible-chapter-i-origination/ic">Invincible</a><br><a href="http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/81373-wink-murder-who-killed-mr-jig/ic">Wink Murder: Who killed Mr. Jig</a><br><a href="http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/79223-wolf-manor/ic">Wolf Manor</a><br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/171303-for-queen-and-country/ic">For Queen and Country</a><br><a href="http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/80486-northwood-academy/ic">Northwood Academy [Open to new apps]</a> (GM, spiritual successor to the school in the woods)<br><a href="http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/80083-the-town-at-the-end-kirah-apollo/ic">The Town At The End</a> (1x1)<br><a href="http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/78659-among-the-ruined-season-4/ic">Among the Ruined (closed)</a><br><a href="http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/75858-the-triwizard-champions/ic">Triwizard Chapions</a>(1x1x1)<br><a href="http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/66106-forsaken-children-of-war-kirah-and-mchaggis/ic">Forsaken Children of War</a>(1x1)<br><a href="http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/92946-ch-teau-de-lalune/ic">Château de Lalune</a> (GM, closed)<br><a href="http://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/137021-hogwarts-world-tour/ic">Hogwarts World Tour</a> (Closed)<br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/88884-the-mundane-small-town-teenage-superheroes/ic">Mundane</a><br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/83121-frontier-full-sci-fi-firefly-inspired/ic">Frontier</a><br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/86402-sector-x-invite-only/ic">Sector X</a><br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/83344-being-human-in-between/ic#post-2834120">Being Human</a><br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/82451-cold-blooded-vampire-rp-continuation/ic">Cold Blooded (Vampire RP)</a><br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/79382-hogwarts-school-of-witchcraft-and-wizardry/ic">Hogwarts School</a><br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/81373-wink-murder-who-killed-mr-jig/ic">Wink Murder</a><br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/75219-the-school-in-the-woods-mystery-fantasy-roleplay/ic">The School in the woods</a><br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/78515-to-survive-the-end-reboot/ic">To Survive The End (reboot)</a><br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/77989-the-golden-pelican-harry-potter/ic">Golden Pelican (HP)</a><br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/76945-into-the-black/ic">Into The Black (GM)</a><br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/70492-darkness-below/ic">Darkness Below</a><br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/69882-alive/ooc">Alive</a><br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/64701-hogwarts-we-are-now/ic">Hogwarts we are now</a><br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/66022-threads-of-power/ic">Threads of Power</a><br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/66109-liquid-memories/ic">Liquid Memories</a><br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/65351-hogwarts-legacy-of-lord-voldemort/ic">Hogwarts Legacy of Voldemort</a><br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/13573-the-monsters-under-my-bed-are-real-supernatural-rp/ic#post-301076">Supernatural RP</a><br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/6053-through-time-and-space-kirah-and-carsgovroom/ic?page=5#post-374859">Through Time & Space (Doctor Who)</a><br><a href="https://www.roleplayerguild.com/topics/15852-doctor-who-im-so-sorry-me-and-kirah/ic">I'm so Sorry (Doctor Who)</a></div></div></div>
Morose
Scrawl Banditta
Neziul
Blizz
Forsythe
BlueSky44
Achronum
Simply Not Real
Hey Im Jordan
Trainerblue192
