Morose

Hooked on a Feeling

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Guinevere Stark

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"Dad, we should probably see about buying the building we just destroyed - or at least leaving an IOU," Guin pointed out. They were lucky that no one else had been inside during the fight with the Hulk, as they likely would've been killed in the process. She half expected that Spider-Man guy to show up and try to help out, only to get swatted away like a fly. It would have been terrifying, but hilarious at the same time. She had been waiting for the day Spider-Man showed up and tried to join the Avengers, since she was a bit curious about who he was - but mostly because she wanted to see him fight Ant-Man.

"Yeah....Guess I destroyed Harlem again," Banner mumbled, looking around sheepishly. He half expected them to try and kick him out of New York at this point. He knew that Tony had an entire legal team largely dedicated to stopping actions like that, but still, he couldn't help but wonder again if he really should be living in a big city. The main reason he lived in New York was because of all the opportunities it had for Lance. A third world country didn't exactly have the best STEM resources - though Serbia wouldn't have been too bad.

"And it'd probably just be an Avengers facility upstate, buddy," Banner reminded him. "Guin, Tony, and I would go there too."

Hooked on a Feeling

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Guinevere Stark

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"Yeah, figured that part out," Guin muttered to Lance, hyperventilating still. While Lance looked like a lightbulb when he got nervous, Guin pretty much looked the same. F.R.I.D.A.Y. kept on playing music in an attempt to keep Guin calm, her suit sparking occasionally even once the rubble started to shift and Tony got them out of there. She nodded, managing to catch her breath slightly. "Yeah, Lando's got a head injury but I think we're okay..."

Banner slid down to where Lance was, picking up his son and giving him a slight hug. "Sorry about that, buddy..." Banner murmured. He then was quickly looking Lance over, wincing when he saw Lance's extensive injuries. The only bright side was that Lance wouldn't be able to run off very easily, meaning he could move Lance to a secure facility until this entire thing with Kilgrave and Hammer blew over.

Hooked on a Feeling

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Guinevere Stark

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"Congratulations, lass, you were 88% successful," F.R.I.D.A.Y informed Guin as she got out of the building with Lance. Guin didn't have time to question the A.I. as the multistory building collapsed, the rubble sliding forward and threatening to engulf them. Swearing under her breath, she held onto Lance as tight as she could, putting the maximum power into the thrusters. They didn't manage to clear the rubble, but Guin used her suit as a shield for Lance, creating a small little pocket under about twelve feet of rubble.

"Hey, Dad? So we're trapped - and I don't think I can move, the suit is the only thing keeping us from being crushed alive," Guin said. The comm systems seemed to be working fine and she popped open her visor, looking down at Lance. Her suit had taken all of the damage from the near avalanche of rubble. "You okay, Lando?" she asked him, hyperventilating a bit herself. F.R.I.D.A.Y. didn't even need to alert Guin that her anxiety levels were rising. They were buried underneath the remnants of a building, while the only person who could help them was busy fighting the Hulk. "God I wish I had a joint right now..." she then muttered, forgetting Tony could hear everything she said.

Meanwhile for the Hulk and Tony, the building did sway forward as it fell but they were buried in rubble as well. Between the force of the punches and the collapsing building, the Hulk actually passed out, but not before he fell on top of Tony. He then shifted back into tiny Bruce Banner, clad only in pants. "Did I hurt anyone? Where are the kids?" he asked quietly.

Darke Magyk - Concluded

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@Nallore@BlueSky44@FantasyChic@mnkee@LadyRunic@Dragoknighte@KazAlkemi

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Present Day - The Castle: December 21st, 12,507 - 11:59 AM

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Arya Rincewind

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Location: the Palace Grounds ---> the Throne Room

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There was a hint of a blush to Arya's cheeks as Cuyler fretted over her safety. Yet she was the Castle's ExtraOrdinary Wizard and that was not a position that was awarded without serious consideration. Of all of Rowland's apprentices, he had selected her to be his successor. She was the strongest among them, with the most innate Magykal talent and ability. "I am flattered, but you do not need to protect me, Cuyler," Arya said with a slight smile. "I am more than proficient in protecting myself. The others in the Castle...They are who we need be concerned about. There is much we do not yet know - and I believe a visit to Alchemie Way is in order."

Rowland nodded, the events of the day weighing heavily on him as well. In his time as ExtraOrdinary Wizard, he had never felt such imminent peril facing the Castle. It made him regret electing to retire when he did, as the responsibility fell on Arya's shoulders. The Queenling was young and inexperienced, meaning that Arya wouldn't receive much help from Queen Valda. Sure, he supposed the Alchemists could be of aid - and in this situation, they seemed quite necessary - but he still did not wish this stress upon her. With such a new apprentice as well, he would be impressed if Arya made it through the coming weeks without more than three mental breakdowns.

Rowland then glanced over, seeing the guards letting people enter the Palace lawn now. The seats were filling up quickly and he wanted to be able to have a decent view of the Coronation. He always enjoyed events like these, of course, but he also knew it was likely that some tragedy may occur. A Witch Princess was about to be crowned, after all. "Cuyler, would you care to accompany me?" Rowland added.

"We will talk more after the ceremony," Arya said, giving Rowland a hug and then pausing as she looked at Cuyler. She stared at him for a few seconds before she settled on just giving him a smile as she headed inside the Palace, going down the Long Walk in search of her apprentice and the others involved in the ceremony.

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Nera Hawthorn

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Location: the Castle - South Gate ---> the Palace Lawn

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The guards nodded at Malekith, writing down his information. They gave him a smile. Heap was a strong family name in the Castle - in fact, Queen Jenna had been raised by the Heap family. One of their finest ExtraOrdinary Wizards had been a Heap as well - the Seventh Son of the Seventh Son. For better or for worst, the guards would not forget Malekith's face. (It was like he had just told them he was a Kennedy or an Obama or a Clinton). "Enjoy the Coronation, Mr. Heap," one of the guards said as they let him pass.

Marya and Medea had already grabbed seats, with Nera sitting next to them. Nera blinked rapidly, turning a bit green from the speed they had just traveled at. "It'll pass - happens to everyone," Marya said with a snicker. Nera just closed her eyes, gripping her seat for a few minutes before she no longer felt like she was about to vomit. The twins were incredibly useful, if not immature - and while she knew few would believe it, they could easily grow to be the most powerful members of the Coven. Nera would not be surprise if they attempted to unseat Fleur as Witch Mother in the next few years. They could only be controlled to a certain extent.

"You see the front, girls?" Nera said warmly. Marya and Medea both nodded, looking towards the small stage area with boredom. This flash and substance didn't really impress them as much as it could have someone else. "That's where the ceremony will begin - and once it's over, I need one of you to snatch Princess Luna," Nera whispered. "Do either of you know how to CradleSnatch?" The twins shook their head. "Very well - bring her to Fleur as quickly as you can, but not until after Valda is crowned. Understood?"

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Myrus Silvers

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Location: the Throne Room - The Palace ---> the Palace Lawn

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Myrus followed his sister off to the side, listening to what Luna had to say carefully. The message didn't sound incredibly trustworthy to him, yet he knew that its content held some truth to it. According to Emperor Taj and Asha, their mother had been murdered. Someone out there in the Castle had to know how it had happened - how someone had managed to murder the Queen and make it appear that she had died of natural causes.

"You shouldn't go to meet with Golds, Luna," Myrus told her quietly. "If something happens to Valda, you'll become Queen," he added. Queen Meliscente hadn't had any sisters for the throne to pass towards. Valda and Luna were potentially the end of the line, unless one of their uncles had a female child. Yet given that none of them had had any children yet, Myrus wasn't holding his breath. "I'll go and meet with Golds," he then said with a slight smile.

"Nothing that a servant such as yourself need concern yourself with," Puck told Lyra coolly. He then looked at surprise as the ExtraOrdinary Apprentice appeared, speaking so rudely to the Queenling. Had he been in the Young Army, he would have received fifteen lashes for such a remark. "Would you like me to escort the apprentice from the Palace, your highness?" Puck offered, smiling a bit cruelly at Atkin.

"Brother, we have business to attend to," Jadis reminded him. The Wendron Witches had left the Throne Room and headed outside, with Emperor Taj and Asha nodding politely at Princess Valda before heading outside as well. The Coronation ceremony was due to begin any minute and all those not directly involved needed to take their seats.

"We'll talk more about this later," Myrus told Luna, giving her a hug before he headed outside as well onto the Palace lawn.

Arya entered the room almost just as Myrus left, looking down at the body with shock. She then glanced up at Atkin. "This is why I asked you to carry a SafeCharm," she chided him lightly.

Hooked on a Feeling

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Guinevere Stark

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"Damn it, Lando, you just revealed my secret identity!" Guin exclaimed. "Your anxiety levels aren't stabilizin', lass," F.R.I.D.A.Y. informed her, since the suit was monitoring Guin's heart rate. Her words didn't reveal how panicked and scared she was, but it wasn't like that was something she could easily hide from F.R.I.D.A.Y. And as if the A.I. thought it would soothe her, the song started to play even louder - loudly enough for Lance to hear it outside of the suit. F.R.I.D.A.Y. pulled up a map of an escape route for Guin and the younger Stark tried her best to take deep breaths, ignoring the brief flashes of running through the woods with a Ginger that were coming to mind. This was not going to be like that. She'd heard that Ginger was in the hospital for months. She wouldn't let that happen to Lance.

Guin started to fly the escape route that F.R.I.D.A.Y. had charted for her, narrowly missing a swipe from the Hulk as she cleared the building. With the little more annoying target gone, the Hulk only had Tony to concentrate on. The ceiling of the building was barely holding up at this point. "GIVE BACK SON!" the Hulk roared in rage once more at Tony, picking himself up and quite literally throwing himself at Iron Man, trying to pummel him into oblivion.

Hooked on a Feeling

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Guinevere Stark

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The Hulk screamed, grabbing a chunk of the wall he ripped out and he flung it at Tony. The wall didn't do much to Tony, given the strength of the Hulkbuster Suit. It was designed to the sole purpose of being able to defeat the Hulk and even if part of it were to be damaged, Veronica could send in replacement components to Tony. Guin smirked a bit, remembering how her father had come up with the name. She found that the more she distracted herself, the less terrified she felt about the prospect of fighting the Hulk. Veronica, of course, had been chosen after the Archie comics - as Bruce's old girlfriend, Betty, wasn't around anymore, Veronica had to be called in.

"Hey big guy, sun's getting real low!" Guin called out, aiming for Lance and putting her thrusters at max power, managing to grab him and narrowly avoid getting flung across the room by the Hulk. The Hulk then tried to grab at Guin again in order to get Lance back, only for the building to begin to collapse around them. "Hey Dad, this isn't good..." Guin muttered, as F.R.I.D.A.Y. was trying to find a safe escape route out of the collapsing building.

"Here's the next banger, lass," F.R.I.D.A.Y. announced.

"That really a priority right now?!" Guin scoffed and the A.I. didn't respond.

"GIVE BACK SON!" Hulk roared at Guin, pushing aside pieces of rubble that were coming down on top of her. He didn't even seem to notice Tony there in the Hulkbuster anymore, more focused on the pesky little girl that had grabbed his son from him right when Lance was in grave danger. He wanted nothing more than to rip that shiny suit apart and blame Puny Banner for anything that happened to Lance.

Hooked on a Feeling

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Guinevere Stark

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"Bit rude to call him a monster, Dad," Guin pointed out as she landed her suit on the sidewalk outside of the building. "You don't call Uncle Thor a monster - or Uncle Steve - and they're kinda like not angry versions of the Hulk that aren't green or gigantic." F.R.I.D.A.Y. was sending them updated maps of the building, showing that the Hulk and Lance were in the back. "They're in a secure vault, boss. Going to take a lot of power to cut through that reinforced steal," F.R.I.D.A.Y. explained. "The Mark XLIV doesn't have the laser for it," F.R.I.D.A.Y. then added, referring to the Hulkbuster.

"Wow, tragic there isn't a new Avenger here wearing a suit that does have the right equipment..." Guin pointed out, before kicking off and flying into the building, getting the precision laser ready that she'd need to cut away the vault door. F.R.I.D.A.Y. helped her to target the hinges properly, that way Tony could tear it away with the Hulkbuster armor's added strength. "Hinge is broken, boss," F.R.I.D.A.Y. announced as Guin moved back, that way Tony could tear off the door.

Inside the vault, Hulk glanced over and saw the sparks coming at the hinges, letting out a roar. He didn't want anyone else going anywhere near his son - especially not Puny Banner! "NO BANNER HERE!" Hulk shouted, punching the wall and causing the building to tremble slightly. He set Lance down on a pile of boxes. "PUNY BANNER HURT SON!"

Hooked on a Feeling

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Guinevere Stark

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"So what you're saying is I am an Avenger, but for legal reasons you can't make it official until I'm eighteen," Guin responded. She actually liked the sound of the name Starkette. Even though she had no intentions of becoming a superhero, she had been wanting to change up her online handle for games and stuff. "Also, I think the politically correct term is we have a massive fucking Hulk on our hands that could be killing my best friend - and to make things worse, F.R.I.D.A.Y. hasn't put on the next banger yet!" Guin then sped up again, noticing a huge hole smashed in one of the buildings in Harlem. The destruction seemed to stop there and F.R.I.D.A.Y. did a scan for heat signatures, pulling up an image of Lance and the Hulk. "Uh, Dad - or as an Avenger, should I call you Iron Man now? Anyways, looks like Hulk isn't letting go of him...Like fucking Godzilla...What's the plan?"

"SON?!" the Hulk roared questioningly, walking further into the lab and smashing things as he went. He loosened his grip on Lance, finding what looked like a bank vault and barricading himself inside there with Lance. He set Lance down and grabbed a huge several gallon jug of water, handing it to Lance so he could hydrate himself.

Hooked on a Feeling

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Guinevere Stark

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"Boss, I've done the maths and the answer to that is no," F.R.I.D.A.Y. interrupted Tony, referring to whether or not Guin shout ever use the suits in combat. "Hey, that's so not true! Ugh, I like J.A.R.V.I.S. way better than you," Guin grumbled, arguing with the A.I. "The feelin's mutual, lass." Guin rolled her eyes, falling back slightly and following Tony in her suit. She felt especially small flying next to the Hulkbuster, but she also couldn't resist doing a few loop-de-loops around Tony as they headed off towards the chaos. "Hey Dad - do I get a badass superhero name now? Since I'm basically an Avenger now..."

"NO!!!!" the Hulk roared, keeping a tight grip on Lance but at least he wasn't flinging him around anymore. He was visibly blinking as the spots in his vision began to clear and he finally was able to see Lance. Letting out a roar, he actually gave Lance a bit of a smile. "MY SON!" Hulk roared, before pulling Lance into a hug. He looked over and saw the Hammer industries sign, before picking up a chunk of wall and throwing it at the sign, causing it to shatter and fall to the ground. In the process, he increased the damage to the wall and allowed more of the signage in there to become visible. On the wall, there was a single phrase painted on in neat black letters:

Peace in our time...

Hooked on a Feeling

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Guinevere Stark

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Guin nodded, before slipping into one of Tony's latest suit models. F.R.I.D.A.Y. was booting the suit up. Had she been hacking the suit for a joyride, she would've brought P.H.I.L. along with her - but her A.I. wasn't combat or rescue mission ready. And from what she expected, the Hulk was going to have a firm grip on Lance, meaning she'd likely end up tangoing with the Hulk one way or another. "Your anxiety levels are risin', lass," F.R.I.D.A.Y. informed her. "Yeah, well, this could get me killed," Guin grumbled. She then noticed that F.R.I.D.A.Y. had opened a communication channel between her suit and the Hulkbuster.

"Hey, F.R.I.D.A.Y., put on a banger will you?" Guin asked. F.R.I.D.A.Y had pulled up the approximate location of Banner and Lance on a map. They were about twenty blocks from here and Guin activated the thrusters, lifting off and flying out of the tower. "Playin' a banger, lass," F.R.I.D.AY. then announced as music filled both Guin and Tony's suits. It just so happened to be a song that both she and Tony liked.

The Hulk's vision hadn't come back and he let out another roar. Fortunately, he seemed to hear Banner say something and he loosened his grip on Lance, but he was still clutching him protectively. In all of the chaos, Banner had punched a hole in the wall to reveal that the office was just a front. It was dark, but there was clearly an engineering lab hidden away. On the wall, there was a photograph of Justin Hammer - and a sign that said a division of Hammer Industries.

"WHERE SON?!" Hulk roared, despite the fact that he was holding Lance.