Morose

Forgotten Space

---

---

---

---

Location: Galley -> Room 2
Skills: N/A

---

Zarina was definitely insane and Vinnie actually felt a little bit bad for the space roomba. Cal seemed to be a different sort of crazy, wearing the fetish collar of the dead android. Vinnie shuddered, wondering if that was even sanitary. Vinnie considered herself to be the epitome of sanity as she cut off a hunk of her steak with her bloody knife and popped it into her mouth. She then got an idea and cut the rest of the steak up into small, nugget sized pieces that way she could bring the food with her on the search and continue to chow down. With everyone assigned into groups, Vinnie went with Sophia to room 2.

"So, this seems like the same abject design horror that was in my room," Vinnie commented, looking around. She popped another steak nugget into her mouth and swallowed it, before holding out the plate to Sophia. Sophia had been proven to not be a zombie robot and she had given Vinnie a cherry soda, so her loyalty was at least temporarily assured. "This steak is really good if you want some. It's like little nugget sized pieces now too, so you can just pop it in and chew, no bloody knife needed! Wait, no, don't eat those. These probably have my blood on it. So unless you're a space vampire witch, they're all mine."

She glanced around the room, setting her plate of blood contaminated steak down on top of the drawers. She started to tear apart the bed, pulling at the sheets and tossing them up into the air to try to shake something out, but nothing came. Vinnie frowned slightly. It had been a surefire way to find things or so it seemed. She turned to grab another piece of steak before she could've smacked herself, opening up the drawers. "Eureka! I found a photo!" she exclaimed to Sophia, pulling out a photograph of a girl sitting on Santa's lap. There was a woman nearby in the photograph, though her face was burned off. "Yikes, she must've been awful to get her face burned."

---

Raynor glanced over at Zarina after the others left, seeing that she was pretty happy messing with the little robot. Gordon had decided to clean things up, so Raynor stepped up to the magical vending machine and messed with it for a moment. The steaks were queued up on the machine's menu and Raynor fiddled about with it for a little bit, until he found what he was looking for. He ordered up three things of rum. He downed the first one instantly, setting it aside, before grabbing the remaining two and he sat himself down at a table.

"So are you trying to do anything in particular, kid?" he asked Zarina, nursing the second thing of rum.

Ω Heroes of Olympus: The Next Age of Heroes Ω

---

---

✨ Rebecca Eventide ✨

---

Location: Argo III - the Galley
Skills: N/A

---

---

Rebecca bit back a slight smile as Arthur called her mother Hestia. She hadn't heard of someone get those two mixed up before, yet it was amusing to imagine her mother tending to the hearth and home - and Hestia awaiting unsuspecting travelers at crossroads, armed with dark magic. Laurynn and Jason both had fallen silent, which Rebecca could understand. Her mother was a titan and had a certain reputation to her. She had even sided with Kronos in the Second Titan War. "What sort of artifact, mother?" Rebecca inquired. There were tons of artifacts and relics in the world sacred to Hecate and Rebecca would have been surprised if only one was present in New Rome. She was happy though to know that Andy would also receive some information about where she came from as well.

Mona, the daughter of Aphrodite, came out of her room and Rebecca smiled pleasantly at her, motioning for her to come join them. Unfortunately, Mona opened her mouth and openly disrespected Hecate. Rebecca winced as her mother changed Mona into a goldfish and then Gale ate Mona, before darting back up onto Hecate's shoulder. It had been a very long time since Hecate had killed a demigod. She remembered something Chiron had told her once - that a demigod could go anywhere and challenge anyone, as long as they were brave enough. Mona certainly had been brave to say the least. And stupid.

"And, blessed be, where might we find this artifact?" Rebecca asked, aware of the cold tension in the room.

---

---

🌈 Leda Storm 🌈

---

Location: Argo III - Upper Deck
Skills: N/A

---

---

Demetri had turned himself into a gorilla to combat Cow!Mary and Leda snickered, especially as Mary brought up his inability to perform. Mary had turned back into an ordinary human girl, her red hair positively sparkling in the light. For a brief moment, Leda's ADHD prompted her to realize that easily half of the demigods on their trip were gingers. Weren't gingers only one percent of the population or something like that? "I honestly doubt we'll make friends with the Romans," Leda admitted with a shrug. Sure, the camps had better relations than they had in the past, but that wasn't saying much. After the Civil War, where the Romans sided with the Confederacy and the Greeks with the North, the gods had manipulated the Mist to keep the Greek and Roman demigods apart. Their reunion had ended in another fight between the two groups and here they were, flying to New Rome and expecting a new result.

"How goes learning to fly the ship?" Leda asked, leaning back casually. "Or is it still shape shifter fight club?" After all, once she and Keira finished up with the Iris Message, they had come in here to see Mary sitting on Demetri as a cow. She wouldn't have been particularly surprised if they hadn't even gotten started on learning the controls. Demigods tended to have ADHD - that wasn't really helpful for standing and paying attention and listening carefully, when fighting was just so much more fun and engaging.

---

---

☀️ Nancy Parker ☀️

---

Location: New Rome - the Senate House -> the Augury
Skills: N/A

---

---

Nancy gave Leandra a weird look, a mixture between confused, angry, and disgusted. She didn't really see why Leandra needed to mention bringing up a request for coffee and spreads - that seemed like something she could have just done without needing everyone to know. Of course, everything Leandra did and said annoyed Nancy to no end. She would have complained about Leandra's breathing if there wasn't anything else to be irritated by. She briefly daydreamed about snapping Leandra's acrylic nails. Maybe she'd have to ask Terminus to classify Leandra's nails as a weapon so she couldn't bring them into New Rome. That'd be amusing.

"Oh gods, that sounds fun," Nancy said sarcastically. She wasn't especially close with the other children of Apollo. For the most part, people tended to stick with their cohort. They weren't like the Greeks where everyone lived with their half-siblings. Nancy doubted she even knew all the names of her current siblings at Camp Jupiter. To be fair though, her father was a bit of a slut. She went with Madalyne to the augury, instantly fixating on the painting that Alexandra was making. It was almost identical to the vision she had seen, just with two exceptions. The surroundings didn't look like New Rome or Camp Jupiter. The gem she had recovered with Niah and Madalyne last summer was in the center of the shrine as well.

"That's not New Rome... Or Camp... So where is that?" Nancy murmured. As much as she didn't like her sister, she wasn't going to shake her or demand her to snap out of the trance.

The Gifted - Concluded

---

---

---

@Nallore@FantasyChic@BlueSky44@Achronum@Trainerblue192@KazAlkemi@Framing A Moose

---

December 18th, 2020 - 3:10 PM

---

Penthouse Suite of the Hellfire Club -

Polaris hadn't returned yet, leaving just Reeva and Sage. Ordinarily, Sage would have been allowed to just monitor while Reeva - or whichever high ranking member of the Hellfire Club who was present at the time - would sit by idly, giving further directions. Yet with how long this hunt was taking and the extreme importance of it, Reeva's anxiety was high. She stood directly behind Sage, a single hand on her shoulder. Sage couldn't send a single communication out without Reeva seeing. She couldn't warn the Mutant Underground as to what was happening or where they needed to go.

"What in the world is she thinking?" Reeva said sharply, her eyes narrowing. Sage had hacked into the security feed at the Dunkin' Donuts. The image was hardly as pristine as she would have cared for, but she was able to see what was happening.

Sage silently prayed for Leighton to get out of there, to turn and run before it was too late. "She's preventing Pyro from carrying out the hit, ma'am," Sage answered robotically, not a trace of emotion in her voice. She couldn't dare betray where her loyalties really lied.

"Unbelievable... Such a waste of potential." Reeva's grip on Sage's shoulder had tightened, her nails digging into Sage's flesh. "Send the order - Ice Queen is to be eliminated."

Sage hesitated. "But she's Emma's niece..." she tried to interject, wanting to save Leighton if she could.

"Emma will understand," Reeva said coldly. "Send the command, Sage, or we'll need to have another discussion entirely. Do I make myself clear?"

Sage nodded, her fingers flying across the keyboard. The White Queen, Pyro, and Jinx would all receive text messages with updated instructions: ELIMINATE ICE QUEEN. ORIGINAL TARGET IS STILL WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE.

"Good. The sooner we have the girl in custody, the closer we will be to understanding the Children of the Vault."

Dunkin' Donuts -

Desiree's clothing had caught on fire, the young mutant burning alive but she wasn't dead yet. Her abject fear and panic activated her more primal survival instincts and she tried to push out a wave of deprivation, to plunge everyone around her into darkness and absolute silence, but the pain was too much. The fire was burning each and every nerve ending, her organs bleeding as she screamed in pain. "Hey mate, why don't you get me a Boston creme?" Pyro called out to Jinx.

He then tilted his head slightly at the girls as they ran in, especially since Leighton had kicked his fire wolf off of Desiree. He stopped concentrating on the flames that comprised it and the wolf became just ordinary fire, eating away at the wooden bathroom stall. "Oi, princess, they told me dead or alive. Dealer's choice, innit? And I'm the dealer and I choose DEATH!" He finished with a cackle.

The two remaining wolves of fire merged into one, easily the size of a bull. Pyro directed the flaming beast and it pounced on Desiree, extinguishing her life force. The innocent girl Leighton had tried to save was dead. Flames were spreading rapidly throughout the Dunkin' Donuts. The ceiling integrity was wearing out and a gigantic piece was about to hit Jinx over the head, when someone rushed out of nowhere and pushed him out of the way just in time.

"Whoo, that was fun! Such a rush!" Pyro gushed, the flames wildly out of control but he didn't care. His phone buzzed, as did the White Queen's and Jinx's. He held up a finger for everyone to wait a moment as he checked his messages, before grinning cockily. Like a pyromaniac, he gathered all the flames in the small store, turning them into a gigantic creature with several heads - a hydra. Pyro whistled maniacally as the hydra headed lunged at Leighton, biting her. Her shirt caught on fire and two of her ribs cracked from the sheer force.

"Play with fire and you'll get burned! Hahahaha!" Pyro jeered.

---

---

Veil

---

---

Location: the Old Underground Hideout
Skills: Invisible Energy Manipulation (Cloaking)

---

Warlock didn't seem to hear Veil asking him to contact Ice Queen about the innocent. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, tapping on her message history with Sage. The first encoded message had been sent at 1:29 PM, the second had been at 1:52 PM. Nothing had come after that. Her phone informed her of the current time - 3:10 PM. Instantly, Veil's stomach was twisted up into knots as she felt positively sick. Whatever chance they had of helping the innocent, it was long gone. Despite her intuition telling her that Warlock had been truthful, this must have been a set up, some sort of trap.

What was worse, this strongly implied that Sage's cover with the Hellfire Club had been blown. How else would Warlock have known to distract the Mutant Underground and keep them from interfering? She wanted to kick herself for being so stupid and naive. She shouldn't have trusted Warlock for this meet up. She shouldn't have brought her brother here and her closest friends. They were all in danger, the innocent could very well be dead or captured, and Veil had no one else to blame but herself.

Everyone was fixated on this notion of bringing Feedback's mother back from the dead. Veil's eyes flickered over to her twin brother's, communicating a clear but silent message: I fucked up. Had she not come to the conclusion that this had all been a trick, a trap, she would've been angry at Spark Plug for manipulating with Warlock's emotions, especially as he was an unstable person. "We're leaving. It's too late. It's been almost two hours since..." she trailed off, not wanting to expose how they knew about the innocent to Warlock. "I expected more from you than this, Warlock. You talk about wanting peace for mutants, but you probably just got one killed."

She took a deep breath and turned everyone but Warlock invisible. She turned the Mutant Underground's van and Echo's car invisible as well. It was a huge strain to do that large of an area at once, but her feelings of shame and horror were helping to fuel her powers. Once they drove off, she would only be able to keep the car she was traveling in cloaked. But thanks to Spark Plug's fog, she figured their exit would be secured.

"We'll rendez-vous back at base," Veil said. She had texted the address to Echo earlier, so he would be able to get there. Veil then walked to the van and got into the shot gun seat, Warlock unable to see her (though the others would be able to see each other and their vehicles like dim, holographic or ghost like outlines).

---

---

Casper Theriot

---

---

Location: Mutant Underground Hideout - First Floor: Training Room -> Entranceway
Skills: Mediumship

---

For the first time in ages, Casper was sober and couldn't see Ben at all. It strangely made him feel on edge, like spiders were crawling up his skin and into his ears, spinning their webs all over his brain. His chest was a little tight as well, not from whatever plague Sunshine had given him (as she had removed it). Each breath was a little harder than the one before it and his fingers, they felt as cold as ice. At first, he wondered if it was just that the heating wasn't working properly, with it being winter and all.. yet his chest felt like a sauna, as warm as the sun.

"I'm going to read the room and start my career as a stage musician," Casper said, his voice light and airy though it didn't reach his eyes. "And I'll," he paused, waving his hands in front of his face. He had tattoos on the back of them, saying HELLO and GOODBYE like a ouija board. "make myself disappear!" He then clapped his hands together and skipped on out into the entranceway where James and Cayden were.

He then noticed another strange thing. Even though he had skipped his way on over, his body felt numb - like he wasn't actually moving, but rather watching someone else move. "So just so you guys know, Jackie is about to tell Sunshine that she's somehow his daughter from that incident where Blink sent him time traveling. I know, it sounds like a comic book, but it's real... Aaaand I sense you have some tea of your own to spill, bae, so get spilling and I'll get the paper towels!"

Casper glanced behind his shoulder slightly, expecting to see Ben there, rolling his eyes, but there was no one.

---

---

Sunshine

---

---

Location: Mutant Underground Hideout - First Floor: Training Room
Skills: Greek

---

Sunshine rolled her eyes at Casper for his dumb magic trick - her eyes were a bit red from crying. She wanted to run off to her room and cuddle her dead rat, Fred. Sure, she had picked up the rotting carcass purely to annoy the hell out of Max during that supply run, but she was also genuinely attached to the smelly guy at this point. He was like a stuffed animal or a security blanket to her. Maybe she'd find some soap or perfume to clean him up with some, that way he wouldn't smell and attract flies as much.

It was just her and Jack in the training room now. Her anger had left her after the talk with James - at least, the anger towards him. She still had a lot of pain over being abandoned, the horrible situation she had been left behind in. Her father must've been a mutant, she imagined, and he left her behind with a human who hated mutants.

"Στον άλλο κόσμο νόμιζα ότι ήσουν ο μπαμπάς μου. Έτσι ήμουν πραγματικά τρελός σε σένα γιατί ο μπαμπάς μου με εγκατέλειψε και δεν με νοιάζει ποτέ, αλλά συνειδητοποίησα ότι δεν θα μπορούσες να είσαι ο μπαμπάς μου, έτσι είναι οτιδήποτε. Μα εύχομαι να ήσουν επειδή είσαι καλός και όχι φρικτός και όποιος κι αν είναι ο μπαμπάς μου, είναι πιθανώς ένας φοβερός τύπος. Λυπάμαι που είσαι τρελός και χτύπησε τον αδερφό σου, αλλά και ο Casper το αξίζει αφού είναι λίγο αδύναμος και πρέπει να σταματήσει ήδη με τα ναρκωτικά."

She didn't think Jack understood Greek, so she figured that saying those things, well, he wouldn't know what she had meant. It felt good to say it though. "Okay, your turn to tell me something dumb, Marshmallow Man."

X-Men: Cosmic Crusades 👽

---

---

Guin Stark

---

---

Location: the Reception
Skills: N/A

---

Guin was pretty used to being the center of attention at this point. It came with the territory when you were the daughter of Iron Man, a famous X-Men in your own right - and now the wife of Quicksilver as well. She had grown up with cameras flashing in her eyes incessantly, so the little swarm of people gathering around her didn't bother her all too much. Her mother wasn't there and that was all that mattered. "Thanks Cass," she told her former mentor, returning her hug.

That was another thing Guin was glad about - Mary and Cass seemed to have finally buried the hatchet. It had been a few years since Guin worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. and at this point, she had been a member of the X-Men far longer than she had ever been an agent, but she still felt a connection to her former S.H.I.E.L.D. family. Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, had been a mother figure to her, teaching her how to fight and defend herself. She had occasionally spent the night with the Bartons place out in the country, exposing their children to the wonders/horrors of technology.

"Thanks, Elizabeth," she told one of the youngest and newest members of the X-Men with a smile. "You know, I bet you'd get along great with my friend Peter Parker," she then added, before pointing out where Peter and some of her other high school friends were. "Also... If you want to drink, go for it," she finished, her voice lowered so that way only Elizabeth could hear. Pietro returned a split second later with a large platter of food and Guin rolled her eyes. She playfully punched his shoulder. "You're unbelievable sometimes," she said, shaking her head.

Mary came on over to them next, of course electing to tease her about bursting into tears. "I'm human, sue me," she quipped back. Strictly speaking Guin was a mutant, but she still considered the term human to apply, at least in that sort of context. Mary's question caught her off guard for a moment. She was right. Guin hadn't ever imagined herself getting married, tying the knot and settling down. "I mean I don't really feel different?" Guin admitted. "Like I'm not going to turn my body into an incubator and start cranking out babies, or quit the X-Men and become a stay at home mom or anything... That's just not my style. I feel like marriage for me is more like... telling the world mine. No one else is going to get a shot at Piet. No one else is going to get a shot at me. Everyone who had dreams of marrying me to inherit the Stark family fortune, well, sucks to suck y'know? And I'm not changing my name either. I'm no one's property. Plus I always get free stuff whenever I drop my surname in conversation. Can't pass that up."

She smiled and waved at Mira. She still felt guilty for what had happened at the O.M.E.N. facility. If she hadn't told Mira to use her powers like that, then Mira wouldn't have killed all of those people. Their blood was on Guin's hands too. She was glad though to see that Mira seemed relatively sane and normal after that - and not a crazy psychopath.

---

---

Neil Spellman

---

---

Location: the Reception
Skills: N/A

---

Neil couldn't help but stare at Vision and the Scarlet Witch. It was weird enough to see the Scarlet Witch in a context where they weren't fighting her - but with a robot laughing and holding her like they were in a relationship? He had no idea what to think about that. Had Guin or her father made a robot boyfriend for Wanda? Shouldn't there be some sort of law against creating a lifelike robot - albeit with magenta skin - and giving them as a gift to an (ex)-super villain? His eyes darted around the reception area and none of the Avengers seemed to be concerned, so he guessed that it was okay - still though, it was weird.

Sara seemed to be gravitating over towards Mira and Allison, so Neil followed. He liked Mira - she was in his Dungeons and Dragons group, so he ended up spending a fair bit of time with her. Allison though he didn't know as well. She was easily one of the most popular people at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Conversely, Neil was pretty sure he ranked somewhere in the bottom ten, if not the outright bottom. He thought quietly for a moment, looking over at Thor. He did seem pretty sad and lonely. Maybe he was homesick, missing Asgard and their wedding rituals. Maybe they didn't have the sort of alcohol or food that he liked here. "I have an idea," Neil said quietly, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a travel sized game he had smuggled into the wedding. He didn't know how long the reception was going to last and he figured it was best to be prepared.

"Hey, uh, Thor?" Neil greeted. "We were going to play Cards Against Humanity, do you want to join?" he asked. Neil took a seat down at Thor's table and placed the game next to Thor's hammer.

Ω Heroes of Olympus: the Stolen Muse (Nallore, Morose & KazAlkemi) Ω

---

---

🌈 Leda Storm 🌈

---

Location: Wendy's - Atlanta, Georgia
Skills: N/A

---

---

With Artemis gone, there wasn't an incentive any longer for Leda to be on her best behavior. "What the bloody hell is wrong with you, do you want to be turned into a stag and shot?!" she snapped at Zeke. Gods had ridiculously horrible tempers. Their lovers had never ended up in the best of positions in mythology, with the lucky ones becoming trees. Those who criticized them? Well, they ended up like Marysas - killed at worst, flayed alive at best. Leda was a steadfast believer in showing respect to all gods, minor and major, but she also wasn't stupid. She knew that their tempers were horrible and they were capable of being just as cruel as they could be merciful.

"You're so lucky Artemis apparently liked you, you wanker," she added, before finishing the rest of her food in irritation. She wanted this quest to be over with. It was just reminding her more and more what she didn't like about these two people. Kristin was tolerable, but Zeke was going to get them killed with a mouth like that. "Honestly though.... At least the rest of the way is clear of monsters. We're almost at the end."

Ω Heroes of Olympus: the Stolen Muse (Nallore, Morose & KazAlkemi) Ω

---

---

🌈 Leda Storm 🌈

---

Location: Wendy's - Atlanta, Georgia
Skills: N/A

---

---

Leda couldn't help but find Zeke showing off his tattoo idea to Artemis just weird. She didn't have any issue with tattoos - her mother was the goddess of rainbows, being a bit of a free spirit tended to come with that territory and tattoos were just a means for self expression. But to her, Zeke asking Artemis about the tattoo idea felt as if he had gone up to Athena with an owl tattoo and asked what she thought. Just how did he anticipate that sort of encounter was going to go? It was just awkward. She assumed Zeke's mother was dead from the way he mentioned wanting the tattoo to honor her and that - combined with wanting to make a good impression on Artemis - kept Leda from teasing him about it.

With Artemis' permission, Leda unwrapped her cheeseburger and took a bite into it. She practically swooned. Her stomach was so empty that the greasy, ridiculously unhealthy food hit the spot. She finished her burger rather quickly and Leda didn't touch her fries or drink yet, not wanting to gorge herself too much in front of a goddess. At least now her stomach had something to digest, keeping her from feeling like she was about to digest her own stomach. "So Marysas will be targeting Zeke, cool," Leda couldn't resist a slight smirk. "Kristin and I can get Calliope while he's busy tangoing or whatever with Zeke."

Ω Heroes of Olympus: the Hidden Gem (Nallore, Morose, Kirah) Ω

---

---

☀️ Nancy Parker ☀️

---

Location: Amtrak - North Dakota
Skills: N/A

---

---

Nancy's head was pounding, but she nodded at Madalyne as her best friend helped her up to her feet. "Truthfully didn't even know I could do that," she admitted. Prophecy was a rare gift among the children of Apollo. The only other one she knew with it was Alexandra and Nancy avoided her like the plague. She had even heard some stories about people with prophetic abilities ending up being cursed if they didn't do exactly what the gods wanted - one of her half-siblings had been cursed for sharing the future, she couldn't remember his name. Cassandra had been cursed to have no one believe her. And even if those with prophetic abilities weren't cursed, they ended up old and withered or with an inappropriate sense of rage towards stuffed animals.

"Oh gods, I could kill for some chicken fries..." Nancy agreed wistfully. Her stomach then growled in agreement. With people going back onto the train, she figured that they might as well follow suit. She didn't want to have to rely on Madalyne's magic to stop the train on a routine basis, that couldn't have been easy. "Yeah, let's go," Nancy said, before getting back on board.

Agents of SHIELD - Concluded

---

---

---

@BlueSky44@Kirah@Nallore@FantasyChic@Natsu

---

The Hub - San Fransisco: February 14th, 2021 - 10:40 A.M.

---

---

Bonnie Chase

---

---

Location: Virology Lab
Skills: Perception, Intuition

---

They did not need this right now.

Bonnie had a momentary urge to scream at the sky. They had finally had a small victory - Cass being cured and potentially being the means to cure everyone else of M-Pox. After the brutal losses they had already suffered that day, with Oliver being revealed as Thanos' son, they should have had a break. Strange had said that he'd put up wards to protect them. Yet Bonnie didn't doubt that the Black Order was the reason behind what felt like an earthquake. They were under attack - again.

"No, Thanos I don't think knew - at least, not at first. Otherwise, he would've sent his minions specifically for Oliver. The two who followed me through the portal wouldn't have had a reason to," Bonnie reasoned. "And now... Whether he knows or not, both Oliver and Thane are here. We're a target either way."

The fighters in the team went off to deal with the threat in the hangar. Bonnie would've joined them, but it wasn't the strategic play. If Thanos was responsible, they needed to hide Oliver quickly. Besides, he looked broken. Bonnie walked over to him and knelt down next to him on the ground. "Hey, this doesn't make any sense, I know. If you need to cry, then you need to cry - but right now, we have to move. One foot in front of the other or we're all be dead," she told him softly but firmly. She put a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"Niah, Sparky, Tempest, come on. We can go to Fury's panic room," Bonnie told them. "Oliver'll be safe there. It has some medical supplies too, so Sparky'll be okay as well." She then looked at Goose, the incredibly useful cat, knowing that he had to know the location of Fury's panic room. "Goose, I need you to lead us to Fury's panic room. It's life or death."

---

---

Dominika Novikova

---

---

Location: Virology Lab -> the Hangar
Skills: Metal Bending

---

In the hangar, Dalisy had destroyed three ships, sparing the team's quinjet by some stroke of fate. Doctor Strange had been unscathed in the explosions, his cloak wrapping around him protectively, apparently indestructible. Hill wasn't as lucky. After the dust cleared, she was nowhere to be seen. Maybe the explosion had killed her. Tinley was surrounded by fire, still laid out on the stretcher. The flames were growing larger and larger as the sprinklers kicked in, trying to quench them before they could spread to more of the ships there. "Maria?" Strange called out.

There was no response.

"Abercrombie?" he shouted next.

There was nothing.

Agents arrived on the scene, looking at the destruction and chaos. Novikova had slipped into the protective suit offered to her, hurrying alongside her wife. She didn't know what was going on, but she wasn't about to let Maria go off into danger without her. It wasn't very often these days that she got to accompany her on a deadly mission and besides, it was Valentine's Day. This was just going to have to do for their romantic excursion. "We need to get the flames out or this entire place will explode!" Novikova informed the others.

Strange was flying through the air, searching for Hill. Abercrombie wasn't in immediate danger, whereas Hill could easily be fighting for her life underneath a large hunk of metal at the moment, so he prioritized her.

Novikova closed her eyes, concentrating on the nearest flaming wreckage of a quinjet. She felt each ounce of metal on it, letting the vibrations ripple through her. Once her mind was fixed in a place between rage and serenity, she yanked up on the craft. It responded to her command as if it weighed nothing and Novikova tossed it to the side, more pushing it really. The craft hit the outer wall of the hangar and knocked it to the ground, the concrete blocks tumbling into a heap. She didn't let up though, pushing the craft out as far as she could before slamming it down into the ground. It was a grassy area out there and no one was about. The craft exploded completely on impact, leaving nothing behind.

One down, two more to go.

Harry Potter and the Alchemist's Quest - Discontinued

---

---

---

@BlueSky44@FantasyChic@Achronum@Nallore@Natsu@Kirah@TrainerBlue192@Framing A Moose

---

September 1st, 1984 - 2:30 P.M.

---

---

---

---

Location: the Seventh Floor - Dumbledore's Office
Magic: Pocket Sneakoscope

---

Paige tilted her head slightly, her eyes narrowing a little bit as Mary brought up planning the Thing. She had nearly been placed into Ravenclaw due to her stubborn curiosity and her thirst to reveal anything kept secret. Mary didn't have any interest in Quidditch - there was no way Zelda would've allowed her on the team - so that ruled out that. Mary also wasn't in the Dueling Club, which Paige regretted - it would've been nice to get to hex, jinx, and curse Miss Perfect every week without punishment.

With a jolt, a theory came to her. Mary must've been planning the Celestial Ball. It hadn't happened yet while they were at Hogwarts and from what Paige could tell, it was a random event that just occurred whenever the professors felt like it was time. She had been talking to her father about his Celestial Ball and his attempted date - the Giant Squid - at Platform 9 3/4 earlier that day. Her eyes flickered over to Zelda and she smirked. She was definitely going to pester her silly about going with Andre. Paige would've insisted to Mary to try her hardest not to make the Celestial Ball a complete drag, but with Dumbledore there, she wanted to be on her best behavior.

"You will be able to take all of those classes, yes. As there are only nine of you, I have selected a time slot for our meetings that do not conflict with any of your courses - or clubs such as Quidditch or dueling," Dumbledore answered Mary, a twinkle in his eye. "I am quite fond of Celestina Warbeck's latest album - You Stole My Cauldron but You Can't Have My Heart."

Paige perked up slightly, hearing Artemis essentially try to politely turn Dumbledore down. Her rivalry was with his twin brother, Apollo, but he hanged out with a group of the worst people in the school, so Artemis was largely guilty by association in her book.

"Unfortunately, you are required to sit the O.W.L.'s for both of those courses," Dumbledore told Artemis. "You may drop either Muggle Studies or Care of Magical Creatures. If you don't wish to join, it's no trouble. I'll simply need to obliviate you to remove this discussion from your memories."

She wanted to gag herself with a spoon as Apollo basically begged for Dumbledore to compliment him. Paige knew what she was worth and what she was skilled at - she didn't need Dumbledore to tell her that. If Apollo was half as bright as he claimed to be - and Paige doubted that - then he ought to have known what his own strengths were. She didn't understand how a person couldn't know their strengths and weaknesses - how could they plan and strategize without them? It was obvious that Dumbledore hadn't picked Apollo for his ability on a broomstick - he was a mind reader. As much as Paige hated him, it was a useful skill.

Even Fae she felt had an obvious talent - flying and pummeling things with her fists. Blunt instruments were needed just as much as crafty ones. Madalyne and Zelda were both great strategists, and Zelda was an animagus. Elizabeth was irritating, but she was clever and sharp eyed, a really good seeker for Slytherin. Paige's own talent was her skill as a dueler - she was the captain of the dueling club, almost undefeated throughout her time at Hogwarts.

"Mr. Harrington, a wise man must not know only his strengths, but those of his friends as well," Dumbledore cautioned him. "At the end of this year, I am going to pose your question to you and I expect you to answer it. For now, though, perhaps a bit of introduction to your fellow witches and wizards is indeed in order."

"Miss Mintfree has the heart of a true hero and the strength of a brawler. Miss Crane is perhaps one of the brightest witches of her age, gifted with both strategy and dexterity. Both of them are a credit to Gryffindor," Dumbledore said, before continuining.

"Miss Locke has a promising future as an auror ahead of her - and Professor Binns rates her historical essays as an absolute delight. Mr. Harrington is one of the kindest young wizards Professor Sprout has ever had the good fortune to teach and has a native talent for legilimency. Again, both of them some of the finest students Hufflepuff has taught."

"You, Mr. Harrington, I am told can tie a cherry stem with only your tongue." Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling yet his voice was kind. "Like your twin, you are gifted at legilimency and yet you also have an insatiable thirst for knowledge. Miss Winthrop has mastered several magical arts at a young age - an animagus and able to cast a corporeal patronus. Miss Flynn is the fastest chaser Ravenclaw has had in over a decade, with her magical prowess shown in her ability to turn into a cat. All students that Rowena Ravenclaw would be proud to call her own."

"Miss Flame is a rarity among Slytherins, a muggleborn. She is a gifted seeker and duelist, overcoming prejudice with heart and grace," Dumbledore praised. "And of course, lastly Miss Atwell... The best young duelist at Hogwarts and with a knack for finding trouble that rivals her father's," he finished with a bit of a chuckle. "Both exceptional young witches from Slytherin."

The Gifted - Concluded

@Kirah K, once that's done move her on over.