Morose

Inferno - STRIKE THE MATCH! - Concluded

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@BlueSky44@Nallore@Trainerblue192@PatientBean@Blizz@Kirah@KazAlkemi

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Earth-666

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@Trainerblue192: You recite the rite. A portion of the veil is restored - a portion of the veil that you had destroyed, piece by piece, as you raised the dead. That is the true secret at the center of this tale, the horror you have yet to know. The veil was only weak enough for Ananym to pierce because you had broken it, that with every mutant you resurrected, the boundaries between life and death weakened - the boundaries between us and them weakened. And now will you pay for their life with death.

@Patientbean: You recite the rite, even as it tastes like ash in your mouth. A portion of the veil is restored, flickering back into existence - yet it is fragile, delicate, uncommitted, just as you are uncommitted to this goal, this station.

@KazAlkemi: You recite the rite, and perhaps your gods hear you, as a portion of the veil is restored - as the shield around our reality is strengthened through your soul.

@Nallore: You recite the rite, yet you are inexperienced to spells, to magicks. The words are awkward and clunky on your tongue, and the portion you restore is weak - an exposed target.

@Nallore: You recite the rite, Madalyne - my name twin. But the magic rejects you, the fire of the hells pouring from your mouth as you collapse to the ground in agony, as the fury of Limbo warps you, twisting you - deep burns appear all over your body, and scars litter your back, showing the repeated blows of a lash. You must submit to make the pain stop - you must change. It is time to leave this human form behind and to ascend.

@Blizz: You recite the rite, the one you had heard once before. But there is something off, something distracting you. Perhaps it is as simple as math - there are only eight of you, and magic is best in threes. You restore a portion of the veil, but only a portion.

@Bluesky44: Your words fail to stir the magics. No veil is restored, little girl.

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Runa the Grey

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Location: New York City
Skills: N/A
Spells: N/A

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Runa would not partake in Max's mutant circuit - in his mutant magic.

They stood apart from the others, unaware that they were covered in glitter (as most of them were, due to Klara's interference). They knew of this magic, of the melding of mind, body, and soul that took place, enhancing abilities to the extent that new powers were created, powers and abilities beyond what they were ordinarily capable of. Yet Runa did not dare attempt it - such a thing was forbidden. She had no heart to share, no salvageable portion of their soul to merge. And the secrets that dwelled within their mind, they were for them and them alone.

If that was what Midgard required - if that was what all the realms required, all of existence - it would not impact their god, it would not harm Those Who Sit Above in Shadow. Their god would remain, outside of existence, outside of space and time. Any other version of their loved ones subsumed into that collective would be erased, the endless cycle breaking, the horror stopping. If Ananym's gods ascended, the universe would end - but their god would remain, unhurt, unchanging.

It was then that Runa decided - it was then that they saw.

It was time for it all to end.

They would steal Ananym's stolen power for themselves, would use it to light the blaze that would become an inferno, the flames that would burn the universe to ashes - that would finally allow them to rest, to find release.

"I cannot say that vow," Runa said softly. "And I cannot take part in your rite."

It was a terrible thing, to fall.

But far more terrible to admit it.

She knew now, truly knew that her soul was lost - that whatever scraps of goodness she once had had been the price for Dominion, for ascension, for the birth of her god.

X-Men: Cosmic Crusades 👽

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Guin Stark

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Location: Asteroid M
Skills: Telepathy
~Fit Check~

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Guin did what she could with the wrecked technology, managing to bring just a single monitor back to life. And the news that it held wasn't good. The station was about to burst, a fatal overload in its power core imminent. They only had twenty minutes before it would be too late - not nearly enough time to fix everything, even with Pietro's superspeed. This was the reality of science and engineering - that while in the movies and books, things could be fixed instantly, in real life it often required weeks if not months if not years of labor. Twenty minutes was impossible.

But impossible was where Guin lived.

They couldn't save the station - but hopefully they could save as many people on it as they could. And if the explosion vaporized everything left into harmless scrap, well, then that solved the issue of falling debris. "Bad," Guin told Lance, refocusing on the task at hand. She had a lot of calls to make. "We have twenty minutes. Let's get everyone we can to the hangar - our ship's there - and have anyone who can hold metal bits together with their mind ready to reinforce. This entire station's going to explode."

She then pressed a digit to her forehead and concentrated, opening up connections with Pietro, Mary, Edus, and Carolina. Guin relayed the same information - that they only had twenty minutes before it all went up in flames, that they needed to act quickly, evacuate everyone to the hangar bay, and have those who could reinforce and protect. There was nothing they could do for the station.

She then ended that connection, refocusing on a mind she wished to connect with that had eluded her - and with great effort, she managed to get a staticky, shaky hold on Magneto. Magneto, I need you to hold the station together with the force of your fucking will. Once everyone's in the hangar, reinforce it like it's a box, make it a solid container, and then you're going to push us away from this nonsense - aim for the moon if you can, if you can't, then just create distance. Away from the Earth, not towards it. She hoped he heard most of her message.

Guin then moved onto the last, hardest task - to connect every mind on this ship, to order them to evacuate. Her grip was slippery at best, and she pressed harder, only to lose it all suddenly. Pain, enormous and sharp, blossomed in her skull and Guin stifled a scream, stumbling back to the ground, holding her head between her hands in agony. Her nose was bleeding.

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Neil Spellman

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Location: the Asteroid
Skills: N/A
~Fit Check~

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The clock was ticking - according to Guin, they only had twenty minutes left to save everyone. Twenty minutes to evacuate the Asteroid and put distance between it and themselves. They grimaced, pessimism sprouting like a weed within them. They weren't going to make it. They weren't going to be able to pull it off, to get every single mutant on this ship to a safe zone, to construct that safe zone, and then launch? It was impossible. If this were D&D, the DC would be a 30 at least - everything would need to go perfectly.

"Let's knock her out," Neil suggested. If Anne Cortez wasn't conscious, she couldn't cause more problems. And they didn't have time to waste on securing her, on keeping her from somehow finding a way to kill everyone ever so slightly faster. Then they could either take her with them or they could leave her - Neil's preference was to leave her. Let her experience the fate she tried to inflict on others. It would be justice.

Roll Request

Neil is going to bap Anne with a punch to make her unconscious please

Ω Heroes of Olympus: The Next Age of Heroes Ω

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☀️ Nancy Parker ☀️

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Location: Lotus Hotel and Casino
Skills: N/A

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Nancy wiped the grime off of her daggers on her jeans, observing the scene with disinterest. This wasn't where she needed to be - it wasn't where she wanted to go. She needed to go find Mads now - before it was too late, before something else terrible happened. The clarity of that goal was the only thing she could afford to think about, as her daggers vanished from her hands, the magic items ready to be recalled when needed. "Greek incompetency," Nancy deadpanned as an answer to Kristin, when she asked what happened.

Everyone seemed fine. The party was together. So Nancy marched on ahead, focused on her task, focused on finding Mads and rescuing her. Her father was working on a cure, they'd be able to bring Mads back to them, adminster it, and she'd be free - free of this curse, free of all of this bullshit that the gods made them go through. Maybe they'd run away together, her and Niah and Mads, and leave all of this behind them. They hadn't chosen to be demigods.

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🌈👻 Leda Storm 👻🌈

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Location: Tartarus
Skills: N/A

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Leda raised an eyebrow, as Mads showed her the bite - a werewolf? It was a bit CW for her tastes, but she supposed it couldn't be helped. Some monsters had made it into the popular imagination, becoming a bit saturated - hell, there were even vampires that they had to contend with. "That really bloody sucks," Leda frowned. Out of their situations, Mads' one was admittedly worse - she was a monster, she'd be stuck in this vicious cycle of death and rebirth forever. At least Leda would get to kick back in Elysium for a little while, only going for rebirth when she felt like it.

But strangely, rebirth didn't... appeal to her the way she thought that it would. Maybe it was because she couldn't imagine being a baby right now when her girlfriend was an adult... Was Kiera still her girlfriend, now that she was dead? Did dying cancel out the relationship? She frowned. She had bigger problems to worry about, other things to do, but that still stung - the idea that it was over between them... That Kiera would move on and find someone else.

"Doors of Death, got it - and then a shower to get this stink off," Leda agreed. "Let's go."

Avengers Academy 💥

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@BlueSky44@Nallore@Trainerblue192@Achronum@PatientBean@Forsythe@Blizz@Kirah@Natsu

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9:00 PM - Sun. October 31st, 2038 - Margaret Carter Institute

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Trick or Treat 2023 Records

• Mary Sue - Trick - Her backpack was stolen in the library! She'll have to replace her laptop/books/etc.
• Vicky - Trick - Through a misunderstanding with a teacher (Usagi) Vicky has detention for the entire month of November
• Sabine - Trick - someone hacked Sabine’s socials and put up some disgusting, bigoted content pretending to be her
• Andy - Treat - Magneto sends her a gift, it’s a pair of vambraces that fit her perfectly, they’re made out of an unknown material and can deflect bullets and the like
• Zari - Treat - On Halloween morning, Zari also gets a present from her family. It’s an enchanted tool belt. Whatever tool she needs if she reaches for it, it’s there
• Leah - Trick - After the Monster Mash when Leah returns to her room, there is a postcard on the wall from Oslo. Written on it is her birth name. Nothing else.
• Dorian - Treat - On Halloween day, Dorian’s father sends him a ~spooky~ gift. It’s a mini dinosaur! And by mini I mean like 6 inches tall. But it’s alive!

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@Nallore@BlueSky44: "Right, I'll go with Diana - it's an archer thing," Kate volunteered immediately. She was having a real hard time with Zelda's vibes, and did not want to be in a group with her - besides, it made more sense to split up the teleporters. Cassie could be anywhere in this place, and they really needed to get back. Time moved differently in Otherworld apparently and Kate didn't want to age up to fifty or so before they could make their way back to the real world.

"Works for me," America said with a shrug, before punching a portal - this portal led directly into the palace itself, overlooking what must have been the throne room. "Come on, kid," she gestured to Zelda before hopping on through.

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April Flynn & Percy Novikov

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Location: Monster Mash - Cafeteria -> Stark Hall - Third Floor
Skills: N/A | Temporal Teleportation
Costume: Perfuma from She-Ra | the Tenth Doctor from Doctor Who

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Everyone was talking to April, everyone was offering her solutions, ideas - threatening violence, telling stories, making decisions on her behalf. It was too much, all of it - and she could feel eyes on her, she knew that everyone was staring at her, that she was making a scene. She knew that others were in pain - that her girlfriends were in pain - and she wanted to be able to just suck it up, to pull herself together and shake this off, to help someone else. But she couldn't. She had shattered and every time she tried to grab a jagged piece of herself, the blood began to flow a little stronger, the cuts forming a little deeper. And that face, that mask - that villain - each time she closed her eyes, she saw them again - her again - him again? She saw Magneto and she saw herself and she was horrified. She saw the man that had once twirled missiles on his fingertips, who had threatened the world so he could feel safe - sure, he had been redeemed, or at least, that was what the papers said but April knew. She knew that people didn't change, that they couldn't change - that her grandfather was a sickness, that to be like him was to be like a god or death or maybe somewhere in between, and she didn't want that, she couldn't want that, she wanted nothing like that. She wanted to scream and run and cry and jump and disappear and melt and die all at once. She wanted to have never existed and to be somewhere outside of space and time. She wished that her adoptive grandparents were her real grandparents, that she didn't have him lurking inside of her - that the illness in her family tree that drove so many of her aunts and uncles to become supervillains wasn't inside of her. It was inside of her inside of her inside of her AND SHE WANTED IT OUT, SHE WANTED IT OUT, SHE WOULDN'T LET IT BE HER, NO, NO NO! SHE WANTED TO SCREAM AND RIP HER HAIR OUT, TO OFFER IT TO THE GODS, TO CURSE ATHENA AND WORSHIP HER AND ASK TO BE SPARED, TO HAVE THIS BLIGHT PASS HER BY. SHE WANTED TO SUFFER AND SHE WANTED RELEASE. SHE WANTED NOTHING AND EVERYTHING. SHE DIDN'T WANT TO BE IF THAT WAS WHAT FATE HAD PLANNED FOR HER - IF THAT WAS WHAT WAS HIDING INSIDE OF HER - BUT IT WAS TOO LATE, TOO LATE, TOO LATE. GODS IT WAS TOO FUCKING LATE.

Percy was privately wondering if perhaps they needed a professional. But it wouldn't be helpful to suggest that, not now at least. Instead, he considered what Dorian had asked of him - if he could teleport them back to April's room. He didn't have the same range that his sister did, often only able to do relatively shorter jumps. It'd take him a few jumps to get them from the cafeteria back to the dorm rooms, and the more people he was transporting, the harder it would become.

But Dorian had asked this of him, so he'd try.

"April, do you want to go back to your room?"

She didn't say anything coherent - just more mutterings, more ramblings, nothing that even he could understand. But he didn't need to be able to understand every language intuitively to know that she was in pain - that she was suffering. "I'm taking you out of here," Percy informed her, since it felt odd to him to do this sort of thing without someone's explicit permission, so at least he'd tell her and if she told him to stop, he would. But she didn't react, didn't response as he put a hand on her shoulder and concentrated.

There was a shimmering flash of blue light and Percy reappeared with April outside the cafeteria, in the hallway leading up to it. No one else had traveled with them, but even then, a bit of sweat had beaded up on his forehead. Another flash, another jump, and they were on the second floor of Stark Hall now. His knees felt a little shaky. He made another jump, getting the both of them onto the third floor now, before his head was spinning and his throat felt incredibly dry and dehydrated and Percy slumped up against the wall, spent.

Meanwhile back at the Monster Mash, Lady Nimue had approached the group. She wore an elegant gown crafted out of moss and stone, covering her shimmering water form. Ser Nemo and his husband, Darius, came up to the group as well, evidently concerned that a fight might break out.

"Princess," Lady Nimue greeted, bowing her head at Sabine. "My lady," she then said, addressing Leah. It was her magic, her design that powered that house/maze. They had asked to see who was responsible. Well. She was here, without a shed of remorse on her watery visage.

Inferno - STRIKE THE MATCH! - Concluded

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@BlueSky44@Nallore@Trainerblue192@PatientBean@Blizz@Kirah@KazAlkemi

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Earth-666

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My name is Madelyne Pryor.

You may know me as the Goblin Queen.

On a night just like this, I tried to destroy the world. Reality denied me, the entire world telling me that I was fake, a nobody person in a nowhere place, just a placeholder for Jean Grey, nothing more. My husband abandoned me and our child. My child was kidnapped, I was attacked, almost killed. Every memory I have of my childhood is a lie, every romantic feeling that I felt for Scott was a lie - I was a brood mare, created to be used and discarded.

So I decided to discard the world. I made the bargain with Sym. I took the power, I bathed in Limbo's flames.

The X-Men defeated me.

I died.

Jean Grey took my son and claimed him as her own - took my future and made it hers. To my friends, I am nothing more than a bad memory, a horrible dream - not a person, but a thing, made to be used, made to be manipulated.

I reject that.

I reject this world.

Now Ananym is trying to finish what I started - now Ananym is taking my design and making it her own.

And still, I am nothing - not even a thought, not a mention, not a player in this drama, the sequel to the most horrific night in my life.

So I reject you too.

I reject you all.

@Nallore: "Aside from trying not to die?" Zelma deadpanned. "I know that there's a corrupting influence that happened on some people last time - but it was those closest to the Goblin Queen. Anyone who is emotionally close to this Ananym person is going to be in trouble." She then adjusted the crossbow, aiming and taking out a flying toaster demon that was getting suspiciously and worryingly close to them.

@Blizz: Covered from head to toe in Klara's pink glitter, you grab the mailbox with shadows and smash it over and over again into the pavement. It is a small and unsatisfying victory, but a victory nonetheless. The sky is thick with demons like clouds, the light filtering through a deep crimson. How long until you break - how long until you give in? This is not your realm. Go home, child of the Everdark. Leave this place.

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Runa the Grey

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Location: New York City
Skills: N/A
Spells: N/A

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"You all best come inside," Zelma, arcane archivist of the Sanctum Santorum, beckoned. Runa felt something tiny and scratchy on her hand, and it took her a moment to realize that it covered her entire body - and it felt suspiciously like glitter. As she could not see, she was unaware that the entire party from the Everdark was covered in sparkling pink glitter - Klara's handiwork. She only knew that it seemed she had a fair amount on her and Runa debated casting a spell to incinerate each piece individually, but decided to let it be.

She had no eyes to see the shiny specks with anyways.

They put a hand on Klara's shoulder, using their younger cousin as a bit of a guide as they entered the Sanctum Santorum. To Runa, the space was a darkness with splotches of deep colors, the intense magic of this place made manifest. To the others, it was the quintessential decor of Stephen Strange - deep red curtains, ancient tomes and artifacts all around, an old yet well maintained hardwood floor that their heels clicked against as they walked. Candles burst to light as they entered, and some Halloween decor from Party City burst into song.

"Yikes, sorry, that's not the mood," Zelma muttered, hurrying to shut off the Frankenstein head that was singing the Monster Mash. The place was covered with red solo cups and other party supplies as well - someone had been playing King's Cup too. "Look, you're all somehow the Sorcerer Supreme. I don't know how that's fucking possible, but we need you to go fix this NOW. The veil's got maybe minutes left at best. One of you has to cast the renewal spell - well, all of you. Together."

X-Men: Cosmic Crusades 👽

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Guin Stark

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Location: Asteroid M
Skills: Telepathy
~Fit Check~

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Guin received Mary's message and her eyes widened. It was all for a game? There wasn't even a good reason behind it - it was just a game?! As repulsive and disgusting as that was, it then prompted another question - who was running the game? Who was awarding the points? And who else was playing? It sent a shiver down her spine, imagining people going around killing mutants for sport. There was something callous about it, something that made her want to wretch. She'd rather face off against the villains with convictions than ones like these.

They'd need to find that out - they'd need to find out who was running this. But for now, they had to save everyone they could. Finding this game master would have to wait.

"It's a game. They're killing everyone for points," Guin muttered to her companions, filling them in as they reached Anne Cortez.

The room was wrecked - Cortez's sister was blasting everything in sight, and the equipment was ruined, up in flames. Even Guin, with all of her talents when it came to technology, couldn't help but be nervous that they'd manage to salvage any of this. Bethany restrained Sister Cortez and Peregrine made a ghostly apparition ready to attack should she not comply. "I'll see if there's anything I can do. But we might... ugh... we might need Magneto on this."

Systems are trashed. Doing what I can. Magneto might need to fly the station to safety - maybe park on the moon?

Roll Request

Oh boy. Tech support is here.
Skills: Electronics and Computers, Problem Solving, Perception, Mechanics, Engineering Design

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Neil Spellman

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Location: the Asteroid
Skills: N/A
~Fit Check~

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The situation had gone from okay to worse. Everything in the room was destroyed, and they were having a hard time believing that any of it could be fixed. Even Guin and Mira probably couldn't do it. And then Cortez's sister, Bethany and Perry had her under control, but was it already too late? Was this station bound to explode, to crash into the Earth? How many were going to die?

And then there was what Guin said - that this was just a game to them, that their motivations were solely around winning points. It was horrifying. Neil had never fought against people like this before, people who had such a disregard for life that it was just a game, just something to pass the time with. Even the murderers in their family had more respect for life, honoring it in their own twisted ways.

They didn't know what they were going to do.

They didn't know how to fix this.

Ω Heroes of Olympus: The Next Age of Heroes Ω

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☀️ Nancy Parker ☀️

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Location: Lotus Hotel and Casino
Skills: N/A

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Nancy tried to remind herself that they needed Cassian to come with them. It was a struggle.

He was clearly either under the Hotel's charms or under the sway of his own innate delusions, it was difficult to say. Or perhaps it was the influence of his friends - Empousai. Trivia's children. She tried not to look for traces of Mads in their faces, as one of them took Cassian hostage, backing away - the other then doing something to entrance Kristin. She tried not to have flashes of Mads' imagined death, of her resurrection in Tartarus as a monster, as her features morphed from her own until her hair was fire and her leg had shifted, until she looked exactly like the monsters before her. She really tried. She tried to only feel her anger, her rage, her hate - to shove aside all other emotions.

The fight had broken out quickly, everyone trading blows - and Janelle even managing to put some to sleep. Nancy called her imperial gold twin daggers to her hands, giving them a slight twirl before going in for blood.

Roll Request

Nancy is going to stab the Empousai and send them to Tartarus, please

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🌈👻 Leda Storm 👻🌈

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Location: Tartarus
Skills: N/A

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Leda raised an eyebrow, appraising Mads' temporary outfit. Had this been Drag Race, she would've been lip syncing tonight in her opinion. But she kept that comment to herself, making a mental note to tell Kiera later - and then it occurred to her... There wouldn't be a later. Her shoulders slumped slightly, as the weight of loss made itself known. She was dead. She'd died a hero's death, the glory she always had wanted and yet... all she really wanted was to be back at camp with Kiera, to have her girlfriend in her arms, safe and sound. She realized in that moment that she had never wanted to be a demigod, not really.

"Gross," Leda muttered, giving the furs Mads had passed her a sniff. But she didn't want to find out what happened when a ghost died in Tartarus, so she slipped them around herself, even as it made her want to gag. "I think I died? Not sure why I ended up here, Mum's got some explaining to do." She said it all casually, like she was remarking on the weather, and not trying to explain why a non-monster had died and gone to Tartarus. But it was the only way Leda knew how to cope with this - to just breathe and flow. "What about you? Rabid dog bit ya?"

Avengers Academy 💥

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@BlueSky44@Nallore@Trainerblue192@Achronum@PatientBean@Forsythe@Blizz@Kirah@Natsu

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8:50 PM - Sun. October 31st, 2038 - Margaret Carter Institute

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Trick or Treat 2023 Records

• Mary Sue - Trick - Her backpack was stolen in the library! She'll have to replace her laptop/books/etc.
• Vicky - Trick - Through a misunderstanding with a teacher (Usagi) Vicky has detention for the entire month of November
• Sabine - Trick - someone hacked Sabine’s socials and put up some disgusting, bigoted content pretending to be her
• Andy - Treat - Magneto sends her a gift, it’s a pair of vambraces that fit her perfectly, they’re made out of an unknown material and can deflect bullets and the like
• Zari - Treat - On Halloween morning, Zari also gets a present from her family. It’s an enchanted tool belt. Whatever tool she needs if she reaches for it, it’s there
• Leah - Trick - After the Monster Mash when Leah returns to her room, there is a postcard on the wall from Oslo. Written on it is her birth name. Nothing else.
• Dorian - Treat - On Halloween day, Dorian’s father sends him a ~spooky~ gift. It’s a mini dinosaur! And by mini I mean like 6 inches tall. But it’s alive!

---

@Nallore@BlueSky44: The guards uncrossed their weapons, and lowered the gate so that way the girls could enter Avalon. "Your friend came by a week ago. Perhaps she's still here." Now that the gate was lowered, they could see the bustling city beyond - it was like a real medieval marketplace, with criers hawking their wares. The castle-city was dominated by a grand palace nearby, likely where King Arthur and Queen Guinevere lived. As to where in the city Cassie was... well, they'd have to do some searching.

"A week ago?" Kate muttered, as they walked through the gates. "That's impossible. We just got here."

"Time works differently in other dimensions," America shrugged.

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April Flynn

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Location: Monster Mash - Cafeteria
Skills: N/A
Costume: Perfuma from She-Ra

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Even the comfort of her friends and girlfriends was not enough to reach April, not enough to rouse her from her distress. The tears flowed as Mads embraced her, as Sabine squeezed her hand, as Leah asked what was wrong, as Danni came to the rescue. She wanted to scream at all of them to get away, to run from her and never look back, because he was inside her - Magneto was in her blood, in her DNA, just waiting to emerge. The helmet would be her tomb, her grave. Her body was not her own - it had never felt quite right, never making sense. And this must have been why.

To make things worse, she could feel the eyes of the school on her - sure, everyone had been leaving the Haunted House/Maze in tears and she hadn't been the first one to scream, but it felt like everyone was staring. She wanted to disintegrate in that moment, to disappear - to reload the universe so she could go back to the moment where everything had been perfect, when they'd made it to the Contest, when she and her girlfriends had been crowned School Royalty.

Amidst her sobs, she barely recognized the questions people were asking her, only managing to choke out - "I won't be like him. I-I won't."

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Percy Novikov

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Location: Monster Mash - Cafeteria
Skills: N/A
Costume: the Tenth Doctor from Doctor Who

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Percy frowned slightly, considering Dorian's words carefully. He had always assumed that after graduation, he would simply wear clothing appropriate for whatever time period and culture he found himself in. He didn't plan to exclusively live in the twenty first century in America after all - all of time and space would be his to explore. Of course, Dorian was correct - he couldn't do that in his uniform. It would be out of place in most environments. As for after school extracurricular superheroism... the uniform seemed fine to him.

Dorian and Danni then started dancing, and Percy followed suit. His movements weren't as stiff and awkward as someone might have expected - but they weren't particularly modern either. His mothers had taken him for classical dancing classes since he was little, ever since he'd expressed an interest in ballet. So when he danced, he danced like it was a formal occasion - and not Nicki Minaj blasting through the speakers.

He froze though as he heard a crash, as someone flew into a wall - and more screams coming from the direction of the Haunted House. Danni took off quickly - it was their friend who seemed to be in trouble. Percy assumed Dorian would want to go there, so he followed suit.

Inferno - STRIKE THE MATCH! - Concluded

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@BlueSky44@Nallore@Trainerblue192@PatientBean@Blizz@Kirah@KazAlkemi

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the Everdark

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Runa the Grey

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Location: ??? -> Everdark
Skills: Intuition
Spells: Seidhr

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Runa did not breathe, for she had no body. But she could see - could see where the current had carried her. She was at the heart of Yggradsil, simultaneously beholding and within the tree. The space around her was heavy and poisoned, noxious fumes permeating the air, stinging her skin even though she had none. There was a gigantic wound like a crevice before her, festering and bleeding a dark miasma. It was complete nonsense, but nonsense of the deadliest order. The world tree was both real and magical at the same time, an illusion that carried the power of belief. It represented the realms, and thus, the fabric that bound them. A sickness in the tree was the sickness in the veil - and it was not just Midgard that Ananym's forces were invading.

It was everywhere.

Alfheim.

Vanaheim.

Asgard.

Muspelheim.

Nidavellir.

Jotunheim.

Niflheim.

Helheim.

They were all burning, all of them with a horrific engine powered by the souls of the young. Infants arranged in pentagrams, placed there no doubt by Ananym's servants across the realms. It was then that the plot became clear to Runa - that this wasn't merely about Midgard, about invading that realm with Limbo's might.

It was about the Elder Gods - it was a ritual that would bring them back and see them take dominion. True Dominion. They would be brought back to this plane, and they would devour it - devour countless souls. They would then ascend and rule what remained - Ananym likely had struck a deal with them, that they would let her be Queen, ruling under their Divine Right.

Runa glanced upwards, sighing softly. Their sins had returned to haunt them.

And they needed to wake up.

So, with a gasp, they did - their spirit descending to the Everdark and inhabiting their worn old body once more. "Ananym's plan is far more terrible than we realized. She does not simply want to rule Midgard - she wants to devour all the realms for her masters so they might ascend to Dominionhood. We cannot allow this to pass." Dominions were invincible, undying gods beyond time and space. Once ascended, they had always been Dominion. Had always existed.

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Earth-666

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@Trainerblue192: As you step through your portal, you find that you are somewhere that you recognize. You had just been there not too long ago (how long ago was it, really?) for a party. You have landed on the doorstep of the Sanctum Santorum in New York City - and a mailbox with gnashing teeth is currently trying to rip off your head.

(Any others who step through the portal will find themselves here with you).

@Nallore: You aren't the only one flying up around the Empire State Building - a flock of demons are there to greet you. They shriek at you and curse you, calling you a traitor, a false one - and they attack. You can defend yourself from some of them, but not all - they dive at you, scratching and clawing at you with foul, poison tipped talons. Your body feels hot and heavy, your head spinning. You'll need a cure - or at the very least, a way to fight back. The cloak can only do so much.

@Nallore: Zelma did know how to stop this - as an arcane archivist, she had read through reports of the original Goblin Night. "The babies must be removed from the pentagram - and then the witch doing all of this has to be destroyed," Zelma explained. "That was Maddie Pryor last time... I don't know who is doing it this time, but I bet whoever it is, they're the one that killed Stephen."

X-Men: Cosmic Crusades 👽

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Guin Stark

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Location: Asteroid M
Skills: Telepathy
~Fit Check~

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A lot happened very quickly.

The tides of the battle had started to turn, only for Mary to voice an unsettling truth - that Cortez had wanted them here, distracted, so that way something else could happen. If his plan was to crash the asteroid into the Earth... assuming that it didn't all just burn up on reentry... the death toll would be catastrophic. "That won't happen. We won't let that happen. And even if we fail, there's other groups on the planet that'll destroy this hunk of junk before it would hit the surface." They'd die, of course. SHIELD or the Avengers or the Fantastic Four would have to kill them to save the world.

As for Cortez's sister... Guin pushed, doing a quick telepathic scan of the asteroid. She found her pretty quickly. "Got her." She was in one of the main computer hubs. Guin took off at a sprint, trusting that the others had Cortez handled - or at least, Lance certainly seemed to. It wasn't too far to the sister's location, and as Guin got near, she could hear the sound of computer equipment being smashed and destroyed. Great. If there was one thing she loved, it was fixing machinery on a deadline. She much preferred fixing up Pietro's computer so he could play Phasmaphobia. That was relaxing, low stakes.

This... this could be about saving millions - or at least, about saving everyone aboard the asteroid.

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Neil Spellman

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Location: the Asteroid
Skills: N/A
~Fit Check~

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Too much was happening, Neil's brain unable to process all of it. It reminded him of some D&D games they'd played sometimes, where the DM just keeps on rolling die after die, rattling off an insane amount of damage and effects to the extent that Neil couldn't keep it all straight. That was part of what it was like being on the X-Men though - they fought in groups, often times against just a few opponents, meaning that everyone was sort of going all at once. But at least, it seemed to be working. Cortez was losing.

They paled though as the theory came out that it might have all been a trick, that Cortez was distracting them so someone else could enact their evil plan. Just as things had started to turn in their favor, they were right back where they'd started - and it might even be too late. Guin exclaimed that she knew where Cortez's ally was and took off at a sprint - and Neil decided to rush after her, to do what they could to help.