Leda had gotten herself prepared to go as well, still keeping a hold on the bone sword. It wasn't Ultraviolet, but it was better than nothing. Her heart panged a bit with longing for her blade - she hoped that Kiera had it, that it wasn't trapped underneath the rubble... where her body most likely was. She grimaced slightly at the thought. Maybe that was why she had ended up in Tartarus - no one had been able to put a coin on her to give her passage to the Underworld. Kiera wouldn't have even known to do that, would she have? This was all so new to her - it wasn't her life, not like it was for Leda.
She left the small hut with Mads and the giant, a bit frustrated with the slowness of the pace, but glad that they were making real progress - that for better or worse, this part of the journey would be coming to a close.
M I S C E L L A N E O U S ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ►Character Info Age: 609 Birthday: October 13, 1461 Gender: Female Pronouns: She/Her Sexuality: The living and the dead Habits: Hobbies:
M I S C E L L A N E O U S ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ►Character Info Age: 0 Birthday: Today Gender: Male Pronouns: He/Him Sexuality: Highly Specified Habits: Stretching, flexing his muscles Hobbies: He's excited to find some!
►Fears Maximilian Gray The destruction of Strange Academy Losing the people he loves
►Toxic Traits Impulsive, reckless Enabler
►Likes Physical Touch Long Walks Chasing Butterflies Magic Having all of his friends together in one place <3 Making new friends!
►Dislikes Books (he can't read!) Staying still Loud, sudden noises When his friends fight :( Wearing a shirt (he gets hot!) Being alone -
3:00 PM - Sun. December 12th, 2038 - New Orleans, Louisiana
The event everyone has been waiting for is finally here - the Contest of Champions. Of the students who qualified for the event from the Margaret Carter Institute, only one decided to sit out - Vicky van Dyne, recently liberated from C.A.G.E. At four o'clock, all competitors would be required to undergo a brief medical examination, to ensure that there were no attempts at cheating, and to ensure that there were no irregularities with the team rosters.
The next day - Monday, December 13th, the contest itself would begin. Sixteen teams from around the world were competing, and only eight of them would move onto the next round, on Tuesday, December 14th. Another round of eliminations would reduce the number down to four teams competing in the semi-finals on Wednesday, December 15th. And finally, the championship match would be held during the day on Thursday, December 16th.
And that evening, after the dust had settled and the contest victors were determined, the students of Strange Academy would be hosting a party, with invites magically sent out to all the competitors in the contest. The theme of the party? Midnight Masquerade.
Excelsior, with coach Ser Nemo
April
Danni
Dorian
Zelda
Sabine
Mads
Uncanny Avengers, with coach Lady Nimue
Percy
Zari
Andy
Diana
Leah
Mary Sue
Gideon
The Young Avengers, with coach Vision
Billy
Tommy
Teddy
Eli
America
Cassie
Kate
Sorcerer's Inn:
Room 1 - Billy, Tommy, Teddy, and Eli
Room 2 - Cassie, Kate, and America
Room 3 - Sabine, Leah, and April
Room 4 - Diana, Zelda, Mary Sue, and Gideon
Kingston-Gray Residence: room assignments will be given out by the NPCs
April's mood had been a mixture of extremes that day.
Excitement. She was traveling to New Orleans today, traveling to go compete in the Contest of Champions. She was one step closer to achieving one of her dreams, one step closer to putting her skills to the test. It didn't matter what others thought, that some said the contest was vapid and silly, a waste of time. It mattered to her. She'd been training for it ever since she started at the Margaret Carter Institute - training for a chance to take home the crown, with her best friends by her side.
Anger. She had asked her parents if she could stay with Danni and Dorian's family - they lived so close to Strange Academy, where the contest was being held - and they had said no. Her father had refused to budge on the decision, going off about how weird and dangerous Max Gray was. Nothing April said mattered. They didn't care that those were her best friends - they didn't care that she felt safer around Danni and Dorian than anywhere else - they didn't care about anything that didn't match their view of how the world was. She hadn't realized why she had told Dr. Whitehall she didn't want to see her parents when she was at C.A.G.E., but she was beginning to see now. It wasn't the house that was suffocating. It was her family. She hated them.
Fear. What if she couldn't do it? What if she was the reason that her team failed? What if they would have been better off without her - that she should have still been in C.A.G.E., her presence just a hindrance to everyone around her? What if they all hated her and were just too polite to say anything? What if she hated herself? What if the medication wasn't enough - what if she had another episode? What if she lost control of her emotions on the flight - what if her powers went out of control?
Sorrow. All her friends were elsewhere. She was alone. Leah and Sabine - she'd broken up with them. Zelda - Zelda hadn't even tried to visit her when she was in the hospital, and April hadn't spoken to her sister since. Diana - she hardly knew her, she was a familiar face, but not a good friend. And the same was true of Mary Sue. The Young Avengers were here too, laughing and smiling and generally enjoying each other's company. But all April wanted was to disappear. She wished she could have been with her friends. She wished she didn't have to be so alone.
The plane flight had been the longest three and a half hours of her life.
Lady Nimue hadn't been there that morning when they'd left for the airport - Vision, the coach for the Young Avengers, hadn't explained much as to why beyond the fact that there had been an emergency Nimue had needed to attend to. She would be joining them in New Orleans the next day, or as soon as she could. So it was the Vision who escorted them all from the New Orleans airport to the hotel, an unremarkable building on Bourbon Street called the Sorcerer's Inn. Their rooms had been assigned per the requests they had submitted last month - meaning that to April's despair, she was placed in a room with Sabine and Leah.
It was better than a room with Zelda - but not by much.
"Remember, children, you are representing the Margaret Carter Institute," Vision stressed, once everyone's things had been collected and placed in their hotel rooms. "Be on your best behavior. You will follow all of the school's rules, and respect your curfew of nine o'clock at night. If you wish to explore, you must have one other student with you, and you need to inform me as to where you are going."
"In one hour, you must be at Strange Academy for the pre-contest examination. This is when they will confirm that you are the individual you claim to be, and that you are not taking any performance enhancing drugs, such as Mutant Growth Hormone. This is also when the team compositions will be finalized. Tomorrow, the sixteen teams competing will face off in a series of eight matches, determining which eight teams will move on to the next round."
The synthezoid then paused, a grim expression settling on his face. "I... must also be the bearer of bad news," he continued, his tone gentler. "I received word from Lady Nimue a few moments ago. Ser Nemo has passed away from a heart attack."
April froze.
"... What?" she whispered.
She hadn't really known Ser Nemo - he had been new to the school, and it was only after she returned back from C.A.G.E. that she had been switched to his team from Nimue's. But he was still her teacher - he was still an adult in her life. Hearing that he was dead... Her chest felt tight, her hands clammy, and she could feel the pinpricks of tears forming in the corners of her eyes. She could hear the water rushing in the pipes that went throughout the hotel, could feel the vibrations from the fountain display nearby in the lobby.
Nemo was... dead?
April looked around frantically, before her eyes settled on the women's restroom - "I-I-I need to use th-the bathroom," she excused herself frantically - before she practically ran into the bathroom, locked herself in the nearest toilet, and tried to remember any of the breathing exercises that Maeve had taught her, as the water around her began to slosh violently.
Nemo was dead.
He'd died.
April didn't know how to handle death.
Ardere had died that night with Arcade. April hadn't thought about it - hadn't dwelled on it. Ardere had been a student, yes, but she had been trying to kill them. Nemo.... Nemo had been the one to look out for April, to keep her from making a huge mistake - to get her the help she hadn't been ready to accept at the time. She still didn't know how he'd known, but... He'd known. He'd saved her.
And he was dead.
With trembling hands, April pulled her phone out of her pocket, and stared at her speed dial for a moment. Danni. Dorian. Leah and Sabine were still saved there. Mads was too. Things felt weird with Mads lately - talking about her emotions... It was hard. Too hard. Sabine and Leah, they were out in the lobby, probably happy that they'd dodged a bullet with the crazy ex-girlfriend.
She navigated to her group chat with Danni and Dorian, and she pressed call.
Percy Novikov
Location: Avengers' Academy - Outside Stark Hall Skills: N/A Outfit:
Most of the students participating in the Contest of Champions were already in New Orleans, their plane having touched down a little under an hour ago. Percy's hands were clammy, his heart pounding with anxiety - not from still being in California, but rather from the fact that any moment now, his boyfriend's family was about to open up a portal and step on through. He'd caught a glimpse of them the night that Arcade had attempted to murder them all, but no formal introductions had been made. This was going to be different. Rather than staying at a hotel, he was going to be staying at the Kingston-Gray residence during the Contest of Champions - at Dorian's house. With his fathers. And a random assortment of Percy's peers.
He'd never cared so much before about making a good impression.
He hadn't been able to sleep much the night before. He had contemplated going to Dorian's room to join him there, but it was pretty crowded since April had moved in after returning from the asylum. Pacing back and forth had been no use, and neither had his stash of bourbon been. Instead, he had conducted an extensive Internet search on an incredibly important and complex topic:
what to do when you meet your boyfriend's family for the first time.
The results of his investigation had been distressing. He was meeting Dorian's family far too soon. All sources indicated that he should only meet them once they had been dating for six months, and Percy hadn't even known Dorian six months ago. Secondly, he was supposed to bring them a small and thoughtful gift - and Percy had nothing prepared. He had gone through every item in his room and could not find a single thing that seemed appropriate to give - one of Dorian's fathers was a sorcerer to rival Doctor Strange, what could Percy possibly have to offer? And lastly, the recommendations were to be well-mannered, respectful, and polite... and given Percy's recent revelations about his own behavior, he didn't know if he would even know if he was being rude.
So in short, the scenario was a nightmare - a catastrophe waiting to happen.
Around four o'clock in the morning, he had switched from bourbon to coffee. It hadn't been working to calm his nerves.
So at one o'clock in the afternoon (three o'clock New Orleans time), his eyes bloodshot and his head pounding from the hangover, Percy stood outside of Stark Hall at the designated meet-up spot, his suitcase by his side, as he ran through a thousand different scenarios in his head - a thousand different ways that things were about to go horribly wrong. He'd even contemplated lying that he was ill, just to delay this a little longer. He checked his watch, the inscription from Agatha completely unreadable. Dorian's family would be here any minute with a portal.
Ser Nemo wasn't there. That was odd. Firestar had shown up instead, the designated chaperone to see them safely into the care of the Kingston-Grays. She wouldn't be coming with them to New Orleans. "Hm, they're running a bit late," Firestar mused, looking at her phone to check the time. Her face fell.
April was pacing back and forth in the training room she and Danni had reserved, her stomach feeling like it was bubbling up with anxiety. She hadn’t been able to train while she was at C.A.G.E., and as much as it had been the right call for her to go there, she was all too aware of how close they were to the Contest of Champions - and how far behind she felt in terms of being prepared. It wasn’t just that she was a bit out of practice now, either - the medication she was on had an unfortunate side effect of causing tremors in her hands. It was supposed to go away soon - hopefully before the contest - but the doctors had informed her that everyone reacted to lithium a little differently. She couldn’t even manage to apply mascara without smudging it everywhere, nearly getting some in her eye.
But she wasn’t about to let her team down. Danni had volunteered to practice with her - they’d been sparring ever since they were freshman, their powers complementary. Hopefully the fine motor control wasn’t going to be as much of an issue as she feared - hopefully, she wasn’t going to be the reason that her team failed to take home the crown.
”Don’t go easy on me, okay?” April asked, biting her lip slightly when she saw Danni enter the room. ”If - if I’m not able to do this, then maybe - then maybe we can see if someone else can step in for me? Or you can do a smaller team, force one of the Young Avengers to have to sit out.”
April:
Health: 60
Focus: 30
Karma: 2
Notes - Trouble on actions requiring fine motor control of hands
Danni:
Health: 60
Focus: 60
Karma: 2
Notes - Danni has Edge when attacking with his Elemental Burst.
Danni followed close on her heels, bouncing his toes. It felt like ages since they’d sparred. He was itching to get back into it, even with the little voice in the back of his head warning him. But when Princess dared to suggest dropping her, he gasped out loud. It took him a second to recover but he was on her in a second, clamping his hands on her shoulders.
“Princess, lemme tell ya. I would rat'er lose the CoC wit’ you t'an win wit'out you. You've ‘ad a tough time, but t'at doesn't me we give up on ya and we don't give up on our dream, got it?” Danni said seriously. “You're back, you're in t'e game, and now we gotta a lotta ass ta kick. So stop avoiding your stretchs so I can kick your butt all over t'is gym.” Danni laughed pulling his arm up behind his head.
”Thanks, Danni,” April gave him a quick hug, and a kiss on the cheek. She’d needed to hear that. The anxiety levels faded down - not completely gone, but a little easier to manage, at least for the moment. This was a spar with Danni - she’d done this a million times before, and no matter what happened in New Orleans, she’d get to spar with him a million times again. She tried to tell herself that she had nothing to be worried about - and that even if she did badly today, he wasn’t going to judge her for it. He wasn’t going to get mad. The only person judging her was herself - something she was coming more and more to terms with.
She went through her stretches somewhat quickly, working her arms first - the wrist stretches were more challenging than normal - and then switching to her legs. Once April finished, she bounced lightly up and down, shaking her body out. ”Okay, I think… I think I’m ready,” she affirmed. There was a small barrel of water off to the side - she couldn’t generate it, and pulling the ambient moisture in the air was beyond her skill level.
Danni felt the rush of exhilaration as he finished his stretches, shook himself out, and kicked it into high gear. Fire ignited beneath him and he put a soke distance between them, and headed up out of melee range. “T'ere's my Princess! I ain't goin’ easy on ya!” Danni laughed, spinning as he fired a HotShot and traced the flame in an arc at her side.
Danni:
Health: 60
Focus: 60
Karma: 2
Notes -
Danni has Edge when attacking with his Elemental Burst (Fire).
Danni used his fly speed and used Elemental Burst (Fire).
Danni rolled a 3d6, getting 6 5 2 = 13 then adds his Agility, 13 + 3 = 16.
April's Agility defense is 13 so the attack hits and he decides not to use his Edge to reroll a die.
Danni's agility damage is the middle value x 4+ 4, or 5 × 4 + 4 = 24.
Reflexively, April threw her hands up towards her side, water jumping out of the nearby barrel and rushing up to her, flattening out to create a shield of sorts - his flames crashed into the liquid, vaporizing it immediately, as her heart pounded from the spike in adrenaline. She then snatched up a sphere of water, the edges of it shaking in a way that matched the tremors in her hands, and she lobbed it across the room at Danni, narrowly missing him. The anxiety and shame pooling in her stomach only increased - sure, she’d managed to block his flames, but if she couldn’t even hit him…
April:
Health: 60
Focus: 25
Karma: 2
Notes - Trouble on actions requiring fine motor control of hands
As a reaction, April uses Elemental Protection 1 (Water).
This costs 5 focus, bringing her focus from 30 to 25.
As Danni’s attack did more than 10 damage, the water protection is destroyed, but April takes no damage
As an action, April then uses Elemental Burst (Water).
April rolls 3d6, but has Trouble, so her highest die will be re-rolled and the lower number taken. She rolled 5 2 6, so the 6 is re-rolled, and became a 1. 5 2 1 = 8. She adds her Agility to this, 8 + 3 = 11.
Danni’s Agility Defense is 14, so the attack is a miss.
“Damn, I t’ought I was gonna getcha wit’ t’at one!” Danni cheered as he twisted away from April’s shot. “Let’s try t’at again! Round two, coming up! Which way am I gunna blast it? Who knows, not even me!” Danni cackled, firing off a barrage of shots and only letting one curve back down towards April, marked to strike directly on her shoulder!
Danni:
Health: 60
Focus: 60
Karma: 2
Notes -
Danni has Edge when attacking with his Elemental Burst (Fire).
Danni used his fly speed and used his Elemental Burst (Fire).
Danni rolled a 3d6, getting 4 5 6 = 15 then added his Agility, 15 + 3 = 18.
April's Agility defense is 13 so the attack hits and he decides to use his Edge to reroll the Marvel die for a fantastic Success. The 5 becomes a 6, which he keeps.
Danni's agility damage is the middle value x 4 + 4, or 6 × 4 + 4 = 30.
She couldn’t help but giggle a bit at Danni’s energy - it was infectious. That was one of the fun things about sparring with him - the way he really got into it, just letting loose. And while he was throwing fire at her, she was never afraid that he was actually trying to burn her - and if he did, it wasn’t anything that a quick trip to see Nurse Annie wouldn’t fix. ”No way!” April called out, throwing up a water barrier again, the molecules quickly converted into steam that floated up harmlessly towards the ceiling. ”You’re gonna have to try harder, HotShot!” she teased.
But she couldn’t just taunt him, without trying her hardest in return. A little burst of water wasn’t going to be enough - so she switched tactics ever so slightly, reaching for a little more power. This time, her hands were a little steadier, as she grabbed as much water as she could, throwing it straight at Danni in an onslaught.
April:
Health: 60
Focus: 15
Karma: 2
Notes - Trouble on actions requiring fine motor control of hands
As a reaction, April uses Elemental Protection 1 (Water).
This costs 5 focus, bringing her focus from 30 to 20.
As Danni’s attack did more than 10 damage, the water protection is destroyed, but April takes no damage
As an action, April then uses Elemental Blast (Water).
This costs 5 focus, bringing her focus down from 20 to 15.
Elemental blast comes with an Edge on the attack.
April rolls 3d6, but has Trouble and an Edge, so no dies are re-rolled.She rolled 3 4 5 and 3 4 5 = 12. She then adds her Agility, so 12 + 3 = 15.
Danni’s Agility defense is 14, so the attack is a hit.
For this power, the damage is that number, so she deals 14 points of damage. She then deals an additional 2 points of damage, as she used 5 Focus points, so 14 + 2 = 16 points of damage.
Danni beamed at the little giggle she let out. She’d been pouty about her lack of training and he knew once he got her back out here, she’d loosen up and enjoy again. She was a little rusty but… “Princess, what t’e ‘ell!” Danni yelped as she hurled what looked like a whole swimming pool at him! He dug in deep and exploded, boiling away the water that was the immediate problem, momentarily falling as his concentration waivered. ‘Damn, girl. Where you ‘idin’ all t’at muscle? You been tryin’ ta get me ta lower my guard? Betcha can’t do it again!” Danni taunted, giving himself a little more room to maneuver.
Danni:
Health: 60
Focus: 55
Karma: 2
Notes -
Danni has Edge when attacking with his Elemental Burst (Fire).
As a reaction, Danni used Elemental Protection 1 (Fire) .
This cost 5 Focus, bringing his focus down from 60 to 55.
As April’s attack did more than 10 damage, the fire protection is destroyed, but Danni takes no damage.
As an action, Danni uses Dodge so that all attacks against him have trouble until his next turn.
”Oh really?” April laughed. She was already feeling her focus begin to slip, the mental muscle not as exercised as it could have been… But she couldn’t just back off from a challenge like that! She had to respond to it - otherwise Danni would tell her that she was fighting like a straight person - a fate worse than death! But instead of just hitting him with a blast of water, April shot out water at him like a tendril, attempting to grab him. He was too fast though, dodging out of the way before she could ensnare him.
April:
Health: 60
Focus: 10
Karma: 2
Notes - Trouble on actions requiring fine motor control of hands
No reactions used.
As an action, April uses Elemental Grab (Water)
This requires 5 focus, bringing her focus down from 15 to 10.
Danni is dodging, so she has Trouble from that. April also has Trouble from the tremors in her hands. Trouble stacks.
She rolls 3d6 and rolled 1 2 2. For the first trouble, she rerolls the right-most 2, and gets a 1. For the second trouble, it technically doesn’t matter, as lowering the middle die from a 2 to a 1 would actually be a Fantastic result. And a 1 on the left-most and right-most dies are already the lowest she can go. This is then 1 2 1 = 4. She adds her Ego modifier, which is a 3, bringing her number to 7.
Danni’s Melee defense is a 10, meaning this attack is a miss.
Danni wolf whistled at the cool way she worked the water, shouting in excitement as she danced around it. “Damn, gurl! I t’ought you said you ‘adnt been practcin’! That’s a new move and you waited ‘til you t’ough I was distracted! Sneak, sneaky.” Danni tsk, tsk’d. “I love you even more for it!” Danni laughed, firing another Hotshot that fell just left of her as he spun just a little too far.
Danni:
Health: 60
Focus: 55
Karma: 2
Notes -
Danni has Edge when attacking with his Elemental Burst (Fire).
Danni used his fly speed and used Elemental Burst (Fire).
Danni rolled a 3d6, getting 1 3 1 = 5 and used his Edge to reroll a one.
Danni rolls a 3, changing his rolls to 3 3 1 = 7 then added his Agility 7 + 3 = 10.
April's Agility defense is 13 so the attack missed
”I haven’t been!” she affirmed. ”All there was to do in C.A.G.E. was, like, read books, talk to people if they came to see me, and try to explain to August the rules of Monopoly.” And therapy. A lot of therapy. And crying. But she didn’t want to talk about that stuff right now - it was still weird to know where the line was, what things were okay to talk about, and what ones would make her friends look at her like she was moments away from breaking. She was trying, though - trying to be more honest, with herself and with her brothers.
There was a slight pause in the flow of the fight, and April decided to try to take that moment to recollect herself - to try to keep her thoughts from wandering back to everything that had happened, and refocus more on the task at hand, on the spar. And once she had found her center, she got ready for Danni’s next attack.
April:
Health: 60
Focus: 30
Karma: 1
Notes - Trouble on actions requiring fine motor control of hands
April is going to spend 1 point of Karma to attempt to regain some Focus as an action.
She rolls 3d6, with a TN of 10. She rolls 4 1 2. This is a Fantastic result, meaning the actual value is 4 6 2 = 12. She adds her vigilance modifier as well, which is a 1, bringing the total up to 13. This is then a Fantastic success.
She gains then her rank times the total number times two back in Focus points, or 2 x 13 x 2 = 52. Her max, however, is 30, so she only gains up to her max.
No reactions used.]
Danni paused as the water stilled and he watched April gather herself. Shit, he’d been having so much fun, he’d given her a moment to relax! “Whoa, whoa, whoa! T’en all t’is is natural talent? Daaaaaaamn, Princess. I always told you you were special. But let’s see what ‘appens when we crank up t’e ‘eat!” Danni hit the ground, a small flame in his palm flickering and growing. As it did, he took a few steps forward and pitched a screaming fireball at April.
Danni:
Health: 60
Focus: 50
Karma: 2
Notes -
Danni has Edge when attacking with his Elemental Burst (Fire).
Danni used his fly speed and used Elemental Blast (Fire) with an edge on the attack.
Elemental Blast costs 5 focus, from 55 to 50.
Danni rolled a 3d6, getting 2 4 5 = 11 but has Edge on the attack so rerolls the 2.
Danni rolls a 5, so he has 5 4 5 = 14 and adds his Agility, 14 + 3 = 17.
April's Agility defense is 13 so the attack hits. Since he spent 5 focus, he gains +2 damage so his damage is middle die x 4 + 6, 4 x 4 + 6 = 22
”Not at all! I just have a great sparring partner!” April’s eyes then widened, as she saw the flame in Danni’s hand grow and grow and grow. He really wasn’t holding back on her. A gigantic ball of fire flew directly at her, and she could already feel its heat on her skin. She threw her hands up in front of her, water springing all around her in a massive sphere, evaporating away the moment the fireball collided with it, but leaving her unscathed, unhurt, her heart pounding furiously. That would have really hurt if she’d been hit - but instead of feeling angry or scared, she felt exhilarated, the adrenaline pounding in her veins. If she was still good enough to protect herself from that… then maybe the Contest of Champions wasn’t such a lost cause after all. Her hands were still shaking, but she’d managed to hold off Danni, at least for now. And he was an omega level mutant, as much as he didn’t brag about it, he was incredibly powerful - that had to count for something. ”Shit, Danni - that was so cool!! I didn’t know you could make it that big!!”
But since Danni had turned up the heat… Maybe it was time to cool things down a little bit. This time, as she grabbed small spheres of water, April froze them, becoming little bursts of ice. ”Think fast!” she teased, before lobbing them towards him.
April:
Health: 60
Focus: 25
Karma: 1
Notes - Trouble on actions requiring fine motor control of hands
April uses Elemental Sphere (Water) as a reaction, spending 5 points of focus, bringing her focus score to 25.
As Danni’s attack did 22 points of damage, her sphere breaks, but she is left unharmed.
As an action, she uses Elemental Burst (Ice).
She rolls 3d6, with Trouble, and gets 3 1 5. This would be a Fantastic result, but since she has Trouble, the middle die has to be re-rolled… but she rolled a 1 again, giving her 3 1 5 = 14. She adds her Agility modifier to this, so 14 + 3 = 17.
Danni’s Agility defense is 14, so the attack hits and is a Fantastic success.
Because it is a Fantastic success, Danni suffers the special effect for ice, and is paralyzed for one round.
April’s Agility damage is the middle die value x 2 + 3, or 6 x 2 + 3 for 15. Because it is a Fantastic result, it doubles to 30 damage.
Danni's eyes widened as he got caught on the ground. He was so much more agile in the air and he'd maybe, sorta, kinda stop his training on the ground (He would never tell Poisson-Pas or he'd get chewed out) because being in the air was just that much more freeing! He tried his best to dip, duck, and dodge but there were so many. Water was one thing, but ice was another and he didn't feel like having hail sized bruises on his flawless skin. Again, fire rushed out all at once, layers of it this time, to melt the ice. “Sweet shots t'ere Princess, but I'm just too ‘ot ta ‘andle.” He threw her wink. “Let's play a game now, yeah? Floors lava!” He snapped and flames erupted around April, skimming up her side unintentionally, and imprisoning her. He kicked back into the sky while she was safety tucked away.
Danni:
Health: 60
Focus: 40
Karma: 2
Notes -
As a reaction, Danni used Elemental Protection 1 (Fire) .
The Focus cost is 5, bringing 50 to 45.
April’s attack deals more than 10 damage, so he loses the protection, but is unharmed.
Danni used Elemental Prison (Fire).
Elemental Prison (Fire) costs 5 focus, from 45 to 40.
Danni rolled a 3d6, getting 4 1 6, which is a fantastic success because of the middle die. This counts as a 6 as well.
Danni has 4 1 6 = 18 and adds his Ego, 18 + 4 = 22.
April's Agility defense is 13 so the attack hits. April is trapped inside the prison and since it was a fantastic success, takes full damage and the elemental effect. He deals 6 x 2 + 4 = 16 and April is ablaze, taking 5 points of damage at the end of each of her turns.
Her eyes widened, seeing the roaring flames completely surround her, blocking out her view of Danni from up above. It was so cool - his control had come a long way since they had been freshman, paired up together in a teacher’s desperate attempt to keep them from destroying the school infrastructure. It threw off so much heat, the fiery cage, that it was like the middle of summer at a theme park - and not the dead of winter inside an air conditioned gym. ”Okay you have to use this against Wiccan! This is so cool! Well, not cool, hot, but you know what I mean!” She’d managed to surround herself in a thin layer of water, dissipating the initial round of flames, but if she remained inside this cage, she was definitely going to get burned.
She gathered up as much water as she could, thankful for the small puddles that had formed all over the training floor at this point, and blasted it outwards, attempting to break open the cage from the inside. But it was no use - the flames were too hot, and she couldn’t douse them, the fiery prison remaining all around her.
April:
Health: 60
Focus: 10
Karma: 1
Notes - Trouble on actions requiring fine motor control of hands
April uses Elemental Protection 1 (Water) as a reaction, spending 5 points of Focus, bringing her focus down to 20. As Danni did more than 10 damage, the elemental protection breaks, leaving her undamaged.
April then uses Elemental Blast (Water) as an action, spending 10 points of Focus to try to increase her damage output.
She has Trouble on this attack but also an Edge, and rolls 3d6, getting 1 4 4. So she doesn’t need to re-roll any numbers, meaning 1 4 4 = 9. She adds her agility modifier, which is 3, bringing the total score up to 12.
Because she is attacking the barrier, she is rolling against Danni’s ego defense, which is 14, meaning the attack misses!
Danni rose a little further, maintaining his flames despite April’s attempts to smother them. His poor babies, being bullied by one of his favorite people. Still, he shouldn't waste the moment and he lined up his shot, the fireball growing in his hand. If he timed this right, he might be able to catch her off guard! He bounced it between the two, popping it off his knee, and batting it down at April. When it was a second away from hitting he dropped the prison. Surprise!”
Danni:
Health: 60
Focus: 35
Karma: 2
Notes -
Danni has Edge when attacking with his Elemental Burst (Fire).
Danni used his fly speed and used Elemental Blast (Fire) with an edge on the attack.
Elemental Blast costs 5 focus, from 40 to 35.
Danni rolled a 3d6, getting 5 5 4 = 14 but has Edge on the attack so rerolls the middle 5 to try and get a better result, but rolls another 5.
Danni has 5 5 4 = 14 and adds his Agility, 14 + 3 = 17.
April's Agility defense is 13 so the attack hits. Since he spent 5 focus, he gains +2 damage so his damage is middle die x 4 + 6, 5 x 4 + 6 = 26
Danni dropped Elemental Prison (Fire) as a free action.
April screamed - not in a terrified sort of way, but more in a genuinely surprised way, as the fiery cage fell down around her, only to reveal another fireball heading straight at her. She threw up her hands again, to at the very least shield her face, and water sprang up around her in a sphere, instantly vaporized by the sheer heat - but leaving her otherwise unscathed, as the steam rose up around her. It was a good thing the barrel of water she was working from had been enchanted - Nimue had set it up earlier in the year.
Her focus was starting to slip, though, and she could feel herself beginning to tire - it had been a while since she’d trained, but she wasn’t about to give up! She grabbed more water, yanking it out from the barrel, and she swung it around, sending a burst of ice towards Danni as it solidified, but her aim was poor, and it sailed past him harmlessly.
April:
Health: 60
Focus: 5
Karma: 1
Notes - Trouble on actions requiring fine motor control of hands
April uses Elemental Sphere (Water) as a reaction, spending 5 points of Focus, bringing her Focus down to 5.
April uses Elemental Burst (Ice) as a reaction.
She has Trouble, and rolls 3d6, rolling 1 3 3. She re-rolls the right-most 3, and rolls a 1, making it 1 3 1 = 5. She adds her agility modifier, a 3, making it 5 + 3 = 8.
Danni’s agility defense is 14, so the attack misses.
Danni spun out if the way, just to be safe, but April's attack had swung wide. Really wide. Danni paused. She'd be hitting hard and fast, pinpoint precision and then… Danni let himself to the ground, hands up and a smile on his face. “Princess, you doin’ alright? Wanna take a break, grab some… well, you ‘ave a lotta water but you know drink some instead of swattin’ me like a fly? Don't wanna overdo it right before the contest! We can even cuddle for a bit, yeah?”
Danni:
Health: 60
Focus: 35
Karma: 2
Notes -
Danni was concerned for April so wanted to see if he could tell she was tired out.
As there are no rules, the GM decided that it would be a Vigilance vs. Ego defense roll.
Danni has Trouble on Vigilance checks to notice things due to Clueless and because of this, Danni needs a full action to do this.
Danni rolls 6 1 1, which is a Fantastic Success, but because Danni has Trouble, he rerolls the middle 1.
Danni rolls a 5, which is 6 5 1 = 12.
Danni adds his Vigilance, 12 + 2 = 14.
April's Ego Defense Is 13 so Danni was able to tell April was starting to wear down.
She hesitated for a moment, debating about trying more - about pushing herself harder, and insisting that she was fine, that she could keep on going so they could practice more, that she just needed a little more time to get in shape for the Contest of Champions. But she was really tired… And her head was starting to pound a little bit from the strain, and the shaking in her hands was getting worse. But… If they lost the Contest of Champions because of her, and she could have spent another few minutes practicing, then didn’t she have to? ”Yeah, I’m doing - I’m doing great!” April lied. ”I can keep on going, I promise!” she doubled down.
Danni paused an arm's length away and gave her a slow look over. Was she fine? Beanie did tell him that his good intentions were sometimes ones and he'd been informed that he sometimes didn't consider other people when he made decisions, but ever since… Ever since they found out about what happened, Danni couldn't help but watch a little closer, cuddle a little longer, dote on her more than he did before so she knew she was loved and had a place with them always.
He still wasn't sure why she wanted to leave them.
“No, you're not.” Danni tried to keep his cool, the confidence and the fun, but he wanted to cry so bad. He wrapped her up in a hug. “You're not and t'at's okay, Princess. You need some time. We'll get you back into shape, but pushin’ yourself past your breakin’ point’s just gunna ‘urt you. I told you, I'd rat'er lose 100 Contests wit’ you t'an win one wit'out you so please? Let's take a break?”
She bit her lip, before nodding slightly as her shoulders slumped. ”… Okay,” she mumbled, resting her head on Danni’s chest as she returned the hug. ”… I don’t know why I - why I feel so strongly that I have to be good at things, or I’m letting people down,” she added, hugging a little tighter.
“You don't have to be like that wit’ us at least.” Danni promised, rocking them back and forth a little and placing a kiss on the top of April’s head. “We just want you, regardless of everyt’in’ else. We’ll always want you just ‘ow you are. So yeah, a break? We’ll get Amélie, and Dee, and Amor and maybe take a nap?”
April sniffled a bit, trying to hold back tears - not sad ones, at least. She didn’t know why it hit her so hard, every time Danni affirmed that he and Dorian just loved her the way she was, and that she didn’t need to pretend, but it did. She was so used to forcing herself to be okay, it was genuinely challenging to accept that she didn’t have to be. ”Maybe we make cocoa too?” she suggested.
,“Yeah. We can make cocoa too.” Danni giggled, squeezing a little tighter before breaking away. He slid his hand into hers and swung it obnoxiously. “Gunna get the little marshmallows too!”
She grinned, perking up a bit at Danni’s antics. He never failed to make her feel better. ”What’s the point without marshmallows?” she agreed, giggling a bit herself. ”… Thanks, Danni, for helping me. And being here.” He was always there for her when she needed him, and it meant more to her than she could say.
Danni beamed, thrilled with April's mood. “You're gunna ‘ave ta scrap me off wit’ a putty knife. I'm wit’ you like gum under a desk. And even if soemt'in’ ‘appens and we split apart, Dee and I would take t'e world apart looking for you.” Danni laughed. “You're family and we love ya. We'll always be t'ere for ya. You don't ever ‘ave ta ask, ya don't ever gotta pretend. Especially when we can get Pa ta make as much marshmallows as we want!”
”Daaaanniii you’re gonna make me cry!” April complained, before pulling him into a hug again. ”I love you both too… You and Dori are what’s worth living for,” she added, her voice practically a whisper.
Danni teared up and couldn't stop them from falling, even as he smiled a softer smile. “Then we'll make sure its’ wort’ it.” Danni inspired back, happy to bask in April’s presence.
A series of portals appeared, fractured from a singular point, concentrated into one destination - into the Phoenix. Runa added to them with one of her own. Ben studied the control panel, looking at the buttons - they seemed roughly the same color to him, and he cursed under his breath. He had spent so long as a ghost - almost two decades - that he'd almost forgotten a fundamental fact about himself. He was color blind. The buttons all looked the same, all varying shades of grey. He didn't know which one was The Big Red Button and which ones were green - and his Shi'Ar skills had atrophied since he was a kid. It wasn't like he had had much incentive to keep up with the language as a ghost. And he never worried too much about what he wore, as he tended to dress in black, and half of the time, his husband set out outfits for him anyways.
"Are you pressing anything?" Runa asked, peering her head over Ben's shoulder. "Why don't you press that one?"
"That one isn't the right one!" Ben insisted.
"Try the red one," Avery offered.
"No, the green one - it's obviously the green one!"
"No, it's never the red one!" Avery insisted.
Runa narrowed her eyes. "Boy-"
"-I'm not a boy."
"Child - I have been alive since before even your ancestors breathed their first breath - Listen to me when I say it is the green one."
"Well..." Avery faltered. They didn't know what to say to that. They wished that Max were here - that he knew of some sort of spell that could tell them how to operate this contraption. Or that the Shi'Ar had sent them with any sort of instruction as to its use. However, Runa wasn't the only immortal - surely Ben was just as ancient as his husband? Or maybe they were wrong - maybe Ben was tragically fated to die, while his husband never aged? "Ben agrees with me, and if he's nearly as old as his husband, I think we should listen to his expertise."
Ben narrowed his eyes. "I'm twice Max's age," he grumbled. "Only physically younger."
Twice Max's age? Avery's eyes widened. Was Ben older than time itself? Max was ancient, for Ben to be his senior... He must have been alive before even the planets had formed. Was Ben some sort of spirit, some sort of fundamental force? Runa was a goddess. Was Max's husband a deity?
Ben, however, was tired of this arguing - and he slammed his fist down on one of the buttons, seeing the machine slowly begin to operate. His eyes widened though, as the laser didn't... didn't immediately fire. He had thought it was ready, that once they pressed the button, it would fire off. Instead, they were sitting ducks, the portals open right in front of them, exposing them. "Fuck!" Ben slammed his fist down on the button again, trying to get it to fire off faster.
"Try pressing it gently," Runa said.
"I am pressing it gently!"
"Maybe there's a lever we can pull?"
Runa shook her head. "We're running out of time. I can fix this."
And then the Asgardian kicked the extremely fragile laser, and Ben nearly had an aneurysm.
Location: New Orleans Botanical Gardens Skills: N/A
Guin paused for a moment, watching as the memory started to play back - and then abruptly froze. It had been a long time since she had thought about Ayita. A year or so at least - her memory on when certain folks had joined the team and left the team was hazier the longer she was here. That was one of the weird parts about being with the X-Men - all of the students seemed to roughly stay the same age, giving the illusion that no time was passing, not really. She still felt like the young SHIELD agent who had shown up to the mansion, still having to have a supervising officer with her, barely eighteen years old. And now here she was, a seasoned X-Man, and married. So much had changed.
She turned around, seeing Mary there - not the one from the memory, but another Mary. Their Mary. Hiding in her own memory - the memory of when Chrysi had first emerged. But no sooner had they found Mary than strange shadows came into the room, trying to attack them. If Guin had to guess, Chrysi's way of trying to take them out of the picture.
Good thing she had a sword.
Guin is going to use the sword she made to attack the shadow creatures.
It was Victoria's fifth day at the C.A.G.E. So far, dare she hope, things were going well. Some people even showed up or promised to later, suggesting she might have even made some actual friends. There was only one snag.
The android laid on the bed in her room, glaring at the ceiling. A while ago, Dorian told her that she was not the only one who was on an extended stay at the facility. April was apparently sent this way as well.
Last time the two of them... Well, 'talk' would be overselling it. Vicky resolved to call that an interaction. Last time they did, things were about as smooth as sand paper. It's not like I didn't mean anything I said. She needs a kick in the arse! You've been given an extraordinary gift, woman, and you squander your time busying over being prom queen or some stuff! she reasoned internally.
But no amount of reasoning, or tossing, turning, and shaking her head would make the awful feeling she had go away.
"...Fine! I could have done it better!" she finally admitted to the walls of her room. It still didn't make her feel better. Sighing, she swung her legs down from the bed and headed out in search of the blonde.
April had figured out Vicky was in C.A.G.E. as well yesterday, on her third day there, not too long after her brothers had left after visiting her. And ever since, she had been going out of her way to avoid the android. Their last interaction had been far from kind and April didn’t need more random venom directed her way as she was trying to get better - trying to get to a more stable place so she could leave and go back home to her friends. Every time she caught sight of another blonde, April jumped behind the nearest thing to obscure her from sight - a potted plant, a couch, another patient, etc.
She didn’t know why Vicky had a problem with her, but she had no intention of finding out. She was currently in one of the lounges, flipping through one of the books Danni and Dorian had brought for her - thankfully not a romance novel, she was still tender from the day before. It had been her choice to initiate the breakup, but it still hurt. She still missed them.
Victoria has deliberately extended her search. She still wasn't quite sure what she even wanted to say to the other woman. Well, she knew what she wanted to convey, but with her lack of eloquence, she wanted to put enough thought into it as to not make the situation worse by accident. She did that where her roommate was concerned enough for an infinite lifespan already.
The slow, precisely timed clicks of her steps on the floor would herald her arrival at the lounge where she spotted her target. It appeared that Vicky was not the only one who thought books may be good to pass time here, albeit hers she considered part of a research for her therapy. She stood to the side of the doorframe as not to appear to block the escape route, her knuckles knocking on the steel. "...Hello, April. I understand if you don't want to talk to me and I'll walk if you don't, but if I may have your ear for a minute, I've come to bury the hatchet."
April shut her book quickly, her stomach oozing with dread. She had managed to avoid Vicky so far - she’d honestly been hoping she’d be able to make it the entire stay without talking to her. It had been so random, so completely out of nowhere - and she didn’t need that toxicity in her life. ”… I didn’t even know we had a hatchet, Vicky,” April sniffled. ”You don't even know me and I don’t know you.” She stood up, hugging her book to her chest like a shield. ”But go ahead. Say what you want to say.”
"I... know. I dug it up." Vicky sighed, "We may not have talked at all, but I know about you. But, that's not the entire point. Whatever I may think of you - and I admit my perspective is probably not entirely normal - You didn't deserve to have it aired like that. Not in front of everyone. And not after what we just were through. That was... beyond arsehood, and cruel of me, and I am very sorry." Vicky said, internally bracing for whatever may come in response.
April's eyes widened as Vicky claimed that she knew about her - what did she mean by that? Did she just mean she'd heard gossip about her at school? And what sort of gossip was that? Good gossip? Well, clearly not, given that it seemed Vicky had a poor opinion of her. Was Vicky stalking her, silently judging her every move? She swallowed slightly, not really sure how to feel about that piece of information. It still didn't make any sense to April why there would have been a hatchet to dig up in the first place - she didn't know this person. And ordinarily, April would have just said it was fine, forced a smile on her face, and then run off to deal with this later/never. But... The entire reason she was here was because she wasn't being emotionally honest with herself.
"Yeah, it really hurt," April said. "And maybe you know about me - whatever that means - but you don't know me. I get that you - that you think I'm stupid or something for the things that I care about - but I'm sure there are things important to you that I would find dumb, too. Like yeah, it was really shitty of you to say those things in front of everyone - but you just told me that you still believe in what you said. Maybe if you spent less time focusing on what you hate about everyone else, you'd be able to figure out whatever is wrong with you." Her heart beat quickened significantly. She didn't know what she was doing. But it felt good - it felt good to say this, even if it might have been wrong. "Like fun fact? I just found out I'm bipolar! I just found out I'm insane like the worst members of my family and now I get to deal with that! So sue me that instead of agonizing over whether I'm going to lose my mind and kill people one day, I instead want to think about winning a contest on a team with my friends! I'm a kid, I'm allowed to care about stupid stuff!" her body shook, and April closed her eyes tightly for a moment, as tears threatened to fall. She tried to concentrate on her breathing, to calm herself down - to step away from whatever emotion this was, whether it was anger or sorrow.
Victoria let April vent. She expected to get sucker punched on the low end, and it would have been deserved. "Would you prefer I lied to you and gave you a dishonest apology?" the android asked, a little confused. "And... I don't think you're stupid, and I don't hate you. I never said either of those." she pouted. Not keen on repeating her previous mistake, she looked around to check they were alone for this, before walking into the lounge and sinking into a bean bag.
"If anything, I'm disappointed. I don't get it. You have such potential to do good for billions! With your powers, there's no shortage of problems too big for regular folks to solve you can be taking a crack at. Oceanic oil spills. The great garbage patch. You want to be a hero? You could do something about any of them, and you'd make world news before you're twenty." her voice was devoid of any emotion, purely analytical.
"You can be the greatest hero of our generation and never have to see a fight, or anything else you might be worried could send you down a dark path. Compared to fighting other kids, for a fleeting chance of being noticed for some big team?" the android shrugged.
She leaned against the bag, hypnotizing the ceiling. "As far as being afraid of living long enough to see yourself become a villain goes?" she chuckled mirthlessly, "I guess we have something in common."
"I would have preferred that you be a better person!" April snapped, incredulous at what she was hearing. On some small level, it was comforting - it only confirmed to her that Vicky didn't really know anything about her at all. This was all just the opinion of someone making quick judgments about her from afar - someone who already had an opinion about her that they wanted to uphold. "And this? This is what I am fucking talking about! You don't know shit about me at all! You think I don't care about the environment - that my goal starts and ends at winning the contest? Yeah, it would be amazing to win it, and so cool to have the Avengers want to scout me! That doesn't mean I only think about how to use my powers for fighting! If you really know about me, then you know that I'm in crisis and disaster management courses - because you want to know what superheroes actually spend a lot of time doing, since the Earth isn't being invaded every fucking second? They go out and help people! Namor, Wave, Shark Girl - all of them use their powers to help save the fucking ocean and protect people! Well, when Namor isn't being a villain, but that's beside the point! Also, might not have occurred to you, but if I had the power right now to snap my fingers and clean up every oil spill, save every reef, I would! But I'm not fucking strong enough to do that yet! So that's why I'm here! At a school! To push myself to be able to do things like that! Do you even know how big oil spills are? The one in the Gulf is millions of barrels worth of oil, it stretches for thousands of square miles! It would take me years, decades, to clean that up where I'm at right now! So I'm at school! And do you know how you expand your powers, get better at them? By using them. By being fucking challenged. And sometimes, that looks like fighting other people!"
Listening to April go, Vicky wasn't impressed. She hopped back on her feet, before giving the other girl a rather judging glance. Learn by being challenged? Such old fasioned nonsense. Stumbling in the dark, hoping to find a way to do better on accident? If that's how others go about learning about their powers rather than, I don't know, studying how they work perhaps, no wonder the school is on fire, has busted plumbing or any number of damages so often. Fat load of good such 'training' under Usagi did us! the android compared to her experiences. She chose not to voice those thoughts though, seeing April was growing more agitated by the second. Better to not test the limit on those power dampeners.
"Well, then, I'm looking forward to being proven wrong." she answered, trying to say 'I'll believe it when I see it' in a milder way. "And I'll work on being a better person once I am done learning to be my own person with no puppeteer's strings attached in the first place. I can only do so much at a time." she grunted, turning to walk away. She said what she came here to say, but it was clear the two of them were far from reaching an understanding on... Well, anything really. "Anyway, I'll get out of your hair. Clearly this isn't of benefit to either one of us."
April stared at Vicky's back for a moment. Was this Vicky's pattern then - to show up and tell people everything she didn't like about them, walk away, pretend to apologize, and repeat? April didn't want any part of that. She could feel the judgment radiating off of the other girl. She didn't need that in her life - not now, not ever. "Do both of us a favor. Don't fucking talk to me again."
"Not. A. Problem." Vicky replied as she vacated the premises. When she reached her room, she found out the bad feeling from earlier was gone. She supposed it bothered when she hurt people for something they didn't deserve. Not agreeing on how they conduct themselves? Well, they were all free to not keep each other company. Probably for the best. It wouldn't be the first person in her life, and Victoria doubted she would be the last.
It was around three in the afternoon on a Saturday, Diana was in the school's gym she had been working out for the last hour and was just finishing for the day. It was pretty nice and relaxing without having to do go any classes for the rest of the semester Diana grabbed her bag and was getting ready to head out back to her dorm and get changed. Diana made it back to her dorm pretty quickly and started to change into some clean casual clothes.
Percy was not looking forward to speaking to his sister. It seemed like most of the school now had been gossiping about him sleeping with Dorian, and while he couldn't prove that Diana had been gossiping about it, it seemed incredibly likely. Combined with his realization during the session with Dr. Whitehall that his sister had a serious problem with Percy's boyfriend, he wasn't exactly happy with her at the moment. She had been off at school for the past few years - the last time the two of them had seriously lived together, Percy had been barely twelve, having not even hit puberty yet. Things were different now. And they needed to talk.
He knocked three times on her door, and waited. And then, unable to help himself: "this is a good example of how to knock in order to request access to a room, Diana," he called out.
Diana heard the knocks on her door and Percy's voice on the other end, she let out a slight sigh he really wasn't going to let go of her accidentally teleporting herself into Dorian's room she wasn't really looking forward to having this awkward conversation. "It was an accident teleporting into Dorian's room that day." Diana said sighing slightly as she made her way towards the door and opened it letting Percy in.
Percy stepped into the room, his hands in his pants’ pockets. “And was it an accident when you called my boyfriend a slimer?” he countered. He glances around the room, before settling his eyes on his sister. “I didn’t think I would get much out of therapy. But then I realized, you said something to me the night Arcade tried to kill us. You asked me how I could tolerate dating him. So I want to ask you, Diana - what exactly is your problem with my boyfriend?”
Diana went over and sat down on her bed and sighed slightly she did regret being mean and saying those things to Dorian, at times she did find him to be really annoying. She was just a little bit jealous that Percy found someone that he actually cares about, and she hadn't found anyone yet. "I apologize to you for being mean and saying those things to and about Dorian." Diana said as she looked up at her brother. "He is a little bit annoying sometimes, but I don't have any problem with him. I guess I am just a little bit jealous."
Percy raised an eyebrow slightly at his sister’s language. The only people he knew that said I apologize were politicians and Real Housewives stars. However, he nodded in recognition of the apology. ”Why? Because I’m spending time with him?” Percy pressed. ”You essentially moved out two years ago when you started coming here. If it’s an issue of my time, being jealous that I am spending it with Dorian doesn’t make sense. You’ve barely seen me aside from summers and breaks. If it’s the fact that I have a boyfriend and you’re single, then that isn’t anything I can help to you solve.”
He then frowned, before continuing. ”I’m in love with him, Diana. I wish you were happy for me. I would be happy for you.”
Diana looked down for a moment running a hand through her hair slightly she knew that she was in the wrong for treating Dorian Percy's boyfriend wrong and she did want her brother to be happy. "I am happy for you Percy, I really am. You found someone here quicker than I did since coming here." Diana said looking up at her brother.
"Does that matter?" he asked bluntly.
"Of course it does matter to me, you are my brother and I care about you and what makes you happy Percy." Diana said while looking at her brother.
”That’s not what I asked. I asked if it mattered - if it mattered that I found someone before you did,” Percy insisted. ”Is it a competition to you?”
Diana shook her head. "No it isn't at all, it was just weird seeing you, well almost naked." Diana said
”We were in Dorian’s room with the door locked,” Percy spat, feeling the anger rise in his chest again. ”If I accidentally teleported into your room while you were half naked, I wouldn’t have screamed at you! I wouldn’t have gone on about how disgusting I found your partner! And I wouldn’t be so painfully obtuse about all of this!” His hands were shaking, and he felt his body getting ready to make a jump. ”You only care about your own feelings, Diana. Have you even stopped to consider how I felt? How Dorian felt? I doubt it. We’re done here. Don’t talk to me.” He stared at her for another moment, before leaving her room and slamming the door behind him.
Location: California Asylum for the Genetically Enhanced Date: November 30th, 2028 - Evening
April would find herself in her own room at C.A.G.E. The room itself was as cozy as any room in a hospital setting could be with warm colors. April would have her own queen-sized bed, TV, and bathroom. Each room had power dampeners in it and they could be felt. There was a security camera in the main room that was on but could be turned off by staff for 15-minute increments.
Dr. Maeve Whitehall had finished a group counseling session as she made her way to the second floor to see April. She had read up on her file as well as Coulson’s additional notes on why he suggested April be petitioned here. Maeve had agreed that it would be best. April, on paper, seemed fine though there were underlying concerns. Nothing noteworthy and nothing that required additional security measures, but a standard therapy setting wasn’t going to cut it.
April would have been brought here, either voluntarily or not. Maeve was not made aware of that. Hopefully April would be open to discussing it.
Maeve knocked on the door to April’s room and entered. ”Hello April. I am Dr. Maeve Whitehall. I am a clinical therapist here at C.A.G.E. I imagine you have some questions or concerns which I am happy to address. Before we get started, can you tell me how you are feeling or if you are in any pain?”
April hadn’t been having the best of evenings. She had felt fine that morning - terrific, even, filled with energy and motivation - she’d had fun with her girlfriends, grabbed lunch with her besties, and had even spent some time soaking up a bit of winter sun. By the evening though, it was like a switch had flipped in her brain - all of that energy and excitement and joy had soured, turning into something more crippling, an incessant voice in her head reminding her that she was worthless, that she was unloved, that she would never amount to anything worthwhile - that if she became anything at all, it would be as a villain. Not as a hero.
The sorrow had been unbearable, an intense pressure weighing down on her, making it hard to breathe. In her frantic attempt to regain some control, she had gone to the school’s gym, sneaking into the pool. It was after hours, but April knew which door had a bad lock - she came here often when she was stressed, staring into the water - imagining what it would be like to let herself go and vanish beneath its surface. She’d left her phone behind in her dorm room, not a conscious decision to hide from the others, but one to that end nonetheless. Breathing hadn’t come easier at the pool, however - if anything, it was even harder, each inhale like choking down blood.
And as she stared at her reflection in the water, April hadn’t recognized the person looking back at her.
The person wore her face, yes. Her blue eyes, her dirty blonde hair, her glasses - she’d run out of contact solution earlier that day, and she hadn’t found a good moment to go get more. Her clothes, too - comfy sweats and a t-shirt, as she didn’t have to attend classes and wear the uniform anymore. Her skin, lightly freckled in spots with a bit of acne poking through.
But was it her? April didn’t know. It felt more like a mask she wore - a mask to hide something dark and growing within.
She’d been about to inhale a lungful of water when Headmaster Coulson came, alongside Ser Nemo and some others April hadn’t recognized. Her memory of what happened next was blurry, fuzzy - she’d been taken from the school, brought to this facility, without any real understanding of what was happening to her - maybe someone had said something, maybe they hadn’t. All she remembered was sitting in the back of an ambulance, hugging her knees to her chest, and thinking about how everything was so wrong - that none of this was how it was supposed to be.
Once at the facility, the fog that had overtaken her during the ride there had only increased, only spread. She couldn’t sense the water around her - couldn’t feel it gushing through the pipes, roaring through the building. It was like losing one of her primary senses - not being able to see or touch or hear or taste or smell - like losing a limb. April had heard about power dampening devices before - knew the cruelty they’d been used for against mutants… against people like her. But it was different to experience it for the first time - to feel the loss of something so intrinsic to herself.
A small part of her wondered if perhaps her grandfather had been right.
By the time the door opened to her room, April had shut herself in the bathroom, hugging her knees to her chest in the bathtub, fully dressed. The door was closed, but it didn’t lock. She had cried her eyes out, terrified and afraid - of herself, and of this place.
Did Dani and Dorian know where she was? Did her parents? Did Sabine and Leah? Did Mads? Her sister?
”I-I’m fine!” April pleaded, not making a move to leave the tub. ”There’s been some sort of, um, misunderstanding - I th-think. I’m - I’m not supposed to be here. My parents are SHIELD agents, they’re going to come and get me. I don’t know what the school thinks is going on, but I’m totally fine! I’m not… I’m not crazy, I promise. I’m not like - I’m not like the Scarlet Witch or Polaris or Quicksilver or Magneto - I’m - I’m just an ordinary girl. Can I leave now? Are my parents here yet? I think I would feel so much better if I just got to go home a-a-and maybe watch TV with my friends, I’m not… I’m not supposed to be here!”
Maeve expected this. Was prepared for it, though it never got easier. While some came willingly to C.A.G.E, others needed to be brought in, usually against their will.
”April, you and I both know you are not fine. And that isn’t a bad thing. I know it's cliche, but it is okay not to be okay. But you have to admit there’s something wrong if you have any desire to want to be better.”
Maeve moved one of the chairs closer to the door. ”Your parents have been made aware of your committal here. You can see them if you like. Your friends may or may not know. If you want we can inform them. You are allowed visitors during your stay here. Which is not going to be permanent, provided you help me out. So, can we please leave the bathroom and talk out here? We can even go somewhere else and talk, if you want. They have some good snacks in the cafeteria if you’re hungry.”
Admitting something was wrong with her, though… that was something April never wanted to do. It was a point of no return, a line crossed. If she admitted there was something wrong with her, then there would be something wrong with her. Denying it was easier, safer - denying it meant that it didn’t have to be real, that this familial curse didn’t have to be hers. She knew what her perfect life looked like - knew everything she wanted to accomplish, everything she wanted to achieve - she knew the exact sort of person she saw herself as in the next ten years. And this wasn’t part of that story. She didn’t want this to be her story.
She wanted to go home. She wanted to wake up and for all of this to be a bad dream. But.. it wasn’t a dream. It was real. She bit her lip, staying silent for several beats, before she swallowed, nodding slightly. The only way to convince them that she wasn’t crazy was to leave this room - to show them that they’d made a mistake.
But… as much as she wanted to deny it fully, she couldn’t. April knew, deep down, that she needed help.
She knew it was getting worse.
If this had been one of her friends, she would want them to get help. But it was so hard to say the words, so hard to admit it for herself.
Slowly, April stood up out of the tub, and nudged the bathroom door open with her toe. ”C-can… Can you tell Danni and Dorian?” she asked, avoiding eye contact. And the next request fell from her lips before she could even consider it, a request that surprised even April: ”And um… If my parents come to visit… Do I have to see them? I don’t… I don’t think I want to. N-n-not like this.” She then dried her eyes on the back of her sleeve, still trembling, still tempted to go back and hide.
”I won’t lie to you April. You do not have to see your parents if you do not want to, but as they are your legal guardians we do have to inform them of some of the things going on. That is more for decisions impacting your overall health though. When it comes to conversations like this and future ones, there is privacy. Confidentiality. Even within these walls I am obligated to ensure what we discuss stays between us. I can also inform Danni and Dorian if you would like. I am sure they would like to know where you are and how you are doing. Support like that is as good as any medicine.”
“So, April, can we talk a bit longer then? Do I have your permission to continue.” Maeve glanced up at where the camera was. ”I can also stop the camera from recording us if that would make it easier for you.”
April nodded. She didn’t know why, exactly, she didn’t want to see her parents here - maybe it was shame, fear that they’d be disappointed in her. She knew her mom had been in a place like this before, but her mom had never shared the details - had always changed the subject and avoided talking about those things. The only time mental health was really discussed was in relation to them - the famous villains in the family tree.
People that Danni and Dori didn’t see as villains.
”S-sure, we c-can talk about… about what, ex-exactly?” she stammered, still avoiding eye contact - still looking at everything that wasn’t the therapist. ”Th-th-there’s cameras?
Maeve nodded and stood up. She walked over to a small control panel by the door. She imputed a code and pushed a few buttons before she turned back to April and sat back down. ”There are cameras. For your security, purely, and the safety of everyone within these walls. But as we like to ensure moments like this are private we are, within our discretion, allowed to turn them off. I put it on an hour pause.”
“As for what we can talk about, let’s start with who you are April. I only know a brief bit about you, but perhaps you can tell me more about what makes you you. Or even talk to me about Doran and Danni. They must be very important if you are allowing them to visit compared to your parents.”
April shifted uncomfortably, holding her left arm with her right. She didn’t know if she should keep on standing, or if she ought to sit down - both options seemed wrong. And the question from Maeve, too, it surprised her. She thought Maeve would ask something like why are you crazy? or tell me about your childhood trauma (not that April really felt like she had any). Her family was her family. At the end of the day, they were mostly boring, the small house in the suburbs of Washington DC suffocating every time she had to return to it.
”Um… I…” April bit her lip. Why was this suddenly so hard? She’d talked about herself before - the teachers made them do icebreakers on the first day of class, and she was bubbly, sociable. But the thought of talking about herself to Maeve just made her heart pound faster and faster, like she was taking a quiz and didn’t know any of the answers. ”I-I like to read… and crochet things for my friends… A-and go surfing and hang out at the beach and stuff, c-c-cause I can kinda feel the water vibrating and it’s like one of those spider massage things for your head. I-I really like it at my school - it’s fun, most of the time, and th-that’s how I got to meet Danni and Dori - Danni and I had a class together as freshman, he almost set me on fire but I almost soaked him so it was, like, fair. And then we just kept on hanging out, him and Dori and me, a-and… they’re like brothers to me, y’know? I’m not really close with my sister, she’s really quiet and closed off and just shuts herself in her room, and our parents are super busy, so I would always leave the house and stay out as late as I could before curfew just to like - just to like do something a-and finding Danni and Dori was really great, because they’re so much fun a-and they always know what to do or say if I’m sad a-and they have all these cool stories from trips they go on with their family, Dorian’s dad is like a wizard, so they go to loads of cool places - my dad never lets me go with them though, he’s kinda protective that way - b-but at least I get to see them at school and we finally got through to the Contest of Champions but they aren’t on my team - or they might be they’re changing because of Arcade - but that really really sucked. L-like I wish I could have been on a team with them. Instead my sister got to be on their team and she’s a freshman and it really really sucks to see her get to do things with my friends but…I-is that what you wanted to know?”
Maeve nodded. ”Thank you for sharing April.” Maeve was a bit taken aback at the sheer volume of things April shared, compared to how they started this session. Maeve noted the comment about her sister and parents and could feel the emotions rising off of April. That was a tough subject. She would leave it alone for now.
”That does bring me to another point. The whole situation with Arcade. I know a bit about it, but from what I do know it must have been scary. How did you handle all of that?”
April shifted her weight again. She hadn’t really talked with anyone about what had happened with Arcade - about how she had stupidly put herself and others in danger, just to get some extra practice time in for the contest. They were extremely lucky no one had died - well, someone had died… She flinched, as the vivid memory of Andy dying by Vicky’s hand in the Legend of Zelda game came rushing back to her. And then each time they had ‘lost a life’ in the game, it had felt like agony - the pain had coursed through their bodies, as if they really were dying in that moment. April’s breathing sped up, shaky and unstable as more images, more memories flashed through her mind. The aftermath had been terrible too, Zelda had set her off, a full blown panic attack skyrocketing out of control due to a simple comment, not even one directed at her but rather at Arcade - she hadn’t been able to control her powers, she’d hurt her friends - if it hadn’t been for the Scarlet Witch some of them would have bled out.
Her jaw trembled as the haunting figure from the haunted house returned to her - the psychotic villain that April dreaded she would become. She hadn’t slept much over Thanksgiving break, because every time she closed her eyes, all of that would play over and over again. The deaths of everyone she knew and cared about. The time travel of it all didn’t even begin to factor into it - April didn’t remember a different timeline being erased. But she did remember Arcade nearly slaughtering them all. She remembered her fear. Her body had kept score.
April shook her head vehemently.
She couldn’t breathe she couldn’t breathe she couldn’t breathe. Maeve moved quickly. She had seen panic attacks before; hell she had a few of them herself. She quickly grabbed both of April’s wrists and moved them in-between her legs. ”April, you are having a panic attack. I need you to lower your head down and take deep breaths. I am going to count to 5 and I want you to inhale for that long, then exhale for 5 as well, ok? You are safe. I’m going to start now. 1….2…..3…..4….5.” She moved her hands, keeping one on April’s shoulder as she faced the girl. Once April breathed in, Maeve counted back from 5. ”Keep this up April, you’re doing good. You are safe, I promise.”
April had no problem moving her head down - all she wanted in that moment was to curl into the tightest little ball imaginable. Her heart felt like it was going to explode, it was beating so quickly it was almost painful. It was a struggle to breathe in for five counts - somehow more challenging than running a marathon, it seemed - as she could just barely make it to three before she felt like her chest was about to burst, that she just needed to get more air in. Gods, she just wanted to be home at school - her mind flickered briefly to the school pool, where she had almost tried to drown herself the night before - and as horrible as it was, at least it would have made things stop. It wasn’t an easy process, but slowly she managed to inhale a little longer through her nose, exhaling a little longer through her mouth - she had no idea how much time had passed, maybe minutes or maybe hours, until the pounding in her chest felt like it had subsided slightly, and the ringing in her ears diminished. ”S-s-s-sorry,” April squeaked out, once she’d found her voice again. ”C-can we not talk about th-that? Th-the Arcade stuff?”
”That’s okay. We don’t have to talk about it now.” Panic attacks were often spontaneous and without warning. Anxiety attacks often had triggers. Once things calmed down, Maeve thought about it. ”I was wrong, also. It was an anxiety attack, not a panic attack. Similar, but I want to make sure I have it right. Does that happen often April?”
She really wanted to say no. April wanted to say that it never happened, that she was perfectly fine, and stuff like this just didn’t happen to her - that it was a fluke, a one-off. But it would have been a lie and she knew it. As much as she tried to pretend that everything was okay with her, that there wasn’t anything wrong, things like this did happen a lot. They happened more over the summers, but still occurred when she was in California for school. Less if Danni and Dorian were around, or her friends or girlfriends. But they happened. ”Y-yeah, um. I-it does. I - I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” April admitted softly, her eyes looking at the floor. ”I-I shouldn’t be like this. M-my life is fine, it’s great, I-I love my school, my friends. M-my girlfriends are so kind and sweet. I-I don’t have any, like, great big traumatic backstory elements to drop. So… I-I don’t kn-know.”
Maeve figured it was something like this. The writing was on the wall and she didn’t need to sense April’s emotions to figure it out. She debated how to play this.
Once she was satisfied April’s breathing was calmer and she was doing better, Maeve scooted herself back into her seat. ”April, can you look at me please?” She would wait until the girl looked up, not necessarily into her eyes, but close to it. ”There is nothing wrong with having anxiety attacks. It doesn’t make you weak, it doesn’t mean you are a bad person. It doesn’t mean you aren’t happy or that things in your life are all terrible. Lots of people experience them and it is normal. April, you are not all right and that is not a bad thing and it doesn’t make you a failure and I am sorry if you were ever made to feel otherwise. But from this point on I want you to try, to strongly try to think otherwise. If you have to remind yourself daily, then do so. Until then, I will remind you.”
“Oh and I am no longer accepting apologies for things you should not be apologizing for. Starting now.” Maeve’s words were light and warm. Sometimes clients needed a hard dose of reality, but it didn’t mean you couldn’t inject some heart into it.
It took a moment for April to raise her eyes, and make eye contact with Maeve. Somehow, even just that simple act was incredibly hard for her - like looking at the doctor in the eyes just made everything that was going on all the more real. Hearing what Dr. Whitehall had to say was even harder - it shouldn’t have been, she was saying it all with compassion and April knew that it was true, knew that it was right. It’s what she would have told her friends if they had said this to her, but for some reason, applying that same logic to herself was so much harder. Hell, she even knew her mother had been in a place like this before after her first husband passed away, and it didn’t make her mother any lesser to have needed help. So why couldn’t she apply it to herself? Why was there just this mental block in the way? Where did this need to be perfectly fine and not a bother to anyone else or an inconvenience because of her emotions come from?
”I… I’ll try,” April promised. ”A-a-and sorry - I’ll - agh, sorry, ugh, I will stop apologizing. Starting right now. I mean it. Sorry. Shit. Sorry! Can I swear here?”
Maeve let out a loud, uproarious laughter. ”Yes April, you can swear. I won’t tell anyone. In fact…” Maeve turned to the camera that was still off. ”Fuck you!”
She turned back to April. ”Well, I think we can call it here. I’ll let you get settled. They should be serving dinner soon if you want. I think it’s pizza today. And not that high school cardboard kind, no we sprang for the good stuff.”
“Also April, maybe get to know some of the other kids here. You might be surprised how similar you are to them. I know they would love to meet you. And I’ll let Danni and Dorian know you’re here. But if you need me, just ring for one of the nurses and they’ll come grab me, okay?”
April was completely shocked for a moment, seeing a grown-up with a professional, important job that required years of study turn to the camera and curse. She’d never seen an important, professional adult swear before. None of her teachers swore. Her parents didn’t swear in front of her. Her grandparents (her mom’s parents, of course) didn’t swear in front of her. But as soon as the shock registered, it quickly turned into an honest giggle. ”... Thank you, Dr. Whitehall.” She had a feeling she was going to really like Maeve - and for a brief moment, being here didn’t seem too bad.
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