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Sabine watched the girl walk away, the feel of her lips imprinted on her wrist. Sabine’s mind washed with conflicting thoughts and emotions. At equal measures she wanted to follow the girl, do whatever it was she had in mind before she was needed for her physical examination and, even then, it was almost like she didn’t want to do the contest anymore.

And that scared her.

The Sabine before would have jumped at the chance. She would have showed her a good time in some closet nearby and made her world rock. But that wasn’t who she was anymore. Right? Because even if she wanted to run and forget, even for a moment, that was not how it worked anymore. She remembered. She had to remember.

Leah. April.

As much as she was hurt, she knew if she did anything untoward it would hurt both of them. And as mad as she was at April she didn’t want her hurt anymore.

Sabine felt her phone vibrate and looked. She stared at the screen a moment. The long dead text chain, the group of them, had been replied to. From Leah. What did that mean? If Leah wanted to talk to her they were in the same room at the same hotel. Sabine read it, the frantic words echoing on the screen. Sabine, at first, was confused.

Then panic. Whatever this was, Leah was worried. It was hard to convey tone in text but the messages screamed worry. Sabine put her phone away and began to head to their room, sure she would find Leah there.

And ran almost face-first into the girl.

Sabine was about to check but she looked into Leah’s eyes, took in her expression. And Sabine’s heart fell. And her words reverberated in her mind.

Did he hurt you?

”What? Leah? Who are you talking about? What’s wrong?”

”He’s- Where? He knows where you are- I tried to find you sooner but- He’s-“ She was talking too fast for her brain to keep up, and she looked ready to kill somebody.

”Where the fuck is he?”

”Leah get a grip! Who are you talking about?” Sabine had never seen Leah so freaked out before. So hell-bent on finding…whoever it was she was referring to. Whoever this person was he was enough to freak Leah out.

And then it hit her.

”Fuck…it’s your father, isn’t it?”

”Yes it’s my fucking- Immediately, Leah stopped herself and just put a hand out. She didn’t want to scream at her.

”Look. I trust you.”

Sabine felt her heart race. The stories surrounding Leah’s father were always with a tint of fear. How strong he was. How Leah, as cool as she tried to be, always seemed fearful of him. So the fact he was here was…

Sabine knew what she had to do. What Leah was allowing her to do. If for no other reason than to see it with her own eyes. So Sabine nodded, staring directly into Leah’s eyes as she opened her mind up to her. Sabine willed herself inside easily enough without Leah fighting it. Sabine hated this even if Leah gave her permission. It felt like a betrayal. But needs must.

Sabine observed the most recent memory. It wasn’t hard to find. In it she saw through Leah’s eyes a man standing before her. Instantly Sabine felt weighted down. The emotions stacking on top of her. Fear. Anger. Sadness. A tsunami of them washing over her. Leah’s father looking at her, the smug expression. Sabine wanted to punch that grin off of his face.

And then Leah’s father mentioned her by name. He knew who she was. Knew she was here. And essentially threatened Leah with her own demise. Sabine felt her breathing slow. Panic rising.

She quickly exited and leaned on the wall nearby for support. Leah’s father knew she was here and knew what she looked like. Which meant at any point he could have showed up and Sabine would have been none the wiser, especially if he was sneaky about it. But even then, Sabine knew what he looked like but that didn’t mean much. She was so distracted. By the contest. By Leah. By April. She could have been killed. Easily.

And, of course, whatever Leah was going through.

”Leah, we need to find April.” The things unsaid, but surely known.

If he knew who Sabine was, he knew April. And right now April was alone.

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Diana started to unpack some of her clothes putting them down onto her bed, she had her phone on the bed next to her she started to think about texting her brother to see if he had settled in okay over at Danni and Dorian's home. Though she would have a feeling that he would have ignored her text, but she knew that Diana would see him again for the examination. She wanted to apologize for the way she did react to both Dorian and Percy she knew the way she reacted wasn't right at all. And Diana was on the same team with Percy as well to, and they needed to work together.

Diana got the text from Vision, they needed to meet back down in the lobby and head over to Strange Academy to get the examinations done and out of the way. And if she didn't show up she would be disqualified and all of the training that Diana had done would be all for nothing to. She put her clothes back down and grabbed her phone and started to make her way out of her hotel room, looking over at Leah, and Sabine it sounded like they were having some intense conversation as she made her way back down to the lobby to meet up with all of the others that were going over.

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Madalyne decided to put her bag down onto her bed and sat down on it for a moment looking around, it reminded her of her room back home which was very nice and cozy. She went over and started to unpack some of her clothes laying them neatly on the bed, she took a moment to look at one of her shirts. She ran a hand through the holes in the back that would allow her wings through, a few months ago it didn't have them. Madalyne quickly shook her head as she folded it up and started to make her way out of the room, she knew that the examinations over at Strange Academy were very soon and she didn't want to get disqualified.

Madalyne left the room and closed the door behind her, making sure that it was locked as she made her way back towards the foyer of the house hearing Danni and seeing that Andy had came back after visiting the neighbor. "So when do we head over to Strange Academy?" Madalyne asked, she wanted to get the whole examination done and over with.

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Dorian had led Percy through an antique green living room, soft couches that appeared to be as old as the French Quarter itself while still being in impeccable shape. Brass and antique knick knacks were strewn across the room interspersed with framed photos of the family on various vacations or holidays. They made their way over plush rugs that you could sink your hands into before finally entering the new hallway that had appeared for the guests. It seemed to stretch on for a while, a rug running the length of it as golden ceiling lamps with uranium green glass lit the way. Doors lined the walls on either side, but the key had stopped them short near the entrance of the hall. When the door opened it revealed Dorian's dorm room, and it seemed Percy was just as confused as Dorian was.

”Non? ‘Old on maybe it's bugged some’ow.” Dorian replied as he closed the door, took the key from Percy's hand and began to bang it against his palm like an etch n sketch. He tried the door again and still it showed his half of the dorm room. Percy began to make his way in and Dorian followed behind. ”Weird. T'e magic usually makes a room you feel comfortable in to ‘elp you be able to relax and sleep better. Not sure why it isn't workin’ today…maybe all t'e people at once are over loadin’ it?”

Percy studied the room again for a moment, before returning his attention to Dorian once more. If it was supposed to make a room he would feel comfortable in… They hadn’t often used Dorian’s room, as Percy’s came with the privacy of having no roommates, but he had spent a good amount of time using his boyfriend’s bed. ”I see,” he murmured. ”I think it is working, then,” he said somewhat cryptically. He felt more relaxed whenever Dorian was around. There was a tension in his body that just seemed to vanish, one he hadn’t even been aware of until it was gone. Of course, if the magic really wanted him to sleep better, it would have just allowed him to spend the night with him. He’d become rather accustomed to sleeping curled up against Dorian.

Dorian raised an eyebrow at his boyfriend. Moving closer to him as a smile crept upon his lips. ”Is it now?” He spied the closed door and looked back at Percy, giving him a soft kiss. ”Are you sayin you feel relaxed in my room Perce?” He asked before giving him another kiss and wrapping his arms around his waist.

He nodded slightly, stepping in to close the gap between them. ”I thought you would have noticed that by now,” Percy mused, with an ever so slight flash of a smirk. When Dorian first met him, Percy had laid down in bed essentially as a corpse would, his body rigid and stiff. Things had changed since then. He placed his hands on Dorian’s shoulders, returning the gentle kiss, and once it had ended, he stared into his boyfriend’s eyes, mesmerized for a moment by the color. They had been and still were the most gorgeous eyes he’d ever seen.

”Maybe I just wanted to ‘ear you- ah!” Dorian yelped as the floor beneath him vanished, a small portal in its place. Seeing through it would show the examination wait area, not that Percy would have the chance to as a similar portal opened up beneath him as well. Max was in the kitchen, coffee in one hand as the other twirled about, mirror images of his arm mimicking the motion as each and every child in the Estate would be Portaled over to the wait area. ”Times up!” Max called before taking another sip of his coffee.

Percy’s eyes widened, as Dorian suddenly vanished in front of him with a scream, and the ground beneath his own feet gave way - with an ease that never came to him when he was focusing on making a jump, the air around Percy shimmered and he reappeared in the hallway outside of Dorian’s - outside of his? - outside of the room. ”Dorian?!” But before he could even really comprehend the situation, the floor seemingly vanished again, as he fell straight on through, and landed with a thud in what looked like a hospital waiting room decorated for Halloween.

”Slippery little bastard. Doesn't he know everything has a cost?” Max grumbled as he began to make his way back to his room to change for the event.

Meanwhile Dorian watched as one by one the students plopped into their own seats in the area, smiling when Percy finally joined in. ”What took you so long?”

His shoulders slumped as he saw Dorian was there - wherever there was… He couldn’t help but feel disoriented as he looked around the room, seeing more of the students from the Kingston-Gray house fall into seats. There were kids from other schools there too, but no one else that he recognized from the Margaret Carter Institute. This must have been Strange Academy, then. ”I… I jumped. Does your dad normally do that? I assume that was your dad?”

”T'e portals? Yeah. It's t'e easiest way to transport and ‘ow we get to all of our vacation spots. And well…we were cuttin’ it a bit close to time.” Dorian said a bit shyly as if Percy was judging him for his families antics.

Percy nodded again, missing the bit of hesitation in Dorian’s voice. One glance down at his watch told him that Dorian was right - they had less than twenty minutes until they were due to be here. It did concern him that he didn’t see any of the others, but… Perhaps they were still dealing with Nemo’s death. And presumably, they would have to walk here from their hotel. If nothing else, he was somewhat glad actually that the others weren’t here - as it meant another moment free from his sister’s company. ”Well, it’s too bad they interrupted us,” he said with a slight sigh. He then glanced around the room again, before gently reaching out and taking Dorian’s hand.

Dorian squeezed Percy's hand in his… smiling. ”We'll ‘ave plenty of time for ourselves later at least. For now we should focus on t'e contest. I wanna make sure our debut is somet'in’ to be remembered…but in a good way!”

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Harry looked down the top of his sunglasses as Billy asked if he was actually supposed to be here. He was the son of the Scarlet Witch after all. Maybe it was just their luck that a person with that kind of power may have messed with Terry's ability to leave a coherent note. ”Here as in the New Orleans French Quarter? Yes. But this…hotel? No. Somehow we got mixed up and ended up here instead of where we were meant to. My friend's kid is in the Contest of Champions, so we're here to support them in the stands.” Harry spoke between poses for the photos.

”And I’m here because I’m a good wife.” Eva winked. She looked back at Gideon. ”I hope you make that ex of yours drooling jealous.”

Eva heard someone curse and looked over. She noticed the puffy eyed girl standing near Vision. Eva paused. She hadn’t really paid that much attention to what was going on with the teens when they first came in. But she realized that Harry had asked the kid, Billy, if he was the Scarlet Witches kid, and there was Vision.

”You’re all in the Contest too?” She was honestly a little surprised. Eva was scatterbrained and had picked up on that they were here for some contest between a bunch of mutant schools. She couldn’t imagine that happening when she was a kid. It was heartwarming.

Billy gasped at Harry’s revelation, putting a hand behind him in shock, landing on Teddy’s chest. He’d done it again, then. He’d conjured up a meet-and-greet with two of his favorite pop stars. The stress of dealing with demiurge must have been getting to him, he hadn’t had a lapse in control like this since the Luna Snow ice skating incident last fall. “... I’m so sorry!!” he bowed his head slightly, pressing the palms of his hands together nervously. “That was probably me, I can’t always control my powers, a-and there’s been so much going on with the end of the world or the universe and these gods of magics and the Mother a-and - I think I might have maybe accidentally warped reality to bring you here? Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?”

“Billy…” Teddy said softly, putting an arm around his boyfriend’s waist. “We don’t know that you did this, okay? And no one was hurt, even if you did, alright?”

Gideon nodded. “Oh, I will,” she promised. “And yeah, I guess we are - we’re the Avengers Academy teams, unless they switched up the line-up again, they keep doing that and tbh I have nooo idea who is on my team anymore. I’m shocked I’m still here.”

Davie raised an eyebrow. “Oh, are you on Dorian and Danni’s team then?” he asked, a bit excited. “We’re his uncles - and aunts - and some of us are both, to be honest. Uncle-aunts. Aaanyways should we be finding our way to our hotel? Seems like these kiddos have to head on out.”

Val frowned slightly. It made her somewhat anxious, the idea that a reality warping child had caused them to be displaced here. She didn’t have memories of Wanda’s reality - none of the four of them here did - but she had heard about it from the others with the Mutant Underground, how the Scarlet Witch had altered people’s memories, forcing them into a new context without their consent. The notion that Billy had done the same, on a far smaller scale admittedly, was unsettling. She couldn’t plan for that - she couldn’t rationalize out contingencies and options. She couldn’t protect Eva and Harry and Davie.

The Vision cleared his throat, approaching the celebrities. “Excuse me. Billy, Teddy, Gideon - we must depart, I am afraid, or we will be late for your examination.”

Harry scruffed the top of Billy's head as he bent over to apologize. ”Seriously kid, it's ok. We were meant to be here anyways, especially if you believe in Fate with a capital F. Then it's unavoidable. Though, is your mom going to be here?” He asked. He'd heard what Billy was rambling about and it seemed like something the other mages…wizards? The magically inclined, should get involved with. With Max, Strange, Agatha, and potentially Wanda here now it may be best to warn them if they weren't already aware. That was when Vision came up, Harry didn't know him as well, more so from the others than any real personal interactions. ”Listen to Viz, that's what you can do for me as a favour.”

”That sounds like a lot, Billy.” Eva sympathized. She smiled at Gideon and patted the young girl on the shoulder. ”You’ll do great I’m sure. If you’re fighting with that sword it’ll be spectacular. I know I’m supposed to be cheering on Danni and Dorian, but I’ll cheer for you too.” Especially if you are on the same team, she thought. Her eyes darted over the other students that had come into the lobby. A few of them looked distressed. She wondered why, what was causing them to be so upset. They should be excited. Eva understood intellectually that people had stage fright. She also just didn’t understand it.

If Billy hadn’t already been embarrassed, having Harry freaking Simmons ruffle his head like he was a little kid was more than enough to do it. Harry Simmons was one of his celebrity crushes - sure, he was twice Billy’s age, but… A boy could dream, right? “Oh! Um. I’m not sure? She’s dealing with something - something about all realities being cut off from each other,” he said with a shrug, as if explaining that Wanda was just out doing errands.

He then glanced at his father, and nodded. “Sure, I’ll listen to my dad…” That was harder than it seemed lately.

Valerie, meanwhile, was becoming increasingly concerned. Everything Billy was talking about sounded insane - but she had been enchanted by a goddess and forced to kill her friends, the more insane a thing sounded, the more plausible it became. Should they really be attending a sports event while things of that magnitude were happening? It had been years since she’d done superheroics, and out of habit, her hand slipped into her pocket, grabbing her phone, and she started to scroll through the contacts, looking for a choice few in particular. Maybe Pixie would be available for a quick chat…

“Awesome!” Gideon preened. “Hey, do you wanna be our coach? Ours fucking died.”

Yet another magical issue to account for that sounded of insane magnitudes. Harry had to wonder if Fate truly did bring him here for the sole purpose of learning of these threats to better help the others prepare. ”Shame, I'll have to catch her next time I can. But we should probably get going. Need to check in to our hotel still and you kids need to have an examination it seems-” Harry's thought cut off as one of the kids mentioned their coach died. He looked towards Vision for any guidance on the matter.

Eva managed to keep her jaw from dropping. Not just reality having problems, but also their coach dying.

”Sorry, I wouldn’t know where to begin as a coach. Unless it was a dance battle or something.” The sword in Eva’s show was fake. She had a fight choreographer hired specifically to help her design that show. As for real battle, she’d be useless.

The synthezoid visibly grimaced. “Ms. Pearlman, we do not speak about the dead like that,” the Vision chided lightly. “I am sure, Ms, uh… Ms. Moore has more than enough on her plate. And we really must leave for Strange Academy, or you all risk disqualification.” His eyes then glanced backwards, seeing his niece fix her gaze on the pop stars - and a quick analysis of her body language told him what was about to happen before it occurred.

”H-hi, I’m - I’m April, can I - can I take a selfie with you? Or just a photo of you? To show my friends? They both love your music - I mean, I love your music too, and, like, your MTV show look? That was, like, my gay awakening,” April gushed, her face a quickly deepening shade of pink, her hands trembling, both from the medication and from the sheer emotional whiplash. Nemo was dead, her friends were having fun without her, but Evanthe fucking Moore was here! And Harry Simmons! ”A-and oh my god, you’re - you’re Harry Simmons! You weren’t my gay awakening because I’m a lesbian but you’re so cool! Your music is killer! And like the collabs you two have done together? They’re so incredibly amazing a-and you’re both amazing a-and so cool and - is it okay to take a selfie?” She hadn’t caught the other man mentioning Danni and Dorian already, she’d been too wrapped up in a gay panic at seeing Evanthe to really fully process what was happening, and her brain was already a bit like soup on a good day lately.

Davie’s eyebrows were practically about to fall off his face, as he telepathically whispered to his little group: These kids are messsssy.

“I’ll be your gay awakening,” Gideon muttered under her breath, even though April couldn’t hear her over her own word vomit - and even though April wasn’t the one she was crushing on. But hey, any port in a storm.

Eva was thankful for the save from Vision but another of the teens came over and was gushing. Eva couldn’t help but smile. She gently put her hand on the girl’s shoulder.

”Of course I’ll take a selfie with you. I love a good ‘gay awakening’ story.” She winked. Eva wrapped her arm around April’s shoulder, and let her take out her phone for the photo. ”You best be going quickly though.” Once April took the photos Eva pulled her into a hug. She couldn’t have told you why if you asked her, but a part of her felt like April really needed a good hug.

Once Eva let go of April, Harry came in with his arm around her shoulder, Mindful of where his hands were placed so that no bad spin could be created for a PR nightmare. Snapping a few selfies with the girl before letting go once more. ”Listen to the Popstars, you need to get going or you'll miss the contest. As for your Coach…I'm sorry to hear about that but i dont think I'm qualified to coach kids at this contest. Im sure theres some paperwork involved that I certainly don't have.”

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April felt completely dazed. Not only had she gotten selfies with Evanthe and Harry, but Evanthe had hugged her. She hadn't even asked for a hug! And one had happened anyways! Her body felt like it was tingling, the excitement shaking throughout her. She hadn't managed to hug Evanthe back the way she would have liked to - she'd held her hands purposefully a bit away from the pop star, not wanting the trembling to freak her out - and her brain was still short circuiting, playing that all over and over again in a loop.

The minute she had her phone back, she quickly sent the pictures in that same group chat to Danni and Dorian, captioned with only a !!!!! But before she could add anything else, she saw a notification in a group chat she had thought she'd muted - one that hadn't been touched since her time in CAGE. Ordinarily, the sight of that chat being active would have filled her with dread, her stomach twisting into knots. But she was so energized from meeting Evanthe and Harry, it was like the bad feelings couldn't touch her - like she was immune, some sort of energy shield bouncing them away harmlessly.

The texts in that chat didn't make sense though - Leah had been the one to leave the bathroom, she knew where April was - or rather, where she had been. The lobby wasn't far either, so there was no way Leah would have missed her. And who was he? And Vicosn? She tilted her head slightly, torn between looking at the pop stars more in awe, figuring out what Leah meant, and doing as Vision said and heading to the examination for the Contest of Champions.

... For the Contest of Champions.

April's eyes widened as it hit her. They had less than ten minutes to get to Strange Academy!! They needed to show up for the examination - if they didn't make it to the examination, then they couldn't compete! And if they couldn't compete, then the rest of the team would be let down by their absence! And then when the team couldn't compete, it would be their fault! And she refused to allow that to happen. The stars had aligned to let her onto a team with Danni and Dorian, this was destiny, this was fate - they were going to win, with Ser Nemo's ghost smiling down on them. The Young Avengers, they were just kids, they weren't gods, they weren't invincible - and what better underdog story would there be than the new kids beating the old champs?

Meanwhile, the Vision looked around to see if all of his charges were accounted for - and all of them were, save for Ms. Bassard and Ms. Jordan. He pursed his lips slightly, and sighed. There was only one of him. And it would not do for them to be late. He glanced at his own students. "Ms. Chavez, if you would be so kind? One portal to the school, and if you would, please leave it open - I will wait on this side for our stragglers."

America grinned slightly, popping her gum. "On it!" She then cracked her knuckles, and threw a punch forward - reality cracked where her fist connected, as a gigantic star shaped fissure appeared, entangling two distant portions of space - the hotel lobby, and a mystical waiting room of sorts, where dozens of students were milling about with clipboards, filling out paperwork and awaiting their turn to be seen by the medical examiners to qualify them for the contest.

"Go on through, children."

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Percy nodded slightly. He knew how important the Contest of Champions was to Dorian. He cared about it, of course, but his reasons were different. He hated losing. That was his primary reason. Had he been on a team with his boyfriend, still, he would have given the secondary reason that it was important to Dorian, therefore it was important to him. But in the shuffle, Percy had been reassigned, placed on a team with his sister despite the redundancy in their powers - and despite the way his mind filled with a thousand scathing insults to direct her way. Diana was lucky Percy didn't have any healing powers, because if he had, there would be little chance of him directing healing her way during the match.

"I'm sure your debut will be incredible," Percy said, even with a slight pang as without me ran through his mind. It occurred to him it was entirely possible that he'd have to face Dorian in the arena in the next few days. Would he be able to fight his boyfriend, in order to secure a win? Could he raise up his axe and charge at him? He honestly didn't know. "What would you say your weaknesses are?" he then asked playfully. "And the main strategies that you are going to utilize?"

A clipboard would the shimmer and appear in the hands of each student there to compete in the contest - it contained several key documents, such as a summary of the Contest of Champions rules, as well as a medical questionnaire. Percy raised an eyebrow, as he glanced at the paperwork - some of the rules seemed too obvious to have to be spelled out. Only being allowed to compete on one team - who would try to compete on multiple? He rolled his eyes slightly.

Meanwhile, as more and more students continued to file in, a voice was projected all around them, such that no one would be able to determine its point of origin - "Welcome, Champions! Please fill out your pre-examination packet, and then proceed to the nearest available examination room once you are ready. If you need assistance or have any questions, please raise your hand and a staff member will come to assist you."

The room then blurred slightly, as ten doors appeared - ten different examination rooms, ready to handle the almost one hundred students present.





And before Percy could begin to fill out his forms, a star-shaped crack in reality appeared before him - and through it stepped the current champions, the Young Avengers!! (And Mary Sue, Zelda, Gideon, and April).

He was beginning to suspect his mutant gift of teleportation was not nearly as special as his mothers had insisted.

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Andy was relieved when the door opened. Upon entering the house, she waved at Mads and Victoria. ”He was fine. Honestly, I got a way better reaction to him seeing me than I feared. I expected yelling and got a hug instead. I did get grounded though.” Andy had expected anger. Much like she had expected anger from Max, James, and Casper. Andy wondered why. None of them had ever yelled at her. They had always been nice to her. Even when Magneto was mad at someone else he had never taken that out on her. She was just so used to adults yelling, taking out their anger on her. It had happened so many times growing up that she just anticipated it from all the adults in her life. Part of her still expected Max and James to chew her out like she was a little kid. Casper, she didn’t think was capable of it.

Seventeen years ago they had almost been peers, just a few years between them. Now, she was the same age as their children. Of course, they’d see her as a little kid. They already had back on Genosha and before. They had been trying to keep her out of the fights, trying to protect her. They didn’t know how much she had already been hurt. Maybe that was why she had bothered staying as long as she had. A day with the MU led to her whole life trajectory changing. What if she hadn’t stayed? What if she had taken that alley and left during the fight? If the barista was right she would be dead and none of these questions would matter.

”Let me find my room and I can tell you.” She cut her own thoughts off from spiraling. Then started walking and realized that there was light coming from the key in her hand. She blinked a bit surprised and then followed the light through the house. Once she found where the light stopped she unlocked the door and went in.

Andy tilted her head a bit surprised. It looked exactly like the room at Magneto’s...at her home. It was odd, as the room had the same layer of dust and the feel of not being touched for a long time. She wondered why. Andy placed her luggage on the bed and pulled out the pillow. She put it on the bed and was about to unpack some more when the portal opened under her feet. ”Eep!” she yelled, landing on her feet near the others at the school.

She felt dizzy for a moment as reality and gravity reset. Two portals in one day was a new experience and she didn’t think she liked it, her stomach ached a little threatening to disgorge the tea and cookies. Andy was able to keep it all down though. She tugged on her sweater and sat down near Zari looking a little perturbed by the sudden change in environment, at least the place had a cool gothy vibe to it. Andy didn’t consider herself goth, but she appreciated the aesthetic. If it hadn’t been for the presence of her friends, the others who had gone to Kingston-Gray at least, she would have been ready to punch something. A warning would have been nice.

Andy needed to have a private conversation with Zari, but finding the right time and place was going to be difficult. She also felt bad for wanting to break up with Zari right in the middle of the contest. However, it felt more wrong to drag it out. She decided to wait until that night. After dinner, and after she chatted with James and Max.

When Danni showed up, Andy sat up straight. ”I found my room before getting dropped here. It looks exactly like my room at home.” Warmth touched her cheeks as she said ‘home’, it was a sacred thing to Andy and she had one again. She was determined to hold onto it this time. Nothing could take it from her, never again.

She was about to ask Zari what her room looked like when a welcome packet appeared in her hands. Since starting at the academy she had gotten more used to magic, mostly because of the class she was taking. It still felt weird to have things appear in her hands like that. What else could magic do? Quickly Andy shoved that thought away. It wasn’t that she didn’t like magic, it was that she didn’t trust things associated with her mother and Magic was strongly associated with her mother. She used magic. Had learned several spells through the school and her mother. She just preferred to lean on her other powers. The ones she had always known and that felt more a part of her than the magic and vampirism did.

Andy waved to the group coming through the star-shaped portal. The wave was mostly for Mary Sue and Gideon as those were the only two she knew well, and were on her team. While she knows April, their relationship was strained. April had also switched teams during the shifting after Usagi’s death. Gideon was very nice to her, and Mary Sue was awkward, but friendly once you got past her initial nerves. She hoped they could work together more and make wild things again as they had in practice. Gideon was just fun to fight side-by-side with. Gideon was always making her laugh.

Andy started filling out the sheet. She paused when she got to the date of birth section and skipped it until she saw the next question was physical age. So she felt that it was safe to write her actual birthday. If they asked she could explain she was time-displaced. That wasn’t a secret anymore. When she had first come here it felt like a massive secret. Something she wasn’t allowed to tell anyone. Now it didn’t feel like that anymore. She felt safer telling people who she really was. Especially since she had reconnected with Magneto.

The last part that gave her pause was the ‘declared item’ section. She decided to err on the side of over-information. Could the metal jacks that she used to set up her electricity fields get her in trouble if she didn’t declare them? She wasn’t certain and she’d rather declare them unnecessarily than not.

Legal name: Andy Drummond Gallio-Lensherr
School: Margaret Carter Institute
Qualifying Team: Hun Uncanny Avengers
Date of birth: 07/07/2004
Physical age: 17
Emergency Contact: Magneto
Notable Abilities or Powers:
Electricity Manipulation, Enhanced Reflexes, Energy Vampire, Magic
Declared Item: Rubber suit, Vambraces, metal jacks, and sword
Pertinent Medical History: N/A
Signature

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Diana made her way into the lobby of the hotel looking over at everyone else that was there, Vision she didn't see Leah or Sabine there which was odd, maybe they were taking a shower or something Diana didn't know really. "I'm ready." Diana said, she would have offered to help and teleport everyone over to Strange Academy, but Vision asked America to open up the portal. She watched America punching a hole through reality which opened up to reveal a waiting room of sorts with other students. "Show off." Diana said to America jokingly as she quickly stepped through the other end.

Diana looked around to see if the others who were staying at the Kingstons were, Diana saw her brother there on one of the chairs with a packet in his hands. Diana really did want to talk to Percy and Dorian to apologize, but she didn't want to do it in front of everyone in case something did happen and she could approach them at another time to.

Then suddenly a packet and clipboard appeared in her hands, Diana looked around and spotted an empty seat she sat down taking the pen provided and started to fill it out. Once Diana finished filling out the questionnaire she saw a few doors appear she got up and made her way over towards one of the to wait to enter.

---

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---

---

Madalyne gave Andy a slight smile she was glad that she was able to reconnect with someone. "Thats good to hear Andy." Madalyne said to Andy as she waited a little bit longer, until suddenly a portal opened right from under her feet and she felt herself suddenly falling through it and landing safely on the other end. "A little warning would have been nice." Madalyne said sounding slightly annoyed, then a clipboard suddenly appeared in her hands. Madalyne looked around finding an empty seat and sat down as she started to fill out the questions, which all seemed to be pretty normal.

Her attention was quickly turned to the star shaped portal in the middle of the hallway seeing that it was the others who were staying over at the hotel. She gave them all a friendly smile and waved towards the people that she recognized before turning her attention back towards the questionnaire she paused for a moment seeing the notable abilities and powers, she knew that she could fly with her wings and be able to grab things with her tail and decided to write those down as well to. Once Madalyne finished up filling out her questionnaire she got up seeing ten doors appearing ready to take in students and made her way over towards one of them.

---

”Yeah- yeah, we need to find her now. But- Fuck, if he wanted to hurt you, he would have,” Leah noted. ”You saw, he probably knows I’d just chase him down or leave and he doesn’t want me to leave.” Sabine looked fine, about as fine as she usually did (😏) on a given day. Still, Leah did just mouth off in the chat about something dangerous happening. And maybe Vision really did see those texts.

”We still need to get to her. She needs to know what’s happening, and not be confused. She’ll go mad doing that.”

Leah took in a deep breath and tried to calm the rattling in her chest. ”I have a plan.”

Sabine’s mind went back to the memory she saw. How calculated the man was. His demeanor that suggested he could do whatever he wanted. A small chill went up her spine.

”If he knows about me he knows about her though. What if it was a plan to have you protect me and leave her vulnerable?” Sabine didn’t know if April was still in the bathroom or if she was now surrounded by their classmates and teachers.

The competition. Fuck. They needed to get going there too. How was she expected to manage that knowing a real threat would be watching?

”We have to get going to the competition also. It’s about time for the pre-check-in. April is, hopefully, there with everyone else.”

”Yeah. I know. But she’s got enough shit to deal with lately, so… Here’s what we’re going to do.”

Leah turned and started walking back down the hallway. ”We’re gonna find her, make sure she’s fine, and if she is fine, we just pretend everything else is fine. We get there in time for the medical thing that I really want to be late for, and we act like this shit never happened.”

An international supervillain right under their noses would send everything into a downward spiral. It’d raise too many questions that Leah wasn’t willing to answer, it’d make all this effort for a contest she didn’t even give a damn about mean nothing.

”And if April’s hurt, we hurt somebody. Badly.”

Sabine followed, but uncertainly bubbled up in her stomach and made her feel nauseous. She could see Leah’s point and it would not serve April good to go into a competition worrying someone is out to get her. But that felt like a betrayal. After all, what happened if he attacked April while she went to the bathroom? Shouldn’t she be on some sort of guard?

”If we aren’t telling April we need to tell someone, at least. Vision or one of the other staff. They need to keep a lookout. Everyone else is in danger too.”

”We are telling her. But-“ She thought for a second. ”If she’s hurt, we’re making a big deal out of this, right? If she’s fine, then there’s no need to. We’ll just talk to her and not tell Vision or someone else who can stop the contest over this. Am I making sense?” She didn’t feel like she was.

”Leah, take your head out of your ass for one moment. I get the “don’t trust every adult you meet” to a degree, but we are in dangerous territory here. A man who has you scared enough is out there and knows where we are and who we are. So we are either telling April so she can be prepared or we are telling at least one trusted adult so they can keep an eye out. I would rather the contest be disbanded if it means people are safe.”

”You saw what he was going for, Sabine,” Leah said. ”Either that dumb contest happens, or the school and probably everyone inside it is dead. He’s- Fuck…” She had a point, though.

It didn’t kill her to admit she had a shitty dad when She-Hulk was around. That creepy therapist didn’t bite her head off, either.

”You’re right. Fine. We’ll do that. If we find Vision.”

Sabine’s anxiety dropped a bit. ”If it helps, we can explain the importance of the competition continuing to keep up appearances. Now that I know he’s out there I’ll be more prepared. And so will you.” As she walked she reached for Leah’s hand, a reassuring gesture. She couldn’t imagine how Leah was feeling at this moment.

”Yeah…”

She stopped walking, and turned. Leah wasn’t terribly willing to hold hands in case she accidentally crushed Sabine’s hand by accident, by she tried.

”Listen. I know I’m probably the least trusting person either of us know, and that I can be a real bitch about opening up. But you saw what happened way before I got here, met people and shit. And you heard everything he said. If you need to show Vision what you pulled out of my head, then do that. It’s fine. I trust you.”

Sabine paused, a moment of vulnerability. Leah had opened up to let Sabine into her mind; which was a sort of intimacy. A fear Sabine long had was that people in her life would not trust her because how easily it would be for her to shift their memory. A fight forgotten. A transgression buried. Make them like her more with a few tweaks. Dorian had hit her, albeit she could see where he was coming from.

So a simple gesture like allowing her to see inside their head and to share it was more than Sabine could express.

”If you’re sure. Who knew your hard-headedness could be so malleable?” she joked before resting her forehead on Leah’s. For a brief moment everything else vanished and it was just the two of them.

But reality settled back in. ”Ok, let’s hurry. Wouldn’t do us well to get disqualified on top of everything else.”

Right.

”Yeah. Let’s go.”

Thankfully, the hallways weren’t fucked up anymore. So they were able to get to the lobby just fine. And Vision was there waiting, probably waiting for them. Leah felt like she’d rather go live under a volcano than say this shit to him. So she didn’t, at least not all of it right away. April was on the other end of the portal, at least.

”Something happened. It’s not good,” She told him. Then she walked through. She’d tell him after, knowing Sabine would kick her ass if she didn’t. ”Give me a minute to sort this out.”

She walked through the portal.

Sabine followed as Leah spoke to Vision. It was something, at least. As she passed she also paused in front of Vision. ”If you want, I can share what I know, but let us get checked in first?”

Sabine didn’t wait for a response, knowing Vision will grab them when he wants. Sabine made it through the portal to the other side, where she saw some of her classmates as well as others. She glanced at Leah and nodded before she went off to find an examination room. Once she found one available she stepped in and responded to their questions.

---

"Room's allright. A little bit surprising at first but I can see why it would be what it is. Feel free to drop by, but you might need to bring a chair, its a little on the spartan side." Victoria described her room, opting not to comment on the fact that Danni barely gave her a moment to speak before complaining that she told him nothing, before he was whisked away by a hole in the ground, along with the rest of them.

Vicky fired off one of her generators to dampen the grip of gravity on her, falling through and landing with a soft tap like a leaf kissing the surface of a pond. Paperwork appeared in the hands of everybody around her, and a brief look over somebody's shoulder made it clear it was for the contest. Nothing more for her to do here, she had her own things to do. Checking over the letter, she saw there was no change to it - Either professor Harkness didn't have time to pen a reply, or it was no longer working. In any case-

Over the cacophony of the increasing number of contestants, her microphones picked up Leah claiming something... bath? Bad! happened. Her head swivelled towards the giant, giving her the best 'I better hear of this' glare, but realistically it would have to wait until the contestants were done with the doctors. "I'm going to see if I can find professor Harkness, I've got some business to attend with her. Can you please send me a text when you're done here?" She told Vision, before heading out of the waiting room, on the lookout for someone local whom she could ask for directions.

---

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---

As the clock struck four, a purple, shimmering mist solidified in front of the main entrance, condensing into a visage that some would know all too well - with long silver hair, a cunning grin, and an elegant purple gown that despite being constructed centuries ago showed not a day of age, Professor Agatha Harkness appeared before the gathered children. She surveyed the space for a moment, noting that it seemed everything was going according to procedure - not that she was in charge, of course. She was here strictly as a coach for the Strange Academy team, the Hex Girls (or Hex Gurls, she could never remember the spelling).

If she had received a note from a former student, she made no indication of it. Her eyes didn't even settle on the Avengers Academy students, passing over even her prized pupil, Billy Maximoff. Instead, she made her way through the mob of students, going over to where her own charges were gathered. "You all know how to spell and read, right?" she asked, with a slight wink. "You don't need me to fill out these forms for you?"

Meanwhile, the very student who had been looking for her had tragically already left the waiting area for the medical exam - had Vicky looked back, she would have noticed something odd about the door she just left from as well. It didn't look entirely real, as if it was painted into the stone walls of Strange Academy. A simple sign that read Contest of Champions Examinations - Closed to the Public had been taped onto the painting, the only real indication that it was a door at all. It had been physical and tangible moments ago, perhaps this was an illusion or another enchantment?

That, of course, was Vicky's other problem. She thought the Kingston-Gray house was dripping in magic. The levels of magic here at Strange Academy made the Kingston-Gray home look truly like a low, mild, barely registrable level of magic. The thick haze of magic saturated her sensors, showing her only a fraction of what was truly there, and everything else was barely visible, just faint little blips through a colorful, swirling haze. The amulet protected her, kept the magic from seeping into her, but it could do little for her immediate surroundings.

Two things would then happen at almost immediately the same time:

1) Vicky would spot a boy walking through the corridors, roughly the same age as her friends, with a charming face and dark blonde hair. Perhaps this could be the local she was looking for?

2) Her system would alert her to a file from September 13th of that year that needed her attention.

---

---

April was still feeling jittery and weirdly energized as she filled out the questionnaire. She had such a strong urge to run up to Danni and Dori and give them both the tightest of hugs, and apologize for scaring them, and reassure them that she was fine now, that it was all good, that she was better - but they didn't have the time for that right now, as much as her blood was pounding through her body. Everyone else was finally there, including Sabine and Leah - she refused to let her thoughts focus on them, instead just offering them a wave. Leah's text message had been concerning. But everything seemed fine now! And strictly speaking, Leah was her competition. She needed to focus on the contest - on doing her very best to not let her team down, not when they were so close to achieving their dream. It's what Nemo would have wanted her to do.

She filled out the questionnaire quickly, feeling a weird twinge in her gut as she put down her legal name. It felt nauseating - but just for a second, and then the feeling passed as quickly as it had come on. A similar sensation came up when she stared at the portion for the emergency contact. She didn't want anything to do with her parents. She wasn't speaking to them. She didn't want to speak to them ever again. And given that the form said emergency contact, and not guardian... April decided to put down a different name entirely.


April then glanced at the different lines, before purposefully picking one that seemed longer than the others - in hopes that Danni and Dorian would be able to catch up with her, and that they could chat. She already missed them so much! And it had been less than day since she'd seen them last! She waited in the line for about five seconds, before she couldn't take it any longer - and she made a beeline straight for Danni, pulling him into a tight hug. Dorian was with Percy, so she figured she'd start with Danni. "Danni Danni Danni Danniiiiiiiiiii!" April squealed. "We're finally here!!!!"

The Vision, of course, hardly shared April's excitement - instead being left to ponder just what exactly Leah had been hinting at...

---

---

Percy dutifully filled out the questionnaire, taking great care to ensure that every detail was accurate and correct. It seemed like the sort of form that ought to have been signed by a legal guardian, but there were many things about the Contest of Champions that seemed a little odd on reflection. Most schools did not allow children to simulate fighting each other to the death - and yet, Percy was fairly certain the scenario in the previous year's contest had been a last stand of sorts. He'd woken up one night to Dorian reviewing it on his phone.



"I'll see you in a bit, then," Percy bade his boyfriend, giving Dorian a kiss on the cheek as he was still filling out his form, before making his way in line. He scowled slightly as he spotted his sister out of the corner of his eye. The idea of dropping out of the contest just to attempt to hurt Diana's chances at winning did occur to him, but he dismissed it almost immediately. He wouldn't allow Diana to ruin this for him. He was here to compete, and he did genuinely wish to do so. Of course, he was still refusing to speak to Diana, but his maturity could only go so far.

He was about to enter one of the examination rooms, when a gust of wind blew in front of him - and Tommy Maximoff beat him to the chase, slowing down just enough to smirk at Percy before slamming the door shut behind him.

"Asshole," Percy grumbled, his fist tightening around the paperwork, crinkling the form.

---

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Andy’s form was complete. She picked a line that looked short and started to wait. She tried not to let her thoughts drift too far from the current situation. The form had been easy enough to fill out, with the minor panic at wondering if the time traveling she did was about to disqualify her from the event. She was surprised that she was actually worried about that. One of the rules had been that students had to want to participate. This wasn’t forced. She did want to compete. Yeah, it wasn’t with the same desire that April and some of the others had it. But she did want to test herself.

Andy wanted to know how to fight anyone who came across her path. She wanted strategies for how to deal with anyone who might want to free her mother. As she chewed that thought and looked around the room she saw Agatha. Magic.

It wasn’t something she was inept at, but it wasn’t her main focus. Maybe she would need to spend more time understanding magic. That was the most likely ability someone trying to free Selene would have. Max was good at protecting Selene at the moment because he could magically remove her from the situation. Could she learn how to open portals? A few ideas crossed into Andy’s mind but it was her turn for the exam.

The first part of the exam was a standard physical. Andy had had a few growing up, but it had been years. However, she didn’t have any physical signs of damage she had ever taken up to Genosha. At the end of Genosha all of her scars, cuts, bruises, and piercings had been healed. She had to have her ears and belly button re-pierced. It had been a little annoying. But physically there was nothing wrong with her. Not even the old pugilist break that had once caused her finger to be set weird could be found.

During the mystic portion, “Hmm. Young lady, are you aware that you are suffering a curse? It appears to be ancient and vampiric in nature.”

”Uh, I sort of knew, I guess. My mom did that to me.”

“Your mother?” The person asked and glanced at Andy’s paperwork. They didn’t ask anything more after seeing her name. Andy had only nodded and shrugged. She was a bit confused. She hadn’t thought it was a curse, but maybe that was how it worked. If it was something she could break...there was a spark of hope. To have a proper hug again. To not be afraid of touching her friends. She shook a little while waiting for the next portion and was very glad it was rather uninteresting in comparison. Nothing of note in her blood came up. However, the next portion, the Future Foundation part did reveal something. She had time traveled.

“I see, you were time displaced. Should we be aware of any TVA agents who may attempt to apprehend you?”

”I don’t think they will. It’s been a while, they are usually prompt about that sort of thing. But I’m from 2024. I was on Genosha and then came here, to now.” She had also done a bit of a time jump a few weeks ago, but the TVA still hadn’t bothered them so she didn’t think it would be an issue.

“That is all?”

”Well like a ten minute jump a few weeks ago, but it was still a while back. I think the TVA is a bit more reactive than that. I came forward in time, not back. I didn’t try to change anything the first time.” And apparently what they had changed just before Thanksgiving break hadn’t been enough to get the TVA’s attention.

Then the last portion. She was asked a few questions while keeping her hand on a book.

“What is your name?”

”Andy Drummond Gallio-Lensherr.” Her full name. She didn’t feel right if she didn’t say Drummond. She could probably comfortably drop Gallio, but it was legally her name. If they wanted some special name that was the true one she had been born with it wasn’t something she could give them. Andy had been her name forever, since she was a toddler. Drummond was from the first people she felt had been a true family, she’d never do away with that part of her name. As for her last names those were of course her two legal parents. One her biological mother and one the father of her heart.

“Who are you?” Andy paused, not sure how to answer that. She had already given her name, what was the difference? She thought of Ash and Jamie. She thought of Magneto. Andy could say that she was ‘Luna Minor’ or even ‘Thundering Champion’. Though, she didn’t feel either of those names were who she was. She was a lot, and she was nothing. A speck in the universe. She didn’t even want to be more. She just wanted to be Andy. Wanted to live her life as happy as possible. She especially wanted to make those she considered family proud of her. If Ash and Jamie could see her she wanted them to be proud of her. She wanted Magneto to be proud of her. Be glad he had adopted her.

”I am the collection of people who have cared for me. I am lightning and magic. I am Andy.” She didn’t know if that was what they were looking for, but it was as true to who she was as she could be.

Lastly, “Do you want to compete in the Contest of Champions?”

”Yes.” She had figured that out earlier. She did want to compete. She wanted to learn. That was the whole reason she was here.

Andy left the room, letting the next person take her place. She went back to the area where the group had been sitting and was thinking while waiting for her friends to come back.

---

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---

These questions weren’t really anything Leah cared too much about. The only one that gave her pause was the one about her name, which she just had to stop and think about for a second. She Hulk did use that name on whatever she filed. So she filled it out and just waited… And then Agatha just manifested out of thin air like a hologram. Leah stared her down for a moment, wondering if the old lady was
going to turn around and look back, maybe say something like, “Oh I see you turned into a weird monster already, that happened sooner than I thought.” She saw the future, after all. But she already started doing shit, and there would probably be time to talk with her after she found Victoria. And after she talked to Vision.

She wasn’t looking forward to that. Oh well.

And she wasn’t looking forward to this, either. Leah got in line somewhere and waited. The time she spent waiting was enough to wrangle her thoughts into something coherent. She never liked doctors or examinations. They made her want to tear her damn skin off and hit someone with whatever was underneath. She’d been under Imperator’s knife enough, and that was pretty damn fresh in her mind right now, given the situation.

A physical was no problem for her. Physical stuff was half of Leah’s entire thing as a superhero. It felt weird being observed doing it, but whatever...

The first question had her pretty damn confused. They waved an amulet over her head when she bent down low enough for them too, and it glowed a warm golden color. That didn't seem right to her.

"Hmm. Interesting. Dear, are you aware that someone has enchanted you?”

"...What? Enchanted me with what?" She had no idea what that could be. Her dad's doing, probably.

“I’m afraid our testing does not give the specifics, merely the class and rough skill level associated. If you’d like someone to take a deeper look, we can arrange for an additional appointment - perhaps with a member of faculty here?”

"No. I have things to do today." And she really didn't want to be in here longer than she had to. Leah was not fucking with this today.

Then, they pulled the book out and she answered the questions.

"What is your name?"

"Leah Jordan." Technically, it was true. Legally true, now.

"Who are you?"

Leah would've just repeated her answer to the first question, but there was probably some mystic reason for this. Who or what was she deep down? On a deeper level, down to what she stood for and believed in?

"I don't know," She answered. "I'm a monster with rocks for skin, when I was normal last month. I'm either a superhero or an impostor, depending on who you ask. Or I'm neither. I just am."

"Do you want to compete in the Contest of Champions?"

"I do. But not for myself."

It seemed to be good enough for the book, or if it wasn't, it didn't say. That was all, so Leah got up and quickly left the room. Leah jumped back through that hot girl's portal, looking around for the robot man. She pulled her phone out and sent a much more coherent message to both April and Sabine, now that she was thinking clearly again.



Vision had been waiting by the portal for people to go through. She'd drive herself crazy if she didn't do something about this now, and Sabine would probably kick her ass. "So... Earlier. My dad showed up, and I- He's a supervillain. A pretty bad one. He was here."

She wanted to wait for Sabine to get done with her thing, but she was anxious. Leah fucking hated being anxious. "No one got hurt, but it's- We can't call the contest off over it. That'll get people killed."