[h1][b][i][center][color=#A2797E]S[/color][color=#A57B79]a[/color][color=#A87E75]b[/color][color=#AB8170]i[/color][color=#AE846C]n[/color][color=#B28768]e[/color] [color=#B88C5F]B[/color][color=#BB8F5B]a[/color][color=#BE9256]s[/color][color=#C29552]s[/color][color=#C5984E]a[/color][color=#C89A49]r[/color][color=#CB9D45]d[/color] [color=#D2A33C]/[/color][color=#D5A638]/[/color] [color=#DBAB2F]L[/color][color=#DEAE2B]e[/color][color=#E2B127]a[/color][color=#E5B422]h[/color] [color=#EBBA1A]J[/color][color=#EEBC15]o[/color][color=#F2BF11]r[/color][color=#F5C20D]d[/color][color=#F8C508]a[/color][color=#FBC804]n[/color][/center][/i][/b][/h1] [hr] [color=ffcb00]”Yeah- yeah, we need to find her [i]now.[/i] But- Fuck, if he wanted to hurt you, he would have,”[/color] Leah noted. [color=ffcb00]”You saw, he probably knows I’d just chase him down or leave and he doesn’t [i]want[/i] me to leave.”[/color] 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. [color=ffcb00]”We still need to get to her. She needs to know what’s happening, and not be confused. She’ll go mad doing that.”[/color] Leah took in a deep breath and tried to calm the rattling in her chest. [color=ffcb00]”I have a plan.”[/color] 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. [color=A2797E]”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?”[/color] 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? [color=A2797E]”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.”[/color] [color=ffcb00]”Yeah. I know. But she’s got enough shit to deal with lately, so… Here’s what we’re going to do.”[/color] Leah turned and started walking back down the hallway. [color=ffcb00]”We’re gonna find her, make sure she’s fine, and if she [i]is[/i] fine, we just pretend everything else is fine. We get there in time for the medical thing that I [i]really[/i] want to be late for, and we act like this shit never happened.”[/color] 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 [i]damn[/i] about mean nothing. [color=ffcb00]”And if April’s hurt, we hurt somebody. Badly.”[/color] 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? [color=A2797E]”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.”[/color] [color=ffcb00]”We [i]are[/i] telling her. But-“[/color] She thought for a second. [color=ffcb00]”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?”[/color] She didn’t feel like she was. [color=A2797E]”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.”[/color] [color=ffcb00]”You saw what he was going for, Sabine,”[/color] Leah said. [color=ffcb00]”Either that dumb contest happens, or the school and probably everyone [i]inside it[/i] is dead. He’s- Fuck…”[/color] 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. [color=ffcb00]”You’re right. Fine. We’ll do that. If we find Vision.”[/color] Sabine’s anxiety dropped a bit. [color=A2797E]”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.”[/color] As she walked she reached for Leah’s hand, a reassuring gesture. She couldn’t imagine how Leah was feeling at this moment. [color=ffcb00]”Yeah…”[/color] 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. [color=ffcb00]”Listen. I know I’m probably the least trusting person either of us know, and that I can be a real [i]bitch[/i] 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]I trust you.”[/i][/color] 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. [color=A2797E]”If you’re sure. Who knew your hard-headedness could be so malleable?”[/color] 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. [color=A2797E]”Ok, let’s hurry. Wouldn’t do us well to get disqualified on top of everything else.”[/color] Right. [color=ffcb00]”Yeah. Let’s go.”[/color] 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. [color=ffcb00]”Something happened. It’s not good,”[/color] She told him. Then she walked through. She’d tell him after, knowing Sabine would kick her ass if she didn’t. [color=ffcb00]”Give me a minute to sort this out.”[/color] 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. [color=A2797E]”If you want, I can share what I know, but let us get checked in first?”[/color] 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. [hider=Contest of Champions Questionnaire] Legal Name: Sabine Bassard School: Margaret Carter Institute Qualifying Team: Excelsior Date of Birth: February 24, 2022 Physical Age: 16 Emergency Contact: Remmy Bassard Notable Abilities or Powers: Memory Manipulation, Psychometry, Mental Enhancement Declared Item: Guinivere (Sword with Force Field Power) Pertinent Medical History: Panic Attacks Signature Certifying that You Agree to Follow All Contest of Champions Rules: Sabine Bassard [/hider] [hider=Contest of Champions Questionnaire] Legal Name: Leah Jordan School: Margaret Carter Institute Qualifying Team: Uncanny Avengers Date of Birth: October 7th 2021 Physical Age: 17 Emergency Contact: She-Hulk Notable Abilities or Powers: Geokinesis. Super strength. Magic. Declared Item: Runes Pertinent Medical History: none Signature Certifying that You Agree to Follow All Contest of Champions Rules: Leah Jordan [/hider]