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Weaknesses? Strategies? Yeah right as if he'd ever tell anyone what he'd been planning. Percy may have been his boyfriend, but he wasn't about to fall for any competitions’ tricks. All he did was stick his tongue out at Percy before he turned to the sheet before him. It seemed fairly straight forward so far. Name, School, Team, and Date of Birth. His birthday was a bit harder to pin down, given he was adopted after an incident with purifiers, but he wrote the one they'd celebrated for all his years. Physical age seemed like an odd phrase, then again how would Andy fill it out knowing now what he knew? He let out a frustrated sigh, seeing that this was a bit more complex than he'd originally cared to realize. The rest of it seemed fine, filling out each section as clearly as he could and trying not to leave anything out so that they couldn't disqualify him on technicalities.

”See ya” Was all Dorian said back as he continued to write. Focusing on his sheet as Percy gave him a kiss before leaving. He could hear Danni begin to ask him a question when he suddenly found the answer himself. Dorian chuckled at his antics, rolling his eyes. It was easy to forget that Avengers Academy was actually called The Margaret Carter Institute. Most students didn't bother with that name. ”In a minute D. Just makin’ sure I didn't forget somet'in’.” He said before finally getting up and making his way over to Danni and April. Hugging them both tightly before pulling away. ”’arry Simmons?” Dorian asked. ”I didn't t’ink uncle ‘arry would be able to make it from Canada. I t'ought ‘e was on tour t’at dirty liar.” He huffed, a hint of amusement beneath it all. It seemed like he was bringing his twin and her wife along too.

One of the lines seemed to clear up as he watched Andy leave her room. He waved over to her before looking back at April and Danni real quick. ”My time to shine! Don't take too long you two! I'll be right back.” Dorian said as he ran towards the examination room and entered inside. He wasn't exactly sure what he was expecting, maybe a white sterile office with a chair that had crunchy white paper to sit on? He hated those. But this didn't seem too bad. Some odd equipment was out, some he recognized, others he didn't.

There were two physicians in the room - a cheerful older woman, with a bee pin on her lapel, and a calico cat, her tail wrapped around her waist.

“Ah, sit down, sit down - we’ll take your paperwork, sweetheart,” the older doctor insisted, gesturing for Dorian to take a seat - there was, indeed, crunchy white paper covering the surface, and a small shelf for his feet to be placed on. “I’m Doc Bee, and that’s High Priestess Mirabel, we’ll be doing a quick check-up and then you’ll be on your way.”

Mirabel’s eyes flickered over towards Dorian.

“Did you have any questions for us before we get started?” Bee then asked.

Dorian made his way over towards the seat, handing the paperwork to them as he passed by. He eyed the paper hesitantly, before deciding to just float. He hadn't used his telekinesis to fly before, mostly relying on his Astral powers to do so, but he didn't need to be stuck there right now. So he enveloped himself in his powers, lifting off the block that was placed before the seat and hovering gently over the paper before letting himself down so as to make as little sound as possible. He truly hated these things. ”Only one…Mirabel wouldn't happen to be related to Usagi would she?” The last thing Dorian needed was for this to be another trap.

Mirabel tilted her head at Dorian. “All of my siblings died in the flood, child.”

Bee grimaced, as much as she tried to force a smile. “Right! We’re going to start by taking your blood pressure,” she explained, as she grabbed the small device and approached Dorian, wrapping the cuff around his upper arm. “This might be uncomfortable for a moment,” she added sympathetically.

”For a moment? I think I just made it uncomfortable for the remainder…” Dorian muttered under his breath as Bee applied the machine to him.

“Why would it be uncomfortable?” Mirabel asked. “I didn’t say I liked my siblings.”

“Ooookaaaayyyyy then,” Bee breathed in through her teeth sharply. The blood pressure cuff tightened and tightened, until Dorian would be able to feel his blood pulsing in his arm - and then suddenly, the pressure released. Bee noted the value, and as she was writing, Mirabel grabbed the stethoscope with one paw.

“Can you breathe?” the cat asked, before pressing it to Dorian’s back, so as to listen to his lungs.

Dorian suddenly felt as if he messed up even trying to speak to or about Mirabel. He had no idea which Flood she meant, but had a sinking feeling she may have meant the biblical flood. It was almost enough to distract him from the growing pressure on his arm, mostly feeling it by the end just before all the pressure was released. ”Yeah, I breAthe” He answered, moments before the cold stethoscope pressed against his back. Why did they never warm these things?

He then realized she was asking him to breathe, not if he had the capability to. Dorian sure as heck didn't know, maybe some mutants or other species didn't require air or breathing? But either way he took a deep breath in, held it, and then let it out slowly. He repeated this twice more, hoping that'd be enough for the cat.

“Good,” Mirabel affirmed. “I need to feel your abdomen next. Don’t worry, I’ll keep the claws sheathed.”

”Uh. Ok? What does t'at do? Or tell?” Dorian asked. He never understood some of the things doctors would do. It seemed strange.

“Oh!” Bee said chipperly, careful to interject before Mirabel could explain. “We’re assessing your organs - rough shape and size, if there’s any evidence of discomfort or pain. Is that okay, Dorian?”

Mirabel didn’t wait, of course, instead immediately setting to work, palpitating his abdomen like she was making biscuits.

”Oh. I didn't know you could just…feel t’at like t'at.” Dorian asked, though his mind was elsewhere. The idea of seeing the rough shape of his organs and if they were in good condition made him wonder if he could partially go ghost to make himself translucent on one side. Then they could truly see his organs, but the idea they might somehow spill out grossed him out.

“Yup! Isn’t the body cool?” Bee gushed. “You’d be surprised how much we can learn about a patient without having to use any fancy equipment - when I started training to be a doctor, most of what I had access to was salvaged equipment. But you make it work! Okay, just need to check your eyes, ears, and heart and then we’ll get onto the fun stuff!”

“Is this not fun? I’m having a great time,” Mirabel deadpanned, jumping away as Bee took over - shining a light into each of Dorian’s ears, having him follow one with his eyes, and then finally listening to his heart.

”Salvaged equipment? Where did you first start out if I can ask?” Dorian asked as he tried not to blink while the light was shining in his eyes. Following it the best he could but also trying not to look directly at it.

“Oh, I washed up on Madripoor after S-Day,” Bee explained offhandedly. “Doc Nemesis mentored me, showed me the ropes, but then he got back into crime - you know how it is, you’re always in recovery, it’s a process that never really ends. But great! Mirabel is the magic expert, so she’s going to do this next part - just a quick check for any sort of enchantments.”

The cat nodded, before pulling out an amulet from a small, ornate chest with her teeth. She tangled the chain up in her claws and batted at it, causing it to spin. She circled it three times around Dorian’s head, noting a faint green glow. “Someone tried to curse you - at the start of September,” she noted. “Piss poor spellwork, though.”

”Curse me? But…t’at's around my birt'day. Unless…” The stalker had gotten more aggressive that day. Saying something weird in a note that Dorian had blocked out. ”Right…I t'ink Aggie took care of it. But you mentioned washing up after S-Day. Does t'at mean, are you also from Genosha?”

Bee nodded once more. “Sure am! Your tell your pas that Bee says hello, okay?” she added with a wink. “I need to take a blood sample from you next - are you afraid of blood or needles, Dorian?”

“I hope you are,” Mirabel mused.

”I'm fine with it? Bloods part of the ‘ero gig and well. Needles are needles I guess? Wonder if any ‘eroes ‘ave a fear of needles?” Dorian thought out loud before realizing what Bee had said to him. ”You know my Pa's?”

“‘Course I do,” Bee answered. “Every Genoshan still alive knows your pas - and a good handful of the ones no longer with us, too.” She worked pretty quickly, drawing up just enough blood to sample in triplicate. Mirabel took the samples and ran them through a small device, and evidently there was nothing concerning in the readout, as Bee then grabbed the next piece of equipment in the room - it looked like a fancy, glorified radar gun, emblazoned with the blue and white of the Future Foundation.

“Almost done,” Bee added. “Just a quick scan and then it’s on to the truth test!”

Dorian groaned as he saw the logo of the next piece of equipment. ”Absolutely not’in’ fantastic about t’ose four. What's t’e scan do?”

“It’ll tell us if there’s any quantum or cosmic abnormalities,” Bee said succinctly.

“You can’t just throw around the term quantum, it’s a nonsense word,” Mirabel grumbled, licking her paws.

“It’s not nonsense, it’s science,” Bee corrected, before activating the device. She tilted her head from side to side, biting her lip as she considered this. “Honey… You didn’t mention you’re entangled.”

Quantum science was a little bit above Dorian's school grade. But he figured Bee knew what she was doing. Not that Mirabel seemed to give two tails about the science or potentially lack thereof. ”What do you mean entangled? I t'ought you said t'is was cosmic and quantum stuff?” He asked. While he'd heard of the terms Quantum Entanglement and Cosmic Entanglement, he never really understood what it all meant.

“It’s a little above my paygrade, the exact specifics of it,” Bee admitted. “I don’t fully understand everything about how it works, how it happens - but what entanglement means is that some pieces of you, they’re part of someone else. And some pieces of them, they’re part of you. Did you… not know you were entangled? Nothing strange happened - you couldn’t suddenly access powers that weren’t yours?”

Dorian shrugged. Wondering who he could possibly be entangled with, or even how it would've happened. ”Not t’at I know of? If so I ‘avent noticed it. Does it say…who?”

“Oh, that’s interesting - it looks like you’re entangled with another student - another competitor, which is… unfortunate. Hmm. Do you know a Percy Novikoff?”

Dorians face went bright pink as blush shot across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. ”T'at's. Uh, t'at's my boyfriend. We were on t'e same team till a shake up ‘appened due to losing a coach to villainy. I-...” He closed his mouth, not wanting to know how they even became entangled. Or what this meant for them or the competition.

“Ah, so you were entangled,” Mirabel observed with a slight laugh. “I suppose you’ll have to beg your boyfriend to leave the competition - or perhaps you’ll fall on the sword for him.”

“Mirabel,” Bee coughed. “But… She is right. You won’t both be allowed to compete. Even with a low entanglement value of five percent, the fact that you are on different teams… You could try to make an appeal, but…” Her voice faltered, as she saw a message flash across her screen. “Oh! Good news, Dorian. Percy has elected to withdraw.”

Dorian's face journey was about as telling as The Hobbit. Between embarrassment from what Mirabel had said, to the idea that he'd have to withdraw for Percy's sake or vice versa, to the immediate disappointment about what Bee was telling him as if he had just received grave news (which he basically had), and now he was being told Percy elected to withdraw? Dorian was so torn, both glad he could continue his dream and upset that they hadn't even had a conversation about, but also an odd mix of love for his boyfriend who likely knew how much this meant to him and chose to dive. He was speechless. Well aside from a single word that burst out of his mouth. ”What?!”

“Yep!” Bee said cheerfully. “Now we can do the last part of the exam - this is the Tome of Izneth - or, well… It’s a Tome of Izneth, I think there’s about twenty copies,” she added, before taking out the small ancient book, and she held it out to Dorian. “If you could put your hand on this, we have a few questions we have to ask.”

“I dare you to try lying,” Mirabel baited, batting her tail from side to side. “Please.”

Dorian felt almost empty, as if he was having an out of body experience, which was weird given his powers. He placed his hand upon the tome, but it was almost as if going through the motions. His mind focused on wanting to speak to Percy.

“What is your name?” Mirabel hissed.

”Dorian Stephen Gray”

”Who are you?”

”T’e son of Professor Maximillian Gray and Ben Gray, but a Student at Margaret Carter Institute.”

“Finally, a normal answer to that one…” Mirabel scoffed, before continuing with the final question. ”Do you want to compete in the Contest of Champions?”

”More t'an anyt’in’ in t'e world. Not just compete, I wanna win mon amie.”

Mirabel then gave Bee a nod, as the physician placed the tome away. “Great - you’re all done, sweetheart! Best of luck out there!”

”T'anks! Be sure to root for me in t'e stands. For now…I got to go talk to Percy.” Dorian remarked as he made his way to the door.

“Yes, talk,” Mirabel murmured. “I’m sure that’s what you’ll be doing.”

Dorians ears burned, turning a faint shade of pink at the tips as he rushed out of the examination room, texting Percy. ”We need to talk, where are you?”

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Sabine paused for a moment, checking her phone. Neither Leah nor April had responded. Surely, April had seen the messages. She expected her to be freaking out right now and coming to find Leah (and by extension herself) to talk about it. And then Sabine's thoughts ran to the extreme. No, he wouldn't attack in broad daylight, right? They were surrounded by people, heroes and civilians alike. It would be stupid.

Right?

Sabine exited the medical exam room and began making her way back to the center, hoping to meet up with Leah. She looked around at unfamiliar faces, those she would be facing and, hopefully, beating out in this competition. Her heart might be in it, but her mind was everywhere else.

She took a few steps forward and felt the hairs on her arms stand up. A coarse chill ran through her veins. It felt as if someone had latched on to her, her every moment tracked. Sabine spun around to face behind her, nearly colliding with another person who gave her the stink eye as she continued towards her own destination. Was that shadow moving? Did she see something in the corner of her eye.

Sabine felt her chest constrict and her breathing felt labored, but she took some deep breaths anyway. She moved back, keeping an eye out for unfamiliar movements, those that someone hiding their presence would try to shadow. She glanced back and forth, sure she saw something.

Was Leah's dad following her? Was it someone else?

Sabine stopped. What was she doing? There were plenty of people here. Some that wanted her to fail. That had to be it. She was getting into her own head. She needed to find Leah. They could then inform Vision and have some safety measures set up. Sabine turned back and kept walking.

Unbeknownst to her, a figure peered around the corner, watching the young woman walk away.

---

Sabine shook off the uncomfortable feeling as she finally made it to the central hub. She saw a familiar poof of hair before she saw the figure attached. Leah seemed to be deep in thought. She had to be going through it. Challenged by her own father in a place she should feel safe.

Sabine gently ran forward and wrapped Leah in a side-hug. "All done. How are you feeling?" Sabine knew the answer. Her own anxieties felt like they were flying off of her body, but she needed to put on a brave face. Leah had enough to worry about. "Any sign of April? She didn't respond to your message."

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As Diana looked around the hallway there were a few other students still waiting for the examinations to start, she had finished with hers which was good she didn't have to worry about doing anything else. Other than having to wait here until they were allowed to go back to their hotel room. Diana thought about going to talk with Percy to try and mend things between her Dorian and Percy, she really hated not talking to her younger brother. But she didn't want to do it in front of complete strangers really either and make a scene, she noticed Andy making her way over to Vision.

She made her way over towards Andy, and started to hear her asking about what happened to Lady Nimue as she looked between the two of them for a moment before turning to look at Andy. She didn't know Andy all that well but the girl seemed to be pretty nice as she stepped into the conversation. "Lady Nimue is in Otherworld at the moment dealing with what happened to Ser Nemo." Diana said, she was pretty sure that they were told about what happened to him.

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Madalyne looked at Agatha for a moment seeing the vacant stare in her eyes and calling her Mackenzie which wasn't her name at all and she asked about how her family and how her father was. Something was wrong since the last time she saw Agatha before she left to become a teacher here in this school. "It's me Madalyne Crane from the Margret Carter Institute?" Madalyne said hoping that it'll jog her memory or something.

"You were my mentor and a teacher at that school before you ended up transferring over here at the start of the year." She told her tt could be a number of things, maybe it was some sort of magic that messed with her mind. Or maybe it was due to her old age as well to, Madalyne didn't really know at all really.

“WoOoOoOoOoOoOoW! Someone’s got too much contest on t’e brain ta stay wit’ us apparently. Disrespectful.” Danni laughed as Dorian shot his way to the examination room. He didn’t expect anything less. Honestly, Dee had been the most intense about it out of the three of them so Danni had already prepared himself for the tunnel vision he’d get. Dee got the same way during video game competitions and all that nonsense. Danni gasped at April’s idea, very excited but as he watched the door shut firmly behind each person.

“I don’t t’ink t’at’s an option, Princess. And I kinda don’t wanna try, ya know? Like, we got t’is far and we get ta do it toget’er, so I don’t wanna get disqualified ‘cause we did somet’in’ we didn’t know about.” Danni explained, leaning forward so Amélie leaned forward to sniff at April and then abruptly shot back as he realized what she was going for - her hair! “Amélie, no no. We don’t chew ‘air, silly dragon.” Danni chided half-heartedly, giggling at the displeased puff of smoke. He gave April a kiss on the cheek and untangled them.

“OKay, okay, okay. We do t’is quick and t’en after, we can…” Danni trailed off as he watched Mads interacting with the one and only Aggie! He started vibrating and quickly clapped his hands over his mouth before he could scream. “Princess, Princess, Princess! It’s Prof. Aggie! I ‘ave ta introduce ‘er ta ‘er granddaughter! Right, like it would be rude not ta, right? Omg, omg, omg. Amélie, you’re gunna meet Mamie Aggie! Aren’t you excited?!” He whispered between his hands, afraid he’d scare her off if he made it too obvious he was going for her. He decided to interpret the demanding chittering from above him as a yes. He grabbed April by the shoulders, stared her in the eyes seriously, and reached up to block Amélie as she leaned towards April’s hair. “Super top mission. Get in, get out, tackle Aggie. Got it? One, two, three - break!” Danni tucked Amélie in his arms and scrambled towards a door, certainly not putting a little fire beneath his heels to get there that much faster. He ducked under the arm of someone he didn’t know, turned on the threshold, stuck his tongue out at them, and slammed the door, all while Amélie huffed and wiggle in excitement at the sudden burst of speed. Amélie would be all worked up when she met Mamie Aggie but how didn’t love a playful dragon?

“Okay, docs, I’m all yours! ‘It me wit’ every’in’ ya got!” Danni beamed as he hopped up on the obvious seat. Amélie tumbled out of his arms, bouncing off his lap but immediately protesting as she stepped on the crunchy and scampered back into his lap. She then tapped the paper on the seat aggressively, flinching and growing at offending material, and Danni cooed at her soothingly. He looked up at the sound of someone clearing their throat, and offered a megawatt smile in apology.

“Don’t worry, my whittle baby isn’t participating. Pa didn’t t’ink about what people were ‘oldin’ again when ‘e portaled us. Really, ya should just be glad its just a dragon. Someone, not naming any names Dee, coulda been doin’ adult cuddles since t’at’s a t’in’ t’ey do now. Don’t you t’ink t’at’s kinda rude? Like, who just casually tells t’eir best friends “‘ey, we play ‘ide t’e cucumber under t’e sheets now, btws?” Like, I feel like I shoulda been wined and dined before t’ey dropped a tactical nuke in my lap. And everyone knows I ‘ave bad control! Why would you surprise me, t’e walkin’ fire bomb?! I can’t even remember t’e number of socks I’ve lost ‘cause Dee decided ta prank me and I got so spooked, I burned t’em right off my feet! Actually, I lost a lotta stuff like t’at. But I have a fireproof baby now, isn’t she cute! Look at t’is spot she like rubbed under ‘er chin and -” Clearly not going to stop, the examiner went about their business and occasionally interjected with muttered commands.

“Okay, stop.” The examiner demanded. Danni paused in his explanation of how She-Ra was the perfect life example that everyone should live by. “I just need you to put your hand on this book and answer the questions. Succinctly. Please.”

“I don’t know what a plant ‘as ta do wit’ t’is but jeez, alright.” Danni rolled his eyes as this book was offered and he placed his hand on it. The other one was busy keeping Amélie from also putting her teeth in the box.

“What is your name?”

“‘ow am I supposed ta put a succulent in t’at? Like, my ‘rents named me Daniel but I prefer Danni, ya know? The I is important. I was just tellin’ myself t’at I gotta get it-”

“Who are you?”

Danni stared at the interruption. “I just told you. Danni. Maybe if you’d listen, you’d remember t’at.” Danni snarked back, more than a little annoyed that he’d asked the same question twice.

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

“OMFG YES! I’ve been dreaming of it since I stepped foot in t’e school and now we get ta do it toget’er wit’ Dee and Princess! T’ey split us up ‘cause t’ey knew we were too dangerous and we’d upset t’eir favorite team by crushin’ t’em but t’en-” Danni blinked as he found himself talking to the exam room door. He blinked, exchanging a look and a shrug with Amélie, and turned on his heel, took in a deep breath, and screamed -

“MAMIE AGGIE!” As he flew across the room, hurtling towards her.

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She knew it was psychosomatic - well, hoped really - but as soon as their hands touched, Victoria felt a wave of discomfort crawl up her forearm, like maggots burrowing under the skin of her hand. Which was terrible, since now mr. Macleod apparently intended to lead her out by hand. She already hated this deal. She really should have just stayed put, or perhaps try her luck with finding her way out. But her stupid curiosity was going to be the end of her. Did she learn nothing from the whole Ed situation? Ten seconds before she sunk into the framework, she warned Ed against pulling a fast one. How’d that pan out?

Sucking in a breath, she complied for now, and took the hand he offered. No need to let him know just yet that she was not as blind as he believed.

Barty took a few steps forward, making sure that his blind companion was at least capable of following his pace. Once he was satisfied, he held out his free hand as if he was about to turn a knob on a door. Grasping at thin air, a black door frame appeared and sprawled out into what seemed to be nothingness. He pulled them through as he proceeded forward. Closing the door behind them before making his way through the darkness on a transparent pathway. ”Stay close. I'd hate to lose you in here.” He commented, though it was more in the way Mother Gothel spoke to Rapunzel's hair rather than Rapunzel. He didn't want to lose his favor in here. Not like he couldn't retrieve her if he cared to.

The sudden appearance of the doorway on her sensor did actually confuse Vicky somewhat, considering she right now saw the world as a sea of dots at various distances from her. Thus, she followed as Barty beckoned. Still, something felt off. As they stepped through, what Vicky saw was distinctly not a street outside. This guy was either a complete hoser or-

She stopped in her tracks as it clicked. If Barty was looking, he could see the emotions change several times from fury to relief, before setting on a small smile. Slowly raising her hands, Victoria gave him a slow clap. ”Ah. I see. Well played.” She only said that the effort of her favor had to be equal to his. Not that his effort had to be the minimum amount necessary. Barty could pad this up as much as he wanted to.

For a second the blonde thought she just sold herself to slavery, but when she thought about it… He could pad it up, sure. But the morality clause would only let him have her do things that she would have no problems doing anyway. So while it was an asinine, spiteful move, he only set her up to do bigger things she was okay with. ”I don’t think I ever felt quite this conflicted. That’s a new feeling, that does not happen too often nowadays. Thank you.” she said, actually sincere about it.

Barty felt a sudden tug as Victoria stopped still. Her hand sliding out of his as she began to clap. At first his instinct was to dash backwards, his hand going for his pocket and gripping a small figure within it. He expected a fight, as if this was some sort of ruse Victoria had concocted to get him alone and away from the school. But even in the Neverish he wasn't alone. As she spoke he focused on her words, but also her posture, emotions, every little detail he could to indicate where this was going. Centuries of persecution came up at once before finally he relaxed and settled down off haunches. She was cunning, she just realized what he'd done.

”That's sort of my specialty, Victoria. I show people new emotions they never knew they were capable of. Some even forgotten to time as humanity seemed to abandon them. But either way, you're stuck with me until I take you outside. The debt will be high but I'm sure your morality can take it.” Barty grinned. At least he wouldn't need to pretend anymore, good.

”You're not doing your effort to disassociate you from the devil any favors, by the way. Though that might be just me, considering the one witch I am somewhat acquainted with is half demon.” Victoria snorted, looking around. The place was a monochrome void, which seemed to have pathways of something barely visible running through it, and what she assumed to be spheres of… magic energy concentration? Beats me.

She stepped up by Barty’s side, a clear indication that she could navigate better in this space. ”If it incurs a price of another favor, or hell, if it’s too personal, don’t answer, but… You speak and act like you’ve seen more in life than a person of the age your appearance suggests. What’s your story?”

Barty began moving through the space alongside Victoria once more. Deciding whether or not he truly wished to divulge anything to this stranger. ”Quid pro Quo then. You answer my question and I'll answer yours. Besides it wouldn't do us to walk in silence the whole time so some conversation might not be so bad.” He replied, his tone even and collected as they made pace. ”What is with your aura?”

”Hm? What do you mean, aur-” then she looked at herself. She failed to notice it before in the swirling mess, but here where the magic seemed less saturated, she could see it. Or rather, couldn’t. Whatever magic permeated the space, it stopped and bent away from her.

”Oh. I’ve been loaned a talisman that creates an anti-magic field around me. These levels of magic are usually deadly to me otherwise. Hence, my lack of knowledge about it. I don’t feel like Marie Curieing my way through the subject. Which sucks. I wanted to start on it next year but I’m not sure I’ll be able.” she explained. ”Your turn.”

Barty fully ignored her telling him it was his turn. The answer only provided more questions than anything. ”Who gave it to you?”

”Nope.” Victoria gave Barty a cheeky smile. ”I answered your question, I am owed a question now. Spill.”

Barty rolled his eyes. He needed to find a way to answer her question without actually answering it. At least, not until he knew exactly how she'd acquired that medallion. ”Then let me answer it this way. Witches have been persecuted over the centuries by those who would call themselves hunters. I'm sure you've no doubt heard of the Salem Witch Trials, but they extended far beyond just Salem. The last time I had seen an aura like yours, it was on a hunter who carried the lineage. There are those who still believe my kind don't deserve to live. So if I am to answer about my life, any aspect of it, I must first ensure the nature of how you acquired an artifact that mimics the aura of my people's enemy.”

That seemed to be a bit of a veiled answer, but it said enough. And it hit home. ”I… understand, though I am nowhere near that badly off. You could say I’ve been muzzled by people with power over me because of what I could do, not because of something I already did. I’m sorry if worse happened to you.” taking a moment thinking on how to answer Barty’s question without explicitly dropping mr. Gray’s name, she settled on: ”It was given to me by a wizard, I don’t think he would hold ill intentions for one of his fellows, although fair is fair, I just met them and don’t really know them. As for me… So long as you do not intentionally harm people, unless it is an unfortunate price that needs to be paid to protect great many more, I have no reason to object to your existence. However irritating it may feel on occasion.” she smirked, knowing full well she just gave away her moral framework. She figured he would learn of it sooner or later due to the favor anyway.

Barty watched her closely. He'd grown accustomed to reading people, finding tells. She seemed to be honest, although clearly withholding some of the information. Smart. There were no shortages of Witches, Wizards, and Sorcerer's alike in New Orleans. Having a whole school to teach it sort of made that all happen. Any one of them could have given her the amulet, but who? Why? She stated magic was deadly to her, but what sort of creature had adverse reactions to magic like that? If they weren't currently traversing this plane, Barty would've had half a mind to open his third eye fully to see what was wrong with her, but doing so here would only give him a headache. ”So long as there are those who think themselves above the others, there will always be persecution. That is the ugly truth of humanity. They fear what they cannot control and what they do not understand. Regardless, you won't find me harming people. As stated before I am an enchanter. I befuddle the mind, make you feel things that aren't there, hear things that aren't real, I choose what is reality and project it onto another so that only they may see it. I could drive someone mad if I cared to, but harm them? Not in my wheelhouse. Leave that to the Evocers and their incessant use of flames around all top precious books.”

Barty didn't meet Victoria's gaze. His mind was off in the distance at something she had said. ”Worse has happened to me, not all of my existence has been good. I've lost my family, my sister…good witches were burned before my very eyes by the lineage of hunters that roam this earth. They take without asking, without remorse…So if what you wish is to know what it sounds like to hear a woman scream as her flesh is melted or the way hair smells as it's being charred away and floats downwind…I do not think my story is one to tell…for now.”

That checked out, she heard enough. From what she could tell, Batry wasn’t bullshitting her either. Well, this time. ”I mean, mental health is still health, but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and trust you are not going around, turning people insane for fun.”

She was quiet for the next few paces, before taking a pen and post-it block from her pocket and writing her phone number on it. ”And I am afraid you’re right about humans. While it’s not my primary mission… If you ever feel hunted, yell. I may not be skilled in handling magic, but as far as I know, it’s not magic users that do the hunting, and those I can deal with. Well. No favors owed.” she said as she handed over the note.

Barty took the note, pocketing it next to her token. He decided not to comment on the idea of turning people mad for fun. If it was a hunter of course he would. They deserved it. But there was always the risk of madness when he used his magic. One never knows exactly how they're target may react. Paranoia could settle in without his wanting to, or perhaps it could trigger an episode he didn't know they would have. That was the danger of messing with someone's mind. But if he was doing so, typically they deserved it. He flashed her a smile, not a friendly one, but one of snarky recognition. ”My dear, I always feel hunted. But I appreciate the sentiment. Also, you may want to hold on, our first stop is going to be a doozy.” Barty said as another door appeared from thin air.

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Something unprecedented happened for the Margaret Carter Institute. They had brought three teams to the Contest of Champions, twenty students in total. Not all of them had gone through the examination yet - not all of them had been cleared to compete. But before even thirty minutes had passed, not one, not two, but seven students would no longer be participating in the Contest of Champions.

This is how it happened.

Zari Raynordattir had been about to go complete her examination, having wandered briefly on over to her girlfriend, when her watch began to beep. There was a brief parting in the multiversal storm that was preventing her from leaving this dimension - a brief moment in which her home reality was accessible to her once more. She grinned at her watch, chattering eagerly at Mr. Eyeball and Mr. Jaws, before she glanced up at Andy. "Bye, Andy!! It was nice knowing you!!" And then, in the blink of an eye, she was gone - back to Earth-257, back to her family, back to where she really belonged, with all of the people who mattered to her.

Zelda Flynn had almost successfully completed her examination, when the last question forced the truth from her. She did not want to compete in the Contest of Champions. She didn't even want to attend the Margaret Carter Institute. All she wanted to do was design costumes - she wasn't a hero, wasn't a fighter. And after her sister's mental break, who could really blame her for wanting to choose a different path? One of the Strange Academy professors was kind enough to provide her with a teleportation portal to go back home - to go back to her parents in Washington D.C., where the conversation they would have would result in her withdrawal from the Margaret Carter Institute - and instead, her parents would look into arts schools for her to attend.

Mary Sue Sullivan similarly did not wish to compete in the Contest of Champions - the trauma of Arcade and the trauma of Thanos was too much for her. Her speedster father came to pick her up almost immediately, as he and her mother were in the area. The conversation they would have would result in her transferring to the Braddock Academy, much closer to home in the British Isles.

Madalyne Crane had finished her examination, and was speaking with Agatha when she was pulled away - not by a stranger, but by her father. He had discussed things with her mother, and they had come to the conclusion that Madalyne would benefit from connecting with her more demonic side. The two of them left for Limbo to reconnect, and her mother would soon after send in the forms withdrawing Madalyne from the Margaret Carter Institute.

Diana Novikova had seemingly passed the examination, until the blood work analysis concluded, revealing that she was taking a significant amount of mutant growth hormone. This drug resulted in her immediate disqualification. A later investigation would reveal that this drug was the source of Diana's powers, and that she had been born as a baseline human, rather than a mutant like her brother. She would then be expelled from the Margaret Carter Institute.

Gideon Pearlman was disqualified from the contest due to an unfortunate and avoidable situation - she was failing her English class, and in danger of (again) being unable to graduate.

Percy Novikov withdrew from the contest due to his entanglement with Dorian Gray, ensuring that his boyfriend would be allowed to compete, as they were on different teams.




The Vision, understandably, was having a rough time. Leah had come up to him and informed him she was going outside to wait for Sabine, evidently wanting him to go outside and chat with them - he was concerned about whatever it was they wanted to tell him, but they were not the only ones coming to get his attention. Andy did not know about Nemo's passing, Diana was hardly delicate in explaining it, and then Zarina dumped her girlfriend and disappeared before his eyes.

"Excuse me, one moment, Ms. Andy," the Vision apologized, as a contest employee called him over for a moment - and gave him the rundown of every disqualification or withdrawal that had been summarized above. "I see," he murmured, his brain operating at a thousand miles a minute, as solutions were generated by his software. "I believe I have a solution that will work for most parties. Please do not process Mr. Novikov's withdrawal yet." He then sighed, wishing he was not the only faculty member present. Diana Novikova's case needed a second adult present to handle. He blinked, as he shot off a series of messages quickly back to the school, asking for Coulson to arrive as early as possible to speak to Ms. Novikova, and decide what was to be done.

"With the other disqualifications, the students of Excelsior and the Uncanny Avengers can consolidate to a single team - in which case, there would be no violation for Mr. Novikov and Mr. Gray, correct?"

Meanwhile, Agatha grimaced a bit as Mads left her presence, going back to hell. "Yikes, hate to see what happens when you're grounded, Mac," she commented, shaking her head slightly. However, her attention was quickly caught by a student screaming her name and running towards her - her hands immediately went up to defend herself, glowing purple energy surrounding them, before a smile broke across her face. "Why, if it isn't little Danni Kingston, my favorite little gay disaster!" Agatha cackled.

She then gasped, seeing the tiny dragon with him. "Ah, you have a baby!!! Awww! Ebony's skulking around here somewhere, I'm sure she'd love to meet her daughter - you know how mothers get with their kids. How are things back at school, kiddo? You miss old Agatha already?"

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April gasped, her jaw dropping. Danni and Dorian were related to Harry fucking Simmons?! She screeched slightly in surprise, completely shocked. She knew that their parents were well connected, but she didn't know they had a famous pop star for an uncle! Had she not been in such a good and hyper mood, she might have been annoyed at them for not telling her - instead, she was just completely in awe at how close her friends were to a literal star. "Oh my god oh my god oh my god!!! That's so cool!!! I didn't know he was your uncle!!!"

Before she could beg Dorian to get them tickets to see one of Harry Simmons' shows, though, he was already off, having made a beeline for one of the open exam rooms. April pouted slightly. She hadn't gotten in nearly enough hugs from him! She didn't see the issue with both of them going into the exam room at the same time, either. As pumped up and energetic as she was, her thoughts felt scattered - a little hard to form, a little hard to keep things coherent. So as much as she tried, she couldn't quite arrive at the same conclusion that Danni had - and any discomfort or confusion with that was quickly eliminated, as she giggled as Amélie tried to chew on her hair!

"It's okay if she eats my hair!!! Honestly it doesn't even feel like my hair most of the time - like it feels like it's hair that belongs to someone else, like it's so long and girlie and stuff - like it feels like Barbie's hair, y'know? Like I'm some sort of a doll and I can't change things because I'm made of plastic and I'm a collector's item or something, so they're never going to take me out of the box," she rambled. "So she can eat it, it's chill! It's not really mine!"

She whined a bit as Danni untangled them, but it was fine - they had a mission to do! April nodded seriously at Danni's instructions - she wasn't exactly sure what her job was going to be in this, since Danni had the dragon and just needed to bring her to Agatha, but she was ready to do anything he asked of her for this. Maybe he wanted her to run interference? There were plenty of kids with water bottles in the room - she could clear the way for him by blasting a path through the crowd? Use the water to box Agatha in so she couldn't leave? Was that what he wanted? She didn't know, but she was going to do it! "Got it, sounds good!!"

She couldn't help but giggle more, watching as Danni made his way on over to the exam room, ducking under people at some turns. He was so silly!!

April then spotted another room that was about to have an opening, and miraculously didn't have a huge line in front of it, allowing her to slip on in relatively quickly. Inside, the exam room wasn't like any sort of doctor's office she'd ever been to before - not that she went super often to the doctor's. Well, not until recently. Her mother had done most of her examinations growing up as a kid, only taking her to the actual doctor's if she needed to get a second opinion, which was rare. Dr. Bonnie Chase was SHIELD's medical science director for a reason. This didn't look like her mom's office at home, and it definitely didn't look like any of the exam rooms at CAGE, or even the nurse's office at AA. If anything, it looked like a doctor's office for a new HalloweenTown movie.

"Hi! I'm April Flynn. Here's my paperwork! Let me know what you want me to do!" she introduced herself, as she held out the forms to a red woman dressed in white and a gigantic tree person. Definitely aliens, but her brain was blanking on what kind of aliens exactly, even though she could have sworn she'd read about tree people before.

"I am Groot!"

A branch quickly grew out from the tree's arm, wrapping around the forms and taking them from her.

"Hi, Groot!! That's a cool name! It's nice to meet you!! I love your bark!! Did you grow it yourself?"

"I am Groot!"

The pink and green woman shook her head slightly. "His name ain't Groot, luv. It's Gwit."

April titled her head. Didn't he just say twice that his name was Groot? Was she misunderstanding something here? She opened her mouth for a moment, before closing it again, as the woman introduced herself as Doc E, and set about running through the exam. It was pretty similar to the tests that had been done on her at CAGE - checking her vitals, her organs, her heart, her eyes and her ears, followed with some more specialized measurements. A magical amulet that Doc E spun around her head, an alarmingly fast bloodwork analyzer, and a glorified radar gun that Gwit manned.

"Alright, luv, last thing. Need ya to place your hand on this book, and I'm going to ask ya some questions."

"I am Groot!"

"That's right, Gwit, no lying, understood? Izneth will be right upset if she catches you fibbing."

"Wait, what'll happen if I lie?" April asked. "What if I don't think I'm lying but I'm not telling the truth - like if you ask me what the capital of California is, and maybe I think that it's San Fransisco, when it's actually Sacramento, does that count as a lie? Is it the truth or is it my truth? And who is Izneth? Can I meet her? Or or or is she in the room but she's invisible?" That had happened to Zelda - April's sister had found a way to fully disappear, becoming the ultimate wallflower. At least the invisibility wasn't wasted on her.

"Mm, you don't want to know. Now, poppet, what is your name?"

She froze for a second.

What was her name?

Suddenly, that question about lies that she thought were true seemed really relevant. "Umm, April - right now, at least."

"Who are you?"

"I'm... I'm still April? Was that not the right answer? Or do you mean like... like what kind of person I am? I think I'm a good person? I hope I'm a good person? Or was I supposed to, like, come in here telling you that I'm a support player or a DPS or a tank - I think those are the terms, right? I haven't played a lot of video games, but I have played some Rivals before - Dorian gotta reeeeally into it, I'm not nearly as good as him - he's my best friend, well one of my best friends, my other best friend is Danni. I thought I was besties with Mads but, like... she visited me in the hospital and it felt really weird and I think I actually don't like her very much - and it's not because she's a demon or anything, it's because she like... she feels kinda empty when I talk to her. Does that make sense? Is that normal?"

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

"Yes!!! Obvi!!!" It didn't bother April that the doctor hadn't answered her questions - or the way that Gwit practically shooed her out the door, repeating I am Groot over and over again - she was still so incredibly pumped, so incredibly excited! She was riding an energy high that she hoped never ended. If she could keep this up, she knew they would win the competition for sure - she felt like she could take on the Young Avengers all by herself in this moment!

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Percy was not surprised to receive a text from his boyfriend almost immediately. He must have been told the same thing - that they could not both compete in the Contest of Champions. But had they informed Dorian that he would no longer be competing, that Percy had solved the issue for them? He frowned, biting his lip ever so slightly as he considered it. ”We need to talk, where are you?” It didn't give him very much information to go off of. He did know, however, that we need to talk was a much maligned phrase to receive from a partner - he'd done a similar dive into research after he'd started dating Dorian, in order to try to be a good boyfriend.


He then put his phone back into his pocket, as he made his way towards that end of the room - it was quieter over there, with not nearly as many prospective champions crowding about, so he hoped they could have a conversation with some amount of privacy. He had solved the problem, though. His presence in the competition was the issue that would prevent Dorian from competing, so he'd withdrawn. It was simple. He wouldn't allow Dorian to give up on his dream for him, and Percy could always compete again in the future. If he were to be honest with himself, it was his pride that had caused him to care about this anyways - his inability to let others see him as weak, as helpless. He wanted to win to show that he could. Dorian's reason was better.

But even though he'd made that choice, he couldn't help but feel a strange hollowness. He didn't know what the feeling meant - he didn't have the words to describe it or the tools to examine it. Instead, he just was filled with this pervasive emptiness as he stared at the buzzing crowd of students, all of them excited and chattering - all of them ready to prove themselves, to show the world what they were capable of. He'd watch from the stands, no different really from how he had watched on the sofa in years past, his moms making idle commentary.

As for the entanglement itself... He hoped that Dorian wanted to keep it - that he wasn't scared of it. He closed his eyes for a brief moment, as if he could reach out and feel what Dorian would feel, as if the lines had blurred where one of them ended and the other began.

For a brief second, he felt a flicker of something - a buzz of energy crawling up and down his skin. But it died as quickly as it had come on. He opened his eyes again, and he fidgeted slightly, suddenly unable to remain still - pacing back and forth in the small space as he waited for Dorian.

It didn't occur to him that his boyfriend might have been upset about the decision he'd made.

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Andy nodded at Leah as she came up and told Vision she’d be waiting outside. Okay, so they could go outside. That answered some of Andy’s questions. She figured Leah wanted to talk to Vision about something, but she wasn’t sure why. Diana answered some of that with what she said next. Diana told Andy that Nimue was in the Otherworld because of something happening to Ser Nemo. Andy didn’t know what happened to Ser Nemo. What Diana said didn’t tell her either.

Zari finally showed up, and said something to her. Andy had feared that Zari was mad at her since she had gone to Magneto's house. Despite planning on breaking up with her, Andy didn’t want Zari to be mad at her. But what she said was basically a goodbye. Andy didn’t even get to say anything in response. She blinked, and Zari was gone. Andy figured Zari had returned home since her watch had been beeping. Zari had told her that the watch wasn’t working. So, had something happened to allow her to go home? She just stared at the spot that Zari had been moments ago with her mouth open.

She needed to sit down again. This was a whole lot. She had planned on breaking up with Zari, but now it felt like Zari had broken up with her. She swayed a little on her feet as she went through a series of emotions quickly. The flash of anger passed faster than she expected. The final emotion she landed on was relief. She’d miss Zari, but this made it a lot easier. It also solidified for Andy that Zari hadn’t loved her similarly. That the attraction had been one-sided.

Now what?

Andy still didn’t know what she was supposed to be doing. At least, it seemed they were done. And without Zari to wait for, without Zari to drag her somewhere. She felt like a stick bobbing in the water. Suddenly, the current that had been dragging her around was gone. She was alone.

Andy heard Danni talking. She looked over and saw her friends around the room. Danni was talking with Agatha. Andy wasn’t alone. She smiled. She had friends. There were more people in the world than Zari. She had already known that. Sure, she had been planning to break up with Zari; she just hadn’t expected her to leave. That was what had caused her to lose her focus. It was okay, though. Andy would be okay. She had found her dad. She didn’t have to deal with her mom. There was a burden and half just from that.

With no hesitation, Andy joined Dorian and Danni. She’d figure out what was going on later. "How’d your exam go?” she asked. "I found out I’m cursed, apparently.” Somehow, that didn’t surprise Andy, not one bit.