Achronum

Testing well everything!

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_{Nicholas Macloud
Nicholas Macloud}

^{"What time do they have to empathize with us monsters?"}

C H A R A C T E R P O R T R A I T C H A R A C T E R P O R T R A I T _________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ C H A R A C T E R P E R S O N A L I T Y C H A R A C T E R P E R S O N A L I T Y _________________________________________________________ | Aloof | Intelligent | _________________________________________________________ | Observant | Judgmental | _________________________________________________________ | Self-serving | Patient | C H A R A C T E R N O T E S C H A R A C T E R N O T E S _________________________________________________________ [+] - M I S C E L L A N E O U S ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ► Character Info Aliases: Nicholas Birth Place: Scotland Age: 616 Birthday: July 18, 1454 Gender: Male Pronouns: He/Him Sexuality: Yes Habits: Smoking, drinking, Talking to his plants Hobbies: Reading, crossword puzzles, smoking ► Fears Religious Leaders Burning at the Stake Supernatural Hunters Barty dying ► Toxic Trait(s) ► Likes Magic Reading Crossword Puzzles Sex Vampires Smoking Plants Drinking ► Dislikes Short lived creatures Gossip Religion Modern Magic Bats Witch Stereotypes - P O S T C A T A L O G P O S T C A T A L O G _________________________________________________________ [+] - G R I M O I R E & S K I L L S ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ► Grimoire Fireball Fireball Fireball Fireball Fireball Fireball Fireball Fireball Fireball ► Skills ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? -

C H A R A C T E R H I S T O R Y C H A R A C T E R H I S T O R Y ________________________________________________________________________________________ The Macleod twins are relics of a time long gone, born in the throes of the Renaissance and the rise of the printing press. The twins lived a relatively sheltered life in northern Scotland. Travel was difficult in the 15th century and their coven was content with the village well south of Forres. However with suspicion and fear of the supernatural rising out of Germany and carried on in ink, it wasn’t long until the witch hunts of the mainland spread to the Kingdom of England and beyond. When they were not yet twenty summers old, Elanor Cobham found imprisonment for life for treasonable necromancy and Margery Jourdemayne was burned at the stake in a market square. Both were once well connected and well established in their communities and yet it did not save them. Fear amongst the populace was encouraged and manipulated in a twisted game by the nobility of England and they sent their inquisition north, carrying Kramer’s Malleus Maleficarum. They thought their village safe, nestled quietly in the foothills in the shadow of their mountain. The village traded less, hunted closer to home, and year by year became less and less present in the world. Their magic flourished and the children of the village played without fear and time was meaningless. However, there were enough stories for the inquisition to find it. They struck at night, the comfort of a century unbothered lulling them to safety. They carried torches and pitchforks and rope and kindling. The stench of burning flesh and the screams of men, women, and children carried across the hills into the uncaring darkness. Their family was not spared this horror. Their parents fought, like the others, but their murderers came prepared and their magic found no hold. A special pendant, bearing the mark of the Inquisition of England, was pressed against their coven and their magic broke and failed and the witches found themselves powerless. If not for the ego of the Priest of Forres, the twins would not have been so lucky as to carry the horrors of their village with them. It was the children they could not bear to see hurt and as the Priest tossed the torch upon their own parents, the twins struck. Illusion and Enhancement, hand in hand, wove the death of all. Fire springing forth, spewing from their parents' mouths, finding purchase in the flesh of friend and foe alike. According to the Inquisition, the Devil himself dragged the village to hell in his wraith and none survived. But the truth was, the twins burned it to the ground. Entranced in their domain, the twins set an uncontrollable blaze to consume the Inquisition and fled with the few survivors they saved. Neither of them were prepared to mourn their people nor handle the grief of those still living. They travelled the Scottish countryside, incorporating a few of their broken coven into new ones each time they stumbled across them until the twins found homes for all. 16th and 17th Centuries Sickened by the murders they committed and terrified of the newly created Church of England, the twins escaped England to the New World with Sir Walter Raleigh and assisted in establishing Roanoke. They were withdrawn and quiet, focused on working and presenting a godly image as they worked to find a way to escape. In 1591, a young girl introduced herself to the twins as a vampire and expressed her interest in turning and controlling the settlers. The twins agreed to help in exchange for their own freedom and kept the settlers calm and controlled until she struck. They disappeared into the wilderness for another two decades and reemerged in 1608, joining the citizens of Jamestown. Their magic ensured questions about their age disappeared on the tongue, kept them well fed and unbothered, even as plague and famine ravaged the settlement. Poor planning had left the colonists without water and poorer tempers wore the relationship with the native people thin. The twins watched without interfering, only stepping in to help with the revolution of 1676 when Nathaniel Bacon ousted Governor Berkley. However, they disappeared when Berkely returned and began hanging those involved. The twins reappeared some short years later in Salem, Massachusetts, where they found a distant relation, a child of one of those they saved many moons ago. They lived peacefully for a decade, before the witch trials started again. The twins watched as their history repeated itself but this time, the saviors they were had long been lost as they themselves condemned their kin to the flames. It had been too easy, when suspicion fell on them, to plant the devils’ iconography on her and invite the Salemites to find it. 18th and 19th Century During the 18th century, the twins shuffled from place to place and avoided the growing tension between England and the colonies. They would eventually find themselves in Boston, working in The Green Dragon Tavern. With the rise in tensions against the Crown, the twins once again found themselves assisting in the growth of revolution. Their magic wove privacy around the founding fathers, illusions making them unnoticeable and enchantment easing the concerns of questioning soldiers. Gossip from the RedCoats were a little louder in the tavern and lips a little looser. In the Siege of Boston towards the end of the revolution, the tavern was burned to the ground and the twins lost their home again. They migrated west with the Louisiana purchase, settling in the melting pot New Orleans had become. When the War of 1812 was declared, the twins decided they would stay out of it and kept to their own business. Intending to stay this time, the twins put down roots. Peadrus entered the workforce as a teacher, using his illusions to age and die as necessary. Again, they decided not to intervene with major events and keep their heads down so they could finally stay in one place. Unfortunately, a threat to their growing home appeared and the twins found themselves stepping in again. In 1815, whispers made their way to the twins that Andrew Jackson was poised to lose his final skirmish. Outnumbered and outgunned again, the British had the upper hand and were poised to strike the next day. Under the cover of darkness, Peadrus slipped the pair behind the British lines and Pàrlan messed with Edward Pakenham’s head. In the morning, the British assault was disorganized and messy, leaving them with 2,000 dead and wounded. Jackson went home a military genius and the twins contently settled back into their lives. It was in the Gilded age that they joined a “coven”. A wealthy plantation owner found fun and mystery in the supernatural and the twins, curious to see if it drew any real bumps in the night, offered to participate. The word coven, the twins realized, was loose indeed and it became more of a gathering of debauchery and decadence. Some real powers floated in and out: a moody Asgardian goddess, a vampire, the occasional sorcerer or witch, a demon, an eldritch horror, a Moon Knight, and even a Ghost Rider once. They passed a decade in a pleasurable haze of drugs, sex, and wealth until Marcus. Marcus was an easy sort, energetic and eager and the twins were drawn to him like a moth to a flame. The three of them became close friends and eventually, they opened up about their magic and found acceptance. Marcus joined them at their home, broke bread with them, and even helped Peadrus at the schoolhouse. He’d blown in from the growing west coast, scars waved away as civil war injuries, and slotted himself perfectly into their lives. Which was why, when he tried to kill them, it shattered their trust forever. Marcus was a vampire hunter, a descendant of Sir Walter Raleigh, who had discovered the truth and swore to save his people from the clutches of the Devil. The twins part had been discovered through a mix of magic and torture and Marcus was tasked with eradicating them. The resulting fight was entirely one-sided, the twin’s magic unsuited for direct engagements, but their spells managed to find purchase and they broke his mind, leaving him at a workhouse where he’d work out the rest of his miserable life in deplorable conditions. 20th and 21st Centuries The Twins followed the Klondike gosh rush, settling in Seattle for a while. Although they had worked odd jobs at the beginning, the twins opened their own speakeasy in 1920 as the aggressive prohibitions against alcohol were signed into law. Although their magic was used in a pinch, the pair more often sold out their competitors to the authorities (and offered a hefty discount) to ensure their business was safe and enshrined as a center of the underground community. After the end of prohibition, they stayed until the end of World War 2 and sold their bar. The twins found themselves in Memphis, enrolled in a local high school to keep up with the world at large. It was there they met Elvis, a struggling guitarist with a unique hillbilly style and a blend of cultural music that inspired the worst in people. The twins saw the desperation for fame and fed on it, weaving magic behind his back that made the people love him. He walked out of high school signed by a record label and the twins rode his fame, and more, for an easy life. Nothing more than a charm here, a hex there, and drugs, sex, and music numbed everything else. They were… concerned for their stability when Elvis was drafted was unfounded, the early work they did still holding strong with the addition of records made on his leave. They lived on their golden egg, rode it plenty too, up until the early 1970s when they decided to slip out of bed one night and never return. They didn’t hear of his death until 2001. This would repeat over the next few decades, clinging to blossoming talent, building their careers for an easy life, and then abandoning and forgetting them when they moved to their next project. Rarely would the twins stick their necks out or get themselves involved in world affairs - they left no footprint, no tracks or marks, no paperwork for someone to find them. Occasionally, they would rehome a werewolf, get a vampire out of the sun, direct a baby witch to the proper herbs and books, but each time they charmed their memories, or never let them see the real them, so that what happened in New Orleans would never happen again. Of course, whispers of a school for the magically talented reached even them. They believed it a lie, a falsehood circulated by hunters and madmen alike to capture their kind and kill or keep them. They never knew which was worse. But with the itch to settle down again growing, they found themselves back in New Orleans, the French Quarter louder and busier than ever before, and it was true. Strange Academy, a haven for their kind, was real. P L O T ( S ) & G O A L ( S ) P L O T ( S ) & G O A L ( S ) ________________________________________________________________________________________ The twins are shaped by their drive to survive. Their choices have all ensured that, at the expense of those around them, they continue to thrive. They have seen cruelty over the centuries and they do not bother to pretend that is not the nature of man. They are always one step away from disappearing on the wind and selling everyone else down the river to do it. In reality, they wandered to find a place that is safe, that they can relax in for the rest of their centuries, that they can be with their magic and their peace and not have to worry about the world burning it down. Nicky, in particularly, wishes for connection and friendship and family, but their transient nature leaves them with on one. He prefers to find community with other creature of their age, but those are few and far between. Strange Academy has seemed like the perfect place. For now.

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Avengers Academy: Junior Year 💥

If there were two things you avoided while in New Orleans, the first was the nasty curses settled onto innocuous objects and the second was a Kingston-Gray cleaning spree. Armed with windex, fabuloso, and a veritable army of lint rollers and microfiber cloths, James and Ben tore through the house, pressing anyone who dare get too close into service. Windows were scrubbed to shining, pictures frames nearly new, and for once, the various piles of games, books, and other miscellaneous clutter that sat in the corners suddenly found new homes. Max, of course, would have preferred to clean the house with magic but there was love in the elbow grease they used and magic wouldn't satisfy the pair.

It took longer than they'd like but eventually, the house was spic and span. Though, knowing the boys, it’d be put back through the blender soon enough. Still, James and Ben liked company thinking they had some part of their life together so it was an important part of anyone coming over. James stored the chemicals and supplies while Ben tossed the clothes to wash.

“Shit, shit, shit.” James muttered before raising his voice. “Less than five minutes until we're supposed to open the portal! He shouted through the house, rushing to his bedroom to change quickly.

Max stood in the center of the room where they were cleaning, checking his watch periodically to ensure they wouldn't be late. He watched as James flew through the room, letting out a sigh as everything became immaculate. ”You're robbing the house of its personality. A healthy layer of dust or clutter can help add character to a location. Unless your goal is to turn our place into a showroom for a museum.” He protested. He'd offered up his magic, not just for ease but also to keep the house from becoming too clean. When James shouted it was five minutes till arrival, Max looked back at his watch and noticed it had stopped ticking. Blasted thing must've finished its wind without his notice.

Ben turned around on his heel, covered in a fine layer of sweat, the collar of his shirt popped open, and a tacky pair of yellow gloves on his hands. “Maximilian Gray, if you do a single spell to give the house personality by making everything dirty again…” he warned, “then you’ll be sleeping on the couch!” he threatened, as if he wouldn’t fold at a single request from his husband - as if he could ever deny him anything, especially these days.

”Jaaaames it’s an emergency!!!” Casper screamed from the bedroom, surrounded by a veritable avalanche of shoes. There were specific shoes that he had wanted to wear for today - they were his favorites, a cute little pair of sparkly pink pumps that went so well with his kimono - and they were missing. He couldn’t find them. He had thrown every pair of shoes he owned out of the walk-in closet and into the middle of the bedroom, and while he had managed to find one of them, he couldn’t find the other! There were easily two hundred shoes surrounding him, as Casper repeatedly slipped and fell like in a ball pit, struggling to unearth anything that even remotely resembled the missing heel - but he owned so much pink. ”Jaaaaames!!!!”

James was pounding his way up the stairs as his husband screamed. He'd left Casper alone for too long; who knew what trouble he'd gotten himself into. James skidded to a halt in front of their door and threw it open, breathing heavily as he took in the sighing in their bedroom. The once beautifully cleaned and organized bedroom was now…

James sighed, equal parts irritation and fondness in his chest. He stepped gingerly into the shoe avalanche and supported his husband, guiding him to lean on him. “Babes, I would really like to help you but I need to change really quick and you know how bad I am at telling the difference between your shoes.” James picked his husband up, wading through the mess and into their closet, putting him down and kissing his nose. “Give me a moment to change, we'll find your shoes, and then head downstairs.” James stripped efficiently, swapping out The ratty cleaning shirt for something clean and pressed, basketball shorts swapped out for tight jeans. He picked up his loafers, paused, and looped his fingers through a pair of pumps and lifted them out for Casper's inspection. “Are these what you're looking for, babes?”

Max quirked an eyebrow at his husband, as if they didn't have couches so soft you could pass out in them at a moment's notice. But that wasn't what the threat was, no, it was a night without his husband by his side. A part of him debated on teasing him, telling him if that was the case he could spend the night with a certain necromancer they shared. But in Ben's current mood that wouldn't go over too well. ”I don't plan to don't worry. No Mystic Mischief making more messes.” He said with his hands in the air to prove innocence. ”However it's now time and you're not even dressed yet. Let alone showered, so perhaps we focus more on that?”

”...Shit,” Ben muttered, his shoulders slumping for a moment. ”Can you pick something out? While I’m showering?” he then requested. His husband’s fashion sense exceeded his own - and unlike him, Max wasn’t color blind. He waited for a moment, before rushing up the stairs to shower and change as quickly as he could - it would only take him a few minutes, if he was fast about it. He didn’t have a really complicated shower routine - just basic soap, shampoo, and conditioner.

In the bedroom, Casper gasped, his eyes positively sparkling. THOSE WERE HIS SHOES! He rapidly looked between the pair of pumps in James’ hands, and then back at the single one he was holding. Identical. The same. Did he get a second pair and not remember it?? Had he always had duplicates?? Were there more duplicate shoes to be found in the pile?? Had Max conjured an extra set of his favorite shoes and never told him?? ”You found them!!!!” Casper squealed, jumping right back up into James’ arms, whether his husband was ready or not. ”I didn’t know I had three - I didn’t know shoes could come in threes!!” He covered James’ face in kisses, tiny little red imprints from his lipstick slowly coating his husband.

Max nodded along as he gestured for Ben to hurry along and get ready. They were already falling behind, and now he needed to find an outfit for him while he finished getting ready. Max trailed along behind Ben, slapping his ass as they made their way up the stairs and went towards their room. He pulled out a soft green button up shirt, specks of gold and red splattering across almost like flowers in an oil painting. It cut low, just below the collar bone, and he paired it with a pair of brown earthy toned pants and some loafers. ”Clothes is on the bed honey! I'm going to go check on Casper and James.” He shouted through the running water before making his way over to their side and knocking at Caspers Door. ”Are you two ready yet? We are late. How are we late when I literally bend space to my whim?”

James was well acquainted with his husband's eccentricities. So when he saw the brief disconnect, he could piece the puzzle together. He was ready when Casper launched himself, catching him and laughing as the kisses tickled his face. He returned one and carried his husband back to the bed, setting him on the edge and kneeling down. “You had Max duplicate these once when you lost one that time you went out drinking while I was in Venezuela.” James reminded him, helping into his shoes and pressing a kiss to the inside of his knee. He looked up at the sound of Max pounding at the door and tsked.

“We're coming now, Max!” James shouted back, pulling Casper to his feet.

”Ohhh right… Huh,” Casper shrugged a bit, before looking down at his beautiful husband, kneeling before him. ”You know… If you’re already down there… And we’re already running late… Do they really need all four of us to show up to the portal?” he pouted, doing his best to look like a princess.

”Casper I can practically feel what your thoughts are and the answer is no you don't have time and yes you two do have to be down there when the portal opens! Now let's move it people!” Max said as he made his way back downstairs and towards a small wooden box, opening it up to show a small metal medallion. If it wasn't for Agatha, this would still be locked up, but a student needed it in order to stay or even visit here. He let out a sigh before closing the box and pocketing it into his coat.

James took a deep breath. It was tempting, but James shook his head. “I'll make it up to you after the kids have settled in.” James promised, wrapping his arm around Casper's waist and leading him out of the bedroom, following Max's grumbling.

Casper preened at James’ promise, fully intending on cashing it in the minute that he was bored with teasing Dorian about his boyfriend - the other kids coming over didn’t interest him as much. Well, the kids that weren’t his kids after all - he was excited to have his baby boys back around the house, things were far too quiet and clean with them gone! ”You’re just jealous, Max!” he shouted out, before following along with his husband.

Ben hopped out of the shower, using his tentacles to quickly grab a towel, drying himself off, and with the other tentacles, he grabbed the clothing and got himself dressed in the gray shirt that Max had picked out for him. He didn’t super understand the choice of gray - maybe a play on their last name? - but he trusted his fashion expertise. Once dressed, Ben rushed from the room, before hurrying his way downstairs. “I’m surprised you didn’t pick something more colorful, honey,” he said, giving Max a kiss on the cheek. “But thank you.”

Once everyone had gathered together in the kitchen downstairs, Max led them all outside, walking to the edge of their property with the house framed right behind them. ”Agatha had gotten a hold of me, one of the studenrs cannot step inside for now but we have…measures. So for now we can greet them from out here.” Max returned the kiss back, half tempted to do so when the portal opened but he didn't want to traumatize all the kids, only his son. ”It's a magic shirt honey, but you need to wear your glasses in order to see that magic happen. Special enchantment just for you.” He said as he began to hold one hand out while the other spun in a clockwise formation at his side but just from the wrist.

At first a singular minute star had appeared, like a diamond glistening in the sky with shades of pink, blues, and purples radiating off of its center. Then, it moved, leaving a trail of those triadic colors with a silver center as it followed Max's hand movement until a circle was fully formed. On one side stood the children waiting to come over, and the other, the Kingston-Gray family. Before the students stood the Kingston-Gray family and the estate in the background. But more importantly than that, for two certain individuals (Mads and Vicky), they would be able to see more to the scene. Swirls of magic radiated from every aspect of their surroundings. Flowers, grass, the very gate behind them and even the housing was hued by a series of ultraviolet lights that mimicked at psychedelic painting. Max's eyes instantly snapped to his two boys. Danni and Dorian, a warm smile growing as he got to see them once more since Thanksgiving break. Besides him, or rather attached to him?, was another boy, younger with shaggy hair, his shirt being unbuttoned by Dorian as they muttered something. Then again blonde he recognized from a photo, the young Van Dyne whom he'd need to have a chat with, and finally…

Max froze for a moment as he feared his eyes or magic were playing a trick on him. As if he needed his own pair of glasses to remove this spell. Three people from his past, all lives he (to his knowledge) couldn't save in one way or another, and here they stood at the age he'd lost them. Three was a very important number, and now Max had to wonder what was going to happen to his little slice of life after this all cleared up. Max cleared his throat to gather everyone's attention. ”Good evening students of Margaret Carter Academy. I am Maximillian Gray, Master of the Mystic arts, father to the wonderful Dorian Gray and Husband to Ben Gray who is right over there. Next we have James and Casper Kingston, fathers of Danni Kingston as I'm sure you're all aware. We welcome you to Kingston-Gray Estate, it may not seem big but you'll find nothing is as it seems here in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Everyone has their own rooms, I will be providing you all with a key that will lead you to them, but before everyone gets settled…please watch your hands and feet as you are exiting the portal, maintain them at your sides at all times and enjoy your stay. Oh. And Miss Van Dyne? A word before you enter our abode please.” Max said as he took a step back and gestured for them all to enter and go past towards the other family members, his eyes locked onto Vicky, Andy, Zari, and Mads.

James gave Max a side eye. For a moment, he could have swore Dr. Strange had somehow taken over his friend’s body. He’d tuck that away for later, when he could tease him mercilessly. His delighted at seeing their sons turned to surprise when a familiar pair of faces stared back through the portal. Andy and Zari looked almost identical to the last time he saw them. James, and Casper by extension, had kept himself from aging but he didn't recall them having that ability. “Are you two- OOF!”

Danni hurtled into Casper and James at full speed, jumping up and grabbing them both in a hug that threatened to knock them over. “Papa, Pops!”

"Danni!!! I’ve missed you kiddo!!!” Casper beamed. He had the constitution of a wet noodle, so as his son barreled into him, he wasn’t able to put up much resistance, instead having to just have faith that James would be able to support all three of them - that or they’d end up sprawled on the ground, which was perfectly fine with him. It wouldn’t be the first family cuddle pile, and it definitely wouldn’t be the last. He was so distracted with seeing his kiddo again that he didn’t notice the ghosts from his past - didn’t notice the girl he had given a safe sex talk to that had essentially just been kick him in the dick.

Ben rolled his eyes a bit at his husband’s theatrics - and as Max was giving his speech, he reached into his pocket, his glasses magically appearing as they were enchanted to do so. When he put them on, he couldn’t help but shake his head, seeing the greens and reds of the shirt. His husband was such a troll sometimes. But then something else caught his attention, and Ben cleared his throat. ”Dorian…” he raised an eyebrow, seeing his son unbuttoning his boyfriend’s shirt.,

Dorian had been fixing Percy's shirt, no matter how many times he told him you don't button every one up, he still managed to do so every time. ”Perce it's a flannel in New Orleans, trust me you'll want it at least halfway undo-” The all too familiar sound of his family coming from behind him, including his father's stern voice with just his name as a command, a challenge, as is to ask him what it was that he thought he was doing. ”Appa!” Dorian shouted as he sprang forward through the portal and wrapped his arms around Ben's waist before motioning for Percy to follow him in. T'ats's Percy, my boyfriend I told you guys about over break. T'e one who sends me Chaucer.”

”Pleasure to meet you, Percy,” Ben said, giving his son a tight hug. He couldn’t help that he was curious about this boy - Dorian had barely been able to shut up about him. ”The Chaucer you selected was rather nice - good taste,” he complimented. He wasn’t going to admit it, but he had started looking forward to Dorian revealing the daily Chaucer text during Thanksgiving break - it had been a nice little bit of intellectualism to start the day with.

Every muscle in Percy’s body was tensed as he stepped through the portal, grateful that the sunglasses were hiding how bloodshot his eyes were. He couldn’t help but hyperfixate on every interaction, every exchange - was he standing normally? How was he supposed to stand to look casual? Or was casual the wrong approach for meeting Dorian’s parents? Should he make a quick jump back another ten minutes or so, just to get a bit more reading done on how to make a good first impression? Or should he let this entire chain of events play out first, and then jump back for another shot?

”Erm… Yes,” Percy said, completely flustered. ”I’m… I’m Percy. It is very nice to meet you.”

“Welcome home, Danni. It's been too quiet without you too.” James laughed, reaching out as he held the three of them up to ruffle Dorian's hair. Danni beamed up at his parents mischievously.

“Well, it's gunna get a lot louder now! Guuuuuys! Come on, I wanna see your rooms! Pa always makes t'em a little different when ‘e adds ‘allways!” Danni whirled to address his friends, waving them to come over. “We can get y'all settle din and t'en we got a ton of games t'at we can play and movies ta watch and stuff ta do! Come on, come on, come on!” Danni jumped as his phone vibrated, fishing it out and beaming at the group chat photo on the screen before answering. "'ey, Princess!!!! Everyone's just gettin' 'ere and I'm givin' them a tour! What's up?"

Max made his way over towards Percy, still waiting for the others to come on through. ”Mr. Novikov, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. I've heard so many things about you from Dorian. Including a series of messages about…a certain museum? That I will apparently need to fix.”

”Paaaaaa! It's Novikovaaaa. ‘Ow many times do i ‘ave to remind you. T'ere's an ah at the end t'ere. I'd say ask Perce but ‘e doesnt even know ‘is own name.” Dorian joked.

Testing well everything!

NICHOLAS
BARTY

Avengers Academy: Junior Year 💥

Danni fidgeted a little, nervous about what he was going to do. Sabine… made a good point once he'd taken the time to process what she was actually saying. The tears had really made it hard at the time but as he thought about it more, maybe it made sense that some people thought he was too much if he was always just blazing his way through people’s feelings. He'd spent a lot of time thinking, like enough time that his head started to hurt more than once, and he realized he may have been the tiniest, ittiest, littlest bit of a bully waaaaaay back during the carnival to… a few people. It wasn't ever what he meant to do, he wasn't being mean, he just wanted to give advice, but if someone had come up to him and said the same things, Danni could admit he'd probably start crying.

So, he'd set out to apologize to the people he could remember, and he slipped a little letter under her dorm door and hoped she'd show up! He didn't ever really talk to her, made her a friendship bracelet sure because they'd ultimately survived being murdered together, but they weren't in any of the same classes and he didn't really know anything about her. Still, his letter was very compelling. Danni kissed the top of Amélie's head before letting her down, watching her scurry after a flying bug.

Danni's letter

To who

Andy

Hey, Andy

Wow, it's hard writing letters. Everything I've looked up said handwritten is best but like, why wouldn't I text it? You'd already have it. This is kinda silly.

Anyways, I wanted to ask you a favor. Can you meet with me out on the field where they set the carnival up? I just wanna talk and I'll let you pet Amélie (the cutest dragon on campus!) as a thank you! I'll be out there at 3 so don't be late!

XOXO - Danni

Andy had been confused by the letter. A little worried at first, but when she opened and saw it was from Danni was just more confused. Had they shared more than a few words since the Carnival? She had watched a movie with Dorian, but Danni hadn’t been there. She didn’t think it was a trap to beat her up, not that she was terribly worried about anyone trying to beat her up. Danni probably could hurt her, but Andy didn’t think she could die. The Framework had been a clear enough indication that she probably couldn’t. The cost of it wasn’t great so she hoped she could avoid that.

For some reason as she made her way out to the field she thought about ‘80’s films where the bully was always some weird over the top idiot. They got their just desserts by the end usually. With lessons learned, hopefully. She walked out to the field just before 3 pm. Hopefully he hadn’t meant 3 am. But that’d be a weird time to meet someone in a field, unless they were planning to beat them up or give them a swirly or something. Danni wasn’t that kind of bully anyway. He was the kind that didn’t even realize they were one. Andy remembered, as she got on the field, that his parents were her old friends from the Mutant Underground. She had never gotten super close to that group, which is why she had left without a goodbye. Now that she knew they missed her Andy did feel a bit bad about that.

”Uh, hey Danni. What’s up?” Her mind mimicked the old movie and made her cringe at the dumb joke.

“Andy! You came!” Danni cheered, thrilled to bits. “‘onestly, I wasn't certain t'at you would. Like, I know you ‘ung out wit’ Dee, but it's been trainin’ t’is and drama t'at and studin’ for dragons… what else is t'ere ot'er t'an t'is and t'at?” Danni paused, thinking hard. After a few moments, he shrugged.

“Whatever, not a t'in’ we need ‘ere! Unless you know it, t'en I would like it for t'e future.” Danni dismissed it… mostly. Amélie came back from her chase, panting softly and plopped herself down next to Danni's feet, big eyes staring up at Andy curiously. “Aw, did your fun wit’ t'e little fly tired you out?” Danni cooed, bending over to run his fingers under her chin. “Andy, t'is is Amélie. Amélie, t'is is Andy.” Amélie huffed a puff of smoke in greeting.

“‘aven't quite gotten ta fire yet, but we're workin’ on it! But t'ats not why we're ‘ere unless you wanna talk ‘bout dragons more?” Danni asked hopefully.

Andy tried to keep her face neutral. Mostly because she could feel her brows trying to furrow and a frown building on her lips. ”Would like what for the future?” She was sure she had missed something. The dragon, small as it was, surprised her. The attempt to not frown was easily forgotten as a smile spread instead.

”She's allowed?” Andy asked in a reverent whisper. ”Hello sweetie.” Andy held out her hand to let the little dragon sniff it. Andy would love to talk about dragons more. She also was curious why Danni had asked her out here if it wasn't to meet the little dragon. ”Uh, I suppose we can talk about whatever. I am curious about her. But if she's not why you asked me to meet you here I'd like to learn that.”

“Yeah, t'ats… t'ats fair.” Danni said, wringing his hands. He took several breaths to start and shut his mouth, until finally he squared his shoulders. “I called ya out ‘ere ta t'is really, really open field definitely not so if ya tried ta murder me at least one person would record us and I would be famous posthumanously and you would be famous but like out for… Infamous! You would be infamous for puttin’ me 6 feet under. Or ‘acked inta little itsy, bitsy pieces. But uh, not t'e point. T'e point is I wanted ta say sorry for ‘ow I talked ta ya when we met. I didn't mean it in a bad way, but… we'll doesn't matter. Beanie told me I don’t really t'ink ‘bout people when I say t'in's and ‘onestly, I'm kinda dumb so like, it took me t'is long ta figure t’at all out but I just, ya know wanted ta apologize so I'm sorry and I ‘ope Amélie's cute enough for you ta not want ta kill me for insulting basically… everything?” Danni ended with awkward jazz hands and an uncertain smile.

The smile had faded a bit from Andy's face as Danni was implying she'd be the one to kill him. But Danni plowed on and everything he was going on about culminated into an apology. She blinked surprised. That had not been what she had expected coming out here. ”I appreciate your apology. And don't worry I won't kill you. I try not to kill people when I can avoid it.” Andy had killed enough people, some by accident, some on purpose. She wasn't going to say she didn't kill with that track record.

”What you said that first day did hurt. I didn't know how to react and was thankful for the diversions that happened so I didn't have to react. I got all of my non school stuff...before moving here. It's all old so you weren't wrong. But I like my clothes. Clothing was one of the ways I could safely express myself growing up. It was dangerous growing up.” Dr. Whitehall would be so proud. She was trying to connect and make a friend. She wasn't ready to tell him the whole truth but she had been careful to avoid lying.

“I definitely can't say I get it, but I'll uh, be more considerate movin’ forward. Like, it didn't really click t'at I was basically just tearin’ down t'e stuff ya enjoy and no one should ‘ave ta deal wit’ t'at so I'm sorry I did t'at day one.” Danni said, starting to tear up. He wiped them away quickly and hoisted up Amélie, who wiggled and adjusted in his arms so she was still lookin’ at Andy. “T’ankfully, it was not dangerous growin’ up for me so I can't really relate? Papa and Pops and Pa and Appa are all t'e best family you could ask for! But, I was ‘opin’ maybe ta redo our first meetin’ and be friends for real?” Danni asked hopefully.

Andy’s heart ached. They had made their family. Ben was alive and not a ghost, which had been weird. And they were a happy family. Andy’s eyes teared up. Would they know her? Would they be mad that she left? Or did they even care? Had she been forgotten as anything more than a hanger on who joined in the 11th hour? She hadn't been with the MU long. Maybe weeks relatively speaking. She realized she hadn't given Danni an answer. ”I'm willing to try.” She may have left everyone behind to stay with Zari, but she could build something here. Even if it felt a little odd making friends with someone she remembered being an infant. Andy wiped away the tears that burned the corner of her eyes. ”I will say. I haven't had a lot of friends for like seventeen years.” She smiled at her joke, even as she wondered if those from the MU thought of her as a friend.

“Well, ‘ey! I love makin’ friends and so does t'e group! We'll get ya bein’ an expert friend in no time!” Danni rushed to reassure her. Andy getting misty eyed over friendship was certainly not in his plans but this just reminded him not to judge a book by its cover. “We love just vibin’ wit’ each ot'er. And sparrin’ wit’ each ot'er ‘cause Princess is a great counter measure. She makes fun little icicles and I get ta work on shootin’ outta t'e sky! Beanie is t'e best choice if ya wanna more cool time, ya know, and she's a great dancer if ya wanna learn! Dee's super chaotic and really ‘angin’ out wit’ ‘im is like spinnin’ t'e wheel of fun! You never really know where ya gunna land! Mads is super smart and she's got all t'ese cool books, and paintin' supplies so you wanna get artsy or talk t'e talk, she's ya gal! T'en t'ere's me who is, wit’ some minor flaws, still t'e best!” Danni beamed at Andy.

“Buuuuuuut you know what's even more fuuuun t'en bein’ friends wit’ all of us? Bein’ friends wit’ a dragon!” Amélie huffed at him and he kissed her snout. “Wanna ‘old ‘er?” Danni offered.

”I’d love to!” Andy said, almost squealing with delight. She held out her hands for the dragon, Amélie. ”I’d like to think I’m already friends with Mads. Despite a training accident. She’s even helped me with homework, and we went to the mall together.”

Danni unwanted the tail around his wrist, shushing the dragon's grumble of disapproval. “You've been eyin’ ‘er t'is whole time, don't say t'at.” Danni chided, giving her a little kiss on top of her head. He gently shifted her over to Andy. “Just be careful. She's still a little ‘ot from before we got ‘ere. I ‘ave ta give ‘er a fire bath ta keep ‘er ‘ot since she can't regulate ‘er temperature. Apparently, dragon's breath fire on t'eir kids so I do t'e same so she feels at ‘ome!”

Amélie clambered into Andy's arms after a second of sniffing, claws getting into her shirt as she dragged herself up. The dragon's tail wrapped itself tightly around Danni's hand. She radiated heat like a stone sitting too close to the fire for too long. “Now, t'e ot'er problem is t'at she likes…” Amélie had stuck her face in Andy's hair and started chewing. “‘air. Amélie, what ‘ave we told ya! Stop t'at!”

Andy giggled, but pulled her face away, suddenly very nervous. ”Uh, don’t let her touch my skin.” She already wore long sleeves and gloves all the time. She didn’t want to risk an accident. But with Amélie going for her face that was unprotected. ”I’m sorry I should have thought that through. If she touches me skin-to-skin-” Andy’s voice hitched. Only Zari seemed to be able to put up with her touch. She hadn’t had skin-to-skin contact with anyone else since Genosha. Not for extended time. Only Mads had touched her and in that case she had almost killed her and almost been killed in return. And of course that now dead freshman. ”I don’t know what will happen but it probably won’t be good.”

Danni immediately reached out, bopping her nose and ensuring Amélie kept clear of any skin. “Well, t'en I guess I shouldn't ask for a ‘ug. Unless ya ‘ave a safe ‘uggin’ method, ‘cause I will forgeeeeet t'at skin is a no-no!” Danni laughed, unbothered by the situation. Danni guided Amélie down into Andy's arms more, blowing a brief puff of fire to entice her down. “But don’t worry! She’s a smart cookie. She'll stay safe! She likes chin scritches!”

Andy visibly relaxed some as Amélie moved down her arm away from her face. ”Hugs are fine, just don’t touch any skin. It’s why I wear long sleeves and gloves even in the LA heat. Thank god it’s cooling off for winter.” Andy had never lived anywhere as hot as LA was during summer. ”So really my face is the most unprotected space. I don’t know if you heard what happened early in training. I offered a hand to Mads to help her to her feet and started hurting her. She turned into the demon form that she seems stuck in now. Then she stabbed me and I stopped hurting her. It was a whole thing. But neither of us holds it against each other. It was an accident and I learned that I can’t touch people. Other than Zari, she seems immune.”

“Omg, no she didn't! Probably ta protect your privacy and all t'at, but few t'ats intense.” Danni popped his arm on Andy's shoulder while she held Amélie. “Mads is pretty great like t'ag. Gal of few words, but def a great friend! T’ough she is strugglin’ wit’ ‘er new looks. I t'ink it looks outta t'is world. Get it, get it?” Danni cackled, elbowing Andy. Amélie also let out a little trill and began to sniff around Andy's pockets.

“But it's a great t'in’ Zari can't get zapped by ya. I didn't know Zari was a ‘ealer. My Pops is a decent one too, makes everythi’in’ from a paper cut t'at missin’ limbs all good again! Maybe she can learn a little from ‘im. Or, we can go ask Papa or Pa. All toget'er t'ey can brin’ back t'e dead so if you do zap me by accident, just give Dee a call. They'll fix me up.” Danni rambled, watching Amélie decide it was time to investigate the new person. “I ‘ad t'is whole idea of us like redoing our first meetin’ and t'en I panicked and t'rew a dragon at you, but w'atcha lookin’ ta get outta t'is whole school t'in’? ‘onestly, ya seem pretty capable wit'out t'is.”

”She's not a healer.” Andy said confused. Not sure how Danni had gotten that from what she had said. She did smile at Danni talking about James and Casper. She almost laughed as she remembered the time Casper told her to punch a dude in the deck if he was pressuring her for sex.

”I've had some training prior to coming here. But I need more long term stuff. I need to prevent something from happening.” God how could she explain her mom without telling Danni whoever was. ”Basically, I have an object in my possession that if someone unscrupulous took it from me could end the world. So I have to protect it. I am capable. But I need to be stronger.”

”Who is who? You say Pops and Pa. Dorian showed me photos but I don't know who you mean by the nickname.”

“T'ats so cool.” Danni whispered in awe. Andy had a world ending item just causally in her possession? He wanted to see! “Oh! Pops is… you now, Pops. ‘is name is James and Pops is like, the responsible one, you know? ‘e runs kinda an underground clinic and ‘e'll see anyone, normie or hero or villian. Pa is Maxie, a really, really good magician and ‘e keeps our ‘ouse together, like literally. Wit'out Pa, we'd probably ‘ave A ‘ouse wit’ a reasonable amount of ‘allways. T'en there is Appa -t'ats Benji-, who is married ta Pa. Appa is always around, keeps t'e ‘ouse tidy and ‘e is always willin’ ta listen, except on some days when t'e rents just tell us ta leave ‘im alone. ‘e just needs ‘is space alotta times. And of course, t'ere is Papa! T'ats Casper and ‘e's married ta Pops but really, t'ey're all kinda together and not? They called it t'e QPR but I don't really know what t'at means. But Papa is t'e most like us and ‘onestly, is just ‘ere ta love ‘is family and ‘ave a good time. T'ough, I wish Pops and Papa would ‘ave more good times in places I don't walk into. I ‘ave never wished for eye bleach more t'an when…” Danni shuddered.

”I’ll try to keep it straight...” She grinned. ”Well I’ll at least try to remember who is who.” She was glad members of the MU were still together. It made her wonder how the others were. So many of them were broken when Genosha fell. Did others put themselves back together? Or did they fall apart completely? She was not surprised at all that Casper was involved in good times in inappropriate places. Andy was convinced he had been on drugs back in the day. Though, in Casper’s defence when Andy first met him Casper had been suffering from extreme M-Pox.

“T'ere ain't not'in’ straight in our ‘ouse'old! And it's easier if ya meet ‘em. You should come over next break! Ya can meet ‘em all. We love ‘aven people over. The ‘rents don't really talk ‘bout it, but t'ere real proud of where we live and t'e people we ‘ang out wit’ so I'm sure they'll love ya too!” Amélie shivered a little in Andy's arms, curling up closer to her. “I ‘ave tons a photos of t'em too! T'ank god for t'e cloud ‘cause I'd never ‘ave enough space ta hold all of t'em. What ‘bout you? Your rents big or do ya kinda avoid t'em?”

”I’d like that.” It might be awkward as hell, Andy considered. ”Well, parents are a bit of an awkward situation for me. I don’t know my father, I think my mom killed him when I was little.” She shifted awkwardly, petting Amelie to cover it. ”Uh, I was adopted by Magento though. I haven’t seen him since I started here. I really need to reach out to him.” That left her mother. ”My mother is...a long story. I don’t think I want to go into it right now if you don’t mind.” That had to be fair, right?

Danni reaaaaaaaally wanted to press but Andy had asked and he was trying to be a good friend. “Yeah, it's no prob! Sorry ta ‘ere ‘bout your dad, t'ough you are technically kinda related ta Princess t'en! I wouldn't really bring t'at up between you and me, but it's inchrestin’ at least!” Danni cooed at Amélie making little distressed sounds. “Aw, baby You cold again? Lemme ‘elp.” Danni plucked her from Andy and curled her up, took a deep breath, and while he didn't necessarily have to, blew fire along Amélie's back. Her scales glowed for a moment before settling back to orange and she twisted and turned in his arms to get fire on every scale.

“Aaaaand all warm now!” Danni cheered, letting her down to go scamper off for a moment. “I don't know why Aggie gave me a dragon, but I absolutely love ‘er. Somet'in’ somet'in’ fear of fire and all t'at. But yeah, you wanna come ta our next ‘angout? It's a little cramped in t'e dorm wit’ Princess movin’ in but my forts are t'e best and we all cuddle up real close so we're all as snug as a bug in a rug!”

”Yeah, I don’t think April likes me all that much because of that.” Andy was sad to let the dragon go, but it was probably for the best. She doubted she provided much warmth. ”I’d like that. I don’t know about cuddling though.” She held up her gloved hand, wiggling her fingers as a reminder. ”And would April be alright with that? I don’t want to intrude.”

“Uh… I would ‘ave ta run it by ‘er. And don't be silly. We'll be careful, but you're gettin’ cuddled. No escape! It's cuddle pile all day in the DAD dorm!” Danni beamed and then looked very serious at her. “Are ya afraid ta touch people wit’ t'is issue? Even wit’ your stuff on. Do you miss like, just casual touches? Should I ‘ave not leaned on your shoulder?!”

Andy’s body tensed. She nodded. ”I hurt people. I can kill people. I have killed people just by touching them. That freshman girl helping Arcade, Ardere, was her name. It brought me back to life, and I don’t regret it because I was able to save the rest of you because of it. But, I’m scared to hurt people I like. I can’t control it. But like I said Zari is immune for some reason and so I still get contact with her.” Andy probably was a bit touch starved, but if she was honest even prior to this she hadn’t done a whole lot of hugging with people.

Danni nodded along. “I get t'at. When I get too overwhelmed, I just kinda…” Danni waved his arms around. Fire. Just fire everywhere, ya know? I've destroyed lotta stuff ‘cause of it. I mean ‘ell I scorched t'e shit outta t'e dorms t'e ot'er day ‘cause I was in a, yeesh, a really bad place at t'e moment. I'm always afraid t'at if t'e t'at ‘appens while I'm ‘angin’ off someone and curled up in bed with Dee and Princess t'at t’ey won't make it out. T'at t'ey won't ‘ave a chance.” Danni paused, memory wandering to one with too many nightmares in it.

“But t'en I remember it's what ‘elps keep me stable, all t'e contact and t'e cuddling. I get antsy if I don't get skin ta skin contact and if it goes too long woof. You t'ink my emotions are wild now? A Danni who hasn't had physical contact wit’ other people for 24 ‘ours. e's a whole lotta crazy.” Danni laughed. “But, it's all ‘bout figurin’ out t'e right technique so if ya every wanna practice hugs or cuddles’ or somethin’, we can spend some time talkin’ safety and limits and see what we can do ta get you t'at! T'eres nothing like a nice long cuddle session wit’ t'e besties ta ‘elp melt away t'e stress!”

Andy bit her lip thinking. She had never had that. Even before Genosha. Ash would hug her occasionally. Before that had been Northwood and foster homes. The only family that had ever really hugged had been her first family. The one family she had considered home until Ash and Jamie. She hadn’t even known she was a mutant yet. ”Maybe. I did tell Dorian he could hug me if he put a blanket over me. He ended up using an oversized hoodie. So we sort of figured it out. And it felt good. It’s sort of funny, my jacket, when Ash gave it to me it was so I could charge it with electricity and have the spikes light up. Now it feels more like armor keeping people away. Most of my physical contact was fighting, but that was all before I became an energy vampire. I was good. Like really good. People would come and fight me from all over and I didn’t ever use my electricity, it was just me being fast.” Andy stopped. She had said too much. Dr. Whitehall told her to open up to people but this was getting too close to her and Danni’s shared history. She wasn’t ready.

”Anyway, yeah, we can talk about it. Work out how to do it safely. If April is okay with me joining. I won’t get between you three. I know that I make her uncomfortable. I won’t say she hates me, though sometimes it feels like she might. She never said as much, but she seems offended. If that makes sense.” Andy shook her head. Eventually her and April were going to have to talk through this. If Andy was going to be friends with Danni and Dorian.

“OMG! You were a world renowned fighter? Can you teach me? I'm mostly a mid-range guy. Ya know, small blasts ta keep people off balance. I would love ta get a little bit more ‘and ta ‘and experience. I'm pretty quick on my feet but let's be real, I ain't got t'at stuff ta be a brawler. Anyt'in’ t'at ‘elps me move a little better will keep me in t'e fight longer!” Danni asked excitedly. “And Dee’s so mart, ain’t ‘e? Maybe I’ll start carryin’ a ‘oodie ‘round just ta be able ta give ya a ‘ug whenever I see ya! And I'll talk ta Princess for ya don't worry. She love pretty much everybody and I'm sure she'll be chill wit’ ya soon enough! We'll get ya a pro at friends in no time!”

In the distance, a heavy thud sounded and the shrill distress of an irritated dragon followed. “Well, uh, shit. You got ta ‘old a dragon. ‘ow do ya feel ‘bout savin’ one?” Danni asked, exasperated but dashing off towards the noise.

”Sure I’ll teach you some stuff. And yeahhhh...That sounds dire. Let’s go.” Andy said running after him.

Avengers Academy: Junior Year 💥

Danni hummed, happy to finally relax for a second, with Amélie curled up on his chest. It was amazing that an actual dragon hatched out of that egg. He wouldn't have put it past Aggie just to give him something to stress about for the fun of it - she was always a little kooky but that's why he loved her! If he had any magical talent (or focus really), he would have loved to be in her classes.

His phone's alarm screeched suddenly and he startled from his drowsing, Amélie protesting with an absolutely adorable and disgruntled chirp. She only bothered to open one eye, glare at her warm bedding, and clammered off. “I'm so sorry, baby! Do you wanna ride wit-” Amélie dragged his pillow under the blankets and let out a satisfied grumble before curling up. “Aw, so sleepy! A growing dragon's gotta get ‘er rest!” Danni cooed, kissing her little snout, taking a quick pictures, and skipping out the door.

He wasn't certain what Beanie wanted to meet up about, but he was always happy to see her! It'd been a while since they'd had a chance to hangout together just the two of them. Maybe she wanted to dance! The haunted tree was a weird place to do that but hey, he'd done weirder!

Sabine had been dreading this conversation, but she knew it was necessary. She had been learning that keeping things bottled up and not addressing concerns didn’t help anything. In fact, they often made the situation worse. April’s mental health concerns were a catalyst of sorts and her own session with Maeve had opened her eyes somewhat.

So she texted Danni to meet up at the haunted tree. A sort of “where it all began” moment when the first cracks in their relationship started to appear.

Sabine had been waiting. When she looked up she waved over to Danni. Damn, she still cared for him. This was going to be rough.

“‘eeeeey, Beanie!” Danni shouted, bouncing up to her and throwing his arms around her. “It's been so long! Why ‘aven't we ‘ung out in so long? We def shouldn't wait so long next time! I missed you. What’cha been up to? ‘ow’d t’erapy go? Maeve’s real nice! She even made some coffee cups, really liked that, cause ot’erwise it was kinda lifeless, ya know? Yeesh. Who wants ta suffer in a borin’ room when you’re baring your ‘eart and soul.” Danni chattered.

“Aaaanywho, what's up? What we doin’? We dancin’, we doin’ someth’in’ new? Oh, wait lemme show you Amélie! She steals my pillow and curls up under my blankets when she's sleepin’ and I got a great photo of ‘er today, look!” Danni shoved the phone under her nose like the proud dragon parent he was.

Sabine was reminded of why she loved Danni so much. He made it so hard to be upset with him, which admittedly was part of the problem. She knew from experience Danni didn’t like talking about stuff that upset him, preferring to avoid it. She wondered how his own therapy session went. ”Hey Danni!” She smiled warmly as Danni took a picture with them and his new dragon. ”Therapy went well and yes, I agree, I like Maeve. I didn’t think her office was lifeless. If anything, she opened it up for whatever I wanted. Did you know that’s her power? She can make tactile illusions. Very cool.”

Ok Sabine, time to get real.

”And no, Danni. No dancing. Not yet at least, though that does bring up one thing I wanted to talk about. It’s about the conversation we had in Coulson’s office about the new teams.” She waited, seeing if Danni had even an inkling on what she was referring to.

“So cool! I ‘ad ta ask ‘ow long t'ey lasted when she wasn’t around ‘cause t'ink of ‘ow easy it'd be ta decorate! Christmas lights? No ladders, no mess, no storage. But looks like it reverts pretty quick, t'ough I didn't really get an exact number.” Danni realized, frowning for a second before shrugging it off.

“Oh, t'e whole we're dead in anot'er version of t'e world ‘cause a big, bad organization murdered t'e whole t'in’? ‘Onestly, I ‘ad ta ‘ave Percy explain t'at ta me ‘cause I didn't understand it. Waaaaaaay too galaxy brain for me! I t'ought they meant pruney like whe you go swimmin’’ for too long” Danni mimed his brain exploding with a sheepish laugh. “Oh, wait no, you said teams, not obliterated timestreams. Uh, yeah I guess? Why what's up? Did ya wanna try and change ‘em again or somet'in’?”

Sabine shook her head. ”No not that part, though that’s why I plan on going back to therapy because honestly what the entire fuck? No Danni, I am talking about how we treated Zelda. One word from Coulson on teams changing because of what happened and you booted Zelda out. I get wanting to be a team together with April and Dorian, hell it’s all you guys talk about, and it was nice to include me, Leah, and Percy, but there was no attention paid to Zelda. She was put on our team and I thought during training and the fight we were in we worked well together. It didn’t seem fair to just….kick her out without a discussion or seeing if she even wanted to be on our team or not.”

“Other people’s feelings are valid Danni. Sometimes I think you forget that.”

Danni frowned, trying to figure out what Sabine was talking about. “But like, doesn't Zelda just not want ta be ‘ere? Like, she only wants ta do fashion. I coulda swore she'd mentioned ‘ow she only does t'e contest, or even comes ‘ere, ‘cause she's expected to. And like, she didn't even show up ta t'e meetin’, she was one of t'ose little camera t'in'ies and even when I went ta ‘er room later ta give ‘er th'e friendship bracelet, I ‘ad t'at leave it in a little baggie on t'e door ‘andle.” Danni giggled a little though. “You know, you sounded a lot like Maevie. She told me ta remember my feelin’s are valid. Sorry l, t'is is super serious, gimme a moment.”

It took a few moments for his giggling to get under control. “Oookay, you t'ink I'm a jerk for kickin’ Zelds out and… tbf, I only kept Leah and Percy ‘cause I'd figure y'all were gunna kick a fit if you didn't ‘ave your significant ot'ers on a team wit’ y'all considerin’ ‘ow ‘ard it's been ta ‘ang out wit’ ‘ow obsessed y'all've been wit’ each ot'er.” Danni curled in on himself a bit, kicking the ground as he tried to gather his thoughts. “I just wanna win. Zelds and Leah-t'ough she's just confusin’ me cause like, she said she didn't wanna do it and t'en suddenly wanted ta do it but only ta be wit’ y'all, I don't really get ‘er-and I t'ink even Percy aren't really… motivated ta kick ass, Beanie. We can't ‘ave people who don't wanna put in a 100%, right?”

Sabine felt herself grow more frustrated. ”That’s the entire point though Danni, it wasn’t a conversation we had. Yes, Zelda may not want to be on the team, yes Percy and Leah may not care enough or only care because the people they are with care. But we didn’t talk about it at all. You just decided for everyone. I would be totally okay if April and/or Leah were on the opposite team because I recognize enough about myself to understand that it doesn’t mean I don’t care about them or want them to fail.” It was true, to an extent. She wouldn’t be super thrilled about it, but she wanted to win. But she also wanted to ensure that the people who wanted to be there, in whatever capacity, was there.

”Also, real rich coming from you talking about ‘kicking a fit’ considering your feelings about Dorian and Percy being together.” As soon as the words left her lips, Sabine hated herself. ”Shit, I didn’t mean that Danni! I’m sorry!”

Danni had been thinking real hard, hard enough he could feel his brain hurt because honestly, he was having a hard time wrapping his head around what Sabine was saying but Danni thought he was doing something nice. He gave them a present, right? Danni hated doing things he didn't really want to so would-

Danni took a step back, eyes wide and mouth agape. It felt like she'd slapped him and everything in his head came to a screeching halt. “Um… I, um…” Sabine wanted to have a serious conversation and here he was, lower lip quivering and tears prickling at the edges of his eyes. He couldn't hold it back though, and he curled himself into a ball and sobbed.

“I know! I'm the worst! I don't mean to but its- it's so hard, Beanie.” Danni wailed, words broken up between hiccups. “Like, Princess and Dee and you all got into relationships at the same time and you all started hanging out with each other and I'm just… alone. I get left behind while you all are off and when Dee texted me tha’at t'ey ya know, did t'e nasty, I just… it was just another t'in’ t'ere gunna do and leve me out of. Just like you and Princess and Leah. You're all gunna do t'at too and you all won't ‘ave time for me anymore. And after I burned my ‘ouse down ‘cause t'e ‘cadie nightmares, I just can't ‘old it back when I get upset like t'at. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Don't be mad at me please!” Danni wrapped his arms around himself tighter, shaking.

Sabine felt intense remorse. She knew Danni didn’t intend any harm, deep down. Yet, that was still the problem, wasn’t it? Still, Danni falling to the floor reminded her that she wasn’t innocent in this either. Danni’s words held some truth to it: when she got together with April and Leah, a lot of her other relationships fell to the wayside. She hardly posted on social media and, when she did, it usually had April and Leah in it. She had forgotten Danni. And that wasn’t fair.

Still, her feelings were valid too. Sabine walked over and crouched down, putting her arms around Danni. ”You are not the worst Danni and I won’t have you talking about my best friend like that!” Sabine felt the tears come up and decided to let them flow. ”Please tell me when I upset you Danni. You are one of my best friends and I never want to hurt you, but I won’t know if you don’t tell me. I know you don’t mean anything by it when you didn’t include Zelda and I know you are dealing with a lot when it comes to Dorian and Percy. But please, your feelings are valid and you need to let them out sometimes. I need to do a better job of that also.”

Danni clung to Sabine, calming down a little as he got physical comfort. “Uhm, okay, so um, we're good? Overall, yeah?” Danni asked timidly, still sniffling. “It just… it just seemed like what t’ey wanted,yeah? Like when ya give someone a present, you don't talk about it, you just do it. I t'ought I was givin’ t’em a present.” Danni whined. “I'm sorry, I didn't mean ta make t'em feel like I didn't care. T’at's why I gave t'em friendship bracelets.”

Sabine sighed inwardly. ”Yes, Danni, of course we are good. I know your intention was good but sometimes even our best intentions can hurt other people and a friendship bracelet won’t make it better. That’s why we should talk more about how we are feeling and what we need.” Sabien chuckled. ”God I sound like that therapist.”

"That's why I was laughin’, you sound like Maevie.” Danni hiccuped sadly. “I don't know what ta do t'en. Do you t'ink t'ey're upset? Should we ‘ave anot'er ‘angout session so t'ey don't feel left out?” Danni asked pitifully.

”I think we should get together with everyone, yes. Maybe speak about how we are feeling overall with each other. I think they are more upset that you are upset than for anything you may have done. But yeah, I think talking more with each other will be good, especially before the contest.”

“A’ight. We can do t'at.” Danni pushed himself to his feet, still sniffling. “Do you maybe wanna hang out a little more for fun? Or do you wanna go gather everyone now?” Danni asked, not quite ready to face people after sobbing in public. He probably needed to go wash his face too - he wasn't always the prettiest cryer and he was certain he was puffy and red everywhere.

Sabine sat there a moment more, relishing in the growth that was just achieved. As much as she hated to admit it, Dr. Whitehall’s suggestion worked. Didn’t mean it would work all of the time, but communication helped. ”Let’s maybe sit here a bit longer and collect ourselves. I, for one, need to re-apply my eyeliner and mascara because my face is probably a mess and I cannot see people until that is fixed.”

Avengers Academy: Junior Year 💥

Danny Kingston

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Location: Maeve's Office
Skills: N/A

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Dr. Maeve Whitehall peered at the file in front of her as she tapped a finger on the edge of her chair. Daniel Kingston was next up. Pyrokinesis was interesting given the brief personality makeup done on him. Still, powers manifested for a reason, she believed.

This would prove interesting.

_________________________________________________

As Danni walked into the room the walls were a light shade of lavender and the carpeted floor was white with specks of purple woven through the threads. There was a white sofa with fluffy white feather pillows and two light purple armchairs. The white wooden table in the middle had some fashion magazines on it as well as some psychology books. There was also a pitcher of water with two glasses and some sliced oranges and lemons.

On the wall there was an abstract painting with shades of red, blue, black, and pink almost thrown in a haphazard, but controlled way. There were some plants strewn about, hung from the ceiling or in pots on the side.

Maeve sat in one of the armchairs. ”Hello Daniel. Or would you prefer Danni? My name is Dr. Maeve Whitehall but you can call me Maeve or Dr. Whitehall, whichever you prefer. Please have a seat where you feel more comfortable. And let me know if the decor in here is to your liking or if I need to change anything. I want you to feel good in here.”

Danni, after all but throwing open the door, gagged at his legal name before slinging his bag on the other arm chair and collapsing onto the couch. “Pleaaaaase, never call me Daniel. T'ats like, reserved for super formal sh- stuff-can I swear ‘ere or will I get in trouble, btw?-or when I pranked t’e ‘rents or forgot ta like, turn in ‘omework and tanked my grades. Danni is fine so we can chill. But t’anks for askin' cause walkin’ in ‘ere made me wonder if was in t'e right place. Kinda looks like a showroom floor rather t'an like a person's space, ya know?” He squirmed a little to get more comfortable, half spread out on the couch. “Gives me Crystal Castle vibes, ya know? Super lonely wit’ only an ancient robot, ‘ologram t'ingy for company. Wait, you're not a…? No, t'ey wouldn't do t'at a second time.” Danni waved the idea off.

“But ‘ow do you feel 'bout nicknames? I ‘ave strong feelin's ‘bout nicknames, ya know. I like t'em a lot so if t'is is more t'an a one time th'in’ t'en I'mma ‘ave a nickname for you eventually. But no, ‘old on. You asked me about the room. Yeah, super nice, super clean, super cool but like… kinda lifeless ‘onestly. Not ta dis your style but not even a coffee cup sittin’? I'll brin’ ya some next time. Whatcha drink? Dee makes a mean cup of coffee, but I'm down ta stop by t'e cafeteria or someth’In’ if t'ats not your style. Do you ‘ave coasters? You seem like ya like coasters. Plus, everyt'in’ in ‘ere seems like it wants ta stay squeaky clean and pristine. We can get ya lilac ones ta match your vibe.” He jolted up, snapping his fingers as something clicked. “I knew I knew t'is name! Maeve was an old fashion line from like twenty years ago! Do you like t'eir stuff? A little more casual t'an what you look like ya wear, but light and stylish for a fun night out, ya know?”

Maeve took a second. Then she started laughing. ”Wow, okay. Danni it is. Quite the talker. As a therapist I cannot express how wonderful that is. I appreciate a good nickname so if you have one for me, please by all means. Also, I should note that this room is special. I asked if you liked it because I want to make this space comfortable for you. Watch.” With no motion the room would shift, two coffee cups, lilac in color, appeared on the table in front of them. ”It’s my own powers. They are tangible so go ahead and touch if you like. I try to cater each setting to the client but I only had a small file on what you like so I did my best.”

“As for the Maeve fashion line, I am afraid I have never seen their stuff nor heard of it. Maybe you can share some of that with me? I am definitely interested. The name is cultural in my family. Strong Irish heritage here.”

Maeve’s empathic senses got how excited he was. He definitely presented as such. Underneath the chatterbox surface though, was fear. Tenseness. Guilt. She didn’t want to push right away. But she made a mental note.

“Oh, t'ats so cool! T'at must come in real ‘andy. Ya know, when it comes ta decoratin’ for t'e season. How long can ya keep it up? Will it stay like t'is even if ya leave? Like, could you make Christmas lights for a whole month and t'en just snap ya fingers, no clean up needed?” Danni marveled at the cup he picked up and tossed a little. “Makes me t'ink of Maxie, t'ough sometimes ‘e makes us take down t'e stuff ‘e conjures so we don't get too used ta relyin’ on ‘im for everyt'in’.” Danni popped the cup back in its place.

“And yeah, I love talkin’! I'm also a terrible liar ‘cause when t'in's pop in my head, they're mostly comin’ right out, ya know? Plus, who wants t'e pressure of lyin’ ta people? T'en, you gotta keep up t'e lie and remember who knows what and bleg. No t'ank You. Too much work, not enough fun.” Danni waved the idea off, but quickly pulled out his phone and started fiddling with it. “Lemme see if I ‘ave anyth’In’ from t'em on ‘ere… Hm, a few pieces but not a ton. Not typically what I wear but I ‘ave been know ta try it out for a nice contrast outfit, ya know? ‘Ere, lemme show you. I picked up one of t'ere t'in's recently.” Danni pulled up a photo of the family, Danni dressed in a billowy white blouse and a knee length blue and orange skirt with gold discs on the side. “T'at skirt was part of t'e 2024 winter collection. ‘Eld up pretty nice, just needed a bit of work ta get it's shine back!”

”It’s illusion constructs. I can keep it up pretty long though if I were to leave, after a bit, the room would shift back to what it was originally.”

“And I agree about lying. Even the most experienced liars need to work overtime to maintain it. You appear very much at ease, Danni. It’s admirable, especially given recent events. Tell me, are you able to maintain this attitude all the time or are there moments where you can let your guard down and…experience what you’re actually feeling?” Maeve gave Danni a knowing look. She knew what he was feeling, but did he?

“Oof, t'at's ‘eavier t'an I like ta t'ink about, but uh, yeah. Normally, it's wit’ Princess and Dee and we ‘ave a big ol’ cuddle party and we all just kinda let it out but uh, we ‘aven't ‘ad any t'is year yet. T'ey got t'eir relationships and stuff so most of t'eir free time gets sucked up by t'at now. Which kinda sucks, but at t'e same time it makes t'em ‘appy ya know? Just gotta get t’rough t’e ‘oney moon phase and t'en t'in's will go back ta normal!” Danni shrugged, shrinking into the couch more.

“And like…” Danni was quiet, picking at the couch arm. “You're not gunna like… tell anyone anyt'in’ I say right? T'is all stay between us?”

Maeve nodded, ”Of course Danni. Everything we say in here is confidential. I won’t tell anyone unless you give me permission to. It’s perfectly natural to experience those conflicting feelings of happiness for your friends and their relationships while also balancing feeling upset or anger or fear at their now limited time with you. That’s the nature of growing up. People meet new friends or loves and relationship dynamics change. It doesn’t make what you have with them any less and if you start to feel like it is you are well within your rights to speak about it. Sometimes with new relationships its easy to blind yourself to others. As you said, the Honeymoon phase is real, but do not let it discount your emotions Danni. They are just as valid.”

“Yeah, we'll I can't really tell t'em t'at or I'll just sound selfish I t'ink. Its… just easier ta vibe, ya know? Just roll wit’ t'e flow. And ‘onestly, it's probably for t'e better right now.” Danni shifted uncomfortably in place, looking around the room for a few minutes. “T'e whole like ‘cadey t'in’ real doesn't bot'er me, ‘onestly. Like, yeah apparently we did die, but t'at time line is gone because it got purned or whatever, but t'ats whatever. ‘onestly, I'm not really smart enough ta really understand it. Kinda goes over my ‘ead, tbh. It was all good, all wrapped up, ‘rents grounded us for breakin’ curfew but also we ‘ad the best game night after so it's all cool, and t'en I ‘ad t'is nightmare where ‘Cadie ‘ad programmed t'at all into t'e framework and turned out we ‘adn't ever left and I was still trapped in t'e tank, but it was waaaaaaaaaay smaller and I don't like t'at one bit, no t'ank you, so I exploded. You know, fire everywhere. Except it really was everywhere, includin’ our ‘ouse.”

Danni paused, tearing up as he got more upset. “And like, yeah it ‘elped Dee get a new power, but I tried after too. Tried to get it back under control and I just couldn't. I ‘ad it for a second but it was so hungry and I was still scared and BOOM! It ate everyt'in’. ‘ouse gone.” Danni slumped back into his laying position. “And like, what if I do t'at ta t'em? Maybe it's good t'ey ‘ave ot'er people ta ‘ang out wit’ when I'm even worse t'en normal. ‘cause like, a ‘ouse can be replaced ya know? Sure it's missing so much and it doesn't really feel like ‘ome anymore, but like a person is even ‘arder ta fix after t'at.”

”Danni, I am going to challenge you now. First, your feelings are valid. Whatever you are feeling, it is valid. Allow yourself moments of feeling what you need to. It is not selfish nor is it fair to bottle them up because of others. Second, you are not a bad person because of what happened. It was an accident. However, I feel that’s part of why you need to allow yourself ways to vent these feelings. You better than anyone should know keeping something volcanic like fire can be dangerous.”

“As for this nightmare, dreams and nightmares oftentimes show us our internal thoughts. The ones not usually at the front of our minds. It is also not unexpected to have some lingering fear from what happened, though I am glad you all are safe.”

“So, if you would like, I am happy to help teach some coping skills to manage those feelings. We can take it slow and at your own pace. This is, of course, if you would like to keep seeing me. You do not have to. If you do not I am still available if you would like.”

Danni nodded along with Maeve. “Wow, uh, okay. T'at's a lot ta ‘ear, but t’asks I t'ink? I just feel a little uncomfortable now? Idk, but uh…” Danni chewed at his lip for a second, but eventually offered Maeve a timid smile. “Yeah, we can do t'is again. I don't know ‘ow t'is works or ‘ow often we need ta see each ot'er, but I'm down. T'ough, you're gunna ‘ave ta be chill wit’ ‘ow long it can take me ta learn somet'in’ new t'at's gunna make me uncomfy for a while. Especially if I get distracted, or really when I get distracted.”

”It’ll take as long as it takes Danni and there’s nothing wrong with that. Why don’t we set up a weekly session day and time and go from there?”

Avengers Academy: Junior Year 💥

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Location: Outside the dorms
Skills: N/A

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---

The second he could, the bag had been dropped and Danni was cuddling his little orange scaled baby. Danni didn't know if this what parenthood was but just looking at his dragon, Danni wanted to cry he was so happy. He definitely felt tears and let out a happy, wet laugh. “Am I okay?! Of course I'm okay! I'm great! Look at ‘er. She's perfect.” Danni said in wonder.

Danni beamed as the rest of the group finally caught up. “I know Princess, isn't she adorable? I t'ink I'll call ‘er Amélie.” Danni decided, cooing as Amélie chipped and squirmed. She hooked her claws in his shirt and dragged herself up sitting in his arms with her head resting on his shoulder as she took a look at everything around them. mental note, start investing in some sort of padding so she doesn't destroy your clothes. “Dee, Dee, Dee! Come meet your niiiiece!”

Dorians mental fog had lifted from what he was seeing. A dragon? Like they knew that there was more likely a dragon inside that egg but…to see the dragon actually there, with them. Excitement bubbled inside of him as he ran, snagging both April and Percy's hands in his and running full blast through the crowd of people who surrounded Danni and stopping just mere inches away from Danni. But there was no such thing as personal space between them. ”I'm an uncle?! Oh let me see my little niece!!!” Dorian said as he snagged the big little dragon off of Danni's shoulder and spun in a circle. ”She so cute! Fuck!” Dorian released one hand from the dragon and shook it in the air blood splattering a bit from where the claws had dug in. Giving back the dragon to Danni.

The moment that Dorian released Percy’s hand, he immediately took several steps back from the group. He’d been dragged all the way into Danni’s personal space, and with everyone else crowding around the baby dragon, it was a bit too much for Percy. Dorian touching him was something he was adjusting to - but the thought of everyone bumping into him as they tried to get a better view was mildly nauseating.

April didn’t share this problem though. Her eyes were wide with astonishment as she stared at the precious baby girl, giggling as Dorian took the dragon from Danni and spun her in the air. “Oh my god Danni you’re a dad now!!! That’s so cool!! Can I hold her? Please? Pleeeeease? Ooo wait can I be her aunt then? Like the cool mysterious wine aunt? That would be such a vibe - not that I drink or anything but you know what I mean!!”

“Deeeee!” Danni screeched as he snatched Amélie away, who had sharp fucking claws and took part of shirt with him. He quickly gathered Amélie back into his arms, shushing the little distressed noises and murmuring little nothings until she was peeking curiously at people again. “Guys, ‘member she just ‘atched! Give ‘er more t’an a second!” Danni whined, but he did turn towards April so she could come up to her.

“Of course you’re ‘er auntie! But maybe don’t pick ‘er up? She snatched Dee so she might be a little overwhelmed. Come pet ‘er t’ough. Once we get ‘er settled in t’e dorm, we can ‘ave ‘er get used ta you and you can snuggle wit’ ‘er t’en.” Amélie snuffed at the air and yawned.

Dorian stuck his finger to his mouth, sucking on the wound down the side of it. ”Yeah ‘er claws are way too sharp right now. But ‘ow can you expect me not to want to pick up my little niece t'e second I see ‘er?!”

”Awww who’s a good wittle baby girl?” April cooed, as she slowly reached out, letting the dragon sniff her hand a bit first before she started to pet her, starting up at the head like a cat. Her parents had never really let them own pets, but she tended to spend every single second of her summers home outside somewhere, and she loved to give the neighborhood cats a good scritch behind the ears when they’d let her. It’s you! Yes it’s you! You’re the good baby!!”

Amélie, after a hesitant moment, ate up the affection and Danni cooed at the sight. He was head over heels for this little dragon and so was everyone else, just like they should be. “I'm gunna love ‘er so much. Oh, I gotta start shoppin’ for a nice bed and toys and… I gotta figure out what she eats. Probably meat but like, can dragon's ‘ave allergies? Can t'ey ‘ave chocolate or is it like dogs? Ugh, t'ere weren't any useful books last we checked. I'll probably ‘ave ta run ta all t'e magic profs, huh? Unless anyone ‘ere knows about dragons?” Danni looked around at the group before cooing at Amélie again. “I didn't know you were comin’ baby. I'm sorry I'm not very prepared but you can ‘elp me pick out whatcha like, can't you? And Imma make sure you're t'e most spoiled little dragon on campus!”

”She can borrow Amours bed for now since I left ‘er at ‘ome wit’ Pa and Appa during break. Apparently she needed to be “ ‘ousebroken” T'en when we get Amélie ‘er own bed and Pa sends it I can brin’ Amour back to school and we can get t'em acquainted! T'ey can be t'e best of friends!”

April gasped. my gods that’s going to be the absolutely cutest thing ever!!! A dragon and a dinosaur playing!!! Wait you guys you should put them on your channels!! This is the content the people deserve!!!”

Danni froze for a second before laughing nervously “Yeah, definitely somet'in’ ta t'ink about.” Danni hadn’t had a chance to catch April up on all the drama that had happened but for now, his channel was on hiatus. He wasn't looking forward to going through that conversation again. “We do need ta take a family photo of all of us when we ‘ave them bot’ ‘ere! Like, first t'in’!”

”Oh agreed! It'll probably take a bit of time to get t'ing's set up bot’ for Amélie and ‘avin’ ‘er on t'e show. So we may need to pause Kingstons Kitchen for a bit to give t'is little sweetheart as much attention as she deserves while also settin’ up a good way to ‘ave ‘er be in it. If you're alright wit’ a bit of a ‘aitus right now D?”

“Since we don’t have classes, maybe we go by the pet store today? Can look around and see what stuff they have? Or is there, like, a magical pet store? That should be a thing, right? Ooh! What if we opened a magical pet store - think of all the cute little costumes we could sell!!” April gushed, oblivious to Danni’s discomfort. She was feeling incredible and this adorable baby dragon was only boosting those feelings.

Avengers Academy: Junior Year 💥

Danny Kingston

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Location: Dorm Hallway
Skills: N/A

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Danni felt like his head was full of cotton, the world dull and muted. He felt, distantly, a pair of hands on him and he could recognized Sabine was saying something, but the ringing in his ears was too much. He went with her easily, unable to resist if he wanted to. He recognized her concern and she was right to be concerned, but he couldn't get the words out to tell her he was the danger. The other fire was controllable, manageable, following all the appropriate rules for fire. Danni could explode again while she was right next to him. He really should shake her off. He still felt fragile, but he really needed somebody right now and he wasn't selfless enough to push that away.

As the fire was finally extinguished, Danni would have been able to breathe easier if not for one final middle finger from an already terrible situation. Danni clung to Sabine, coughing violently, as he inhaled a face full of smoke. The burning in his lungs helped, however. Some of the cotton in his head got loose at the pain ave he could actually get words out. “T'anks, Beanie.” Danni managed between coughs, shivering as the cold from the water started finally registered and he stumbled towards his dorm and the group huddled outside it, still white knuckle gripping Sabine like a lifeline.

However, Danni froze when he heard it. Faintly, from inside his bag, the quietest little crack and something heavy shifted slightly against his back. Danni froze again. There was only one thing in his bag- Danni's internal thoughts stopped as he heard a much louder one and he swung his bag in front of him, hunching over it to shield it from the water as he opened up his bag.

Red scales that once comprised the egg littered the inside of the bag and more were falling off as the baby inside worked at clawing it's way out. Larger cracks formed on the exposed surface and finally, a piece crumbled out. Then Danni was scrambling towards the nearest stairwell, kicked it open, and took the stairs down three at a time, only coming to a stop outside the building where the water was soaking him.

Inside his bag, and quickly demanding to be let out, was the most perfect, beautiful, little scales creature in the world. A light orange with little ridges on its back, wings still weak but claws snatching weakly at the little bits of membrane and shell sticking to it, his dragon was absolutely adorable. “Oh my god, oh my god, you are so fickin’ cute!!” Danni cooed. At his voice, the dragon looked up and Danni was head over heels. It reached out with one of its little (for a dragon. It was about the size of a small dog so Danni figured that was small) and Danni reached out to tap it, squealing as it brought his finger to his snout and sniffed at it.

“Hi, little baby. Who's t’e most precious little creature on t'e planet? You are, yes you are!”

Testing well everything!

[hr.][hr.]

[color=???]

First and Last Name

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[hr.][hr.]

[color=???]

Character Summary

[/color]

[color=???]Name:[/color] Character Full Name
[color=???]Alias[/color] Odds are, these characters are using fake names and not advertising who they are
[color=???]Age:[/color] (10 years later - RP takes place in December 2049)
[color=???]Pronouns:[/color]
[color=???]Gender:[/color]
[color=???]Origin:[/color] Mutant? Inhuman? Mutate? Asgardian? Human? Avatar of a god? What are they? This might have changed!
[color=???]Occupation:[/color]
[color=???]Side:[/color] Pro-Empire? Anti-Empire? Neutral?
[color=???]Languages:[/color] Include Galactic Basic (the new name for English!)
[color=???]Imperial Warrants:[/color] What crimes have they been charged with? What would the Empire bring them in for?
[hr.]

[hr.]

[color=???]

Appearance

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[color=???]Height:[/color]
[color=???]Weight:[/color]
[color=???]Build:[/color]
[color=???]Eyes:[/color]
[color=???]Hair:[/color]
[color=???]Skin Tone:[/color]
[color=???]Notable Features:[/color]
[color=???]Aesthetic:[/color] 1 paragraph, describe what your character roughly looks like. Emphasize what's changed
[hr.]

[hr.]

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Psychology

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Positive Trait * Negative Trait * Positive Trait * Negative Trait * Positive Trait * Negative Trait

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[color=???]Sexuality:[/color]
[color=???]Relationship Status:[/color]
[color=???]Alignment:[/color] Think D&D - Lawful/Chaotic/Neutral Good/Neutral/Evil?
[color=???]Personality:[/color] 2 paragraphs - this should include how your character has dealt with the trauma of everyone they know essentially dying, and how they have changed since they were a teenager

[color=???]Habits:[/color] At least 2
[color=???]Fears:[/color] What are they afraid of? At least 3 things!

[color=???]Dreams:[/color] What does your character aspire to? 1 required, more encouraged!
>list][*]
[*]
[color=???]Regrets:[/color] If your character could do it all again, what would they do differently? What haunts them? 1 required, more encouraged!

[color=???]Coping Strategies:[/color] At least 1! When things get tough, how does your character deal with it? Remember, they went through a LOT of trauma. A lot of these characters may be addicted, in one way or another.

[hr.]

[hr.]

[color=???]

Cards On The Table

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[color=???]Powers and Feats:[/color] This is the character at the height of their powers. Please add new powers here! GM reserves the right to say no if they're too OP.

• Power Type 1:
  
  • Feat -
  • Feat -

[color=???]New Knowledge:[/color] 10 skills that they have picked up since the destruction of AA.

[color=???]Signature Moves:[/color] No more than 3. When your character applies their skills/powers in that manner, they will get a bonus.

[color=???]Weaknesses:[/color] Minimum 3. What would cause your character to become undone? To lose focus? Are they super allergic to porgs? Would seeing an old friend shatter them?

[color=???]Medical Issues/Injuries:[/color] Any long term medical problems or past medical problems need to be listed here. This includes physical and mental ones.

[color=???]Important Possessions:[/color] Limited to 10 spots. These are the things you cannot leave behind. We can assume everyone has, like, clothes and stuff on them. This is more those important items that keep you sane.

[hr.]

[hr.]

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History

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[color=???]Year One:[/color] Minimum 1 paragraph describing what was going on for the character during the first year of Ultron's rule.

[color=???]Year Ten:[/color] Minimum 1 paragraph describing what was going on for the character during the first ten years of Ultron's rule.

[color=???]Core Memories:[/color]

• List out the critical moments in your character's life over these 10 years - these will be things that would be great to do as collabs/posts!

[color=???]Their Endgame:[/color] Minimum 1 paragraph describing what the character would say their current endgame looks like. Is it crushing the Rebellion? Defeating the Empire? Escaping from it all and going to a different world where none of this is happening?[hr.]

[hr.]

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Extras

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[color=???]Character Quote:[/color] Something they say a lot or live by
[color=???]Music:[/color] A song that gives the vibe of this character - or even an entire playlist.
[color=???]Trivia:[/color]

• List out any thing else that wasn't covered here

_{*By submitting this CS in its completion I am stating I have read all the rules for this Rp and am agreeing to follow them to the fullest with respect and courtesy. I acknowledge that I can and will be removed from the RP without warning if I break a rule or cause problems with my fellow Rpers or the GM.}

Avengers Academy: Junior Year 💥

August Perlman

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August Perlman

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Character Overview

Name: August Perlman
Alias: Depression
Age: 17
Gender: Male
Powers: Symbiote - August was infected with the symbiote Depression, giving him access to the following:

• Super Strength
• Pseudopod Generation
• Danger Dense
• Healing Factor

Personality Traits:
Goofy ~ Gullible ~ Friendly ~ Anxious ~ Energetic ~ Airheaded

Summary:
August was used to doing clinical trials here and there for the odd bit of coin. Anything to help put food on the table besides his dead end job in corporate America. Besides, the pills they usually gave weren't half bad either. So when a new company had reached out about a trial, he hopped right in. It was a multi day process, screening and vetting everyone who would be allowed in. Finally he was brought into a room, large, real sterile type shit. Various glass tubes and strange boxes lined shelves and tables, with some odd cylindrical tanks against the wall.

It was far more advanced than any one he'd done before, but nothing he couldn't handle he figured. He was placed inside a tank, another boy in the one to the right of him. Trails began, and not much had happened. Then, his neighbors tank went dark, pitch black kind of dark. August began to wonder if his would too, until the tank exploded. The blast was enough to free most of the subjects, but so close to August it sent him flying into a shelf on the wall. A strange multicolored viscous slime was released from the impact, and August was covered in shards of broken glass. One minute he was blacking out, the next the slime was gone, and then suddenly all his wounds were gone.

The blonde kid ravaged the scientists and August just wanted to get away, a voice in his head speaking to him about insane things and hunger. Just when he thought he'd gotten out, a white van pulled up and captured him and a few others. Next thing he knew he was at C.A.G.E. talking about Depression and getting Bupropium as a daily additive to his meals. Which certainly helps keep his Depression happy.

Depression

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Depression

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Character Overview

Name: Depression
Alias: N/A
Age: Unknown
Gender: Unnecessary
Powers:

• Super Strength
• Enhanced Reflexes
• Enhanced Durability
• Danger Sense
• Healing Factor
• Pseudopod generation
• Toxin production: Depression’s claws inject a toxin that induces lethargy and emotional instability over time, quickening with repeated doses until it's target is paralyzed physically and emotionally.

Personality Traits:
Curious ~ Impulsive ~ Friendly ~ Protective ~ Intelligent ~ Opportunistic

Summary:
Born of Venom, Depression has only known the inside of its containment facility for its whole life, starving and lonely. When experimentation at the facility started and experienced catastrophic failure, it gave Depression the opportunity to slide into the perfect host: August Perlman. Shifted to C.A.G.E. shortly after, Depression has experienced a life of luxury, meals twice a day and a constant stream of new experiences daily. Still, Depression wants to know the feeling of stretching their legs and regular meals won't keep them satisfied for long.