FantasyChic

🌠 Once Upon A Time 🌠(Concluded)

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Pandora Quill

Location: Wichita, Kansas - Streets
Skills: N/A

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Safely inside the motel room, Pandora was about to rest a bit when she heard yelling through the walls. It was bad enough she had a small peephole, but now she would be able to hear other people's fighting and Lord knows what else. IT was only for a bit until she figured out why those guys were after her.

In fact, the argument she overheard intrigued her. Someone saying people were after them and it was safer. Granted, given how the world worked it could be for a number of reasons why someone needed to run away, but how convenient she had to leave her home because she was being chased and so was someone else.

Did she go check on them? Pandora left her room and scanned the area, wondering if she would see whoever the voice came from. Curiosity got the better of her in most situations. Any other day she would have ignored it all, but today started off weird and continued to be weird. So she would see how far this rabbit hole went.

Ω Heroes of Olympus: The Next Age of Heroes Ω

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Desdemona Pemberton

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Location: Camp Half-Blood - The Arena
Skills: N/A

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The two of them continued to spar as they spoke. Mona saw Theresa's point though. She saw firsthand during the game of capture the flag how useful her powers were. She just didn't feel like she could connect with her other siblings. Theresa stood out, as did Aster to an extent, but that was the gist of it. She wouldn't be caught dead trying to fit in with any of them though, especially if they were like stereotypical preps.

Mona accepted her weapon back, thankful for the distraction, but she was right. The burial would be taking place soon. This would not be Mona's first funeral, but it would be for someone she considered herself close to. She had attended such before with her foster family, but being a foster child meant she didn't feel an emotional connection to the dead. She went out of obligation or by force. This was different. She knew Ash, she liked Ash. This was going to have to be something she got used to.

The Uncanny X-Babies - Concluded

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Belladonna

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Location: Machine Room
Skills: Gun Combat

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While Bella held her sword to the woman's neck, it wasn't long before someone else emerged in the room. The other woman tried to disarm her, but missed, however, she managed to get a shot off hitting the machine Watts would be working on. And to make matters even more interesting, they were here to take them back to Serval. Bella didn't let her sword drop as she took out her gun, aiming it at Casey. While she intended to shoot the woman in the leg, she missed but hit nothing and no one else.

"Consider that a warning shot. I won't miss next time. I suggest if you do really intend to talk, you lower your weapon and I will lower mine." Bella had no intention of allowing them the upper hand, and she figured Watts and Sapphire would not be willing to just walk back to Serval because two women came in and told them too, but Bella figured they were misguided, much like all of them were before.

Agents of SHIELD - Concluded

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Tinley Abercrombie and Tempest Renroir

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Location: The Common Room - the Hub
Skills: N/A

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Tinley was more or less not paying attention to the conversation around her, which was probably for the best considering Raynor was openly admitting to escapades around SHIELD and they were referring to their time with Ultron and Wanda and Tinley didn't need recounting her emotional and mental scars. No her mind was focused on the sound.

Tempest, meanwhile, figured the game was now out of control. "Ok, perhaps we can put the game on hold now and do something else?" She also wanted to steer the conversation away from Ultron and the events with Scarlet Witch. The team had been through a lot and this was a time to relax and be merry.

And then Deadpool showed up.

Tinley instinctively reached for her weapons, cursing herself for not having any in her dress, before she strode up to Deadpool. "No, he was not invited and whenever he shows up, chaos is not far behind. So I suggest you get your ass out of this room and go fuck up someone else's holiday. I do not have the patience for this today."

Tempest was low-key freaking out (only because she appreciated Deadpool's antics more than the others), but Tinley was right. If Deadpool was here, then surely things were about to spiral out of control. "Maybe take a cookie or two for the road though? We have plenty!" She scanned the others to see if they were on board with Deadpool being here, but it seemed the others were also either tired of it or were drunk to the point of not caring.

🌠 Once Upon A Time 🌠(Concluded)

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Pandora Quill

Location: Wichita, Kansas - Streets
Skills: Persuasion, Deception

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Pandora wasn't expecting to have to maintain the act, but if help was being offered, she wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. She mustered up another sob, "Aw thank you so much. I appreciate it." She allowed the woman to lead her to the motel, parting ways and she stepped inside. It wasn't a hotel, but it would provide a roof for a bit. She walked to the front desk, debating on lying about her identity, but she decided the work was too much effort. So she provided her ID and got the room.

She was on edge now as she entered the room. It appeared normal. Queen size bed, bathroom. Nothing out of the ordinary except....was that a peephole? Pandora rolled her eyes. Of course, she would have a room where someone looked into the bathroom. She inspected the hole, seeing the other room. It was dark, save for the light coming off the computer. The hole was too small to be plugged up, but she found some tape in the bedside table and taped the hole. She wasn't about to let some pervert peep on her if she could help it.

Though she debated what to do. Did she stay the night or head out, in case she was being followed again?

Ω Heroes of Olympus: The Next Age of Heroes Ω

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Desdemona Pemberton

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Location: Camp Half-Blood - The Arena
Skills: N/A

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The two of them circled, squaring off as they spoke. Soon, Theresa came at her, but missed, leaving her open to an attack, which Mona took advantage of, swiping her sword along Theresa's back, sending the girl flying forward to the ground. Mona walked up to her, offering her a hand up. After all, this was merely training.

"Yeah, well I never was one to meet expectations. I don't feel connected to her at all though. I don't know if that will be a problem going forward considering I see a lot of the other people here, but I feel connected with the powers, even though I feel they are kind of useless. Like love manipulation? Ick." Granted, she had used the power before, so she knew it's benefits. It just seemed useless compared to something like fire or water or lightning.

The Gifted - Concluded

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Leighton Brooks

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Location: The Cherry Bomb - Washington D.C. (Basement)
Skills N/A

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Leighton could cut the tension in the room with a knife as Max unleashed a horde of emotion he had been holding in. And Leighton couldn't rightly blame him. Havok, as cute as he was, was a douchebag. And she didn't even want to get started on her dislike of Sunshine. The girl had a lot more than mean words coming her way. But Veil broke it down and Leighton didn't feel right adding her two cents. After all, she was not the leader here. If she wanted to prove she could be a team member, especially if it defied Sapphire's view on her, she had to bite her tongue.

But Jack also interrupted and proceeded to go down the elevator without them. What had she seen in him before this? Oh right, his body. And face. But aside from that, the guy was kind of a jerk. "Ok, rude." Callie called the elevator back up quickly though and Leighton stepped in along with whoever else joined them. She kept close to Max though, elbowing him gently with a smile.

Once down, Callie moved onward and Leighton followed, but her gaze hit something down a hallway. It glittered so sparkly, Leighton was almost transfixed. "Diamonds are a girl's best friend..." she said as she made her way down. Once she got closer, she saw an open door. Glancing inside, she saw what appeared to be a walk-in closet. Despite the fact it was weird for something like that to be down here, Leighton couldn't help but go in. As she did so though before she could admire what wonderful things were inside, the door closed and locked. Leighton checked it, "Shit."

Leighton felt someone watching her and she turned to see what looked like a blonde-haired woman sitting on a chaise. It took Leighton a moment to realize who it was in front of her, but she knew who it was from pictures, portraits in her family's home, and the rare Christmas visit. It was her aunt. "Leighton, dear. It's time we talked."

"Aunt Emma?" was all she could say.

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Anastasia Reinhardt

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Location: Train Car
Skills Perception

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With David, or Ksenia or whoever the hell he was at this given moment, unshackled, and Jinx proving to be competent for once, they were able to free the mutants on the train, allowing for a nice distraction. Even though Jinx joked, he better start getting used to his subservient nature, particularly if he continued to prove useful. She could see him being a handy tool to use, provided he kept his ego and mouth in check. "Very well, let's get going." She proceeded into the next car.

Once there, there was a similar box to the one they found David in. Inside was a girl and, most likely, their target. Ana analyzed the girl, seeing if she needed to use her power again, but the girl did not appear like her brother. She looked like a girl who just wanted to get out. So Ana unlocked the box. "Valentine? We are here to free you and your brother. Allow me to unlock your restraints and then we need to proceed quickly as the authorities will be on their way soon. We have caused a distraction, but the sooner we leave, the better." Ana then began to unlock Valentine's restraints like she did David.

The Uncanny X-Babies - Concluded

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Belladonna

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Location: Machine Room
Skills: N/A

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As Andrew talked, she felt...off at his behavior. Even Watts seemed to comment on it as Andrew swore, something she had never heard him do. Granted, he was seemingly blown up and captured, that was cause for letting off a swear word or two, but even then. Plus, Andrew was never one to stand idly by while he rambled on about something, so the fact he seemed to slow down to explain things to them was also odd. To top it off, Andrew referred to himself as an idiot, but it wasn't like he was chastising himself. If felt, to her, like he was calling Andrew an idiot like he was someone else referring to Andrew. And then Watts spoke about the stupid cupcake and she caught what he was trying to do. She tried to meet Watts' gaze to subtly nod her head in understanding. This didn't seem like Andrew. At all.

Before she could press on, she heard a sound from down the hallway, along with footsteps. She drew her sword before she crept to the door, allowing the others to remain in the room. She listened closely as the footsteps got closer. Whoever it was was not trying to be sneaky or subtle, which led her to believe it wasn't the two women they faced before. Plus, it was only one set of footsteps. As whoever approached, Bella turned and placed her sword at the person's neck, eyeing the woman as she came in. "We have a guest. Mind telling us who you are and why you are here?"

Agents of SHIELD - Concluded

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Tinley Abercrombie and Tempest Renroir

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Location: The Common Room - the Hub
Skills: N/A

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Tinley nodded, forcing a smile on her face. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me. I have this party to oversee. Enjoy yourself." She downed the rest of her drink before setting the glass down, aware that she probably should not be drinking too heavily in her state. It made her self-conscious. The others were seemingly enjoying themselves though, Tempest taking the lead on a party game was a stroke of genius on her part.

The game was heating up as people fired off prompt after prompt. Tempest drank when applicable. "Hey, that's the spirit of the game. The point is to try to get people to drink so using underhanded methods is well within her rights. Kudos Bonnie." She raised her glass up.

Even the new guys were getting into the swing of things. Tempest could hold her alcohol well enough, but she did remember times when she drank to excess and the wonderful, glorious moments before she had to release it all back. So she drank again, aware of the irony. "I don't know about everyone else, but I am feeling slightly tingly now. We can continue the game if you want, but perhaps food is in order now? I know I have some munchies." She made her way over to the spread, helping herself to some of the cookies and so on provided.

Tinley was about to refill her glass when she heard a thumping noise above. She glanced up, aware that she knows she heard that sound, but perhaps it was nothing. Her mind had been playing tricks on her recently, plus the stress of the party hadn't aided in her overall mental health. But she also knew in her gut when something felt off. And this felt...off. She set her glass down. If it WAS something, she would be prepared. This definitely would not be Santa Claus.

X-Men: Cosmic Crusades 👽

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Guin and Allison

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X-Mansion: December 19th, 2020

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The events that Scarlet Witch shaped left a mark on everyone, or at least that's how Allison saw it. She, herself, had been impacted in a heavy way, faced with a possible reality that she would be considered above others just because she was a mutant. That left her family, those she cared about and fought for, as less than. No one ever deserved to be thought of as "less than". That was how wars started. They came very close to one.

Not only that, but Allison got to see Oshea again. She had moved on. She had accepted his death, processed it, and moved on and then she had to alter it and bring him back into her life again. Not only that but once it was all done he had to leave again. And she was left with an empty hole in her heart. One that, she feared, would not be repaired quite so easily.

And to add to this all, she worried about Guin. Guin had been impacted heavily too. And Allison hated to admit it, but she was also jealous. Guin still had her love, but the events had shaped them. Allison had stayed more or less alone since reality shifted back, but she couldn't be away forever.

Guin had spent the day at Stark Industries. The events of House of M had shaken her, but they also had helped her - she knew what she wanted to do with her life. She had always been randomly going from one thing to the next, trying out being a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent since it sounded fun and also served as a rebellion against her father, and then joining the X-Men since all of her friends were members of the group. Unlike most of those on the X-Men team, she never really had had to worry about how she would be treated by being a mutant. The team's capture by O.M.E.N. was the closest she had come to it, with the privilege of having her father be one of the leading members of the Avengers. People usually didn't think of her as a mutant - they saw her as the daughter of an Avenger, the legacy of Iron Man, the heiress to Stark Industries.

Pulling up to Xavier's mansion in a cherry red mustang, Guin was wearing a large pair of shades and a heavy winter coat. The December chill was in the air as she parked her car along the curb and turned off the ignition, the notes of Erasure's Chains of Love dying out as well.

Allison hitched a ride with a friend. She never really sought out getting her driver's license. She had no need for it given they got around on the X-Jet or there were vast amounts of public transportation in New York. Her friend didn't bother pulling all the way into the mansion though. Despite the amount of good they had done, there was still fear evident, even amongst those she considered friends. Allison could hardly blame them.

Thanking her friend, she got out of their car, immediately feeling the chill of December. It had only just crossed her mind how close they were to the holidays. She had nearly forgotten, but was not a time to be merry? She walked the length to the gate, coming in to see a red mustang pulled up just as she saw Guin getting out of the car. Allison had a moment of shame, having just thought about the girl and how she was worried and angry at her (for no reason on both counts). She thought about turning back, but decided against it. She would have to see everyone eventually.

She walked up, eyeing the beauty of a car she had come out of. "Hey Guin. How are you?" Simple pleasantries first. Heavy, heart-melty stuff later.

Guin took off her shades, smiling slightly at Allison. She didn't know how she was taking the entire Oshea thing - that and Guin had been pretty rude to her in the other reality. "Not too bad, can't complain - you?"

Allison gave a half-hearted shrug. "All right for the most part. Took a break given....recent events. But now I am back. Want to head inside and out of the cold?" she offered. As much as Allison liked this time of year, she didn't much want to spend time outside unless she had to.

"Sure thing," Guin said, putting her shades on her head as she headed inside the mansion. It was a little odd to think that less than a year ago, O.M.E.N. had attacked this place and Mesmero had attempted to pit the entire team up against each other. Her ears felt like they were buzzing slightly from the telepathic murmur of having so many mutants in one place, but she had started to get used to having her new powers. "Look, is there something you wanted to talk about?"

Allison was a little taken aback at the abruptness, but then she remembered who she was talking to. However, Allison didn't know what to say. The subject was still sore. How did you tell someone you were angry at them, but also worried. How did you process feelings of jealousy and love at the same time? "I don't know. Is there something to talk about?" She regretted it as soon as she said it, feeling herself get riled up for no reason. She sighed. "That came out wrong. I don't know how to...talk about what happened without some emotion getting jacked up 1000%."

Guin raised an eyebrow. Allison sounded way more passive-aggressive than she had expected, but they had all been through a lot. Everyone had faced uncomfortable truths and choices in that other world. "Let's just talk about it then, okay? Screaming and crying or whatever happens... You can tell me what's on your mind."

Allison took off her jacket and hung it up before she made her way to the nearby sitting room, waiting for Guin to follow. Once she had done so, Allison sunk into one of the couches there. "Where do I begin? We went through something horrible, something that cements why I am here with the X-men in the first place. I don't want that reality to ever happen, where we consider ourselves above humans just because we have abilities. It would be so easy to say it would be better there than it is here, given the amount of hate we get despite continuing to protect and save everyone. I came very close to accepting that reality, but in the end, I needed it to change back to this one. Even if it meant losing Oshea again."

Guin took her jacket off and placed it on one of the end tables, before she perched on the armrest of the sofa. It definitely wasn't kind to the furniture, but the rich weren't always the most aware of the value of keeping things in good condition when they could easily buy a new one to replace it. "To be honest... it might happen one day. We can't stop evolution or the future - and we can't even predict whether or not mutants are the final stage of it. We might be replaced one day too."

Allison chuckled a little. "Ironic telling the future see-er that she can't predict the future." But she knew Guin's point. "Part of me knows that your memories were altered and that made up for some of the tension, but there was the matter of how easy it seemed for you to accept staying in that reality despite how horrible it was for everyone that wasn't us. I'm not mad, it just surprised me. I don't have Ayita anymore to share my feelings on everything with. Seeing Oshea there brought back a lot of memories, good and bad. I got over him Guin. I mourned and moved on and then she brought him back and it hurt to lose him a second time. It's not fair. You still have Pietro and I have nothing but memories." She felt herself get teary-eyed, but held them in. "I'm happy you both still have each other. It's hard losing loved ones and I don't wish it on anyone."

She sighed slightly, tugging at the ends of her hair. "Al... I'm not going to lie - this reality or the other one, my life is full of privilege. When I was a drug addict, my last name was enough to get the charges dropped against me for possession and use. And in that world, my family was still wealthy enough that even though they were human... they weren't treated horribly." She then sighed a bit. "I'm glad it all happened... I never got to meet my grandparents. They died a long time ago in a car crash. But... now I know more about them beyond what Wikipedia has to say."

"As for Pietro... I don't know if me and him are really okay yet. It's going to take time."

"You still have him, Guin. That's more than a lot of us can say at this moment. That reality hurt me and so many others in ways I don't know if it will be easily recoverable." She didn't want to say her other thought. About how it wasn't worth Guin seeing her grandparents again if it meant others were reminded of their loss and having it taken away so easily. "So how do you handle that privilege going forward, knowing you have it easier than others?"

Guin couldn't help but feel defensive. She had gotten to meet dead family members, yes that had been something wonderful about the twist Wanda had done to reality, but it seemed to her like she was being subconsciously blamed for this. Allison's question of how she was going to operate moving forward even felt like she was being scolded. She frowned slightly. "Are you blaming me being happy that I got to meet my grandparents for your pain?" she asked bluntly. "But if you must know, I know what I'm going to do with my life. I'm not going to just fight for mutants - one day I'm going to fight for the entire world, maybe even the whole galaxy as an Avenger... It's what I was born to do."

"You got to meet people who were dead. If that didn't make you happy I would be worried. But do you feel any remorse? Any sadness that in order for that to happen reality had to be shaped and humans were enslaved or killed or sympathizers were rounded up and publicly executed? I'm not saying don't be happy, I am saying I hope you understand that the happiness you feel came at a cost, to you and to many others. It didn't seem to me like it mattered to you, but this is the first time we are talking since reality was changed back, so I don't know. I can't sit here and be happy, despite evidence that I should be. It's just not in me to see what happened as a positive, even if moments on it brought me happiness I never felt before."

Allison knew Guin would get defensive, it was how she operated. "You called out your own privilege. I never accused you of it. If it gets you to be an Avenger like you want then I'm happy for you."

"Of course I know that people had to suffer for it - but Ally, I can't feel guilty for something I didn't do," Guin pointed out. "I can't have remorse for actions that were not mine. And yeah, not everything in there was a positive.... Huge parts of it were a nightmare... But I'm still grateful that I got to meet my grandparents - and I imagine you had to have enjoyed having at least one more minute of time with Oshea." She paused for a moment, trying not to sound too angry but she was a little bit defensive at the moment. "And all of the suffering in that reality... it was erased. I asked my dad and there were only a handful of people who weren't in that final battle who remembered. None of it technically happened..."

"We reaped the benefits from it Guin. That is what I feel remorse about. It doesn't matter if it all was erased, the scars it left exist on us and others. That is what I regret. My happiness at having another moment to tell Oshea exactly how I felt, something I never got a chance to do, doesn't make up for the psychological, emotional, and physical turmoil I had to endure. As much as I love Oshea, I'd return all of those happy moments to make sure what occurred never happened."

"Then that's your choice and how you feel about it," Guin surmised. She wasn't going to change her mind on this. She was allowed to have enjoyed those moments she had had with her grandparents, no matter how real or false they had been. "I get that it caused you pain and I'm sorry that you had to go through that and I'm glad that we fixed things, that we put things back to how they should be... but if we had a time machine and had the chance to go stop Wanda before she even created the House of M world, I wouldn't mess with that timeline. As much as there were horrible moments there, there were good ones too... It wasn't such a black and white world, which I know is hard for you to see since you had no memories of what life was like there. Not everything was like Magneto's palace. Not everything was cruelty against humanity."

Allison shook her head, though she knew Guin would not have agreed with her points. It still felt good to get it off her chest and now she was certain of Guin's feelings on the matter. "We'll have to agree to disagree it seems. Glad you got to meet your grandparents though." She stood up, straightening out her outfit. "I'm going to go unpack some things. Got to get ready for the holidays. Need anything else?"

She shook her head, still feeling a little bit vexed. "Nah. I'll see you around, then."