Morose

Avengers Academy: Junior Year 💥

Contest of Champions NPCs

The Young Avengers -
to be added

The Uncanny Avengers -

Cavalier

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Cavalier

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Ability Scores

Melee 4	Agility 2	Resilience 3	Vigilance 1	Ego 1	Logic -1

Defense Scores

Melee 14	Agility 12	Resilience 13	Vigilance 11	Ego 11	Logic 9

Damage

Melee d6 x 3 + 4	Agility d6 x 2 + 2	Ego d6 x 2 + 1	Logic d6 x 2 - 1

Extra Info

Rank 2	Health 60	Focus 30	Karma 2	Damage Reduction -1

Biography

Name: Gideon N. Pearlman
Pronouns: She/Her
School and Year: Super Senior, Margaret Carter Institute
Distinguishing Features: Yellow Eyes; Color Changes Upon Possession
Origin: Weird Science
Team: Uncanny Avengers
Base: Avengers Academy

Traits

• Weird - the character has something weird (or even wonderful) about them. This causes people to have strong reactions to them, both good and bad. They have an Edge on all Ego checks to persuade people inclined to like them and trouble on all Ego checks against people inclined to dislike them.
• Clueless (replacing Quick Learner) - The character tends to shut out things they aren't entirely focused on. They have trouble on any Vigilance checks to spot hidden or invisible things. Enemies have an edge on Agility check to sneak near or past them.
• Combat Reflexes - The character can react quickly in combat. This grants them one additional reaction per turn.

Tags

• Signature Weapon: Double Handed Broadsword
• Heroic
• Immunity (physical death)
• Mentor (Nimue)
• Mysterious
• Obligation (School)
• Poor

Powers

Melee Weapons

• Gideon's weapon is a double handed broadsword, and has the Sharp special effect, meaning a target is bleeding on a Fantastic Success.
• Vicious Attack -
  • Prerequisites: None
  • Action: Standard
  • Duration: Instant
  • Effect: The character makes a close attack. If the attack is a success, the enemy takes regular damage. On a Fantastic succes, the enemy takes double damage and suffers the weapon's special effect.
• Exploit
  • Prerequisites: Vicious Attack, Rank 2
  • Action: Reaction
  • Trigger: A Fantastic success on an attack using the character's weapon that deals at least 1 point of damage.
  • Duration: Instant
  • Cost: 5 Focus
  • Effect: The character makes a Melee attack against the target's Resilience defense score. If the attack is a success, the damage it does ignores Health Damage Reduction. On a Fantastic Success, the target suffers double damage and the weapon's special effect.
• Riposte
  • Prerequisites: None
  • Action: Reaction
  • Trigger: An enemy makes a close attack against the character that fails
  • Duration: Instant
  • Effect: The character makes a close attack on the enemy who just missed them. If the attack is a success, the enemy takes regular damage. On a Fantastic success, the enemy takes double damage and suffers the weapon's special effect.

Martial Arts

• Attack Stance
  • Prerequisites: None
  • Action: Standard
  • Duration: Concentration
  • Effect: The character doubles their Melee ability bonus to damage.

Basic

• Mighty 1
  • Prerequisites: None
  • Duration: Permanent
  • Effect: Treat the character as one size bigger for lifting, carrying, swinging and throwing things. They also add +1 to their Melee damage multiplier, and they gain a +1 bonus to Melee checks other than attacks.
• Sturdy 1
  • Prerequisites: None
  • Duration: Permanent
  • Effect: The character's body is so sturdy that they have Health Damage Reduction 1.
• Brawling
  • Prerequisites: None
  • Duration: Permanent
  • Effect: The character can use their Melee defense score against Agility attacks too.

Narrative Power

• Unkillable - Gideon's body cannot be destroyed. Her soul, however, is not similarly invulnerable. Taking damage equal to twice her max health will destroy her soul as well, and prevent her self-resurrection. Her body, however, will remain alive, just a shell. Any fatal wounds obtained will heal upon return of her soul to her body (1 round for every 5 points of damage above her max), and she gains back half her maximum health. If she is killed a second time in combat, the resurrection time will double (2 rounds for every 5 point of damage above max), and the regained health halved once more (one quarter of her max).

The Sorcerers Supreme -
to be added

Parents, Family, and Friends -

Ben Gray

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Ben Gray

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Character Overview

Name: Benjamin Gray
Alias: Revenant, previous names: Benjamin Hargreeves, Lovecraft, Ryu Ji-Ho
Age: 37 (physically)
Gender: Male
Powers: Ben is a mutant, his X-gene having activated at the age of three.

• Eldritch Tentacles - Ben has four tentacles that burst out of a pocket dimension roughly centered on his stomach. He can control these tentacles as an extension of his own body. These tentacles have no regenerative capabilities - if one of them is cut off, it's gone forever.

Personality Traits:
Thoughtful ~ Snarky ~ Brave ~ Judgmental ~ Loyal ~ (Passive) Aggressive

Summary:
Ben was adopted at a young age by an eccentric billionaire, set out on creating his own team of super powered children. Rather than treating them as children, he raised them as shoulders, drilling them day and night, with severe consequences for any behavior that he deemed unacceptable, or skills that were lacking. Shockingly, this resulted in an environment ripe with abuse, the psychological consequences of which Ben continues to unpack well into his adulthood. His trauma continued from there, when at the age of seventeen, he was murdered in an alley by Purifiers in New Orleans. He spent the next two decades or so as a ghost, only able to be perceived by his junkie friend, Casper - watching as his friend wasted his life, throwing away every moment that had been stolen from Ben. It was only when members of the Mutant Underground and heroes of the mutant nation of Genosha, James Kingston and Maximilian Gray, teamed up with Casper to form a mutant resurrection circuit that Ben was reborn. He only briefly got to experience the island before it's destruction, but it was his home, his nation more than the US had ever been. The queer platonic polycule of James, Casper, Ben, and Max ended up relocating to New Orleans, raising two kids together - Danni and Dorian. For the most part, things have been smooth sailing, with only a few bumps in the road. Ben ended up going into therapy to attempt to process his trauma better, and came out of it deciding to lay his career as a superhero behind him, and instead go into helping others as a social worker.

Extras:

• Link to Ben's Gifted NPC Sheet
• Ben is red-green color blind

Casper Kingston

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Casper Kingston

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Character Overview

Name: Casper Kingston
Alias: Cassie Caskets (drag persona - previously Robyn Caskets), previous names: Spirit Box, Casper Xavier Theriot
Age: 49, physically 31
Gender: Male (if he had to pick one)
Powers: Casper is an omega level mutant. His abilities manifested at age 7.

• Mediumship - Casper can summon, control, manipulate, and dismiss spirits. He can manifest them in a way that allows for them to interact with the physical world, even allowing the usage of mutant powers beyond the grave.
• Self resurrection - Casper can return from the dead, as long as he is willing to do so. His body's wounds heal themselves upon resurrection.
• The Void - a liminal space in the afterlife, where Casper is able to manipulate its fabric and makeup, in a way that seems akin to reality warping. This space exists closer to life than other afterlives, and allows for the living to be seen by the dead. He can bring other spirits to inhabit this space with him.

Personality Traits:
Extroverted ~ Dramatic ~ Cheerful ~ Prone to Addiction ~ Loving ~ Spacey

Summary:
The son of a world-class telepath, Casper spent his early life in a haze of sex and drugs to avoid the trauma of years of abuse. With the ghost of his best friend there to watch over him, he recklessly ran from one fix to the next, not caring what he had to do to get there - or who he hurt in the process. He never made proper attempts to get clean, bouncing in and out of rebound as quickly as he moved from one partner to the next, just using them for a clean place to sleep, and an apartment to quickly swipe some valuables from in order to get his next hit. By some miracle, he managed to make it into his thirties, where this pattern of behavior only really stopped once he fell in with the Mutant Underground and met someone worth going sober for - the love of his life, James.

It was also where he met Max, and together with James, they managed to resurrect Ben on the mutant nation of Genosha, shortly after Casper and James had adopted a bouncing baby boy. In the aftermath of the island's destruction, he relocated with James, Max, and Ben back to New Orleans, the city he had spent most of his teenage years in, and they put down roots as members of the Genoshan diaspora. The family unit has stuck together ever since, with Casper finding his calling as a drag queen - nowhere near as huge as big names like Sasha Colby and Bob the Drag Queen, but enough to be able to perform gigs in his home town of New Orleans. He adores the little home his family has created, and loves the hell out of their sons - and even though there are still hard days, he's managed to stay on the wagon for the most part.

Extras:

• Link to Gifted CS
• His blood type is O-.
• He's ~16 years sober!

Dominika Novikova

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Dominika Novikova

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Character Overview

Name: Dominika Feliksovna Novikova
Alias: Dom, Quartz, Novi, Dominika Bernard
Age: 39
Gender: Female
Powers: Dominika is a (latent) mutant. Her powers activated later in life, in her early 20s, as a result of experimental testing done by S.H.I.E.L.D.

• Dimensional Energy Perception - the power to perceive alternate lives and realities just by looking at a person. The ability cannot be controlled by the user.
• Earth Manipulation - the power to manipulate elements derived from earth.
  • Metal Bending - the ability to manipulate metal. It's an extension of her Earth Manipulation ability.

Personality Traits:
Resourceful ~ Stubborn ~ Clever ~ Spiteful ~ Caring ~ Introverted

Summary:
Dominika was recruited by SHIELD as a young age to be a scientist, having received her PhD in Nuclear Physics by the age of 18. A prodigy, she excelled in her courses at SHIELD's Sci-Tech Academy, eventually being asked to participate in an experimental study to produce more agents with superhuman abilities. This activated her latent mutant powers, allowing her to see multiversal versions of people she looked at, as well as bend earth. She went on several missions with others who had received powers in this program, with their official designation dubbed the Secret Warriors. However, after her best friend was lost in the quantum realm, Dominika went rogue, and began working with Hank Pym to construct an AI capable of entering and retrieving those lost in the realm, such as Janet van Dyne. This AI would go on to become Ultron, and after its defeat via time travel, Dominika was fired from SHIELD for her actions. She ended up getting a position with Pym, working on quantum technology, and later on was asked to become an official member of the Avengers due to that connection, based out of the West Coast. Throughout all of this, she maintained a relationship with her friends-with-benefits turned girlfriend turned wife Maria, who she has had two children with - Diana and Percy. She splits her time between the lab and the field these days, doing her best to help others... and is still ready to burn the world for those she loves.

Extras:

• Agents of SHIELD CS
• She dyes her naturally-silver hair brown :)

Sunshine

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Sunshine

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Character Overview

Name: Electra James
Alias: Sunshine, Electra Gray
Age: 36
Gender: Female
Powers: Sunshine is a mutant whose X-gene manifested at the age of six.

• Disease Manipulation - Sunshine can create, remove, and manipulate diseases.
• Enhanced Accuracy - Sunshine is incredibly accurate. She almost never misses, provided her projectile has sufficient momentum and energy to hit its target.

Personality Traits:
Mischievous ~ Loyal ~ Chaotic ~ Raccoon Energy ~ Stubborn ~ Vengeful ~ Clingy ~ Guarded

Summary:
Sunshine was a street rat, having been kicked out of the house by her mother at the age of six when her mutant powers manifested. She survived by scavenging and stealing with a group of other homeless mutant kids, only to have this taken from her too when their home was burned down by Purifiers and the cops arrested them instead. After a brief stint in juvenile detention, however, she was released and put into foster care, a situation that she quickly ran away from. The universe must have been looking out for her, however, as she found James and Max by random chance at a strip mall, with her own actions (he will never admit it) resulting in them having to flee into the Morlock tunnels to avoid the police. A brief stint with the Morlocks led to them then joining up with the Mutant Underground, and later on relocating to the mutant homeland of Genosha. It was there that Sunshine met her wife, Marrow, and finally found a place where she could feel safe, surrounded by her chosen family.

In the wake of Genosha's destruction, Sunshine and Marrow decided to work as members of X-Force, under the direction of the Red Queen of the Hellfire Club. They ran missions targeting key flatscans with anti-mutant agendas for a little over a year, before ideological differences caused them to part ways. Ever since, they've been traveling the world, finding mutants in need and doing whatever they can to help them. And should any of their friends or family need them, the Raccoon4Raccoon wives are there in a heartbeat - even if they protest that they don't actually like their friends or family very much.

Extras:

• Link to Sunshine's Gifted CS
• Sunshine lives at the Kingston-Gray house, when she and Marrow aren't traveling. She refuses to enter through the front door, or to use a key.
• She taught Dorian to call humans flatscans.
• She's dyslexic and has a history of eating disorders.
• Sunshine is wearing nice clothes in this arc against her will.

Valerie Simmons

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Valerie Simmons

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Character Overview

Name: Valerie Hope Simmons
Alias: Val, previously Veil
Age: 45
Gender: Female
Powers: Valerie is a mutant.

• Invisibility - Valerie can turn herself, others, and objects invisible.
• Shields - Valerie can create energy shields to protect herself and others from attacks.

Personality Traits:
Compassionate ~ Workaholic ~ Brave ~ Reserved ~ Honest ~ Self-Sacrificing

Summary:
Valerie often faded into the background as a child - not only did she have a loud and vibrant twin brother(s), her younger brother was a prodigy with a passion for archaeology, and her older brother was a star hockey player, the apple of their parents' eyes. This tendency to go unnoticed ended up mirroring her mutant powers, as she was able to turn herself invisible, and block anyone out with a well placed shield. Her twin brother(s) was a mutant as well, with a complementary ability to manipulate sound. Their parents sent the twins to America, specifically to Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, where they trained in the use of their powers. After graduation, Valerie had been working as a bartender and traveling the world when Professor X contacted her, asking her to run a cell of the Mutant Underground - a network designed to get mutants in need to safety. She worked as a member of the Underground for several years using the codename Veil, until the rise of the mutant nation of Genosha, where she served on the Quiet Council, alongside her friends James Kingston and Callie Johnson.

In the wake of Genosha's destruction, Emma Frost and Reeva Payge asked her to become the Red Queen of a new Hellfire Circle, and oversee the newly formed black ops squad, X-Force. Veil served in this role for over a year, until a ghost from her past came back to haunt her, and rocked her confidence in her own judgment. She spiraled from there, quitting her job and struggling with alcoholism, until she managed to work up the nerve to go to her twin brother, Harry, for help. He'd struggled with addiction himself before, and helped her on the path to sobriety, encouraging her to explore music therapy. More importantly though, she finally started to explore who Valerie was and what she wanted, beyond being Veil. Since then, she's worked with her brother's foundation, has recorded some music with him (her identity being kept anonymous, however, due to her past), and shows up to most of his concerts. It was at VEIL that she met her wife, Eva.

Extras:

• Link to Valerie's Gifted CS
• She always knows which clone is which for her brother. They may not have twin telepathy, but she just has a sense for it.

Ω Heroes of Olympus: The Next Age of Heroes Ω

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🌈👻 Leda Storm 👻🌈

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Location: Tartarus
Skills: N/A

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Leda had gotten herself prepared to go as well, still keeping a hold on the bone sword. It wasn't Ultraviolet, but it was better than nothing. Her heart panged a bit with longing for her blade - she hoped that Kiera had it, that it wasn't trapped underneath the rubble... where her body most likely was. She grimaced slightly at the thought. Maybe that was why she had ended up in Tartarus - no one had been able to put a coin on her to give her passage to the Underworld. Kiera wouldn't have even known to do that, would she have? This was all so new to her - it wasn't her life, not like it was for Leda.

She left the small hut with Mads and the giant, a bit frustrated with the slowness of the pace, but glad that they were making real progress - that for better or worse, this part of the journey would be coming to a close.

Morose's Character Mind Palace

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_{Saorsa Macleod
Saorsa Macleod}

^{"Bidh an Rathad gad ithe cuideachd."}

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 _________________________________________________________ | Paranoid | Eccentric | _________________________________________________________ | Cruel | Stubborn | _________________________________________________________ | Playful | Secretive | 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 Age: 609 Birthday: October 13, 1461 Gender: Female Pronouns: She/Her Sexuality: The living and the dead Habits: Hobbies: ► Fears Fire Leaving the Road Witch Hunters ► Toxic Traits Necrophiliac Sadism ► Likes Insects Snakes Dirt Running Barefoot Dancing Mischief ► Dislikes Books without pictures Strangers Electricity Religion Crowds Heights - 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 ► Skills Fireball Fireball Fireball Fireball Fireball Fireball Fireball -

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 ________________________________________________________________________________________ -- P L O T ( S ) & G O A L ( S ) P L O T ( S ) & G O A L ( S ) ________________________________________________________________________________________ --

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Morose's Character Mind Palace

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_Jake
Jake

^{"Hi, I'm Jake!"}

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 _________________________________________________________ | Loyal | Protective | _________________________________________________________ | Carefree | Friendly | _________________________________________________________ | Dumb | Gullible | 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 Age: 0 Birthday: Today Gender: Male Pronouns: He/Him Sexuality: Highly Specified Habits: Stretching, flexing his muscles Hobbies: He's excited to find some! ► Fears Maximilian Gray The destruction of Strange Academy Losing the people he loves ► Toxic Traits Impulsive, reckless Enabler ► Likes Physical Touch Long Walks Chasing Butterflies Magic Having all of his friends together in one place <3 Making new friends! ► Dislikes Books (he can't read!) Staying still Loud, sudden noises When his friends fight :( Wearing a shirt (he gets hot!) Being alone - 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 ► Skills Fireball Fireball Fireball Fireball Fireball Fireball Fireball -

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 ________________________________________________________________________________________ He has none! P L O T ( S ) & G O A L ( S ) P L O T ( S ) & G O A L ( S ) ________________________________________________________________________________________ --

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Avengers Academy: Junior Year 💥

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@BlueSky44@Nallore@Trainerblue192@Achronum@PatientBean@Forsythe@Blizz@Kirah@Natsu

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3:00 PM - Sun. December 12th, 2038 - New Orleans, Louisiana

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The event everyone has been waiting for is finally here - the Contest of Champions. Of the students who qualified for the event from the Margaret Carter Institute, only one decided to sit out - Vicky van Dyne, recently liberated from C.A.G.E. At four o'clock, all competitors would be required to undergo a brief medical examination, to ensure that there were no attempts at cheating, and to ensure that there were no irregularities with the team rosters.

The next day - Monday, December 13th, the contest itself would begin. Sixteen teams from around the world were competing, and only eight of them would move onto the next round, on Tuesday, December 14th. Another round of eliminations would reduce the number down to four teams competing in the semi-finals on Wednesday, December 15th. And finally, the championship match would be held during the day on Thursday, December 16th.

And that evening, after the dust had settled and the contest victors were determined, the students of Strange Academy would be hosting a party, with invites magically sent out to all the competitors in the contest. The theme of the party? Midnight Masquerade.

Team Assignments

Excelsior, with coach Ser Nemo

• April
• Danni
• Dorian
• Zelda
• Sabine
• Mads

Uncanny Avengers, with coach Lady Nimue

• Percy
• Zari
• Andy
• Diana
• Leah
• Mary Sue
• Gideon

The Young Avengers, with coach Vision

• Billy
• Tommy
• Teddy
• Eli
• America
• Cassie
• Kate

Housing Arrangements

Sorcerer's Inn:

• Room 1 - Billy, Tommy, Teddy, and Eli
• Room 2 - Cassie, Kate, and America
• Room 3 - Sabine, Leah, and April
• Room 4 - Diana, Zelda, Mary Sue, and Gideon

Kingston-Gray Residence: room assignments will be given out by the NPCs

• Andy
• Danni
• Dorian
• Percy
• Zari
• Mads
• Vicky

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April Flynn

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Location: Bourbon Street, New Orleans - the Sorcerer's Inn
Skills: N/A
Outfit: Khaki-Colored Work Jacket + Grey Tank + Light Wash Jeans + Combat Boots

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April's mood had been a mixture of extremes that day.

Excitement. She was traveling to New Orleans today, traveling to go compete in the Contest of Champions. She was one step closer to achieving one of her dreams, one step closer to putting her skills to the test. It didn't matter what others thought, that some said the contest was vapid and silly, a waste of time. It mattered to her. She'd been training for it ever since she started at the Margaret Carter Institute - training for a chance to take home the crown, with her best friends by her side.

Anger. She had asked her parents if she could stay with Danni and Dorian's family - they lived so close to Strange Academy, where the contest was being held - and they had said no. Her father had refused to budge on the decision, going off about how weird and dangerous Max Gray was. Nothing April said mattered. They didn't care that those were her best friends - they didn't care that she felt safer around Danni and Dorian than anywhere else - they didn't care about anything that didn't match their view of how the world was. She hadn't realized why she had told Dr. Whitehall she didn't want to see her parents when she was at C.A.G.E., but she was beginning to see now. It wasn't the house that was suffocating. It was her family. She hated them.

Fear. What if she couldn't do it? What if she was the reason that her team failed? What if they would have been better off without her - that she should have still been in C.A.G.E., her presence just a hindrance to everyone around her? What if they all hated her and were just too polite to say anything? What if she hated herself? What if the medication wasn't enough - what if she had another episode? What if she lost control of her emotions on the flight - what if her powers went out of control?

Sorrow. All her friends were elsewhere. She was alone. Leah and Sabine - she'd broken up with them. Zelda - Zelda hadn't even tried to visit her when she was in the hospital, and April hadn't spoken to her sister since. Diana - she hardly knew her, she was a familiar face, but not a good friend. And the same was true of Mary Sue. The Young Avengers were here too, laughing and smiling and generally enjoying each other's company. But all April wanted was to disappear. She wished she could have been with her friends. She wished she didn't have to be so alone.

The plane flight had been the longest three and a half hours of her life.

Lady Nimue hadn't been there that morning when they'd left for the airport - Vision, the coach for the Young Avengers, hadn't explained much as to why beyond the fact that there had been an emergency Nimue had needed to attend to. She would be joining them in New Orleans the next day, or as soon as she could. So it was the Vision who escorted them all from the New Orleans airport to the hotel, an unremarkable building on Bourbon Street called the Sorcerer's Inn. Their rooms had been assigned per the requests they had submitted last month - meaning that to April's despair, she was placed in a room with Sabine and Leah.

It was better than a room with Zelda - but not by much.

"Remember, children, you are representing the Margaret Carter Institute," Vision stressed, once everyone's things had been collected and placed in their hotel rooms. "Be on your best behavior. You will follow all of the school's rules, and respect your curfew of nine o'clock at night. If you wish to explore, you must have one other student with you, and you need to inform me as to where you are going."

"In one hour, you must be at Strange Academy for the pre-contest examination. This is when they will confirm that you are the individual you claim to be, and that you are not taking any performance enhancing drugs, such as Mutant Growth Hormone. This is also when the team compositions will be finalized. Tomorrow, the sixteen teams competing will face off in a series of eight matches, determining which eight teams will move on to the next round."

The synthezoid then paused, a grim expression settling on his face. "I... must also be the bearer of bad news," he continued, his tone gentler. "I received word from Lady Nimue a few moments ago. Ser Nemo has passed away from a heart attack."

April froze.

"... What?" she whispered.

She hadn't really known Ser Nemo - he had been new to the school, and it was only after she returned back from C.A.G.E. that she had been switched to his team from Nimue's. But he was still her teacher - he was still an adult in her life. Hearing that he was dead... Her chest felt tight, her hands clammy, and she could feel the pinpricks of tears forming in the corners of her eyes. She could hear the water rushing in the pipes that went throughout the hotel, could feel the vibrations from the fountain display nearby in the lobby.

Nemo was... dead?

April looked around frantically, before her eyes settled on the women's restroom - "I-I-I need to use th-the bathroom," she excused herself frantically - before she practically ran into the bathroom, locked herself in the nearest toilet, and tried to remember any of the breathing exercises that Maeve had taught her, as the water around her began to slosh violently.

Nemo was dead.

He'd died.

April didn't know how to handle death.

Ardere had died that night with Arcade. April hadn't thought about it - hadn't dwelled on it. Ardere had been a student, yes, but she had been trying to kill them. Nemo.... Nemo had been the one to look out for April, to keep her from making a huge mistake - to get her the help she hadn't been ready to accept at the time. She still didn't know how he'd known, but... He'd known. He'd saved her.

And he was dead.

With trembling hands, April pulled her phone out of her pocket, and stared at her speed dial for a moment. Danni. Dorian. Leah and Sabine were still saved there. Mads was too. Things felt weird with Mads lately - talking about her emotions... It was hard. Too hard. Sabine and Leah, they were out in the lobby, probably happy that they'd dodged a bullet with the crazy ex-girlfriend.

She navigated to her group chat with Danni and Dorian, and she pressed call.

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Percy Novikov

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Location: Avengers' Academy - Outside Stark Hall
Skills: N/A
Outfit:

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Most of the students participating in the Contest of Champions were already in New Orleans, their plane having touched down a little under an hour ago. Percy's hands were clammy, his heart pounding with anxiety - not from still being in California, but rather from the fact that any moment now, his boyfriend's family was about to open up a portal and step on through. He'd caught a glimpse of them the night that Arcade had attempted to murder them all, but no formal introductions had been made. This was going to be different. Rather than staying at a hotel, he was going to be staying at the Kingston-Gray residence during the Contest of Champions - at Dorian's house. With his fathers. And a random assortment of Percy's peers.

He'd never cared so much before about making a good impression.

He hadn't been able to sleep much the night before. He had contemplated going to Dorian's room to join him there, but it was pretty crowded since April had moved in after returning from the asylum. Pacing back and forth had been no use, and neither had his stash of bourbon been. Instead, he had conducted an extensive Internet search on an incredibly important and complex topic:

what to do when you meet your boyfriend's family for the first time.

The results of his investigation had been distressing. He was meeting Dorian's family far too soon. All sources indicated that he should only meet them once they had been dating for six months, and Percy hadn't even known Dorian six months ago. Secondly, he was supposed to bring them a small and thoughtful gift - and Percy had nothing prepared. He had gone through every item in his room and could not find a single thing that seemed appropriate to give - one of Dorian's fathers was a sorcerer to rival Doctor Strange, what could Percy possibly have to offer? And lastly, the recommendations were to be well-mannered, respectful, and polite... and given Percy's recent revelations about his own behavior, he didn't know if he would even know if he was being rude.

So in short, the scenario was a nightmare - a catastrophe waiting to happen.

Around four o'clock in the morning, he had switched from bourbon to coffee. It hadn't been working to calm his nerves.

So at one o'clock in the afternoon (three o'clock New Orleans time), his eyes bloodshot and his head pounding from the hangover, Percy stood outside of Stark Hall at the designated meet-up spot, his suitcase by his side, as he ran through a thousand different scenarios in his head - a thousand different ways that things were about to go horribly wrong. He'd even contemplated lying that he was ill, just to delay this a little longer. He checked his watch, the inscription from Agatha completely unreadable. Dorian's family would be here any minute with a portal.

Ser Nemo wasn't there. That was odd. Firestar had shown up instead, the designated chaperone to see them safely into the care of the Kingston-Grays. She wouldn't be coming with them to New Orleans. "Hm, they're running a bit late," Firestar mused, looking at her phone to check the time. Her face fell.

Avengers Academy: Junior Year 💥

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Princess & Hotshot

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April was pacing back and forth in the training room she and Danni had reserved, her stomach feeling like it was bubbling up with anxiety. She hadn’t been able to train while she was at C.A.G.E., and as much as it had been the right call for her to go there, she was all too aware of how close they were to the Contest of Champions - and how far behind she felt in terms of being prepared. It wasn’t just that she was a bit out of practice now, either - the medication she was on had an unfortunate side effect of causing tremors in her hands. It was supposed to go away soon - hopefully before the contest - but the doctors had informed her that everyone reacted to lithium a little differently. She couldn’t even manage to apply mascara without smudging it everywhere, nearly getting some in her eye.

But she wasn’t about to let her team down. Danni had volunteered to practice with her - they’d been sparring ever since they were freshman, their powers complementary. Hopefully the fine motor control wasn’t going to be as much of an issue as she feared - hopefully, she wasn’t going to be the reason that her team failed to take home the crown.

”Don’t go easy on me, okay?” April asked, biting her lip slightly when she saw Danni enter the room. ”If - if I’m not able to do this, then maybe - then maybe we can see if someone else can step in for me? Or you can do a smaller team, force one of the Young Avengers to have to sit out.”

Round 0 Stats

April:

• Health: 60
• Focus: 30
• Karma: 2
• Notes - Trouble on actions requiring fine motor control of hands

Danni:

• Health: 60
• Focus: 60
• Karma: 2
• Notes - Danni has Edge when attacking with his Elemental Burst.

Danni followed close on her heels, bouncing his toes. It felt like ages since they’d sparred. He was itching to get back into it, even with the little voice in the back of his head warning him. But when Princess dared to suggest dropping her, he gasped out loud. It took him a second to recover but he was on her in a second, clamping his hands on her shoulders.

“Princess, lemme tell ya. I would rat'er lose the CoC wit’ you t'an win wit'out you. You've ‘ad a tough time, but t'at doesn't me we give up on ya and we don't give up on our dream, got it?” Danni said seriously. “You're back, you're in t'e game, and now we gotta a lotta ass ta kick. So stop avoiding your stretchs so I can kick your butt all over t'is gym.” Danni laughed pulling his arm up behind his head.

”Thanks, Danni,” April gave him a quick hug, and a kiss on the cheek. She’d needed to hear that. The anxiety levels faded down - not completely gone, but a little easier to manage, at least for the moment. This was a spar with Danni - she’d done this a million times before, and no matter what happened in New Orleans, she’d get to spar with him a million times again. She tried to tell herself that she had nothing to be worried about - and that even if she did badly today, he wasn’t going to judge her for it. He wasn’t going to get mad. The only person judging her was herself - something she was coming more and more to terms with.

She went through her stretches somewhat quickly, working her arms first - the wrist stretches were more challenging than normal - and then switching to her legs. Once April finished, she bounced lightly up and down, shaking her body out. ”Okay, I think… I think I’m ready,” she affirmed. There was a small barrel of water off to the side - she couldn’t generate it, and pulling the ambient moisture in the air was beyond her skill level.

Danni felt the rush of exhilaration as he finished his stretches, shook himself out, and kicked it into high gear. Fire ignited beneath him and he put a soke distance between them, and headed up out of melee range. “T'ere's my Princess! I ain't goin’ easy on ya!” Danni laughed, spinning as he fired a HotShot and traced the flame in an arc at her side.

Round 1 Stats

Danni:

• Health: 60
• Focus: 60
• Karma: 2
• Notes -
  
  • Danni has Edge when attacking with his Elemental Burst (Fire).
  • Danni used his fly speed and used Elemental Burst (Fire).
  • Danni rolled a 3d6, getting 6 5 2 = 13 then adds his Agility, 13 + 3 = 16.
  • April's Agility defense is 13 so the attack hits and he decides not to use his Edge to reroll a die.
  • Danni's agility damage is the middle value x 4+ 4, or 5 × 4 + 4 = 24.

Reflexively, April threw her hands up towards her side, water jumping out of the nearby barrel and rushing up to her, flattening out to create a shield of sorts - his flames crashed into the liquid, vaporizing it immediately, as her heart pounded from the spike in adrenaline. She then snatched up a sphere of water, the edges of it shaking in a way that matched the tremors in her hands, and she lobbed it across the room at Danni, narrowly missing him. The anxiety and shame pooling in her stomach only increased - sure, she’d managed to block his flames, but if she couldn’t even hit him…

Round 1 Stats

April:

• Health: 60
• Focus: 25
• Karma: 2
• Notes - Trouble on actions requiring fine motor control of hands
  
  
  • As a reaction, April uses Elemental Protection 1 (Water).
    
    
    • This costs 5 focus, bringing her focus from 30 to 25.
    • As Danni’s attack did more than 10 damage, the water protection is destroyed, but April takes no damage
  • As an action, April then uses Elemental Burst (Water).
    • April rolls 3d6, but has Trouble, so her highest die will be re-rolled and the lower number taken. She rolled 5 2 6, so the 6 is re-rolled, and became a 1. 5 2 1 = 8. She adds her Agility to this, 8 + 3 = 11.
    • Danni’s Agility Defense is 14, so the attack is a miss.

“Damn, I t’ought I was gonna getcha wit’ t’at one!” Danni cheered as he twisted away from April’s shot. “Let’s try t’at again! Round two, coming up! Which way am I gunna blast it? Who knows, not even me!” Danni cackled, firing off a barrage of shots and only letting one curve back down towards April, marked to strike directly on her shoulder!

Round 2 Stats

Danni:

• Health: 60
• Focus: 60
• Karma: 2
• Notes -
  
  • Danni has Edge when attacking with his Elemental Burst (Fire).
  • Danni used his fly speed and used his Elemental Burst (Fire).
  • Danni rolled a 3d6, getting 4 5 6 = 15 then added his Agility, 15 + 3 = 18.
  • April's Agility defense is 13 so the attack hits and he decides to use his Edge to reroll the Marvel die for a fantastic Success. The 5 becomes a 6, which he keeps.
  • Danni's agility damage is the middle value x 4 + 4, or 6 × 4 + 4 = 30.

She couldn’t help but giggle a bit at Danni’s energy - it was infectious. That was one of the fun things about sparring with him - the way he really got into it, just letting loose. And while he was throwing fire at her, she was never afraid that he was actually trying to burn her - and if he did, it wasn’t anything that a quick trip to see Nurse Annie wouldn’t fix. ”No way!” April called out, throwing up a water barrier again, the molecules quickly converted into steam that floated up harmlessly towards the ceiling. ”You’re gonna have to try harder, HotShot!” she teased.

But she couldn’t just taunt him, without trying her hardest in return. A little burst of water wasn’t going to be enough - so she switched tactics ever so slightly, reaching for a little more power. This time, her hands were a little steadier, as she grabbed as much water as she could, throwing it straight at Danni in an onslaught.

Round 2 Stats

April:

• Health: 60
• Focus: 15
• Karma: 2
• Notes - Trouble on actions requiring fine motor control of hands
  
  
  • As a reaction, April uses Elemental Protection 1 (Water).
    
    
    • This costs 5 focus, bringing her focus from 30 to 20.
    • As Danni’s attack did more than 10 damage, the water protection is destroyed, but April takes no damage
  • As an action, April then uses Elemental Blast (Water).
    • This costs 5 focus, bringing her focus down from 20 to 15.
    • Elemental blast comes with an Edge on the attack.
    • April rolls 3d6, but has Trouble and an Edge, so no dies are re-rolled.She rolled 3 4 5 and 3 4 5 = 12. She then adds her Agility, so 12 + 3 = 15.
    • Danni’s Agility defense is 14, so the attack is a hit.
    • For this power, the damage is that number, so she deals 14 points of damage. She then deals an additional 2 points of damage, as she used 5 Focus points, so 14 + 2 = 16 points of damage.

Danni beamed at the little giggle she let out. She’d been pouty about her lack of training and he knew once he got her back out here, she’d loosen up and enjoy again. She was a little rusty but… “Princess, what t’e ‘ell!” Danni yelped as she hurled what looked like a whole swimming pool at him! He dug in deep and exploded, boiling away the water that was the immediate problem, momentarily falling as his concentration waivered. ‘Damn, girl. Where you ‘idin’ all t’at muscle? You been tryin’ ta get me ta lower my guard? Betcha can’t do it again!” Danni taunted, giving himself a little more room to maneuver.

Round 3 Stats

Danni:

• Health: 60
• Focus: 55
• Karma: 2
• Notes -
  
  • Danni has Edge when attacking with his Elemental Burst (Fire).
  • As a reaction, Danni used Elemental Protection 1 (Fire) .
  • This cost 5 Focus, bringing his focus down from 60 to 55.
  • As April’s attack did more than 10 damage, the fire protection is destroyed, but Danni takes no damage.
  • As an action, Danni uses Dodge so that all attacks against him have trouble until his next turn.

”Oh really?” April laughed. She was already feeling her focus begin to slip, the mental muscle not as exercised as it could have been… But she couldn’t just back off from a challenge like that! She had to respond to it - otherwise Danni would tell her that she was fighting like a straight person - a fate worse than death! But instead of just hitting him with a blast of water, April shot out water at him like a tendril, attempting to grab him. He was too fast though, dodging out of the way before she could ensnare him.

Round 3 Stats

April:

• Health: 60
• Focus: 10
• Karma: 2
• Notes - Trouble on actions requiring fine motor control of hands
  
  
  • No reactions used.
  • As an action, April uses Elemental Grab (Water)
    • This requires 5 focus, bringing her focus down from 15 to 10.
    • Danni is dodging, so she has Trouble from that. April also has Trouble from the tremors in her hands. Trouble stacks.
    • She rolls 3d6 and rolled 1 2 2. For the first trouble, she rerolls the right-most 2, and gets a 1. For the second trouble, it technically doesn’t matter, as lowering the middle die from a 2 to a 1 would actually be a Fantastic result. And a 1 on the left-most and right-most dies are already the lowest she can go. This is then 1 2 1 = 4. She adds her Ego modifier, which is a 3, bringing her number to 7.
    • Danni’s Melee defense is a 10, meaning this attack is a miss.

Danni wolf whistled at the cool way she worked the water, shouting in excitement as she danced around it. “Damn, gurl! I t’ought you said you ‘adnt been practcin’! That’s a new move and you waited ‘til you t’ough I was distracted! Sneak, sneaky.” Danni tsk, tsk’d. “I love you even more for it!” Danni laughed, firing another Hotshot that fell just left of her as he spun just a little too far.

Round 4 Stats

Danni:

• Health: 60
• Focus: 55
• Karma: 2
• Notes -
  
  • Danni has Edge when attacking with his Elemental Burst (Fire).
  • Danni used his fly speed and used Elemental Burst (Fire).
  • Danni rolled a 3d6, getting 1 3 1 = 5 and used his Edge to reroll a one.
  • Danni rolls a 3, changing his rolls to 3 3 1 = 7 then added his Agility 7 + 3 = 10.
  • April's Agility defense is 13 so the attack missed

”I haven’t been!” she affirmed. ”All there was to do in C.A.G.E. was, like, read books, talk to people if they came to see me, and try to explain to August the rules of Monopoly.” And therapy. A lot of therapy. And crying. But she didn’t want to talk about that stuff right now - it was still weird to know where the line was, what things were okay to talk about, and what ones would make her friends look at her like she was moments away from breaking. She was trying, though - trying to be more honest, with herself and with her brothers.

There was a slight pause in the flow of the fight, and April decided to try to take that moment to recollect herself - to try to keep her thoughts from wandering back to everything that had happened, and refocus more on the task at hand, on the spar. And once she had found her center, she got ready for Danni’s next attack.

Round 4 Stats

April:

• Health: 60
• Focus: 30
• Karma: 1
• Notes - Trouble on actions requiring fine motor control of hands
  
  
  • April is going to spend 1 point of Karma to attempt to regain some Focus as an action.
    • She rolls 3d6, with a TN of 10. She rolls 4 1 2. This is a Fantastic result, meaning the actual value is 4 6 2 = 12. She adds her vigilance modifier as well, which is a 1, bringing the total up to 13. This is then a Fantastic success.
    • She gains then her rank times the total number times two back in Focus points, or 2 x 13 x 2 = 52. Her max, however, is 30, so she only gains up to her max.
    • No reactions used.]

Danni paused as the water stilled and he watched April gather herself. Shit, he’d been having so much fun, he’d given her a moment to relax! “Whoa, whoa, whoa! T’en all t’is is natural talent? Daaaaaaamn, Princess. I always told you you were special. But let’s see what ‘appens when we crank up t’e ‘eat!” Danni hit the ground, a small flame in his palm flickering and growing. As it did, he took a few steps forward and pitched a screaming fireball at April.

Round 5 Stats

Danni:

• Health: 60
• Focus: 50
• Karma: 2
• Notes -
  
  • Danni has Edge when attacking with his Elemental Burst (Fire).
  • Danni used his fly speed and used Elemental Blast (Fire) with an edge on the attack.
  • Elemental Blast costs 5 focus, from 55 to 50.
  • Danni rolled a 3d6, getting 2 4 5 = 11 but has Edge on the attack so rerolls the 2.
  • Danni rolls a 5, so he has 5 4 5 = 14 and adds his Agility, 14 + 3 = 17.
  • April's Agility defense is 13 so the attack hits. Since he spent 5 focus, he gains +2 damage so his damage is middle die x 4 + 6, 4 x 4 + 6 = 22

”Not at all! I just have a great sparring partner!” April’s eyes then widened, as she saw the flame in Danni’s hand grow and grow and grow. He really wasn’t holding back on her. A gigantic ball of fire flew directly at her, and she could already feel its heat on her skin. She threw her hands up in front of her, water springing all around her in a massive sphere, evaporating away the moment the fireball collided with it, but leaving her unscathed, unhurt, her heart pounding furiously. That would have really hurt if she’d been hit - but instead of feeling angry or scared, she felt exhilarated, the adrenaline pounding in her veins. If she was still good enough to protect herself from that… then maybe the Contest of Champions wasn’t such a lost cause after all. Her hands were still shaking, but she’d managed to hold off Danni, at least for now. And he was an omega level mutant, as much as he didn’t brag about it, he was incredibly powerful - that had to count for something. ”Shit, Danni - that was so cool!! I didn’t know you could make it that big!!”

But since Danni had turned up the heat… Maybe it was time to cool things down a little bit. This time, as she grabbed small spheres of water, April froze them, becoming little bursts of ice. ”Think fast!” she teased, before lobbing them towards him.

Round 5 Stats

April:

• Health: 60
• Focus: 25
• Karma: 1
• Notes - Trouble on actions requiring fine motor control of hands
  
  
  • April uses Elemental Sphere (Water) as a reaction, spending 5 points of focus, bringing her focus score to 25.
  • As Danni’s attack did 22 points of damage, her sphere breaks, but she is left unharmed.
  • As an action, she uses Elemental Burst (Ice).
    • She rolls 3d6, with Trouble, and gets 3 1 5. This would be a Fantastic result, but since she has Trouble, the middle die has to be re-rolled… but she rolled a 1 again, giving her 3 1 5 = 14. She adds her Agility modifier to this, so 14 + 3 = 17.
    • Danni’s Agility defense is 14, so the attack hits and is a Fantastic success.
    • Because it is a Fantastic success, Danni suffers the special effect for ice, and is paralyzed for one round.
    • April’s Agility damage is the middle die value x 2 + 3, or 6 x 2 + 3 for 15. Because it is a Fantastic result, it doubles to 30 damage.

Danni's eyes widened as he got caught on the ground. He was so much more agile in the air and he'd maybe, sorta, kinda stop his training on the ground (He would never tell Poisson-Pas or he'd get chewed out) because being in the air was just that much more freeing! He tried his best to dip, duck, and dodge but there were so many. Water was one thing, but ice was another and he didn't feel like having hail sized bruises on his flawless skin. Again, fire rushed out all at once, layers of it this time, to melt the ice. “Sweet shots t'ere Princess, but I'm just too ‘ot ta ‘andle.” He threw her wink. “Let's play a game now, yeah? Floors lava!” He snapped and flames erupted around April, skimming up her side unintentionally, and imprisoning her. He kicked back into the sky while she was safety tucked away.

Round 6 Stats

Danni:

• Health: 60
• Focus: 40
• Karma: 2
• Notes -
  
  • As a reaction, Danni used Elemental Protection 1 (Fire) .
  • The Focus cost is 5, bringing 50 to 45.
  • April’s attack deals more than 10 damage, so he loses the protection, but is unharmed.
  • Danni used Elemental Prison (Fire).
  • Elemental Prison (Fire) costs 5 focus, from 45 to 40.
  • Danni rolled a 3d6, getting 4 1 6, which is a fantastic success because of the middle die. This counts as a 6 as well.
  • Danni has 4 1 6 = 18 and adds his Ego, 18 + 4 = 22.
  • April's Agility defense is 13 so the attack hits. April is trapped inside the prison and since it was a fantastic success, takes full damage and the elemental effect. He deals 6 x 2 + 4 = 16 and April is ablaze, taking 5 points of damage at the end of each of her turns.

Her eyes widened, seeing the roaring flames completely surround her, blocking out her view of Danni from up above. It was so cool - his control had come a long way since they had been freshman, paired up together in a teacher’s desperate attempt to keep them from destroying the school infrastructure. It threw off so much heat, the fiery cage, that it was like the middle of summer at a theme park - and not the dead of winter inside an air conditioned gym. ”Okay you have to use this against Wiccan! This is so cool! Well, not cool, hot, but you know what I mean!” She’d managed to surround herself in a thin layer of water, dissipating the initial round of flames, but if she remained inside this cage, she was definitely going to get burned.

She gathered up as much water as she could, thankful for the small puddles that had formed all over the training floor at this point, and blasted it outwards, attempting to break open the cage from the inside. But it was no use - the flames were too hot, and she couldn’t douse them, the fiery prison remaining all around her.

Round 6 Stats

April:

• Health: 60
• Focus: 10
• Karma: 1
• Notes - Trouble on actions requiring fine motor control of hands
  
  
  • April uses Elemental Protection 1 (Water) as a reaction, spending 5 points of Focus, bringing her focus down to 20. As Danni did more than 10 damage, the elemental protection breaks, leaving her undamaged.
  • April then uses Elemental Blast (Water) as an action, spending 10 points of Focus to try to increase her damage output.
  • She has Trouble on this attack but also an Edge, and rolls 3d6, getting 1 4 4. So she doesn’t need to re-roll any numbers, meaning 1 4 4 = 9. She adds her agility modifier, which is 3, bringing the total score up to 12.
  • Because she is attacking the barrier, she is rolling against Danni’s ego defense, which is 14, meaning the attack misses!

Danni rose a little further, maintaining his flames despite April’s attempts to smother them. His poor babies, being bullied by one of his favorite people. Still, he shouldn't waste the moment and he lined up his shot, the fireball growing in his hand. If he timed this right, he might be able to catch her off guard! He bounced it between the two, popping it off his knee, and batting it down at April. When it was a second away from hitting he dropped the prison. Surprise!”

Round 7 Stats

Danni:

• Health: 60
• Focus: 35
• Karma: 2
• Notes -
  
  • Danni has Edge when attacking with his Elemental Burst (Fire).
  • Danni used his fly speed and used Elemental Blast (Fire) with an edge on the attack.
  • Elemental Blast costs 5 focus, from 40 to 35.
  • Danni rolled a 3d6, getting 5 5 4 = 14 but has Edge on the attack so rerolls the middle 5 to try and get a better result, but rolls another 5.
  • Danni has 5 5 4 = 14 and adds his Agility, 14 + 3 = 17.
  • April's Agility defense is 13 so the attack hits. Since he spent 5 focus, he gains +2 damage so his damage is middle die x 4 + 6, 5 x 4 + 6 = 26
  • Danni dropped Elemental Prison (Fire) as a free action.

April screamed - not in a terrified sort of way, but more in a genuinely surprised way, as the fiery cage fell down around her, only to reveal another fireball heading straight at her. She threw up her hands again, to at the very least shield her face, and water sprang up around her in a sphere, instantly vaporized by the sheer heat - but leaving her otherwise unscathed, as the steam rose up around her. It was a good thing the barrel of water she was working from had been enchanted - Nimue had set it up earlier in the year.

Her focus was starting to slip, though, and she could feel herself beginning to tire - it had been a while since she’d trained, but she wasn’t about to give up! She grabbed more water, yanking it out from the barrel, and she swung it around, sending a burst of ice towards Danni as it solidified, but her aim was poor, and it sailed past him harmlessly.

Round 7 Stats

April:

• Health: 60
• Focus: 5
• Karma: 1
• Notes - Trouble on actions requiring fine motor control of hands
  
  
  • April uses Elemental Sphere (Water) as a reaction, spending 5 points of Focus, bringing her Focus down to 5.
  • April uses Elemental Burst (Ice) as a reaction.
  • She has Trouble, and rolls 3d6, rolling 1 3 3. She re-rolls the right-most 3, and rolls a 1, making it 1 3 1 = 5. She adds her agility modifier, a 3, making it 5 + 3 = 8.
  • Danni’s agility defense is 14, so the attack misses.

Danni spun out if the way, just to be safe, but April's attack had swung wide. Really wide. Danni paused. She'd be hitting hard and fast, pinpoint precision and then… Danni let himself to the ground, hands up and a smile on his face. “Princess, you doin’ alright? Wanna take a break, grab some… well, you ‘ave a lotta water but you know drink some instead of swattin’ me like a fly? Don't wanna overdo it right before the contest! We can even cuddle for a bit, yeah?”

Round 8 Stats

Danni:

• Health: 60
• Focus: 35
• Karma: 2
• Notes -
  
  • Danni was concerned for April so wanted to see if he could tell she was tired out.
  • As there are no rules, the GM decided that it would be a Vigilance vs. Ego defense roll.
  • Danni has Trouble on Vigilance checks to notice things due to Clueless and because of this, Danni needs a full action to do this.
  • Danni rolls 6 1 1, which is a Fantastic Success, but because Danni has Trouble, he rerolls the middle 1.
  • Danni rolls a 5, which is 6 5 1 = 12.
  • Danni adds his Vigilance, 12 + 2 = 14.
  • April's Ego Defense Is 13 so Danni was able to tell April was starting to wear down.

She hesitated for a moment, debating about trying more - about pushing herself harder, and insisting that she was fine, that she could keep on going so they could practice more, that she just needed a little more time to get in shape for the Contest of Champions. But she was really tired… And her head was starting to pound a little bit from the strain, and the shaking in her hands was getting worse. But… If they lost the Contest of Champions because of her, and she could have spent another few minutes practicing, then didn’t she have to? ”Yeah, I’m doing - I’m doing great!” April lied. ”I can keep on going, I promise!” she doubled down.

Danni paused an arm's length away and gave her a slow look over. Was she fine? Beanie did tell him that his good intentions were sometimes ones and he'd been informed that he sometimes didn't consider other people when he made decisions, but ever since… Ever since they found out about what happened, Danni couldn't help but watch a little closer, cuddle a little longer, dote on her more than he did before so she knew she was loved and had a place with them always.

He still wasn't sure why she wanted to leave them.

“No, you're not.” Danni tried to keep his cool, the confidence and the fun, but he wanted to cry so bad. He wrapped her up in a hug. “You're not and t'at's okay, Princess. You need some time. We'll get you back into shape, but pushin’ yourself past your breakin’ point’s just gunna ‘urt you. I told you, I'd rat'er lose 100 Contests wit’ you t'an win one wit'out you so please? Let's take a break?”

She bit her lip, before nodding slightly as her shoulders slumped. ”… Okay,” she mumbled, resting her head on Danni’s chest as she returned the hug. ”… I don’t know why I - why I feel so strongly that I have to be good at things, or I’m letting people down,” she added, hugging a little tighter.

“You don't have to be like that wit’ us at least.” Danni promised, rocking them back and forth a little and placing a kiss on the top of April’s head. “We just want you, regardless of everyt’in’ else. We’ll always want you just ‘ow you are. So yeah, a break? We’ll get Amélie, and Dee, and Amor and maybe take a nap?”

April sniffled a bit, trying to hold back tears - not sad ones, at least. She didn’t know why it hit her so hard, every time Danni affirmed that he and Dorian just loved her the way she was, and that she didn’t need to pretend, but it did. She was so used to forcing herself to be okay, it was genuinely challenging to accept that she didn’t have to be. ”Maybe we make cocoa too?” she suggested.

,“Yeah. We can make cocoa too.” Danni giggled, squeezing a little tighter before breaking away. He slid his hand into hers and swung it obnoxiously. “Gunna get the little marshmallows too!”

She grinned, perking up a bit at Danni’s antics. He never failed to make her feel better. ”What’s the point without marshmallows?” she agreed, giggling a bit herself. ”… Thanks, Danni, for helping me. And being here.” He was always there for her when she needed him, and it meant more to her than she could say.

Danni beamed, thrilled with April's mood. “You're gunna ‘ave ta scrap me off wit’ a putty knife. I'm wit’ you like gum under a desk. And even if soemt'in’ ‘appens and we split apart, Dee and I would take t'e world apart looking for you.” Danni laughed. “You're family and we love ya. We'll always be t'ere for ya. You don't ever ‘ave ta ask, ya don't ever gotta pretend. Especially when we can get Pa ta make as much marshmallows as we want!”

”Daaaanniii you’re gonna make me cry!” April complained, before pulling him into a hug again. ”I love you both too… You and Dori are what’s worth living for,” she added, her voice practically a whisper.

Danni teared up and couldn't stop them from falling, even as he smiled a softer smile. “Then we'll make sure its’ wort’ it.” Danni inspired back, happy to bask in April’s presence.

X-Men: Cosmic Crusades 👽

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Avery Spellman

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Location: New Orleans
Skills: N/A

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A series of portals appeared, fractured from a singular point, concentrated into one destination - into the Phoenix. Runa added to them with one of her own. Ben studied the control panel, looking at the buttons - they seemed roughly the same color to him, and he cursed under his breath. He had spent so long as a ghost - almost two decades - that he'd almost forgotten a fundamental fact about himself. He was color blind. The buttons all looked the same, all varying shades of grey. He didn't know which one was The Big Red Button and which ones were green - and his Shi'Ar skills had atrophied since he was a kid. It wasn't like he had had much incentive to keep up with the language as a ghost. And he never worried too much about what he wore, as he tended to dress in black, and half of the time, his husband set out outfits for him anyways.

"Are you pressing anything?" Runa asked, peering her head over Ben's shoulder. "Why don't you press that one?"

"That one isn't the right one!" Ben insisted.

"Try the red one," Avery offered.

"No, the green one - it's obviously the green one!"

"No, it's never the red one!" Avery insisted.

Runa narrowed her eyes. "Boy-"

"-I'm not a boy."

"Child - I have been alive since before even your ancestors breathed their first breath - Listen to me when I say it is the green one."

"Well..." Avery faltered. They didn't know what to say to that. They wished that Max were here - that he knew of some sort of spell that could tell them how to operate this contraption. Or that the Shi'Ar had sent them with any sort of instruction as to its use. However, Runa wasn't the only immortal - surely Ben was just as ancient as his husband? Or maybe they were wrong - maybe Ben was tragically fated to die, while his husband never aged? "Ben agrees with me, and if he's nearly as old as his husband, I think we should listen to his expertise."

Ben narrowed his eyes. "I'm twice Max's age," he grumbled. "Only physically younger."

Twice Max's age? Avery's eyes widened. Was Ben older than time itself? Max was ancient, for Ben to be his senior... He must have been alive before even the planets had formed. Was Ben some sort of spirit, some sort of fundamental force? Runa was a goddess. Was Max's husband a deity?

Ben, however, was tired of this arguing - and he slammed his fist down on one of the buttons, seeing the machine slowly begin to operate. His eyes widened though, as the laser didn't... didn't immediately fire. He had thought it was ready, that once they pressed the button, it would fire off. Instead, they were sitting ducks, the portals open right in front of them, exposing them. "Fuck!" Ben slammed his fist down on the button again, trying to get it to fire off faster.

"Try pressing it gently," Runa said.

"I am pressing it gently!"

"Maybe there's a lever we can pull?"

Runa shook her head. "We're running out of time. I can fix this."

And then the Asgardian kicked the extremely fragile laser, and Ben nearly had an aneurysm.

What the hell was wrong with these people?

X-Men: Cosmic Crusades 👽

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Guin Stark

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Location: New Orleans Botanical Gardens
Skills: N/A

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Guin paused for a moment, watching as the memory started to play back - and then abruptly froze. It had been a long time since she had thought about Ayita. A year or so at least - her memory on when certain folks had joined the team and left the team was hazier the longer she was here. That was one of the weird parts about being with the X-Men - all of the students seemed to roughly stay the same age, giving the illusion that no time was passing, not really. She still felt like the young SHIELD agent who had shown up to the mansion, still having to have a supervising officer with her, barely eighteen years old. And now here she was, a seasoned X-Man, and married. So much had changed.

She turned around, seeing Mary there - not the one from the memory, but another Mary. Their Mary. Hiding in her own memory - the memory of when Chrysi had first emerged. But no sooner had they found Mary than strange shadows came into the room, trying to attack them. If Guin had to guess, Chrysi's way of trying to take them out of the picture.

Good thing she had a sword.

Roll Request

Guin is going to use the sword she made to attack the shadow creatures.

Avengers Academy: Junior Year 💥

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April vs Vicky

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It was Victoria's fifth day at the C.A.G.E. So far, dare she hope, things were going well. Some people even showed up or promised to later, suggesting she might have even made some actual friends. There was only one snag.

The android laid on the bed in her room, glaring at the ceiling. A while ago, Dorian told her that she was not the only one who was on an extended stay at the facility. April was apparently sent this way as well.

Last time the two of them... Well, 'talk' would be overselling it. Vicky resolved to call that an interaction. Last time they did, things were about as smooth as sand paper. It's not like I didn't mean anything I said. She needs a kick in the arse! You've been given an extraordinary gift, woman, and you squander your time busying over being prom queen or some stuff! she reasoned internally.

But no amount of reasoning, or tossing, turning, and shaking her head would make the awful feeling she had go away.

"...Fine! I could have done it better!" she finally admitted to the walls of her room. It still didn't make her feel better. Sighing, she swung her legs down from the bed and headed out in search of the blonde.

April had figured out Vicky was in C.A.G.E. as well yesterday, on her third day there, not too long after her brothers had left after visiting her. And ever since, she had been going out of her way to avoid the android. Their last interaction had been far from kind and April didn’t need more random venom directed her way as she was trying to get better - trying to get to a more stable place so she could leave and go back home to her friends. Every time she caught sight of another blonde, April jumped behind the nearest thing to obscure her from sight - a potted plant, a couch, another patient, etc.

She didn’t know why Vicky had a problem with her, but she had no intention of finding out. She was currently in one of the lounges, flipping through one of the books Danni and Dorian had brought for her - thankfully not a romance novel, she was still tender from the day before. It had been her choice to initiate the breakup, but it still hurt. She still missed them.

Victoria has deliberately extended her search. She still wasn't quite sure what she even wanted to say to the other woman. Well, she knew what she wanted to convey, but with her lack of eloquence, she wanted to put enough thought into it as to not make the situation worse by accident. She did that where her roommate was concerned enough for an infinite lifespan already.

The slow, precisely timed clicks of her steps on the floor would herald her arrival at the lounge where she spotted her target. It appeared that Vicky was not the only one who thought books may be good to pass time here, albeit hers she considered part of a research for her therapy. She stood to the side of the doorframe as not to appear to block the escape route, her knuckles knocking on the steel. "...Hello, April. I understand if you don't want to talk to me and I'll walk if you don't, but if I may have your ear for a minute, I've come to bury the hatchet."

April shut her book quickly, her stomach oozing with dread. She had managed to avoid Vicky so far - she’d honestly been hoping she’d be able to make it the entire stay without talking to her. It had been so random, so completely out of nowhere - and she didn’t need that toxicity in her life. ”… I didn’t even know we had a hatchet, Vicky,” April sniffled. ”You don't even know me and I don’t know you.” She stood up, hugging her book to her chest like a shield. ”But go ahead. Say what you want to say.”

"I... know. I dug it up." Vicky sighed, "We may not have talked at all, but I know about you. But, that's not the entire point. Whatever I may think of you - and I admit my perspective is probably not entirely normal - You didn't deserve to have it aired like that. Not in front of everyone. And not after what we just were through. That was... beyond arsehood, and cruel of me, and I am very sorry." Vicky said, internally bracing for whatever may come in response.

April's eyes widened as Vicky claimed that she knew about her - what did she mean by that? Did she just mean she'd heard gossip about her at school? And what sort of gossip was that? Good gossip? Well, clearly not, given that it seemed Vicky had a poor opinion of her. Was Vicky stalking her, silently judging her every move? She swallowed slightly, not really sure how to feel about that piece of information. It still didn't make any sense to April why there would have been a hatchet to dig up in the first place - she didn't know this person. And ordinarily, April would have just said it was fine, forced a smile on her face, and then run off to deal with this later/never. But... The entire reason she was here was because she wasn't being emotionally honest with herself.

"Yeah, it really hurt," April said. "And maybe you know about me - whatever that means - but you don't know me. I get that you - that you think I'm stupid or something for the things that I care about - but I'm sure there are things important to you that I would find dumb, too. Like yeah, it was really shitty of you to say those things in front of everyone - but you just told me that you still believe in what you said. Maybe if you spent less time focusing on what you hate about everyone else, you'd be able to figure out whatever is wrong with you." Her heart beat quickened significantly. She didn't know what she was doing. But it felt good - it felt good to say this, even if it might have been wrong. "Like fun fact? I just found out I'm bipolar! I just found out I'm insane like the worst members of my family and now I get to deal with that! So sue me that instead of agonizing over whether I'm going to lose my mind and kill people one day, I instead want to think about winning a contest on a team with my friends! I'm a kid, I'm allowed to care about stupid stuff!" her body shook, and April closed her eyes tightly for a moment, as tears threatened to fall. She tried to concentrate on her breathing, to calm herself down - to step away from whatever emotion this was, whether it was anger or sorrow.

Victoria let April vent. She expected to get sucker punched on the low end, and it would have been deserved. "Would you prefer I lied to you and gave you a dishonest apology?" the android asked, a little confused. "And... I don't think you're stupid, and I don't hate you. I never said either of those." she pouted. Not keen on repeating her previous mistake, she looked around to check they were alone for this, before walking into the lounge and sinking into a bean bag.

"If anything, I'm disappointed. I don't get it. You have such potential to do good for billions! With your powers, there's no shortage of problems too big for regular folks to solve you can be taking a crack at. Oceanic oil spills. The great garbage patch. You want to be a hero? You could do something about any of them, and you'd make world news before you're twenty." her voice was devoid of any emotion, purely analytical.

"You can be the greatest hero of our generation and never have to see a fight, or anything else you might be worried could send you down a dark path. Compared to fighting other kids, for a fleeting chance of being noticed for some big team?" the android shrugged.

She leaned against the bag, hypnotizing the ceiling. "As far as being afraid of living long enough to see yourself become a villain goes?" she chuckled mirthlessly, "I guess we have something in common."

"I would have preferred that you be a better person!" April snapped, incredulous at what she was hearing. On some small level, it was comforting - it only confirmed to her that Vicky didn't really know anything about her at all. This was all just the opinion of someone making quick judgments about her from afar - someone who already had an opinion about her that they wanted to uphold. "And this? This is what I am fucking talking about! You don't know shit about me at all! You think I don't care about the environment - that my goal starts and ends at winning the contest? Yeah, it would be amazing to win it, and so cool to have the Avengers want to scout me! That doesn't mean I only think about how to use my powers for fighting! If you really know about me, then you know that I'm in crisis and disaster management courses - because you want to know what superheroes actually spend a lot of time doing, since the Earth isn't being invaded every fucking second? They go out and help people! Namor, Wave, Shark Girl - all of them use their powers to help save the fucking ocean and protect people! Well, when Namor isn't being a villain, but that's beside the point! Also, might not have occurred to you, but if I had the power right now to snap my fingers and clean up every oil spill, save every reef, I would! But I'm not fucking strong enough to do that yet! So that's why I'm here! At a school! To push myself to be able to do things like that! Do you even know how big oil spills are? The one in the Gulf is millions of barrels worth of oil, it stretches for thousands of square miles! It would take me years, decades, to clean that up where I'm at right now! So I'm at school! And do you know how you expand your powers, get better at them? By using them. By being fucking challenged. And sometimes, that looks like fighting other people!"

Listening to April go, Vicky wasn't impressed. She hopped back on her feet, before giving the other girl a rather judging glance. Learn by being challenged? Such old fasioned nonsense. Stumbling in the dark, hoping to find a way to do better on accident? If that's how others go about learning about their powers rather than, I don't know, studying how they work perhaps, no wonder the school is on fire, has busted plumbing or any number of damages so often. Fat load of good such 'training' under Usagi did us! the android compared to her experiences. She chose not to voice those thoughts though, seeing April was growing more agitated by the second. Better to not test the limit on those power dampeners.

"Well, then, I'm looking forward to being proven wrong." she answered, trying to say 'I'll believe it when I see it' in a milder way. "And I'll work on being a better person once I am done learning to be my own person with no puppeteer's strings attached in the first place. I can only do so much at a time." she grunted, turning to walk away. She said what she came here to say, but it was clear the two of them were far from reaching an understanding on... Well, anything really. "Anyway, I'll get out of your hair. Clearly this isn't of benefit to either one of us."

April stared at Vicky's back for a moment. Was this Vicky's pattern then - to show up and tell people everything she didn't like about them, walk away, pretend to apologize, and repeat? April didn't want any part of that. She could feel the judgment radiating off of the other girl. She didn't need that in her life - not now, not ever. "Do both of us a favor. Don't fucking talk to me again."

"Not. A. Problem." Vicky replied as she vacated the premises. When she reached her room, she found out the bad feeling from earlier was gone. She supposed it bothered when she hurt people for something they didn't deserve. Not agreeing on how they conduct themselves? Well, they were all free to not keep each other company. Probably for the best. It wouldn't be the first person in her life, and Victoria doubted she would be the last.

Avengers Academy: Junior Year 💥

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Percy and Diana Novikov(a)

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It was around three in the afternoon on a Saturday, Diana was in the school's gym she had been working out for the last hour and was just finishing for the day. It was pretty nice and relaxing without having to do go any classes for the rest of the semester Diana grabbed her bag and was getting ready to head out back to her dorm and get changed. Diana made it back to her dorm pretty quickly and started to change into some clean casual clothes.

Percy was not looking forward to speaking to his sister. It seemed like most of the school now had been gossiping about him sleeping with Dorian, and while he couldn't prove that Diana had been gossiping about it, it seemed incredibly likely. Combined with his realization during the session with Dr. Whitehall that his sister had a serious problem with Percy's boyfriend, he wasn't exactly happy with her at the moment. She had been off at school for the past few years - the last time the two of them had seriously lived together, Percy had been barely twelve, having not even hit puberty yet. Things were different now. And they needed to talk.

He knocked three times on her door, and waited. And then, unable to help himself: "this is a good example of how to knock in order to request access to a room, Diana," he called out.

Diana heard the knocks on her door and Percy's voice on the other end, she let out a slight sigh he really wasn't going to let go of her accidentally teleporting herself into Dorian's room she wasn't really looking forward to having this awkward conversation. "It was an accident teleporting into Dorian's room that day." Diana said sighing slightly as she made her way towards the door and opened it letting Percy in.

Percy stepped into the room, his hands in his pants’ pockets. “And was it an accident when you called my boyfriend a slimer?” he countered. He glances around the room, before settling his eyes on his sister. “I didn’t think I would get much out of therapy. But then I realized, you said something to me the night Arcade tried to kill us. You asked me how I could tolerate dating him. So I want to ask you, Diana - what exactly is your problem with my boyfriend?”

Diana went over and sat down on her bed and sighed slightly she did regret being mean and saying those things to Dorian, at times she did find him to be really annoying. She was just a little bit jealous that Percy found someone that he actually cares about, and she hadn't found anyone yet. "I apologize to you for being mean and saying those things to and about Dorian." Diana said as she looked up at her brother. "He is a little bit annoying sometimes, but I don't have any problem with him. I guess I am just a little bit jealous."

Percy raised an eyebrow slightly at his sister’s language. The only people he knew that said I apologize were politicians and Real Housewives stars. However, he nodded in recognition of the apology. ”Why? Because I’m spending time with him?” Percy pressed. ”You essentially moved out two years ago when you started coming here. If it’s an issue of my time, being jealous that I am spending it with Dorian doesn’t make sense. You’ve barely seen me aside from summers and breaks. If it’s the fact that I have a boyfriend and you’re single, then that isn’t anything I can help to you solve.”

He then frowned, before continuing. ”I’m in love with him, Diana. I wish you were happy for me. I would be happy for you.”

Diana looked down for a moment running a hand through her hair slightly she knew that she was in the wrong for treating Dorian Percy's boyfriend wrong and she did want her brother to be happy. "I am happy for you Percy, I really am. You found someone here quicker than I did since coming here." Diana said looking up at her brother.

"Does that matter?" he asked bluntly.

"Of course it does matter to me, you are my brother and I care about you and what makes you happy Percy." Diana said while looking at her brother.

”That’s not what I asked. I asked if it mattered - if it mattered that I found someone before you did,” Percy insisted. ”Is it a competition to you?”

Diana shook her head. "No it isn't at all, it was just weird seeing you, well almost naked." Diana said

”We were in Dorian’s room with the door locked,” Percy spat, feeling the anger rise in his chest again. ”If I accidentally teleported into your room while you were half naked, I wouldn’t have screamed at you! I wouldn’t have gone on about how disgusting I found your partner! And I wouldn’t be so painfully obtuse about all of this!” His hands were shaking, and he felt his body getting ready to make a jump. ”You only care about your own feelings, Diana. Have you even stopped to consider how I felt? How Dorian felt? I doubt it. We’re done here. Don’t talk to me.” He stared at her for another moment, before leaving her room and slamming the door behind him.