Natsu

Avengers Academy: Junior Year 💥

Mary Sue Sullivan

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Location:Hallway
Skills:

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Of all the hallways Mary Sue could have chosen to have a breakdown in, this was a pretty nice one. The light was soft, and flooring not too cold. One of the nice things about letting yourself feel awful was that the peaks of it didn't tend to last long. Human emotions worked on a kind of self adjusting scale, for the most part; Just as ecstasy is not forever, neither is sorrow. The issue then is, of course, that if emotions are not felt, you can't get past their most extreme points. Something Zari said stuck with her in that moment, that her expression, that her fear of what had happened hurt people. That was a thing should could never allow to happen again. She had to get control of herself.

Forcing herself to sit up, she looked desperately for something, anything else to think about. She looked up at the ceiling, shaking, and started to count the tiles on it. One by one, she made her eyes scan from row to row, muttering the count as she went along, her voice slowly losing its edge, and evening out to something that approximated her normal voice. She still felt raw, a headache behind her eyes and the distinct feeling that she was in her body the way one is in a cheap suit. It wasn't a good feeling, but it was a manageable one. She had reached, in some form, stability, and with that, hoped that she'd be able to find a way forward.

Avengers Academy: Junior Year 💥

Mary Sue Sullivan

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Location:Coulson's Office -> Hallway
Skills:

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Mary Sue was still shaking, a part of her couldn't believe she just spoke that way to the headmaster of all people, but then again, was he even technically her headmaster? Was she, legally, Mary Sue Sullivan? Somehow she doubted this had gone to court before, but given that old her was apparently murdered by the evil time fascists, she somehow doubted that anybody would mind her taking her place. She flinched, for a moment, realizing her parents were dead now. That hurt, and almost made her feel better about her dad. Almost. She stood up. She needed to get out of here.

She stood, unbalanced. "I'll do the contest. Sure." She muttered out, trying not to make eye contact with anybody. She was certain she would throw up if she didn't find a place to hide where nobody could see her. She needed water, she needed quiet, and she needed solitude. She quickly existed the room, and made turn after turn down hallways after hallway until she found a place where she could decompress. Mary Sue practically collapsed to the floor, eyes shut tight, trying desperately to ground herself to a world that ostensibly was not her own.

Avengers Academy: Junior Year 💥

Mary Sue Sullivan

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Location:Coulson's Office
Skills:

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An errant thought crossed Mary Sue's mind, that they hadn't stopped a massacre from occurring, and that she was, largely, in a room full of strangers, save for Andy and Zari. Sure, they looked like Mary Sue's friends and classmates, but those people died. That was clearly evidenced by the existence of Bonus Mary Sue, who she'd apparently taken the place of. She wondered idly what she was thinking about now, if she'd been shunted into another timeline, leading to an infinite regress of now displaced Mary Sues. She hoped that Mary Sue was doing better than she was now, but she somehow doubted it.

Her attention was snapped back to the Coulson as Vicky said the most cogent thing she'd heard in a week. "She's right." Mary Sue said, almost coldly, "Headmaster, the fact of the matter is, unless I'm deeply wrong about how all this works, nobody was actually saved. You just don't have to deal with the consequences." Mary Sue continued from where the girl had left off, an almost numbness coming over her. "Some of us had to go back in time, but I should really say we got to. When I came back, there was another me here, but I don't remember meeting me, so that means I didn't." Her voice caught in her throat for a moment, before she continued on, a venom leaking into her words. "Arcade killed everybody in this room, save for Andy, Zari, and myself, and you three. Shortly after, he probably killed a lot more people, maybe even you." She glared pointedly at Coulson.

A part of her honestly hoped Ser Nemo would pitch in here and tell her she was wrong, but she somehow doubted it. A part of her was upset at herself for doing this in front of Lady Nimue, a teacher who'd she honestly had enjoyed. But every other part of her was filled with white hot anger. Her heartrate was rising, to the point that she almost couldn't see straight. This was all too much. "A-and your response to all of that is therapy. Everyone died, but it's fine, we can talk about it, go fight in the Contest of Champions! Burn the bodies to ash behind us, and never think about it again." She put her head in her hands, shaking. "You make me sick." And with that, she was done.

Avengers Academy: Junior Year 💥

Mary Sue Sullivan

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Location:Coulson's Office
Skills:

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Mary Sue had spent the last few weeks practically wordless. The trauma, new disability, and grief aside, the utter shock at the betrayal of her family in not telling her anything about her paternal grandfather when he was, as she learned, worse than any human who'd ever lived, was something she had no idea how to cope with. She knew her dad didn't believe in her, that he thought she couldn't handle being a superhero, that relationship had already been damaged for months, but she always thought her mom was in her corner. A part of her was left with the feeling that her new blindness was narratively resonant with how it seemed she had always been. Ignorant of what she was, what she could do, and what she could be, it seemed fitting that her world too would now be forever cloudy.

It was hard to be livid at somebody who hadn't been conscious in several days, but god damn it, Mary Sue was finding a way. The horrors Arcade had left on them seemed paltry in comparison. Whatever those monsters were, they were way stronger than anything she'd ever seen before. Why on Earth would they be scared of Oliver Sullivan of all people? Even with the contempt she had for her father at the moment, he wasn't scary. Especially compared to some of the heavy hitters on Earth. She needed to not be here. She needed to be at school, with people who wouldn't know anything about this, she wouldn't ever talk about it. This... happened, but it didn't have to matter. She wouldn't let it.

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Mary Sue would file into the headmaster's office, wordless. She had decided that if somebody asked about her eye, she'd tell them to shove it. This was her problem to process, on her own. She figured the teachers already knew, and certainly wouldn't bring it up in front of other students. She hoped they wouldn't see it as an issue, but she also didn't know how well known the circumstances leading up to the attack on her father were known. How many people knew, and kept it from her? Could she trust anybody here? Thoughts like that had a creeping paranoia that she hated, and didn't want to give into, but she was hurt in so many ways right now that it was hard not to.

Avengers Academy: Junior Year 💥

Mary Sue Sullivan

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Location: Framework Area
Skills:

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As Bonus Mary Sue was pulled away, and the phone was passed to The Original Mary Sue. She was visibly nervous at this. She knew her mom would be mostly on her side, but if here dad heard about this... the future might not be too bright for Mary Sue. Dialing in Niah's number with a shaky hand, she led straight into the call with a
"Hi mom. I'm okay. I uh... somebody tried to kill us, and I think I time traveled? There's two of me. Have you run into that?"
Levity, that was surely the way through this situation; present the news, then pivot to something spectacular, surely that wou-
"We will come get you from school. Break is coming up anyway. As for your question I haven't run into duplicates due to time travel. My only experience I traveled to the 80s before I was born."
May Sue's heart skipped a beat, darn it. She gave a sharp exhale before continuing
"It's... Really okay! I'm fine! Nobody died, so we're through the worst of it. I can finish out here until break, I promise."
Her tone was bright, but obviously nervous. She didn't want to leave her, she liked it here, even if the stress was killing her a little.
"You'll be able to go back after break. I promise. But we need to see you. I want to hear the whole story as well. And I know as soon as your dad hears about this he isn't going to take no for an answer. Your options are come home now and go back after break or risk not being able to go back at all."
Mary Sue's face was frowning. Ultimatums were unfair, but what was she to do? This was a lose state, and she gave a clipped
"Fine."
"Thank you. Ill see you tomorrow. I love you."
"I love you too."

With that, she closed the phone. It was by this time that herself had walked away, and she wondered if Bonus Mary Sue would have a similar interaction with Bonus Niah in the Bonus timeline. Would it be weird for her to say she felt a pang of sadness as she realized she would never see herself again? Time travel was weird.

Avengers Academy: Junior Year 💥

Mary Sue Sullivan

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Location: Framework Area
Skills:

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Magical healing was absolutely a new feeling, and as new blood filled her body and holes began to patch themselves Mary Sue tried to steady herself. Physical wounds, of course, could be healed any which way (or in this case, any witch way.), but with the way her education was going, Mary Sue had to make sure she was made of tougher stuff. It was hard to internalize that brutal injury was on the table, and that she'd have to keep getting up every time she endured it. Upon being asked about which parent to call, her and bonus Mary Sue made a brief, nauseous bit of eye contact, before quickly deciding that obviously this was a "let mom know and pray she didn't tell dad" kind of situation, and simultaneously rattled off Niah's contact info.

Bonus Mary Sue, if not for the absurdity and terror of the current situation, would have been absolutely losing her mind at being surrounded by the heroes she adored, but things had honestly become surreal and difficult to process at this point. The vertigo was still awful, and at this point, she wanted her friends to be able to take her where she had to go to close the loop. This almost felt like the sort of thing they should have classes on, but it was maybe an edgecase, so that might not be generally applicable.

Avengers Academy: Junior Year 💥

Mary Sue Sullivan

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Location: Framework Area
Skills:

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One moment, Mary Sue was pondering the complexities of time travel, the next, she was quite literally gut shot. It was at a time like this that a hero that was more trained, or experienced, or who had been mortally wounded before would be something to try to save themselves, but unfortunately, Mary Sue was none of those things. She collapsed on the floor, trying not to hyperventilate. The most she knew was that if she tried to pull it out, she might die from the blood loss, so it had to stay in. One bright side was that it took agonizingly long to die from an injury like this, the bad side was that it was going to hurt like a bitch as it dragged her to death's door.

Bonus Mary Sue, on the other hand, was looking incredibly concerned at her purported future self. Her voice was filled with worry, and she asked, as Andy dragged her away. "If... if she dies do I die?" She had no idea what emotions she was supposed to feel about this. Could she have empathy for herself? Should she be scared? Human brains weren't designed for this. The emotional maelstrom that was rolling through her were ineffable. Why wasn't she doing anything or trying to save herself? It felt like, if there was one thing she knew she felt, it was disappointment.

Avengers Academy: Junior Year 💥

Mary Sue Sullivan

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Location: Framework Area
Skills:

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Waves of nausea crashed over both of the Mary Sue's as the laws of time themselves wracked their way through her very being. Why the consequences of being a time criminal seemed to impart stomach issues was something she had no understanding off, but both of her did what she could to avoid eye contact with her double. "If that's the case," Ms. Sullivan began, hating the sound of her own voice in her ears, "Maybe I should go collect bonus Andy and Zari, while you two keep an eye on her?" Mary Sue suggested, "Or would we be affected by this... time sickness regardless?"

Bonus Mary Sue wasn't doing much better either, and was incredibly confused by the situation in front of her. Her dad had, perhaps in one of his more delirious moments warned her about skrulls before, and their penchant for copying other people, but she didn't think that was what was going on here. Did they say they were time travelers? Future versions of her and her friends? "Hey, if there's anything I can do" She forced out, staggering back a bit, "Please feel free to let me know." Her eyes bulged a bit, borderline incapacitated from the sickness she was experiencing.

Avengers Academy: Junior Year 💥

Mary Sue Sullivan

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Location: Back! To the future!
Skills:

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Mary Sue's eyes widened as she found whe self traveling backwards in time. This was something that she knew little about, her mom had managed to do it ones though? She'd have to ask for more information later. She was moderately afraid of tripping over a rock and destroying the fabric of time itself, but this was so far out of her wheelhouse that she really just tried not think about it. Zari had this on lock, a technopath with thirty minutes to spare could probably make a flashlight into a musical instrument after all, they were safe and she knew it.

As people awake from their stupor though, she wasn't one of the ones quick to violence. She'd had a little more time to process after all, and she knew killing Arcade would be easy, just, at the same time, pointless. Setting aside the fact that murdering a fellow classmate was a surefire way to get kicked out of the upcoming tournament, if not the school all together, he simply didn't deserve to die; the Arcade that almost killed them was, categorically, not this Arcade. They were never really in any danger, and though she knew that he would have killed them if given the chance, he still deserved a chance to get better and learn from this experience.

Avengers Academy: Junior Year 💥

Mary Sue Sullivan

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Location: Phantasmagoria -> IRL
Skills:

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Death. Death was coming and there was almost nothing she could do to stop it. She could feel pain breaking through almost every corner of her body. She knew Dorian had pulled them into the Astral plane to try to save them, but it didn't work, and they were still at risk. She knew this wasn't real, that her body was in some tank somewhere, and that however it was connected to her brain, it was about to fry her brainstem and turn her into a corpse. She closed her eyes and tried to find the center of herself, believing that her mind was in both of these places, virtual and real, and she just had to pick which to target.

Then, at just the right moment, she was hit with a surge of power, and she knew that that was the moment. She wasn't a physicist, but she knew that wherever her constructs formed, they took up space. Displacing air wasn't a problem, it would move out of the way, but water in a sealed container? It should shatter. And it did, in a snap, her body was reunited with her mind, and she could see her body was surging with some odd power. She wanted to use it, to save her friends, and so she held her hands out to try to crush the monster that was killing them, but she collapsed to her knees in weakness. She gasped for air and felt the oxygen burn down her lungs. Sputtering and spitting up fluid, she realized she'd just come closer to death than ever before.