Avenger Assembled

Ashley stepped between Judy and the altercation with a smooth economy of motion, face going blank as she watched Corinne intimidate the grabby-handed boy. She had her hand at the bottom of her jacket, ready to pull something that wouldn't draw as much attention as a laser gun. It wouldn't be hard, really; a hard strike to the face with one of her tonfas and she could probably have it away before anyone in the crowd took a close look at them. It might get her arrested (again!) but it would keep Judy out of a super-brawl. And leave her in Corinne's custody - #($K! Oh well, she knew a thing or two about staying out of the grip of the cops.

Ashley sent her back a kiss emoji and a promise to text her again soon, then she set her head down on the table in front of her, resting her forehead against the cool of the wood. "Bad breakup?" She looked up at the hostess, an older woman with greying hair, a stocky build, and rosy cheeks. "...no." Just the opposite. What the hell am I gonna do?"

Ashley shot Mia a look that said What? with an eloquent eyebrow raise and arm-spread. But what Judy said was, "It really is. Ah think it's wonderful that so many people came out to show their support for our community." Folding her hands in front of her primly, Judy said, "Now Ah think the first order of business needs to be deciding who's gonna be in charge during this coming year. Ah may have taken on a role as social planner and chief cook," she said with a little wave around the room that took in cupcakes, banners, and all. "but Ah am certainly not qualified to run a group that should be for our LGBT community." She made a little gesture that took in Ashley, then several more students. "Ah want you all to know that this is a safe space, where it is safe to come out and be yourself, whether that's loud and proud or just keepin' things on the downlow." She winked at everybody, then said, "Mah own story is a simple one - Ah have been an ally ever since Ah started coming here in Ashley's company. Ah never knew that there were places like this in the world, and Ah wouldn't trade it for anything. Does anyone else want to share their story? After that, we need to decide who our club officers are gonna be, otherwise we'll never be able to get the Thanksgiving party organized in time!"

"As a matter of fact, Ah am!" said Cahill with a tone of voice that sounded oddly familiar. "Mah whole family and I are comin' down to Phoenix for a little meet and greet right before the end of summer and Ah wanted to extend a personal invitation for you to join us up on that stage. There's nothing quite like family to bring people together."

Don't leave Judy, she likes Nick! ?

"Ah've got one of those on mah bedroom desk!" called Judy cheerfully as she watched Leroy do his beautiful work. "Show him the thing with the lights, honey." Turning back to Nick, she said with a more genuine smile, "Ah'd love to meet and practice," she said cheerfully, "Ah don't really get a lot of opportunities to do something with my powers that isn't "learning how not to blow things up.'" She grimaced, then said, "Ah'm free most evenings, Ah don't eat or sleep," she admitted, "so Ah have lots of free time." Twirling the end of her long brown hair with her hand, she went on, "Ah can just about turn them on and off, but I'd like to be able to, you know, talk to machines, make them do what Ah want. That'd be pretty cool."

Elizabeth had the distinct impression she was getting the eye from Ashley in the wake of her abrupt arrival, but that was by now a perfectly familiar look from the surly teen. "Ah think that's an excellent idea," said Judy brightly. "We sure could use some money coming in - hi everybody!" She greeted another group of students as they entered, steering them towards seats and food, respectively. She'd even anticipated the idea that other people would bring their own meals; and there were little plates and plastic knives for the pie too. "Thanks, Lulu!" Taking her seat again, Judy gave Mia a bright smile. "Well we're sure glad you're here," she said cheerfully. "Ah'm just an ally myself on behalf of my sister, so Ah want to make sure we get a chance to let LGBT people center their own experiences here." It was obviously a rehearsed speech, but one she gave with feeling. "Ah'm glad you like the cupcakes," she told Elizabeth, "Ah baked 'em all myself!"

Ashley Tran. Ashley stared at the words for a long moment - then pressed "Send." I'll tell my principal you're coming and finesse the hard stuff. It'll be a tough sell, but I don't think they're worried about the Lor Republic leaking information to our press. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she wished adrenaline actually sobered you up, but what the hell she was doing her best here. I can't wait to see you. I can't make any promises - but I can promise I'll be there.

There was quite a bit to do over the next few hours. The birds showed quite an interest in Judy, stopping to land on her whenever she held still for more than a few minutes. "It must be all the heat she emits," speculated Mr. Jorgensen. Judy was a good sport about the whole affair, not even shrieking when a beautiful red yellow and green parakeet landed right in her hair! "Contrary to popular belief," she offered, "this is not the first time Ah have been in the great outdoors." Benny had a great view from the top of the tree, even if he had startled quite a few birds of various sorts into flying away. He could see the South River, the forest that occupied all the peninsula that should have been Freedom City, and the Narrows beyond. The sky was indeed swarming with birds, a veritable sea of song, and the oceans too were swarming with fish and other wildlife so thick he could almost imagine walking on them. There were whales, right there out on the Narrows, only a couple of miles away! The boys were put to work pitching the tents and cleaning the shelters, while the girls went to work fetching water from the river and digging out firepits and latrine trenches. The club worked hard to minimize their environmental impact here, and they wanted to make sure everything was just right. Danica was able to find the 2018 marker the club had etched on a nearby boulder, though; Date Rock being the one place they could leave a permanent mark. There were almost ten years of visits on here. "Here, Davyd, this is for you!" Judy offered Horrorshow proudly, pulling something out from her bag that after a moment took shape as a floppy knitted hat, colored an irregular red and pink, with two button eyes sewed onto the top. "Ah've been making them for everybody. Ah wasn't sure what would be good for you, so Ah just sort of used a shapeless pattern. It'll probably fall off your head if you shapeshift, but it'll at least keep you warm!" Mia didn't see any wild turkeys at first, but she did startle a family of deer that bolted past her in the woods while she was getting the water - a big, fat, healthy herd that she'd expected to bolt - but instead watched her warily, with the caution an animal would show another animal but not an animal's instinctive fear of man. There were stags there, and does, and a few almost-still-fauns who were about to have their first winter. It was a sight she never could have seen back home. Over dinner that night, Mr. Jorgensen showed them how to cook beef stew over their campfires, while Judy tried to stir up interest in She'll Be Coming Round The Mountain When She Comes. Other than that it was quiet, though, maybe the quietest evening Nick could remember, except for the sleepy sounds of billions of birds in the trees. It was downright peaceful, really.

"Welcome, welcome everyone!" said Judy with a warm smile - Ashley nodding from where she stood by the punchbowl, arms crossed over her Rammstein T-shirt. "There are snacks, and drinks, and Ah can put on some music in a little while if everyone's interested." Ooh, I didn't know AJ and Mia were gay! I'll have to keep that in mind. She bestowed big, very very warm hugs on her friends. "Ah'm so glad we're getting a turnout this year, Ah was worried when hardly anyone took one of our pamphlets on club day." She stopped to greet another small cluster of students wandering in, who seemed a little bemused to find their host looking like a character from a show they play at Sunday school to entertain the little kids. "Hey," offered Ashley, giving a short nod to the White Lioness and Soliton.

@Grumblefloofhas it correct. Riley's just paranoid about the cops knowing it.

Fall 2019 Claremont Academy Gay-Straight Alliance First Meeting of the Year The tables were set with neatly baked rainbow cupcakes that Judy felt no more than the slightest temptation to eat, the walls hung with rainbow flag images and pictures from LGBT history, and the Recording Secretary of the Claremont Academy GSA (the only member of the club who hadn't graduated last year) was ready to greet the new arrivals as they headed into the converted classroom. She'd been a little nervous her first meetings as her sister's 'ally', sitting in a room full of people she'd been taught to believe were wrong, but Ashley's refusal to take an active role in the club had forced her to take an active role herself, and within a few months she'd found herself fitting right in. We gotta get some new members this year, she thought with a glance at Ashley, I can't be above secretary, because I'm an ally! With a smile, she flung open the door, gold cross gleaming around her neck, and said, "Howdy, y'all! Welcome to the GSA!"

Ashley and Judy are together and will try and get Mia and Nick to sit with them - they do not want to sit with Claude or Octo-Ben.

Well. Well, okay. Hey, so. Do you think you could do that? Ashley asked, keeping a smiley-face off by sheer force of will. If you give me time, I can arrange it so the Lor Embassy doesn't find out - and you'd earn yourself a big favor with some of our national leaders. She thought for a moment, then did add a smile. And maybe we could actually spend some time together...?

The previous night By the time Ashley made her way back to her dorm room, she'd figured out how to deactivate Lulu's psychic invisibility. A damn good thing, too, because she had not enjoyed the several moments she'd stood there cursing and waving her arms until she'd realized which effect of Lulu's she must have been mimicking. Her fingerprints opened the dorm room door, and she stepped inside to find a nervous Judy waiting for her. "How's Lulu, is she okay? How are-ohmigosh!" "Ah'm fine," drawled Ashley as she limped in and dropped down on her bed. "Ah just took a few bumps and bruises, that's all..." She pushed off her jacket and found herself staring with great annoyance at the dried blood that matted her left arm, ruining the nice pajamas she'd been wearing. She could feel other injuries too, but that one looked like the worst one. "Well buy me a Cadillac and call me Elvis," she muttered tiredly. "How'd that get there?" When she looked up, Judy was standing there with the room's emergency medkit in her hand. "Ashley, take off that top," she said firmly. "You are not going to sleep with open wounds while Ah am around." "Ah'm fine, really-" "No you are not! Now you know Ah am certified in first aid, so you take off your shirt and let me help you. Here, use this towel if you're feelin' modest..." Despite herself, Ashley went along with what her ward had to say, painfully unbuttoning the pajama top to reveal the several deep bruises and small cuts she'd taken from Lulu's telekinetic storm. With a sound that reminded Ashley a little bit of the First Lady, Judy went to work, wiping down open wounds with antiseptic, tightly wrapping with gauze, her hands so warm they helped almost in and of themselves. "God, Ah am getting caught up on sleep tonight," said Ashley, clutching the towel to her front torso while Judy slapped a big square band-aid on her back. "Stupid to be up all night anyway." Judy smiled and said, "You sound funny with Lulu's accent. Think you got any of her powers?" "Ah tried to dial it back and just put her to sleep - so far it's just been the invisibility thing." Judy sat next to her on the bed and began putting the kit back together. "Well it's still good you were there, and Ah'm not even gonna mention how Ah could have helped if Ah'd been around." "Thanks for patching me up," said Ashley, smiling to deflect what had been an argument when she'd gotten the emergency call. "That's all right." Judy smiled back. "Like you said. We're together till the end of the line."

Ashley said a word out loud that drunk people sometimes said in bars, not getting more than just a few glances from the other patrons. Why does this have to be when I'm drunk and talking to a woman I want to make out with? F*ck, seriously? She thought about what had been pieced together about the President's family tree. She's a hybrid of something. We managed to science it up and we know it was her paternal grandmother...but one might show up on a backwater planet, have a kid, and then take off because they felt like it? What a bunch of assholes! She thought for a minute, hand briefly shaking on her phone, then wrote If you came here with a sensor, could you tell if somebody had Stellarian in them?

Ashley pulled on Watchdog's helmet - then fearlessly stepped into the storm of debris around Lulu and Adam. The chunks buffeted her but she kept moving, staggering along until she'd reached Lulu's bedside, hurting enough that she was probably bleeding somewhere under the jacket. Well that was all right. She reached down with her left hand and took Lulu's, squeezing it tight. "Okay. Okay, focus on me, and we're going to get through this together." Her grip tightened - and Lulu suddenly had the distinct sensation that she was being drained, as if the energy in her body, her mind, in her very soul, was being pulled out of her and into Watchdog. The chill going through her seemed to reach her ears, and she heard - Tôi, Ashley George, long trọng khẳng định rằng tôi sẽ ủng hộ Hiến pháp và luật pháp Hoa Kỳ; que je prenne cette obligation librement, sans aucune réserve mentale ni but d'évasion; et que je m'acquitterai bien et fidèlement des devoirs de la fonction sur laquelle je suis sur le point d'entrer. And then "Y'all know Judy can't sleep anymore, right?" Watchdog was murmuring in a voice that sounded oddly familiar to both Lulu and Adam. "This is how Ah help her sleep, and how Ah help her control her powers. But you've gotta relax and let me do this, Lulu-" She reached down and put her other hand on Lulu's, aware she was definitely bleeding down that arm, and squeezed tighter. "Come on honey, we're almost there..." The others could see nothing happening, just Ashley holding on and Lulu seeming to waver, the storm of debris in the air beginning to wobble and loose power, as she - stood over her father's grave and vowed an oath of vengeance kissed a boy and liked it screamed a final curse at Callie Summers before turning and walking away held Judy while the world burned and told her everything was going to be all right kissed a woman and liked it looked Judy in the eye and told her that whatever happened, she'd be with her till the end of the line... Slowly, slowly, Lulu's eyes drifted shut as the debris fell to the floor. She was asleep. With a deep sigh, Ashley stepped back, hand rubbing her arm where she'd been cut before - and vanished.

There was some commotion in the hallways - students with various enhanced senses to see what was the matter, but the floor's RA was already on the scene to help smooth things out and help everyone get back to bed. And then an unusual duo arrived - Nurse Aretha Joy, head nurse for the whole school, with an unlikely person in tow. Ashley Smith looked tired and decidedly odd - a leather jacket thrown over full-length red flannel pajamas, cracking her knuckles. At the door, while the two nurses talked quietly, Ashley muttered something under her breath in a language Mia didn't speak - then stepped inside. "Lulu. Adam." Her tone was distinctly different than Watchdog's usual bark, but she still sounded decidedly wary. "I'm here to help." She took a few steps into the room, Watchdog's helmet under her arm. "It's okay," she said, "I know Judy has told you I've helped her with her powers, and I can help you. I just need you to trust me," she said, looking intensely at Lulu and Adam, the two nurses watching her as she did so. I was hoping to keep this a secret, but I can't let a psion go crazy in the heart of Claremont.

Judy's eyes widened, hand going to her throat automatically. "Oh, Ah'm so sorry," she murmured softly. "Don't-don't worry about me, Ah'm fine. Ah've had much worse days than this," she said with that same smile that didn't quite go all the way - at least not until she said, "Ah'm glad you liked the message, anyway. Ah can do other stuff, but it's nice to use it to just talk to somebody. Maybe we can practice sometime." Ashley gave Nick a distinctly laser-eyed look - but didn't seem as interested in chasing him off the way Claude was. "So what do you like to do with science and stuff?"

Mostly. There was a lot contained in that mostly. Anyway, I thought by signing up to serve the state, I'd be protecting the state - not playing babysitter to a sixteen-year-old. Like I said, I don't actually have it that bad. It's just a raw deal for the damn kid. She thought for a minute, then said, Hey, one last thing about this - do you happen to know of any species that absorbs and reemits EM wavelengths between one meter and one millimeter? I'd really like to know what the hell alien she's related to, but we don't know much beyond Lor, Grue, cyborg, and Khan up there.

Nurse Beaubien immediately put down the bag. "It's all right, Ms. Beaumont," she said reassuringly, "we don't have to give you any drugs. We're not going to do anything to you that you don't want. I'm going to message Nurse Joy," she said, carefully interposing herself between Mia and the brewing storm inside the room, "and she's going to send us some help. You're safe now, and everything's going to be all right." She kept her word, taking out her phone and quickly tapping out a text, continuing her conversation with the other students. "Mr. Lanchester, do you feel safe where you are?"

Riley thought of his brother's face and safe life in college - the one he'd been so eager to make sure he didn't share with Riley. "Can't share identity. Not safe." He twirled the hatchet he held, then set it on the table in front of him so gently it didn't' so much as thunk. "Machine shapeshifter, plant controller, metal man, speedster on fire, powerhouse hunter," he said, moving from Torque through the other characters in the room before coming to Sagrado Corazon. "Catholic wizard?" he hazarded. "Cards on table." He leaned back, studying the others from behind his dark shades. He hadn't yet given much in the way of clues of his own identity, but that didn't bother him much. "Don't recognize any of you."

Sh*t! What did I say!? There was a distinct pause on the typing as Ashley put the details together. I didn't say anything. She's smart, we've been talking for a while, and I've let some details slip. After a little while, she typed back It was my idea. I can't complain. I just wish they treated her better. She considered that for a moment or two, then wrote back: The hell of it is, I am proud of this even though it's awful. I am proud of what I do. Know this probably sounds really stupid to somebody who lives in the depths of space and has seen a thousand planets. But I love this f*cking country. She swallowed, drank some more beer, and wrote again: This place was founded on the idea that everybody's equal, and sometimes that's BS but that's better than a whole lot of places. People in this country took my dad's family in when they were going to be dragged out of their house and shot in a ditch because they were Chinese, even though half the country thought they were human rats. Everybody gets a fair shot at the dream. But sometimes it's a f*cking nightmare. She smirked a little and added Probably sounds like one ant saying she's got the best hill in the yard, right? But that's me.

Ashley took a moment to do the math. I get about 25% of the year off - but when I'm working, it's all day, every day. I even sleep and eat in-character. Actual days off are 1 in 30. That wasn't exactly right but it was close enough. Everyone thinks my 'character' is sneaking around and gonna get detention when she gets back. She grinned and typed back And hey, I _am_ sneaking around, drinking, and sexting to somebody up in space, so that is _several_ violations of the code of conduct right there. She took a moment to think, then said, If I ever don't pick up, it just means I don't have my phone with me. I can't carry it around the school in case the damn cyberkinetics go looking for nudes or some s*it. A couple of the kids are watching me already, but teenagers don't tend to have a lot of tradecraft. Anyway, if I ever don't pick up, I'll get it soon.