ic One By One (IC)

[Ari]

The Dragon Prince smiled awkwardly, his hand seeming to pass through the crystal in a flash of light, coming to the other side holding a bowl and a plate balanced perilously between his fingers. Both billowed with steam, which carried a rich,  aromatic scent of peanuts, fragrant herbs and something more hearty and vegetable-y through the air. Placing the plate and bowl on the table, Leroy inspected the doughy white lump and steaming brown soup with minute care. Another pass, and a spoon and knife twirled deftly onto a pristine white napkin. Off-handed, he said "Beaumont has the right of it. At worst, this is a temporary inconvenience on the way to better things. At best, we come out the other side with friends and allies. Even the strong need those."

 

Slicing a chunk off the dough. Leroy dipped it into the sauce and ate, wiping away a run of brown down his darker chin with the napkin. Swallowing noiselessly, he added "Besides, I understand there are to be team-building events. Such are perfect for passive-aggressive one-uphership, if we must have this feud over ill-humour at being where none of us wish to be."

 

"Fate is in your hands." He took another bite, chewed, swallowed. "Grasp it, drop it, I have no say."

 

"Thought that was in God's hands?" Dio asked, grinning to expose ridges of flat, block-like teeth.

 

"That would be vengeance." Leroy said, very primly.

Edited January 28, 2020 by Ari

[Avenger Assembled]

Eira smiled sourly and popped her neck, the movement reactivating her exterior disguise. It was a bit like watching a sand table being constructed all at once, the way her metallic exterior shifted at the surface, first turning the color of her skin and hair, then extending outward to fill the clothing she'd been wearing that had hung so loosely on her robotic body. "...all right then." She shot a look at Mia, her eyes blue again, that suggested their particular difference wasn't over, before she said, "Who leads the team?" 

[Dr Archeville]

Whoa!

 

"Patriot" looked to Mia, to Lulu, to Leroy, to Abby, then back to Eira.  "We, ah," he shrug-morphed back into Davyd, "that is, I don't think we ever decided on that.  It's definitely not me," he held up his hands defensively, "I am not the leader type.  I'm happy to back the team, provide whatever help I can, but I'm, ah," he glanced around again, "I'm not a shhh-"

 

He stopped suddenly, and a grin spread across his face, "oh, that's an idea!  Okay, so," he looked around at everyone again, "we all sorta know what we can each do, right?  But what kind of roles would we fill on the team?  Like... okay, so, say a Gigantosaur shows up in the bay, stomping towards the city.  And we're the only heroes around, the only ones who can protect the citizens.  Who's doing what?"

[Avenger Assembled]

Eira's eyes briefly unfocused before she zeroed them in on Davyd again, this time looking him in the eye. "Aerial reconnaissance during the initial phase. Evacuation coordination in the second. Engagement during the third." She looked down and studied her green-painted nails, adding, "Who else can fly?" 

[Ari]

"In a pinch, the Phoros can adjust my mass and relativet gravity to carry me aloft," Leroy volunteered, "though I have little more speed than one of your aerocraft. Adjusting the field grants me greater than average strength, and I share the common knack for creating and controlling the black diamonds. By donning them as a crystal carapace, energy and physical attacks can be blunted. As well, I have been trained to speak in any tongue tied to the creatures of Earth, including the Unhuman speech, with the appropriate instruction for soft or hard words as needed."

 

"As a support, I feel I should excel. Should we require shelter, supplies, additional muscle or someone to complement a negotiation, whoever leads would find in me an able right hand."

 

Dio flicked his wings "I can fly, got a link to the giant lava-dragon in your planet's core, and am a multi-ton giant lizard. I've got a bit to offer." he smiled again "Might not be available all the time, though. Heard there's something that needs looking into down the coast."

 

Leroy frowned "I was not informed-"

 

"Why tell you?" Dio looked down at his charge, pointed tail stirring back and forth, a cold contempt on his warm eyes.

Edited January 28, 2020 by Ari

[April]

"I kill it," Abigail said not looking up from her notebook.  "And I protect the citizens."

 

"Transmute it to mist, shunt it into another realm, or just burn it ash."  It didn't sound like boasting, the young mage spoke quietly and earnestly.  "Could easily create barriers, teleport the citizens to safety or, again, just annihilate the threat."  She looked up now, the crown of three flames burning above her head, her eyes glowing a faint green.

 

"I don't need any of you."

 

She paused, blinking at Eira, the glow fading from her eyes.  She hadn't really paid much attention to the new girl when she had come in, but now.. that accent.. the mannerisms.. the voice.

 

"Wait, Eira?!" Abigail exclaimed.  "When did you get here?  Does Kimber know?"

[Avenger Assembled]

Eira looked at Abby, blinking in what looked like surprise. "Oh! Abigail. I am sorry," she said apologetically, a smile crossing her typically dour expression. "Kimber described you to me but I didn't make the connection. Yes, this is my new body," she added with a glance down at herself. "I am going to take it to the castle this weekend. " She looked at where the three flames crown burned on the witch-girl's head and asked cautiously, "So do they know..?" She caught herself before she could finish, looking from Abby to the rest of the group with a slight color in her cheeks.

[Shofet]

Mia felt her eye twitch involuntarily. "Alright," she said in a low but firm tone. "Next person to act smug and dismissive of the rest of us gets a whole lotta cat pee generated above them, got it? I can and will do it. It will take months to get the smell out."

 

"And my power set's broad. I can generate any matter. Anything on the periodic table and some stuff off of it. Which means I have a lot of flexibility. I could make a giant container to trap it, could make a big hunk of meat to distract it. Could turn the air around it into nitrous oxide to knock it out, or generate a very small amount of anti-matter and direct the blast at it. I am also a teleporter. Could teleport civilians to safety, or rapid relocate team members. If we really need to, could move people anywhere in the Americas."

[Dr Archeville]

... maybe Mia should be the leader.

 

"Yes, yes, we're all individually terrifyingly powerful," Davyd said in what he hoped was a diplomatic tone.  "When I first got my powers, I became a giant blob-monster, so I might be able to go kaiju-a-kaiju with Gigantosaur.  Though I'd prefer luring the beastie away, either into a trap you all set up or back to Kaiju Island.  And, yes," he turned his head towards Eira, "I can fly, if I turn into something with wings."

 

He swiveled his head towards Abby, then back to Eira.  "You two know each other, yes?  That's great, should make things easier for you here!"  Back to Abby, then back to Eira, "so do we know what?  Some secret that might compromise us working together as a team?"  He leaned back a bit so he could get everyone in his field of vision, "we've all got some secrets, yeah?  And that's natural, sure.  But if there's anything that might wind up working against the team, that might pit you against us, that's no good, and I'd suggest we get those out as soon as possible.  Here, I'll start."

 

Davyd stood, his form not so much shifting as melting.  Now he was only vaguely humanoid in shape and size, with a narrow head featuring a thin lipless mouth, two tiny slits instead of a nose, and solid eyes of an indistinct, muddy hue.  His flesh was now a muddy mix of blacks, browns, pinks, reds, and yellows.  "This is my true form now," he said in a wet, warbling approximation of his voice, "and I am this way because the accident that gave me my powers infused me with some Grue DNA.  Now, I don't feel Grue-y, I still feel like the horror- and sci-fi-loving teen I was before the accident," he shifted back into his Davyd form as he sat back down, "but I know that there is a chance that, at some point, my mind may change, just as my body has.  And I'm telling you all now so you can be prepared for that."

[Ari]

"It's like we're back home, eh prince? listening to junior cadets argue over who can empty a planet the fastest. D'you think, if we leave them go long enough, they'll take each other out for real?" Dio chuckled deep in his massive throat.

 

Leroy's polite, polished smile never wavered.

 

"If lady Storm has some link to an existential threat against this and all known realities, I am confident she will introduce the subject at an appropriate time." Leroy drummed his long, elegant fingers on the tabletop with a free hand as he took dainty bites and sips with the other. Dabbing at his mouth, he added solemnly to the undisguised shapeshifter "Davyd, I must commend you. It takes considerable courage to admit to inhumanity. Unless I am horribly tortured or encounter a psychic, your secret is safe with me."

 

He turned to address the psychic in the room "Beaumont, after this meeting we should confer. There are some things too dangerous for me to know."

 

With another flick of his fingers and a flash of light, an ornate glass of water appeared. After taking a sip, he went on casually "There is one small matter: Overwhelming force is all very well, but there are times it is neither necessary nor prudent. For example, explorers from another planet come to this one. They are all ignorance as to our customs and habits. A thoughtless gesture of ours is to them a clear threat of violence. They attempt to defend themselves. What means do we have to help resolve the matter peacefully?"

[Avenger Assembled]

"Have you met Miss Grue? She never mentioned knowing another Grue at Claremont." Eira frowned for a moment or two as she looked at Davyd, but then shrugged. "You will not be judged here, but you are right to keep it secret. Even in space, they are still fearful even of free Grue." 

 

"I speak the most common dialects of the Lor Republic," replied Eira, "as well as the galactic trade language used in the Khanate and Grue Unity. It is unlikely a species could get as far as Earth without learning enough of those languages to communicate. I am also capable of interfacing with any machine complex enough to manage a stardrive." Her gaze saccaded from Abby to the rest of the room, and then she fixed her gaze on Mia and said with a breezy smile "But maybe they like animal urine - who can say?" 

 

 

[April]

Abigail chuckled to herself and shook her head at Eira.  "Some, but I don't think they understand."

 

Her eyes narrowed though at Leroy's comment, and she gave him a very pointed and considering look.  Was that luck, or does he actually know?  She thought to herself.  The crown of three flames blazed above her head for a few heartbeats more before flickering away.  And she got very interested in her notebook again ignoring Mia's threat.

[Shofet]

"Oh, yeah, and then when you inevitably condescend to them, we can try and figure out a new plan when they go from defending themselves to actually trying to outright murder us," Mia said, rolling her eyes at Eira. "Sorry, Eira, but if other species' first impressions are like the one you've given us, I don't exactly think you'd be making friends in this scenario."

 

"And you know what? Fine. I admit I bring nothing to the table when it comes to communicating with a species that I have no absolutely no cultural ground to cover. I'm not a xeno-anthropologist, I'm the kid of an ex-supervillain and I can make stuff out of thin air. I mean, it's a really problematic question anyway. What if they don't have eyes or ears? What if they communicate by magnetism or some quantum function we haven't even discovered yet or something and because their brain is weird, telepathy doesn't work on them? Sure, most of the species we interact with are like us, but there's gotta be some like, silicon based stuff out there. What if their culture feels that if you don't immediately give up a baby to be eaten to a visitor, it's a declaration of war?"

 

"At some point, this becomes a question for people who aren't us. At some point we'd have to defer to people who have spent their entire lives working towards that stuff, and all we can do in that situation is make sure they don't kill anybody before that misunderstanding is resolved. In that situation, none of us are viable."

 

[Avenger Assembled]

Eira stared flatly at Mia, her eyes unfocused as if staring right through her head and then out the back. Then, she all of a sudden seemed to light up with a smile. "Many people on Earth have little experience with the intelligent life of the Galaxy. If you would like to know more about our stellar neighbors, I could arrange a tour of CoVic Station with the Praetorians," she offered brightly. "We have that forthcoming student-planned trip, do we not?" She rubbed the scar over the knuckles of her left hand and looked up at the ceiling. "I know some of you have been there before," she offered with a glance at Leroy, "but it is a very large place. There are many things to see." 

[Shofet]

"Oh, you think you're so ????ing great just because you're connected to the Praetorians while my mom was Revolt. Well you know what? You're not anything like them. You're not like any of the heroes. Heroes don't like to talk down to people and make'em feel small," Mia said, her face becoming red and her eyes misting a bit. 

 

"You're just a jumped up brat and you're probably gonna go super-villain the first chance you get," she spat. "You know what? I don't have to deal with you. I shouldn't have to." She shot up, standing, and then suddenly disappeared in a sudden flash of light. For a few seconds, she was gone, before suddenly reappearing as she reached down, grabbing her bag.

 

"...I forgot my backpack."

[April]

"Mia," Abigail said, her voice soft and gentle.  She had set her book down on the table, and had her forearms resting on it, hands clasped.  "Please, calm down and have a seat," she said, smiling at the other girl.  This wasn't the closed off Abigail the others usually saw, and she waited patiently to see if Mia would sit or not.

 

Regardless, she continued on.  "Eira died," she said softly.  "She got better, in a sense.  And I know it doesn't excuse her.. over exuberance.. but she doesn't mean anything mean by it."

 

'And look," she continued, "The world is vast, and threats will come from not just space or under the Earth but from different planes of reality itself.  And if we're there we have to handle it, because there aren't enough of us to go around.  It won't always be perfect, but it's better than the alternative."

[Ari]

At a thorough loss as to the exchanges between Mia and Eira, Leroy seized gratefully on Abigail's taking charge, and her comment. "Yes, well-said, no harm is sought by any of us. Please, Mia, remain."

 

"I believed a more specific scenario would better illustrate the matter, lady Storm." he said to the elemental sorceress, "What we do not have might be keenly felt. Or our own eyes may blind us, seeing brilliance in an obscuring glare of ignorance. Mustafic-Markov and Night, not to mention yourself or Beaumont, have theoretically unlimited power. My youngest sister, Oloroo, is ten. You could not defeat her. Ever, even without her dragon Rawrenock. Yet, you have wisdom and wit she has not developed. Methods beyond brute and instant force, so problems dark and dauntng to 'Roo are simple as breathing."

 

He frowned "Why you are not more advanced along your paths, I cannot fathom."

 

"Regardless, my point is akin to yours. We must seek out our weaknesses, our flaws and shames as diligently as we cultivate that in which we excel. Otherwise, enemies may catch us unguarded, disaster striking where we never dreamed. Extracontexctual threats can be to us as a period is to a sentence."

 

To Eira, the Dragon Prince added "As for a visit to an alien habitat, Night, consider me signed up." Leroy sighed, his shoulders slumping, "Forbidden to proselytize, alas. When affixing religious significance to Earth could only improve our standing!"  

 

"I don't think that's the way to think about it at all." said Dio, looking deeply troubled.

Edited February 1, 2020 by Ari

[Heritage]

Lulu winced at Mia's remarks and the perhaps inevitable one-upmanship the hypothetical questions seemed to bring out of the group; like Mia, she was not too proud of her origins, but her ability to peer into others' lives had given her a certain perspective. Sitting back down on the edge of a table, she sighed. "Look, we all have our vulnerabilities, our exploitable weak spots, and our issues. We're also still just a bunch of teenagers thrown together because whatever Sorting Hat Claremont uses tossed us into the same squad. Like it or not, no matter what we're made of or how we got here, we're still dumb kids. And ah'm not tryin' to insult anyone's intelligence; ah'm mean we're still learnin' about s*** we don't understand, be it...particle physics or how not to be a**holes. Just because you can turn the Earth into glass or whatever doesn't mean you understand how the world works or your place in it. And ah think the sooner we all admit we have a lot to learn and get over our own bulls***, the better." 

 

She sighed and rubbed her face. "Sorry, ah just had to get that out. And yes, a trip to space sounds lovely."

Edited February 1, 2020 by Heritage

[Avenger Assembled]

Eira shot Abby an annoyed look - the sort one gives an irritating sibling rather than one of any real malice, then rolled her eyes. "I have not been a kid since I was eight years old," she said flatly. She folded her hands before her, unfocused her deep blue eyes, and said, "It's done. I have composed the team request for our trip to Lorspace and dispatched it to your group messaging service." Sure enough, phones with notification systems set to Claremont's group chat were chiming now with a painstakingly written message of several hundred words that argued for Orange Squad to make an urgent trip to space to further their intellectual and social educations. "I will dispatch it to the headmistress as soon as I have our leader's approval." She glared at Mia, then settled back wordlessly in her seat, giving the room a flat, empty stare. 

[Shofet]

Mia looked at all the others, looking lost. Her head buzzed, and she felt a little sick. It was clear to her that Eira had won this little exchange. Mia had lost her cool and now everyone realized what a psycho Mia could be. She felt a lump form in her throat as she took a seat.

 

"I'm... Not a leader... And... Yeah, sure, space," Mia said, her voice hoarse.

 

She frowned, looking down at the table. What was she going to do now? Going to space meant she wouldn't be able to teleport away. She'd be stuck with Eira. She'd make an idiot of herself again. Like she did just now. This was awful. This was going to go terribly. But what choice did she have? Putting her foot down would only serve to make her look worse.

 

"Sorry."

[Avenger Assembled]

"Oh. Do you feel sorry for me?" Eira stared at Mia, her voice as cold and frosty as her super-conducting brain, then hen rose to her feet. "I will send the message to the Headmistress tomorrow morning. I am done." And with that, she stalked right out the door she'd come in before anyone else, opened it with just enough force that it didn't slam, and walked away.  

[Ari]

"A better resolution than I had hoped," Leroy said, letting out a breath he hadn't been obviously holding as the door shut after Eira, "however it leaves us with some unfinished business."

 

Discarding the empty plate, bowl, dirty napkin and cutlery into the dark crystal, he folded his slender hands and smiled assuringly to the rest of the present Squad. "For the present, we do require a leader. Someone to take responsibility for us with the staff and to act as a formal or informal representative. I nominate Mustafic-Markov." He indicated Mia with his ringéd hand. "She has shown, in this very moment, a willingness to change and yet a passionate intensity when it seemed deserved. As well, her mother was leader to a group of superhumans in her youth. Both scores, I think, speak well of her and I can vouch for her ability."

 

"Second, we must have a regular meeting place and time. I suggest the caféterium, We have, at present, no secrets or shameful deeds, so we may speak freely in a comparatively neutral and open space. For meeting times, I say late afternoons. Next time I will make enough food for us all."

 

"Third, we must have some sort of annoying in-group identifier in case we are ever suspicious that someone is a spy masquerading as one of us."

 

He turned to Abigail "Fourth, lady Storm, Dio wishes me to say 'it's more pointed than that' and 'don't forget the barbs.' I must admit total ignorance of what he means, but trust you have it under control."

[Dr Archeville]

Davyd Palahniuk knew he had a number of things about himself that he needed to work on.  For example, he had always been somewhat conflict averse -- specifically, whenever people argued loudly in front of him, he'd shut down.  A number of factors played into this -- his introverted nature, a lack of assertiveness, his preference for people to work with each other rather than against each other, his upbringing in a loving home where such conflicts were nearly non-existent (as far as he knew).  Some of these aspects of his personality had improved over the years -- heated arguments on film or tv used to cause such reactions, but had not done so for many years -- but it was still an issue he needed to work on.

 

And, as was often the case with metahumans (especially teenage metahumans), his powers were reflecting and exacerbating that personality trait.  Which is why he was currently a puddle of muddy goo on the floor under the table.

 

... stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid...

 

But now things were quieter, and one of the arguers had gone.  An eyestalk slithered up from under the table, peeked around, and was followed by the rest of him, flowing up and back into a semblance of his human form.  The features were mostly there, and the coloration a bit off, but as he calmed his appearance came back into focus.

 

"S-so... I-I-I ag-gree with Leroy: we sh-should put some thought into t-team logis... logist... team stuff."  He took a deep breath, held it a moment, slowly exhaled, "I think Mia's a fine choice for team leader.  I'm not sure the cafeteria at supper time would be good for our meetings, though.  Maybe one of the student lounges?  Or the gym?  As for identifiers, that's a tricky one, since a Grue infiltrator could read your mind and know anything you do.  Maybe," he tilted his head towards Abby, "something mystical?"

 

[Heritage]

Lulu closed her eyes and breathed through her nose; well, at least there wasn't any property damage, always a risk when superpowered teens got into it. Then she opened her eyes and looked between Leroy, Davyd and Mia. "You know," she said dryly, "if someone says they don't want to be a leader, that's usually not your cue to volunteer them for the position." Then she sent a telepathic message her friend's way.

 

- Are you okay? That got pretty intense real fast.-
 

[April]

The mage looked up, brushing a strand of hair from in front of her eyes, and tucked it behind one ear.  She hated how the meeting fell apart, and she should have seized control of the situation a lot earlier, but she was always reluctant to do so because she never knew if it was what she wanted to do or what her mother trained her to do.

 

Still, in this one small matter, she would take the initiative.

 

"I will permit use of my Sanctum," she said.  "It is secure."