S.H.I.E.L.D.: Avengers Academy (IC)

[Meritocratic Conglomerate]

'New Yearly' SHIELD Base
Hudson Owens / Heatwave

August 1, 2020, Avengers Academy

Peripheral vision has always been a strength of Marie's-a necessary one, and it was keen enough to spot a new arrival-another teenager, it seemed, holding back near the doorway. She caught his gaze, and gestured for the young man to come on down.

Heatwave nodded at the women, coming forward towards the group.

"Uh, Hi?" Hudson said tentatively, eye the group before him. They looked to be in mid-conversation.

He sidled up beside her. His sizable frame only managing to match hers. He though she looked pretty tough, didn't catch him much as a hero through. An agent maybe?

He took in the comfortable area around them. It looked like a recreation area to him, with couches and a general lax atmosphere. But he wasn't sure. He looked at the other individuals, a couple seemed to be in costume. When he first got the invitation he assumed they would all be some sort of hero. Super powered or otherwise.

Which is why I wore the outfit. Hudson thought, self-consciously. He didn't exactly look the the most approachable person. To be fair, it is the costume of a villain.

His fathers armor was built to be menacing. The featureless red mask designed to be intimidating in the sense of something unnatural and inhumane. While he had made his own modification he had kept the overall vibe. Now he regretted his decision not to make it more heroic. At the time he rationalized that it would help scare the bad guys.

Feint clicks told him his mask had found information on some of the more identifiable individuals.
The blue alerts forming folders in the corner of his HUD. Well... I guess the pros outweigh its cons. He though, thankful for something to do. A small flick of his fingers caused the folders to take up his vision. More movement causing the files to scroll down.

It was an aggregation of all public accessible records on the people before him. It was connected to a network designed to catalog heroes and villains alike. It was especially useful to up and coming vigilantes like himself.

Even as he read the text he kept an ear out, hoping to catch something important or something he could use later.

First day and you've already messed up. Hudson though, bitterly, Argh, I knew I should've gone to this place first. He lamented at the poor image this reflected on himself. Coming in late, probably missed introductions. Ill have to prove myself some other way it seems. Hudson then though, hopeful at his prospects.

Unconsciously his excitement and anxiety had began heating the air around him. Causing a small draft of warm air to form around him. Too focused on the files in front of him to notice the change in temperature.

[Puffin Islands]

Queens, NY
August 1, 2020
Hunter Hayes/Agent Voltage

"Come on Doc, lets go, I am already late!" "Hunter, I'll just get you a portal and teleport you there, but first, remember," "Just let the kid go! Take care of yourself, and if you see Colossus, say hi for me!" "Alright Wade, see you later Doc!" I said jumping through the portal Doctor Strange made for him.

Dang it Doc. He teleported me to the wrong place. Avengers Acadamy, not Avengers Tower. Great, that's not very...shocking. New York was confusing enough. Who knows New York better than anyone...THAT'S IT!!! I called up a friend. "Hey Buggy...ya I need help...no, I don't need money...no, I don't need medical attention. I need directions...yes, Doc teleported me to the wrong place again...thanks, later bro." Good to know you canget some help around here. Then I head someone behind me...

"Are thou lost?"

[Flammaland]

God she hoped she wan't late.
You know you probably are.
Lillian was sprinting down the street towards the post office that had been called the "New Yearly Office For Moving," her duffle bag of possessions swinging behind her.
I bet they shout at the last one in, maybe they even torture them. And you're probably the last one in, let's be honest.
She reached the building and found her way inside, her hands shaking as she swiped her id card.
Not even sure why you're bothering with this. We both know that unless I'm in charge you're next to useless.
"Please don't ruin this for me. This is my one chance to do something good for the world and now... just please don't ruin everything." She pleaded internally.
We've had this discussion meat-suit. You give me control and I stop ruining your life.
Foreboding corridors of steel and concrete flashed by her, until she found a room that had clearly been set aside for training. The padded walls reminded her of the "rehabilitation centres" she'd been locked in for much of her childhood. She was so focused on running and not making eye contact with anyone that she ran head long into one of the people she assumed was one of the instructors.
Oh very well done. Yeah, that's going to help you. Really spectacular entrance there. Christ why do I have to get the clumsy one?[/i
Lilian looked up, tears almost welling up in the corner of her eyes. She recognised the person she'd run into immediately. There was no mistaking them. Vision.
Great. Brilliant. Hope your healing is ready to go because oh boy are you going to need it.
"I'msorryI'msorryI'msorrry" Lillian almost squealed the words and backed up, hitting a target on one of the walls. "I just, just, please don't hate me I'm sorry."
And there we are ladies and gentlemen, our resident master of diplomacy.

[Prolieum]

August 1, 2020, Avengers Academy

Where the last new guest had excluded confidence-arrogance, really, the new one was the opposite. The kid looked like he had shown up to a party in-costume where no one had told him it was formal attire. Marie had never been a fan of costumes-and the apparently scary one only upped the awkwardness meter. Still, someone new and uncomfortable is a lot less likely to either pull something stupid, or stab someone in the back-so it is probably for the best.

He stepped in rather close to her, stammered out a greeting, and seemed to space out, while the air around her suddenly grew warmer.

Saperlipopette. Is this kid flirting with me?

That was not a road that she wanted to go down-not like this anyway. She took a half step back, and disguised it by using the distance to sketch a quick bow, and tried to put him more at ease.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, young Sir. Capitaine Marie Charpentier, at your service."

[United Kingdom of Poland]

Christina Amsel looked over the new arrival. Never one for costumes, preferring the simpler all black ensemble common among counter terrorism units. She did have to give him a little credit for the intimidation factor. Almost made up for how awkward it looked being the only guy in the room wearing their costume. Or the fact that he was superheating the room in his attempt at an introduction.

August 1, 2020, Avengers Academy

Where the last new guest had excluded confidence-arrogance, really, the new one was the opposite. The kid looked like he had shown up to a party in-costume where no one had told him it was formal attire. Marie had never been a fan of costumes-and the apparently scary one only upped the awkwardness meter. Still, someone new and uncomfortable is a lot less likely to either pull something stupid, or stab someone in the back-so it is probably for the best.

He stepped in rather close to her, stammered out a greeting, and seemed to space out, while the air around her suddenly grew warmer.

Saperlipopette. Is this kid flirting with me?

That was not a road that she wanted to go down-not like this anyway. She took a half step back, and disguised it by using the distance to sketch a quick bow, and tried to put him more at ease.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, young Sir. Capitaine Marie Charpentier, at your service."

Capitaine, so that means she French, probably military since I've never heard of her before. Well since everyone else is giving their names away.

"Christina Amsel, Grenzschutzgruppe 9 der Bundespolizei. I take it your pyrokenetic?" She asks the new member of their little chat group.

[Kingdom of Irhk]

John Rhodes

A new person went in the room, and brought along a great deal of discomfort for Rhodes. Somehow, he was heating up the air in the room. He loosened up his tie and pulled up the sleeves of his shirt before turning to the man.

"Mate, if you're doing it, can you please stop it?"

However, he didn't let Christina's statement go by. He took a mental note about her military experience, most precisely the special training that she received.

[The Olog-Hai]

August 1, 2020, Avengers Academy: Frederick Deacon

Frederick was late. Not too late, he hoped. He had gotten a bit overinvolved in packing up all his stuff into this one duffel, and picking out civilian clothes to wear for once.
It feels weird, wearing these again, he thought. How long has it been? I've been in the army for quite some time, and worked with S.H.I.E.L.D before. That's probably why I got invited to this, a decently useful experienced man. Hell, with what he'd heard, a lot of the people there would be young people with damn superpowers. They probably couldn't do much well, but they'd learn, he'd teach them, if he had to shove it down their throats.
Frederick strolled down the street towards the now abandoned post office, in pretty much regular civilian clothes, though he did have some decent military clothes in his duffel. As soon as he got where he was going, and got a chance, he'd change. No letting regular civvies mistake him for one of them. No, he was actually military trained. Hopefully there would be others like him there.
Opening the door of the post office, he glanced around, and, seeing no one, swiped his key card on the slot. Descending the elevator, he barely noticed, being used to a variety of experiences that would normally be gutwrenching to most people. He was hardened though, hardened because of those.
Once the elevator doors make their ding!ing sound that signified his arrival, he strolled towards the sound of voices and emerged in a large room.

[Prolieum]

August 1, 2020, Avengers Academy

Marie Charpentier

Well, if the hat was not enough..,

It was not that Marie was anti-German, at least not exactly. She had served with the Luftwaffe as a liaison, though that was nothing special, she had liased with most of NATO-but something always niggled at her. There was the ancestral rivalry, of course, and her father had always been a hardliner about that, but GSG9 in particular...

Even since their involvement in the "incident" four years ago, she had been harboring something of a dislike for the group, and this woman had already been seeming to match her expectations.

Keep it in line. I am not going to screw over an international operation because I could not let some ancient territorial feud stay dead.

Still, she would be keeping something of an eye on her. Call it paranoia, call it instinct-heck, call it racism, she was playing it safe.

Yet another person filtered into the room from the hallway-clearly military again. She thought it a tad ironic that some of the untrained kids had gotten there first, but she pushed it aside. She was not quite sure of his nationality, American, perhaps?, but he was certainly older than most in the room. Perhaps a trainer of some kind.

Maybe I ought to stop speculating and start asking.

She greeted him as he arrived. "Hail. Capitaine Marie Charpentier, at your service. Who do I have the pleasure of making the acquaintance of?"

[Altito Asmoro]

Agent Hawk/Alexander Hanson
Saturday, August 1st, 2020
Manhattan, New York
Avengers Academy

Alexander approached the post office and went inside, after he paid for the food and the coffee...and the waitress's number, heh. Anyway, once he's inside the post office, he slid his ID to access the elevator that goes straight to the base.

"Welcome, Agent Hawk." said the automated voice as he entered the elevator, which then goes straight to the base. He was not in the mood of being angry or all, but more like being calm, if a bit happy. Regardless of his current mood, he wanted to see the current initiates, as well as converse with the other agents.

The elevator opened, and then he walked out, and headed straight to rooms on the hallway, maybe he could met someone new around here...

August 1, 2020, Avengers Academy

Marie Charpentier

Well, if the hat was not enough..,

It was not that Marie was anti-German, at least not exactly. She had served with the Luftwaffe as a liaison, though that was nothing special, she had liased with most of NATO-but something always niggled at her. There was the ancestral rivalry, of course, and her father had always been a hardliner about that, but GSG9 in particular...

Even since their involvement in the "incident" four years ago, she had been harboring something of a dislike for the group, and this woman had already been seeming to match her expectations.

Keep it in line. I am not going to screw over an international operation because I could not let some ancient territorial feud stay dead.

Still, she would be keeping something of an eye on her. Call it paranoia, call it instinct-heck, call it racism, she was playing it safe.

Yet another person filtered into the room from the hallway-clearly military again. She thought it a tad ironic that some of the untrained kids had gotten there first, but she pushed it aside. She was not quite sure of his nationality, American, perhaps?, but he was certainly older than most in the room. Perhaps a trainer of some kind.

Maybe I ought to stop speculating and start asking.

She greeted him as he arrived. "Hail. Capitaine Marie Charpentier, at your service. Who do I have the pleasure of making the acquaintance of?"

...in which he stopped in a certain room where apparently there are lot of new people round there. Speculating won't do much, you know.

So he went inside the room. He greeted them all, "Greeting, ladies, gentleman. What sort of activity you lot doing here, at the moment?"

[Prolieum]

August 1, 2020, Avengers Academy

Marie Charpentier

Marie looked up at yet another new arrival-If this keeps up we are going to have an entire company of operatives, or whatever we are

She had been taking it on herself to greet the others, so she suspected she ought to keep that up.

"Breaking the ice-is that how your say it? We have a joint meeting at 20:00, until then, it seems to be unregulated conversation."

[Altito Asmoro]

August 1, 2020, Avengers Academy

Marie Charpentier

Marie looked up at yet another new arrival-If this keeps up we are going to have an entire company of operatives, or whatever we are

She had been taking it on herself to greet the others, so she suspected she ought to keep that up.

"Breaking the ice-is that how your say it? We have a joint meeting at 20:00, until then, it seems to be unregulated conversation."

Agent Hawk/Alexander Hanson
Saturday, August 1st, 2020
Manhattan, New York
Avengers Academy

"Well...guess you have to prepare for it. Director's won't treat you nicely, after all you are here to be trained to protecting the world, not just your country." said Hawk, though to be fair he's here for protecting his world, too. Not just UK.

He forgot to introduced himself, man. So he introduced himself, "Ah, where are my manners, sorry. Name's Hawk, Agent Hawk, former SAS, you know, British SAS. I watched you before from the cafe in front of the post office with that strange-looking man."

"Well, good luck to all of you. And Godspeed." said Hawk, but instead of went out he sat at one of the chair inside the room.

"Go on, don't mind me, I don't have much to do anyway. Though if you want to ask anything about SHIELD or Avengers, then be my guest. Ask away."

[Ameriganastan]

All these people were a field day for Mikhail. He had found a comfy seat in the corner, dutifully taking notes on what he gathered about these people.

"Like an opened book..."

He was broken from his revel by a buzzing in his pocket.

"Phones still being on down here?"

He set his notepad aside, answering it.

"Da? Oh, sweetheart...yes, my English being much better, no? Don't even speak it week ago...already asleep? Well, tell them papa miss them already...Da, loving you too...no, can't be telling you where. Very secret work...I don't thinking so...I'll ask if you can sends food through them...yes, like post office..."

He glanced around the room, using his left hand to continue writing as he talked.

"Da...da...nyet...nyet! You know you only one for me...okay, must go now. Bye, krasivaya."

He hung up, switching back to his dominant hand as he observed.

[Esselman]

God she hoped she wan't late.
You know you probably are.
She recognised the person she'd run into immediately. There was no mistaking them. Vision.
Great. Brilliant. Hope your healing is ready to go because oh boy are you going to need it.[/i]
"I'msorryI'msorryI'msorrry" Lillian almost squealed the words and backed up, hitting a target on one of the walls. "I just, just, please don't hate me I'm sorry."
And there we are ladies and gentlemen, our resident master of diplomacy.

Vision, in a rare instance showed a puzzled face, before returning to normal. He paused raising his hand, he didn't know every student's full abilities nor powers, but this one exuded a personality and something... other.

"Hate? I know the word, but do not contain the feeling. You are not late, to my standards the others are conversing, but dinner will be ready soon." spoke Vision.

He paused once more looking at her, he motioned for her to the rooms where students could rest for the night but not speaking further as Director Coulson came back in to motion him over.

[Esselman]

S.H.I.E.L.D base
Testing Lab, proper clearance only

Director Coulson laid out cards on the table, replicas of the ID badges the students of the academy had on a metal table, looking them over he thought and pondered, wondered and decided. Next to Coulson the other instructors of the Academy looked on toward the table before them. On a screen adjacent to them showed the face of Hawkeye looking on as the others did too.

“So. What are we doing, what is this?” asked Hawkeye to break the silence

“We have a team here, but in true fashion, we were going to tap the room and listen in on their interactions but Vision here decided it best to let them actually have privacy. So we met in the middle and left cameras in the general meeting area,” said Coulson

“How about these two,” said Mockingbird moving the badges of Titan and Heatwave forward from the lineup.

“For an electrical fire maybe,” scoffed the U.S.Agent

“We put together the agents, leave the heroes to their own.” He continued

“Yeah if we want them to implode on one another!” interjected Mister Immortal cheerfully

“Reminds me, how’s Deadpool doing Missy?” grunted out U.S.Agent to Mister Immortal who simply flipped his hair away

“You two can have a ‘who’s worst’ off later, this is about the Academy right” said Hawkeye over the connection

Coulson shifted around the badges, making a few pairings of some and then placing them in separate cases by pairing. He then gave each instructor a case, some with more than others, but all containing names.

“We guide them. These are not your pawns with you the king, we need them, you do remember,” said Vision with an air of wisdom and serenity in his tone, per usual.

Over the comm links that each student had Vision sent a message, the comms were of new tech and gave a slight binging noise akin to a dog whistle before a voice could be heard causing a delay. The noise seemed to echo slightly due to their location, but above ground would be fine.

“Initiates, this is Vision. We have… food, for those of you who will eat in the… lunchroom? In the Canteen; yes. There you may eat and later rest in your quarters, we have a testing tomorrow.

Visions message ended while in the lab the instructors continued to meet and talk, an area for which the students had no access.
The canteen had a variety of food, located only 20 feet from their quarters so the aromas of food no doubt reached them in the meeting area. There were not many sweets prepared by chefs who were brought in specially for tonight and would not be the usual items served, but a variety was plentiful tonight. Dishes like empanadas, roast lamb, bob chorba, poutine, Pot-au-feu, Irish stew, risotto, dim sum , kimchi, warm pirozhki, sauerkraut, falafel,fish and chips, and simple hamburgers and hot dogs. This was coupled with a litany of sides, rice, beans, etc. that completed the meals in every way. The sweets area was small, some cookies and an odd blue ice cream labeled Stark-reme Cones. They would have carte blanche over the food tonight, and could request special items periodically during their time but for the rest of the night it was dinner, conversation, and sleep, because come morning it was training day.

[Prolieum]

Avengers Academy, August 1st, 2020

Marie Charpentier

The tone in her ear was expected, it seemed that the meal had arrived-though apparently the actual assemblage of the team before their instructors and superiors was not to occur until the following morning.

Perhaps it was not very French of her, but Marie had never really cared at all for fine foods, it had always seemed just wasteful, almost. Most of her life, starting in boarding school, had been on rather restrictive diets, and what she did grow to like came a bit from her rural upbringing in Marseille. She took some nuts, vegetables, fruit, salad-an onlooker might mistake her for a vegetarian, though she had no problem with eating meat-it simply did not fit the way she dieted herself-not the vapid supermodel kind of diet, but healthy eating. She added some fish and skim milk to complete the meal, and selected a seat in the cantina near the corner. She closed her eyes briefly, and began to eat meticulously-very polite, but almost robotic, as she systematically removed each bit of nutrition from her plate.

She elected to turn in early. Standard soldier's strategy was simple-when you can eat, eat, when you can sleep, sleep. You never know when you will get the next chance. She rather doubted it was that bad-but she had always been a definite follower of the early-to-bed, early-to-rise philosophy, and 20:15 was not particularly early for her. Whatever would happen the next day, a full night's rest would give her an edge that she needed. Her meal completed, she disposed of it in the designated area, and headed back to the main room, presumably having finished before the others. She slid in her card-briefly wondering what would be to happen if it was lost, and entered the room. She stripped down, pulled on warm pajamas-the temperature was comfortable enough, but the long underwear was a habit, and forewent the bed beneath, rather pulling out a blanket, and laying it along the series of rungs hanging from the ceiling. The solid metal could easily support her weight, and she laid herself out over them, distributing her body weight as best she could over them to keep them from digging in too severely, and closed her eyes to wait for sleep to come.

[Flammaland]

Vision, in a rare instance showed a puzzled face, before returning to normal. He paused raising his hand, he didn't know every student's full abilities nor powers, but this one exuded a personality and something... other.

"Hate? I know the word, but do not contain the feeling. You are not late, to my standards the others are conversing, but dinner will be ready soon." spoke Vision.

He paused once more looking at her, he motioned for her to the rooms where students could rest for the night but not speaking further as Director Coulson came back in to motion him over.

Lillian followed Vision, eyes downcast.
Why is it that all the powerful ones are always so boring?
When she reached the room that Vision had directed her to, Lillian sat down in a corner and hugged her knees to her chest. She knew that dinner was ready, but she wasn't hungry and she didn't want to interact with anyone just now.
Am I to assume then that the rest of this program is going to be very boring? You're just going to shut everyone out? Maybe attach yourself to an instructor as a substitute father figure. Given that I killed your real dad and all.
"shutupshutupshutup" Lillian muttered under her breath.
There was a moments silence in her head...
No, bored now. Maybe if you let me out once in a while I could be persuaded to not harass you at every waking and sleeping moment.[i]
[i]"No, not again."
Fine. But don't come crying to me next time you disagree with someone's decisions about which school you should go to.
Lillian shut her eyes and shook her head violently. She was never letting that thing take over. Never.
Never's a long time meat-suit.

[Spindle]

Lucy Green
S.H.E.I.L.D. Complex
New York

Lucy jumped about a foot into the air when the voice spoke from almost directly behind her...well, almost directly above her, anyway. She spun around wildly and looked up at the two asians stepping out of the shadows for several seconds, a hello dying on her lips as she realised who it actually was that she was speaking to. Before she could come up with something to say, another voice spoke up from behind her and she span around once again to behold a sight she had been sure she would never see in her life. Ever.

Vision. Coulson. The Avenger himself (itself? She wasn't sure) and the man who had brought them together. It was like a dream come true. As if something in the universe wanted to spoil the moment for her, her ears picked out something in Vision's opening statement. Avengers? She wasn't an Avenger! Sure, she was a fan, but she wasn't a superhero or anything. She didn't have any powers, or abilities, or training. She was just a girl.

Still, she managed to push the niggling doubt into the back of her mind as she scurried further into the complex with the rest of the group. When the glass panels first appeared, Lucy rushed to the front of the group, ahead of Coulson and Vision, and pressed her nose against the glass in order to peer outside into the sapphire waters outside. Occasional fishes flashed by, iridescent rainbows which flickered for brief moments before fading away into the murky water beyond.

She progressed along the corridor in a leapfrog manner, rushing ahead in order to peer out into the water before being overtaken and having to scurry to catch up with the main group. Her erratic progress was only halted when she burst out into a room which was obviously built for exertion of some kind. The floor and walls were all thickly padded, such that her feet sank over an inch into the ground, and the targets stacked up against the wall or set up gave a hint as to what the room might be used for.

But Lucy's eyes were drawn towards the figures standing on the padded floor. All of them were dressed like superheroes of some form and one of them seemed to be a Captain America copycat. Perhaps he was just cosplaying? With a small giggle to herself, Lucy waved at the three people in front of her and grinned like a loon to herself. Three superheroes, the Director and a Captin America cosplayer in one day? Better than a dream come true!

As Coulson made the introductions, Lucy nodded to each one in turn, flashed an even brighter smile than usual at them and gave a small wave. Each one seemed to be so much...the first, Mockingbird, was a biochemist and and acrobat? And she knew Taekwondo? And then, the second one, Mister Immortal? He was immortal? A small shiver passed through her at the thought of that. And the cosplayer. With the actual shield, as well. Lucy knew she would have to talk to him at some point. She wanted, more than anything here, to have a play around with that shield.

As Coulson offered earpieces, Lucy grabbed one with a thankful smile and tried to jam it into her ear. When that failed, she twisted it hard until it eventually half-sat in her ear. It sat at an odd angle, half of it precariously hanging out of her ear, but she didn't notice and she didn't care. She felt like a secret agent as she skipped happily into the common room, shooting one last smile at the teachers before she left.

Examining the common room curiously, Lucy was pleased to see both sofas and a TV. As her eyes swept farther from what were, for her, the points of interest, she noticed the plants dotted around the room and one in particular, with soft, purple and pink flowers blossoming from a deep, green stem. Scurrying over towards it, Lucy's attention rapidly shifted once more to the doors and the keycard-locks.

Sliding her card through the slot Lucy stepped into her room, the doors sliding shut behind her. Without any great fanfare, she threw her bag of shopping onto the 'roof' of the bed and slung her rucksack onto the mattress of the bed. Peering into the bathroom, she nodded to herself in appreciation of the rooms provided before dashing back out of the room. Hefting the plant with the pink and purple flowers, pot and all, she brought it unsteadily into her room and set it down on the side.

Taking only a moment to admire her handiwork, Lucy tore her rucksack open and pulled the various things inside it out of it. A phone and charger landed on the bed before being covered by a spare hoodie and Lucy's current one. A drawing pad landed with a thump and several pencils clattered on top of it before Lucy finally found what she was looking for: the somewhat crumpled mars bar and her packet of crisps. Taking these, she sprinted out of her room and into the common room, vaulting onto a sofa and rolling over so that she was belly-down, her ID card slung over her shoulder by the tumble onto the sofa. Brushing her hair out of her face and reaching up for the remote, she thumbed the TV on and began to flick through what was on, almost oblivious to the new entrants as she munched noisily on her crisps.

A ping jerked her out of her TV-induced coma with a small start before Vision's voice came over it, a little muffled due to the off-kilter placement of the earpiece in her ear but still very much understandable as a promise of food. Springing off of the sofa, and landing in a small heap on the floor, she scrabbled up to her feet and hared off out of the common room towards the canteen at breakneck speed, following her nose all the way. Careening into a chair, her eyes roamed hungrily over the options available to her.

Wolfing down whatever she could get her hands on, Lucy rapidly zeroed in on the cookies and ice cream and took plate after plate of them before scoffing the lot and heading off again for more. By the time the meal finished, her eyes had glazed over with the afterglow of her satiated appetite. As others began to head off, the niggling thought in the back of her mind resurfaced and she swung herself off of her chair and headed straight for Coulson like an arrow.

"Mister Coulson?" She asked, tugging insistently at his sleeve, "Why am I here? Everyone else has superpowers, or knows Kung Fu or something. So why am I here?"

[Meritocratic Conglomerate]

'New Yearly' SHIELD Complex
Hudson Owens / Heatwave

John Rhodes

A new person went in the room, and brought along a great deal of discomfort for Rhodes. Somehow, he was heating up the air in the room. He loosened up his tie and pulled up the sleeves of his shirt before turning to the man.

"Mate, if you're doing it, can you please stop it?"

However, he didn't let Christina's statement go by. He took a mental note about her military experience, most precisely the special training that she received.

August 1, 2020, Avengers Academy

Where the last new guest had excluded confidence-arrogance, really, the new one was the opposite. The kid looked like he had shown up to a party in-costume where no one had told him it was formal attire. Marie had never been a fan of costumes-and the apparently scary one only upped the awkwardness meter. Still, someone new and uncomfortable is a lot less likely to either pull something stupid, or stab someone in the back-so it is probably for the best.

He stepped in rather close to her, stammered out a greeting, and seemed to space out, while the air around her suddenly grew warmer.

Saperlipopette. Is this kid flirting with me?

That was not a road that she wanted to go down-not like this anyway. She took a half step back, and disguised it by using the distance to sketch a quick bow, and tried to put him more at ease.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, young Sir. Capitaine Marie Charpentier, at your service."

York was jarred from his though by the sudden reaction to him. "Uh..." He turned towards the voice, apologizing. Ah, crap. Hudson mentally berated himself for slip-up. His powers were kept in check by a combination mental and emotional control. Except he was too focused on trying to leave the awkwardness of his entrance that he forgot to do so. Of all the places to lose focus.

York internally groaned as he abruptly stopped his heat production. Ordering his skin to go back to normal temperature. The warmth began disappearing rapidly as his the heat was given the mental order to go away. There would of course be some left, this part of the room would probably stay warmer then the rest, but at least it shouldn't be uncomfortably so.

---

York look at the food with tired eyes. The day had been taxing on him. He knew he wanted to be a hero, but he wasn't sure if Shield would be the way to go.

Hudson knew his father wasn't on the best of terms with the paramilitary organization. Heatstroke had a couple of run-ins with them, and warned him that there was always something off about the organization that didn't feel right to him. Heatwave, thought, isn't going to have issues with these guys. Hudson though defiantly. But it probably wouldn't hurt to stay on my toes.

The food on the table looked good. His temperature sense told him they were all still warm. But he personally wasn't hungry. Well, mentally he didn't feel like eating. He was sure his body was screaming at him to go get some cake or something.

Sigh

York made for a piece of cheesecake. He knew meat would be good for him, but he wanted some comfort food right now. He didn't have much of a sweet tooth, opting instead for a plain slice as cut a piece away.

He took one hand from his plate, letting it trail up the side of his mask and then under his hoodie. The movement causing the lower half of the mask to break away. The metal half breaking off on a metal pivot, resting just below his chin. His mask now resembled the more common open mouth kind. He could make out his rebreather from just under his peripheral vision. It's carbon black body framed by red metal and polymer.

Hudson broke a piece off of the desert cake. The soft cream melting in his mouth, Damn, I'd have signed up sooner if this was what they'd be feeding us. Another piece was broken off and put into his mouth, Hudson made an amiable sound, Sleep can wait.

Before he realized it his plate was empty save for a few crumbs. Unabashed he reached over and cut away a larger piece. Plopping it onto his plate as he walked over to one of the tables. Making sure to grab a drink from the table as he did so.

These guys are gonna realize real quick how much It's going to cost to feed me. That had always been York's biggest expense, the same seemed to be true for his scion. Like father, like son. Hudson mused. A large portion of his trust fund had actually been specified to feed him, and thankfully, it was large enough to do so.

His powers were demanding. Requiring copious amounts of calories to function at the higher temperatures. The effect had been rather impressive on his body. The constant heat and caloric burning had toned his muscles and helped defined his build.

He didn't look anything like a body builder though. The heavy caloric requirements of his power making it difficult to build and maintain muscle. Instead he lean, looking more fit to be a runner then anything else.

Fourth slice, let's do this. He had gone through half the cake by now. He was tempted to just take the whole thing, casting a wistful but hopeful glance at it. Before dismissing the thought.

I probably should finish up. Hudson considered. Feeling out for exhaustion through the sugar. One girl had already left, taking a plate of something healthy before heading to her room.
His fork made a scrapping noise as it impacted an empty plate. Coming up with only crumbs and pieces of cream. Maybe just one more slice...

[Barikistan]

Felix looking at all of the new arrivals just looked dazed. Are any of these chumps worth it or,are they all going to die in five minutes. Turning his arm into a blade he inspects its sharpness and then he grows a brick in the air and chops it right in half.

Laughing to himself that was far to easy. Then walking to the corner he leans against it and starts using his eye beam to burn a fly. Felix then looked back at his arm in despair. He hadn't felt anything in such a long time it was upsetting. His crystal like husk made him weep inside.

Felix wanted to be a normal guy again but unless he could find the likley extinct race responsible for it he was stuck like this. He began charming his name in the wall out of bordem.

[Prolieum]

Avengers Academy, August 2nd, 2020

0400

Marie Charpentier

Marie's eyes opened at 0400 on the dot. Seven point five hours from when she had turned in, making sure to hit right at the edge of her REM cycle to squeeze the most rest out of the time period. Her back was sore, as expected, but she waved it off. She was in an awkward position. It seemed that getting up here was substantially easier than getting back down. She could pull her legs into one of the gaps, or her head, but no more than one segment. Thoroughly annoyed by her having somehow trapped herself, she scooted herself forward, let her head and upper body slink downward, then caught herself on her heels, twisted herself up to grab the bar, and heaved herself to the ground.

Not sure if doing that every morning is awesome, or impractical

She was unsure of when, precisely, whatever it was they were going to do was happening-though she highly doubted that it was this early. She was up, rather, to give herself the opportunity to better understand just what she was in. She changed out of her sleepclothes, folded them in the corner-she presumed there was a washer somewhere, she would have to find that as well, and showered briefly before changing into some athletic garb-not spandex, or anything like that, simply a long-sleeved shirt, and workout pants. Before finishing up, she stretched herself out, did some light exercise-a handful of pull-ups and crunches, not a workout, just enough to get her blood flowing. She tied her hair up again, no makeup, and, forgoing shoes, as well as her Beretta, she stepped out of the room.

Essentially, she just wanted to get familiar with the place. Having been shuffled about as much as she had, she always made sure to case out her newest location, for practical and emotional reasons-helpful to know where things were, on a more pragmatic notice, it gave her an edge, and on a personal one, she enjoyed the discovery of a new area.

The central area was much as it had been before, some crumbs on the couch, the oxygen masks still in their old location, and she moved on. Her first discovery was a rather odd room-a handful of desks surrounding several capsules in the middle of the room. If anything, they looked like cryogenic freezing pods, the reasons for having something like that in an academy, though, did not come easily to mind. Several screens on the walls, no controls, implying that they were there to relay information, but the area in front of them was cramped, no room for seating, nor a great deal of standing. Peculiar. She was not sure if she would ask about it, or try to figure out the little mystery on her own. She decided to take a good look at the main hall again, more thoroughly than when she came down. The floating globe was a clever enough piece of engineering, she supposed, though such things always seemed garish to her, sort of like those holograms, or the apparent force field blocking exit on the far wall-just use maps, or a screen, or bars for the door. The tech was really no more practical than them, just flashier, overengineered. She supposed, though, that eccentric American billionaires had a right to throw their money at what they wanted.

It struck her quite a bit how heavy the place seemed. Part of that was likely practical, it would need to be sturdy indeed to withstand the water pressure, but it was very bunker-like, in some ways, almost prison-like. The design she could stand, but the combination with the odd, techy bits spread about, the almost artistically designed walls, just touched her off badly.

She continued on her little escapade, examining what parts of the facility that were open to her, checking for important locations-armory, food storage-and checked her analog watch as she returned to her starting point. 6:07. She elected to head to the Cantina, see if they had anything laid out at this point-if so, an early breakfast, if not, she would return to her room for a pair of nutrition bars, and wait for the rest of the team? group? class? to awaken.

[Meritocratic Conglomerate]

'New Yearly' SHIELD Complex
Hudson Owens / Heatwave

Felix looking at all of the new arrivals just looked dazed. Are any of these chumps worth it or,are they all going to die in five minutes. Turning his arm into a blade he inspects its sharpness and then he grows a brick in the air and chops it right in half.

Laughing to himself that was far to easy. Then walking to the corner he leans against it and starts using his eye beam to burn a fly. Felix then looked back at his arm in despair. He hadn't felt anything in such a long time it was upsetting. His crystal like husk made him weep inside.

Felix wanted to be a normal guy again but unless he could find the likley extinct race responsible for it he was stuck like this. He began charming his name in the wall out of bordem.

Hudson stared at the act of... Well he wasn't sure what was causing it. Some play at intimidation? Boredom? He's just like that? He really hopped it was one of the former.

Seems like a good a reason as any to head out. Hudson though, eating the last of the cake before throwing his plate away. Making his way down the corridor towards his room.

I'd rather not stay in the same room as that... Guy? Whatever he was, crystal-whatever. "Now where's my room." He echoed, looking for the corresponding door number.

"Here we go."

Beep

Like the scanner in the office it briefly flashed red, before turning green. He heard a click noise as the door unlocked. Opening away into a rather Spartan room. "These guys are military"

Hudson scanned the room, turning on the light to give him a better view. Turning it off again a moment later after finding his bed. Closing the door behind him as he placed his backpack in a corner by his bed. Before getting in it himself, only removing his black jacket and armor vest.

[Barikistan]

Felix wakes up early at about three and heads to eat. Sitting there looking depressed. He has t seen his father in along time and it was the 10 anniversary since he had died. This day every year made him depressed because all it did was remind him he was alone and unloved. He sat there eating a bowl of wee this his favirote breakfast cereal from back home.

[The V O I D]

SHIELD Complex
Technological Advancement / Research and Development Division
R&D Laboratory 013

Richard Dawes Thomson was working on something new for SHIELD. Thomson continued intently thinking on his work. Based on his designs for exoskeletons that let him walk, he was designing a new set of battle armor that could be worn under Field Agents' suits. Giving them an edge in the field by enhancing their speed, strength, stamina and... well, durability. Of course, he was still working out the details and it was far from finished, it was just one of the ten or so projects he was working on. And, on the side of working on literally eleven problems at once, he was trying to think up ways to solve the problem of cancer, and how to cure it without inherent health risk.

Warning: You need sustenance to keep hydrated and fed, Mr. Thomson., a specialized medical AI known as 'Medcheck' stated on the screen Thomson was working on. Medcheck was the only reason that Thomson remained healthy. If it weren't for "her" tracking his eating and drinking, he'd probably have almost died of dehydration... twenty times this month alone? At least, feasibly. Thomson stood up. He was glad he had his exoskeleton on, or else that would've been awkward. Thomson walked to the Lab's "break room", which held a refrigerator and microwave and a small table. Thomson grabbed something out of the fridge, pouring himself a tall glass of water. He also made something easy and basic for a lunchbreak. After washing his hands and drying them off, Thomson sat to eat and drink.

Thomson sometimes hated the limitations of flesh. So easy to damage, so easy to lose hydration or have something else inconvenient happen. He made a mental note to, along with the cure for cancer, try and figure out a way to keep people from dehydrating or dying of starvation indefinitely. That's a thing which needed to happen. At least, for him. Thomson finished his lunchbreak, going back into the regular lab to begin working on his various projects again. He kept things tidy in his part of the Lab. Thomson sighed slightly as he continued working on the projects. One thing was certain: Thomson was starting to get annoyed at the fact one of his projects seemed to not work well in design. Why must allowing Quinjets to become convertible for air, sea and space travel be so complicated? Not that it actually was, but it was annoying him that he hadn't figured it out already in the days he'd been working on it.

Oh well. Such is life.

[Kingdom of Irhk]

John Rhodes

The voice of Vision echoing through the room didn't surprise him. The smell of food was definitely attractive. John already ate some food in the way to NY, but he decided to eat something before he went to bed. It was definitely a lighter meal than a usual one, the amount necessary to sustain him but not to make him feel heavy after eating.

As he finished his meal, John walked back to his room, and grabbed his suit's coat in the way. His paranoia made him think about the possibility of cameras in his room or anything like that. Excessive security was probably a rule around the facility, one that would bother him, but one that he didn't disagree of.

He entered his room, more relaxed than before, and started to sort out the stuff in the bags. He managed to smuggle his vigilante's uniform through airport security, and it was the first thing he took off his bags. He stored it inside the wardrobe, along with the suits and the rest of his usual clothes. He wondered what would be the testing process this time, so he decided to prepare. He changed his clothes to more comfortable ones and went to sleep.

After hours of good sleep, John woke up. It was around 6 a.m., and he decided to take this time to meditate. Apart from fighting and shooting, it was John's most frequent occupation. It helped him to not lose his mind or focus, and helped him to calm himself down when needed. He decided to stay in his room, meditating until he was called.

[Cybraxia]

Makoto Ishikawa and Jan Hawthorne

---

At the sound that food was available, both Ishikawa and Hawthorne looked at each other. After a moment, they both shrugged and entered the dining area. Taking seats next to each other, they looked over the food, and began to grab a couple hamburgers. "I still don't understand why I'm here, but I'll accept some food regardless."

While they were eating, they began talking to each other. "So, do you think they have any idea?"

"Why else would we be here? Just keep up the act that it was a mistake."

Jan went back to eating.