Tony did not move, taking the shot right in the chest. Instead of blasting him across the rooftop, however, he merely flinched as the golden energy collided with him in a small burst. When the obscuring cloud of energy cleared, Booster Gold would see the faint outline of a blue shield running across the Heartbreaker's armor, flickering faintly before becoming transparent once more.
Tony nonchalantly glanced down at his unfazed chest, then back up at Booster. "Let me reiterate." His faceplate slid shut. "You are an ass."
Iron Man took off with sudden speed, heading straight for Booster, arms wide open in an attempt to catch the man in a full-body tackle before trying to fly him up and away from the city. At the same time, Tony momentarily shut the armor's speakers off. "JARVIS - get Phil on the line now!"
"Understood, Sir."
Whether or not his team was already done with cleanup at the gala, Agent Coulson's phone suddenly rang. If he picked up, he would hear JARVIS' synthetic voice echo into his ear, tone as casual as ever. "Agent Coulson: Sir was unable to convince Booster Gold to stand down. If you or anyone else can do so before Mr. Gold's recklessness causes damage - physical or otherwise - Sir would appreciate it."
"Got to thank him too when I see him again," Karen replied to Rogue with a nod and another smile. Come to think of it, we rarely thank him for all the other stuff he helps with. Yeah, we tend to have a lot of other things to worry about at the same time, but still...
On the mention of Tony from Megan, the blonde's eyes widened, and she jerked forward slightly, missing Rogue's comment about Rocket. "OhmyGod, Stark! He must be worried sick about me! I offered to go to the gala in his place, and then all that stuff happened - " Karen began to pull the blanket off her, before stopping halfway, seeing the top of the patient's gown she currently had on. "......Welp, I'm guessing the gown I was wearing is torn and shot up to major indecency levels, huh?" she muttered sheepishly, pulling the blanket partway up again. "And my regular outfit's back at the manor..."
edited 8th May '16 2:52:46 AM by Demovere
X-Mansion Front Lawn
"Yeah, just ignore me, I got nothin' to say, especially not when the Big Blue Boy Scout shows up, nosirree bob." He turned back and noticed the girl up and at him, relatively. Crawling away, and his heart sank at such a pitiful sight. Her eyes were cold and hard, and no kid about his age should have eyes like that and Darwin started projecting all sorts of things. "Woah, woah, wait, hold on!" He dropped down beside her, hand on her shoulder. "C'mon, c'mon, you're safe now. No one's gonna hurt you here. This is the X-Men's place, we're all about mutants here."
"Well, it's not really a test than a quick DNA scan," he responded to Rogue. Then Power Girl mentioned her regular outfit was back Stark Manor.
"Speaking leftover articles, I left me jet pack back at the hotel," he said. "I'm stuck unless Access arrives or someone is willing to give me a ride."
edited 8th May '16 9:16:49 AM by UdtheImp
DAMMIT MARK, STOP HOTTING HELPY!!
"First things first, Green Arrow," said Superman as he alighted. "What exactly is going on right now? Is there anything I should do to help?"
"Thank you, Superman, that won't be necessary," said Mister Summers. "Mister Arrow here was just leaving, and taking his unhinged friends with h-" He paused for a moment, interrupted by a voice that only he could hear. "What?! Professor, they-... But the stude-... This is compl-..." For a moment, Summers was the perfect human equivalent of a dropped coke bottle ready to burst, before finally exhaling and hanging his head. "Professor Xavier will see you now."
edited 8th May '16 11:45:49 AM by LizardOfAus
Paige hadn't actually let go of the Agent's shirt in her awe at seeing Superman, but she had totally forgotten the man. Her jaw dropped open in shock...That was..the red cape...
Tearing away her eyes away from the broad chest (with her mind supplying a Velcro noise) Paige for the first time noticed the presence of Green Arrow and Mr. Summers. She felt herself blush (and hoped that her metal skin wouldn't show it) and saw Darwin kneeling by the girl who had been shot. She didn't know the other girl, but inflicting Darwin's humor on her might be worse than the gunshot wound. Still, she didn't trust this SHIELD guy, and if he didn't have a good explanation for shooting the new mutant, Paige was still angry enough to bounce him like a basketball.
"Sorry Four-Eyes," Green Arrow said in a tone that didn't sound very sorry at all. Cyclops could be a real prick sometimes.
"Supes if you want to come in, I'm sure the Prof wouldn't mind. It might be nice to have another set of eyes on this problem." Green Arrow said, pointing to the subdued form of Laura when he mentioned the "problem."
Unsurprisingly, the tormented, traumatized former assassin did not like physical contact, and she quickly violently recoiled out of his grasp as she got to her feet.
"I have said this before, I will say it again. I am not one of you. I am not a mutant, I am not a person,I am a weapon, made only to kill. You cannot help me." She turned in Summer's direction as he mentioned the professor. "I do not want to see this Xavier. The best thing you can do for both me and yourselves is let me go and forget you ever saw me. Every second I stand here, the punishment I will face grows larger, and the more everyone in this building is at risk of being killed."
edited 8th May '16 6:18:56 PM by Meanken
X-Men's Lawn
Darwin straightened up himself, climbing to his full and gangly gray height. He towered over six-feet, looking down at the girl with an expression that tried to be bemused but was far too busy being completely thrown for an anxiety filled loop.
"See, this is why people would want to shoot you.
"Look, we kinda take all kinds here, it's a bit of an odd bunch at Xavier's place, mutants are more of a specialty. Speaking of Xavier, ya, I do not see anyone getting anything past a guy with his kind of telepathic rating."
"Well, there's someone I'd like to meet here as well, but I'm sure they wouldn't mind waiting..." It was then that Laura faced the assembled group, and began both denigrating herself and warning them of what was to come. "...You know, I think you might definitely be right about another set of eyes."
"Darwin is right," Summers told X-23. "Whatever it is you're afraid of, whatever you think of yourself...you're among friends here. Friends who are very capable of protecting anyone in those walls." Summers was starting to look a little more concerned for this girl's wellbeing, after hearing her little speech.
edited 9th May '16 3:11:28 PM by LizardOfAus
Laura remained silent as Darwin and Summers made their cases to her. it was becoming increasingly apparent to her that they were not going to back down and allow her to leave. Annoying. Continued argueing with the danger they were putting themselves in would likely be pointless and wasted breath. She had not lied, her punishment was indeed likely getting worse by the minute. She had already been gone for almost a day, this would probably lead to several months of daily torture at the minimum. She needed to get out soon.
"I do not want or need your help or sympathy. I am a weapon, I require nether. I fail to see why no one else understands this. Wasting your effort to try to "help" me is about as logical as attempting to help a gun. My purpose is only to kill my assigned targets. Nothing more, nothing less. I could have easily killed him within 1.7 seconds of breaking free had I wished to do so." She said as she pointed at Agent Young. "But he was not a target. Killing him would have wasted time and been pointless."
She calculated the odds of her being able to overpower the people in the yard and flee as she spoke, and judged it to be....low. She would need to do this some other way, which proved difficult for the girl to work out, and so for a second she stood still, emotionless as she thought until she came up with what seemed to be a workable idea.
"I have a proposal. You wish me to speak to this Xavier. I will do so. In return, when I am finished, you will allow me to leave, will not attempt to follow me, and will forget you ever saw me. This is the safest course for us all." At this point she paused to remove a large shard of broken glass from her body, the wound beginning to rapidly heal as she continued by looking at Summers, who she has noted was talking to who she assumed was the professor earlier. "Ask him if this is an acceptable arrangement."
edited 9th May '16 4:15:28 PM by Meanken
Vampire Hunter
Rogue, X-Mansion
"Stark Tower?" Anna Marie asked Power Girl when she asked for her clothes. "We oughta call Access in to retrieve it and Rocket's Jet Pack... And also to give him our undying thanks for his quick thinkin'"
"As for Tony, he knows," Anna Marie crossed her arms. "He, or rather Iron Man, came straight to the Mansion when he heard what happened."
"He only left when he heard you were alright and to try to calm down Booster Gold, who went kinda AWOL on us," Anna Marie looked angry now. "Booster thinks it was Godfrey, of all people, who did that to your head."
"Tony left to calm him down, but I wish he stayed and explained himself about it," Anna Marie seemed more irritated that Booster Gold left without explaining why he thinks Godfrey did it.
edited 9th May '16 4:57:33 PM by GameGuruGG
Wizard Needs Food Badly
Darwin gave Summers a sidelong glance. Now, he didn't go out and say it, but he was leaning towards the staff trying to keep this girl and not letting her go. All the crap she was saying was so much child abuse, it might be illegal to let her go. Not unless SHIELD was going to step in, but it looked like they were handing her over.
So, uh, what do you think, headmaster? He wandered if Xavier could read any thoughts directed at him or if he was just praying.
X-Mansion
"I don't like being the guy to tell you what to do but you're not exactly in a position to be making conditions. We outnumber you and you may think you're hot stuff but my Outsiders took you down and I'm their leader. Not to mention that the strongest man on the planet who's not green is right next to me. And Cyke and Darwin could tag you before you made it a hundred yards. Even Agent Douchebag could probably slow you down for a second. Just take it easy and come with us." Green Arrow warned Laura, nocking a net arrow to his bow just to show he was serious.
edited 9th May '16 6:54:29 PM by FantasyLiver
"Oh. OK" Axel reacted to Question's choice to come on his own rather than allow him to go pick him up. But, the man must have his reasons. Besides he was asking for help, so he shouldn't be too demanding. He informed the detective of his location and ended the phone call.
Wait, how was Quest going to know him? Did he know his true identity? ...Probably. Hey, he was a paranoid conspiracy theorist, he probably had found all the Justice Avengers' secrets already. Oh well. If they were going to work together, they had better trust each other.
He started pacing around the street, in a way that -he hoped- would not attract much attention.
Her eyes narrowed as her hard gaze turned to face Green Arrow.
"You intend to force me to talk?" She asked as her metal claws shot out of her hands in her own form of warning. "You will find that difficult. I have been subjected to torture almost daily from people far less conserned about morals then you are. You will not force me to talk. Agree to my terms or I will sit here like a statue until they come and kill you all to get me back." She said, still not expressing an ounce of emotion as she make her ultimatum.
edited 9th May '16 7:15:25 PM by Meanken
"See, once again, it's saying stuff like that is exactly why we can't let you go," Darwin said, his hand raised up pleadingly. "We have an ounce of ethics, which, from the sound of things, is not something you're used too. Suffice to say, we cannot let you go back to the situation you were in. If even half of what you're saying is true, 'abusive' doesn't even cover it.
"Shady as fuck, that's a good jumping off point.
"Sorry professor."
Love is Love is Love
The Night Before
Booster didn't really have time to process that this armor seemed to have an outside energy shield before Iron Man grabbed him and dragged him up into the sky. He grunted in pain when Tony grabbed him and swung his fists, trying to punch him in the face or back and rip out of his grip.
"Noted, Jarvis." Coulson muttered before hanging up and dialing Moon Knight. "Mister Spector? You're on deck. Look for the two flying idiots."
That Morning
"Well," Coulson mused as he rapped his knuckles on Raze's cell bars, "I'd say that takes a lot of your bargaining chips off the table." he turned to the guard for a moment and smirked. "Tell Agent Anderson I'll take it from here. This officially falls under STRIKE's jurisdiction." Then he looked back at Raze. "Now," he said calmly, "Are we going to talk civilly, or are you going to take your chances in the Yukon?"
My various fanfics.
I have a plan.
Night Before
Moon Knight was driving a white STRIKE vehicle, having just sent Midnight home after another long, awkward talk. There was a lot going on in his mind based on previous events, but he didn't feel like dwelling on them at that moment.
Suddenly, he received a call from Agent Coulson. Judging by the way things had been going recently, it was probably bad news. He was unsurprised to hear that 'two flying idiots' were the subject. He sighed. At least he had a good idea where to look for this case.
"I'll make sure they're both in one piece, sir. Over."
"BOOSTER!" Moon Knight yelled from a nearby rooftop, witnessing the fight between Iron Man and Booster Gold. "The blue blazes do you think you're doing, man? I know, I know a lot of shit's went down, hell, this is worse than freakin' Turkey, but this is not the way! This is not how we're going to solve this mess! Fighting like girls is for the Justice Avengers, we're STRIKE, man, come on!"
"@[=g3,8d]&fbb=-q]/hk%fg"
Paige shook her head. Green Arrow pulling a weapon was a bad move, and it clearly wasn't going to score him any points. She decided to try another approach, one without ultimatums. The Southern girl walked forward, signaling Darwin to step back a little. She knelt down in front of the clawed girl and began to speak softly, keeping eye contact where she could.
"Listen, let's start over. My name is Paige. I'd like you to come in and talk to the Professor, get some food and rest. No one is going to attack you, and you can leave whenever you like of your own free will. We'll take this in stages. And if those folks you mentioned, or anyone else try to hurt you, or take you without your consent" (she gestured to the assembled mutants, Arrow and the Kryptonian)" We will stop them. "Paige clenched her fists, then relaxed. "You are not a weapon. You have been trained to kill. You are a person, with choices. Don't let fear or someone else make them for you." She decided to take a chance and held out a hand-not to touch her, but just to show her she was safe. "Just give us 24 hours. Please."
edited 10th May '16 8:10:50 AM by Booky
A kindly voice echoed inside Darwin's head, which then spread to GA's head as well. Darwin, Green Arrow, try not to make her feel trapped. It's good to show that you care about this girl's background, but the only thing she would interpret from your words is a threat. Make sure she feels welcome enough to talk. Any other bridges will be crossed when they come.
Superman spoke up once Paige had said her piece. "No one is going to force you to say anything. It would help if you let us know where you're coming from, but you don't have to say anything you're not comfortable with." He turned to Summers. "Isn't that right?"
"...right," said Summers. He considered adding a note about making sure that the girl was very comfortable, then quickly decided that would be a tad sketchy sounding.
"Very well. Lead me to him."
With that said, she began walking forward toward the front door or the X-Mansion.
huzzaaaaaaaah
The Power Girl
"I-I can help with that!"
Megan floated up into the ceiling, disappearing into it as she shifted her density. The Martian didn't come back for a few minutes, and when she returned, she was carrying what seemed to be a very well-made replica of Power Girl's costume. "Okay, please don't get this the wrong way... as it turns out, you need money to do a lot of things when you're not in class, like buy books or food or... you know, stuff."
She shrugged, glancing aside. "I had to make due, you know, try to figure out a way for me to get money. A-and I didn't want to ask you or Mr. Stark for it, especially after all you did for me. I figured, hello Megan, if you wanna be an Earth girl, you gotta live like an Earth girl, so..." She held up the costume replica in front of her, smiling. "I started making these! Took some sewing classes, set up a request system at one of the biggest superhero forums of the internet and then got the money I needed. My secret sauce is that I really know what you guys wear!"
Megan stood there, smiling, before the smile slowly melted off her face. "Okay. Now that I said that out loud, I realize it sounds creepy. But thanks to this side job of mine, you got a costume!" She gave the costume to Karen, before wincing and tapping her chin. "Oh yeah, just... just one problem. Everyone that asks for a Power Girl costume always asks for one with..." She stuck her finger right through the chest of the costume... not thanks to her density shifting, but because it had a boob window.
The Studio
"Did she now?" Godfrey asked, his face twisting to look like someone had just kicked him in the nuts. He leaned back, adjusted his watch once more, and then suddenly, the good and bad feelings that Kate was getting from his words disappeared. "Wouldn't you say her... actions shouldn't have been necessary in the first place? That these vigilantes end up causing more trouble instead of fixing it?"
Studio
Kate exhaled smoothly. This she could handle.
"I think everyone has the right to defend what they believe in. Isn't that one of the tenets our great country was established on?" Yeah, I'm referencing the Founding Fathers. I can quote dead white guys as well as you.
"Certainly, there are those who take it too far, but if one has the power and the skill, why shouldn't she use it to help people? During the Joker Riots, ordinary law enforcement was hardly equipped to deal with the situation at hand. If it wasn't for superheroes, god knows what would have happened to our fair city. We live in strange times, after all."
Kate finished off her spiel by smiling sweetly at Godfrey. She almost fluttered her eyelashes mockingly at him, but thought better of it.
"Huh. Nice!" Rocket said, commenting on Megan's sewing skills. He was more impressed that Megan was actually doing a hobby that not only she loved doing, but also getting paid for it! Then she pointed out the boob window in the costume he made.
The raccoon merely stared at the costume, very clearly trying his hardest to prevent himself from laughing.
DAMMIT MARK, STOP HOTTING HELPY!!
She awoke to the sounds of yelling. She had no idea what had happened, but in a second she had identfied the important facts.
1-She was not dead
2-She was not restrained, and indeed from the feeling of grass on her face, had not been moved
3-Most of the people in the area were distracted by whatever they were yelling about.
4-One man appeared to be directly above her, and did not appear to be hostile. Thus, she judged killing him to be unnecessary.
With all of ths in mind, the girls eyes sprang open, and within a secone she had rolled over to her back and was quickly crawing backward away from Darwin on all fours. Darwin, however, would see no real panic in her eyes as he might expect, just her normal blank, cold stare as her eyes quickly shifted from him, to the group at the car, before her head turned and she glanced backward at the gates.
edited 7th May '16 3:49:36 PM by Meanken