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The Young Avengers Initiative

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False Foundations
  • Apocrypha
    • I typed this up originally as the start of issue 10, one post was voted on and the rest was to be a follow-up. It wasn't working for me, so I re-wrote it from another angle and that worked a lot more. However, I'm not just gonna delete it. So Apocrypha it is!

    Patrol has finally rolled around for your squad. You feel a little anxious; with everything that happened revolving around Gwen just as soon as you got back to school, you haven't had as much time to spend with Kurt, Alaris, and Jubilee as you did with your original team. To that end, you're glad Kitty and Quentin are still around, but you know you won't get to keep both of them going into next year; you need to build relationships with your new squadmates. Who knows? One of them might join the ranks of your best friends! At present, however, your mind is less on building personal relationships and more on your new patrol district; Harlem. To that end, your mind is also on the recent addition to the Avengers roster who is going to be guiding your squad for this year; the Hero of Harlem himself, Luke Cage.

    "All right, first of all, I want to thank you all for showing up tonight," he is a charismatic and gentle man, much more soft-spoken and reserved from what you'd heard about him so far. You saw him more as a brash warrior; a staunch protector of Harlem and its peoples, but he has a very quiet air of dignity and grace about him, and warm eyes. "I know it's part of your jobs, and your schooling, and you 'have' to, but every avenue in life is a decision. Some have more dire consequences than others, some have consequences so obviously bad we wouldn't dream of choosing any alternative... but we still ultimately have a choice in the matter, and tonight you chose to walk alongside me, and help defend my streets." He smiles, all brilliant teeth. "Now, here's the problem with that; I don't know about you all, but I work better alone. Teamwork has never really been my bag, and I've stubbornly shrugged off more help that I probably should've taken than I'm comfortable admitting. But, see, that was back when I was just the Hero of Harlem. I'm an Avenger now, and just like you guys, being an Avenger comes with a certain set of expectations and responsibilities." That smile comes back, though it's quite wry. "However, as Stevie Wonder once said, you can't base your life on other people's expectations."

    "So! Here's what we're gonna do. Harlem is basically seven main streets; Riverside, Broadway, Amsterdam, Frederick Douglas, St. Nicholas, Adam Clayton Powell Jr., and Malcolm X. And there just so happen to be... seven of us! So I want each of you to take a street," he holds up a forestalling hand. "Now, before you do; we're gonna throw a little wrinkle in things. I know we have an incredible asset in Kid Omega, but at least for tonight I want you guys to try to get by using 3i for communication. See, what I'm looking for is teamwork and coordination, and while having a telepath instantly helps us all function more smoothly as a team, we need those building blocks available just in case he's not around in the future. If he gets knocked out of a fight, or you guys all end up on different teams... or for ANY other reason he can't use his gifts to help you? You need to be able to pick up the slack and help yourselves. Keep in contact with your partners; learn how to observe your surroundings and communicate things effectively. I know most of you grew up on texting, but I sure as hell didn't, so it's good to get those fingers in shape in case you need to communicate something important and complex fast."

    Sounds doable. You, Quentin, Alaris, Kurt, and Kitty look at each other in mixed apprehension and excitement. It's been a while since you conducted a regular old patrol, and you've never gone out without Quentin's telepathic link. This should be an interesting challenge!

    "OK," Quentin begins, "so Kurt should take either Riverside or Malcolm X since he can teleport; he's the fastest among us and can reach the exact opposite side."

    "Good call!" exclaims Kurt.

    "Then I should hit... Amsterdam?" suggests Kitty, "that's a more cramped street, I'll be the one who can move around the easiest since I can phase through stuff."

    "Oh! Oh! I'd love to walk Broadway!" Alaris excitedly responds.

    "Malcolm X," says Jubilee, barely looking up from her phone. That makes sense; it's a smaller street. Less effort, perhaps? Or maybe she knows something you don't.

    "Then I'll take Adam Clayton Powell Jr... which is a mouthful of a street name."

    "Then, that leaves St. Nicholas for me," concludes the Hero of Harlem. "Let's all keep in touch!" He holds up his phone and wiggles it to indicate he means through 3i.

    You double check to make sure you have your work phone and are signed in, then the lot of you split up and each take your chosen street. It's a quiet night, crime-wise. You did a bit of research before heading out once you found out who your Avenger was and where you'd be patrolling; Harlem's crime rate has actually dropped substantially since the 90's, and has been on a steady decline since people with super-powers began keeping peace on the streets.

    Luke Cage
    Anything happening out there, people?

    Kid Omega
    All quiet over here. Couple cool coffee houses I wouldn't mind hitting up, though.

    Luke Cage
    lol Maybe for a midnight snack.

    Nightcrawler
    all quiet over here on riverside! :)

    Nightcrawler is Kurt, you've gathered, thanks to 3i. Very handy, that.

    Alaris
    Broadway is BEAUTIFUL!!!

    Alaris
    But there is no crime.

    Alaris
    Wait

    Alaris
    Mugging

    Luke Cage
    You need backup, Alaris?

    A few moments pass, and you start moseying gently in the direction of Broadway through side streets, just in case. But eventually you get another response.

    Alaris
    Stopped the mugging. Recovered purse. Back to the sights!

    Shadowcat
    Nice work! Everything is dandy over here.
     
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  • Apocrypha
    • Wightraven said:
    You, Quentin, Alaris, Kurt, and Kitty look at each other in mixed apprehension and excitement.
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    Jubilee, meanwhile, pointedly continues not to give a fuck.
    Swedish15 said:
    Plays to our group's strength.
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    Bear in mind, the team is splitting up & each taking one of these streets, so we should focus on playing to specifically Vilina's solo strengths. Given how useless she is in melee, that probably means almost anywhere but Amsterdam.

    [X] Riverside

    Picking this for the opposite extreme for now, though I'm amenable to change if there's a particular reason someone favors a different option.
     
    Wiadi said:
    Bear in mind, the team is splitting up & each taking one of these streets, so we should focus on playing to specifically Vilina's solo strengths. Given how useless she is in melee, that probably means almost anywhere but Amsterdam.
    Click to expand...
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    Darn, you're right. In this case:
    [X] Frederick Douglas
    - Smaller street
    - Variety

    Reasoning: Variety can be good or bad; with luck manipulation, we can make sure it's good.
     
    Man, I hate to do this again so soon, but I am REALLY not feeling what I'm writing just now. It's really... bland. Not exciting, not interesting, and not serving much of a purpose at all. I'm gonna regroup and try again tomorrow.

    Sorry, guys.
     
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    010 - Foundations A
  • Threadmarks
    • OOC: OK! SO! I spent a lot of time thinking about what wasn't working for this leg of the story, and while a lot of the pieces I had prepared I was fond of, I really hated the way I was going into it. So I just scrapped the last post, or if you prefer, retconned it. I left it up as an Apocrypha threadmark and added what I wrote last night just for posterity. I hope the slight shift in direction is cool with you guys. We'll end up going to the same places, but I'm just digging writing from this approach a lot better; words have come more smoothly and I feel more confident going forward, as you can probably tell by the amount of text I actually wrote. Side note, I saw Into the Spider-verse Sunday night and was touched that they included my conspiracy wall. *laughs*

    After as confusing as the first few weeks of school were, by the time September rolled around and your squad had their first patrol, you were hoping for something a bit more 'team bonding-y'. Alaris and Kurt (whose code name you've discovered is Nightcrawler... through 3i, no less, instead of actual conversation...) still seem weirdly distant. They're warm and friendly enough but it's hard to 'reach' them, in the sense that you're communicating beyond superficial conversations and idle small talk. It's confusing; everything seemed so easy with your original squad, even if you never did get that close to Roxy or Elvin. You wish you were as close to the new boys as you were to either of them. You wish Jubilee even talked to you. She makes monosyllabic responses when spoken to, and it's not like she's ignoring everyone around her... she just doesn't engage. You're still not sure if trying actively to break through her social walls is overstepping your bounds as a squadmate, or if things have gotten ridiculous enough that it's required. You've certainly gotten impatient, enough. Kitty feels the same way; the only thing holding her back from being Jubilee's new best friend is Jubilee. You don't feel ignored, but Kitty's face turns three shades of red when Jubilee blows her off, or responds to a complex question with one word.

    One 'good' aspect of everything is that crime seems to be at an all-time low. You were a bit worried to be patrolling Harlem when you found it it was going to be your assigned territory for the year, and that your Avenger mentor was going to be The Hero of Harlem, Luke Cage. You'd heard a lot of nasty things about that particular section of New York, but as it happens the crime rate has gone down from when those rumors flew in the first place, and even moreso since Mr. Cage and the Philip J. Coulson Memorial Academy have been on the streets. This is great news for the people of New York who want to be safe, and not have crimes done to them. This is less-great news for Avengers in-training who need people to practice their technique on. In the stead of stopping purse-snatchers and breaking up drunken brawls, Mr. Cage has engaged you all in a very philosophical tour of Harlem.

    "Harlem is not a playground for rich bankers and consultants. It's got students of all colors. It's got old people who keep history and tell tall tales," he said at the beginning of your second patrol. "Marcus Samuelsson said that. You might've seen him on Chopped, Top Chef, or even Buzzfeed. He once competed to be an Iron Chef, and you might've tasted his cooking right here in these streets. Brilliant man. Fantastic chef. Now, I say that Harlem itself is a storyteller. That the words this street has heard and can speak back to you are greater than any other version of the tale told by a person's lips. There is music in every engine idling, in every footstep, and in every slamming door. Just like all of us, Harlem is a place of all colors; from the red blood in your veins to the blue skies of the late morning, to the gold of my T-shirt. It is a living, breathing creature of fable and history, and I want you to hear its story by walking and listening."

    This was a prelude to him splitting you up; encouraging each of you to take in your surroundings and study the people you came across. Practice observing without being observed; protecting as a reaction instead of standing out as an icon. It's the second half of what Spider-man began to teach you all last year, with more emphasis on staying quiet and keeping your eyes open. As a means of removing distractions and lessening reliance on a specific set of powers, he suggested keeping up communication over 3i, and only when strictly necessary. As it turned out, it wasn't necessary. Alaris stopped a mugging as he wound a lonely path down Broadway's alleys, but the night was mostly quiet. It was kind of nice, in a way; you'd never been afforded much of an opportunity to enjoy your own thoughts on patrol without worrying about everyone else overhearing. You spent a lot of time doing what Mr. Cage suggested; studying faces and divining intentions. Trying to get the history and the mood of the people that walked and drove through Amsterdam and all its side-streets. He was right; by the end of the night you felt more attached to Harlem than you did during your first stay there. You hadn't mapped out the path entirely, of course, but you'd discovered a few shortcuts and recognized the flow of foot traffic. You began to understand the point Mr. Cage was trying to make, even if the poetry he couched it in was a bit... unnecessarily ornate. Or perhaps the art was a part of it? Harlem is an impressive series of streets at night, with a stunning variety of people, each with their own style and flair. You admired that, as well, but that doesn't pertain as strongly to beating up ne'er-do-wells, so it didn't take center stage in your brain.

    You are perhaps, then, more prepared near the end of September on your third outing with the group for what you stumble across. You're once again traveling alone, without Quentin's buzz in your head, this time down Frederick Douglas. You weave through alleys and stick to the more uncrowded areas as you did last time, and this is perhaps the only reason why you manage to spy a blonde man powering up a strange gauntlet with glowing lights that WRENCHES the barred door of a storefront off its hinges. You manage to remain hidden enough to not be spotted by him as he looks around while still able to spot him slinking into the building. You put your head on a swivel and wonder why that barred door flying off the hinges made so little noise, but there's not a lot of time to consider right now; now is time to act. But first? Superhero sass;

    "Why is it always some psycho with a power-glove?"

    What Do You Do?
    [ ] Follow him inside
    [ ] Maintain a safe distance and continue to observe
    [ ] Contact your squad over 3i
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Follow him inside
    -[X] send a quick message "B&E on [insert current street], going in"

    We're Heroes, after all.
     
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    veekie said:
    Can't we give a brief report that we're invesigating a suspcious person and where this is before we go in?
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    I'd be OK with shooting a quick text to one person. Getting together a group chat and explaining what you saw and asking for advice/waiting for responses takes more time, but telling someone "B&E on such and such street, going in" would just take a sec.
     
    - What is your favorite part of participating in this quest thread?
    The interactions with minor and major characters you don't often see apart from the big ones.
    - What has been your favorite issue and why?
    004 because its felt like a real team mission she led that could ended badly.
    - What was your favorite scene/post and why?
    I have to say her dance with Gwen, its like the moment in time.
    - Who are three or more of your favorite NPCs and why?
    Gwenpool she's hilarious and meta wise font of wisdom, Kid Omega which surprises me since my impression of him was negative due to the school mess but snarkiness and his resonable care of using his powers reflects well on him, Kitty's sunny outlook is quite fun to enjoy time with.
    - Which NPCs would you like to see get more interaction time?
    Gwen, former Pride kids, our group.
    - What part of the Marvel universe would you be excited for this quest to explore?
    Secret Invasion or an alien invasion, would love to see her on the ground helping civilian get to safety or teaming up human soldiers in order to change course of battles or deploy to other nations fighting off the invaders while the major heroes does whatever. How she can affect things like Secret Invasion: Front Line
    Crossovers from canon Marvel or DC would be fun.
    - If you could add one Marvel character to this quest who hasn't shown up yet, who would it be?
    Nothing comes to mind since you got the ones I'm interested in.
    - Is there any sort of reference tool (like the NPC Tracker) you feel could be added to help interact easily with the quest? Would be nice to have an image reference of Vilina.
     
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