Jubilee's interjection left Victoria puzzled for a bit before she understood just what the girl - whose face seemed strangely familiar - had been trying to imply.

"Ah, yes, I see what you mean. No relation I can think of, I'm afraid. I do not drink, I certainly do not need alibi women and I definitely dress better. Though he'd probably rock a skirt a lot better than I do," she finished with a smirk. Not that anyone would ever catch me in one.

Before she could add more taunts, Otto Octavius cut into their conversation with his misguided and ill-mannered demand. His strange appearance actually made her raise an eyebrow as she took in the tentacles writhing around his body. Poor boy! Barely into puberty and already overcompensating so much.

"I am sure he can take it," Victoria replied with her grin growing wider. "After all, he is made of stone, isn't he?"

"But you are right, I should properly introduce myself: Hello, my name is Victoria Marie and I hail from the fabled lands beyond the great water where dragons roam and princesses sit in their castles yearning for brave knights to rescue them. So, in other words, I am an European. The one region on this planet where manners still matter."

...

"So, all of you waiting for your sponsors, too?"

Gwen messes with the projector, shows it a picture off her phone, and a holographic representation of her Ghost-Spider costume overlays itself over her makeshift disguise - giving her a hood and a full mask, mostly white but with a pink Spider-web pattern on the inside.  The pattern of her shirt changes to match the costume as well.

"The projectors are handy.

My sponsors just said to sign up for one of the programs and not get into trouble.  No meetup.  I haven't seen either of them but I think one is around somewhere."

Max considered her words about the Future Foundation, wondering if it was her way of ensuring she wouldn't have to see him in the future, or if she just though he was too stupid. If it was the latter, he figured she probably wasn't too far off.

He shrugged as he followed her gesture, taking in the rather odd displays she pointed out. He had to admit he was curious about the tent. After a moment's thought he disappeared, reappearing in front of the tent, and then after about 10 seconds reappeared in front of Svetlana rather nonchalantly. "Uh, yeah, no way. The people in the tent are wearing like medieval clothes or something; there is no way I'm going someplace that weird."

He glanced around, noticing the large holographic screen of the Roxxon Corporation, and more importantly, the message being shared, "Now that's what I'm talking about. That place," he said as he pointed at the booth, "Is offering money. You can't beat that."

And just like that, Paul was suddenly a bit overwhelmed.  This wasn't like back home; this crowd accepted him, welcomed him without judgement.  For the first time since this whole nightmare happened, he felt normal again...like maybe, just maybe he could belong again.  They seemed genuinely happy to meet him; he wondered how long that would last.

"Um...hi Jubilee, I'm Pa...er Stone Cold.  Good to meet you...too," he finally managed to reply.  Awkward for sure, but it was a start.  "Yeah the shades are cool.  You're an X-man?"




He lifted a stony mitt to accept the proffered 'hi five' and allowed himself a slight smile which faded almost as quickly...  Big guy, yeah there it is.  I'll always be a big ugly statue no matter how hard I try.

He listened to Cam talk about himself and his really cool mini mecha.  That truly something unique.  He definitely wasn't in Iqaluit anymore.  He was beginning to think he might like New York.

"You're fifteen and you you're studying Robotics?  That's crazy...um, but in a good way, I mean."

Paul thought maybe he'd just made one of his classic stupid errors.  It certainly wasn't a good idea to call someone's robotics career crazy, especially someone you'd just met.  He hoped he hadn't just put his big rock foot in his mouth.




Suddenly this girl just bumped into him.  Somehow no matter how big he was, she'd missed him or been distracted enough with her own thoughts that she'd not noticed the big rock pile in front of her.  He was about to apologize when she made a smart remark.  To say he was shocked was an understatement.

He honestly didn't want to start something, things were actually okay for a change.  It figured that couldn't last, but he'd hoped it would take a little longer before his usual crap luck set in.

"Do I look like a cuddly garden gnome to you?  Just watch where you're going and you won't hurt yourself walking into 'lawn ornaments'."



He was relieved that Arc hadn't thought he was laughing at him.  Thankfully he hadn't scared him too bad.  He lifted one fist for the kid to bump, but didn't push back at all.  Paul wasn't sure yet about the limits of his own strength.  He nodded at Arc's next comment, still a bit miffed at Citizen V.

"Yeah there's all kinds here tonight.  Um...but you seem pretty cool.  Nice to meet you."
This message was last edited by the player at 12:57, Tue 18 May 2021.

Svetlana blinked her eyes as the entirety of Max seemed to blink out in front of her. Oh. Well, that was fast. So that is what he does. I wonder how he does it? She was about to move on towards the Fantastic Four’s booth when she noticed where he went, at which point he quickly reappeared and revealed his true desire.

Shady American guy wants to sell his incredible powers for money. Svetlana screwed up her holographically-altered face. She wasn’t even really surprised, but she felt a slight, somewhat inexplicable pang of disappointment anyway. No, no... That is for the best. I should not get attached to someone like that, and besides, he must have good reasons. Well, he might. It is not any of my business whether he does.

Nevertheless... “Maybe,” the tinkerer said slowly, catching and smoothing out her frown. “It would probably not hurt to check them out.” Really, they can’t all be superheroes, and she was still far from sure that it was what she wanted to be. Of course, no matter how she went about it, she had her self-imposed mission... but that was hers, not his.

“But be careful,” she went on, earnestly, giving the boy a direct look. “There is always a catch, you know? I read about that company, and they seem to conflict with most of the other groups around here a lot. So why do you think they would offer so much money in a room full of kids with superpowers?” The least she could do. But would he listen? Well, if he would not, at least she would know not to bother later.

"Did you design that robot yourself?" Jubilee asked Steel Ninja. "Impressive work"

"I'd be happy to show ya, except setting off a bunch of small explosions here would probably alarm the super-heroes, so it'll have to wait" she said to Arc. "Everybody has to work on mastering their powers at first. I've been told I can do a lot more with mine than I've done, the professor's got me working on it. You'll get the hang of it. And, like, you never have to worry about forgetting to charge your cell phone, right?" She had to initially learn how to control her powers on her own, so she sympathized with Arc's doubts

"Pretty handy" she says about Octopus' invention.

"Sponsor nuthin', princess." Jubilee said to V. "I'm here to help recruit, not join up. Welcome to America, remember to try the cheeseburgers."

"Sure am" she told Stone Cold. "It's me and the best heroes in the world and also Cyclops. Just kidding about that last part. Anyways, it's a real trip."

Rendal moved over towards the Avengers table looking to his left to make sure his new friend was still with him. He thought it would be great if she joined the same school as him at least he wouldn't feel lonely if she was there.

standing near the table he waited until it cleared a little before he stepped forward.

There was a well built man standing to the left in red white and blue with a round shield on his back, Dr Strange had informed his this would be Captain America.

"excuse me sir" Rendal said in a nervous voice " Dr Strange suggested that I come talk to someone  at the Avengers concerning possibly joining your school"

The gentleman in question looked down at the boy and studied him for a moment as if taking his measure so to speak.

" so son Strange sent you. you must be Rendal he said  you would be turning up sometime."

He grabbed a gift bag then spotted Resonance standing just behind Rendal and grabbed another for her handing the both out to the kids.

"I understand you've not been around for long" thats an understatement Rendal thought "yes sir newly arrived so to speak."

" well in the bags are all the forms and brochures you will need to assess if we are a good fit for you"

Rendal looked a bit taken aback surely it was he that needed to prove he was a good fit for them. Captain America noticed the look " son this is a school not a military boot camp" he looked over at the shield table " you need to be comfortable at the school you go to so we need to meet your expectations not the other way round. We can teach you to use your powers responsibly but you won't learn if you are not happy. Look through the information and come back with the forms filled in if you wish to apply to our school"

Rendal suddenly felt less nervous in the presence of such a great hero and held out his hand to the Captain who looked him up and down again before taking the offered and and giving it a firm shake.

Just then someone called to him and he excused himself leaving Rendal and Resonance standing there alone.

Turning to his friend with a big smile on his face " I think I'm going to apply to them if no one else"

"Speaking of burgers, where is the food?  I can talk to the other schools later." Gwen says.  Jubilee had already filled her in on the X-men enough, right?  Upstate is not an easy sell even if their recruiter was cool.

"Gotta get the important stuff out of the way before something explodes."

Realizing that she's been introduced to Jubilee and already knows Octopus but hasn't spoken much to the others yet, she waves and says "Hi, I'm Ghost-Spider."

Max frowned as Svetlana spoke; not at her message, but at the realization that she was probably right. "Yeah, I mean, you make a good point. Everyone in here has an agenda, and yeah, if they're the only one's offering money, there's definitely a catch."

He glanced back over at the booth for a second, and then turned back to her, "I've never heard of 'em, so I'll have to take your word on it, but there's no harm in at least going to see what they have to say, right?" He turned to start walking over to the booth, and then stopped and turned back, "Wanna go with me before you head over to the Future Force or whatever it's called?"

"Did you design that robot yourself?" Jubilee asked Steel Ninja. "Impressive work"

“No, he, uh, found me.” Cam confessed. “Thanks to a project I was working on to miniaturize Tesla coils as a power source. It was awesome. There was a big showdown between SHIELD and A.I.M. and everything. In the end, they agreed to let me stay on as his pilot, but they said that I needed to get the proper training. So they sent me here.”

Again with the 'princess', girl? Do you even know what you are talking about? Well, two can play that game.

"Oh, my bad. But I think I get it now, " Victoria replied to Jubilee with a curt nod of thanks. "Sponsors are allocated in order of importance so that those at top of the list get the best ones while at the bottom get none. Yes, that certainly makes sense. Now, does anybody know where I can find this Captain America I am supposed to meet?" was her parting shot coupled with a mocking grin.


Giving Stone Cold the once-over V consented: "No, you are definitely not cuddly. But I bet a nice Lederhosen and a Sepplhut could fix that. They would also do much to improve that dreadful outfit." Patting him on the arm she added: "There you are. No thanks needed, the first piece of fashion advice is always free."

"Oh, you only have one sponsor?"  A short pause.  "Interesting.  Anyway you just need to head over to the booth draped like the flag and ask for her."  This girl was going to be mad when she came back.

Svetlana did not turn away. Admittedly, that was largely because she wanted to catch the moment when Max teleports. The first time took her by surprise, after all. If she was paying attention, though, she could surely notice more. The amount of energy one needed to move like that was probably staggering. She had read about similar talents before, but it never really sank in how enormous a power this was until now.

This time, though, Max surprised her by not teleporting, and instead asking if she wanted to follow him. “Foundation. And... sure,” the girl agreed, after a moment’s pause. “I am not in any hurry.” She went after the boy, looking around warily as she did. Tsk! Am I afraid to just go up to someone on my own? I already said I would go with him, though. Am I hiding behind that?

...I should think of it as recon. Roxxon are exactly the kind of people who could buying our technology from A.I.M. Besides, I may as well see it through and make sure they do not bamboozle him. So long as Max refrained from teleporting, the inventor had little trouble keeping up with him, being somewhat more athletic than she looked.

“You may as well hear them out, but without telling them too much about yourself,” Svetlana started to speak, then paused. Lately, she has been trying to cut down on her bad habit of giving unsolicited advice. Max was probably savvy enough to avoid putting all the cards on the table. She added more quietly: “By the way, how do you teleport? Do you just... will yourself to places?” What kind of scientist would she be if she could restrain her curiosity?

Max smiled when she decided to join him; it was nice having some company, and besides, she was cute and the accent was super cool. "Yeah, you're right," he said in response to her advice, "never a good idea to give them too much information." Not that he had that much information about himself to share, but better to be safe than sorry.

"I really don't know," he said in reply to her question. "I mean, just one day I was sitting around...well, okay, I was being chased by these older kids, and I really just wanted to be somewhere else, and then suddenly I was there. I basically just think of where I want to be, it's sort of like picturing it in my head, and then I'm there." And now he'd just given her too much information. But what did it hurt, it wasn't like she was some Russian spy or something...was she?

"Good question. Anybody know where the eats are?"

"I haven't seen Captain America today. Maybe he's hanging out with my friend Wolverine, he and Cap go waaaay back." Jubilee said, stressing my friend. Actually, Wolverine wasn't here, but Victoria didn't have to know that

She nodded along enthusiastically to Steel Ninja's description. "Sweet. My introduction to hero-ing involved cyborgs, but they were not my friends. Yours sounds more fun."

Otto nodded and gave a tight smile to V's introduction.

"Ah, welcome to the United States, Victoria. I'm sure you simply left your manners in your other coat. A simple misunderstanding. I am Doctor Octavius, or I suppose 'Octopus' while we are in super powered company. As Miss Jubilee has suggested, simply follow the patriotic banners." Once she was out of earshot, which likely wasn't far considering the ambient noise of the setting, he muttered something to himself in German. He turned to Stone Cold, much more relaxed.

"My apologies, I understand how it is to have trouble blending in. I hope my European cousin didn't put you off. This is a cosmopolitan event, after all, and all of us unusual folk should be able to go a day without being hassled about it, ja?"

"Hey, don't worry about it. Everyone here's a little nervous." The pair arrived at the Avengers booth and Ricochet grabbed two pamphlets, passing one to her smaller friend.

"Let's see what their selling points are. Aside from, y'know, having Captain America standing fifteen feet away from us." She was very clearly trying not to look directly at him, and very clearly casting glances his way kind of a lot.

Vic responded with only a slight smirk and a wink, not wanting to embarrass the poor girl any further since she was obviously very new to this game. In a rare bout of charitableness, she decided to extend this generosity to 'Doctor' Octavius, too. After all, hadn't Miss Harris said that victors need to show mercy once the fight was over? That being in control ... in control ...

Closing the distance in one fluid lunge V got in Otto's face - quite literally, in fact - and hissed, her formerly charming French accent taking a turn for the gutter:

"You are not my cousin! And if you know what's good for you, you will never pretend otherwise again! Understood?!"

Gone as quickly as she moved in, her departure also stopping the odd throbbing Otto's tentacles had registered for a moment.

.
.
.


"Now, this is useful! My heartfelt thanks," V beamed in Ghost-Spider's direction before turning to leave. However, after only two steps she whirled around again and asked almost as an afterthought: "Say, there is one thing on my mind: don't the tribes of the plains consider Spider to be a trickster totem?"

"Perhaps we should have a look!" V grinned as she extended her right hand and counted down from five with her fingers as the hack worked its way through SHIELD's systems and subverted the holo imagers to build a holographic model of the booth area above her palm. "Hmm, strange. Not one captain in sight, neither male nor female. By the way, pray tell, would that be a recent development?"


About to add a few more choice jibes V shut up again when she suddenly discovered Captain America at the Avengers booth ... or rather, not-Captain-America, because that was certainly the worst fake in the history of doppelgängers. With a flick of a finger she ended the hologram and stormed off.

"I'll be ..." Whatever she had meant to say vanished under a litany of extremely vile Symkarian curse-words.

Abigail looked at her friend, followed her glances, and then looked at her friend again.

She leafed through the glossy pamphlet, until she found what she was looking for. Completely at odds with her previous shyness, marched straight up to the Captain.

"Please can you sign your picture for me?" She tried the puppy eyes trick.

"To Ricochet." And pouted a little.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:00, Wed 19 May 2021.

Other than quietly smiling and thanking Captain America as she takes her gift bag, Xié Zhèn watches quietly, allowing Rendal the opportunity to take the lead interacting.

As they are left alone again, she gives him an encouraging smile with a twinkle in her eye.

"Well, you previously had learned that 'Rendal is nervous, clumsy and embarrasses easily', and you had thought that you 'might as well put all the names in a hat and pick one'.  How do you feel now?"
This message was last edited by the player at 07:54, Thu 20 May 2021.

Just as quickly as V had lunged, two of Otto's tentacles braced him to the ground while one crossed his body to shield him and the other extended around to strike at the girl. Once he was able to react himself, a quick splaying of the matching hand stopped the tentacle that was in the middle of an attack, eyes wide under the goggles.

He nodded to her in response, his movements tight. The tension didn't ease up until she'd moved out of his personal space again.

"We're fine now. She's gone. No harm done. Stay calm." It was hard to say if he was talking to himself or the arms. Either way, they relaxed into a different, and more defensive to those who were trained to spot such things, position than they had been before.



Otto turned to face the others while leaving one of his arms facing her, watching with its central camera. It might just look like it was making sure she didn't come back, but he was, of course, very interested in whatever she was doing with Ghost-Spider.



Once she was gone, the young scientist took a deep breath and forced the tentacles to relax, one by one.

"That one needs more observation. To figure out what's wrong with her, I mean, not because she's pretty. Not that she's pretty. Is she? I didn't even notice. Fraul-- Ahem. Miss Jubilee, weren't we talking about X-Men?" Unfortunately, no ninjas attacked the event hall.

"...Do you think we're all native americans?  I'm pretty sure that's racist.  The only trickster I know is Loki and they're not a spider.  And you have the geography wrong.  New York is a jungle."



"See, now you're getting the hang of this place.". Gwen didn't know what the words were, but the tone was obvious.

Svetlana did not seem to notice the contradiction in her warnings and questions. However, she felt another pang as they moved on. This time, it was of jealousy. “That sounds really convenient to have,” she mused frankly. I certainly could have used it. In all sorts of ways. “So... But I guess there is some reason you do not use it all the time? Because I am not sure I...”

A stream of vaguely Slavic-seeming curses coming from near the Avengers’ booth disrupted Svetlana's trail of thought for a moment. It was not Russian or Ukrainian, but maybe... Bulgarian? She understood enough to go a little red - and wonder whether the holofilter hid that. It probably would since she adjusted her skin tone, how ever lightly. Not like she could stop to check, though.

“Crazy,” she shook her head, frowning a little.

Max looked in the direction of the strange words that seemed to stop Svetlana mid-sentence. They didn't mean anything to him, so he glanced at the Russian girl, "Do you understand what she said? I mean, I have no idea, but it didn't sound good."

He shrugged and turned back to their destination as he answered her question, "Oh, I use it whenever I can. It's just that it can be rather...jarring for normal people when they see it, so I try to be discreet. Not to mention, people are not always big fans of people like me, so it's generally good to lay low."

“I think your expression is ‘swearing up a storm’,” Svetlana explained. “Not exactly my language, but close enough to tell that. I guess someone got rejected,” she shrugged, losing interest in the incident. Entitled fools not getting what they wanted was not an interesting phenomenon. Teleportation was another matter entirely.

As he replied, she nodded along. Whatever else Max was, he clearly was not an idiot. He would probably be fine. “I guess that makes sense. Though I am not sure what they can do to someone they cannot catch... unless they manage to sneak up on you.” Even as she said that, though, her mind already began thinking of several different ways one might counter a teleporter. Just as a theoretical exercise, obviously. You never know when such ideas might prove useful.