| Not the Pizza Villain | |||||
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| What: Members of the Young Allies discuss things like powers, pizza, and the Young Masters | |||||
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It is later in the afternoon and, at least when Wiccan had gotten there at first, the Terminal was quiet. With homework finished, no need for him to act as babysitter, and some quiet time on his hands he has moved into the break room for a bit of meditation. The smell of incense wafts from the small amount of it that Wiccan has burning as he sits a few feet above the ground in the middle of the room. He has run through the basics of his meditations and now prepared for trying the next trick that he has been working on. "Show Me!" He says his voice taking on the odd hallow tone his using his magic takes on without repeating himself over and over again. Around him images float, like video projected on a clear cylinder around him showing various events and things all over the world.
It's the scent of incense that draws Eddie to the break room. All his years of living down here, that is one scent that is definitely out of place. He'd been on a combination patrol and work out up above and stopped down in the Terminal for a shower and to get into civilian clothes. Now he's dressed in jeans and an Iron Man logo t-shirt as he peeks into the break room. Still a little damp from the shower, he smiles when he sees Billy but stays quiet so as not to disturb his friend.
Longshot was exploring this new place he would have to call home for now. He and someone who would remain nameless for now were trying to figure out how to solve that... but for now this was his home... and it had a surprisingly lack of TVs. Seriously! Longshot loved television and this was no where near the amount he needed to digest a day to stay happy. He walked into the break room and saw what Wiccan was up to. "Awesome! You have more TVs here! Not only that but holographic TV! Wow! I didn't even have this before I got here!"
For Terry, the reason to come into the Terminal was a different one. Not homework or babysitting or meditating... but normalcy. Terry was /not/ a normal teenager by any means, but the good thing was here? He wasn't the only one, so he actively wanted to seek out his superpowered associates and do something he hasn't done properly in years; hang out. Bonus points if a certain individual were around, but either way, he hadn't come empty-handed. Peeking his head into the doorway of the break room, the black-clad courier holds out the box in his hand and scans the room for people before offering, "Pizza, anyone?"
Concentration was not an easy thing for Wiccan while in the midst of the spell. Every image was competing to invade his brain, everything trying to get him to watch, and if he focused in on any of them too much the whole thing would collapse. Even with noticing Eddie slip into the room he had managed to keep going, and hold onto the magic keeping him in air right up until Longshot walked in. "Oh...wow..." Is about all he can say before things go a bit pear shaped. The images quickly wobble and fade and Wiccan falls out of the air with a "Eep!" A thud, and then an oomf! After a second he groans a little. "Ow...my coxis."
Finding an out of the way spot against the wall to lean and watch, Eddie peeks at some of those images. He jumps when Longshot comes in, looking over and staring at him for a moment. When Billy falls, Eddie jumps again and moves over quickly to check on him and offer help up. "Are you okay?" he asks. Of course the offer for pizza has Eddie looking up again and offering a smile Terry's way. "P-p-pizza sounds good," he replies.
Longshot was watching the shows, and then it was shut off with Wiccan crashing. "Well dang... the shows are over! Can we bring them back somehow! I think I was in one of them somehow?"
He finally seemed to notice Terrance, Eddie and Wiccan, "Oh! Sorry, I'm Longshot...wait Eddie knows me because I've saved him at least three times now."
At first Terry didn't even seem to notice Wiccan's floating above the ground as he was... but when he fell, and didn't seem to have anywhere nearby to have fallen /from,/ that's when it sets into his head. "Whoa." he murmers to himself, before walking into the room fully and setting the pizza box down on the table - not to mention grabbing out a slice for himself, first. "Have at, then." is offered with a nod to Eddie, and the newly introduced is waved to with the freshly procured slice of pizza. "Terry. Or Trauma, if you prefer. I'm the monster under the collective beds here."
Wiccan lets himself be helped up. "Yeah, nothing injured except my pride." And that bruise that may form on the part of hismelf that he landed on but no reason to mention that. Not in front of other people at least. He finds himself fighting not to stare at Longshot, which makes it even more obvious he is looking at him before he responds at least too Terry. "Pizza, yes, that would be good. Better than sitting there and doing stuff, and falling and making an idiot out of myself." After a second Wiccan blinks and gives up not staring at Longshot. "I..um...not shows I was trying something, a sort of skill drill kinda thinga nd I lost focus and it went...well everyone saw how it went." He blushes a bit and shakes his head muttering, "At least Hulkling wasn't here to see me fall on my backside."
Eddie doesn't look entirely convinced but lets it go. He just worries about his friends is all. He's been stealing an occasional glance at Longshot but he's concerned for Billy so it helps keep him focused. "You're n-not an idiot, Billy," he says. "And you're not a monster, Terry," the power booster insists as he moves to get himself a slice of pizza.
Longshot frowned, "Well, dang. I mean really... really!"
He then saw Terrance's pizza and picked out a slice for himself, "Pizza! The food of the gods that ties all things together."
He takes a large bite from the pizza and asks, "So is this Pizza Hut, Dominos or Papa Johns?"
"Well, not right /now/ I'm not." Terry admits, hopping up to use one of the countertops as a seat while he takes a bite of the slice in his hand. "But this is admittedly one of my good days, so." ...one of his many good days recently. Ever since he had a fairly bad incident and sequestered himself for a while, he's been able to avoid strong fears and the team hasn't /needed/ his abilities, so it's worked out quite well.
To Longshot he shakes his head, "Local place I made a uniform delivery to the other week. They gave me a slice for a tip, and it turned out pretty good, so..." he motions to the box.
Wiccan snerks and shakes his head at Eddie. "Yes I am. I have proof, I did not think for a second to set out cushions of any kind when trying something that had a good chance of leading me to fall out of the air." He looks over at Terry and shrugs. "I kinda have to agree with him on that, no one who brings pizza can be a monster." He stops a second and eyes both Longshot and Terrance. "Even more proof, real pizza instead of some souless corporate stuff." Wiccan says as he grabs himself a slice of pizza. To Longshot he offers a grin and a small wave, "Hi, haven't met yet, I'm Wiccan."
Needing some air or at least good company Ben Reilly is making his way down into the terminal. Walking in his lab coat, complete with Baxter Building security badge, a pair of blue jeans, black vans, and a red button up shirt he stops by the girl's cart. Or at least the car Kiden Nixon calls the girl's cat. Wrapping on the door a few times Ben waits for yelling and screaming about interrupted sleep. Silence is the only thing that greets him. More knocks are treated to silence. She's apparently out.
Sighing Ben walks toward where he sees lights are on. There's talks of where Pizza is at and sadly, Ben's least favorite person next to General Zod is there. Still it doesn't keep him from entering the place, "Hey gang," at least with the agreement with Peter Parker, Ben can roam a little more freely. Sitting down on the nearest spot, "Pizza and soda me, please," he slouches in the spot and the voice is a little down.
"I still say you're not an idiot," Eddie replies. "Isn't there s-some kind of rule that says you c-c-can't call yourself an idiot if your friend says you're not one?" he teases a little. He gives Terry a little frown too but lets it go for the moment. He's not likely to ever see Terry as a monster. He sits on the table as he eats his slice. "This is r-r-really good pizza," he replies. "It's all the same when it's cold," he murmurs to Billy. Ben's entrance gets a concerned look and Eddie nods. "Sure thing," he chimes, getting a slice of pizza for his teammate.
Longshot smiles at Eddie and says, "The way I understand it, An action hero arrives," Longshot hops onto a table and says, "And he says, "And they take perception of the situation and...." Longshot suddendly pulls out a few blades from his arms and said, "And then the villain reveals himself!"
He pointed his blades to Terrance, "YOU! You brought the Pizza! Who are you!?"
Wiccan returns Eddie's frown at the mention of pizza all being the same when it's cold. Then he shakes his head and grins. "Nope, no rule at all like that. Although Mom does have the rule that I can't say it about myself without finding at least five good things to say." He sighs and rolls his eyes a little but not toom uch at the thought of the kinds of things his mother pushes on him to ensure her son grows up sane and stable. "GetBenadrink!" He says to himself as Eddie goes to get the man a slice of pizza. After a second the minifridge in the room pops open and a can of cold soda goes flying at Ben at a slow rate of speed. About then is when the first few bars of 'There coming to take me away' starts playing in one of Wiccan's pockets. "Eep, I have to take this sorry." He says quickly while pulling out his phone and slipping into another room to speak. "Hi Mom.."
While there's a part of Terry that appreciates the fact that Eddie and Billy disagree with his self-assessment -- and appreciates it more than they probably realize it -- it's unlikely to change his view of himself, and he's thankful for that as well. As long as he keeps putting out the warning signals, there's more of a chance that the people important to him will take the proper caution.
Of course, sometimes it's taken a little farther than he expected and that can be regrettable... but for the best, he convinces himself. Even if there's people he'd rather get closer to than farther from. Ben's arrival brings a raised eyebrow, and then another wave with the remainder of his pizza as he finishes chewing and swallowing the latest bite. "Hey. I'm Terry. Don't think we've met." he offers, digging into the mini-fridge for a can of soda to deliver to the newest unknown. "Something up?" he asks, holding out the can.
...and then it falls from his grip the moment that Longshot targets him. Fear washes over the boy, but it's his own, so there's no transformation. "The hell?!" he exclaims, jumping back.
Seeing his beloved drink on the verge of falling he snags it with the utmost quickness. "Ben. But usually I dress differently round these parts." He then catches the other can of soda flying at him via the magic of Billy. Holding both cans in one hand Ben takes his plate then sits down. "The pizza villain is clearly not the villain because people would be dead via poison. Unless the pizza is one part in a two part compound. The second part would probably be in the soda but we're all alive so it's clearly not the pizza bringer."
Seeing that he is in a lab coat Ben adds, "And it's not me because the expiriment that changed me gave me powers, but I went ala the Human Fly as opposed to Gojidra."
Plopping down he opens the first can. "Pfft," echoes in the room followed by fizz as the can opens, "Thanks." The first swig causes the liquid to run down quickly. A familiar rush of sugary, cafeinated goodness hits Ben but it doesn't help. Looking over the pizza he flicks off any mushrooms and olives. No Scientist would want fungus and fungus looking things on their pizza. Taking a bite he smiles once the taste hits him. "Compliments to the chef." Seeing Longshot awestruck by the revelation Ben observes the man sitting down to reformulate his script ideas on who plays what. Well besides the hero because Longshot, is always the hero in his mind.
"Okay," Eddie chimes to Billy going to answer the phone. Hearing the 'hi mom' has Eddie making a quick mental note that he has an appointment with Mrs. Kaplan on Monday but he shrugs it off. There's danger! Snapping into action, Eddie rolls under the table and quickly moves to put himself between Terry and Longshot. Thankfully Ben handles the situation and Eddie just blinks a few times. Giving Terry a concerned look, he nods. "Umm...who's Gojidra?" he asks, knowing Human Fly is a super villain.
Once the crisis is averted, Terry makes a mental note: Chat with one of the more physically gifted among them for some form of melee defense training. Because in his normal form? He's pretty darn squishy, and if he's the only one threatened... "...alright then." he murmers, mainly to himself, before nodding a brief thanks to the others. As for the chef? Terry half-chuckles at that. "I'll leave the chef's card on the fridge next time I grab one. Like I was telling the others, found out about this place not too long ago. They're about 5-for-5 with me so far." Which tells a little about just how much Terry orders out.
"Gojidra is the original name for Godzilla. And yes please leave the card on the fridge," smiling at the sights. Taking another swig he looks at the room, "What's shaking gang? Besides talking about who is going to poison us via pizza."
"Godzilla is the big radioactive lizard m-monster, right?" Eddie asks. Yes, he's still not caught up on pop culture. He just smiles as there's talk of the chef and pizza place. Getting himself another slice, he shrugs a bit. "Nothing r-r-really. I was on patrol and I've b-been trying to track down those Young Masters guys."
Looking at Eddie he nods, "Yeah Big Monster that japan loves. The original was all about the dangers of man playing God. Back during the nuclear race of World War 2...the united states frightened the world with the capability of man's enginuity mixed with a dark scientific know-how. Once people saw the creation of the bomb and the devistation it brought everyone else did thing, creatures, people transformed or created by radiation. Godzilla or Gojidra was Japan's entry into that which opened up the Monster Genre. Godzilla became super cheesy in the seventies thanks to the forth coming Sentai movement and everyone else making their own monsters...the country felt the need to show he was king," Ben gives the crash course of the history Godzilla and some of the monst fighting genre in his mind. He did like Gojidra though and with a few exceptions felt the whole thing just became silly.
Eddie just stares as Ben answers. He listens even if some of it goes over his head. Canting said head to the side, the power booster gives a little nod. "Oh...I d-d-didn't know any of that."
"We definitely gotta do a movie night one of these days, Eddie. It sounds like you've got a slew to see still." Terry decides, hopping his way back up onto the countertop for his improvised seat. "Not /too/ much here, just a lot of the mundane stuff and less-mundane pizza." Of course, that brings... "Find anything new out on the Young Masters? Either of you? I've been keeping ears and eyes out on my routes, but... found a big load of nothing." he admits with a helpless shrug.
Of course, then there's the explanation of Godzilla, and Terry follows along, nodding here and there. "Pretty good lesson there, Professor Ben. If you've got the DVDs, you should bring 'em along to movie night."
"I've heard whispers of this group but someone needs to bring me up to speed. I missed the briefing on them," he adds grimly wanting to put some sense of names or faces to the group. Whot hey are, how they operated, anything and everything that could be used against him. Sitting back he takes a bite of pizza hoping one of them could fill him in on what they knew collectively.
"Yeah, I still haven't seen a lot of movies," Eddie admits, blushing slightly. "Well um, Channel got some g-g-good information and it's on the computers. Wiccan and I fought some of them and...oh yeah! We've got something we need you to look at, Ben. I'll be r-r-right back!" he says, scurrying out of the room for a moment. When he comes back, he's got a StarkPhone in a plastic bag. "We g-got this from them. They were stealing a bunch of stuff and there's a list of what they t-t-took but we don't know what most of it is so um...c-can you figure it out? You're really smart," he offers Ben the bag.
"About all I know about 'em right now could fit into a thimble." Terry admits, "That part's kinda my own fault, but keeping my ears open nonetheless... and I'm just a call away whenever a bit of extra muscle is needed."
Taking the Starkphone Ben starts to look over the items. His midn already at work, "You can make a few things with these itesm working together. A couple of things that you can deal with...some...well...probably not good. I'm still formulating," he looks at Eddie then tossed the phone back. Deep down this lisst is the exact distraction he needed. Looking over the group, "Forward me the info and I can compile it a bit. There's a few possibilities then hopefully with the right computer I can compile a list if not the exact thing they want."
Slipping the phone back into the bag, Eddie seals it and nod. "Okay, Ben," he chimes. Taking a deep breath, Eddie nods. "We don't know too much about them but they're a b-bunch of bad guys that are our age and they're trying to destroy stuff so they can start it all over with them in charge," he says. "And their leader is a p-p-powerful telepath..." he trails off, looking guilty for a few moments there. Shaking it off, he takes a breath. "We've f-fought them three times so far and they k-k-keep filming the fights somehow. You could probably still find them videos online."
Terry's no techie, so while he watches Ben examining the evidence so far, a lot of it goes over his head. "Makes me glad I found this crowd rather than that one." Terry murmers at Eddie's description of the Young Masters. He /tries/ to fight on the side of the angels, afterall. Then louder... "Telepath. Those are the ones that read people's minds, right?" he asks. He's the newbie to superheroics, afterall.
"Telepaths and I woudln't be surprised if magic people along with a few others could find ways to do it too. Not sure how yet. Most likely and the largest group would be telepaths. Why do you ask?" he asks. The question is weird because well, who reads minds besides them? And why did Terry ask that question specifically.
"Read and control," Eddie mutters, again with the guilty look. He shakes it off again though. "There's d-d-definitely a magic user on their team. She c-calls herself Enchantress and she m-might dress like the real one but she's not her. She's also really creepy," he says.
Terry nods slightly towards both at the confirmation. "Just... don't know the technical terms, I guess? I think it's something along the lines of what I do, but I definitely can't control anyone's mind. I would've been /much/ more popular in high school if I could've." There's a self-deprecating laugh at that.
"Well... they've got this Enchantress chick, we've got Wiccan. I like our chances so far." Looking to Eddie, "Eddie check into your asgard contacts. Billy should check into his. There's the potential for both groups may know of her. Even if it's a small nugget it's better than nothing," Ben says firmly. Thinking on it he's trying to figure out what could a magic user want with all of those items. The tech is up there for something makeshift. Yet didn't magic users and tech not mix.
Eddie blinks. "Billy and I have the same Asgard contact," he points out. "I'll ask Thor and Sif t-t-tonight though," he adds. "I think they might have her specifically b-because we have Wiccan. I mean um...she seems convinced she's his girlfriend," he says, rubbing the back of his neck. "And she thought I had a crush on him or s-s-something," he adds with a shrug. "Wiccan c-can kick her butt though."
"So you think they have people hanging around just to counter our people, Eddie?" Terry caught that one, blinking for a moment and debating over the people he knows in the group. Briefly debating internally just what they might be up against if that's the case. Cringing for a moment when he gets to himself. "...she sounds like a bit of a nutjob. And by bit, it's the same as the Brooklyn being a bit of a bridge."
"I thought the sources of power were different thus different contact. Well either way ask Thor especially if there's history. We can figure out how to hit her properly via them," a hand goes to his chin. Terry has a really good train of thought, "That is possibly. Also, our expansion could help us out of this jam too. I think we should do some training as a result," he nods talking to himself. Looking at the duo, "So think about what you two can do and then think what you would do to stop yourself. This will be the mentality they have if they do it."
"I think it's p-possible," Eddie admits with a shrug. "I m-mean just some things like up. The Enchantress girl being all Billy-crazy. The flying g-guy in yellow being strong like Hulkling. I'm pretty s-sure that guy is Kryptonian t-t-t-too," he adds. "The Talon g-guy seems like he could have done a lot better against Kate if I wasn't in the way...and Disruptor was like perfect for fighting Channel. And the Singularity g-guy kinda neutralizes Speedball and the cement girl Longshot fought c-c-c-could stop Speed pretty easy. Aftershock is a lot like Electro," he gestures vaguely. "They said a few times we should j-join them so I think maybe they planned to do umm...join us or die and made sure they had p-people they thought could back that threat up," he explains. "Oh um...sort of. Billy and I are both mutants b-but all the Asgard stuff we know is through Thor and Sif. Billy's just r-really good with the mythology and magic," he replies to Terry. He blinks at Terry's suggestion though. "Um...I'm probably the easiest g-g-guy on the team to beat..."
Looking over to Ben, "There's not too much that I know that could really /stop/ myself." Terry offers with a frown, "That's why I've said it before and I'll say it again, if something happens with me sometime... don't pull punches." He hops off the counter and starts to pace a bit, threatening to wear a hole in the floor until the lightbulb goes off in his head. "Emotions? I guess if someone could control emotions, keep them from being /felt,/ I'd be pretty squishy like I am most of the time. I think the key if that's their game, though... is to mess up the system. Pair off against the people that /aren't/ meant for us, you know?" Then over to Eddie, "Says the guy who stopped my other half without breaking a sweat?"
"Don't sell yourself short member of Odinson. You were picked for a reason and that speaks of strength," Ben says to Eddie before really chewing on the information. The guys had a point, "We can only be able to switch up if we work as a unit. Which means we should train like one. If they built a team to thwart us then they're going to keep us in the one-on-one mode. But if we change our tactics to make the fight two-on-two...Then the trade offs can be made." Sliding out his phone a text message is jotted in then the command to send all goes. "I should sleep soon gang but check your phones," he gives off a yawn then smiles at the gang. The pizza is mostly gone and one of his sodas is warm now but he snags it to drink anyway. Taking the drink he gives the group a nod, "I'm going to crash down here tonight in a guest spot. Yell if you need me."
Eddie just blushes as Ben compliments him. "Umm...m-maybe but unless I have one of you guys around or like a whole crowd of people, I'm just a g-guy that kinda knows how to fight. Hawkeye is way better than me there so I'd be easy to take down," he shrugs. He nods at Ben's words. "Have a g-good night, Ben. I'll ask people to keep quiet for you and Kiden to sleep tonight," since he knows Kiden sleeps down here too. When Ben leaves, Eddie looks to Terry and smiles. "I only looked like I w-w-wasn't sweating. Mimicking Thor helps like that."
"I think that's kinda the plan though, make sure that we're not fighting solo -- and for that matter, probably look for people with different ability sets as best we can. As for fighting, I'm no black belt either... though I'm thinking about asking Kate to teach me a few things to help out with /that./" Especially if his thought on neutralization actually comes to pass. ... or if he finds a way to turn off the other half. Of course, Eddie's last part brings up an interesting thought. "What /do/ your powers do exactly, anyways? I've seen you do quick a bunch of things, so..."
"Hawkeye is probably your b-best bet for learning. I'll help out wherever I'm n-needed too," Eddie replies, sipping his soda. When asked about his powers, Eddie takes a deep breath. "Well um...s-s-so far, I've figured out three parts. First I c-can boost other people. It makes them just generaly b-better. And they don't even have to have powers...I just have to have faith in them. Believe in them," he smiles at that. "After I boost someone, I c-c-can use the second part of my powers which lets me mimic them. I sort of get everything they have. Powers, weapons, costume...and like when I mimcked Kate, I suddenly knew how to use a bow and arrow or when I copy Thor, I can use a hammer to fight. And the last thing I d-do is still r-r-really new. But well...when people have faith in me," he pauses because the idea is still a strange one to him. "I g-get stronger. So all those people cheering in Times Square...that's how I punched that guy in yellow and didn't like...explode my arm."
"Thanks for that -- I appreciate it, and yeah, I figured her since, you know... it's kinda what she does. I get bigger and stronger sometimes, but I'm still mostly flailing around." Then back to questions... "Does it have to be the person closest to you, or are you able to kinda pick and choose who your powers work on? Because it sounds like your powers and my powers work a lot alike -- just in reverse. You help the people your powers work on, I traumatize them." Pause. "...and hey Eddie, keep sticking around us. I'm pretty sure there's nobody on the team who /doesn't/ have faith in you."
"You don't have to thank me," Eddie replies with a smile. "We're friends after all," he says. He shakes his head to the question though. "It c-can be anyone I can see or know is around really. Like I could b-boost you or Ben right now," he says. "And I've um...acutally accidentally hurt people b-by boosting them before. Mostly telepaths..." he trails off sheepishly. He then ends up blushing and glowing a faint white. "Thanks, Terry. I don't have any intention of going anywhere."
"If it makes you feel any better, Eddie... I'm sure I've accidentally hurt people a lot more with my powers than you have with yours. Although sometimes it wasn't completely accidental, either." ... like back in high school. There's a soft cough as his brain thinks back to that, and then a hard shake of his head to clear out the cobwebs. "I don't plan on going anywhere either... but for the moment, I /do/ plan on getting some shut-eye, so I'm gonna head out for the night. You take care of yourself, alright?"
Eddie nods again. "Alright, Terry. Have a good night and get home safe unless you want to crash here t-tonight. We've got beds in the guys' car."