>>6419253
The sun peeks through the blinds of your windows, causing you to stir from your sleep. You wake up, stretching and letting out a big yawn as the morning light continues to slowly fill your bedroom. The smell of a balanced breakfast being cooked from downstairs, no doubt from your mom, fills your nose. You hop out of bed and make your way to the upstairs bathroom. Shedding off your pajamas, you take a good look and examine yourself in the mirror. Yep, that's you, you're a..

>Girl

>Boy

Also...

>What is your name?

>>6419254
>Girl
>Elise Swan

>>6419254
>Boy
>Thomas Axeford

>>6419258
+1

>>6419254
>>6419260
+1

>>6419258
Support

>>6419254
>>6419260
+1 to this!

>boy
>Tyler Townsend

>>6419274
>>6419254

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>6419258
>>6419260
It's a tie.

>1 for Thomas
>2 for Elise

>>6419258
+1

>You're a boy
>Thomas Axeford

Your light brown, short hair ruffles into a cowlick in the backmost area of your scalp. A sign of a good sleep, your blue eyes meet your own in the mirror and you contort your lithe body in a stretch. Stepping into the shower, the steam fogs up the bathroom as you spend some time freshening up for the day ahead of you.

"Tommy, breakfast is ready!" You hear mom yell out from downstairs.

You hurry up with getting ready, throwing on a plain black t-shirt and some jeans. You style the front of your hair up into spikes. After you're finished you race down the stairs and are greeted at the table by your parents, a plate of bacon and eggs waits for you.

You eat it voraciously, your moms always been a good cook, and your dad jeers at you asking if you're ready for your first day of highschool. You just shrug as he continues to tease at you.

"Just remember to focus on your schoolwork, not the girls," he says. Your mother shoots him a look and he just smiles at her.

Your father likes to think he's funny. Sometimes he does too much, both of them do from time to time actually, but you know it's out of love. Besides your parents, however, there's always been one other constant in your life. You've always been able to rely on..

>My best friend, Kaitlin

>My best friend, Alex

>Actually, I've been kind of a social pariah most of my life

>>6419285
>My best friend, Alex
GOTTA have our best bud

>>6419285
>Actually, I've been kind of a social pariah most of my life
Insert sob_story.exe

>>6419285
>My best friend, Kaitlin
It's time for a 'GIRL in the chair'

>>6419285
Y'know what? Change
>>6419293
to
>My best friend, Kaitlin
>>6419310
this anon makes a fun point

>My best friend, Kaitlin

Kaitlin, you've been pretty close ever since first grade. Your dad always cracks jokes about how you're a chick magnet, but it's not like that though — not so far, anyway. Whenever you both hang out, it's always a great time. The last time you hung out was during the final week of summer break, when you watched a charity race between the Human Torch and Iron Man.

Time passes as your parents take care of the kitchen while you gather the rest of your belongings for school. Your first day of high school leaves you feeling a little nervous. Your timetable is pretty standard, and you got to choose a couple of electives to focus on. You decided to stick to your strengths, so you mostly picked...

>Physical education electives

>Science electives

>Art electives

>Shop and technical electives

>>6419332
>Science electives
Most story possibilities I think

>>6419338
Just to clarify, specializing in certain areas of your character won't lock you out in any way from improving other areas or other story routes. It's just starting strengths and character building largely to develop.

>>6419340
I believe that, but I've always liked how Marvel eggheads can be doing time travel shenanigans one week, gene splicing the next, and cooking up killer robots the week after that, yaknow what I mean?

>>6419332
>Science electives
Love me some science heroes sorry

>>6419351
You're telling me you want to be following in the footsteps of REED, that FOOL?!
>>6419332
>Shop and technical electives
I much prefer being a hands-on techie. Making a big clunky powersuit or whatever is 10x cooler than a bunch of gadgets.

>>6419332
>Art electives
Because I like being different and because we always hear about the techies or super genius

>>6419332
>Art electives
I'll also go against the grain

I'm gonna keep this going for another little since it's a somewhat important vote, defining our characters initial archetype and stat bonus. I'll update closer to 5pm EDT

>>6419332
>Science electives

>>6419332
>Art electives

I like this idea for its subtle effects.

It's still a tie between art & science. For the sake of meeting in the middle I'll do something in between and see how it fleshes out.

>>6419332
>Shop and technical electives

>>6419476
To give a few ideas, you could also give half of the bonuses you would give Thomas in any of the specializations, and narratively just say we're a little scrambled between the two electives. Maybe being however young we are is a neat excuse for the teachers to let us see both before we decide which one we stick later on

Just spitballing here, don't mind me! I'm sure you can figure something out QM

File: power of the mind.jpg (131 KB, 1000x667)

131 KB JPG

>>6419332
>Art and science electives
Gained the 'Aspiring Braniac' trait
You now gain a +1 bonus to any roll requiring an INT check. You also no longer need to roll for performance on any written tests

Gained the 'Visionary' trait
You now gain a +1 bonus to any roll requiring a DEX or PER check. Likewise, your keen perception grants you limited insight to certain things that would go unnoticed by the average human

You've always enjoyed the fine arts. Living in a world filled with thousands of people wearing differently designed spandex suits, it's hard not to have a creative eye. Likewise, you've always been interested in the sciences. Ever since Tony Stark first opened up about his time spent in captivity—literally forging his escape from scrap metal—or when Mr. Richards and his team returned from their intergalactic journey with newfound powers, the world of science has felt truly limitless to you.

The timetable sheet you printed forever ago is staring you in the face. You're pretty happy with the selections you made on it. However, you live quite a distance from Midtown High and need to take the bus to get there. You could take the school bus and possibly make a friend along the way, or you could choose the city bus. There's always something happening out in the city to sightsee, though you'll most likely arrive at school just on time, with little room to do much else.

You set out from your home, closing the front door behind you. It's a lukewarm, sunny day outside, the lingering summer heat still doing its best to maintain its grip on the slowly changing season. What will you do?

>Take the school bus, maybe make a friend, arrive with time to spare

>Take the city bus, see what might be going on, arrive fashionably right on time

>>6419489
>Take the school bus, maybe make a friend, arrive with time to spare
Why not?

>>6419488
Thanks for the tips! I appreciate it. This is my first quest, though I've been lurking for a long time, since the first Homeless Mutant Quest thread. I welcome all advice and any creative write-in ideas someone may have, even if unprompted. I'll do my best to try and appeal to any ties that persist with voting.

>>6419489
>>Take the school bus, maybe make a friend, arrive with time to spare

>>6419489
>Take the school bus, maybe make a friend, arrive with time to spare
The brainiac-visionary combo is pretty sick

>>6419489
>Take the school bus, maybe make a friend, arrive with time to spare

Weird science is gonna be a thing apparently. I guess magitech or mad science won't be a huge hurdle much less alien tech.

I will write the update tomorrow morning. 10am EDT more than likely.

>>6419489
>Take the city bus, see what might be going on, arrive fashionably right on time.

Not such a straight arrow.

>>6419489
>Take the city bus, see what might be going on, arrive fashionably right on time

>>6419489
>Take the city bus, see what might be going on, arrive fashionably right on time
No reason to let school capture is early, when we could be enjoying everything Marvel NYC has to offer its public transitgoers.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

We're tied, as such we will resort to the dice gods.

1 = School bus
2 = City bus sight seeing

>>6419489
>Take the school bus

You walk up to the designated bus zone for your school. You wait outside for a few minutes, and it isn't long before Kaitlin finally races out of her house and catches up to you. You roll your eyes at her clumsy, half-hearted attempt to run to the stop. Classic disorganized Katie. She's wearing a pair of baggy green sweatpants along with a loose black sweater. Her raven-black, mid-length hair clings to her neck and shoulders; it seems even her mild run caused her to work up a sweat. In a way, very similar to you. Neither of you has ever been the most athletically inclined. You met Kaitlin in first grade in your art class, and she's the one who sparked your artistic endeavors. You can't say you've ever quite been up to par with her skill level in the arts, though you're pretty confident you have her beat in the sciences.

"Hey, Thomas!" she says a little overenthusiastically, her smile beaming at the sight of you. You make a mental note that she's probably incredibly relieved it's you here and not some weird kid she doesn't know.

The two of you strike up a conversation for a few minutes. You ask her what she's been up to in the final weeks of summer break. She mentions that two nights ago, her parents took her to see a Dazzler concert, which was unfortunately cut short by an anti-mutant hate group.

Finally, the bus arrives, and Kaitlin is the first to board ahead of you along with a few of the other kids who were waiting as well. Once you get on, you see Kaitlin patting the seat next to her. You nonchalantly take a quick look around at the kids who boarded the bus a few stops before yours.

There's a lithe girl with long blonde hair sitting by herself, casually texting someone. Not far away from her seems to be either a secret admirer or a creeper; you can't really tell.

Gazing at the blonde-haired girl is a very lanky, brown-haired boy sporting reading glasses. He's also sitting by himself, but unlike the blonde girl, you get the feeling that maybe it's not by choice. For a brief moment, you think he notices that you caught him staring at her. He glances at you quickly, then meekly lowers his head and looks away.

Lastly, you notice a tan-skinned girl sitting far in the back by herself. She's being lightly teased by some of the others around her, though not in a menacing way. With that being said, the ones doing it are keeping their distance. She has very long black hair, an amazing complexion, and an athletic build to boot. This girl looks shredded! It kind of makes you jealous in a way. Among the people playfully teasing her, you catch one of the boys asking, "The White Tiger wins another tourney, huh?" he says, jabbing the tan-skinned girl on the shoulder.

The bus driver is looking at you a bit impatiently. Time to get going.

>Sit with Kaitlin

>Sit next to the blonde girl

>Sit next to the weird guy wearing glasses

>Sit next to the tanned girl

>>6419772
>Sit next to the tanned girl
I actually have no idea who any of these characters are. Among the new people she seems like the only one who would be great company

>>6419772
>Sit with Kaitlin
I mean cmon she's our friend

For those who wanted the city bus route to start. Your chances of meeting someone and the events you would see on the way to your destination would and will continue to be based on a dice roll. Some current events and people for taking the bus the first time may have included...

EVENTS:

1.Seeing a weird robot in a rush somewhere, your high perception would've allowed you to lock eyes on a rather agile cat burglar chasing the robot...

2.A pro-mutant rally headed by the current main lineup of X-Men for this quest

3.Watching a newscast, apparently there are some exotic insects being delivered to a museum around your school! It seems a foreign and highly venomous spider has gone missing from the list..

ENCOUNTERS:

1.A huge dark skinned man dressed in a yellow shirt and jeans is on the bus. Wait a minute.. isn't that guy a Defender?

2.Nothing out of the ordinary happens on the bus ride, your short walk to school however you hear a gunshot and see a wounded Punisher

3. The mutant rally is interrupted by an anti-mutant group, forcefully pulling the bus to a stop and you're saved by a strange seemingly homeless mutant..
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Events that are missed still happen in the background of the progressing story, there's just no direct intervention/interaction from your character in them (assuming you're ABLE to do something in a meaningful way during them at that point).

>>6419772
>Sit with Kaitlin
She really is our friend

>>6419772
>Sit with Kaitlin

You just want to play it safe, you decide to sit next to Kaitlin. The sweat from her (very) temporary run has since dried, and cascades naturally down to her shoulders now. The open window from her side of the seat blows her bangs around in a mild dance.

She sighs, "The Dazzler concert was really good for while it lasted. I don't understand what the big deal is with mutant rights and other people, just let them live," she says in a moment of passion.

For a brief moment, on the bus ride to school you catch a news broadcast way off in the distance of the downtown area, the toweringly tall monitor displaying the news reads MUTANT RALLY ON 4TH AND 23RD INTERRUPTED BY UNNATURAL EXPLOSION you sigh. It's true, mutants like the X-Men have been made public since well before you born. However, on the other hand there are those groups like The Brotherhood, and violent independent mutants who often egregiously say and do things that are against humans like yourself.

Kaitlin looks off in the distance as well, her eyes widen at the report when she realizes what you're looking at. She shakes her head and a single tear forms in one of her eyes, "It's.. it's bullshit," she mutters under her breath.

>Stay silent but comfort her

>Tell her she's right, mutant rights are just as important as human ones

>Frankly you don't care for muties

>>6419890
>Tell her she's right, mutant rights are just as important as human ones
We're a nice guy, right(:

>>6419890
>Stay silent but comfort her
Ehh, mutants are people for good and for ill

>>6419890
>Tell her she's right, mutant rights are just as important as human ones
>"Humans steal, rob, murder and do a lot of disgusting things to one another. I hate the people who do that, not the human race as a whole. Fuck Magneto and the Brotherhood can stick a whole fist in their asses"

>>6419890
>Tell her she's right, mutant rights are just as important as human ones

>>6419890
>Tell her she's right, mutant rights are just as important as human one
Why do I have a funny feeling she is a mutie? Either way, they are still human and just as much of an asshole. Otherwise, humans cannot breed muties and vice versa. Really just semantics. Not like they are outright aliens, right? What's next, alien or AI rights? You cannot even argue that those things are even human at all.

>>6419890
>Stay silent but comfort her

File: Kaitlin.png (2.27 MB, 1122x1402)

2.27 MB PNG

PART 1/2
>>6419890
>Mutant rights are human rights
Gained the 'Mutant Ally' trait
Mutants under the HEROIC, NEUTRAL, VILLAIN temperament are naturally more open to diplomacy with you, causing CHA rolls with them to be slightly easier. When working together with a mutant ally, you now gain a stackable +1 to any roll while teamed up

The injustice done to mutants throughout their brief public history isn’t right. Seeing Kaitlin hurt over their struggles causes you to feel grief as well. You place a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Mutant rights are just as important as human rights,” you tell her.

Her eyes light up at the sight of your reassuring, confident smile as you comfort her. Her response quickly escalates from your hand resting on her shoulder to a tight hug initiated by her.

“Thanks,” is all she says as she wipes away the tear trailing down her face.

The two of you settle back comfortably into your seats once again. The rest of the bus ride passes with idle chatter between you, and nothing particularly passionate sparks up again with Kaitlin. At the end of the ride, however, after stepping off the bus, she turns back to look at you as you descend the steps onto the Midtown High school grounds. She grabs your hand; it feels warmer than usual, filling your chest with a strange swelling sensation.

“You’re a really amazing friend, Thomas. I hope your first day goes well,” she says with a smile.
You feel like Kaitlin has become even closer with you!
Your strengthened bond has unlocked Kaitlins passive 'Set The Scene!' giving her a permanent +3 to any PER based roll
Kaitlins bond level: 3/6 - Very Close Friend

PART 2/2
>>6419947
It's time for your first day of high school to truly start! Thankfully you have plenty of time to spare that allows you to explore and become somewhat familiar with the school. Many different students roam the hallways and outside the school, this is one of New York's biggest high schools in terms of registration, you examine your timetable again, relieved that your kicking it off in a subject you're very familiar with, biology.

Eventually, enough time has passed where you're able to attend your first class. Making it their early, you take a seat at one of the desks in the middle of the classroom, slowly the room is filled with students who also have a similar timetable and eventually the teacher for this class. A built man with blonde hair and blue eyes, what you quickly notice about him is that he's missing an arm, though he seems quite practiced with the other as he writes his name expertly on the board with his chalk in big letters.

MR.CONNORS

“Hello, everyone,” he begins, his English accent peeking through his words. “I’ll be your biology teacher this semester. My name is Curt Connors, though you may call me Mr. Connors if you prefer,” he says with a smile.

The room falls silent. One student coughs in the background, causing the awkwardness to escalate slightly and the atmosphere to grow tense. It becomes very apparent that this teacher is a little odd, though at least he seems friendly.

Mr. Connors brushes back what little hair he has with his hand. “Right, well, I’ll begin with attendance then.”

“Peter Parker,” he calls out.

The lanky boy with thick glasses from the bus raises his hand.

“Gwen Stacy.”

The blonde girl from the bus raises hers as well.

This continues for a few minutes until he reaches the end of the list. The lesson begins, and not much of note happens during class. The teacher expresses his profound admiration for reptiles and mentions that he is actively performing research on cellular regeneration, causing Peter Parker to perk up with interest.

“Well, let’s dive into the more exciting elements, shall we? You’re going to get into pairs, and we’re going to finish off with a bit of science trivia,” he announces.

Without hesitation, the room scrambles. Some people have already paired up with each other, more than likely either out of instinct or because they already know one another from somewhere else. Several boys are trying to pair up with that Gwen girl, including Peter, who isn’t even bothering to hide his jealous expression at her popularity. The choices are quickly becoming slimmer.

>Pair up with that Parker kid

>Try to be partners with Gwen

>Quickly try to see who else is available and pair with someone random

>>6419953
>Pair up with that Parker kid
Desperation has the opposite effect on girls, bro. The harder you try, the worse it gets. The less you care, the easier it is.

>>6419953
>Quickly try to see who else is available and pair with someone random

>That was Gwen and Peter
Not touching the curse with a 10 ft pole

>>6419953
>Quickly try to see who else is available and pair with someone random
I wanna be a bro for Peter and give him advice, but not so soon.

>>6419969
I would rather meet him before he becomes a super. Easier and less messy that way. Otherwise, I would agree.

>>6419953
>Quickly try to see who else is available and pair with someone random
Oh hey Harry

>>6419971
>I would rather meet him before he becomes a super. Easier and less messy that way
Actually, how long would that take to happen? And how long until Tommy gets to start getting powers? I believe there will be enough time to live some highschool drama before we go the deep end

>>6419979
Depends on when the school trip is exactly. That is when he gets bitten by the spider. We also have no idea what makes us turn or when. Just some kind of brain power? Who knows what is gonna trigger that?

I suspect Kaitlin is a mutant of some variety.

>>6419983
I could see Kaitlin being a mutant, maybe that's why she reacted the way she did. Or maybe it was because of her being a fan of Dazzler and really caring about the mutant cause by extension.

To be honest? I love what >>6419521 said for Tom's powers being weird science. But I'm a fan of going to the deep, weird end of Magic. Not like Dr. Strange but more like Constantine, our ability to look beyond what normal people see plus our intelligence would be great for that

Anywho, I'm still down to just let fate and dice decide what type of power or branch does Tommy ends up being down the road!

>>6419979
Perhaps not too long... no spoilers but there will some options in terms of what our own personal powerset could be
I'll be continuing at around 11pm EDT for the final post today and I'll resume tomorrow morning at around 10am

Writing now

Rolled 11 (1d20)

>Quickly try to find someone else
Rolling for the result

File: Jessica Jones.jpg (72 KB, 700x1500)

72 KB JPG

>>6419953
You look around the room quickly, before you're officially forced into a pairing you don't want. A sense of anxiety awash over you when you realize they'll either be smart, or you may simply have to pull the weight. That soon washes over you when you do manage to find someone.

ROLLED 11

Jessica Jones, she announced herself just a bit before you had to for attendance. Her long darker colored hair descends just a bit longer than shoulder length. Her eyes meet yours and she just stands for a moment, there's something that seems a little bit off about her.

PER CHECK PASS

Quickly reading the way she gestures, you realize that she’s sizing you up. Her average size doesn’t pose much of a threat, but you can sense something deeper within her. It doesn’t take long for her to catch on that you can see through her. She seems impressed, dropping her guard for just a moment.

“You’re pretty smart, aren’t you?” she asks, her previously flat expression now carrying a hint of a smile.

You simply give her a knowing look, and she returns one in kind. She places a hand on your shoulder, taking you completely by surprise. This woman is strong. The grip of her hand on your shoulder is nothing short of impressive for someone her size.

Jessica looks at you, placing one hand on her hip. “Let’s knock them out, Mr. Smart Guy,” is all she says as the two of you take your seats.

As you sit down, you realize she’s still looking at you. It seems you’ve made quite an impression on her. Regardless of how this interaction went, it’s time to focus. You don’t mess around when it comes to class.

It doesn’t take long for Mr. Connors to hand out the quiz papers. You and Jessica sit beside each other as the papers are quickly flipped over, and the quiz begins.

>Let Jessica set the pace.

>Do what you can, you got this.

Aspiring Braniac activates!
>Show off. You know you're easily at least one of the smartest in here.

>>6420077
>Show off. You know you're easily at least one of the smartest in here.
Interesting, QM, very interesting

>>6420034
Here's to the super event not being too traumatic.

>>6420077
LMAO fuck RIP mind rapist route here we come. That sure as fuck counts.

>Show off. You know you're easily at least one of the smartest in here.

>>6420077
>Show off. You know you're easily at least one of the smartest in here.

>>6420077
>Show off. You know you're easily at least one of the smartest in here.

File: peter parker.jpg (151 KB, 557x906)

151 KB JPG

>>6420077
>Show what you can REALLY do

It’s already done. In just under two minutes, you were able to solve Mr. Connors’ quiz. Jessica gives you an extremely impressed look.

“Wow, looks like I may have found my science buddy after all,” she says. The compliment rolls off her tongue so naturally that, if you weren’t so focused on displaying your intellect right now, you’re almost positive you’d be hypnotized by it.

You quickly raise your hand. “All done!” you both announce.

Wait, what?

Mr. Connors looks at the two of you with sly curiosity. “Well, it seems the two groups have a tie!” he announces.

Looking across the classroom, you see Peter Parker standing as well. He looks back at you meekly. You feel a little bad, but at the same time, you make a mental note that there may actually be someone here on your level academically.

“It’s in moments like these that I’m glad I brought a part two,” he tells the class.

Curt walks back to his desk, opens a drawer, and pulls out two sheets of paper. “What do you say, boys? First one of you to finish it wins the competition for your group,” he asks, looking between Peter and yourself.

>Do it, challenge Peter to a solo test.

>Let him have the win, maybe he could use it.

>>6420095
>Do it, challenge Peter to a solo test.
C'mon Spooder Man, we'll kick your ass!

>>6420095
>Do it, challenge Peter to a solo test.

>>6420095
>Do it, challenge Peter to a solo test
Here's the thing, if he wins it's a rare Peter W. If he loses then it's a common Tom W. No downside!

>>6420095
>Do it, challenge Peter to a solo test.
Oh yeah, we're gonna get mindraped by Jessica's mindrapist possessive petty ass archnemesis. What a way to become a super. Goddamn it.

>Challenge Peter

Roll a 1d20+1
The DC is 16

Rolled 19 + 1 (1d20 + 1)

>>6420112
Naj

>>6420115
Ok, I'll take that. Writing the last update for tonight

PART 1/2
>>6420095
>Challenge Peter

You look over at Peter, his meek stature is nearly just a humorous joke when basked in the immensely tall strength of his brain. He shrugs and looks around awkwardly, somewhere in the back of the classroom is a blonde haired, jockish looking man trying to stifle himself from laughing at the poor boy.

You sigh, "yeah, let's do this," you nod in Parkers direction.

As if expecting otherwise, he nearly jumps out of his skin. It seems Peter is used to being challenged by physically oppressive people, the way he can skirt around quickly, unseen, but not someone challenging his intellect. He looks at you a little reluctantly. "F-fine.." he just sputters out.

ROLLED A 20!

Both of your pencils race across the page at breakneck speed. The immense processing power of your minds somehow creates a thick, tense aura throughout the room. It becomes so apparent that even some of the meatheads in the class begin paying close attention to the competition.

Parker focuses on you for a moment, and that’s all you need to beat him. Before he can even make it halfway through his paper, you manage to finish well ahead of him.

“Well... looks like we have our winners, don’t we, class?” Mr. Connors asks the room.

Some people nod while others clap for you, praising how smart you are. Curt looks at you for a long moment, silently admiring your performance. It seems like he wants to say something to you, but he holds himself back.

You glance over at Peter again. He’s seated with his head tilted downward toward the floor. For once, the boy has been beaten in a way he isn’t used to, and his wounded pride causes him to sulk.
You get a weird vibe from Parker sometimes.. You think you want to distance yourself from this kid and that he may feel the same way about you
The rift between you two motivates Peter, unlocking his passive 'Parker Luck' making everyone around him feel less lucky. When Peter tends to be around people, things go bad, everyone's rolls become significantly harder when Peter is involved!
Peters bond level: -1/6 - Annoying Stranger

After all of this you feel a bit more respected in some sense, by the class. Things eventually resume back to normal, where you're still seated next to Jessica. She seems to be more comfortable with you and sits a bit closer, more relaxed.
You get the feeling Jessica has warmed up to you!
The beginning of your bond has unlocked Jessica's passive 'Thick Skin' greatly raising the amount of damage she can take
Jessica's bond level: 1/6 - Warmed Up To You

Oh woh 0:

>>6420132
>Aggroing Spiderman
Kek, let's do it

Parker needs to learn that having an intellectual rival is not a bad thing. So not looking forward to getting dragged into Jessica Jones mess. She really has the worst fucking luck with enemies. Also turns out Jessica has a thing for nerds before the whole mind control arc. So she might have a crush on Timmy instead of Peter. Oh, we so we aren't avoiding that mindrapist at this rate.

...wait, are we gonna become a villain? Come to think of it, how else are we gonna get the funds and research materials for all our expensive shit...research and magic ain't cheap man. Even the Spiderman never found a solution to get around it.

>>6420142
I'm down.

File: Mayor Fisk.jpg (84 KB, 1680x800)

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>>6420132
NEW YORK CITY HALL

The historic building in Lower Manhattan stands proudly, serving as the perfect seat of justice. Only people who want the best for this city are meant to occupy this building, and that is exactly what the public believes Mayor Wilson Fisk truly represents. He sits high and mighty behind the desk in his office, reviewing various papers detailing income from both domestic and foreign developments connected to New York.

The window to his office cracks open from the outside, no less. Mayor Fisk shakes his head.

“Come in, girl...” he pauses. “You know not to enter this way at this time,” his booming, deep voice echoes through the room.

A sultry woman slips through the window and into the mayor’s office. She wears a slightly debris-damaged black bodysuit that clings tightly to the contours of her shapely figure. Her lengthy gray hair flows behind her as she stands before Fisk.

“That hunk of junk somehow managed to give me a run for my money. You got any idea how fast that weird Fantastic Bot can go?” she asks, her tone annoyed and short with the inhumanly large mayor.

Mayor Fisk lowers his gaze to the floor for only a moment before looking back at the Black Cat.

“Ms. Hardy...” He lightly claps his hands together, as if considering something.

The woman stares at him in stunned confusion. “H-how do yo—”

CRACK

Fisk slams his palm onto the table. The force travels through the incredibly sturdy wood and snaps one of the legs clean off, producing the audible crack.

“Need I remind you that I hired you for a job,” he says to the woman. “I’m sorry, but you’re not in a position to negotiate the terms.”

He pulls a document from his desk and slides it toward the thief. Her expression shifts into one of deep regret, disbelief, and horror. The image displayed shows her in civilian clothing, dressed for university, sitting in a lunch hall with her friends.

“It would be a shame if something about your deeds came to light. It may even affect your friends as well,” he says as he turns to look out the massive window behind him.

Felicia stands there, furious, but realizes this is the time to restrain herself.

“Here’s the tape, and the weird test tube,” she says curtly.

Mayor Fisk quickly grabs the items, a beaming smile spreading across his hairless face. The sight unnerves the woman.

“Excellent work, Ms. Hardy. I trust you will answer any calls for future jobs,” Fisk says as he waves her away.

The woman does not respond. Her escape from the office goes completely unnoticed, the man no longer caring enough to pay attention.

The tape he received begins playing across the monitor in his office.

“Commander Fury, this is Reed. Something terrible happened here...”

The footage showcases the bodies of both heroes and villains, along with the civilians who became casualties after being caught in the center of it all.

That's it at the moment everyone. I will post again at 10 or 11am EDT. We may only get one or two updates, but I will try to aim for a few.

>>6420143
>we aren't avoiding that mindrapist at this rate.
I think Kilgrave will be a scary and interesting antagonist if he shows up. Could be an awesome problem in the high school, even. Coach Kilgrave, Principal Kilgrave, Cheer Captain Kilgrave(?)... But if not, it'll probably be a while before he shows. Seems like Lizard is more imminent (and a high school teacher, interesting), and Gwen is here, so I think that will be the spider-arc in our orbit, whether we are present for the major beats or not.
>are we gonna become a villain?
I could be convinced to lean towards antihero, but maybe not VILLAIN. Perhaps our rivalry with Parker extends to our moral convictions. We're 'smarter' (maybe just flat out smarter) and we can rationalize the occasional murder. If Parker were smarter, more like us, he could too. Poor Parker, one day he'll reach his potential.
But I gotta say, I love a noble right good guy Marvel character. I think the nature of our powers and our attaining them is gonna influence my decision. If he becomes a MUTANT I think I would lean Brotherhood, tbf. Or maybe Hellfire Club? Idunno, getting ahead of myself, way ahead.
It seems on the table to be bad. I have limits to my appetite for that.

>>6420150
I'm thinking more realistic approach research, invention, and so forth is EXPENSIVE AS HELL. As a school kid or hell even as an adult, how are we gonna afford it? Our brainy powerset is likely to be...expensive. Super goddamn expensive. I don't wanna throw away our brains like Spiderman due to being broke. No offense Peter Parker but you REALLY waste your talents due to whole lack of funds...big time. I don't want to end up like that. Realistically, we are gonna have to do...things to get money to afford the research and materials. Funds have to come from somwhere you know and we aren't exactly...rich in options in how to do so. Shit, even after Parker comes clean to Stark, he still ends up with fuck all. I want actually to do shit with our big brain.

Nah fuck Kilgrave, that psycho needs to eat a bullet preferably BEFORE we get targeted by him(Lol I fucking wish I bet it's gonna be our trigger event). With us getting along with Jessica, we are gonna be on his hitlist out of sheer principle. That fucker rapes, holds her hostage, and mind controls her for nearly a year straight. Before that, she was a normal girl trying out the whole hero thing, with a crush on Peter Parker until...yeah.

I get along more with the Punisher than with other heroes. Some monsters you just need to kill human or not and I want FUNDS so we can do the fun shit instead of just scraping by. Antihero? Antivillain? Meh. It's a big world er galaxy out there. Not that I like the heartless, cold, pragmatic approach or foolishly naive hero approach either. Punisher has it right a lot of the time, unlike most heroes. Like, Kilgrave fuck letting that guy live.

>>6420150
>>6420153
Tommy hasn't shown any signs or either being an asshole or a reason to be a villain. If you want funds for whatever reason we can always scam people or hack bank accounts or some bullshit, not directly thinking about something actually bad to call ourselves villains lmao

But if we get fucked up by Kilgrave, I can't say no to the idea of having a hate boner with him and try to have him turbo raped and killed. Any who, I just wanna go up to Peter and maybe leave it clear it's just friendly competition and there's no need to be sulking all over some grades.

>>6420158

We could also take tech from the villains. Goblin, Tinkerer, even Shocker should all have stuff we can repurpose or even just salvage parts from

>>6420158
I never said anything about being asshole. More a need to find uh funds somehow. Also trying to not get mindraped because apparently that is a distinct risk.

In terms of villainy...um does money and resources count? In terms of villainy, be on a pretty low bar desu. Just need funds and resources to use. Not actively kill people or try to take over the world or some shit. Magic and SCIENCE! is so much more interesting, you know?

>>6420173
Exactly. Also aliens. They are absolutely LOADED with great shit to take.

Morning everyone, writing the update now.

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PART 1/2
>>6420146
MIDTOWN HIGH

The rest of biology passed by with not much else of note, the bell rings signaling everyone to go to their next class. As you get up to go, once again it seems like Mr. Connors has something he wants to say. He still holds back and frankly you want to move the day forward already. You look at your timetable again.

GYM: 1000 - 1200

You groan. Why do you have to have gym this early in the day?

Shuffling your way to the gym like a disappointed zombie, you eventually reach the gymnasium. A giant banner drapes across the far wall reading MIDTOWN MARINERS, the school’s somewhat famous football team.

Entering the gym, you move toward the bleachers where some unfamiliar students are already sitting. With a bit of luck, more people begin flooding in for class, and you realize you’re not the only one dreading this period.

Kaitlin is here. When she spots you, she quickly runs over and takes a seat beside you.

“So, how was your first class?!” she asks excitedly.

You fill her in on everything. She listens earnestly, though she rolls her eyes a little once you finish.

“Someone’s got a little science buddy now? Just don’t go flexing that brain too hard, Tommy. It’s only the first day, and you’re already making waves,” she tells you.

Eventually, all the students arrive for class. The number of new kids starting high school alongside you is staggering, and part of you feels overwhelmed by it all.

The coach... er, teacher walks in. He has a well-defined physique and wears an athletic sweat-proof shirt branded with the school logo.

“Alright, listen up,” he begins. “I don’t want to waste any time here. My name is Mr. Masters, but ‘Coach’ is fine. I get that it’s early in the day, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let you slack off. A strong mind is nothing without a body that can carry its weight,” he explains.

He starts going through the attendance list.

“Kaitlin Natchios,” he calls.

Your friend raises her hand. “Here!” she responds.

Coach Masters nods. “Kate Bishop.”

A girl with black hair pulled back into a neat ponytail raises her hand. “Here,” she replies calmly.

“Pietro Maximoff.”

A boy with slicked-back, pure white hair raises his hand before quickly lowering it again. “Here,” he says in a thick European accent. Compared to everyone else, the boy seems a little odd.

A couple of minutes pass before the entire attendance list is finished. Coach Masters closes the book containing the names and heads into the storage room, dragging out various pieces of equipment meant for a race.

PART 2/2
>>6420307

Coach Masters efficiently begins setting up the track-and-field equipment. There’s a high jump station, a shot put setup outside, a relay race station, and tons of other activities now scattered throughout the massive gymnasium.

“There will be no lessons on your first day in my class. I want all of you to show me the natural baseline of your physical abilities, and of course, have fun doing it,” the coach says with a sly wink.

You groan aloud, joined by some of the other less physically inclined students. Kaitlin is right there with you, clearly not wanting to do this either.

Masters huffs. “Enough with the attitude. You’ll all be divided into groups of ten for each station and rotate clockwise to the next event after everyone is finished. Please refer to this list.”

The coach hands out slips of paper containing all the students’ names and assigned groups.

THOMAS AXEFORD: RELAY, SHOTPUT, HIGHJUMP, LONG JUMP

You find your name on the list and head over to the relay race station, where you join a few other students, including that Pietro boy and Bishop.

After instructing a different group of kids, the coach jogs over to your station and explains the rules. You’re to pair up in teams of two. One person will start with the baton and run a full lap around the track before passing it off to their partner, who will finish the race.

Not wanting to take any chances after what happened in your last class, you’re one of the first to jump at the opportunity to find a partner.

>Pair with Kate Bishop

>Pair with Pietro Maximoff

>Find someone else who pops out in this group

>>6420318
>Natchios
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck,,,

>>6420318
>Pair with Pietro Maximoff
I wanna unlock new characters, but I honestly like to go with either Kate or Pietro, more inclined to Pietro just to ask him how the teachers were okay letting him dye his hair like that

Also QM, I'm a little surprised by seeing people like Pietro or Jessica Jones being at the same age range like Peter, Gwen or Ava Ayala, while Black Cat is like a uni student. Is this a decision you made to toy with some of the ages and make Midtown High more interesting? Is it like this in the comics? Or are we playing in a universe different than the 616? (Which would make some sense, after all I doubt a single time travel to the past is enough to change the ages like it did)

>>6420318
>Masters
kek, we got fucking Taskmaster for a gym teacher? How much is the school paying him for this?

>Pair with Pietro Maximoff
He might not be the best jumper, but he’ll be great at relay. I also want to tease Tony as much as possible just for fun, and pairing with a mutant should probably do it.

>>6420329
I’m assuming this isn’t 616, given that Connors is English (not even Welsh, like he would be in the Garfield movies, but specifically English) and not Floridian, which is making things more interesting. What other differences are there? The Defenders have only been Netflix’s so far, no mention of the powerhouses even when the world’s ended. As you mentioned, Pietro and Ava being in the same age range as Peter and Jessica is another big change. There’s still a lot of anti-mutant sentiment, but Dazzler specifically is also *known* as a mutant and still performing…

Looking forward to this, OP. It’s pretty fun so far.

>>6420329
This is purely my own spin on things. There are some VERY weird picks in the random rolls for students, that's just to give me a little push creatively and make things a bit more dynamic and interesting (hopefully).

I will not be posting much today. I will try and squeeze out one more and get us midway through the school day. LOTS of events will be taking place the day after our first day of school. The super side of things will be gaining a steady pace.

>>6420332
>How much is the school paying him for this?
I think we can assume almost everyone at Midtown is yet to become who they will become. I am also wondering if there will be surprise shifts - maybe this is Peter D. Parker and he designs mechanical spider arms that cook his brain, thus becoming Doctor Tarantula. Maybe Kaitlin Natchios is a mutant AND gets training from Stick? Connors seems to be eyeing us for help on his pet project, which maybe is the Lizard serum (and it'd be very cool for us to have an arc with him similar to Peter helping Otto build his arms only for it to all go wrong). But, there was no mention of a prosthetic or missing limb, right, so idk, maybe he is GONNA lose one, or perhaps he is gonna make a robotic Lizard suit or something. Maybe I am being overly imaginative though, I just find myself suspicious that these characters will start to surprise us more than just confirm to our preconceived notions about what they'll become.

>>6420332
>Spoiler
LET'S GOOOO, I feel in home right now. Ava, Peter, we need Power Man, Nova and Iron Fist in this bitch and we have Ultimate Spider-Man

>>6420337
Gotcha, honestly I really wanna see who else is in the rooster and I'm loving the quest so far!

>>6420339
Either that or we can prevent Pete from going the Spider-Gwen route of Lizard serum school shooter by using the lizard serum ourselves. Would be a fun to play as Thomas a hulk like character or we perfect the serum and we're just Spider-Man but with regen, claws, and possibly a prehensile tail.

>>6420381
Yeah, this is why I like Science based supers - we could easily end up with a very physical power set while retaining our intellect, and so be able to adapt as we go. Connors is a perfect example, as are a lot of Spidey villains, really.

>>6420318
>Find someone else who pops out in this group
another wild card option. Cause I want more pain.

>>6420329
In the comics Jessica Jones and Peter Parker were the same age and went to school together. She even had a one sided crush on him. Later on, they redid her character.

>>6420332
Realistically, Taskmaster might be scouting for talent like the science teacher. We won't be on his immediate radar until he finds out how smart we are from the other staff.

>>6420381
>>6420386
I'd personally like a big brain powerset of some kind. Not that I'm against a beefy power but it's something I would like to work towards instead.

>>6420318
>Pair with Pietro Maximoff
Forgot to vote!
Slumber party at Magneto's house?

>>6420318
>Pair with Pietro Maximoff

>>6420339
>>6419953 said he was missing an arm so he already lost it

>>6420429
Ope! Blinked and missed it!

>>6420408
We still would need to be big brained to fix the formula AND make more of it. Think of the possibilities of the serum running out of time and needing to make more. Or hell, altering the serum to have different effects based on different animals DNA. I wouldn't mind a full tech power set either, but the serum route would be a fun middle ground

>>6420444
Honestly, I'm down as fuck for a biochemical or biotech build. Biotech and chems are so underrated. Shit even tech builds tend to end up overly gimmicky which is a total shame given how adaptable it should be(yes power armour is COOL but there is MORE than just that). I just don't wanna end up another Hulk expy knock off, you know? Even if we go super soldier I want to earn that damned serum and actually be able to play around with it. Same with the scientific abomination route. Gimme the serum and drugs, then let us experiment with them properly, with all the horrifying consequences cause SCIENCE! Also its one of my least favorite things that gets handwaved away all the time.

Maybe we should wait to speculate on powers until we have an origin to get them from? If we spend so much time blabbing about tech and end up with a magical tome or a lab accident, it won’t do much good.

>>6420488
Perhaps

I'll be writing an update at around 8-8:30pm EDT

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>Pair with Pietro

You walk up to the white-haired boy. His hair is styled back in a strange way, almost as if it's forming a boomerang shape. He looks you up and down quickly before letting out a sigh.

"Looks like I'm gonna be doing the heavy lifting this race," he says dejectedly. His accent is thick—so much so that, if it weren't for your acute hearing, you probably wouldn't have registered anything that came out of his mouth.

Coach Masters hands each group a baton, and Pietro lets you take ownership of it.

"It doesn't matter what order we go in. Just please don't make me have to work too hard," he instructs.

Pietro is extremely cocky. You simply raise an eyebrow at his remarks in response. It's hard to argue with him; you've never been the most physically inclined. You can't remember the last time you genuinely pushed yourself athletically.

The countdown begins over the speakers. Five, four, three, two, one...

A strangely horrifying, repetitive beeping noise blares, signaling the start of the event.

>Roll a 1d20
>There is no DC this time, higher is better

Rolled 1 (1d20)

>>6420565
Time to fail.

>>6420568
Well..

>>6420568
LOL called it. Tommy really needs to hit the gym and not just the books.

>>6420570
Do you need only 1 roll or is it a best of 3? Or are you going to let us now when you need more than 1 anon to roll?

>>6420578
Right I should've mentioned that earlier, every roll is best of 3 unless otherwise stated. 1's and 20's take precedence unless canceled out by each other.

Rolled 10 (1d20)

>>6420565
Don't worry anons, here's the 20 we need to cancel the 1

Rolled 1 (1d20)

>>6420565
Here goes nothing.

>>6420568
HA! That's a whole lotta nothing.

>>6420596
Oh fuck, that IS a whole lotta nothing!

>>6420568
>>6420596
Forget about bio-tech anons. Neither Weapon-X or the Soldier Serum will save our asses

>>6420568
>>6420596
Well its official Tommy is a gigantic unathletic nerd and but a smart one because we chose the most athletic guy, who is clearly gonna do the heavy lifting after all. Hopefully we aren't a fatass on top of that. Sheesh.

>>6420602
I don't think the super drugs are gonna work either desu. Also god save us should we ever get in a fight. Good lord we are gonna get our asses kicked...minion master build? Maybe we can shoot good?

>>6420605
Fuck it, we're going to K'unlun and train with Iron Fist. Jessica will meet Tommy in a very chinese moment in his life

>>6420605
No wait shooting still requires being athletic. Uh...magic? Otherwise, the best I got for a big brain build is minions.

>>6420608
Jessica already met him and probably has a crush on him as she has a thing for nerdy boys pre mindrape.

Otherwise, does chi count as magical BS? We do have a starter buff to that. So that could in fact work.

>>6420611
Wait, piloting should still work, right? Just use a mecha or something. Truly atrocious athletics is...interesting to plan around. Especially in a fight.

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>>6420568
>>6420596
Jesus Christ. We’re minmaxing this, aren’t we? Absolutely stellar at arts and sciences, so bad at phys ed that next update will probably involve breaking a limb. Our best chance at this point is probably magic at this point, but that takes years to learn…

At least we have no chance in hell at becoming a generic puncher, so it’ll keep this quest unique?

>>6420613
>>6420640
I mean we can joke but stuff like super soldier or lizard serum, alchemex spiders (there are more than the one that bites Parker), cosmic radiation, gene editing, etc etc etc etc does mean we CAN be physically capable, if not formidable. Marvel eggheads are more often than not, villain or hero.

Ok, double 1's.. right. At the moment, Thomas has a long way to go physically, regardless of it being through innovation or sweat and hard work.


I will write the update tomorrow morning 10am EDT. Tomorrow will be slow for updates again, but we will resume a frequent pace Monday and Tuesday. I just want to take a moment and thank you all for your participation thus far. If you have any suggestions, again, I'm open.

>>6420640
I mean, entirely by accident, yeah. Imagine playing a super who cannot fight for shit. An interesting playstyle and challenge for sure. Definitely not generic.

Honestly kind of has me stumped but in a good way. Support build? Minions build? Pilot build?

>>6420646
That doesn't fix our lack of talent for physical activity, but it only makes us fitter. The MC is clearly optimized for...thinking and not doing. Sure, we COULD become super fit, but it doesn't make us a great fighter or actually good at sports, you know? The knack for it just ain't there.

Tommy clearly ain't a fighter and is in really terrible shape. Like goddamn.

>>6420651
Confirmed for so terrible that even a super serum cannot save us. Holy shit.

Yeah, okay, plan around personally fighting at all costs...got it. Honestly kinda glad we ended up with the Taskmaster to kick our ass into shape. Not gonna lie. Still suck ass as a fighter, so hard we'll go down in history as his most well deserved worst student ever. Gonna give him nightmares for how terrible we are, but at least we'll learn how to run(very important) and get into shape.

Magic and chi will take years to learn...so tech to start with. Tech support build. Hm, need minions for protection because we cannot fight for shit. At least let us escape and tech can be used for support effects too. Fighting as a pilot should be doable but not in the short term. Big tech like that is costly and hard to hide.

>>6420658
>Sure, we COULD become super fit, but it doesn't make us a great fighter or actually good at sports, you know? The knack for it just ain't there.
Connors is an example of someone weak and lacking aptitude and skill becoming highly physically effective after his change. Peter Parker too. Steve Rogers. It happens all the time, man. You get reflexes and instincts and senses along with the power and durability. But I think it could be interesting if we just swing a whole other way and stay a runny egg-head instead of a hard-boiled one.

>>6420665
I agree and would rather take the trope seriously. So as a weak ass nerd how do we survive against all those supers? I would rather play it straight instead of just another bruiser that is a former nerd, instead of relying upon brains to beat brawn.

>>6420646
Yeah, but pursuing it would be like trying to make a paraplegic fatass into a martial arts master (in a world without cybernetic implants and miraculous revivals)
At best, we’d be about as fit as peak human when given stuff that could make an athlete into a fucking god
No real point in focusing on it when we could be emphasizing our strengths

>>6420651
Thank you for being so communicative, QM! You’re doing good work.

>>6420658
>I mean, entirely by accident, yeah. Imagine playing a super who cannot fight for shit. An interesting playstyle and challenge for sure. Definitely not generic.

>Honestly kind of has me stumped but in a good way. Support build? Minions build? Pilot build?
Something ranged, for sure. That’s basically the only guarantee. A pilot build is just asking for trouble (the moment someone gets near the cockpit we’re screwed), and support would require a supporting CAST (of which we only have one guarantee so far)…

A minions build is curious. Do you mean drones? Summons? What in Marvel even qualifies for that? I’m seriously having a hard time recalling a single “summoner” hero that isn’t just magic or some sort of techy drone thing. Kid Kaiju, maybe?

>>6420665
Ditto, it’d set us apart and make combat more interesting.

>>6420667
I’m going to repeat magic again, because it really is crazy busted (even with the long time to learn it— and that can be mitigated if your teacher is proficient enough to warp time), but psionics/telepathy and some sort of stealthy sniper build could also work. Physical powerhouses become less of a problem if they don’t know you’re there.

>>6420671
The advantage of the cockpit option is being able to shove it full of failsafes for when something does and it triggers to save our ass. While serving a solid cocoon of protection for our weakass that would still let us be a threat. Of course, not by any means a short term option. However longer term it is VERY viable.

Otherwise when a threat reaches us its one of three options-
1 dead
2 KO
3 Captured

A support build also stacks with minions and actually serves as a huge force amplifier with them. Not just having to depend on other supers and even in that situation, we get stuck with being the weak ass link of obvious priority. The only super we have right now is Jessica, but no idea if she is even active as a hero currently. Albeit there isn't much of a secret about her being something else with the MC. Just not what she is doing with it.

Gates, summoning rituals, and portals are a thing for magical minions aka 'summons'. Otherwise taming, cloning, biotech and robotic minions are all viable or just play it straight with henchmen we drug/gear up.

>>6420673
The issue with stealth/snipers is plot armour. Otherwise, it would be far FAR more effective than plays out. In terms of psionics can be viable but again doesn't get around our weak ass body and book smarts. Magic has the most potential and we have a real chance of pulling off magitech in the long run or other strange sciences even MAD Science given our peculiar talents is more than just logic/raw brains but also some of mysticism/perception ability.

Avoiding fights in general with stealth is definitely viable in general and something I would suggest in general on account of if we get hit, we are kinda fucked. Best that they never notice and we avoid fighting at all. Hey everyone needs tech support or an whatever magickal bullshit science IT nerd is required.

>>6420688
Best case scenario would be playing director or like a video game. Send out some minions we order around and control to do our bidding. While we hide somewhere in stealth to do whatever it is we are after. If we lose the minions, oh well, we still get away and try again later. Basically, fight and do jobs on our own terms. With minions and gear, we control the plans that we set up. Minimize the risk and blowback.

>>6420667
>>6420673
I will step back to say that I just think it's interesting, I don't care if we are a shit-kicker or a wet noodle, I think there are pros and cons I am into either way.
If you guys want to lean wet noodle, we should consider how previous marvel characters have handled it. The Leader comes to mind immediately, and then.... Every super genius I can think of after that in Marvel has hands to back it up. Doom, Octavius, Stark, Banner, Osborne, Richards, T'Challa, Apocalypse, Sinister, McCoy, Kang, Pym... Maybe it's inescapable...

>>6420688
>The only super we have right now is Jessica, but no idea if she is even active as a hero currently. Albeit there isn't much of a secret about her being something else with the MC. Just not what she is doing with it.
Actually the person we are closest to is Elektra.
With her and Jessica in our orbit.... What if WE become Purple Man? Maybe that's how we do Minions. Good!Kilgrave could be really fascinating.

We'll still be solid if we do biotech/chemical serums. We don't have to minion max with tech either.

>>6420696
>Elektra
Anon, they just share a last name. The first is completely different, so this is someone else. Maybe an OC daughter or cousin of some kind.

>>6420693
It’s not inescapable if we say otherwise! Besides, the fact that so many super-geniuses can also punch is what sets us apart.

Wait. I just figured out something that’ll check off every single box.

>stealth
>long-range
>summons

Illusions!

>>6420699
>Make super serums/drugs to become super
>Yet they don't work for shit on us
>Turns out it works great on others though
>...well fuck me
minions it is

>>6420693
The answer to that is minions, support, stealth, masterminding, or piloting. Basically, avoid direct engagement at all costs.

>>6420703
Until some jackass shows up who's immune to illusions. What's better than illusions? Why not even be there, of course!

>>6420696
>>6420700
Elektra is realistically older than us and in her twenties. Fisk is Mayor and thus busy fighting it out with Daredevil right now. She is, at best a younger relative of hers my money is her being a mutant. Kinda hard to be a Good!Kilgrave with the whole mindrape powerset. You know kinda hard to be good when your power is literally mindrape...like shit even neutral is hard with that kind of power. Trying to not to be a horrible person with that kinda powerset would be...interesting, I'll admit.

I'll admit I have a soft spot for henchmen and all the shit they go through. They could really use someone who doesn't treat them like shit and actually looks out for them. Not easy being bossed around by villains and getting your ass kicked by heroes all the time.

Writing the update now. I'll try and squeeze out a couple updates today. Tomorrow will be more active for me here.

>>6420711
>Elektra is realistically older than us and in her twenties. Fisk is Mayor and thus busy fighting it out with Daredevil right now. She is, at best a younger relative of hers my money is her being a mutant.
Respectfully, man, you just made all of this up. We don't know if there is a Daredevil yet, or that Kaitlin is a relative of Elektra instead of just being her. I can concede that I am reaching a bit to assume Kaitlin is going to become Elektra or a version of her (decently common for alt universe characters having variations on the 616 name, like Penny Parker or Olivia Octavius etc). But I would say it's a reach that's inside reason.

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PART 1/2
>>6420565
ROLLED A 1

The blaring, repetitive noises from the speaker throws you off. Unsure of what's happening you're still at the starting point by the time some of the faster students have approached the halfway point of the relay. You start to shake a little, the pressure of all eyes on you and your physical ability becomes a bit overwhelming emotionally. Your relay partner, Pietro, looks a little pissed.

Pietro runs by your side for a moment, "What the hell, are you trying to screw with me?" He asks earnestly. The venom in his voice spews forth and only serves to halt you from starting more.

"GO!" He screams at you, his body shaking, knowing he's unable to recover in your stead.

Adrenaline floods your system as you try to figure out what the holdup is with your body. Slowly and shakily, one foot steps in front of the other until you manage a somewhat brisk jog down the track. The despair of being so severely outperformed in the race crashes over you like a tide of anguish, causing sweat and tears to form in your eyes.

You glance over at the coach for a moment. Masters visibly sucks in a sharp breath as he watches you. He tilts his head in confusion at your effort as you finally finish your half of the relay.

At last, you hand the baton off to Pietro. He doesn’t waste any time speaking. Almost as if he deems you unworthy of even the air it would take, he takes off running.

Both you and Coach Masters watch in complete shock as your relay partner rapidly surpasses most of the students who had gained such a massive head start. In mere seconds, the two of you have almost entirely recovered from the enormous time loss caused by your performance.

Visibly furious, Pietro closes the remaining distance and manages to finish in second place. He throws the baton onto the ground and shoots you a glare.
Seems like Pietro doesn't think very highly of you. You may want to steer clear of him for now.
The divide between Pietro and yourself has pushed him to a new height, unlocking his passive 'Blur' making him naturally much harder to hit with any form of attack
Pietro's bond level: -1/6 - Annoying Stranger

“Enough of that!” the coach yells at him. “Not everyone is a natural track star, Pietro. You would benefit from humbling yourself,” he sternly tells your partner before placing a hand on your shoulder.

Coach Masters looks at you, concern painted across his face. “Come to my office before you leave class, please,” he says.

He motions for you to head toward the bleachers. You’re unsure whether it’s because he’s genuinely concerned for you or simply because he doesn’t want you to embarrass yourself further. Either way, you feel horrible about yourself.

The rest of gym class passes fairly quickly and uneventfully. Eventually, the lunch bell rings, and everyone in the class leaves except for you.

You make your way to the coach’s office.

PART 2/2
>>6420914

Coach Masters is already waiting for you in his chair.

“Thomas, please have a seat,” he says, motioning toward the chair across the desk from him.

You get the strange feeling that this isn’t a punishment. After all, how could it be? You didn’t do anything wrong.

The coach crosses his arms and closely examines you. “I’m not sure what happened out there. Are you feeling okay?” he asks earnestly, concern evident in his voice.

“Yeah,” is all you tell him.

Honestly, you’re not sure what happened out there either. You just froze. Sure, you’re not exactly the most athletic person in any room, but even that was new for you.

Masters thinks for a moment—a long moment at that.

“You know, Tom, I never really wanted to be a gym teacher. I used to be a high-level varsity athlete, on the verge of going pro, no less,” he confides in you.

Perking up a little, unsure of where he’s going with this, you remain quiet and allow him to continue.

“It was a long time ago, but I was never much of an athlete before I really started training either. I was lucky. I had a great mentor who pushed me in the right direction. I had someone who saw what I was capable of.” He pauses for a moment. “I see the same kind of person in you that I once was.”

It seems like the coach feels bad for you and might be extending a helping hand. You go to say something, but he interrupts you for a moment.

Shifting out of his seat, the athletically built coach offers you his hand.

“Come back after school whenever you want,” he says. “I can help train you, if you’d like.”

>Shake his hand, accept the offer

>Take his hand and thank him, but you're a little focused on other areas of improvement at the moment

>>6420919
>>Shake his hand, accept the offer
LETS GO

>>6420919
>Shake his hand, accept the offer
ExtreMELY based
I think the Taskmaster shit really suits our Massive Brain, and will give us a nice little trick in our back pocket. Very cool!

>>6420919
>Shake his hand, accept the offer
>first we blow it with basically every hero
>then Taskmaster offers to train us
We’re going to end up a supervillain, aren’t we?

I will always support either magic or Weird Science, and I have a FEW or fucked up ideas for both, but I got interested on the minion build

We could be like Charmcaster in the original Ben 10! At least when the writers didn't gave up with making her a kinda jokey character that only uses laser beams: We make weird little idols of clay or mud etched with runes and we launch them to make little golems fight for us! Hell, we make the little oval shaped ones for regular minions, and if we wanna craft a special unit we basically make an action figure with more details and powers on it (for example, a knight who will be like a bruiser, maybe a Paladin that, if we're powerful or knowledgeable enough, we can give him some actual healing, etc) There's also a deck building game that I can't remember, and one of the units it's like a Candle-ghost, we could make some candle shaped golems that once they're lit, they grow and get alive to fight for us.

And for Weird Science I like fucked up shit, so my first thought was just the powers from Prototype, the power Kimimaro has in Naruto, or even Luther Strode comics. But thinking a little more seriously, I do have some ideas

Pacific Rim Summoner: Lab grown bio monsters who we can pilot around, teleport from our base to whatever other place we want
Ghost council: We go around helping ghosts make it to the other side, maybe helping them to finish their business in this realm. While we do we have them around, granting us powers
Demon binder: This could be the most dangerous and the one that really takes time, but we could just fuck around with demons. Build up a repertoire of Imps and others low level beings, make small deals, and then make up a portal where they just come out to play and have fun while pummeling our enemies. We can always just not do shit for them and just go around binding them to make them work for us unwillingly, the downside will be when a proficient mage get the bindings off and they want to tear us apart the moment they get free can

>>6420919
>Shake his hand, accept the offer
Fucking awesome

>>6420926
>We’re going to end up a supervillain, aren’t w
That could be the whole plot, but I don't think so. If he's telling the truth and he's actually just a school teacher, we might be getting some cool sports opportunities for our future and shit. If he's a supervillain, but he just lied about the potential he saw in us and just felt bad, the results would be the same like the last example. BUT, if his story is true, and he's a supervillain, I do believe him just keeping an eye on us and groom us into a copy of him, but we can always just get out off the deep end and have a rivalry with our gym teacher. Running tracks in the day, stabbing each other to death by night.

>>6420919
>Shake his hand, accept the offer

>>6420926
We could just end up a hero that every other hero dislikes lol

>>6420919
>Shake his hand, accept the offer

>>6420919
>Take his offer

You smile, the wave of dread from completely bombing the relay washes away, replaced with some ease from coach Masters offer to you. Sliding your chair out and standing, you take his hand and shake it.

"Deal," you tell him smiling. He only serves to smile back and nod his head.
You get the feeling Tony has warmed up to you!
The beginning of your bond has unlocked Tony's passive 'Heightened Learning' allowing him a bonus +3 to any roll requiring an INT, DEX, STR, PER check
Tony Masters bond level: 1/6 - Warmed up to you

He walks with you out of the gymnasium. “Feel free to drop in any day after school,” he says with a smile.

With that out of the way, the lunch period has officially started. Your phone buzzes in your pocket. It’s Kaitlin, asking if you want to have lunch together.

You take a moment to grab your lunch from your locker before heading to the cafeteria. Once there, you spot her along with some of the other people you’ve met during your first day at school.

As expected, Kaitlin is sitting at a table with a few of her friends. She notices you and waves excitedly.

“Hi, Thomas!” she calls out.

You wave back for a moment.

Jessica Jones is sitting at a nearby table with another girl. When Jessica spots you, she waves. You recognize the other girl from the bus. Her tanned skin reflects the sunlight shining through one of the cafeteria windows. Apparently, some of the kids on the bus earlier had nicknamed her “White Tiger.”

Peter Parker is sitting by himself, which doesn’t really surprise you. A tall, blond-haired boy stands nearby, and Peter seems visibly agitated by him. Someone you can only assume is one of the boy’s friends walks over and lingers for a second, laughing at whatever he’s saying. Before leaving the blond kid’s side, he gives him a high five and flips Pete off. Huh.

Pietro Maximoff is sitting at a table with a few people. One of them is a girl with long blonde hair and bangs who also appears to have a European accent from what you can hear. Beside her sits a colossal-sized student. His short, dark haircut is trimmed neatly, and his muscles bulge with every movement as he eats his food.

When Pietro notices you, he scoffs. Nudging the girl beside him, he points in your direction. Whatever he says causes her to laugh, though the massive boy sitting with them pays no attention to the remark.

>Sit with Kaitlin and her friends

>Go to Jessica's table

>See what's happening with Peter

>What does Pietro have to say?

>>6420988
>Colossus being buddies with the Maximoff twins
I’m more than okay with this. But where’s Ilyana?

Jessica Jones is fucking boring. Pietro will probably spend his time complaining about our performance and/or making fun of us to the other two.

Parker might be interesting— since he probably sees us as a rival, treating him nicely after he’s being picked on might endear him to us. Then again, having Spider-Man for an enemy/tense rival honestly sounds more interesting than trying to be his friend.

I think I might have to go with
>Sit with Kaitlin and her friends
Might be wise to get to know the OC, since she’s more of a black hole than anyone else here. (And easily the most likely to become a future ally.)
I am seriously 50/50 on picking her vs Parker, if only because I think most interactions with the latter might be interesting, but everything to do with Kaitlin will tell us something new while being friendly to Parker will just make him more of a known quantity to us (after all, Spider-Man being somewhat friendly and do-gooding is his default setting for most of his worthwhile comics).

>>6420988
>Sit with Kaitlin and her friends
Wonder who Kaitlin is kicking it with. Gotta say I just am not really interested in buddying up with White Tiger, Colossus, Magik, or Pete (I agree with others that being rivals will be more interesting, I genuinely do wanna be kind of a foil to him, or he to us, and my mind is still on us becoming Purple Man somehow... So I am interested in Jessica, but only so much)

>>6420988
>Go to Jessica's table
I'm voting to meet bus girl desu

>>6420988
>Sit with Kaitlin and her friends

Question for any future posts that include potential heros/villains..

Would you all prefer whoever it may be is left up to the randomness of the dice, or by my own selection?

>>6421081
Depends. Are the dice weighted in favor of certain things that make sense (ie for Midtown High, would you only be aiming for teenagers/young adults to be depicted outside of teaching positions? Are you rolling for anyone well-known and aging them down appropriately?), or are they utterly and completely random? Could we theoretically have similar odds of meeting Xandu as we do in meeting Tony Stark?

I want to say I might prefer a hand-picked selection, if only because it would probably be easier to plot, but I honestly think randomly rolling might be more interesting. It could give some lesser known heroes/villains a nice spotlight and shake up the plot depending on who gets rolled for what.

TL;DR: let’s go gambling. Randomness of the dice.

>>6421085
The dice rolls are preselected to a degree (only by gender of the character). The rolling of characters mostly only constitutes optional allies/neutrals/enemies as the story progresses, I would never allow the dice to decide upon critical characters to the story (I.E. Kingpin, Black Cat, Fantastic Four, The main X-Men lineup in this story).

>>6421081
As you think is reasonable. Random rolling does have its advantages but so too, does manual selection.

>>6421091
I see, makes sense. My answer remains the same, then.

>>6421081
>>6421091
I don't mind random so long as it's not too far out there(see makes 0 sense). Basically, as long it makes sense in theory for said character, that's fine. So long as the excuse is reasonable enough. I do like randomness.

>>6420988
>Go to Jessica's table
I'll admit my only major concern is the incoming mindrape from the Purple Man. That is gonna suck balls.

>>6421081
Random is fun, but if you have special affinities for any characters I definitely want you to drop them in an encounter. The quest is always better served when QM passion is cultivated

>>6421123
>the incoming mindrape
Ok, ok man, we hear you! Noted!

>>6421081
It's a big world, QM, and while the lunch room doesn't have anyone I am that keen on based on their comic canon, I gotta trust that you will make them interesting to me as you write your story. I think keep cooking the way you have been, there's a lot to love about this quest already. The way you've characterized Taskmaster is already really surprising - not an NPC I would have expected to find endearing. Plus, if the dice are serving lots of D-listers and McNobodies now, just means we get closer to the chance of someone with a more interesting powerset/background/canon later.

>>6421123
Okay anon, I don't wanna kinkshame but maybe tone it down a little with mentioning the mindrape scenario every time, man...

>>6421131
That usually works out by filtering out the cast over time by whoever the QM meshes with more. The characters that do better get more screentime and the ones with less get quietly relegated to the sidelines.

Sit with Kaitlin seems to be the winning option here

Rolling for Kaitlin's group of pals

Rolled 19 (1d20)

PART 1/2
>>6420988
>Sit with Kaitlin
You've spent so much time today meeting new people that it's honestly become overbearing, and you just want to stick with what's familiar to you this time around. You walk up to Kaitlin's table, and she stands up to give you a quick hug.

"This is who I was talking about, guys!" she says excitedly. "Thomas has been one of my closest friends since... well, since forever," she says, hyping you up to them.

For the most part, they all seem friendly. One of them even stands up to introduce himself right away—a very tall, blonde-haired boy who has quite a bit of muscle on him, much like the boy sitting at Pietro's table.

"My name is Teddy, Teddy Altman," he says to you.

For such a brutish-looking kid, he has a very proper way of speaking. Honestly, it throws you off a bit.

The other two people around the table introduce themselves much more quickly: a long, black-haired girl named Laura Kinney and a Middle Eastern girl named Kamala Khan.

They're all fairly nice. Teddy is overly so, Laura is the most reserved, and Kamala is so excitable that it sometimes makes you want to be somewhere else when she speaks.

You all sit together chatting throughout the lunch period. Kaitlin brings up the idea of exchanging numbers so you can all text each other. Everyone agrees, even if you don't know these people as well as she does.

What could the harm be?

Eventually the lunch period ends and you're onto your second last class of the day, MSIP, uh, what's that?

>>6421278
"Welcome to MSIP, the class everyone loves to skip," the teacher sarcastically tells you.

Standing ahead of the class is a rather large, older looking woman who borderline seems like she should be retired by now.

She huffs and she puffs after each sentence, "This is a break class meant to supplement any homework you may have for the day. It being your first day, of course you most likely don't have any. So I'll give you brats a pass if you want to leave for this period just this one time," she explains to you all before taking a seat.

It seems like you're being told by the teacher herself that it's ok if you'd like to get out for this period, as long as you return for the final one.

>Stay and study something

>Go out and see what's going on in the world

>Write in (write what you'd like to do)

>>6421281
>Go out and see what's going on in the world
I mean, we should take the chance, right?

>>6421281
>Study Biology
We need super-serum bad, and impressing Mr. Connors is the way to getting it.

>>6421281
>Go out and see what's going on in the world

>>6421281
>Go out and see what's going on in the world
School is claustrophobic and the Burger King Kids Klub has our friend occupied

May as well get some fresh air (and a chance to see some hero-on-villain action)

>>6421281
>Go out and see what's going on in the world
Ok X-23 is based as hell, let's get in tight with her and Kaitlin 4 shore

I'll be writing the update tomorrow at 10am EDT

>>6421281
>Go and see what's out there in the world

Biotech and chemistry is the route I'd like, but I'd also like to see more people. Also, to the minion guy, it's not that deep. We can just give worse versions of the serum to our minions if we go that route or we can make a even better serum to make us strong enough to offset our physical abilities. Hell, we can improve ourselves by working out then take it.

File: sanctum.jpg (8 KB, 235x214)

8 KB JPG

>>6421281
>Go out and see the world

You’ve been cooped up inside Midtown for a little too long. Still shaking off your summer break habits, you’re itching to go outside and see what’s happening. The world you live in is no stranger to everyday, world-changing events, a sentiment your father carefully impressed upon you when you were much younger, trying to teach you to be cautious and follow the rules.

Attendance is taken, though nobody particularly eye-catching responds when their name is called. Once it’s finished, you gather your things and head outside.

Getting downtown is a much shorter trip from Midtown than it is from your home. Midtown is conveniently located near the Stark Industries Sports & Recreation Center, which itself is only minutes away from the downtown core.

As expected, it doesn’t take long to get there. When you arrive, there isn’t much going on at the moment. Construction noises from roads and buildings fill the air, overpowering the quiet caused by the low pedestrian traffic. It feels like the city is constantly being rebuilt, damaged, and rebuilt again.

On the edge of downtown stands a building shrouded in mystery: the Sanctum Sanctorum, home to Dr. Strange, one of the current core Avengers. However, it has been a long time since his presence filled that building. It’s falling apart, dilapidated, and as far as public knowledge is concerned, nobody seems to know what happened to him.

Getting anywhere near the building is considered illegal—not by the city or the state, but by S.H.I.E.L.D. affairs. People who don’t appear suspicious are simply shooed away if spotted nearby, but you’ve heard stories about particularly strange or ill-intentioned individuals going missing if they get too close.

You pass by a tech specialty store. Tons of HD 4K TVs inside are broadcasting the news, all displaying the headline MAYOR FISK TO MAKE IMPORTANT PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT TOMORROW.

Distracted by the screens, you bump into a breathtakingly beautiful woman. A small vial slips from her black sweater and splashes onto your skin. It burns slightly before seeping in, though the sensation quickly fades away.

“Sorry, kid,” she says.

She brushes back her gray hair with one hand before bending down to retrieve the fallen object from the floor. Her generous amount of cleavage bares itself as she dips down.

You’re taken aback by the woman’s nonchalant behavior. Before you can say anything, she deftly picks up the object and saunters away, passing you with a smirk. Distracted by how beautiful she is, you barely notice her glance back and wink at you.

Shit. You think she caught you staring.

Quite a bit of time has passed since you left class. Still, you figure you can squeeze in one quick activity before you have to head back.

>Investigate the broken Sanctum Sanctorum

>Try to follow that beautiful woman

>Go inside the tech store, you have some spare change and they may have some interesting components

>>6421473
>MAYOR FISK TO MAKE IMPORTANT PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT TOMORROW.
Huh, I would’ve expected this evening. Must not be urgent.

>home to Dr. Strange, one of the current core Avengers
>[Sanctum is] falling apart, dilapidated, and as far as public knowledge is concerned, nobody seems to know what happened to him.
>Getting anywhere near the building is considered illegal—not by the city or the state, but by S.H.I.E.L.D. affairs
The fact that he’s not only public knowledge but actually on the Avengers is surprising. Maybe he ended up depowered and tossed into a different dimension? Or, if this is pulling from New Avengers, he could just be fucking with people for the sake of privacy as he tends to do. Not that that’s likely, given 0 mentions of any SHRA…
With S.H.I.E.L.D. being so heavily tied into the Avengers(?), I’m also wondering if this is taking more inspiration from the (original) Ultimate line than 616. This is all pretty curious.

>Try to follow that beautiful woman
I honestly doubt Tom’s mind would be anywhere else. A drop-dead gorgeous woman winking and smiling at a nerdy high schooler? No way she’s not being followed.
There’s a 99% chance that this is Felicia, especially given the serum, but the proximity of this to the Sanctum and emphasis on clarifying the hair color is making my brain wonder about Clea. But the cleavage thing and dialogue makes me sure it’s just Felicia.

>>6421473
>Investigate our hand while trying to follow that woman

I'm honestly more worried about what got on our hand than trying to woo Felicia. Plus, we have to leave Parker something since we poached the Jessica Jones option from him. You couldn't tell me you wouldn't be concerned that someone just got some liquid on you that slightly burned if you lived in the Marvel universe. I'd be so paranoid of anything

>>6421473
>Try to follow that beautiful woman
Definitely Felicia. Let's go with the A plot.

>>6421473
>>Investigate the broken Sanctum Sanctorum
Magic is always the answer.

>>6421482
Was it the answer for One More Day?

Seems like we're interested in following that woman so far. I'm going to close the vote in 10 minutes and write the update.

>>6421487
It made the story happen, so yes.

>>6421473
>Try to follow that beautiful woman
Wtf was that serum?

>>6421487
Yes, but the writers were too chickenshit to let it do its thing.

>>6421492
Anon, I...

Writing now

>>6421473
>Try to follow that beautiful woman
Hey lady, what the fuck was that? Minion maxxing, here we come!

File: felicia hardy.jpg (156 KB, 792x1224)

156 KB JPG

PART 1/2
>>6421473
>Try to follow that beautiful woman
>What was that weird fluid that burned you?

Unlike what happened earlier during your gym period, you quickly turn on your heels and head in the opposite direction to follow where she’s going.

Damn, this lady is fast.

Even her walking speed is brisk and stylish. The way her hips sway side to side as she moves, and she winked at you, dude!

You shake your head. Time to focus and stay in the game. You don’t even know how old she is, let alone who she is.

Oh man, she’s so hot though.

Tailing her is fairly easy at first. She turns left onto the sidewalk of a main road, followed by a few quick maneuvers through tighter walkways around the city, and then...

VISIONARY activates!

You notice the subtle movements of her neck as she walks, slightly turning to check behind her.

Shit.

You realize she’s onto you, and that you’ve fallen right into whatever path she intentionally set for you.

Stopping in your tracks before she can lead you any deeper into the alleyway proves to be a good decision, as she had steadily been guiding you toward a dead end. She gives up the act of exaggeratedly swaying her wide hips.

“My, my, you’re bold and persistent for your age, aren’t you?” she asks in a low, slow voice.

She stops several feet ahead of you and turns around. Her tight black top and brightly colored pants cling perfectly to the contours of her body. Her bright blue eyes focus on you with expert precision, as though examining every little detail. Her full lips curve upward into a taunting smile.

This is no time to get distracted.

“What was that stuff? Some of it got on me, and it hurt,” you tell her, trying to keep your composure.

Her guard drops slightly. Her smile fades as she gives you a more serious look.

“Sorry again, kid. I don’t know all the details, but it might be a good idea for you to get checked out,” she says.

WHAT?!

Your eyes widen, shock instantly taking over your face. What is that even supposed to mean? What the hell was that stuff?

Your mind races. Suddenly, your body grows hot, and your head begins pounding. You’re unsure whether it’s stress, dehydration, or regret from running into the beautiful but mysterious stranger. Maybe it’s all of the above.

One thing is certain, though: something feels... different.

You fall to your knees as your vision begins to dim. The last thing you see is the woman kneeling beside you.

“Hey, it’s gonna be okay, kid.”

For a moment, gravity seems to pull you upward. Your eyes finally close as unconsciousness overtakes you.

What is happening to you?

In your final moments of awareness, you feel yourself being lifted and rushed somewhere.

PART 2/2
>>6421513

You wake up, your eyes fluttering open. The pain from the bright lights on the ceiling overwhelms you, causing you to force them shut again. Writhing in the bed you've woken up in, all of your senses feel overloaded. The noise from outside the room—people talking, cars driving down the street—pounds painfully against your ears. The smell of chemicals and disinfectants fills the room. You open your mouth to shout, but even that is met with the sensation of unfamiliar tastes wrapping themselves around your tongue.

YOUR HEAD IS POUNDING!

With your eyes squeezed shut, you try to steady yourself and perform a breathing exercise. In, and now out. You continue until you feel at least a little more in control, though the overwhelming new sensations still pulse wildly, threatening to overpower you.

When you finally open your eyes, you realize you're in the nursing station back at the school. Your focus falls on a cupboard with a glass panel in its door. You're unsure how, but the moment you get a good look at the brand-name medications inside, you're somehow able to list their chemical ingredients from memory. More of that same blunt sensation hammers at your head.

You clutch your skull with both hands, trying to do something—anything.

"S-stop..." you weakly say.

It doesn't matter. The pain continues hammering away at your head.

"I... I SAID STOP IT!" you scream.

Your focus remains locked on the cupboard as a pressure builds within your head—not a painful one. You feel the cupboard rip itself free from the wall and float in midair.

Your nose begins to bleed slightly, and the pressure keeps building. Your focus remains fixed on that goddamn medicine cabinet as a huge surge swells within your brain. The floating cupboard suddenly implodes violently, scattering pills and medicine across the room.

The people you'd overheard talking outside rush into the nursing station after hearing the noise. Your parents, Coach Masters, the nurse, and several faculty members are now crowded inside.

"Are you okay, hun?!" the nurse asks, concerned. The others stare around the room in alarm, all except Masters. He only glances briefly at the splintered wood, shattered glass, and medicine scattered everywhere before narrowing his eyes and locking his gaze onto you. He looks worried, like he wants to say something, but doesn't.

"W-what happened... to me?" you weakly ask.

The nurse explains how you ended up here. Supposedly, a strange woman ran into Coach Masters outside the school. Masters doesn't add anything, only nodding along with the story. Apparently, she shoved your unconscious body into his arms and took off without saying much. The coach immediately brought you here, and that's when your parents were called.

Coach Masters kneels beside your bed.

"Do you remember anything about what happened, Thomas?" he asks, his eyes searching deeply into yours for an answer.

>Tell the truth

>No, I think I'm ok now

>>6421516
>Tell the truth
Why not? We barely know the truth.

>>6421516
>No, I think I'm ok now
I don't want to endanger our parents or the nurse. We are Big Smart now so can probably make that calculation despite the stress, fear, and pain. We'll confront Masters at the soonest opportunity in private to see what the deal is.

He might have rescued us from Black Cat, and come up with this story as a cover. Or he is working for Fisk as a talent scout, in such case I wouldn't mind walking the well trod path of starting out as one of Kingpin's underlings and having a redemption arc be part of our origin story. Lots of great heroes start out as street level crooks.

>>6421516
>No, I think I'm ok now
Fucking Black Cat, man... Bitch is just carrying dangerous super serums around on the streets, HOLDING IT ON HER HANDS AS IT'S NOTHING and splashing it into people.

I was going to vote on the last post to maybe even call the police and tell them. Hell, that could've been acid for all we knew, but it's worse. She can be a competent thief, but making a "mistake" like that just shows she's dumb as fuck

Hmmm...

>>6421521
You are one smart cookie, anon.

>>6421516
I'm switching my vote from >>6421518 to
>No, I think I'm ok now

>>6421516
>No, I think I'm ok now
My autistic ass says this wouldn’t be particularly in-character, but we barely know our character yet so fuck it.

There’s no reason Black Cat would know we go to this specific school. There’s even less reason she would randomly shove us into the coach’s arms if she really cared about making sure we were safe. This story stinks of something nasty.

Psionics and enhanced senses, then?

>>6421516
>No, I think I'm ok now
Psychic powers are badass, thanks for having absolutely no sense of due care Felicia!

>>6421528
You know what's always in character for a teenage boy? Covering up for a hot woman. Also, I agree with your proto-shadowrunning

>>6421528
>Spoiler
Currently kind of reminding me of the 100% of the brain nonsense from Lucy, or Atom Eve's ability to ambiently perceive molecular makeup and alter it - the latter of which I think does mesh with our being an Egghead + Artiste, right? Being able to see the world granularly and make it into something better?

Rolled 10 (1d20)

>>6421528
Something like that...

Also ignore this roll please
DC is 19

>>6421516
>>6421534
>No I'm ok now
>Failed the roll
Something is coming..

Updating now...

kek we’re a bad liar aren’t we

>No, I think I'm ok now

You shake your head. "I can't remember a thing," you earnestly tell Coach Masters.

He stays with you for a moment, studying your expression before a sigh escapes him.

"Well, we're all just glad you're okay, Tommy," he says as he looks toward your parents. "Guess our training session will have to wait for another day," he jokes.

The people in the room chuckle lightly at his remark.

After one final assessment, the nurse and other faculty members excuse themselves from the room. Your mom hugs you tightly, and your dad keeps patting your back before you all leave the school grounds. They continue talking about how worried sick they were when they got the call from the school about your condition.

You feel something tugging at your attention, though. It's a strange sensation pulling you away from your parents' conversation.

"Yeah, I'm kind of tired. Sorry, guys," you say dismissively.

Trying to fight off the urge to sleep, even a little, proves to be a losing battle. Your eyes slowly shut once more as reality sinks into the blackness of your fading vision.

For the first time in your life, you feel truly trapped.

SOMEWHERE DARK, BUT STRANGELY FAMILIAR

Falling, falling. All you ever do is fall. It feels like this has been happening for hours. You're sinking into nothingness, flailing helplessly.

"Oh, Mr. Axeford, what a show you do put on indeed."

A strange voice surrounds you within the black shroud you're trapped in, leaving you floating weightlessly and helplessly.

You look all around, even trying to focus your strangely sharpened senses, but it's still no use. The echo of the voice repeats itself over and over until, finally, you land.

SPLAT

You lay there, dying. Your body partially burst open into a mess of sinew and bone. The pain easily overshadows the mess you were in the school earlier.

A chuckle surrounds you in this dark land, inescapable, "Do relax, dear boy. We all fall once in a while don't we?" You hear someone snapping their fingers for a brief moment beyond the shroud.

The mess of flesh that was once your body reforms, you're standing upright now, though not of your muscles own volition, you feel weightless through it all.

"Tell me, dear boy.. do you believe there's always a logical explanation behind everything?" The voice intently asks, silence fills the ever present void, awaiting your response.

>Yes

>No

>>6421540
>Yes
Wtf did we get into

>>6421540
>No
Why would the artsy nerd think everything has to be logical? Especially after the last however-long?

I’m also kicking myself for not guessing hallucinogens earlier. Though there’s no way this is hallucinogens. This is definitely something magical. The dialogue makes me think of Loki specifically, but I’m still fixated on the Sanctum appearance and emphasis on darkness.

>>6421540
>No
Logic is just one tool of many, sometimes, you need to feel things through.

>>6421540
>No

>>6421540
>No
>Inspired by horror films and heroic comics, say "Show yourself, who are you? It's not fair you apparently now everything about us, and we don't even know who you are"

I doubt it's Loki... I mean, he might be, but I feel like we haven't talked or did anything related to their mythos to get his attention.

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>>6421549
We didn’t do much to get Black Cat’s, either, yet here we are.

It’s possible Kingpin’s in league with some otherworldly entity and that’s what we’ve gotten ourselves caught up in. It’d explain
>the magnitude of destruction in the intro (and if it’s magic, explain why so many heroes couldn’t do squat about it)
>how/why Kingpin knows about the tape from the future (high-level magic and time travel are very closely linked; not to mention, lots of magical entities don’t really experience time properly, so if Kingpin’s client is magical it would’ve been able to inform Kingpin about the tape)
>all the shit we’re currently experiencing and the ambiguity around whether it’s real or not
>Strange being either absent or busy with something so important that he wants people to think he is

The weird bits it *wouldn’t* explain are stuff like the test tube, Felicia’s usefulness in… any of this, and why/how the hell Kingpin even learned of magic in the first place, but it wouldn’t be the first time he’s dabbled in magical affairs.

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>No
VISIONARY & ASPIRING BRANIAC activate!

You remain upright, the hazy, bleak darkness still enshrouding you. The question the booming voice asked lingers in the dark like a predator, though you don't allow it to overshadow your sense of reason.

"No. Logic is just one tool among many. Sometimes, you need to feel things through," you respond to the darkness.

The voice laughs hauntingly, filling the darkened atmosphere with a terrifying aura. It brings to mind the many horror movies you've watched with your dad, though it doesn't fill you with nearly as much terror as it should. You close your eyes, drawing upon the bravery you always tried to show your father in those memories, along with the courage of heroes you've read about in comics and seen throughout real life.

"Show yourself. Who are you? It's not fair, these situations I've been thrown into back to back," you ask the strange force.

The darkness around you tingles with excitement, like hungry eyes laid upon a freshly made feast.

"That would surely be quite the treat for us both, wouldn't it, dear Thomas?" it responds.

What reveals itself to you comes only in flashes, an oasis of visions flooding your mind. A man cloaked in red light appears before you, wiry and hungry-looking, yet packed with lean muscle. His irises are completely awash in a crimson glow. He looks at you, and you can feel him looking inside you. Perversion, disgust, pleasure, horror—countless thoughts and emotions flood your brain, leaving you confused and overwhelmed.

"I am called many things, boy, but you may call me Mephisto," he politely instructs.

His voice tickles at your brain, causing you to shudder.

You freeze, unsure of what this creature truly is. "Why are you doing this to me?" you ask.

Another haunting laugh echoes through the void.

"I'm merely a VERY interested observer. You could even say I have some stake in an approaching calamity, one in which you now play an ever-growing part," he tells you. "Oh, dear Thomas, I feel nothing but pity for a boy in your position. The causality of greed and power has dragged you into an approaching disaster and forced your involvement," he explains.

YOUR HEAD FEELS LIKE IT'S ABOUT TO BURST!

"My, all that power from one small tube. The girl is clever, but she knows little of what her employer truly sees in it," the creature says, sucking in a sharp breath. "You've been delivered a gift, one quite rare for an ordinary human. Wouldn't you like help harnessing it to its full potential? I can do that for you, you know..." His voice trails off.

>I don't need help from.. whatever you are

>What can you do to help me?

>Accept the offer

>>6421553
>MEPHISTO

FUCK THAT.
>I don't need help

>>6421553
>What can you do to help me?
We need more context, more information. How can we sign a pact if we can't see the fine print?

>>6421553
>What can you do to help me?
>"I don't think you are so willing to help, as you're willing to win with whatever is going to happen."
Fuuuuuuuuck dude, we got fucking Mephisto... >>6421550 was right, Kinping IS doing some shit with magic, or at least with levels that are truly evil. I thought this was going to be like in the first Doctor Strange movie.withthe weird magical cult, but this is something else

Anyway, I want to call out his bullshit right on, I have the feeling that Black Cat didn't have a literal Evil Demonic Satan's Blood vial carrying around like that. If anything, I believe maybe it's somewhat magical in Nature, and Mephisto just went right in to buy us out under whatever other magical entity would be interested.

>>6421553
>I don't need help from.. whatever you are
Sorry man, I'm already committed to my coach, er, I mean, that didn't come out right...

>>6421553
>Mephisto
Motherfucker, I’d been blanking that lazy excuse for a villain from my mind. Fuck him.

>I don’t need help from… whatever you are
He’s already told us enough with his incessant vagueposting. We’ve gotten powers from that tube (strong ones), we’re somehow embroiled in a ploy for “greed and power” (this is New York, we can probably figure out that he’s referring to CEOs/the government), he doesn’t have our best interests in mind but has the balls to lie to us about it.

Ditch him and try to focus on returning to reality somehow. If we really are a Proteus-level reality warper, or somehow involved in magical shit, maybe just yelling for Masters might help?

>>6421559
>He’s already told us enough with his incessant vagueposting

>"So, Mephisto, you said you could help me unlock the potential of my powers, right?"
>"Hmmm, perhaps..."

>>6421559
Follow-up: lazy excuse for a villain IN THE COMICS. QM can probably do better with him, the bar is in Mephisto’s realm. I’m just bitter about how he’s only ever been used in the stupidest, cruelest plots published this century.

>>6421553
>What can you do to help me?
>"I don't think you are so willing to help, as you're willing to win with whatever is going to happen."
Backtalk is fun

>>6421561
Both his live action showings were also abysmally embarrassing...

Tied between I don't need help and what he can offer us.

Leading with what he can offer us to clear up some vagueness.

>>6421565
Qm, I wanna change by vote in >>6421557 for telling him that no, we don't wanna make a deal, BUT, I'll keep my vote about the comment I made to backtalk lol

>>6421566
It can't hurt to hear him out, at least. Let's see what his terms are. Demons make for great minions and this is likely our best angle at getting some, but we need to be wary.

>>6421553
>I don't need help from.. whatever you are

>>6421568
That's true, but I believe there's a lot more to lose than there is to gain. My idea was for Tommy to go around and dabble with minor demons and bind them, but going with someone with Mephisto right out the gate? It's way to dangerous

>>6421553
>What can you offer me?

Power? A gift? Like a superpower? That would explain what happened in the school's nursing station. You think about it for a moment. What exactly is this gift? Controlling things with your mind?

The creature's offer to help hangs motionless in the air, as if time itself has frozen. Is any of this even real? You find it all so hard to believe.

VISIONARY activates

The pulsing and pounding sensations within your head intensify, driving you nearly insane. It's far too vivid to be a dream. You're definitely not in your world at the moment. No matter how impossible it seems, this is real.

"What can you do to help me? You mentioned having personal stakes in some disaster. It sounds more like you just want to win whatever prize is waiting at the end of all this," you tell it.

Stillness spreads through the void, as though all the air within the bleak darkness has suddenly vanished. Visions of a plotting smile flood your mind from countless angles, giving you glimpses of every grinning tooth this monster possesses.

The blackness erupts.

"My stakes are my own. Much of my power is tethered to another creature within your reality," it tells you. "I merely seek agency through other means to guarantee myself a backdoor. Honesty is not something I am known for, I admit, but I see potential in you that can only be unlocked through my guidance," he explains.

"And what exactly are you offering?" you ask.

The atmosphere shifts, less tense now.

"A more efficient means of developing your abilities," he replies.

The snap of fingers echoes through the void once more.

"A token of appreciation, to express my interest earnestly," he finishes.

YOU FEEL SOMETHING WARP INSIDE YOUR MIND!

Your eyes roll back into your head as countless obscured visions flood your mind. A cloaked wraith stands upon the dimly lit Earth you came from. When the cloak is removed, your own form is revealed beneath it.

You've gained the mental ability 'Reflective Coating,' allowing you to obscure your physical body and become invisible!

"Of course, even if you deny my help, you may keep the token. Just know that I will still be watching. You will not have the safety I can offer you, nor the further acceleration of my future gifts," he concludes.

>Ok, you have a deal

>I don't need your help