The Mechanic and the Maestro

Dustfinger started at the voice coming from somewhere a few paces to his left. His eyes darted around him quickly, searching for the source but finding none.

He was on his feet in a moment, old paranoias that had been untouched for years leaping to the surface in a matter of seconds.

"What are you?"

He kept his words short and curt, mindful of how unwise it is to speak too freely in the presence of some fae folk.

The source contemplated the question, allowing the silence to linger...

@doubleofloor

Four years, though. That was a long time to be wrongly imprisoned, if that's really what was going on here. He'd heard of people being incarcerated for ten, even twenty years, and then their conviction was overturned, so... it was possible. It wasn't like the justice system was infallible. He couldn't help the sympathy he was starting to feel "Okay," he said, accepting their explanation for now.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," Wade replied. "I'm still learnin' what I can do and how to do it. I've only been like this for a few months." He wanted them to understand that, just in case they were already jumping to the misguided conclusion that he was Dracula incarnate or some nonsense.

Wade chuckled. "No uh..." He'd been joking, of course, but... then again, not really. "I never feed from children," he said, his tone turning a bit more serious. "That's all I meant." Call it a moral hang-up, a conflict of conscience, or whatever else, but the very idea of feeding from a kid made Wade feel kindof sick.

He was still learning what he could do, and how to do it? Did that mean he couldn't use his abilities reliably? Hold up- "A few months?" Cas released a dramatic sigh, "Maestro, no first hand accounts of 1400's Romania for us." A snap of the fingers could be heard from Wade's other side, and Cas snorted, easily visualizing her brother's swinging arm in a near silent oh shucks. "But really, are you going to be able to do your thing in the thick of it?"

So he was making a moral choice, when it came to his diet. "Oh. I thought maybe it was like an allergen amongst the snack bar. Cool." She muttered nonchalantly.

"Fair point. We'd like to break someone Shield put away, out of jail. Your assistance would be greatly appreciated. We can also pay you, if that helps."

Nimble fingers dancing upon piano keys. Glimmering brown eyes and a melodic voice filling the air, alongside Milo's.

"Marya... Floor. She was wrongly accused of disappearing someone." Cas's voice was bitter, traced with anger not directed at Ava, but at the system. At the follow up question, she licked and bit at her lower lip, eyes behind glass lenses, darting to the countertop in the distance as she considered her response. Finally, she just swallowed and looked back to Ava. A rare flicker of vulnerability, "We want her back home."

"Fair point. We'd like to break someone Shield put away, out of jail. Your assistance would be greatly appreciated. We can also pay you, if that helps."

Meanwhile, another figure had been revealed in the freshly fallen flour-snow. Still otherwise invisible, Milo had lunged to stop Ava, hand attempting to grab her wrist, and he'd caught the brunt of the flour. The powder coated his clothes, appearing to hover in the air and move about. He was coughing and spluttering, and blindly trying to get away from Ava. Dust swirled in the air around them.

Cas moved to stand, bringing her turtleneck over her nose. She was clearly taken off guard. Maybe they'd gotten more than they'd bargained for, with this woman. She didn't seem impressed by their tricks.

While she did recognize Mantis from the news, she didn't really know anything about her otherwise. It did seem she had an ability of some kind, though, if Cas's instincts were correct. She resisted the urge to reach out and test the theory. It would be fascinating to see if her own ability truly worked on an alien rather than just Earthlings.

Mantis blinked, the young girl's words barely registering in her mind at first.

"The... The grape?" Head tilted almost comically, before her eyes widened. "Oh! Oh, you mean... Right. Yes, we fought him. Twice. Not the same version of him, but–" Mantis cut herself off, a hand coming up to scratch idly at her chin. The mere thought of holding Thanos' mind in her hands made her skin crawl.

"Are you lost, Cass? I'm aware that younger Terrans are supposed to be in school at the moment. Do you not like it?"

Her features furrowed as the woman went on to acknowledge two different versions of the guy. "What, he has a twin or something?" Because boy she sure hoped there weren't Thanos clones zooming around out there.

Lost. "No." She could picture their balcony. Smell the metallic tang of tools and their mama's cooking. "I'm going home." She just had to figure out the best way to get there. At least, under the assumption no one else had taken over their home in the five years they'd been away. And she didn't have her keys, either... She just needed to see it, okay? She could sort out the next steps later.

@doubleofloor

Abilities? He didn't really use them, but he supposed he had some? "Well if you're thinkin' I can turn into a bat like in the movies, I'm sorry to tell you, I can't," he started, "but I do have superhuman speed and strength, when I care to use them. And I can see fine in complete darkness." He not only thought about things he'd actually done himself, but things he'd seen Mae do, things she'd taught him how to control before they parted ways. "I can also read minds if I can get close enough to someone to touch 'em. But I really don't like doin' that stuff, so I usually don't." Not only was that very weird for him, but he just felt badly about it, like it was some gross invasion of privacy of another person. He remembered how creeped out he'd felt when Mae had done it to him back when he was still human. "And I heal fast. Really fast. Like... poppin' out a bullet and leavin' no bullet hole or scar behind after just a few minutes fast." He'd seen Mae do that right up close, firsthand. "I guess that's about it."

Unfortunate. A bat might have been useful in terms of stealth and sneaking into small spaces. Speed and strength could be of benefit all the same. Night vision definitely piqued her interest. She could picture them cutting the power somehow. Wade wouldn't face the same navigation issues as others, and maybe between she and Milo they could turn him invisible alongside them, or at least translucent... Mind reading. Hmm. She supposed that could be helpful if there was some kind of passcode involved, unless he could only read active thoughts opposed to searching someone's mind for information. Healing factor was definitely an advantage, if things got out of hand.

@doubleofloor

"It's a prison," he said with a shrug. "What're prisons like? Prisoners, guards, crappy meals. It's like any other prison. I don't really know it that well. Never been behind bars myself." And thank god for that. "It's a minimum security facility, from what I hear. Why do you wanna know, anyway?"

Besides, she fully believed; "There are two people who were put behind bars unjustly. One in Seagate. I want her out, to start. What abilities do you have, outside of a high tolerance for iron?"

The invisible man? Could he see Milo somehow? Or was that a reference? She leaned into the second theory, given the lack of proof to suggest otherwise. Revealing herself felt like a trap. Why did he care to see her? What good would that do, outside of giving him a face to describe to police, or even Shield? She supposed Milo was still a hidden ace up her sleeve if things went awry. And if they were going to work together, Wade would likely see her at some point.

"I don't intend to donate any blood tonight, so you try and you'll pay for it." Well, if she was going to reveal herself...

Odd, given the movement in that area a moment before.

Meanwhile, another figure had been revealed in the freshly fallen flour-snow. Still otherwise invisible, Milo had lunged to stop Ava, hand attempting to grab her wrist, and he'd caught the brunt of the flour. The powder coated his clothes, appearing to hover in the air and move about. He was coughing and spluttering, and blindly trying to get away from Ava. Dust swirled in the air around them.

Cas moved to stand, bringing her turtleneck over her nose. She was clearly taken off guard. Maybe they'd gotten more than they'd bargained for, with this woman. She didn't seem impressed by their tricks.

@doubleofloor

...you probably don't want that information leaked...

"To start; You have connections to the legal system. I want to know what you know about Seagate prison." They needed all the information they could gather, if they were going to go through with their plans.

"I know it must be frustrating. You've been dealing with a lot..." "What can we do to support you?" "I'm sorry, but we can't do that, what about-" Why couldn't they just back off, and leave her alone? She didn't want to join in on family dinners. Those people weren't her family. Their parents had been stolen from them. They were behind bars, and she and Milo hadn't even seen them since that night. Not even when the siblings had been snapped back, five years having passed in their wake. She wanted to go home. She wanted to sleep in her own bed. They could look after themselves, why did they have to stay with some perfect family? "Where are you going to go?" Milo asked, rubbing his eyes in the early morning, after Cas had pulled him behind a school bannister and told him of her plans. "I don't know, I just need- If I go into class right now, I'm going to flip a desk." He snorted, sheepishly. "Yeah, don't do that again-" "It was an accident last time. Anyways. See you at lunch... probably." "Probably?" But she poked his forehead and disappeared from view. Cas's eyes were starting to sting as she got to the entrance, as she pushed the button to open the door. The secretary looked up from within the office and watched as the front door to the school seemingly opened of it's own volition... and then promptly shrugged and got back to work. A moment after she stepped outside, Cas was met with a gust of wind and her eyes pinched closed, springing back into view immediately. The teen swore under her breath and veered to the side, ducking beneath the school windows until she'd gotten far enough across school grounds to make a run for it. A dulled sense of momentary satisfaction rose up in her chest as she rounded the corner and out of sight of the school. And then she was alone. Not really, of course, one was rarely alone in New York. But she had freedom. She was lost in her thoughts for a while, walking on autopilot as her frustrations bubbled over. And then she nearly slammed into another pedestrian. Brown eyes flashed up to land on... a bug woman? She didn't really feel like talking to anyone, but something was nagging at her. She looked... Hadn't she been part of the news coverage from that day? "Are you one of those Galaxy people?"

Mantis wasn't planning on ending up on Earth that morning, but there had been a problem with the relations between Earth and other planets. The Guardians had been summoned, including former members such as Mantis herself. The reunion had taken place earlier that morning, and Mantis decided to get something sweet in order to unwind.

She had stopped by a street stall, opting for a waffle. The money was given in exchange for serotonin and a delicious scent that wafted through the morning air. Mantis devoured the waffle in less than five minutes, positively enjoying every second.

If only life could be so simple, Mantis would always rely on the use of sweets to quell her anxiety. But of course, life was so much more complicated than that. Conflict and discord escalated steadily in every single corner of the galaxy, and for every problem solved there were at least fifteen new problems emerging. The sugar rush helped her keep up.

She was chewing on the last bite when she nearly bumped into someone. The empath swallowed the waffle, an apology bubbling in her throat when the other spoke first. Admittedly, the comment made her chuckle.

While she did recognize Mantis from the news, she didn't really know anything about her otherwise. It did seem she had an ability of some kind, though, if Cas's instincts were correct. She resisted the urge to reach out and test the theory. It would be fascinating to see if her own ability truly worked on an alien rather than just Earthlings.

@doubleofloor

"I'm thinking you probably don't want that information leaked."

Odd, given the movement in that area a moment before.

₊˚⊹ ㅤa collection of character analysis/headcanon questions to learn more about your character and your partners'! writing/headcanon prompts requested by anonymous. feel free to edit these as you see fit.

Sterling raised an eyebrow at the voice on the other end of the line but once he processed what had been said and the childish giggles the callers failed to suppress, a mischievous smile curled the ends of his mouth.

"But that's the punch line!" A third child objected.

The girl who'd rejected the original joke came through more clearly a moment later. "Well, you better build yourself a jet pack and the world's best vacuum to suck them all up and fly them back home!"

The Maestro stepped back as the papers were tossed into the air, but he wasn’t quite fast enough to miss all of them. One brushed ever so gently off his shoulder mid-movement, a disrupted ripple amidst the fall. That was something to account for in his steps now, too. Perhaps he could use the paper like a pair of skates and slide across the room towards the door, given the waxy flooring. Hm, not worth the risk of falling on his face, or the obvious give away of his location. Shame. It also seemed he’d bypassed intimidation and jumped right into aggravation. A misstep of another variety. He’d need to tune his approach.  “No one needs to get hurt. I just need information, that’s all.” He chided, carefully placing a foot between a collection of papers.

Sterling didn't lunge at the man when he saw where he was from the papers but he did reach for his radio clipped to his pocket, eyes still scanning the room for any movement of the paper. Even the slightest shift.

"We have a security breach. Seal off Intelligence Analysis. Invisible enemy." When he was done speaking into his radio he addressed the individual.

"This is the dumbest thing I've ever seen anyone do and I know Hawkeye. You broke into a secure government facility and tried to intimidate an agent for information. Fair warning, we don't intimidate easily and someone is certainly about to get hurt. Turn yourself in. You picked the absolute wrong agent on the wrong day to get out of this unscathed." Sterling was usually much more gentle than this, but the individual had approached him in such a way and on such a bad time of the year that the Agent was out for blood. He was ANGRY. So angry it's the first time in years he was considering an actual gun over ICER rounds.

The agent was sealing off an exit, but he hadn't requested a complete lockdown of the building. Good.

Hawkeye. The Avenger? The man was insulting him, sure, but he'd brought the archer up specifically. What was his communication with a famous person supposed to do? Impress him?

Turn yourself in.

"I pulled little more than a prank. You agents sure like to jump to violence. Is that the only thing you know? You just throw someone away, the moment they don't behave how you'd like?" His voice held a bitterness, now. A long felt resentment.

Offer. a. trade.

Sterling, in almost an instant, went from alarmed to pissed the fuck off. Something was in here messing with him. Others had done something similar in the past, making him question his sanity when it was already so fragile to begin with most days. He bared his teeth in anger and approached his desk. Without a moment's hesitation he grabbed a stack of papers in front of him and tossed them into the air, watching the way they fluttered and landed around the room. If someone was in there he needed to gather some intel. First thing: do they have a physical form?

"You're about to be in a world of fucking hurt if you don't show yourself right now."

It also seemed he’d bypassed intimidation and jumped right into aggravation. A misstep of another variety. He’d need to tune his approach.