i am so tired of fighting.

“Bad luck?” Peter repeated grinning. “Ouch. I’m hurt. Deeply,” he said, placing a hand over his chest as he took a seat in the stool opposite her. He leaned his elbows on the desk, smiling at her. “There’s 93 stories,” he said, nodding. “We’re lucky we found each other at all, it could’ve taken years,” he quipped. “But I’m glad we did. You know, find each other. It’s – good to see you,” he said sincerely. 

That was always a hard question to answer, especially for people like them. Being a superhero wasn’t easy, and sometimes having powers only meant having more problems. But all in all.. “I’m good,” he said. “I mean, most of my finals got cancelled when a Skrull ship landed on them, and since they found all those resources, it seems like churros won’t run out after all, so there’s a lot to be grateful for there. Almost worth getting demasked, ya know?” He laughed lightly at himself, and shrugged. “At least it made registering and listing easier. How about you? How’d you wind up here?”

“Oh! No! That--that came out wrong,” she shook her head before covering her face with a hand. Talking to cool people who did what you wanted to do except much better was waaaay harder than talking to celebrities. “I meant not, um, running into you until now. That was bad luck. This is the opposite of bad...er, good luck!” Well, it could have been, but it felt like she had blown it, never mind that they were mere seconds into their conversation. “You make a really good point. I feel ever-so-slightly less stupid now. Me, too, despite what it sounded like.”

From time to time, people looked at Cassie in confusion. The brow furrowed, their eyes narrowed and after she grinned brightly at them, they seemed to relax. In all likelihood, that was most likely because of her death and the media frenzy. When the Syndicate had gone after her, she wasn’t in her Stature suit, but in her civilian clothes and the resulting media frenzy had been intense. Maybe that was a good thing in hindsight, helped anger the civilians, but for Cassie now, she absolutely hated it. She didn’t want people to think she was haunting them or ‘that dead girl!’ She was very much alive and very much ready to live.

At least Karolina wasn’t looking at her like a ghost. She’d definitely chosen to spend time with the right person, although none of her friends were bad about her return to life. They reacted great, albeit with some confusion and a lot of worry. Still, it meant a lot that Karolina was responding so well to her — and wasn’t bringing up Cassie’s small problem. “Bob’s Big Boy?” She repeated, laughing. “That’s such a cool name! What kind of place is it?” It sounded like somewhere Cassie would want to visit when she returned to Earth, and with Stinger’s wings, Cassie could make it happen easily. “That’s amazing, Karolina! Me and Tony are super close, I’ll come visit you at work,” she said with a grin. “How’re your powers coming along?” From what Cassie remembered, Karolina was always a little (understandably) confused about them. “Um, I’ve been pretty good!” She said easily. “Just trying to adjust and everything. I got a cool new suit, wanna see?”

Karolina had witnessed four deaths, all before she turned eighteen, yet she had never been to a funeral. There was no protocol for people who died in service to dark and evil forces, and when it came to Gert, her friends were the only people who would have attended that particular service, one that a bunch of sixteen year olds had no idea how to plan. They also had no desire to finalize their loss in that way, and while Karolina was pretty sure the rest of her team had moved on or at least accepted all the people they had lost, Karolina had her moments of disbelief. When other heroes died, she wasn’t sure if they were given proper funerals, either. She had either not been close enough to the dead or still back in Los Angeles.

She tried not to think about the logistics too much, because befriending so many people who regularly risked their lives meant death could always be just around the corner. Sure, she had the experience to handle that, but she didn’t think she’d ever deal with it well. “You should see him. There’s a giant Bob outside holding up a burger.” While Karolina didn’t eat burgers herself, you could never go wrong with pancakes. “It’s your classic diner, except it’s huge. A lot of celebrities eat there.” Naturally, it wasn’t nice enough for her own parents but she liked the atmosphere. “I think he...tolerates me? I’m not really sure if he offered me the internship because he felt bad about coming after my team when we were kids or if he thought I’d be any good at it. But you should definitely come say hi! I have a lot more friends at the internship than I do at school.” Karolina was, somehow, friends with many of the people who frequented Stark Tower, whereas on campus she primarily stuck to classes and sitting alone in cafes during breaks. It kind of sucked to lose part of the college experience, but being in college at all often made her feel guilty and she was sure she didn’t have room for new, normal friends in her life. “They’re coming along great, I think. My control has gotten a lot better.” Thankfully, Cassie hadn’t missed much...well, aside from the being separated from Earth thing and the Skrulls and losing her father, but that had all happened in such a short period of time. “Yeah, sure?! Wait--like, right now?”

Being virtually unknown in New York came in handy a lot of the time. It was one of her greatest strengths as a hero, strangely. With how showy her powers were, she didn’t have to do much to earn the trust or perhaps just the awe of whoever she was trying to help. Other superheroes, ones with much bigger names and years more of experience, were exceptionally willing to help and befriend her. So the whole Doom thing wasn’t scary on a personal level. Secret identities were especially easy to keep when you didn’t even have a real alias. Since Stark had been one of the few public identities on the list, she assumed her internship would continue as normal the Monday after the party.

She didn’t notice anyone else approaching Stark Tower, but she managed to reach for the door at the same time as someone else. Instinctually she snapped her hand back, moving away to allow them entrance first. “Sorry,” Karolina said politely, ready to aim a smile at whoever she had slightly inconvenienced. “I--um, hello.” It was practically a miracle that she’d managed that much. At least it was English...technically? What exactly were you supposed to say to the man that you and your friends pinned your individual stays at different foster homes on? She had managed to get on Tony Stark’s good side, but in that scenario, her team had managed to escape Iron Man. Captain America had been more successful. “You should probably go first, er...nobody out here’s going to yell at me to list.” Truthfully, Karolina doubted that Steve Rogers would remember who she was in the slightest, and her statement didn’t confirm whether she was someone with powers or not.

@rainbcwbright

Listing his powers for the President had seemed like a logical step. He was registered, unmasked, and his mentor had done the same. Peter had felt a little uneasy, but really, what more could he possibly have to lose at this point?

The problem was, he knew that every time he thought that, he was tempting fate. He was in the labs at the Tower, mulling it all over, when a group of interns walked in. Most of them were laughing and joking with each other, split off into smaller groups to work on various projects. One girl was alone though, and Peter blinked when he realized he recognized her. “Karolina?” he called, walking towards her. “Whoa. I haven’t seen you in like, forever. You work here now?” 

There was certain perks to being a name nobody cared about. Actually, Karolina didn’t even have a super alias. Lucy in the Sky had only been used in LA, briefly, before they all gave up on the idea of superhero names. It didn’t feel like they’d earned it -- plus, they were terrible at thinking of anything good. Not listing didn’t feel risky, not the way deciding not to register had. Now that she worked for Stark, she often wondered if he thought she was young and naive for not registering.

Karolina was a fairly social person, especially compared to her own friends, but she had a way of getting too in her head and inadvertently ignoring the people around her. She narrowly missed someone call out her name and she offered a surprised smile when she saw the voice belonged to Peter. “Hey! Must be...what’s the opposite of fate? Bad luck. This place is huge, though, I guess it makes sense that we’ve never run into each other. How are you?”

If there was one thing being Tony Stark’s personal assistant had prepared her for, it was parties like this. An ‘event,’ more than a party, really. That’s how she would’ve marketed it, but Doom had his own way of doing things. Not that she could fault him for that – after all, his plans were keeping them fed, his militia was keeping the demons at bay, and his support was keeping the Rebuilding Project alive. 

Pepper planned on meeting Tony there, his date for real this time around. But there was always so much work to be done, and she steadfastly refused to leave it until Monday. Instead, she filled out paperwork in her evening gown until her inbox was completely cleared, and then she made her way to the Empire State Building. 

Stepping inside took her breath away. It was beautiful, and lively, and the people already there seemed incredibly happy. Most of them anyway – there were always a few who seemed unsure of what to do with themselves. Pepper thanked a server who handed her a champagne glass, and then she made her way further into the room. “This is very well done,” she declared, to no one in particular. “I really should get the name of the President’s event planner, they do magnificent work. It’s not easy pulling something like this off,” she mused with a smile. She would know, after all. 

It was an uphill battle trying to convince her friends to come to, what they perceived to be, essentially a celebration of Doom. At one point, they had all been naive, some more than others. (Aside from Molly, Karolina could admit she was the least likely to believe their parents were evil, at the beginning.) But now they had something of a sixth sense for suspicious behavior, and none of her team trusted Doom. Karolina was no different, but she was wiling to at least pretend. There was no point acting out and putting a target on their backs. Nevertheless, none of them had listed their powers, and Karolina found herself repeatedly glancing down at her bracelet to make sure it wasn’t going anywhere.

Karolina was preoccupied with squinting at various foods, trying to assess whether anything aside from a vegetable platter could be accurately described as vegan, when someone starting speaking behind her. She turned, thinking she knew the voice but couldn’t quite place it. The second she saw Pepper, she thought about how Tony had commented that she would like Karolina, and how she’d been too nervous to put that theory to the test. Somehow, being assured that you would get along with someone else just put more pressure on the relationship. “I’m guessing he had a small army put this together,” she commented with a friendly smile. “For a party the whole city was invited to, it’s a lot more organized than I expected. Still, something feels...kind of off? But maybe I’m just paranoid.” Actually, she definitely was, but usually for good reason.

@rainbcwbright

Karolina had to be one of the coolest people in the world and discovering that she was in New York and not California thrilled Cassie. Sure, she was a little slow on the uptake, but in her defence, since the Runaways’ arrival, she hadn’t exactly been available. (There was another word for it, but every time Cassie thought about the specifics, she felt nauseous.) Naturally, the second she got time to contact Karolina and ask her to meet for lunch, she was ecstatic. Making her way through friends she wanted to catch up with was understandably a lengthy process, she had only been back from her ‘extended vacation’ for a couple of months, but it was well worth it. Slowly, Cassie was beginning to feel human again, and catching up with Karolina Dean would surely help.

When she arrived at their lunch spot, Cassie took a seat across from Karolina and smiled at her. “Pretty cool place, huh?” She asked her, glancing around at the very retro decor. “I found it on TripAdvisor and I am a big fan.” It was the first time Cassie had been there, but she wasn’t sure whether Karolina had read about her death in the papers or not. Playing it cool, like she knew exactly where she was and what was happening was the best bet. “I missed you,” she informed her seriously. “How have you been and what’s new? Catch me up!”

There was nothing embarrassing about being from California, but sometimes Karolina wished it didn’t roll off of her in waves. From the way she dressed to her coffee shop order, even her voice, she was obviously an LA girl. This was preferable to people recognizing her as the daughter of Frank and Leslie Dean, though it happened sometimes. She was older now than when she used to be photographed with her parents by the paparazzi, but her identity was made extremely public both right before and again following their deaths. Anyone who paid attention to national news was aware that they had died as secret crime lords rather than two successful actors cut down in their prime. But New Yorkers didn’t care about who you were or your past. This place had come to symbolize a new beginning, not just for her superhero career but for her personal life and the change in location made moving on from her past easier.

Another obvious perk of being in New York was reconnecting with people like the Young Avengers. They had first met in NYC and she never expected them to move to California. Although Karolina respected the West Coast Avengers, everyone knew that the big time was New York. Catching up with a ghost was new -- not that Cassie was a ghost, or even that Karolina thought of her as one. She knew her friend had died largely thanks to keeping in touch with the rest of her team, but in many ways, her return was encouraging. First, because Cassie was alive, and that was indisputably good. And second, because...well, she still hadn’t fully let go of hope that Gert might one day do the same. “I love it. It reminds me of Bob’s Big Boy in Burbank.” Karolina smiled, even as she wondered where Cassie had found the time to miss her. “I missed you, too. I’ve been...surprisingly good! I’m going to NYU, interning at Stark Industries. Working on my powers a little, too. And you’re good, I hope?” Karolina never had the chance to send Cassie her condolences about her dad and there was no gentle way to bring it up now. Every life the Skrulls took, Karolina felt partially responsible for.

Emma wasn’t quite sure what had prompted a love of teaching in her. It had been present since she was a young child, she knew that much. She had been wearing glasses, had braces on her teeth and brown hair pulled into god-awful pigtails, and she had set her toys up around the room, had allowed them to drink from the tea set before she set up lesson plans for that afternoon, and the next week afterwards to ensure a comprehensive syllabus. She had been thorough even then, had been determined and resourceful, and her father’s anger at the fact that she was apparently lowering herself hadn’t been enough to deter her. If anything, she had fostered that dream even more intently, even if she pushed it down to the parts of her mind that even she could not access, only allowing it to surface occasionally when she would remind herself of all that her father would do to prevent it. Leaving home as a teenager had been terrifying, being alone had been even worse, but it had given her something she had never managed to have in her Boston family mansion - freedom. That was what she intended to give her students. The ability to enhance their powers, the capacity to know what they were capable of, and the guidance to ensure that any fight they started, they would win.

If some of that involved ensuring that her own power was cemented in reality, well, then that was merely a bonus. Emma never had a one track mind. At any given time she had a hundred and one plans and backup plans, and right now, Karolina Dean was on one of those lists. “People so often overlook those with great power before it is truly realised,” Emma said. “It is their close mindedness, my dear, nothing close to a reflection on you.” Returning to earth would come with nothing but headaches as Emma attempted to catch up on the international work they had been completing beforehand, but she maintained a smile nonetheless. “I am also on the lookout for potential students while we are here. Limiting it only to mutants seems somewhat divisive, does it not? Considering that is what we fight against, that seems hypocritical.” Of course, it would be better if Karolina was one of their own, but that was beside the point. “The people we fight alongside say more about us than our own blood, isn’t that right?” A lot of it applied to Emma herself, not that she would say that - though she might come up with a story if the need called for it. “If fighting these dull creatures helps people - and I agree that it does - we should go and find some more to handle together. What do you say?”

It wasn’t Karolina’s parents that turned her into the person she was, not entirely. Although they were actors and more in-touch with Hollywood diets and fads than most, it was LA itself that raised Karolina and turned her into someone her classmates not-so-fondly referred to as a hippie. It was fitting, maybe ironically so, when she discovered that she was an alien whose powers were drawn from sunlight. She had always been something of a tree hugger and even if Earth wasn’t technically her planet, it was the only one she had ever truly considered home. Making sure that humans didn’t throw away what they had eventually became her mission, secondly to the more outright life saving she did as often as possible. Sometimes she thought about how much her parents could have accomplished if only they were on the right side of the law, if they shared her love for humanity, but it was a waste of time and she tried not to dwell on it. Karolina had a forgiving nature, some would say to a fault. Even she had her limits, could understand that every Pride member had ample time to change their minds about literally ending humanity at the behest of some gigantic gods.

Karolina didn’t seem confident in her abilities, but Crystal didn’t expect her to be. Experience didn’t necessarily breed surety in the superhero business, one of few few fields that applied in, Crystal was guessing. Careers on Attilan were a little different, people were assigned tasks and given money, though the shopping wasn’t anything like Macy’s, but that was largely irrelevant. Learning your powers through experience was difficult because it didn’t create control. In a panicked situation, the body responded defensively, and that meant using whatever abilities you were gifted. Control was necessary and that primarily came through training. “You’re going to be amazing, no matter what you end up doing,” Crystal said with a reassuring smile. Even if Karolina only made a small forcefield, Crystal would be wowed, and more importantly, she would know how to proceed in the future. “That makes sense,” she said with a nod. “You’re gonna be reacting without thinking too much, right? You want to protect whoever you see. It’s instinctual at that point.” Her powers had worked great when she was using them intuitively, they had grown in complexity, allowing her to use strategy after spending years honing her gifts. “I promise I’ll stay a few feet away,” Crystal promised, stepping back as she spoke. When Karolina flew into the air, creating a small forcefield, she beamed and clapped. “I told you you’d be amazing!” Crystal called out proudly. “I’m going to use a little water against it, okay? See how it holds up,” she explained. Once she finished speaking, Crystal manifested a small blast of water and used it against the forcefield.

When Karolina seemed satisfied with Crystal’s explanation, she was pleased. No inhuman had ever asked her to explain what the elements felt like, but it made sense to be curious, and talking about it was strangely exciting. “No, that makes sense,” she said with a nod. “It’s kind of… intuitive, right? That’s how it was for me in the beginning, and depending on what I manifested, it’s still like that. We can try to hone your aim too if you want, but it does sound like it’s been working.” She laughed at the explosion comment and waved it off, “I know what you meant.” Karolina had a lot to work on, but she’d never doubted for a second that she was capable. “Hey, listen, I started training when I was six years old. Trust me when I say that I’m not judging you based on your age, Karolina. I want to help, I promise, and I’m honoured that you’re letting me.”

Part of being a strong fighter depended on who you fought with, and Karolina knew that her team was not the most intimidating. They didn’t have the best track record. Technically, in their first year, they had lost two members. She would learn a lot if she was on a team like the Young Avengers, and she already got along with all of the current members, but it wasn’t a viable choice. If they even wanted her, which she didn’t think they would, she was too loyal to her family. Nobody else would ever understand what it was like to be a Pride kid, but Victor and Xavin got pretty close. Maybe most of the others didn’t take honing their abilities as seriously as she did, but it was...okay. It had to be. She didn’t want to push anyone. As long as she had people like Crystal and MJ to help her, she’d be the best version of herself possible. “Exactly. I’ve never created a forcefield outside of battle.” Which was why they were still somewhat unfamiliar to her. Karolina grinned before nodding. She held her breath as the water came sailing towards her, relieved more than anything when it harmlessly splattered against her projection. “Okay! You can kick it up a notch,” she called over to Crystal.

She’d never thought about it before, but describing to somebody else how it felt to have your powers was almost impossible. Karolina was not a writer, her descriptions largely nonsensical and incoherent. Her powers felt a lot like how they looked. When her bracelet was off, suddenly she was full of light and releasing a blast of energy didn’t feel like a violent act. “Everyone where my parents came from has the same powers, I don’t know if any Majesdanian is taught what to do or if it comes naturally. I’ve been hoping for the latter, since I’m...alone with these powers. But you’re already helping a lot. And you’re right, my aim isn’t too bad. It’s kind of like pointing, you know? Hard to mess that up.” When Karolina was six, her parents were taking her to Disneyland in the summer and Big Bear in the winter. She was as normal as a girl with two famous parents could be. Did she even have powers then? She must have, unless the bracelet was just precautionary. “You have so much responsibility on your shoulders. I’m just thankful you’d take the time to help me.”

If he was being entirely honest – which he rarely was – Tommy understood Karolina’s struggle to an extent. It had taken him ages to figure out that he liked both men and women, longer still to admit it out loud. He’d never had to worry about his parents’ acceptance, if only because there’d been nothing he could do or say to make them want him around. His parents had ditched him long before he realized who he was, and in a lot of ways, Tommy was pretty sure they’d done him a favor. Looking at Karolina now, he shrugged a shoulder. “They didn’t want us doing any kind of ‘non-traditional’ interacting in juvie, either,” he told her. It was rare for him to admit, but she’d told him a little about herself, and it seemed only fair to return the favor. “I mostly told them to go to hell but, you know. They did what they could to stop it.” It had often meant cruel punishments and isolation, neither of which ever seemed to have the desired effect on Tommy. (Nothing seemed to have the desired effect on Tommy.) “Do you… You know. Do you, uh, love them?” The word felt unnatural on his tongue, like something foreign. It wasn’t something he said often, even when discussing the lives of other people.

“Aw, hey, I didn’t know you guys had warrants! We can totally bond over that!” Still, the story sounded a little familiar. No one had liked the Young Avengers fighting crime, and they certainly hadn’t liked it when the team broke Tommy out of jail. “Dude, imagine if we did.” Tommy snickered, utterly amused at the idea. He’d probably lose interest in the idea long before he ever actually acted on it but, for the moment, it was fun to consider. “Hey, you’re telling me. At what point do the ‘Young Avengers’ just become the regular Avengers? Like, do we have to merge with them, or are there just two different groups of Avengers? ‘Cause there’s no way in hell I’m putting myself on a team with Captain America. It’s so not my style.” There was always every chance that they could break up again long before that happened, of course. They’d already done it once, and Tommy figured it was a matter of time before it happened again. When Karolina continued, Tommy nodded. “It never is. And, hey, I know all about shitty parents, so we’ve still got that in common. Mine weren’t alien supervillains, though. Just kind of assholes.”

Karolina was aware that she didn’t know Tommy, or any of his teammates, that well. Even with Google being readily available, it felt creepy and invasive to search for somebody you considered a friend on the internet. A little snooping before a blind date was just smart, but this was different. She made sure to follow as many superhero social media accounts as possible, though not everyone was on social media, and they certainly didn’t spill deep dark secrets on those accounts. Tommy’s comment was, she thought, new information, at least judging by the fact that they’d never discussed anything like this before. “How would they stop you?” She asked quietly, almost wishing she hadn’t. It seemed easy to keep something like that secret, but she also had no idea what that kind of environment was really like. The answer should have been immediate, it was the unexpectedness of the question that threw her off and made her pause. “Yes. Of course.” Karolina knew that plenty of people her age had never been in love, or didn’t know what it actually was, and maybe she was one of them. But in her mind, there was no reason to stay with somebody for so long if you didn’t love them. The only complication was her near constant interaction with Nico. Falling for a friend was hard to get over if you never stopped being friends. “I’m pretty sure,” she kept going, trying to made her voice firm. “I don’t know that I could break up with someone, but I feel like I would if my feelings weren’t deep enough. So, they are.”

Emma was far from sharing Xavier’s views on how telepathy should be utilised in a day to day basis. Rather than believing she needed to ask permission to enter someone’s thoughts, she worked away on her own initiative, looking specifically for what she needed to feel more comfortable. When she was a teenager and early in her career in the Hellfire Club, she had experienced the entirety of a person’s memory in a matter of seconds, overwhelmed by the tragedy and joy that encompassed every human life, but now that she was far more adept in her talents she could hone them to tune everything else out. Right now, she was looking for something that she could turn to her own advantage, something that would endear her immediately to Karolina. First impressions, after all, mattered for more than impressing her father’s associates in business, or encouraging those on the board to vote for her to keep her rights to the company. New York was on a precipice, it was ripe for the taking, and Emma wanted to get herself into as favourable a position as she could manage. After all, Magneto was doing the same thing, there was no doubt in her mind, and Emma had always hated being even a step behind the cutting edge.

“Don’t sound so surprised, darling,” Emma said with a small smile. “I remember the names of those that we approach, and the mutants that stand out most readily to us. Your friend fits into both categories.” There was a tiredness to this girl that did not befit her young age. She had been fighting a war for a long time, had been forced to bend to others’ will before, Emma deduced. She would need to tread carefully. Pulling on that thread too quickly could only result in the girl fighting back, and that was the last thing Emma needed. “Far more than there used to be, though still far too few for my liking,” Emma replied. Scott and Xavier shared a dream of all mutants feeling accepted, and whilst Emma doubted they could live together in peace, she could understand the appeal of having something of a mutant nation. “I would not count yourself out so quickly, Karolina. There are many things that I have heard about you as well, and how you handled yourself with these creatures was quite impressive. I don’t give out praise easily, so you can rest assured that it is the truth.” Not very many people received Emma’s candidness, and those who did would probably argue that it was part of the manipulation. Emma wasn’t sure whether to be proud or offended at that point. “Sometimes, we can turn featured stories to our advantage. Your team, your family, what is it that you fight for?” As far as she could tell it was their own survival, or to prove they were not their parents, something Emma could relate to intimately. “As long as I am on New York ground, I will never call myself a tourist. You do not seem to be particularly phased by their presence, I am noticing.”

Karolina never took for granted any of her various privileges, most notably that she was seemingly white (she’s not sure what she would have been referred to as on Majesdane) and raised in a beautiful, massive house in one of the nicest places in the country. Another privilege she was still getting used to was the fact that, even if she was a different species entirely, none of the humans around her could tell. She passed for human and she was glad, because Karolina Dean had never felt comfortable standing out or feeling different. Mutants were treated so unfairly, especially those who couldn’t hide their mutations. When Karolina threw her bracelet on the ground, she got a sense of how they might feel, but it wasn’t the same. And maybe, like Emma, she had an appearance that was abnormal but still beautiful. If people took offense at Emma’s diamond covered form, it was only because of what she was, not how she looked. Karolina’s rainbows tended to amaze instead of disgust. Even though their planet had just been infiltrated by an alien race, humans tended to cut them more slack than mutants, who were...you know, human, also.

The idea of missing memories was not one that Tandy liked in the slightest, but it was unfortunately what she was stuck with. After the experiments she’d suffered at the hands of Marshall and Maggia, her mind being pried open once more completely disgusted her, but she supposed that in the long run, it was better to be grateful that she was only missing a few rather than all of them. It was super difficult to look at it that way, of course, but she was doing her best. Besides, Xavin promised to help her find the answers, and Tandy was willing to put money on the fact that Karolina would be, too, if she asked. The Runaways that she had met were incredible, and as long as she hadn’t hurt them… Yeah, there was no answer that Tandy would be completely satisfied with where her missing memories were concerned. On the bright side, Tandy got two amazing friends out of it.

As Karolina replied without hesitation, Tandy grinned at her, amused by her reaction. “I’m a history major,” she offered. Not many people would guess that about her, but she had always loved learning about the past, and believed that ultimately, the worlds problems would be answered if they examined it enough. “I wanted to be an archeologist,” she added. It was a fun fact about Tandy, though with Dagger, she doubted she would ever finish her schooling. “Yeah, I like this atmosphere too! Being surrounded by people when it’s kind of like quiet chatter always helps me focus.” She also hated being alone, but she couldn’t admit that to someone she was in the beginning phases of friendship with. “Yeah, I met Xavin,” she explained awkwardly. “They agreed to help me find out what happened.” Karolina deserved to know, especially with how well they had gotten along during their last encounter. It was still a little bit awkward to talk about, like revealing a really personal part of herself. “I’m an open book for you, too,” Tandy promised. “Tell me about your daily life? Superhero stuff included since we both know each other and I don’t think anyone’s listening.” Everyone around them looked very engrossed in their studies, it was perfect. She nodded in agreement with that, “I get what that’s like kind of. It’s isolating, right? Like… I always feel like I’m half a person around everyone, either a superhero or a regular person.”

It was kind of ironic how Cloak and Dagger had been the first superhero types she’d ever met in person and now neither of them remembered it even happening. They had been so different from the various Avengers who had tried to do the same thing they’d been sent to accomplish, because they hadn’t cared about the fact that they were runaways, only that they had been accused of kidnapping. Once everything had been sorted out, they were understanding. Apologetic, even. That was the thing about people closer to her age, they didn’t assume they already had all of the answers. For Tandy, had she remembered this run-in, it probably would have featured as little more than part of her everyday life. It mattered more to Karolina, so it was a good thing her memory hadn’t been erased.

“That must be so fun...and depressing, sometimes. But hopefully more fun.” Karolina felt like she had been adopted by Earth, in a way. She was an honorary human. Even so, the history she should have learned about in school was Majesdane’s, and now she never would. History was a smart area of interest for somebody who wanted to help society make smarter choices. “You could still be one. I bet all kinds of super people have day jobs when they’re not running around with aliases and costumes. Tony Stark can’t be the only one.” And he clearly wasn’t, even of the heroes with public identities, but he was the one with a definite career instead of any old job. “Those weird background noise apps exist for a reason, though it never sounds quite right to me. You have to leave your room and experience the real thing.” Of all the ambient noises out there, other people’s conversations was her favorite, odd as that sounded. “Oh! Um, well, they’ll definitely try. I’d trust Xavin more than me to figure it out, but we’ll all work together.” Karolina couldn’t really blame Xavin for not telling her, since she’d done the same. “You’ve kind of seen it all. During the day I do this,” she gestured towards the book bag strapped across the back of her chair, “And at night I walk around looking for someone to help, or stop. Then when I go home, my whole team’s right there.” It sounded nice, which it was, but Tandy probably conjured up a larger apartment in her mind. “I get the separation, just...it’s nice to have people who know both.” She smiled, glad that Tandy was one of those people.

Karolina seemed a little bit nervous, and honestly, Crystal didn’t blame her for it at all. When her powers had first emerged, she’d been terrified for her first training session. Naturally, her training meant something completely different from their friendly gathering, but she didn’t want to underplay Karolina’s feelings. Having recently discovered her true origins, Crystal couldn’t imagine the confusion Karolina felt about the whole… light/rainbow powers. (Until she witnessed them firsthand, Crystal was clueless about how to describe what Karolina was capable of.) “Right now,” she replied with a smile. “As long as you’re ready, that is. If you want to wait a bit longer, it’s totally up to you.” Crystal had cleared her schedule to train with Karolina, wanting to ensure that her friend was comfortable, and no matter how long it took, she was determined to make progress. Karolina wanted to be a superhero, she was hopeful that she could help the world find comfort by honing her abilities, and Crystal was inclined to agree. She grinned at Karolina’s reply, “Thanks. I’ve really tried to be a good teacher, but you never know whether you’ll mesh with someone until you’re on the field.” Everyone trained differently, and everyone relied on different facets to channel their abilities. “Would it help if I went into the air with you?” Crystal asked, the idea suddenly occurring to her.

As Karolina asked about controlling fire, Crystal paused, debating. As a child, she’d immediately had an affinity with the element, making it easier to manifest than earth was, for example. “It’s hard to control if you start a big blaze, but as long as it’s in my hand, the molecules are easy to manipulate. I find earth a lot harder, but at the end of the day, my powers work the same. I can alter the molecules around me to create, but if it already exists, I can use that.” She wasn’t sure that her explanation made sense, her powers had always been innate, but she hoped it answered Karolina’s question accordingly. “Is your light beam hard to control?” She asked, showing the same amount of interest in Karolina’s powers. As her friend replied, Crystal frowned and shook her head. “You don’t have to be, we can just hang out, but I think learning will help in the long run, right?”

She knew she was being a little melodramatic, but given who her parents had been, this was unsurprising. It wasn’t necessarily that Karolina didn’t know how to use her powers, since to the extent that she was aware of what she could do, it was almost second nature by now. Her powers sounded impressive, and her natural state amazed people at first, but she wasn’t sure if they actually lived up to the hype. Karolina had made some big forcefields in the past, except they were brought on by highly stressful and emotional circumstances, vastly different than standing safely in a field with a friend. She nodded resolutely. “I am.” Karolina had always been a quick learner when it came to school, but this...was not school. “I haven’t had any problems so far -- running into random people and helping in a fight usually goes surprisingly well.” These scenarios also led to quite a few friendships, which was the most unexpected part. “It might. It definitely wouldn’t hurt...just, stay a few feet away. I don’t use my forcefields as much as the flying and light beams.” She offered a smile before taking off into the air, waiting a moment for Crystal to settle within view before she made a small forcefield appear, enough to shield her alone. She wasn’t actually sure what testing their strength had meant, but she braced herself for anything.

Even though she knew her question might have been hard to answer, Crystal did a great job explaining not just how she controlled fire but each element. And it made sense, even if the idea of having those kinds of powers seemed like a huge responsibility. Karolina’s powers didn’t require very much concentration. “I’ve never really thought about, but...sort of? I don’t think my aim is the best. I basically throw my arms out in a general direction and, um, boom. Or, not boom, that makes it sound like I can cause explosions.” Sure, if she hit something explosive, but anyone could do that. Karolina was quick to shake her head. “Sorry, that was dramatic. I know I’m a lot younger than a lot of the people that do what I’m trying to do, but I’m old enough not to be afraid of what I can do anymore.”

When it came to sharing information about himself, Tommy had two modes. Either the statements were said flippantly, without much regard for the weight of the words, or they were yanked out unwillingly, like pulling teeth. Karolina, it seemed, fell somewhere in the middle. Tommy listened with mild surprise to her confession, brow furrowing as she spoke. “Really?” It was surprising. Karolina was easy to get along with, easy to talk to even for someone as closed off as Tommy. The idea of people not liking her – especially when people somehow managed to like him – was laughable. “I can’t imagine anybody not liking you. You were forced into dating someone?” It sounded bad, and though Tommy wasn’t typically one to concern himself with other people’s problems, he was fiercely protective of his friends. He wasn’t sure when Karolina became included in that but, somehow, she was. He was only just now realizing it.

“They do that to you, too? Typical.” While most of the rest of the Young Avengers had been fans of the original Avengers – especially Billy, Teddy, and Eli – Tommy had never really gotten the appeal. The Avengers were sort of lame, if you asked him, but no one ever did. “Honestly, I’m not sure. Can you copyright a team name? Would it be hilarious if we copyrighted it before they did and sued them? Kate and Eli’d never go for it, but you and me, we could go around them…” He trailed off, offering her a bright, mischievous grin. Doing shit like that for no purpose other than to stir up trouble was sort of Tommy’s thing, and if he and Karolina were gonna hang out, she ought to know it now! “I don’t know if anything’d stick. You guys have waited way too long to rename yourselves now, you’re just kinda stuck with whatever the news outlets decide.” That was how it went sometimes. You had to get ahead of the curve, decide what to be before someone else decided for you. Technically, it was Kate who’d decided for Tommy, but he didn’t mind it. There were a lot worse people to make that decision. “Yeah, they’ve got so much room,” he sighed wistfully, shaking his head. The Tower had endless halls to run through, making everything else pale by comparison. “Yeah? Not one I ever had.” He didn’t offer anything farther; when it came to the way he’d grown up, Tommy was usually pretty tight-lipped.

It probably didn’t have to be as hard as it was for her in high school -- she lived in Los Angeles, not some tiny town in the middle of nowhere. There were plenty of non-traditional people at her school, but Karolina didn’t want to fall into that category. Thankfully, learning she was an alien made everything else inconsequential in comparison. Obviously, she was born to be different. “I didn’t want anybody to know I liked girls, which seems really stupid now, but my parents...were always weirdly traditional, I guess because they were trying so hard to seem human.” Her relationship with Xavin wasn’t all that complicated in the present, but the explanation for how they’d met would always be a long story. Thankfully, she had learned how to condense it. “My parents gave the coordinates of my home planet to the Skrulls when they left so they wouldn’t destroy the Earth.” It was cool how they had backed out on that deal, after everything Karolina had gone through because of it. “And...they promised my hand in marriage to a Skrull, to create unity between our people. My planet was destroyed during our wedding, but since we’re still together, they’re the only person I’ve ever dated.”

For obvious reasons, MJ had never trained anyone before. She’d been perfecting her hand-to-hand for well over a year now, and she liked to believe that she had some expertise in some of the martial arts forms, but she was nothing compared to the likes of the Black Widow, Wonder Woman, and her other idols. That being said, she was more than capable of helping Karolina feel more comfortable in a fight. She couldn’t rely on her crazy alien powers alone, especially not against demons that were more than willing to kill them all, and as long as MJ was competent, she intended to teach Karolina everything she realistically could. Besides, hanging out with her friend was a welcome distraction from the shit that she was dealing with!

As Karolina nearly missed the gloves, she smiled faintly, proud of her surroundings. Moving in with Tony had been a big deal, she was crazy spoiled, and so grateful to have him in her life. He really was family, a bright spot amongst the shit. “Yeah,” she replied, shrugging a shoulder. “Spider-Woman was not the streets a lot, patrolling and stuff, and that’s where I started. I do work for an Avenger and live with one, too, so really…” she trailed off, as if to say, ‘it’s easy.’ For MJ, it was, the superhero world really had chosen her. “Do you know any Avengers? Some of them are greats, but others are complete assholes and I recommend avoiding them.”

As Karolina began stretching, obviously enthusiastic about hearing her origin story, MJ began demonstrating some other stretches that she had learned throughout the years. “We’ll do a warmup too,” she promised. “Pulling muscles is the worst, take it from someone who knows.” As she sat, stretching her legs forward, she paused for a moment, wondering where to begin. “I never really wanted any of this superhero stuff, y’know? I was big on acting, and while I still do that, it was always what I wanted. As it turns out, I ended up noticing danger on the streets more and more, and I wanted to help the people that big superheroes just don’t have time for. I started training, it was great, took up the Spinneret mantle, and then Tony built me an iron suit. Now I’m kinda… in between,” she said, shrugging. “Weird, right?” It sounded crazy out loud, she couldn’t imagine what Karolina thought. “Um, of course! But I’d need my web shooters to show you. Hey, maybe we can adapt it with your flying?”

There was something markedly unfair about being one of the “good” guys. Not everyone who tried to do the right thing had a no-kill rule, but as far as Karolina understood it, only certain people could take lives and not be marred by it, and she didn’t think she was one of those people. Chase had mentioned things about his past, but she’d never really believed him. On the other side of the fence, all the bad guys wanted was to see their enemies dead. It was a lot harder fighting not to kill, but to incapacitate, and Karolina hardly knew what her powers could do or how they affected certain people. Aside from killing a vampire (which, according to a lot of people was basically a demon and not a person, anyways), Karolina didn’t want to get her hands bloody. Her powers could knock somebody out, sure, but it was a much safer bet to learn how to fight without them. Especially on the occasions where she didn’t want to call attention to herself by glowing.

Avengers had a way of finding her, too, but not in the fun way. It seemed like being a teen hero was only okay if you had an adult hero by your side, when that didn’t change anything. Karolina knew that he-who-they-were-not-discussing was previously an Avenger, so she hoped to politely skirt around that. “And you know Spider-Man, right? I just assumed, based on...spider stuff.” Did Black Widow count as a spider or was that more of a coincidence? If so, there’s another one...wow, meeting Avengers really was easy for her. “I know Tony! He offered me an internship. Which is nice, since we kind of ran away from him we were kids.” Her relationship with the Avengers as a whole was not the greatest, so she left it at that.

As MJ transitioned to other stretches, Karolina did the same, hoping not to neglect a body part and end up pulling something. “Thanks. Do you ever have time to warm up before a real fight?” She hadn’t seen anyone in full costume doing stretches in an alley, but that didn’t mean it never happened. Immediately, MJ’s story felt completely relatable. Karolina gave up her own acting dreams because it had always meant following in her parents’ footsteps, and suddenly her entire goal in life was to do exactly what they hadn’t. “Oh...what? You have an iron suit, too?!” Way to bury the lede! “I’m not sure any of us get into this and suddenly one day stop thinking it’s weird. How can you? Some days I’ll be stressed out that I didn’t nail a surprise reading quiz and then an hour later I have to feed a giant dinosaur my leftover pizza...crap, I forgot I never told you about Old Lace.” It seemed like a lot to unload on someone at basically any point in a relationship. “Sounds fun! Is that the right word, should I be taking this more seriously?”

The Runaways were basically the poster children for Brotherhood recruitment. Emma had helped with their cause often while she was openly part of Magneto’s group, but now that she was with the X-Men, her Brotherhood missions were far more lowkey. She liked to keep her deception known only to herself and Erik Lehnsherr, knowing that if anyone else were to try and go against them, they would regret it for the rest of their lives. She was finding, though, that it was much easier to go to a child and convince them to join the X-Men. They would have a school rather than a safehouse, classmates rather than people to fight and train with, and a cause that even the Daily Bugle couldn’t argue with rather than one that was casually (casually, Emma reminded herself) linked to terrorism. The ends justified the means in her mind, but children were so easily laid to the wayside, they were so easily convinced when things were painted in rainbow colours and the sun was shining down on them, and therefore the X-Men were the best bet. That, and it encouraged Xavier to trust her, though he really, really shouldn’t.

“Of course,” Emma said, a small smile on her face as she did so. She was pretty sure that expression was her default when dealing with a somewhat sensitive situation. It had been adequate until one of the Stepford Cuckoos informed her it looked as if she was a few moments away from murdering someone, though she hadn’t received that reaction from anyone else. She considered it acceptable on that basis. “Molly Hayes, isn’t that correct? She has shown great potential, as have all of your team. Of course, the X-Men are family as well. That does not mean that outside of that we cannot pursue our own interests.” The Brotherhood was excluded, but Emma didn’t care much for semantics. The big picture was what she focused on. “She is a very interesting girl. We have met only once, but I found myself impressed. That is something that I can’t say often.” Even Scott had to work to get that level of praise, and Emma had to telepathically suggest it rather than utter the words out loud. She was pretty sure that she was allergic to compliments, all things considered. “I don’t particularly enjoy watching the news, darling. It’s far too depressing. I like getting it recounted to me by my minions.” Oh, she wished. “Soap operas, however, that’s a completely different story. You are from the sunshine coast, aren’t you? What I would do to be sitting on a beach right now, drinking a martini.”

So far, Karolina considered herself lucky, in that she seemed to only attract positive energy. It just went to show that you got from life what you put out, and along with her vegan diet and zeal for eco-friendliness, Karolina Dean always tried to keep a positive attitude. Her family was...literally non-existent, but she had learned by now that the very definition of family was up for interpretation. Up until the week of their death, Karolina had loved her parents and trusted them, respected them even. But the thing about life was it could all change completely in an instant, and although she was forced to stay on the move throughout most of her crime fighting days, she still wouldn’t say she was the best with change. She wasn’t afraid of it, though. The one aspect of her life that she couldn’t picture ever changing was the team she fought with. Meeting new heroes was always exciting, and she’d never underestimate the importance of making connections, but she wasn’t open to recruitments of any kind.

Throughout high school, Tandy had been a great student. She’d worked her butt off to make her mother proud, although that had never seemed to work. Regardless of what Tandy did, it had never been enough for her mother, but those were wounds she did her best to ignore. Unfortunately, somedays it worked better than others. After getting Cs in all of her classes, her pride was a little wounded, but in her defence, attempting to balance a job, super-heroics and her education wasn’t exactly easy. Tandy had never claimed to be invincible, and she definitely had never claimed to be capable of multitasking to that extent. Honestly, she wished she could do better, maintain a good GPA, save the world from time to time (for Ty’s sake mostly) and make killer money, but was anyone that infallible? Tandy thought not!

On the bright side, Tandy was going to be meeting Karolina, and while their meeting had gone a little weird towards the end there (something that Xavin had ultimately explained very well), she had high hopes for her future friendship with Karolina. They had a lot in common, including the basic nature of their powers, and their complicated, estranged relationship with their family — Xavin had alluded to the Runaways’ parents. When she arrived at the cafe off of campus, Tandy arrived looking a little haggard, having just finished a long shift of waitressing, and even longer shift of saving the city. She didn’t think Karolina would mind, especially with being aware of her dual identity. As Karolina sat across from her, Tandy smiled brightly. “No problem,” she replied. “I’m really happy we’re doing this! As for the students, I am one so that’d be super hypocritical.” God, she couldn’t imagine hating students, they worked their asses off. “Oh, thanks,” she replied slowly, a little awkward. “I heard more about it, but I don’t know… why the memory’s gone, but we can work around it?” She suggested, sounding awkward. “Because I wanna get to know you better if you’re interested. Us light girls gotta stick together.”

Her missing memory was little more than a mystery to Karolina, but she knew it must have been scarier for Tandy. Karolina would sure hate to think that somebody had messed with her mind, even if it was just to remove one small, specific memory. It seemed like a particular gap in her memory, since she still lived in New York and fought alongside Cloak, and everything else Karolina had known about her held true. The most logical explanation seemed to be the Pride, though she couldn’t be sure which set of parents to suspect most. She had no idea what kinds of things Gert’s parents had acquired in the future, and Chase’s father was often hailed as the West Coast’s answer to Tony Stark, although much more nefarious. Then there were Nico’s parents, who probably didn’t struggle to think of synonyms when casting spells the way her friend did. There were not many things Karolina wished to ask her parents, preferring things the way they were, as cruel as that may have sounded. If given the chance, this might be her only question.

“Right!” She said immediately, worried that she had sounded as if she assumed otherwise. Tandy was a few years older than Karolina, but certainly not too old to be a student. “I actually really like this kind of atmosphere -- I’d rather work on school stuff here than at home or in the library.” The library was too quiet and the apartment was too...not quiet. And Karolina felt bad asking for silence because they were cramped in a small space and she was doing nothing to change that and she was the only one going to school instead of working full-time. It was easier to keep school and home (and superhero-ing) separate. “You did?” Karolina had not yet had the chance to talk to Cloak, though his story would no doubt match his partner’s, and she hadn’t brought it up with her team, either. Now that Tandy knew there was a group of teenagers who thought they’d already met, she would be better prepared on the off-chance she ran into any of the others. “Yes, I’m interested, of course! I’m an open book.” Although, whether she should have been one or not was up for debate. “And I agree. I’m the only other person like me on Earth, possibly in the galaxy, and I never meet anyone with powers like mine. It’s nice to know that I’m not a complete anomaly.”