#magic ship

Forcing out a chuckle she replied, “My Dad’s a cop, made us keep a distance from his work firearm.”

Into the butt of the wooden riffle you bumped yours, “This one’s wood. No bullets, only splinters and smashed fingers, that is if you are fast enough to protect your face.”

Up at your face she replied in a breathy chuckle, “Right,” and turned to face you at your simple order to do so a couple feet apart to simply keep hold one handed of her rifle and catch yours when you tossed it to work her into a part in a routine that would require speedy swaps.

“Catch,” you said and she had to flinch her hand to catch the wooden gun she fidgeted her fingers around to have a better spot to hold on it. “Now toss me yours.”

“Ooh, sorry,” she blurted out at the near hurtle of the rifle harder than needed at your chest.

“Swap hands,” you said and she glanced down and hastily moved your riffle over to her left hand to catch hers with her right. “Now,”

“Catch,” she chuckled out and had a slightly better catch that time widening the proud grin across her face. Timed tosses to try mirrored swaps had a few near collisions before she took your pointers on proper holds for raised arm locks to pat the butt of the guns or sides to make a noise. Gradually a work into a dropped swing of the gun forward, to add to the holds came at the end of the spare time before she took a hurried step to join you in packing the guns up to head inside and change to head for the drink she promised to pay for.

“You, um, you’re really good at this. Take you long to learn it?” She asked walking up the slope of a hill to the door that led inside the school.

“Well I’ve handled riffles before. Family who housed me in Russia were doomsday preppers, and I was in a ballet youth program so dance comes easy. Main trouble for me was throwing tosses too high.”

“Oh,” she said pausing as you opened the door for the pair of you then stepped through first for your shorter self to follow behind her taller frame. “So you like guns then?”

“Not particularly though I’m not afraid of them. Perhaps your father helping you to learn to field strip a weapon could help you to desensitize to them.”

“He taught me, how to disarm people, go for the elbows.”

“Or the eyes, have you from behind always go for the foot first.”

“They can still shoot you,” she said haltingly in a look your way.

“Well it’s a joint move while dropping the magazine and forcing the slide to clear the chamber,” you said dropping her jaw, “Or just scream in their ear, most put their heads way too close to yours to keep your body centered in front of their hearts.”

“Wow, you, know a lot about this.”

“I’ve also been trained in several forms of hand to hand combat. Preppers, always prepared.” You said forcing out a grin continuing on to the locker room.

“So you’re, they took you in, after, your parents died?”

“Ya, eight years. Then here.”

“There, another family, here? Foster care, right, or adoption?”

“Just me, but my adopted brother lives behind me. We bonded and he looks after me around his schedule,”

“Journalist, right?”

“Yes.”

“He really friends with Misique?” she asked lowly when you reached the locker room door.

“Yes,” you said then felt a thunk of the door deadbolt being turned that had you release the handle to jump up and find the spare there the janitor usually kept for your few early returns from Columbia campus in case you beat them to the door. Once you unlocked the door you jumped to put it back and pulled the wooden barrier back to have her raised browed self looking you over. “I beat the janitor here some times before they can unlock it.”

“So, anyone can come in while we’re changing if they know about the key?”

“There’s three one sided locks inside and one deadbolt,” you said plainly and she stepped inside eyeing the door that proved that fact.

“Oh, should’ve known that.”

“They take privacy seriously here. Don’t have to be afraid.”

“I’m not, just,” she let out a breathy chuckle, “Guess my dad’s a bit of a prepper too.”

To your lockers you both walked to unlock them and get changed, the angle she had to add her shoes again freed a glimpse of a spider web of scabs nearly healed completely surrounded by olive green bruises that matched the faint green bruises on your shins and knees from that bus mishap you had against Black Bolt. And to her own upper arm she looked to stroke her fingers across the purple and blue bruise from the arm that had taken her and her brothers. Shaking her head she returned focus to finishing the tie on her shoes while you finished readying the awkwardly layered floral dress made of white and purple sheer floral material over your arms to pull on over your head.

Carefully it had to be pulled on or a section could get stuck and part of your body be exposed, full coverage was confirmed in a twist in front of the mirror on the pillar to your right. Over your hips with your hands wrinkles vanished to have the petal like layers to join for a solid layer to leave a bare strip of skin seen over your thigh high stockings you righted the wrinkles on the top to keep them in place. The full chest covering sleeveless dress was cinched with a braided bit or ribbon to fit your figure better to match the periwinkle stripes on the grey stockings. Once that was tied you sat to pull on your knee high wedge boots leaving just the almost blazer cut white sweater that sat open.

Lost to thoughts on the plan ahead for when Elliot would come over for another session on your ship the braided ponytail you had was undone to let your curls free. “My mom saw a jacket like that in Vogue,” snapped the focus on that to her while your fingers helped to disguise to move of the bees to settle as clips to hold your hair on the right side of your head back. “Think it was $295 she said?”

“Got it for $25, thought it might be a bit too 80’s, but it’s got some nice buttons on it and interior pockets. Second hand shops are wild on discounts.”

“Maybe we could go sometime,” she suggested and instantly seemed to regret it in the lack of change to your expression either in excitement or disdain for the idea of spending more time together.

“Sure,” you said collecting your things to stand and shoulder your bags mid close of the locker with a foot to flash her a quick grin. “Guy named Peter I ate lunch with, his aunt I’ve shared the place too. Shop keep is always glad for word of mouth.”

Mid step back she twisted to face the same way as you saying, “I have two brothers so we don’t get many window shopping days but it’s fun when we do, and dad has a few dinners a month she dresses up for.”

“Well, children are expensive,” you said making her glance your way then to the door she opened for you this time to let you through and watched your somehow easy jump to grab the key you locked up with and put back again to get ready to leave the school. “I tend to try not to shop too often, just keep to hair and nail appointments to keep up with styles for performances. And self care is rather important to maintaining self image when you have issues with that. Plus my therapist said schedules can help counter anxiety against the unknown.”

“Have they tried you on anything weird? Before I found out I had blood pocket in my head few years back I had a therapist put me on this one weird purple pill that had me talking to our toaster in the middle of the night few years back. Like it got bad, Dad came close to one of those movies to hold up the ER before they found the pocket and drained it, those meds were awful.”

“I don’t take medication. Had an issue with being drugged so we work with tricks to ground me and at the worst isolation cues. Besides I’ve studied medicines through history and it rarely is comforting the unknown chaos involved. I have in the hospital but I won’t at home aside from my allergy shots in case I have a reaction.”

“What do you do for fun?” she asked and you stole a glance at her as you passed out the side door of the school.

“Read, go to films on charity runs, usual, shows, films and I have hobbies I film for friends out of the country.”

“Film them?”

“I have a youtube account. I have a loom, embroider, sculpt. I really try to learn the crafts my ancestors used to survive and thrive. Various recipes I’ve been trying to adjust what I’m allergic to. Then there’s the ship I found which has been wild to actually locate and have it to touch and see every day.”

“That is like crazy,” she said making you look at her with a brow raised and she shook her head, “In the coolest way. You can make things, I burn French toast and tear fabric trying to put a button back on. It is wild, but I can work numbers like a wizard, tax season was always fun to help organize receipts.” She paused and said, “Must be a very great thing to have a way to hold onto your past that way.”

“Well I am the one to steer my bloodline now. My ancestors reach back to those who fought with Viking Queen Lagertha, a very proud line.”

Her eyes followed the shift of fingers to your locket which you explained at her asking that had her split off into a story of their last trip to visit her grandmother in Paris where she chose to retire. “I think we’re being followed,” she whispered to you in line at the café she had chosen you’d never been to for its modern take on décor.

“Ball caps and cargo jackets, jeans and boots?” You asked without looking back.

“You know them?”

“Hawkeye and an old teacher. Had a few death threats from companies who wanted to get at Misique for the whole Africa deal.” That had her mouth open and you said, “They’re just keeping an eye out for their own comfort, aside from the child snatching bit people mainly leave me alone.”

“Did you have a hard abduction? We got pulled out our window, Mom is still finding glass in the place to clean up.”

“My bruises?” you asked and she nodded, “Sort of got knocked into the side of a bus, back first into the window, came back home to find my fruit all over the place still I got at the market. Chaos follows me I am prone to being knocked about and coated in bruises.” You said making her chuckle and grin in the joint step forward for her to give her order while you heard Cooper’s subtle timed tap of his ring on the doorframe to let you know he and Clint were inside and joining the line.

Her dream fancy drink and your whipped cream free cider in open bowl like mugs with handles like weird ears that pinched your fingers were delivered to the tall table where you had taken a seat to continue chatting in wait. All for the pair of men who held a bare minimum of a conversation to keep on watch, a pat of her hand on yours mid laugh at something you said had Clint ask softly, “Is this supposed to be a date?”

To which Cooper replied, “If it is I don’t think Pluto knows that.” A phone text to check in with her parents who were still adjusting to the abduction day and she started the shift to head to your separate homes. Flinched waves were part of that along with a second glance back by Gwen only making the guys share a look before continuing on at a distance behind you. Still in their own conversation while you pulled a small notebook from your purse to look at that for the distance to your stoop.

Up you trotted and put everything down to wiggle out of your coat, dress and heels to pull on an already stained pair of jeans and t shirt. Boots were easy to hop into and after pocketing your phone out you went, locking up the place to hurry back down in time to see the guys who had lingered a bit to catch sight of you in the windows to ensure you were staying at home. Time for the repairs could only last a couple hours as you were asked to come in for a late shift at the book shop for another book release the next day. And for risk of lack of sleep you were pleased to have an excuse to not have to try to rest.

“Big news out here in Queens, Eldfalls here is actually a magical ship. I know,” you said to your bees who were recording your opening speech to this repair video, “Mad man, clap your hands if you believe in fairies and all that. But you see yesterday Deadpool, an old acquaintance from when I was littlee, he dropped by without me to give the ship a look hearing I’d found it and, well,” you let out a giggle as the clip would be layered to play over yours that a bee for you mentally shared how it would look in the final edit. “Eldfalls when he jumped inside onto the inner deck it blasted him out of the garage. Which, for how long it burned has left the garage intact. And sadly done nothing to the outer crust. So there is still ample to be chiseled off and we will be giving that another go for more progress and another friend of mine should be around shortly to help me out with that so for now just sit back and enjoy the fact you don’t have to hack barnacles off this beauty. Greedy little buggers trying to keep this precious metal to themselves.”

The footage would go viral of the masked assassin who held up a few signs to you saying he heard about the ship and that he thinks it could use a coat of paint to be funny before the big explosion of fire. And just like fate people following along would share their love for the fated name the ship had taken to with ample now loving it even more that it was a magical ship people in your homeland swore was ecstatic to be under the care of one who loved it and was showing it such care. Elliot smiling himself at the news helped to guide the vibrations and solution to where nearly a whole side was clear, though the break of the crust off the bitten section had a moment of reflection to share the painful lack of metal there. Gnawed and jagged the edges like at an impact of a cannonball met with the bite of something other worldly when atop a chair you stood to grip and wiggle out a giant tooth lodged there.

“What the hell is this?” you asked sitting down on the backrest of the lawn chair you stood upon for Elliot to come closer and inspect the cross tipped spiral with jagged points along the edges from broken base to the dulled tip. “Oh!” you said spreading your legs as an ooze came out of the tooth’s inner ridge between the four outer jutting shapes that on the towel you held it with burned a hole to do the same on the lawn chair.

“Saltwater!” Elliot said in English, rushing for the bucket left from draining the hull be brought over to have you dunk the tooth in it then bring it out again to see the rust colored tooth shift to an aged copper sort of green.

“Acid, in a tooth?”

“Are there more teeth?”

“Looks like it, two at least.”

He nodded and said, “Best we get those out now,” helping you to adjust the chair to tug those free and dunk them before they could release any more acid. “One of the beasts was claimed to spit acid fire. Logically it could have salivary glands in the teeth,” he said as you looked the first and largest of them over in every angle.

“Okay, well I have to get to work soon, but um,” and you looked to the bee recording you, “I’ll scan these and do some tests and mock ups of estimations of what this beastie could have looked like and let you guys know, hopefully by this weekend.”

Elliot helped you to lock up the things in the bee guarded metal locker along the wall and escorted you back to your place sharing the greater details of the beast and that the teeth are relatively harmless now they were diluted. He promised he would be back and that he would again contact the group who he had initially brought to discuss possibly transferring the teeth to the exhibit that with the three teeth could allow one to be tested as the others were displayed for curious scientists who hoped to learn just what sort of beast had taken the magical ship down. All in all, post shower and plop into bed you were pleased to wake up to an easier day mentally with a new mystery to uncover.

.

“Penis Parker,” you heard in the hall on the way to lunch and turned your head to see Peter who flashed you a quick grin.

“I, beat him on the pop quiz we had today.”

“Hmm,” you hummed and continued to your usual table he passed to go buy his lunch.

Ned at the table took notice as, Michelle Jones, the quiet girl at the table beside yours asked as she sat down with bagged lunch and book in hand, “You really found monster teeth in your ship?”

“Looks like, even drip acid saliva. Gonna contact the museum people to come add them to the exhibit.”

On the back of your bee as you had for your teachers the scans your bees had worked overnight to take including atomic and genetic makeup of the acid excretion and the teeth themselves off of legends you had a fairly good idea what creature it could have been. Awing the teens around you and later on when you were through with your homework in a new video you could post your hypothesis online as well that could only be picked up by media overseas to share what possible Titan like creature Vili had taken on to save our planet from destruction.

Titans at least for people in this new normal of monsters older than recorded word made this a bit more believable and all the more interesting as SHIELD again was called to a second flaming explosion from a group who wished to take a stab at stealing the ship and teeth for themselves. A security break that while you rode the train to Columbia was near to impossible not to giggle at this time the fatal plummet of bodies into the same spot Deadpool had limped from a group of kids had amusingly painted up with spray paint as the landing strip for magical boat thieves.

.

Benjamin Grimm sat at your side however for your last class of the day at Columbia that was moved to an auditorium to allow for a stage for the display he and two others, Richard Reed and Victor Von Doom were giving to the students here about their latest efforts in research. They made a point to share their intrigue in your ship and Ben took the most time to share his admiration of the Blackhowls you designed he was currently in training to learn to pilot one. Softly in their third disruption of their focus topic you whispered to Ben, “So how close would you say Von Doom is from buying a fortress in a cliff or in the mountains of his face in metal?”

That had the skilled pilot chuckle and rumble back with raised fingers just ever so close to touching, “Pretty close. Him and Reed were supposed to be roommates in college but Victor wanted to be alone so Reed got put with me. Ever since they’ve been at it.”

“I can tell, I’ve seen less tension between mating displays in rival baboons.” You replied making him chuckle again. In the next diversion of the topic you asked, “Are they seriously arguing the relativity between slate tiles and viscosity of slip and slides right now?”

“This one’s a bone of contention. Nearly got Reed kicked out of school.”

“Oh like that would have happened, he inherited billions, probably would have named the remodeled wing after him.”

Amusingly Ben looked with a smile your way, “You know, I told him the same thing back then. Worked in the firehouse to pay my way, whole family chipped in. Heard you’re in scholarship.”

“Ya, got a few but the largest for 10k required a New York school. Not that I could go far away till I get my High School degree anyways.”

“Senior?”

“Technically, no, they changed the credit requirement so now I have to take weekend courses and more next year to graduate.”

“That is seriously messed up. You know they did the same thing to me when I was in the service, right when jets started kicking up higher regulations, just barely managed to scrape by enough hours to piss off my CO and get my patch.”

That had you grin at the similar circumstances, “A spare year at Midtown wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. They’re part of the reason I got accepted here.”

“I am curious, are you aiming more for Engineering? Blackhowls, your ship, I know your parents worked with Genetics, or you could do both. Reed’s all over the place always out fetching a new subject to study.”

“I don’t know yet, if anything I might for Genetics continue my parents’ research on degenerative diseases while following Engineering as well. But I also do want to squeeze dance in there too, actually the ballet company I studied at hired me for a production this winter of Sleeping Beauty. Dance was really my one chance to feel free while I fostered in Russia for eight years.”

“My fiancé loves ballet, always has a dream every year to go and see them on Broadway and all that, always end up watching this recording of Swan Lake she has but the whole time all I can think of is when I got chased by these swans as a kid at the lake.” Making you giggle softly to his chuckle. “Sleeping Beauty any good? Might tell Reed to keep an eye out for tickets. The one with the three fairies, evil dragon lady and all that right?”

“Only one fairy and Maleficent is dressed as an old woman with monks as servants, it is beautiful though Tchaikovsky is always beautiful in his works.”

His smile split wider as you continued to look forward at the broiling argument, “Looks like my girl is getting her wish this year if I can swing the tickets.” A book was thrown on stage and he patted his hand on the armrest between you saying, “Excuse me, time to drag the baboons apart,” and went amusingly to break up the fight and then spend the rest of the time playing referee and mediator for the class.

.

“I don’t know how you can be so cold!” was shouted from one of the apartments housing some of your new neighbors on the lower floors while you dropped off your things to change and head back out to your ship.

“Don’t know how you could be so cold,” you sighed to yourself back on the street, “Isn’t that in a song?” Between bodies you wove adjusting the sleeve on your long sleeved shirt that hung low over your jean shorts that for passers by exposed your bruised legs. “Could have sworn that was a song…should be,” you said then began to hum a medley of possible tunes the words could be sung at to try and spark up a memory of what the song could be you were thinking of in your tired state.

“Hello, Pluto,” Rhodey said in wait outside the garage making a grin split across your face at his obvious wish to not be blasted magically to Brooklyn.

“Hello,” you giggled, “I take it this might be partially for Eldfalls’ latest thief?”

“Partially yes, mainly heard about those teeth, some magical monster really did take a chunk out of it.”

“Looks like it,” you said and he let out a whistle at the open bite on the side he walked to and inspected closer. “Haven’t found any teeth in the mast yet, but I haven’t exactly been looking too carefully. Might want to, Elliot said the group is working a plan to come fetch the teeth for display and study. Think I found the culprit though,” you said bringing out your phone after you set your tools down on one of the chairs for him to be awed at the flying whale like creature you showed him. “Legends say they can spit fire but the Gods drove them away from Midgard.”

“From the planet,” he clarified and nodded, “Good thing. It can do this to your ship no telling what else it could do.”

“Maybe when Thor returns you could ask him if he has seen a creature like it.”

“He did mention a Bilge-something. Didn’t say what it was though other than destructive.” Making you grin and watch his claim of one of the pairs of gloves you had to help you work now on the other side and rear of the ship to clear the crust there.

“Heard Rogers got your cash, by the way. Took you out to a diner right?” he asked a few minutes later as you worked a sizeable chunk off you dropped on the tarp used later to add to the bin for the discarded crust against the wall.

“Set me off right in the middle of a nineteen hour manic state is what he did.” You said accented by a breathy scoff.

“He what?” Rhodey asked lowering his chisel from the ship with clear concern in his voice.

“When I was six they took me and beat me then locked me in a sensory deprivation chamber,” you said instantly luring tears to his eyes as you kept your eyes fixed on the ship in front of you. “That’s how they try to make you stop trying to leave, but I didn’t break so I was the example. Thane, I woke up in the quiet and the dark, alone unable to move. But I knew I’d been through that before.”

“Misique found you,” he whispered and his eyes shifted to the subtle shift of your lower jaw forward and back with lips pursed as if fighting to not bite back what you wanted to say next.

“She knows what I went through, and when I was out she knew, when Thane and that bird alien thing started their talk that I never wanted to be back there. What happens to me when I feel that again.”

“Pluto, you can talk to me,” he said softly and you shook your head to the fall of two tears down your cheeks that were instantly followed by two more.

“It’s better to let her say she did it,” you were barely able to whisper aloud.

“Pluto if you killed Thane that is the least of my worries,” that had you flinch a glance his way as he patted a hand on his stained sweater coated chest. “I want to know what you felt when you got out.”

“I am never going to let my bloodline end with me. I wasn’t strong at six, so I left him in pieces and told that bird man a really cool one liner.” Subtly you managed a smirk and wiped your cheeks on your shoulders partly smudging them with the rust stains there. “She let me stay with the blimp. I needed to be alone, Eddie knew that or we’d have gone jogging together. All I have when I get like that is my schedule and Steve imagined that meal as some band-aid for his pride to imagine he saved a piece of Bucky by taking me to eat just because I was crying. Man’s ten years too late to save me from this. I’m not broken I’m like one of those Kintsugi where they use gold powder to mend the cracks. An ode to imperfection and the passing of time. I don’t need the coat of paint he thinks I do.”

After a moment glancing at his feet Rhodey asked playfully, “So I don’t get to hear the one liner?”

Making you smirk at him and answer, “I told him when Thanos comes he’ll find his son’s bones scattered in the wind.”

“Nice, really nice.”

“So don’t let the military go putting his corpse on display or anything and make me a liar.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he said and asked, “You wouldn’t happen to know what happened to bird man, would you?”

“Stabbed him where his heart or spine should have been, he collapsed, then I went after Thane and turned back and he zapped off somewhere. Put out a sketch of him for Venom and their crew in case he pops up somewhere else. I’ll send you a copy.”

“Thank you.”

“How’s your girl?” you asked after his seventh obvious look at your legs.

“You know, she’s actually doing well. Big fan of Misique’s now, you want me to punch Rogers?”

“Not like it’d help any. Man clearly needs therapy least I admit I have ptsd and needed help with my trust issues. Man bats his eyes and assumes he’s brought on world peace.” Making Rhodey chortle.

“We have been trying to get him a hobby outside of boxing.”

“Just what he needs more blows to the head. Why would a boy call another boy penis?” You asked making him look at you wide eyed a moment, “From school, some freshman is calling a kid I eat with penis, other than his name starting with P and him having one I don’t get the correlation.”

“You know, I think that might just be one of those rude despicable teenager things people do without logic. I mean,” he said with a shake of his head, “I went around calling this guy Charlie in high school just because he looked like an old teacher whose name was Charlie.”

“What was his name?”

“Gunter, he was born in Philly and was glad for the nickname to be honest. Blonde hair and blue eyes he flinched to the back of the room any time WW2 came up. You could tell he got hit hard in middle school on that topic. Don’t get the penis though, what’s the name of the kid who gave it?”

“Flash, apparently, like Flash Gordon character.”

“Now Flash Gordon would be highly ashamed of that behavior.”

“Yes he would. You know we had talks at lunch today about reincarnation and we were wondering what Freddie Mercury would come back as if he would as an animal. I think he’d be a panda, people love pandas.” Making him chuckle.

“Sounds good, been rumors for ages he was a Siren actually, panda might be a nice break. How bout President Lincoln? I know Roosevelt would want to be something sturdy like an ox or a rhino.”

“Lincoln did love cats, Einstein too. You know Roosevelt mainly only helped to preserve the buffalo and the nature reserves and all that because he was such an avid hunter and wanted them to be around to hunt again later after the fur trade brutalized their species. There are pretty devastating tales shared by Native American tribes handed down on how their magnificent buffalo were brutalized and left to rot having been stripped in such a disrespectful way.”

“Have you read about that whaling right the tribes in Alaska have been fighting to keep? Use every piece of the animal, I don’t doubt the buffalo is very useful horn to tail.”

“They didn’t even eat the meat,” you said making him shake his head. “Like holding Tony Stark at gunpoint just to take his necktie when he’s probably got more in his pockets than half the Eastern Shore.”

“Well I bet if Misique had a time machine the fur trade would be high on her list, we’d have a great deal more buffalo.”

“I’d be more distracted by punching President Johnson in the face, you know we could have had a woman in space in the 50’s, and a whole team in the 60’s if they hadn’t scrapped their team? Each of them scored higher than men, especially on the part where they put them in the deprivation tanks, some of the men barely lasted ten minutes, one woman got more than half a day. Then the sexist racist prick went and shut it down and Russia sent the first woman in space. The communists who everyone wants to go and trash had the most forward gender rights in space related moment back in the space race,” you said making him chuckle. “Same people that had everyone over here ducking under desks due to Sputnik. Plus their snipers are unparalleled, if you look at some of their war records, closest we got was a woman awarded the Medal of Honor who they still want to strip that medal from for the second time based on her non-uniformed status.”

“Mom used to say cowards in power can be a terrifying thing,” making you look his way, “They’re always hungry for more.”

“Why were people so scared of me being right about the Blackhowls? Why are there Starks, Richards’, Von Dooms by the dozens, but I can only be compared to them?”

“Well for one they’re all rich, two the obvious,”

“Male,” you said and he cut you off.

“Tall,” making you giggle in his forced chuckle. “I had five CO’s who took it personally they had to train me. You can get older, I’m not gonna get less black, and as far as being female that just means none of those rich idiots can touch what you create. Men, back and forth for centuries, and you turned Aviation on its ear. They can compare you all they like because I can tell you one thing, every single one of them is getting asked what they can do next to show you up, and they can’t.”

“Well I’m sure this winter they’ll have plenty to discredit my intellect,” you said making is brow tick up, “Got a call to be Aurora in Sleeping Beauty with the Bolshoi Ballet they are putting on in New York this season. They had a really great response when I filled in for the Nutcracker a couple years back.”

“No one can ever touch ballet and say it isn’t anything but one of the hardest forms of dance out there, and anyone willing to insult someone for dancing just shows their own idiocy in belittling it.” He paused a moment and said, “That’s really incredible Pluto, I used to hear stories on my Mom dancing ballet her and her friends, part of the only black dance company in New York before her hips and back had to be spared for us kids, it one of the most rigorous jobs. Think you might chase dance professionally?”

“I don’t know, it was my freedom. Found a free class here that meets twice a month. And the dancers were proud to meet the real me, not Jyllania who I was forced to pretend to be.”

After a solemn stare laced shift of the vibration pads he asked, “Anything I can do to help when you have bad memories pop up?” That had you look up at him. “You look tired.”

“Haven’t slept much, but I’m good and tired today and found an audio tape that is intended to help with good thoughts and dreams, one of the dancers in my class swears by it. Keeps trying to give me crystals. Sounds like it’s fake but it had a picture of a koala sleeping on the cover so I’ll give it a shot.”

Widely he grinned at you and said, “Then why don’t I help you clean up and I’ll walk you back?”

“Sure, sort of frightened I’d be finding more teeth on this side or something as acid spit friendly, found them right where we chose to stop yesterday.”

“That is a terrifying thought. You are certainly braver than I am.” The propped up wings however had him ask n his glance at them against the wall, “Do you really think it’ll fly, or are the wings for, steering you think?”

“I think it flies. Haven’t scanned the engine yet, the cube casing only opens when I’m alone but I’ll probably scan that when I do the mast to see if I can figure out the mechanisms to recreate any parts it might need.”

“See, this is a 5 million piece puzzle where they’re all squares, double sided and blue. You fix this none of those guys can touch what you do.”

“I make this fly there will be more than just two people launched away from Eldfalls,” you said making him chuckle.

“What’s it mean, Eldfalls?”

“Firefalls, my Mom had a dingy named Eldfalls.” Kindly you patted the bare side of the ship. “Used to love tales of a secret falls by her hometown that at a special moment it ignites and you can pass though it to reach the lands now containing Svaðilfari the Stallion who fathered Sleipnir, Odin’s eight legged horse. He lights on fire and threatened to burn the world. She never could find the right one or time though.”

“Wish I had stories like that growing up, worst we had was a man who had an alligator tail down the block.”

“Maybe he did,” you said making him chuckle to himself as you giggled and locked your things up to head to your apartment.

“He very well could have. I’ll see if I can look him up when I get home, see if he’s still kicking to figure that out.”

“Avengers could use a Gator Man. Every good super powered team could use an animal morphing member.” He didn’t look forward to sharing what you had told him about your past but at least he felt confident sleep, no matter how successful the effort might be to get to sleep, would be had.

PTSD was nothing to shake a stick at but he was confident in knowing you had bi-monthly sessions with a therapist Fury had confirmed to be a trustworthy choice for over a year now by the improvements he had seen in your demeanor it was paying off. He knew from his own sessions that his own sessions did have him told as well schedules did help small bouts of anxiety or helplessness. He knew you would follow the tools given and find your way through this rough patch, and more importantly knew how to get in touch with him or others when help was required.

Adolescence was rough enough but even he knew first hand the reaction his baby girl had at being taken, so hacking the man behind it in pieces was nothing he could argue against and he didn’t even have to endure that beyond jarring way to wake up. A sentiment Fury would adamantly agree to keep that between them as Fury kept his copy of the picture to add to SHIELD’s records on the event to have a face to go with the missing body sourcing the blood stain.

Pt 29