12816/Unconventional Homecoming

Unconventional Homecoming
Date of Scene:	18 September 2022
Location:	Young Avenger's Facility, New York City
Synopsis:	Annie and America participate in a training program together while talking about America's responsibilities and how they might need to shift if she's to truly lead the group. After, an exchange is made: family, for an interdimensional expedition. Looks like plans are coming together.
Cast of Characters:	America Chavez, Annie Mei

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America Chavez has posed:
    The leader of the Young Avengers has been conspicuously absent from their compound for the past week. So it might come as a surprise when her vibrant and energetic voice comes from the area of the training facility--or well, the sounds of her voice. Calling the grunts and shouts of aggression words, would be generous. It seems the Utopian doesn't hold back when setting the safeties on the training programs plugged in. But, given that she's on par with some of the Norse gods in terms of durability, it's hard to fault her for not caring about injury.

    She's in a tank top of vibrant red--the same color as her high tops--a compliment to the warm bronze of her skin and cut off jean shorts, revealing a generous view of her long legs. Her long dark hair is held back from her face by a blue bandana with a single large silver star on it. Not much can ruffle the young woman's casual and carefree demeanor, but something seems to have done so recently, if her reaction to the training program is any indicator. She is giving a dissertation on brute force with her fists as exhibits to show how effective such tactics are when used generously. The holographic opponents, faceless figures of bright blue and orange react as if she were actually hitting them--a marvel to the technological advances of Stark, Star, and Pym labs. Each strike from the young woman cause the hologrphic opponents to go flying across the room before shattering into a plume of colored motes as they are removed from the field of battle.

    Still, she is only one woman and her opponents to seem to number in the high double digits. They are not entirely without form either as she reacts to punches, kicks, and other strikes put upon her before retaliating in kind and wiping another tally off the horde that mobs her.

Annie Mei has posed:
Between one hit and another, the sound system kicks on in the training room.

Am I brave enough?
Am I strong enough?
To follow the desire
That burns from within

A guitar riff kicks in, low and taking second place to the voice that continues to grow strong. By the end of the first stanza the band jumps in with a blast of music, the tempo isn't terribly fast but the beat is strong and the female singer's voice is strong and clear. I Am The Fire by Halestorm. A glance towards the control room will show a grinning Annie giving a thumbsup, hitting a button to the PA. "Thought you could use some good ass-kicking music to go with the training." A pause and then, "Also, on your left!"

She points out the incoming hologram, moving through the control room and into the training room, "Hey! Want a hand?" She's dressed in what might almost look like a nanotech style spacesuit, the material is hard but flexible enough to move with her, a white and green leather jacket on over it, each shoulder bearing a green star. Pink hair up in a ponytail, she's grinning and already calling up a pair those crackling green balls of energy. Taking three running steps, she launches into a front aerial, spinning about in mid-air before throwing both balls down at a pair of holograms, using the concussive force to keep herself airborne, in a split for a moment before coming into a front flip as she conjures up a number of the green balls between her fingers. Twisting as she comes towards the ground, she flings both hands outwards to hit the back of the group, sending a number of the holograms flying and giving America some breathing room while Annie herself lands in a three-point touch down and flashes a grin.

America Chavez has posed:
    America smiles as Annie gives a display of her own prowess and gives the Utopian a moment of breathing room. "Didn't realize anyone was around or awake" she says, before a number of the holograms swarm forth again. A stomp of her foot sends out a concussive wave that sends them to the ground of flying out and away.

    "If I woke you... I apologize. But I needed tpo blow off some steam. My last forray was..." She moves forward and obliterates one of the 'grams with a downward punch. "...irritating, to say the least. But you're more than welcome to join in. I've set it to keep the number of opponents between 30 and 60 at all times so no shortage of foes to brush off--that's for sure."

    She gives Annie's outfit a look. "That's... pretty fancy. Love the coat, by the way" she adds with a smile. "How've you been? I'm sorry I took off shortly after our you moved in. There are obligations I have to other worlds and one of them called me in, so... I had to go. I would've invited the rest of you but... it was urgent and well... what I do can be disorienting for first time passengers. I'd rather ease the lot of you into it before taking you to go storm a castle, literally in this case."

Annie Mei has posed:
"I'm an early riser," Annie flashes a grin towards America before conjuring up another ball of the crackling green energy and pitching it in an impressive cutter towards a small group of holograms charging towards her. They blow apart on impact and Annie launches herself intot he air with another, smaller charge, tackling one of the holograms and flinging it back to the ground. She aims herself towards another hologram, landing with her hands on it's shoulders, flipping over it and landing, then hurling the hologram into the wall.

Turning she chuckles, "The only thing you interrupted was a cup of yogurt. I left it in the control room." Annie spins and punches another hologram, then mulekicks a second. "Thanks! I do need to work on my combat skills, I'm still pretty new to all of it."

Glancing down, she flushes, then laughs, "It's.. actually the outfit I was wearing when I hit by the solar radiation. It's meant to help protect from any lingering radiation in the testing chamber. The jacket belonged to my mother, I sort of co-opted it when I was ten." Annie stumbles forward as one of the holograms lands a punch between her shoulderblades, making her whirl around to face it. "Ow! Hey! No fair, I'm talking here!" Grabbing it's wrist, she pulls them in and punches it straight in the jaw, releasing the wrist and kicking out at it, sending it flying. "You're fine! I had to get moved in anyways! Oh! And I met Mania! Nice pair of entities! I've been making sure to get extra chocolate to keep stored around the HQ."

She turns a grin over her shoulder, "So you /didn't/ have fun storming the castle?"

America Chavez has posed:
    America starts using her legs to deal devestation to the faceless holograms. Each kick comes with its own portal that sends it into its fellows. "We were until the dragon showed up" she replies. "One of the worst things in that world. I can't seem to hurt them without killing it and... well, it's an animal and I'd rather not kill one of them if I can help it. We beat a hasty retreat and I..." She does a quick legsweep and a group of four of the holograms vanish into a star portal ripped open.

    "I ended up walking away with no clothes on because dragonfire seems to burn through cotton and polyester without issue." She grins and watches as Annie demonstrates her own prowess. "I got some new clothes out of it though so that might be more durable than the rest of the stuff I have. So I guess it was a win in the end of it."

    An alarm beeps and the lights in the training room go to green and the holograms stop spawning as they are destroyed. "So you met Mania? Nice. She's a mystery but she's good people all the same and yeah, that's probably a good idea given the alternative. I'm glad you two managed to get along. She's sometimes skittish about new people, but she's friendly all the same. As long as you don't give her a reason to not be."

Annie Mei has posed:
"...huh, you know, I'm not sure I would have wanted to really seriously hurt a dragon either. They have to be a marvel of biology, I couldn't see trying to destroy them just for being what they are." Annie shakes her head and starts trying to hurtle the holograms into those portals she's opening up with a grin. She spins around and does a quick cartwheel away from a small group just before they mob her, leaving a baseball-sized green orb in her place that hits the ground with an explosion. Slamming another one into the ground as she notices more of them running towards her, Annie sends more of them flying.

"Oh! Uhhhhhhhh... I'm... sorry you lost your clothes." Annie flushes briefly before adding cheerfully, "That's why I've been using this suit for my 'costume'. The jacket is just a normal jacket, but the suit is about as durable as I am!" She flicks a finger against one of the flexible plates and grins, "Not that it's one hundred percent damage-proof, but it's meant to be able to handle a lot."

"Mania was doing well when I met her. She was nice, fun to talk to, and even explained a bit about how they function together. I got to see the symbiote pull back from part of her face, then cover it again. Fascinating stuff! She told me about the reason behind her chocolate additiction. I might be able to synthesize something for her that she can use in case of emergencies." Side-kicking another hologram away from her, she turns a smile towards America. "All in all, good start to a new friendship."

America Chavez has posed:
    America blinks. "She showed you part of her face?" she says. "That's... hm. I don't know that -I've- seen that much of who she is underneath the Klyntar covering. You must've made some kind of impression to get so far on the first meeting." The numbers of holographic goons are dwindling and it's only a matter of time before the room is clear once more and a voice (sounding very much like Hawkeye's) comes over the loudspeaker, "SIMULATION COMPLETE. GOOD WORK MS. AMERICA AND UNKNOWN."

    America winces. "Need to get your codename into the system, sorry. Knew there was something I was forgetting. Computer. Update profile: Annie Mei. Codename: Solis." There is a beep and then Hawkeye's computer voice responds. "UPDATE COMPLETE. SOLIS ADDED TO PROFILE: ANNIE MEI."

    America nods. "There. No more returns of Unknown when you're doing stuff in here." She moves to one side where a stack of towels are folded nicely in a stack. "Supposedly," she says tugging at the shirt, "these are able to withstand the fires of stars, according to the wizard who made them. I haven't tested it myself but from the flames I took during the beginning they're not even singed so that's at least a point in their favor." She grins and offers Annie a towel as she grabs one for herself. "You're settled in well, I take it?" she asks the pink haired young woman.

Annie Mei has posed:
"Well, yeah.. I mean, I assume she has to in order to eat... I offered to share some of my chocolate with her," Annie looks confused for a moment before lifting a shrug and smiling once more. "She /really/ likes chocolate. I've been looking into getting some European chocolate so she can see the difference." A pause and then, "Well, taste the difference." The computer voice has her glancing around, then laughing. "Oh now that's a neat feature."

Chuckling, she lifts a shrug, "You were busy from the sound of it. It's not a big deal, I'm sure you'll..." Then she's added in and she grins, "Like that!" Giving a nod, Annie smiles, "Thanks for adding me in. This will make using the training room a little easier."

Annie wanders over and leans against the wall with a smile, hands tucking into her jacket pockets. "Well, since my powers are sun-based... I can always lob a few balls at the shirt and see how it holds up? If you want, anyways." Taking the offered towel, she wipes off her face, then hooks the towel around her neck and hangs onto either end. "Oh sure! Moved in, got everything taken care of. Put some groceries in the fridge for when I feel like doing something for myself."

America Chavez has posed:
    America makes an apologetic face. "Yeah. I should've been the one to do a lot of that but... I've made a lot of allies and sometimes the whole time travel part of what I do doesn't always work. So I miss things." She sighs and rubs at the muscle between neck and shoulder.

    "Might need to change and reprioritize my methods since I've got a team here and all. But, I'm glad you managed to take care of it in my stead. That's what being part of team is all about, yeah? We look after and take care of one another." She offers a fist for Annie to punch in friendly comraderie.

    "Ultimately that's what I'm trying to create here with us. More than just a team. A place where people like us who want to have a home can have it and a place where people who want to have a family can get it. Because that's what's most important to us. Family." There is a nostalgic pain in her voice when she talks about her own family but it's a deeply buried thing and one that she seems to carry without issue like an old wound that doesn't bother her too much but is still everpresent regardless.

Annie Mei has posed:
Annie waves off the first part with a smile, "Don't even worry about it! I'm good." She tucks her hands into her pockets and rocks back on her feet with that smile still in place, "You need to be able to handle your business, we can take care of ourselves for a few days. It's okay, we got this! We're here to help."

Her smile brightens a touch and she gives a nod, "If you think you should then obviously I won't stand in your way, but we're alright for a few days if you need to deal with something." She reaches up to dap America's upraised fist, grinning, "You got it, boss. We're all here for each other. I'm down to help out wherever I can, whoever I can."

Her brows lift as she watches America for a moment. There's a moment's hesitation before she reaches out to pull America into a hug (if she'll allow it). "You're welcome to meet my family. They're good people. They'd like you." She pulls back to smile at her, "And I'm here. And Mania's here. And we like you. So... you're succeeding. Just so you know. It's already working."

America Chavez has posed:
    America stiffens at the start of the hug, but a moment later she returns the hug with one of her own. "I'd... I'd like that" she replies, relaxing in the embrace before they pull apart. "Yeah. You both are. All of you are. And I am. And don't think I don't appreciate the acknowledgement."

    She pauses and keeps her eyes on Annie for a moment. "Let me ask you something... if you could go anywhere you wanted. Any sort of world, if the only limit was your imagination, where would you want to go?" she asks. There is a fond smile on her face as she asks and towels her shoulders and arms before tossing the towel into a bin marked "Laundry" nearby.

    "I'm thinking of giving everyone their own tour and well..." she shrugs, "I might as well start getting ideas here and now. So yeah, any sort of world. Any sort of adventure. You don't need to ask right now, unless you have an immediate idea but the offer is open."

Annie Mei has posed:
Smiling warmly towards America, Annie gives a nod, "It's going to be good. We're going to be good. We got this." Chuckling, she gives a nod, "I always try to go for credit where it's due. You've taken on a lot, starting a team, picking a headquarters, dealing with the refurbishment, pulling us all together. And still being a superhero on top of that. You're accomplishing a /lot/ in a short amount of time. So. Y'know, respect."

Her brows jump up and she lifts her gaze as her lips purse up, musing over the question, "Oh man... I would love to go to a futuristic world that has Old World asthetics." She blinks, then laughs, "Sorry, that probably seems weird, right? But like... there was so much that was so beautiful about the past. Not necessarily the people, but the locations, the buildings, the /visuals/. Even just like.. the 40's and 50's. There were some great asthetics, even if the timeframe itself wasn't great." Annie turns a smile towards America, "But for adventure? Oh boy.. space adventures would be fun. Or some sort of futuristic fantasy land. Or maybe some Tank Girl-esque sort of apocalyptic insanity..."

She realizes he could probably keep listing possibilities and blushes, rubbing a hand against the back of her neck, "Sorry. I just.. travelling to New York was huge for me. I grew up in California. We did some school field trips and family vacations elsewhere, but I was never away longer than a week or two. So thinking about different /worlds/, different /dimensions/.. oh man. Where /wouldn't/ I like to go?" She flashes a grin, "An ocean world would be awesome, too. Helping fishfolk or mermaids or something."

America Chavez has posed:
    America listens to the praise with a smile that turns into a wry and knowing smirk as the myriad of suggestions flows out of the pink haired woman. It's a bit more involved than the usual list but giving someone and carte blanche invitation to anything they desire in the known multiverse often comes with a smattering of common traits.

    She purses her lips. "I think I know of a few places where those things can come up for sure." And it's true, she did. Even as the woman listed them off a number of worlds matching the descriptions and their location in the multiverse popped into America's head as if pulled from a card catalogue. Just a handy feature of being Utipian and a Starling to boot.

    "How bout this, I'll do some more brainstorming, get with some of the others and we can all go out for a planned excursion soon" she replies. "Sound good?" Assuming the woman's response is affirmative she rolls her shoulders. "I'm pretty wiped now that I've blown off the worst of my steam about the dragon. I think I need to take a shower, one of the problems about leaving immediately after a mission, no time to wash off" she laughs.

    Her expression goes sly for a moment as she eyes the young woman. "I'd offer to let you join me but that might be a bit too much fraternization for the moment." She offers a wink as she starts off. "Another time, maybe."