Stevie Barton (hot_rod) wrote in marvel_nextgen,
@ 2010-08-29 00:08:00

Entry tags:

akilah munroe, inactive - aine gold, inactive - daniel sherwood, inactive - hot rod, inactive - james romanov rogers, team - avengers

Racing on in (Open)
A universe away

It was, all things considered, a good day to be one Stephanie "Stevie" Barton. School was over and done with, she had a job she liked fixing cars (even discounting the money in her trust fund), Mom was off her back about doing more with her life for the moment (though the promise of a couple of business courses in the winter semester also seemed to at least temporarily placate Antonia Stark). She'd managed to survive a shopping trip with MC (and reluctantly would admit she'd picked up a few good things on the trip too). William Blake, the extremely hot son of Donald "I used to be Thor" Blake and Jane Foster was still her primary friend with benefits. She had parts for the hot rod she was restoring coming in in the next couple of days.

And to top it off, her Hot Rod gear had just recently had its tune-up and was working in fine condition. Granted, she hadn't been responsible for the tune-up herself (ask her about a car's engine? She was fine. Ask her about repuslors or titanium-gold alloy plating or anything else her mother had invented and she just rolled her eyes and got a headache), but the freedom of being able to move at just under sonic speeds, over just about any surface? Well, that more than made up for not understanding how it all worked. Something about a repulsor field and attractions and repulsion and blah blah blah, "it lets me run fast. Like wearing a car."

Something ahead, however, caught her attention. Some kind of energy vortex. She didn't have much in the way of scanners in her gear, but even she could see that. She increased her speed for a moment, priming her gauntlets to deliver a high speed punch if need be, but decelerated quickly as she got closer.

It was a white disk of... emptiness, that was the only word for it. For a moment, she was certain she saw two men--she could almost swear the were identical twins--fighting in the middle of it, but she couldn't be sure.

"This is Hot Rod to Avengers Mansion," she said, after activating her comm system. "I'm down on Wall Street and there appears to be a... portal-glowy-spacey-timey-whimey-ball... thing. Here. Now."

The whatever it was flickered for a moment, and she was certain she saw the two men again, saw one briefly overcome the other and try to do... something, but then saw the other recover, preventing it. Whatever the one had prevented, however, wasn't enough. The whiteness flashed, flared, and for a second, it was all she could see.

***

When she could see again and her helmet's visor had depolarized, she instantly noticed first, that her wi-fi connection to Avengers Mansion and to global GPS wasn't working. The second thing she noticed was that she was reasonably certain the name on the bank on her right had been different just a minute ago.

Stevie tapped the side of her helmet, trying to engage the comm, but all she got was static.

"Well," she said to herself, "this is just great. Now I've got to get this thing fixed." Which meant swallowing her pride and asking someone sciency (preferably not Mom. Because she'd get all "this wouldn't happen if you'd let me build you a real suit" and she'd have to be all, "Mom? Claustrophobic, remember?" and the arguments would go on again) to fix it.

A quick test confirmed that, at least, the rest of the suit was working. She accelerated back towards Avengers Mansion. The security system at the gate should have recognized her and swung open as she approached, slowing down to a speed just a bit above that of the average car.

Somehow, it was turning into not her day. The gates completely failed to open. It was a good thing she'd still been slowing down. Any faster, and she'd probably just have plowed right through them. As it was, her repulsor field protected her, but allowed her to be knocked back, landing on her ass on the street.

"...As a certain rock covered super-heroine might say... "What a revoltin' development'."

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aerosmithette
2010-08-29 02:59 pm UTC (link)

What the security system did do, however, was alert those inside the mansion that an unidentified flying person was barreling right toward the mansion. Akilah didn't need time to prepare herself, and she immediately left the building with sparks at her fingertips. She looked at the purple-clad woman in the street with a confused look on her face. Nothing prompted her to attack, but she was not going to be very trusting.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" she asked--or rather, demanded. The gates opened to let Akilah pass and move closer to the almost-intruder.

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hot_rod
2010-08-29 09:50 pm UTC (link)

...Great. The Mansion's been taken over by the freaking Master of Evil again. Don't recognize this one though. Stevie tried to think which black super-villains might have had kids, and realized that that wasn't a good avenue to go down, or a productive one.

She kept a repulsor charge in her gauntlets and kept her force field up, ready for anything as she got back to her feet.

"I belong here," she said. "Unlike some people I could mention. I think I'm the one who should be asking the questions."

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aerosmithette
2010-08-29 10:17 pm UTC (link)

"No, you do not," Akilah replied harshly. "This is the home of the Avengers, of which you certainly are not a part of. You would do well to tell me who you are, and now."

Sparks evolved into streams of electricity jumping up and down the length of her arms. She could feel the tension rising between them, and it was a very bad sort of tension.

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	hot_rod 2010-08-29 10:38 pm UTC (link)
	Maybe she wasn't in the weight class of some of the more powerful Avengers, but Stevie would still put her weapons, skill, and moxie against just about anybody out there. Point or not, the imperious attitude was not helping matters any, from her perspective. "You're gonna have to ask a lot nicer than that," she said. "Especially for a housecrasher." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

aerosmithette
2010-08-29 10:54 pm UTC (link)

Enough was enough. And when Akilah had had enough, that was the end of the road. She raised her arm and unleashed a bolt of electricity. "I am Akilah Munroe of the Avengers. Remove yourself from the premises quietly or you will be neutralized."

No, that was not a good course of action to take. But Akilah was prepared for a fight, and she cast wards of protection on herself for whatever this girl had to offer.

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	super_wren 2010-08-29 10:57 pm UTC (link)
	Aine heard the sound of yelling going on and flew out of a window using solid sound butterfly wings. “What in Sam’s Hill is going on,” Aine asked loudly. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

weavingwizard
2010-08-29 10:58 pm UTC (link)

Daniel is normally not one to step in. He just shakes his head and makes sure his uniform is secure. He has no idea who this stranger is but they don't need to trash the gate just because of an alarm.

"I suggest both of you stand down. Akilah. I understand your reaction. After all, the last time someone came knocking...." It was Kang. Not a day HE will ever forget.

"And I don't know who you are miss, but if you calm down I'm sure we can get this all worked out without coming to blows."

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	hot_rod 2010-08-29 11:05 pm UTC (link)
	Okay, this day was getting seriously confusing. "Okay, finally, someone reasonable," Stevie said, of whoever the guy was. "Now, who the hell are you people, and what did you do with the Avengers?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

aerosmithette
2010-08-30 12:04 am UTC (link)

With Daniel and Aine's arrival, Akilah took a step back and let them handle the situation. Perhaps she had... gone out of control. Not, of course, that she was willing to admit it so soon. "We are the Avengers."

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	super_wren 2010-08-30 12:10 am UTC (link)
	“That we are,” Aine said even if she was only for now until the people got back for the dimensional trip they were on. “Who exactly are you?” (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	weavingwizard 2010-08-30 12:16 am UTC (link)
	Daniel is ready to start figuring things out. At least on the magical side. "She's right. I've been with the team for over a year. And I'm terribly sorry, Miss. But we have no idea who the hell you are." At least he's trying to be nice about it. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	hot_rod 2010-08-30 12:33 am UTC (link)
	"Call myself Hot Rod," Stevie said, not dropping her real name yet, not until she was sure she could trust these people. Which seemed possible, at any rate. "Been an Avenger for more than two years. ...So yeah. Something's screwy here." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

aerosmithette
2010-08-30 12:57 am UTC (link)

"Then you are not from this universe," Akilah plainly stated. It was an easy conclusion. "That, or there is something wrong with your brain." There was always that conclusion, too. But Akilah was probably the only one blunt enough to say it without caring for how it might be received.

	next_avenger 2010-08-30 06:31 am UTC (link)
	James led the way into the parlor and gestured for her to take a seat. "Would you like something to drink or eat?" he asked. Mom had been trying to teach him manners in the past two years. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	hot_rod 2010-08-30 04:27 pm UTC (link)
	Stevie plopped herself down in a chair. "Pepsi, if you got it be good," she said. "Thanks." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	next_avenger 2010-08-30 06:28 pm UTC (link)
	James nodded and left the room for a few minutes. He came back carrying an empty glass and a can of Pepsi. He handed them to her and sat down in a chair across from her. "I guess we should start with names," he said. "I'm James Romanov-Rogers. Nomad. And you are?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	hot_rod 2010-08-30 06:51 pm UTC (link)
	"Thanks," she said, as she poured herself some of the drink. "Stephanie Barton. Hot Rod. Call me Stevie." She kept her expression mostly schooled. The one name sounded faintly Russian, but it didn't ring any bells. The second, however, was the providence of MC's squeeze Mike and her own BFF Peggy. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	next_avenger 2010-08-30 06:59 pm UTC (link)
	"Would I be wrong to assume that you're related to Clint and Bobbi Barton? We have a Steve Barton in this universe." Had. Steve disappeared into another dimension and the Avengers had taken it rather hard. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	hot_rod 2010-08-30 07:04 pm UTC (link)
	"Clint, yes," she said. "Dunno who Bobbi is." Huh. A... half-brother? Of sorts. With almost the same name. That was weird. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	next_avenger 2010-08-30 07:10 pm UTC (link)
	"Bobbi Morse Baron. Mockingbird. She's married to Clint. Their son Steve is an Avenger, but he's currently missing." James paused for a moment as he tried to figure out how to politely ask about her mother. He was trying to have manners. "If I can ask, who is your mother if it's not Bobbi?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	next_avenger 2010-08-30 07:26 pm UTC (link)
	James tilted his head. "Tony has a sister in that dimension too and you're her daughter? Interesting." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	hot_rod 2010-08-30 07:28 pm UTC (link)
	"Huh? No sister," Stevie said. "World famous inventor and businesswoman, Antonia Stark. That's got to ring a bell. Who's Tony?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	next_avenger 2010-08-30 07:40 pm UTC (link)
	"Oooookay. So Tony's a girl in your dimension and he...she's your mom. I thought I knew weird. Anthony Stark, Tony, is a guy in this dimension and world famous inventor and businessman. He's also my step-father. He's married to Natasha Romanova, the Black Widow, and they have a daughter Anya and are expecting a baby in November." (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	hot_rod 2010-08-30 09:25 pm UTC (link)
	"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," Stevie groaned. Her mom, as little as they sometimes got along, a dude? That was just... just... the only word that came to mind was "ew." It was complete "ew." The other name struck some distant bell, with the additional qualifier, but definitely wasn't anyone important, at least as far as she knew. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)