look out to the future

[assembles]

Who: The Avengers, Wonderland-style (Steve Rogers, Thor Odinson, Wanda Maximoff, Bucky Barnes, Billy Kaplan, Rocket)
Where: The training area
When: 08/16 and the following days
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Let's get down to business...! Mingle training log for the Avengers!
The Story:
A few days have passed since the event ended, enough time for everyone to recover from being thrown into the zombie apocalypse. Steve's heard a few whispers about people getting infected and having to be put down, though he's relieved to know that as far as he's aware, no one he's close to went through something that scarring.

He's also relieved to be back to what he considers "normal," and it's that which has him down in the training area on Sunday afternoon. He finds it empty, which is a pretty rare thing, although he soon realizes he could change that, presumably with nothing more than a text message. He's put this off for too long already and he can't say for sure that his new team has been proactive enough to seek each other out on their own time, so what better moment than the present?

Each of the five other members of the team will receive a text message: Avengers Assemble. 1500 hours at the training center.

Steve waits (in full uniform, no less) for them all to arrive one-by-one until everyone has gathered, at which point he stands before them to deliver a brief speech. Thankfully this sort of thing comes naturally to him by now, so there's no awkwardness in his tone or bearing.

"I know I threw this team together pretty unexpectedly, but I thought it was important for the Avengers to exist even here in Wonderland. We're not really gonna be a team unless we start acting like one, though, so pair off, get to know each other, show everyone what you can do. We can start to figure out strategies and make sure we know the best way to cooperate with each other in a fight. We've all got our own talents, let's put them to good use, all right?"

They have the entire training room to themselves, though Steve won't mind if someone pokes their head in to watch. The place is huge, with all different kinds of training courses meant to cater to various skillsets, so Steve's pretty sure the six of them can spend a lot of time here in the coming days.


[ OOC: It's a mingle log! Post open comments, tag around, play out whatever combination you see fit! ]

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[minimoff]

When Tommy shows up, he stays by the door, watching the others train. Billy had invited him to stop by, but he had not noticed he was here yet, and for once Tommy did not want to be the center of attention. For all his pride said he belonged here, his insecurity kept him hovering.

Last thing he needed was Captain America yelling at him because he interrupted his training session. Tommy did not do well with authority figures, but this was one he did not entirely want to give the middle finger to.

At least, not yet.

[assembles]

It didn't take long to notice that they had a visitor. It couldn't have been coincidence that Tommy showed up when they happened to all be training as a team, and so Steve had to assume that Billy had given him a heads up. They were twins, it made sense that they were looking out for each other and Steve knew how much Billy wanted his brother on the team.

Well, here was Tommy's chance to prove himself. He looked uncertain with the way that he was hovering near the door, so Steve made eye contact and waved him over.

"So..." He looked Tommy up and down, then fixed him with a disarming smile. "Want to show me what you've got?"

[minimoff]

The hesitation only lasted a second longer. Then Tommy was abruptly in front of Steve, tilting his head back to look at him (damn short genes). A cocky grin spread across his face. "If you can keep up."

[assembles]

Steve didn't know that he would ever get used to that blink-and-you'll-miss-it speed. The sort of thing that even he couldn't track with the naked eye. It was disorienting, to say the least.

"I already know I won't be able to," he said, shaking his head. Steve had seen what Pietro was capable of, had been bowled over by his speed a time or two. It was a little eerie how reminiscent Tommy was of him.

[minimoff]

"What do you want to see?" Tommy rocked back on his heels, bouncing with barely restrained energy. Watching the others had him missing the times the Young Avengers trained together. It had been too long since he had been on a team.

[assembles]

It was impossible to miss how genuinely excited Tommy was, and Steve had to admit that it was infectious. It was good to see that there was someone who was so enthusiastic about being a part of things. Most of the members of the actual team were on the more reserved side, save for Thor and Billy.

"I know about your speed, but how can you incorporate that into combat?" he asked after a pause. He felt a little bit guilty about it, but Steve had to be realistic, and fighting was a big part of what the Avengers did. He could focus on having Tommy ferry around civilians, but that wasn't always going to cut it.

[minimoff]

Luckily, that was something that was easy for Tommy to answer. Being in combat had been a part of Tommy's life as a Young Avenger from the very first day. "Depends on the fight. When I'm with a team, I keep the area clear and hit whatever everyone else misses. If our enemies have weapons, I disarm them. And if I hit most people at a fast speed, they don't get up again. It gets harder when you get into aliens and other mutants and shit, but that's to be expected."

Tommy made no mention of his other combat tactic. There had been a time he had been much more free with the use of his destructive power, when he had been younger and angrier. Seeing what horrors powers like his could cause during the superhero civil war, however, had honestly frightened him. Becoming a miniature atom bomb was not an ability he wanted to even suggest could be used in combat. If he had to use it, he would, but he was not going to give Steve the option of ordering him to.

[assembles]

Steve listened, making mental notes of each point that Tommy made. Those were all useful skills, assets that would help them out in a firefight. Granted, they never really knew what kind of enemy they would have to go up against here, so Tommy also had to be ready to shift his strategy on the fly.

"Yeah, Pietro ran into me once. Wasn't fun." It had knocked the wind out of Steve, even. He'd recovered fast enough, but he could imagine that it would leave a regular human incapacitated at least for a minute or two.

"I'd like to see how disarming works," Steve said after a pause as he squared his shoulders and then reached to his back to detach his shield. He let it magnetize to his right arm and then raised his eyebrows at Tommy. "Wanna try to take it from me?"

[minimoff]

"He's pretty good." There was a hint of playful rivalry in Tommy's voice, as if he wanted to note that he was better.

It was so easy to forget that in Steve's world, Pietro was dead.

Before Steve could answer, Tommy was moving. Agile fingers took only a split second to find the mechanism that deactivated the magnet so that he could grab it. Then he was several yards away, twirling the shield in his hands as he admired it. "Wow. This is really light."

[assembles]

Steve didn't have any interest in reminding Tommy of the fact that Pietro was dead where he came from. He knew, that was enough on its own. There was no need to belabor the point.

Steve did pick up on the fact that Tommy had that cocky teenage confidence, though. It made sense, given that he'd learned at a fairly young age that he had superpowers. It was bound to influence a person's ego.

Really, it was all warranted, given the way that Tommy snatched the shield out of Steve's hands before he had any clue what had happened. Steve stared down at his gloved hands, now empty, baffled and impressed all at once.

"Yeah, that's what makes it so valuable," Steve said as he lifted his head to eye Tommy. "But I wouldn't suggest trying to catch it when I throw it. It'd probably break your hand. Tossing it to me is fine, though." A few of his teammates had learned how to do that and it came in handy. Sometimes the shield had to be collected and put back into play, and all of the Avengers were used to doing that. Come to think of it, Tommy would be great for fetching it, not that Steve would relegate him to something like that.

[minimoff]

"I am pretty durable, you know." Tommy laughed the words, testing the weight with one hand before tossing it like a Frisbee back to Steve. It was strange, to joke with Captain America of all people. It helped that Steve seemed younger than the one he knew. That, and his mother (or, well, the version of her Wonderland had seen fit to send) seemed to actually like this one; it was a far cry from trying to arrest her.

[assembles]

This version of Steve was a lot younger. He'd been barely more than a kid when he'd received the serum and then been shipped off to war. Granted, he'd had to do a lot of growing up in a short period of time, so plenty of people forget just how young he was. He hadn't even hit thirty yet, unless he counted the time that he'd been stuck here in Wonderland.

Steve caught the shield automatically, his attention still mainly on Tommy. It spoke to his familiarity with it that he hardly had to focus.

"How durable?" he asked. "Because this is the strongest metal in the world. If you let it hit you when it's flying through the air at full speed, it isn't exactly pretty." He'd brained enough bad guys with it to know.

[minimoff]

"Well, that's why I shouldn't let it hit me," Tommy quipped. He darted around Steve, snooping in the other man's pockets and pouches, slow enough that Steve could keep up with what he was doing; he was just messing with him now. "But pretty durable. I mean, I'm not Teddy-can-get-hit-by-a-semi durable, but I can take a few more punches than most guys my size. I heal fast, too."

[assembles]

A heightened metabolism leads to a faster healing factor, Steve knows that all too well.

"I guess it would make more sense for you to just avoid whatever's thrown at you." The shield may be strong, but it can't move at super-speed, not like Tommy can.

When Tommy starts to search his pockets, Steve raises both eyebrows, though he's amused more than offended. "What are you looking for?"

[minimoff]

"Just seeing what you've got in here. You've got like a billion pouches!" Or using that as an excuse to tease Steve. "Do you really ever use any of is stuff? And where's your Avengers ID card? I wanted to see it."

[assembles]

"I use the bandages," Steve insists. It's a little hard not to feel like he's being put under a microscope here, which is strange given that it's supposed to be the other way around right now.

At the mention of the ID card, Steve frowns and tilts his head. "Is that really a thing where you're from? ID cards?" It's never been necessary in his world. All of the Avengers know who the other Avengers are, so...

[minimoff]

"Dude, yeah, they're awesome! You should make Stark make you some if you don't have any yet." Tommy stepped back, digging in hidden pockets to pull out a card. Even here, even despite the clashes with the Avengers back home, he carries it everywhere. It is proof, at least to him, that he has made something of himself, that he is the superhero he claims to be.

He offers it over. It looks almost like a driver's license, were it not for the fact it had a authorizing signature that clearly stated 'Steve Rogers' and a strange weight. "It's like the world's tiniest tablet."

[assembles]

Steve's a little surprised to find that Tommy actually has the ID card on him, but he takes it when it's handed over. The first thing he notices, of course, is the signature. It's not quite the same as his own, but there are some similarities. It's strange to see some kind of physical proof that this other version of him exists, and he stares down at the scribble for maybe a little too long before he glances up again.

"Maybe I would if Stark was here, but I'm not gonna remember any of this when I go back home." Which isn't something any of them like to think about, but it's the truth. He smiles wryly and hands it back over. "Maybe he'll figure it out on his own, though. I assume it has some other functionality besides identification?"

Nothing that Stark creates is ever just what it appears to be.