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! ]

Comments

[assembles]

It was an impressive list. To the point that Steve had to wonder why the Avengers were even needed back home if Billy was around. Then again, he couldn't be everywhere at once (teleportation abilities aside) and he'd mentioned needing the space to concentrate to do the really crazy stuff. He probably didn't always have that luxury.

Steve decided to focus on the more basic abilities that would come up in a battle setting. "I'd like to see how the energy shield works." And how his shield would do against it. "And if your lightning matches Thor's." It might inspire some friendly rivalry between them.

There was another skill Steve hoped they could have on their team, and he planted a hand on his hip as he tilted his head toward Billy. "How about healing? Does that fall under reality warping? Making it so the wound just isn't there anymore?"

[actualwizard]

He was almost waiting for the normal reaction when someone heard what he could do- fear and mistrust were common when it came to reality warpers. Not that he could really blame people, he'd seen what his mother had done, he wielded the power himself, he knew it could easily slip out of his control, that didn't mean he didn't hate when people automatically thought he was a threat. Steve looked impressed though, probably because he didn't yet have the experiences with what Billy could do. Which meant that making a good impression was important.

He nodded, shields were easy for him and a good place to start. "Sure, whenever you're ready." He was alert, watching for Steve to throw his shield. "Our lightening is similar, at least to the Thor back home. Only I can't wield his hammer- or well I never tried, but I probably can't- you can though."

Billy paused to consider Steve's question. "I can, to an extent. But it's trickier and it depends on his severe the injury is. I wasn't able to save Teddy's mom when she was burned and I also wasn't able to heal the Super Skrull- but I'm not sure I really wanted to heal him." He paused, he should probably explain that one. "He was trying to take Teddy back to the skrulls by force and that's when we learned about Teddy's true parentage. He got hurt protecting Teddy but I couldn't heal him. On the other hand a few months ago when Maxine was attacked by Dean I healed her injuries."

[assembles]

Steve had no reason to be fearful when it came to Billy's powers, mainly because he hadn't even seen them in action. Billy hadn't tried to warp reality here in Wonderland, at least not on a massive scale, and Steve doubted it would work even if he tried. Otherwise he would have just been able to magic them all home, and that obviously hadn't happened.

They could get to actual training soon enough. Steve's shield rested on his arm, ready to be thrown at a moment's notice. As for the remark about Mjolnir, well, Steve replied with an enigmatic smile. "How about that. Either way, you guys should see what happens when you combine those lightning skills." It would probably lead to a pretty impressive result.

Steve had heard about Teddy's mom recently and frowned at the mention of her, but didn't say anything. It was a tragedy, but one they clearly couldn't do anything about. The Super Skrull didn't sound like the most stand-up guy, although he had apparently protected Teddy from something. "So it's a possibility, but not entirely reliable. All right." Good thing they could revive here anyway. "I think healing could be a pretty big asset, so you might want to practice using it whenever you get the chance." If they didn't have to be benched for injuries it would make a huge difference.

[actualwizard]

Billy grinned, relaxing slightly, it was easy to forget that Cap was also Steve and while he still always wanted to impress him he didn't always have to be so serious. The thought of moxing his powers with Thor's and seeing the results made his grin turn into a full blown smile. "We might want to warn the general popular before we attempt that. The electrical storm could be epic."

"I will definitely work on healing. If we're training enough I might even be able to practice in here." He remembers what training with a new team was like, there were a lot of accidental injuries. Luckily back then he had a super soldier, Teddy who could probably survive a building falling on him, and a guy in an ironman suit. That had kept the injuries to a minimum.

[assembles]

"Yeah, I think we'd have to clear out a pretty big area to give you two some space to have fun," Steve joked back. It definitely wasn't something they should toy with lightly, that was for sure. But Billy seemed to understand just how powerful he was, and that he needed to exert restraint with that power. Granted, he couldn't do anything when Wonderland changed him, messed with his head. That was the same for all of them, though.

While Steve would prefer that people weren't hurt in the middle of training, he also realized that it was bound to happen. Even if it was just a few scratches or bruises, it still might give Billy some easy targets for practice. Steve smiled and nodded. "Sounds like a plan. I doubt you're going to get any complaints from anyone."

With that all settled, Steve kept to his earlier promise about wanting to see Billy's shields. Without any warning, he transferred the shield into his hand and then threw it directly toward Billy. It was time to see how good his reflexes were.

[actualwizard]

Billy was already thinking up ways he could ward off the training center so that the lightening couldn't escape. So he wasn't expecting Steve to throw his shield directly at his face.

It was a testament to the training he'd been getting that he didn't even have to blink before he was throwing an energy shield up in front of him. As soon as Cap's shield hit Billy's he sent it back towards Steve with a burst of energy. "Somehow that was cheating."

[assembles]

The bright, transparent light that showed up in front of Billy didn't look like it would do much, but Steve's shield bounced off of it like it was a solid wall. He had figured it would be something like that, though, so he was braced to catch the shield as it sailed back over to him.

"Cheating?" he said with a grin. "You've got to be ready for anything when you're in the middle of a battle. It's not like your enemies are usually gonna play fair." Steve straightened and looked Billy over again. "That shield of yours is pretty strong, though -- can anything break through it?"

[actualwizard]

"I had a feeling you were going to say that." Billy smirked lowering the shield but keeping his guard up. "It takes a lot of force to break through it like I've never tested exactly how much, but it's held up through explosions. Though the Jabberwock got through it, he ate it and absorbed it. I'm not sure that counts?"

[assembles]

If one of Billy's shields could take the impact of an explosion, that made it pretty airtight. When the jabberwocky was mentioned, though, Steve forced out a sigh and shook his head, a hint of irritation crossing his face. That thing had been unbeatable, and he didn't do well when odds were so obviously stacked against him.

"Yeah, it ate my shield too. That was when I knew we wouldn't have a chance against it." Which might beg the question, why did Steve have that shield now? He hadn't jumped into the jabberwocky's mouth to retrieve it, that was for sure.

[actualwizard]

When it absorbed Billy's shield and integrated it into its body was when Billy knew they were goners. "Yeah, I don't think they were kidding when they told us only one thing could kill it." He eyed the shield on Steve's arm. "How'd you get it back. Please don't say you dove in after it."

[assembles]

Even Billy was starting to get an idea of Steve's reputation if he asked that, and it startled a laugh out of him. "No, no." When it came to actually answering the question, though, Steve sighed and glanced toward the floor, looking almost sheepish. "Bucky used his vendor coupon to get me a new one. Don't ask me how that works, but it's exactly the same as the one the jabberwocky ate."

It made no sense, given that the shield was supposed to be one of a kind, but Steve didn't want to question it too much. He started to run one hand idly over the edge of the shield. He was going to have to return that favor for Bucky sometime, but an opportunity hadn't yet presented itself.

[actualwizard]

Billy grinned when Steve laughed and it deepened into a smile when he sheepishly looked down at the ground talking about Bucky. Billy understood that look, he'd seen it on his face before, when he used to think about how great Teddy was, when things were still good. "That was good of him. It would be weird if you didn't have the shield, I'm so used to it. They probably reach somewhere in your timeline and pluck it out, like they pluck us out. I mean, that's what I would assume, especially since it would be easier to grab objects than people." He would know.

[assembles]

Steve had to agree, it would be weird for him not to have the shield. It was almost like an extension of him now. He wouldn't say it would be the same as losing a limb -- he had no idea what that was like -- but he did feel naked without it.

Billy was probably right about how Wonderland got it back, though. If it could bring back people, why couldn't they do the same with items? Billy had the right mind for that kind of thing, so Steve nodded in agreement. "Anyway, the point is that I have it again, so I think we can run through a few more exercises." He lifted his arm, preparing to throw the shield once more. Steve wasn't as tough of a drill sergeant as Bucky, but he intended to figure out just where Billy's skillset was, and where he needed improvement.