two ✴ video

[bests]

[ oh look, it's carol on a random rooftop somewhere. and she's got her business face™ on. talking with gordon gave her ideas and raised some questions in her mind, so she figures she might as well ask them. ]I know this isn't going to have the same ring to it, but... Avengers, headcount. If you're willing to talk, I'd like to know how many current

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[bluepurrymuffin]

Well, ah, current matters leave me on somewhat inactive status with the Avengers, as well you know. I'm still willing to supply support as needed, but I won't be much use in the field!

At home, I hadn't been active on the team for some ten years or so. In that time, I've been a Defender, a member of X-Factor, and until recently an X-Man, though I've also been a reserve Avenger on various occasions.

When I arrived here ten months ago the only affiliation I had was with S.W.O.R.D.

[bests]

No luck on getting your furriness back yet?

Well, I've been telling other people that I don't know if we'll get an actual team up and running, but we've too many resources and people here to just be sitting on our hands. Bobbi and I think working with and training some of the younger heroes is probably a good idea, at the least.

[bluepurrymuffin]

Not as yet, no. According to the tests, my X-gene's been rendered entirely dormant, but by which method I have yet to discern! How to get it jumpstarted will be the real mystery, I think.

And that sounds like a fine plan. If they're going to be practicing heroism anyway, it's usually better to let them, but provide supervision. Mentorship helps them learn from someone who's been through it all before, and provides a safety net should they bite off more than they can chew.

As far as the team itself goes, I know we may look disorganized on the face of it, but we've usually been dependable when a crisis arises that calls for it.

[bests]

I'm sure you'll figure it out.

That's what I was thinking. I've only done the mentor thing once, though, so if you have any trade secrets I'd love to hear them.

I don't doubt that we'll all assemble when we're needed. It would just be nice to have something around in the meantime, you know? I feel a little out of sorts, not having a team to point at to say, "I'm one of them."

[bluepurrymuffin]

I'll be free for any advice you'll have to give, certainly!

Well, I tend to refer to myself as an Avenger despite our current status. The mansion certainly hasn't been busier than it is now, even if our roster is in something of a flux.

[bests]

Thanks, Hank.

And the roster being in flux isn't exactly something new.

[bluepurrymuffin]

No, it isn't, though I also wonder if perhaps the saturation of powered individuals in the City, and the lack of them for the most part in other areas of the world, doesn't perhaps cause some lesser need for what we do?

The Avengers were always about meeting the threats none of us could do alone, and I feel almost as if those threats are of a far different nature here than they were at home.

[bests]

That's always a possibility.

How different is far different? If there's enough powered people here, I'm guessing there's things like we're used to that crop up at least every once in a while, right?

[bluepurrymuffin]

Well, the potential heroes typically outnumber the villians, and few of them are of a nature that explicitly calls for a team on the Avengers level. There have been other threats that have made assemblage more appropriate, most recently Vulcanus, but they occur with such an irregularity that maintaining the team has been complicated!

[bests]

Vulcanus?

[bluepurrymuffin]

Do you recall hearing anything about the U-Men? John Sublime's TransSpecies Movement, hoping to ascend beyond mere mortality by harvesting mutant organs and implanting them in themselves?

Vulcanus was similar to that. A bit less messy, a bit more corporate, but similar.

[bests]

Vulcanus is the group that was trying to create superheroes. I heard them mentioned at the charity ball and have been meaning to look into them.

Do we have much info on them?

[bluepurrymuffin]

We certainly have no shortage of it.

[Suddenly encrypted.]

Amanda would know more than I do, as she was neck-deep in the operation. She did, however, supply me with what I believe to be a sample of their processing gel.

[bests]

Amanda?

Processing gel. Just what were they processing? Whole bodies?

encrypted;

[bluepurrymuffin]

Amanda Waller. She's my... She and I are... Well, "girlfriend" always seemed somewhat juvenile a designation.

It's part of their power-grafting process. Not knowing more beyond that and with the inside source we had being less than forthcoming on the topic, I've had some difficulty discerning which part, but I'm sure it's vital.

encrypted;

[bests]

It may be juvenile, but it gets the point across.

Is there anything we can do to get more info on what it does? Other than whatever sorts of tests you're undoubtedly running already.