Jay had been laying low since the Avengers became personas non grata. Well, relatively. He couldn't easily get in touch with Bruce, but Jay's mom pulled a few strings. Jay occasionally helped the Imaginauts, but most muscle requirements were covered by Jacob.
He continued going to college, but it was finals week. Despite the fact he should be studying, he slung his backpack over one shoulder and walked out of his mom's apartment.
Jay pivoted at a familiar voice saying 'hot stuff.' He did it so fast he nearly took out a dog walker with his backpack. He ignored the startled outburst. His hand went toward his pocket where his phone was at and then winced. He hadn't taken his phone off silent from the study group.
"Lunch sounds good, gorgeous. Lead the way. Though... a little slowly. So I don't knock someone into a ravenous pack of corgis."
"Barracudas," he agreed. He grinned at the kiss. The whole being vertical made the kissing a lot more acrobatic. Not that he remotely minded her her body lightly brushing his.
He tried to slip an arm around her waist. "Mm. Thai. Just stop me from getting Spiciness 10. I needed the green Pepto last time."
There were certain bits about climbing him, Jay would have approved of. The claw line was not one of those bits.
He huffed out a breath. "They're going. I study hard and then have mind blanking panic at essay questions. Then I bullshit like mad. So, we'll see how that works."
"Last time there was me and a press conference in the same sentence, my mother was lawyering about my rampage through the city. Then there was the Godstorm. And then the Kang/Ultron love affair. I've safely slid to page 13 news."
Or wherever those nude shots of big, green him got him. He shrugged.
"I'm on page nothing these days, but that's cool. It's not like I made that giant bull statue come to life and stampede down Wall Street. Just because I was riding it when it trampled that guy's Lamborghini..."
Liza shrugged.
"Dad had to threaten him and his insurance company with a plague of boils. I think they wrote it off as an act of definitely-not-God."
Sometimes having Satan in the family was as good as having a lawyer.
"I've been pretty good. Winning friends and influencing people Defendering and in Hell's Kitchen. You know how it goes."
"Is this where I say you can ride my bull for even less publicity and insurance claims?" Well, she could. Jay wasn't lying. He obviously wasn't green or that wouldn't have been a question.
"Defenders have been doing more lately, huh?" The Hellkitten in Hell's Kitchen never ceased to amuse Jay. That part of town seemed to draw in justice-minded redheads. Though his arm around her waist try to pull her a little closer.
Both of them had bits they didn't like to lose control of. He couldn't help the concern more Defender action meant Liza's could come to the surface more easily.
"I like me without boils, too." Jay paused as he glanced around. "He doesn't have like that supernatural listen if someone mentions him thing does he?"
It was a valid concern. Daimon Hellstrom was a very different person to deal with than Peter Parker. Jay didn't wear underoos of him as a kid for starters.
"Demon-y magic?" Jay was more accustomed to spirits more than angels and demons. "Does that... uhm."
How does one ask if a demon locked inside got roused for murder death kill without getting an elbow into the ribs?
"No. You can summon him, if you use the right combination of names and titles. I could probably do it just by screaming 'Dad!' with the right intent. And then there's this ritual, kind of like a party line for Demon Lords. You never know who's going to answer that one, could be Dad, could be Grandpa, could be Mephisto. They all hate that one."
Liza gave him a look.
"You mean the B word? It's interested. But, it wants out all the time, so no big. Nothing I can't handle."
Jay blinked and sussed out the information given to him. "Well, I'll just make sure you don't have the right intent. Lawyer versus Son of Satan probably would rip the world in two..."
He never underestimated his mother's abilities. Particularly ones honed in a court of law. He was walking around free instead of in a jail cell on the rez after all.
"I don't use the B word," he commented dryly. Unless there was a giant lizard that killed people with a look in front of him. From the look he just got from Liza, she obviously wasn't one. "Sorry. Just concerned is all."
"Lawyers get cranky when they're summoned too, don't they? It would be epic. Worse than Manhattan getting Kanged."
Liza gave him yet another look, then sighed.
"I know, you worry, and it's sweet. But it is what it is, the B word is gonna attach itself to someone, and better me than someone who has no idea how to handle it. Or doesn't mind letting it out to play."
"Add in gamma radiation and we're talking lots of popcorn mixed with Tums."
He got another look, a sigh, and labeled sweet. He was falling into the nice guy trap. And his girlfriend still had a murder demon attached to her. Time to...
"Boring and predictable? You? Phht. Nah," Jay dismissed with an eyeroll. Of the two of them, he figured he was the most predictable... when not an uninhibited green monster. So... maybe two-thirds of the time?
"But at least I know I don't have to steal anything exciting off your plate."
Bruce had taken the dissolution of the Avengers hard. He felt like he'd let them all down, like he'd let Uncle Steve down, that he'd let the name he was trying to hard to live up to, down.
They were too dangerous, they said. They attracted too many powerful enemies, they said. And as much as they had advocated for themselves, for all the voices that had risen up in support, a dozen more shouted them down.
Almost as soon as the ink was dry on the order to disband, SWORD had approached him with an offer.
Now, he was living up on one of their space stations, acting as a first response against extraterrestrial excursions. Along with the occasional super-villain.
It felt like he was doing something, at least. Plus, it gave him time to work on his art.
He hadn't seen Sara face to face in a while, but he did keep in touch. Usually by text. Cell signals didn't exactly work real well from space.
Saw the X-Men in the news today. Glad to hear things are going well.
Sara was relaxing on the quad between classes when her phone played a few bars of an old song. Her face brightened and her thumbs danced over the screen.
Hey! Things have been, well, weird. I swear some guy was following me and Angel this morning taking pictures on his phone.
Bruce frowned for a minute. He didn't much like the idea of someone following Sara like that, but he knew both she and Angel could take care of themselves.
Did you have to EMP his phone?
Doing all right. Turned back a Badoon warship this morning, but nothing fancy.
Got a three day vacation coming up next weekend. You free?
Mira, when the Avengers fell, had managed to stay out of the backlash, not being an official member on the books. Though she had left NYC, jumping over to Jersey. She and her bike did what they could to stay in touch with everyone, and the bar she sang at didn't care she was associated with them, no one else could fill the tables like she could on themed nights. Wigs are her friend while she waits for Vincent to return from his trip over seas.
While her boss doesn't care who she is, she's started dying her hair and wearing contacts, changing her eyes to brown. Hair of the week? Jet black with purple streaks. The guys at the garage think it's a great change, she's thinking red hair in a few weeks.
Today though? Is the first time in three months she's pulled the bike out. Currently she's headed west, debating heading through PA, or shooting south, all she knows is the city feels too stuffy. Maybe, it's actually time to go back home to California for a bit. Not that there's anything there for an ex-hero in training with a cyberpunk to an alien bike.
Knights do not mope. It's in the code. Or handbook. Or something.
They do, however, retreat to tiny apartments on the edge of the city and drown their sorrows in pints of Ben & Jerry's. The balcony was large enough for Aether to come and go without fuss, although he did fuss. Marcus wasn't in the flying or heroing mood lately and his noble steed had some very pointed thoughts on that. Marcus ignored them.
Today, he was camped out on the balcony in a reclining deck chair... a pint of Peanut Butter Cookie Core ice cream in one hand and a crossword puzzle book in the other. The beard he sported was rapidly leaving 'man pain' and approaching 'homeless', but hey, at least he showered!
After a good lunch of Thai food, Jay went back on the mission he started on when he left his mother's apartment: track down the errant knight. He stopped in a specialty shop on the way and came out with a large bag with something round in it. He made his way toward where his "sources" told him Marcus would be.
Though he couldn't track the knight by his scent at the moment, he did spot a clean hobo relaxing way up on Marcus's balcony. Jay went to the front door and knocked loud.
The knock startled the book out of Marcus's hand. His finely tuned knightly senses kept hold of the ice cream, though. Priorities! He turned and glared back over his shoulder in the general vicinity of the door.
Now what?
He set the ice cream carefully down and shuffled, less than heroically, to the door and unlocked it. When he pulled it open and spied who was on the other side, he was tempted to close it again. Not because he didn't want to see Jay, but seeing Jay with a mysterious bag in hand sent his remember-the-squirrels sense tingling.
Fortunately, the bag did not appear to be squirming in any squirrel-like way.
Jay blinked. Nope. Marcus still looked like a hermit. No random miracle of a good grooming fairy visiting the knight. Or he was working on becoming the Biker Knight.
"Yes, it would be. I think you have the ice cream angle covered. Can I come in?"
The bag in his hand did not have a magical headgear in it, so it stayed as still as a normal item could be.
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nextgenerationmarvel2016-03-07 10:01 pm
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He continued going to college, but it was finals week. Despite the fact he should be studying, he slung his backpack over one shoulder and walked out of his mom's apartment.
Time to track down a sombrero, maybe.
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"Hey, hot stuff. You didn't answer my text, and I was nearby, so I thought I'd come and ask you in person. Wanna go grab lunch?"
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"Lunch sounds good, gorgeous. Lead the way. Though... a little slowly. So I don't knock someone into a ravenous pack of corgis."
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She put her hand on Jay's shoulder and hopped up to give him a kiss on the cheek.
"So. What are you in the mood for? Pizza? Burgers? Thai?"
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He tried to slip an arm around her waist. "Mm. Thai. Just stop me from getting Spiciness 10. I needed the green Pepto last time."
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Acrobatic was no problem for Liza, although she thought using her claw line to climb Jay was probably a little over the top.
"How's finals going?"
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He huffed out a breath. "They're going. I study hard and then have mind blanking panic at essay questions. Then I bullshit like mad. So, we'll see how that works."
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Or wherever those nude shots of big, green him got him. He shrugged.
"How're you doing?"
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Liza shrugged.
"Dad had to threaten him and his insurance company with a plague of boils. I think they wrote it off as an act of definitely-not-God."
Sometimes having Satan in the family was as good as having a lawyer.
"I've been pretty good. Winning friends and influencing people Defendering and in Hell's Kitchen. You know how it goes."
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"Defenders have been doing more lately, huh?" The Hellkitten in Hell's Kitchen never ceased to amuse Jay. That part of town seemed to draw in justice-minded redheads. Though his arm around her waist try to pull her a little closer.
Both of them had bits they didn't like to lose control of. He couldn't help the concern more Defender action meant Liza's could come to the surface more easily.
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Liza let him pull her closer, and snuggled in.
"Well. Sorta. Maybe. There's been an increase in demon-y magic stuff lately, but nobody knows what's going on yet."
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It was a valid concern. Daimon Hellstrom was a very different person to deal with than Peter Parker. Jay didn't wear underoos of him as a kid for starters.
"Demon-y magic?" Jay was more accustomed to spirits more than angels and demons. "Does that... uhm."
How does one ask if a demon locked inside got roused for murder death kill without getting an elbow into the ribs?
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Liza gave him a look.
"You mean the B word? It's interested. But, it wants out all the time, so no big. Nothing I can't handle."
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He never underestimated his mother's abilities. Particularly ones honed in a court of law. He was walking around free instead of in a jail cell on the rez after all.
"I don't use the B word," he commented dryly. Unless there was a giant lizard that killed people with a look in front of him. From the look he just got from Liza, she obviously wasn't one. "Sorry. Just concerned is all."
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Liza gave him yet another look, then sighed.
"I know, you worry, and it's sweet. But it is what it is, the B word is gonna attach itself to someone, and better me than someone who has no idea how to handle it. Or doesn't mind letting it out to play."
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He got another look, a sigh, and labeled sweet. He was falling into the nice guy trap. And his girlfriend still had a murder demon attached to her. Time to...
"So, Thai food. What're you getting?"
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"But at least I know I don't have to steal anything exciting off your plate."
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They were too dangerous, they said. They attracted too many powerful enemies, they said. And as much as they had advocated for themselves, for all the voices that had risen up in support, a dozen more shouted them down.
Almost as soon as the ink was dry on the order to disband, SWORD had approached him with an offer.
Now, he was living up on one of their space stations, acting as a first response against extraterrestrial excursions. Along with the occasional super-villain.
It felt like he was doing something, at least. Plus, it gave him time to work on his art.
He hadn't seen Sara face to face in a while, but he did keep in touch. Usually by text. Cell signals didn't exactly work real well from space.
Saw the X-Men in the news today. Glad to hear things are going well.
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Hey! Things have been, well, weird. I swear some guy was following me and Angel this morning taking pictures on his phone.
How are you doing?
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Did you have to EMP his phone?
Doing all right. Turned back a Badoon warship this morning, but nothing fancy.
Got a three day vacation coming up next weekend. You free?
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I am totally free. You coming down? I can take the Blackbird if you want to stay up there.
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Definitely coming down. Be nice to be in gravity without having to worry about Skrulls or Kree.
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Can't wait to see you.
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Miss you so much.
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While her boss doesn't care who she is, she's started dying her hair and wearing contacts, changing her eyes to brown. Hair of the week? Jet black with purple streaks. The guys at the garage think it's a great change, she's thinking red hair in a few weeks.
Today though? Is the first time in three months she's pulled the bike out. Currently she's headed west, debating heading through PA, or shooting south, all she knows is the city feels too stuffy. Maybe, it's actually time to go back home to California for a bit. Not that there's anything there for an ex-hero in training with a cyberpunk to an alien bike.
no subject
They do, however, retreat to tiny apartments on the edge of the city and drown their sorrows in pints of Ben & Jerry's. The balcony was large enough for Aether to come and go without fuss, although he did fuss. Marcus wasn't in the flying or heroing mood lately and his noble steed had some very pointed thoughts on that. Marcus ignored them.
Today, he was camped out on the balcony in a reclining deck chair... a pint of Peanut Butter Cookie Core ice cream in one hand and a crossword puzzle book in the other. The beard he sported was rapidly leaving 'man pain' and approaching 'homeless', but hey, at least he showered!
no subject
Though he couldn't track the knight by his scent at the moment, he did spot a clean hobo relaxing way up on Marcus's balcony. Jay went to the front door and knocked loud.
no subject
Now what?
He set the ice cream carefully down and shuffled, less than heroically, to the door and unlocked it. When he pulled it open and spied who was on the other side, he was tempted to close it again. Not because he didn't want to see Jay, but seeing Jay with a mysterious bag in hand sent his remember-the-squirrels sense tingling.
Fortunately, the bag did not appear to be squirming in any squirrel-like way.
"Is it too much to hope that that is ice cream?"
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"Yes, it would be. I think you have the ice cream angle covered. Can I come in?"
The bag in his hand did not have a magical headgear in it, so it stayed as still as a normal item could be.