Posts by kdiggy

//looks good to me!

"again." isab'la knit her brows together, staring at the car in the empty parking lot across from her. she ground her teeth together and, a moment later, the car shot in the air and hovered ten feet of the ground, dropping with a loud crash a moment later as the brunette spun around on her heel with a proud and bright smile on her face. j'onn smiled softly, rubbing the top of her head affectionately. "you've made great progress." the familiar ringing of his justice league pager filled the night time air and The Martian turned away, answering it promptly. isab'la leaned it, recognizing the voice of batman almost immediately. what could he want at this hour? maybe another mission? if that was the case, she hoped that her father would let her come with him. martian manhunter was always far too protective even though she was far from being helpless. lost in her thoughts, the girl forgot to listen to the conversation and j'onn turned back towards her. his face seemed somewhat pained, though a moment after the expression was gone. "we have to talk."

a team made exclusively up of teenagers who would lead missions of their own? at first, isab'la didn't believe her mentor, or rather father, when he told her. he seemed incredibly reluctant to reveal information about the team. he chalked it up to him wanting to keep her safe, and if she was on another team he might not always be there when she needed him. to that, she responded that he had trained her well and that she could take care of herself. besides, there would be others there to watch her back. they both knew that it was too late to turn back as they arrived to the mountain, floating down from the sky. "it would be easier for you to expand your powers if you didn't focus so much energy into keeping your skin from turning green," j'onn said as they touched down back on solid ground, isab'la's entire face turning bright red. she scratched the back of her neck sheepishly, giving him an embarrassed smile. "green skin isn't really a normal earth color. i just want to fit in with everyone else and not scare them off during first impressions." deciding not to press the issue any longer, the two entered mount justice, exposing a whole new world to the young martian.

isab'la looked around with an awestruck expression, unconsciously following after her father as he lined up with the others. one other pair had arrived before them. she recognized the man as green arrow as his costume was incredibly recognizable, and she assumed the girl was his sidekick. she gave a friendly smile, tucking a strand of light brown hair behind her ear and turning her attention towards batman as he spoke. the more he spoke, the more excited she found herself becoming. martian manhunter was incredibly stiff beside her and she took a brief moment to squeeze his arm to comfort him. they would be doing mission! this was the most excited she had been in a long time and bright smile was very evident across her face. two other pairs had entered the room while the dark knight had spoken. one included black canary and a guy who didn't seem quite as excited to be there as she was, and the other included beast boy and a much friendlier looking sidekick who seemed to reflect her own sentiments.

after the speech was done, j'onn turned towards isab'la, opening his mouth to say something before shaking his head. "i'll be right back." with that, he turned to join the other members of the justice league in conversation. the first of the sidekicks to move was the boy who came with beast boy. he wasted no time introducing himself, causing a smile to appear once again on her face. she was quick to follow in his footsteps, looking at the three others with a soft smile. "my name's isab'la j'onzz, daughter of j'onn j'onzz," she mused, laughing slightly. "but i guess my earth name would be isabella jones." while she knew that most people were okay with her father, she always felt uncomfortable sharing that she was an alien. people were usually quick to make assumptions, though she pushed the thought away and kept a friendly smile on her face.

"speaking"

connor breathed sharply out of his mouth as he punched the bag, a bead of sweat dripping down his face. images of his fighting days flashed in his mind as he punched harder, breathing harsh from the exertion. it was soon that his breathing piqued due to stress as well, eyes becoming clouded in pain and memories. everything was interrupted by a warm hand placed on his shoulder and connor whirled around, fisting heading towards whoever's face was in the way. the warm hand wasted no time catching his throw, the blond soon coming to his senses as he stood before wildcat, or rather ted grant, who owned the gym he and canary trained in. he was a veteran hero and had even trained dinah. now, he was helping the young boy get past his questionable past. "whoah there, son," ted said, moving connor's fist from the air with an understanding get firm expression. "it's a good thing that was me." not saying anything, connor began to unwrap his fists and stretch his arms over his head. "dinah was looking for you earlier. said something about some new team." this caught his attention and connor looked back towards wild cat, eyebrows raised. "is she finally gonna let me join a mission?" to that, ted shrugged his shoulders and walked away, wishing him luck as he went through the door. black canary had always been hesitant about connor joining her on a mission. he had a tendency to go overboard and was still very new to the superhero life. hell, she had only pulled him off the street a little over a year ago. with curiosity running through his veins and running a hand through his sweat soaked hair, connor went to find his mentor.

"just remember, connor; play nice. you get one chance. mess that up and you're out," dinah had instructed as they entered mount justice, connor easily keeping up with her quick pace. adrenaline pounded in his veins, though he made sure that the excitement didn't show on his face. there was no way he was going to mess this up for himself. there were already people in the room and several superheroes that he recognized by description. his blue eyes immediately went to batman and he couldn't help by scoff. batman didn't have the best rep where he was from. the slums didn't get much attention and the crime there was often left unsolved. still, he didn't make a move to confront and instead gave the infamous hero a steely gaze until canary elbowed him in the ribs. hard. despite their size difference, she could certainly hold her own. in fact, connor had only ever beat her once and that was fluke.

dinah gave him a rather pointed look as she left to join the other adults and connor rolled his eyes. though they had only known each other a short time, they had gotten rather close. it was her who facilitated his mothers transport and he would forever owe her for that. while their relationship wasn't that of a parental figure, they did have a special bond. they respected each other and that was enough. connor took a moment to glance around at the other sidekicks, taking them in a making mental notes about them. there was a redhead, green arrows protege, who didn't seem like she had been paying much attention to what batman had been saying. he could already tell that she knew how this went. the other girl who had arrived with martian manhunter was didn't seem to share his green skin seemed thrilled to be there. while he wanted to assume that she was a martian, it was impossible to tell what he abilities might be. the last sidekick, the other guy, was also excited to be there. connor assumed he was a shape shifter like his mento and watched as he walked over to them with a smile. ah, so they were doing introductions now.

dakota and isab'la. the redhead had yet to say anything and he was getting expectant looks so he sighed. running some fingers through his flopped blonde hair, connor opened his mouth to speak. "connor mckeller. mamba." with his curiosity getting the better of him and not wanting to waste any time dancing around the subject, the tall young man spoke again. "so, what kind of freakshows are you guys? i'm an earthquake in human form that can kick your ass and feel nothing in the process." he said this incredibly casually, reaching into his pocket to pull out his cigarettes when he made eye contact with dinah who slid her finger across her throat in a threatening way. message received. connor let the carton slip pack into his pocket.

"speaking"

//we should probably decide what their first mission is and make that the next big thing

isab'la kept a small smile on her face, though her eyes shone with childlike excitement. this was more than she could have ever asked for! now that she knew what the others names were, she felt as though she were on a real team. the fact that all their personalities were so different made things even better. however, her smile faltered slightly as connor said the word "freak show." this definitely struck a nerve. all her life, isab'la had been super insecure about her true form. she had always hidden it, and not simply because it kept her identity somewhat hidden. the girl became uncharacteristically quiet, choosing to simply listen to what the others said. aurora also seemed to dislike the term freak show, though she said nothing about it. the brunette could already tell the connor wasn't used to working with people which could make things a bit interesting considering they were supposed to be a team that would take on the covert missions the justice league couldn't. despite her discomfort, isab'la couldn't help but be impressed with what they could all do, not to mention that they had probably used their abilities in the field. she couldn't say much for herself. her father had kept her very sheltered, only allowing her to test out her abilities when they were together in a secure environment. it helped her learn, sure, though she didn't get to experience a whole lot that way. this would be different.

it didn't take long for everyone else to share their powers and soon she could feel all their eyes on her. isab'la's cheeks turned bright red and she laughed nervously, scratching the back of her neck. "well, i'm a martian, so i have the powers associated with that." she pursed her lips slightly, realizing that this didn't offer much explanation. what better way to share than to show them? in not even a second, the girl began lifting off the ground and into the air. "i'm still getting used to things and my dad has been doing his best. i don't even know what i'm capable of, so i guess you'll be there to learn with me." her feet slowly found their way back to the ground once again. maybe one day she would show them what she really looked at, though that could wait until they knew each other a bit better. "but i promise you that i'm just like a normal earth girl besides that! i basically grew up here, anyways," she quickly blurted, laughing nervously. she really had to get over that insecurity.

"speaking"

connor wasn't going to lie, their powers were all what he had expected as soon as he had seen their mentors. green arrow had a habit of bringing troubled kids under his wing and teaching him his trade so that wasn't shocking. beast boy probably wouldn't be too much use as a mentor to someone who couldn't shape shift, either. as far as the isab'la girl went, she was martian manhunters' daughter for gods sake. even if she wasn't green, she was still a martian. this was going to be an interesting lineup. all he had wanted was to go on a mission with canary and she stuck him here. when she had first told him, he had been on his way out of the room in protest when she swept his legs and caused him to fall on his back. that was usually how things were resolved with them, and they both had secured several bruises and sore limbs over the year they had been working together. and now he was stuck here. was all of that for nothing? no, he refused to believe that. as stubborn as dinah was, she wouldn't waste his time. all he had to do now was sit and wait for something to come up.

"what now, then? are we supposed to sit around here on our asses until they decide they need us?" connor crossed his arms over his chest, gesturing over to the justice league member with his head who seemed to be finishing up their conversation. he took a moment to look around the space, nodding slightly. "at least it's a nice place. nicer than i've ever been in, at least." dinah had set him up in her old apartment when she found him and, while it was clean, it wasn't the fanciest. still, he was grateful for it, though didn't let her know that. he had to keep up his tough guy front somehow, after all, though his mentor had quickly chipped past that.

"speaking"

NAME / NICKNAMES 

AGE & DATE OF BIRTH 

GENDER & SEX cisgender female with feminine pronouns

SEXUALITY bisexual/romantic

PERSONALITY description here

LIKES here

DISLIKES here

HEADCANNONS here

//hope this is alright! my first post is never quite my best lol

when she had first heard that she would be flying to cairo to meet up with some archaeologist, she was excited to be sure. however, when it was revealed that she would be doing this in preparation of a new show that was being produced, elliot had literally jumped and screamed in the living room of her apartment. it was what she had been dreaming of for years and what she had envisioned when she went into journalism. no more fluff pieces on puppy parades or analytical pieces on the stock market. she was finally getting a chance to do something she was passionate about. of course, when someone is excited for something, they typically start planning right away and that is exactly when elliot had done. the woman had done research, looked for supplies, and the like. she had a suitcase packed a month before she actually boarded the plane. sure, that might have been a little much, but she was ready to get out of the city and do something worthwhile.

the entire plane ride was a complete blur, though this could have in part been due to the pill she had taken prior to take off as elliot didn't due well with heights. still, there was enough adrenaline and excitement running through her veins to last a full lifetime. elliot certainly looked the part of someone about to partake in an expedition. she had selected a pair of tan cargo pants, brown boots, and a dark gray tank top. the woman's blonde hair was left down for the flight, though she had the means to pull it off of her neck if she got too overheated. this was by far the most exciting and liberating thing she had ever done. hopefully it would all be worth it, and hopefully this dr. lynch wasn't a complete asshole. she had done some research on the famed archaeologist and had to say that she was very impressed. his findings were amazing and she would be lucky to be a part of something as big as his other ventures. before long, a tan jeep pulled into the airport ready to take her to her future.

throughout the car ride, she made conversation with her driver, laughing at his jokes and telling each other stories. it gave her a chance to test out her arabic skills on someone who wouldn't be condescending if she messed something up. he regaled her with stories about Egypt and stories about shayne lynch. it was good insight and elliot was scribbling in her notebook all the while. seemingly no time had passed before she was told that they had arrived and the car came to a stop. it was then that she believed her excitement to reach its peak, composing herself to step out of the vehicle and peer around the camp. having never really seen a picture of him, she hardly knew what to look for. however, an irish accent from behind her caused a broad smile to appear on the blonde's face as she turned around to greet him.

at first, she was slightly surprised. elliot had fully expected an older man with graying hair. instead, she was face to face, or rather face to chest, with some only a few years older than herself. "i'm the journalist who's going to be working with you, yes," she replied, a friendly smirk appearing on her lips as she firmly shook the treasure hunters' hand. first impressions were key and she wasn't going to have herself painted as some straggler desperate for an interview. "my name's elliot hayes. i've been looking forward to meeting you for, God, months now? i still can't quite believe that i'm here." elle brushed a strand out of her face and behind her ear, genuine smile across her face as she looked up at ireland. it wasn't too hard to tell that he wasn't exactly jumping for joy that she was here. well, not that she could blame him, though elliot was determined to not get in his way. "anyways, I'm ready for the next step. just tell me what to do, and I'll do it! I want to be fully immersed in this whole experience." excitement flashed in her dark brown eyes as she stood up a little taller, determined thoughts spinning in her mind. it was time to prove her worth.

"speaking"

//I agree! that all sounds perfect to me! and I think that I'll make the bioship a gift from martian manhunter

before isab'la could say another word, green arrow was walking over and bombarding them with a heap of new information. they would be living at mount justice as a team? the girl briefly made eye contact with her father, though he didn't look at her and still looked rather tense. she sighed to herself, looking away. living with the team was the cherry on top. she had already been excited about even being a part of a team, and now they were getting the full treatment. plus, it would be nice to branch off on her own and make a name for herself instead of simply being j'onn j'onzz's daughter. and, to add more, she was going to attend a normal highschool! a bright smile formed on her face, eyes shining with anticipation. isab'la had never gone to a real school before as her powers had been far too uncontrollable. with the training she now had under her belt, she knew she would be fine. as soon as batman started to speak, the martian's heart began to beat uncontrollably in her chest.

she didn't think she had ever listened to something so intently in her life. an actual mission. dread and excitement fought for dominance in her mind as she clenched her fists by her side. she only unclenched her fist to retrieve one of the com devices examining it carefully and putting it in her ear to get used to the feeling. it was strange having a little device in your ear, but it came with the territory. at the name brick, isab'la began racking her name for information on him. she didn't know much, but from what she had heard from her father and the news, he was a large guy with a whole lot of strength. it made her nervous, but knowing there were three others to back her up made her feel a bit better about it. the trouble with transportation wasn't as much of a problem for her as she could fly, though she couldn't say the same for connor and aurora. however, before she could offer any suggestions, j'onn spoke up. "I feel as though I can help with transportation," he began, stepping forward to stand beside green arrow and batman. he looked to his daughter, sending her a nod. "I'm gifting isab'la with the bioship. with practice, she'll be able to camouflage it as well as fly it." isab'la looked at him at a loss, not really knowing what to say. "thank you, dad. I don't know what to say," was all she managed, eyes wide.

"speaking"

so, he would be living with three other teenaged heroes. connor made eye contact with dinah who shrugged her shoulders, a smug smile across her face. she was enjoying this, he could tell. they would be having a serious conversation later, though he knew that he wouldn't deny the offer to be on the team. as much as he wanted to do missions on his own, he owed dinah this much. she had practically flipped his life around entirely, something that was completely priceless. as batman passed around the ear pieces, connor casually grabbed them, still making intense eye contact with the masked hero. instead of putting it in his ear, the blond quickly pocketed it, rolling his shoulders to relieve some of the tension and running his fingers through his hair once more in a nonchalant way that said 'I was forced to be here, don't talk to be.' dinah always said he had an attitude problem and she wasn't wrong. it just so happened that she couldn't beat it out of him. can't beat something out that was beat in long ago. he was snapped out of his uncaring daze by the mention of a mission. brick? he had heard that name before. saw him at the underground fighting rings some time, but had never actually gone toe to toe with them. they exchanged challenging looks one time, however, when he was around 14. brick had simply laughed in his face. it would be nice to get a little be of revenge after that.

the mention of transportation means also wrapped him in. two out of four could fly, leaving himself and the redheaded chic to go it alone. her mention of two seats on her bike made him scoff. "sorry, but you're not my type." a petty little jab, though he had to keep up his image. best not to get too attached to people when they hadn't even gone through a mission yet. however, before he could say any more, manhunter responded saying that they now had the bioship. that was handy. next came the decision about the leader. dakota shot out that he didn't want it, and isab'la looked down at the ground. it was between him and aurora. a smirk appeared on his face as he thought about challenging, stepping forward, but stopping as if just remembering that he didn't care too much. "looks like the honors all yours, red."

//this is me apologizing for connor being such an asshat. I thought it would create some good character progression lol

"speaking"

isab'la glanced between connor and aurora, eyes widened in worry. they definitely didn't like each other. still, the martian was prepared to get between them if the claws came out. things only get worse when the talk of a leader came up, and she had to say that she was not expecting connor to give it up so easily. if only she could see into his mind to see what he was thinking, though she hadn't developed that skill enough to be discreet about it. besides, that was a serious violation of privacy, anyways. luckily, further argument was interrupted by her father leading the ragtag team to the hangar, a smile of familiarity morphing on her face as she saw the martian ship. while she had never actually been to mars, seeing something of her people made her more comfortable on earth. "welcome to the bioship!" she proclaimed, standing proudly as she overlooked the awe struck faces. even connor, as guarded as he was, seemed taken aback by the vehicle. looking to j'onn for permission and only moving when she received a nod, isab'la lifted a hand and the bioship expanded to its full size. turning her head, the girl sent a warm smile towards aurora as she stood beside her. it was nice to feel needed and this might have been the first time she had experienced something like that.

happy to explain, isab'la took a step forward. "it's all organic," she started, obviously passionate about the ship itself. realizing that this didn't really answer any questions, the martian continued. "that means that it can respond to my mental commands, just like my clothes whenever I shift forms." as if demonstrating, she looked to aurora and, in the blink of an eye, looked exactly like her. the next second, she was back to her normal form. "the controls are on the inside. it helps to be able to move things with a thought, but theoretically anyone can fly it with practice." isab'la smiled brightly at the others, turning her head to listen to kota's question to her father. j'onn gestured to her to answer and she nodded her head. "well, like I said, it's organic. I can change its molecules using the same methods I use for myself. since I can become camouflaged, so can the ship." her face turned bright red as she realized how much she had been talking, laughing softly. "I might have gotten a bit over excited." the brunette chose to ignore the scoff coming from connor, keeping a smile on her face instead.

"speaking"

connor hadn't backed down as aurora took a step towards him, instead looking rather amused. did she think that he was scared of her? compared to what he had faced in the pit, she was nothing. the martian girl didn't even scare him. rolling his eyes, he followed after martian manhunter as he led them to the hangar it had better be an impressive ship or else this wasn't even worth it. the blond let out a short snort as aurora pushed past him, arching an eyebrow with a small smirk. maybe this would be interesting after all. he glanced towards dinah who was watching him like a hawk, obviously fuming. in response, he casually shrugged his shoulders, dug in his pocket, and stuck a toothpick in his mouth. as soon as they approached the ship, however, the toothpick dropped to the ground. this was certainly not something from earth. obviously martian, especially since little miss mars was able to move it so easily with a wave of her hand. connor half listened to her explanation, crossing her arms as she went on and on about it, barely hiding his scoff. she barely noticed, or pretended not to, and the blond got impatient.

"the more time we spend sitting here doing nothing but showing off, the more time brick has to smuggle things into the city." his eyes flashed with some kind of emotion before it was quickly gone. smuggling never went well. the people at the bottom always seemed to suffer for it and they already went through enough. he couldn't even count how many times smuggled weapons had hurt the people around him, or even smuggled people. he had met a girl in the fighting ring who had been smuggled from europe just so her owner could make money from her victories. it was sick. isab'la slowly nodded her head, hesitantly lifting her hand so the door and ramp to the bioship opened, ready to be boarded. he pulled his mask out of her pocket and placed it on his face, glancing back at dinah. her look said it all; don't make this harder. work together. yeah, sure. "let's finish this while we're still young." with that, he stalked into the ship, not bothering to see if they were following him.

"speaking"

isab'la watched helplessly as connor stalked onto the ship, pursing her lips slightly. they would warm up to each other, right? before walking on board herself, she turned towards her father and gave him a quick embrace. before he could say a word, she turned around and went up the ramp to join the others. the ship was a very familiar place. consisting of several dark blue and red tones, it was a comforting hull. the girl glanced down at her outfit, looking towards the others who already had their uniforms on. isab'la herself had on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, hardly a crime fighting outfit. well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. closing her eyes and furrowing her eyebrows, her human appearance melted away to reveal green skin and her team uniform, matching the red of the ship perfectly. it was obvious that she felt uncomfortable in her own skin, pardon the pun, though she pushed that aside and took her seat in the pilots chair. she moved her hands to her sides, and the controls came out from the floor. they looked like glowing light blue orbs and she positioned her hands above them. this wasn't the first time she had flown the ship, though there was plenty of pressure on her to not mess it up.

as soon as aurora asked if she had the coordinates, isab'la nodded with determination in her eyes. "got them. red tornado, open the hangar doors," she said and, on cue, the metal doors creaked open. she took a deep breath in, making sure everyone was seated and strapped in, before the ship smoothly lifted off the ground and went through the doors. just like riding a bike. as she flew the jet, she listened carefully to striker's plan, nodding her head as she listened to the details. when dakota suggested they would go in from the right, she vocalized her agreement. her camouflaging abilities were not completely controlled and it was probably best for the two who were used to recon to scout the area. she would be around when it was time to go at brick. while isab'la had never been in a fight with someone outside of training, she was one of the few that could probably go head to head with the giant stone man. hopefully she was ready for it. "I'll bring us down just outside the docs," she chipped in, concentrating as she cloaked the bioship as it lowered towards the rendezvous point. so far, so good.

"speaking"

as soon as he was on board the ship, connor sat down in one of the chairs, watching with slight shock as the straps secured him in automatically. probably another piece of martian technology. the boy casually leaned back, putting his feat up on the dashboard in front of his seat, and watched as the others finally joined him on the ship. something he wasn't expecting was for isab'la to turn green, though he didn't much react. after all, martian manhunter was green and he was her father. once everyone was on the ship, connor quietly hid the fact that he was gripping his seat as the bioship rose into the sky. though the martian girl seemed pretty decent at flying it, he wasn't one for metal or "organic" ships that moved in the sky. in fact, connor had never been on any type of plane up until now, though he said nothing about it. it's not like it was important anyways. there were more pressing situations to deal with, specifically stopping brick from smuggling any more illegal items into star city. the blond took a deep breath in, thankful for the mask that helped obscure his facial expressions from the rest of the team.

connor was half listening to aurora's plan and half figuring out a plan all his own. he wanted to be the one to take out brick and nothing was going to stop him from digging his knee into the villains face. most likely, he would have plenty of goons either guarding him or facilitating the smugglings. that meant a fair bit of resistance and, as far as fire power went, their heavy hitters were miss martian and wild card. full of conflict would need to be avoided until they were all touched down on the ground. in the back of his mind, a voice was reminding him that he had his own tricks, though he pushed it further down. using his shockwave abilities would be dangerous, especially on the dock. who knew if there were innocent people being smuggled. no, that was a last resort. when aurora asked if there were any concerns, his head shot up. there was a hint of rebellion in his eyes, obviously still a priority for him as he had yet to put in his earpiece, though there was also a spark of tactical intelligence. though he wasn't the smartest in an academic sense, street smarts had always come easy to him. "I know you think you're pretty hot shit, but I'm not gonna save your ass if you bite off more than you can chew." the young man stood up as the ship landed, adjusting the black batons on his belt, glancing around at everyone. "this isn't gonna be some pretty fight with some high level baddie. this is real life. it's gonna be messy. I know messy so I hope you can keep up." this time, his piercing blue gaze landed on striker, eyes narrowing back at her. with his black suit and blond hair, connor did look like a male black canary minus the fishnets, though with an ounce more of attitude. he grew up fighting on the streets and this was no different in his mind.

"speaking"

//thank you sm! I'm really looking forward to this concept!

elliot adjusted her crossbody satchel, putting her notepad and pen back inside of it from her ride over to the camp. she was sure that by the end of all this, the pages would be completely filled with information and, hopefully, it would set her on the right path to having her own show where she could educate people on what she was passionate about. that was the dream, anyways, and shayne played a huge role in making sure that dream became a reality. well, that and her ability to document and tell a decent story. she wasn't too worried about that, though, as people tended to eat these things up, especially when they involved dashing and charming treasure hunters. not that she thought he was dashing, of course. god, she needed to stop overthinking things. "well, in my line of work you have to be raring to go to get anywhere. I'm sure you can understand more than anyone, going to foreign countries, delving into mysterious rain forests..." elliot trailed off slightly as they began walking, once again mentally scolding herself for droning on. first day jitters, she supposed. they would pass soon enough and she could only hope that shayne knew that, too.

the woman kept pace with him, taking some time to glance around to see several people packing things up. it seemed she would get exactly what she wanted as they were gearing up to leave. she was snapped out of her curious daze as shayne began explaining what would be happening over the course of the expedition. sensing this was important, elliot quickly dug through her bag and fished out her notebook, scribbling brief notes of what he told her. egypt to india, then to afghanistan where we will be flown to our final destination. the flying certainly did not sound appealing, especially since she assumed that it would not be a commercial flight. well, she did say that she wanted the full experience. before she could ask any follow up questions, he had already disappeared into the tent, leaving elliot with her thoughts for a brief moment. she hadn't brought a camera just for the sake of less bulk and instead planned on filming on her cell phone. the blonde had taken extra care to bring extra battery packs in case she needed to charge and there were no outlets as they would be, well, in the middle of the jungle. something about what he said did catch her attention, however, and she scribbled it under her other notes. extra business? what other business did he need to attend? deciding not to ask too many prying questions within the first ten minutes of knowing each other, she instead pulled out her phone and snapped a quick picture of the camp. when they had a moment, she would do an entry into the tape recorder that she had brought.

a moment later, dr. lynch appeared out of his tent with a cowboy hat and a pistol. her gaze went to the pistol, but it was more curiosity on her face than any sign of fear. she supposed it was better to be safer than sorry. who knew what kind of animals were lurking among the trees. elliot herself had always wanted to learn how to handle a gun, though her father was fiercely adamant that she would do no such thing. so, the journalist had to rely on the movies and the occasional piece she wrote. the man grabbed a bullwhip from nearby before speaking again, her excitement growing once more. "as long as it's no trouble, of course! seeing the city would do wonders for perspective on the piece. that, and I spent the last couple months drowning myself in basic arabic. it would be a shame if I didn't get to use it." as she spoke, she turned her body so that she continued facing him, large smile across her lips as possibilities swirled in her mind. something that always made historical or archaeological pieces shine was making it feel authentic and real. she had been planning on asking if they would be stopping in any major city, but it seemed she didn't have to.

elliot put her things away once more, smoothing her tank top subconsciously and tilted her head to the side. it was obvious that he was thinking something over, though not being able to see his expression didn't make it easy to guess what it could be. suddenly, he turned around, taking her slightly off guard with the sudden movement and the question. elle couldn't help but laugh, smiling in amusement as she scratched the back of her neck sheepishly. "I made myself a promise before I came out here not to buy anything unnecessary, you know? I don't want to be dead weight that you have to drag along. but if I see an ancient and tattered old map that probably leads to the middle of nowhere, all bets are off," she joked, smile growing more into a humorous smirk. elliot had easily taken note of the more forced smile that the archaeologist had put on his face and she thought it appropriate to lighten the mood. being a journalist made her rather perceptive as far as body language and nonverbal cues was all. clearing her throat and slightly embarrassed at her sorry attempt at humor, elliot gave a firm nod. "ready when you are, ireland," she said, testing out the nicknames. part of her was incredibly glad that he didn't make her call him dr. lynch. formalities always made for uncomfortable situations. "I'll follow your lead. you tell me to jump, I say how high."

"speaking"

//don't you even worry about it! power play my characters as much as you want lol it's been a while for me too :/

the tension in the ship was suffocating and isab'la didn't need to read anyones mind to know that aurora and connor were not the most fond of each other. considering that they had known each other less than a day was actually impressive. she would have expected that they had been enemies for years. suddenly the realization dawned on her; they would be living together. she suppressed a groan and she herself rose to her feet, seatbelts retracting, and knit her eyebrows together. at least dakota didn't seem to have a mean bone in his body. the boy reflected her own sentiments in a vocal way and isab'la sighed softly, shaking her head. "it has to work. this is our first mission, we can't afford to mess it up," she started, running her fingers through her light brown hair. "at least we're here to clean up any messes!" this time, her voice had picked up its normal cheerfulness once more, a smile on her face as she adjusted the comm in her ear. the smile fell slightly as she saw the brief shock in dakota's eyes for seeing her green skin, though the shock soon transferred to her own face as he quickly bounced back and even called it cool. a softer smile replaced her once over excited one, clearly appreciative, as she also looked over the crates surrounding them.

aurora's voice in her head surprised her, almost expecting the redhead to also have telepathic abilities, before she remembered the small device. probably better that way, anyways. "right behind you, wild card," isab'la responded, feeling giddy at the thought of having her own codename and being able to use the alias's of her teammates. she finally had a place where she could belong. as dakota lifted into the air, so did she, using her own camouflaging technique so that she was nearly invisible. people were far more likely to overlook a red bird than a levitating green girl, after all. in the air, she could see brick and was shocked at how big he was. and that was all superhuman muscle. if anyone could see her face, they would see plain old fear. get a hold of yourself, isab'la. you'd be able to take that guy with your eyes closed, she told herself, pushing on after Dakota. there were two guards, and- and wild card was now a tiger. pushing away her fear, she quickly lowered so she was inches above the ground and a few feet away from the other guard. he began reaching for his gun and isab'la seemed to appear from thin air, eyes glowing as she raised her hand, the gun flying from his grip. the man came running at her and, without breaking much of a sweat, she raised both hands toward him and an invisible force went flying at the goon knocking him into a nearby container that now had a human sized dent. isab'la's feet touched down on the ground and she resisted the urge to yell from excitement, turning around to face wild card with a smile from ear to ear. "did you see that?! I can't believe it!" she got out, making sure that she spoke in a strained whisper.

"speaking"

//hehe I really hope so. i've kinda fallen in love with his character now and want to him justice! him and aurora are gonna have some killer interactions. also I think connor, during the fight with brick, is gonna go a little awol since he has a slight personal vendetta but end up getting his ass handed to him so he has to work more as a team player to finish the mission

connor only gave her an annoyed grunt in response as he followed her off of the ship, ducking behind a crate without missing a beat. he nimbly made his way forward, feet making no noise which was surprising considering he was not a small person. in both height and in muscle, the boy was quite considerable, but he made stealth and recon look easy. he risked a glance over towards aurora, seeing that she was doing the exact same thing yet further away. good, it was better than way. he wouldn't be able to focus with a bunch of amateurs bugging him the whole time. they had a decent vantage point where they were, a clear view of where brick was operating his smuggling ring for the night. still, of course, he wasn't alone. brick was impossible to miss of course, and they he just had to count how many goods. however, before he could conclude on a number, aurora appeared beside him. connor scowled, glancing at her for a brief second before returning his gaze to the enemy. six, she said. one, two, three... "there's seven," he corrected, tone not very forgiving, as he pointed towards a large metal shipping crate and a good exiting it holding more smuggled crates. he gave her an annoyingly cocky grin, proud of himself, and continued observing the scene before them. however, life had other plans.

taking note of the movement just about the same time as aurora, connor quickly leaped to his feet, watching as she dealt with the two goons. his face showed no emotion and he rolled his eyes at the look he gave her. then, without missing a beat, he unclipped one of his batons and acted as though he were about to hit his own teammate with it. however, it flew from his hand and over her left shoulder, connecting to a third goons forehead and knocking him out hold as he aimed a gun at the red head. "fucking ridiculous," he muttered, the baton flying back into his hand due to magnet technology canary had procured for him. with that, the blond turned back towards where brick stood, moving towards the left side without a word to his temporary partner. she said that she knew what she was doing so there was no need to communicate the plan she had come up with. all he could think about was the satisfaction of knocking brick on his ass and nothing would get in his way.

"speaking"

frankie's attention was grabbed by someone else entering the room, turning to see who it was. it was a girl she didn't recognize along with a woman she recognized very well. black widow went to join the other avengers and, once again, frankie felt as though none of this was real. her attention turned back towards ethan, a bit surprised that he was actually asking her engaging and personal questions. this didn't happen very often and, if she decided to act like she normally would in such situations, she would have likely mumbled and walked away. however, as this was to be her new team apparently, the girl decided that it would be best to put extra effort into forming relationships with the people she would be working with. "actually, yeah. it's short for francesca, but I've always felt frankie fit me a bit better." she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, smiling softly as she tried to get more comfortable. it was working a little, and she felt a bit more at ease in the room than she had before. she would have to remember to thank ethan later when they had a moment.

before she knew it, ethan introducing himself and herself to the new girl in the room who seemed a little annoyed that her subtle cover was blown. that frustration was short lived, however, and she began to speak. frankie gave her a soft smile and small wave in greeting, allowing ethan to speak. when he mentioned his powers, she turned her head to look at him, eyes wide with amazement. for a brief moment, she had forgotten that they all had abilities in some shape or form. in fact, frankie often forgot that people outside of the avengers even had powers. ethan could actually fly and had actual wings. that was amazing! amber spoke next and didn't reveal any powers, if she had any, though being able to assist with SHIELD and the avengers alone was pretty amazing. that, and she and black widow seemed to be familiar. the girl was still caught up in her thoughts when she was asked about her own abilities, cheeks turning bright red from embarrassment that she couldn't help. "ah! I'm a telepath and telekinetic... reading minds, moving objects, manipulating psychic energy, and the like," she started, smiling softly through her embarrassment. "not that I'll read any of your minds, of course!" frankie quickly shot out, looking briefly worried. some people were wary when it came to knowing a telepath and she would never go through someones mind without permission. however, there was also the incentive to not get a headache.

"speaking"

thor kept his muscles arms crossed over his broad shape, pouting slightly as he grumbled to himself. "I wasn't throwing a fit..." he took a second to look everyone over, trying his best to figure out personalities or even some kind of ability to no avail. he had noticed that natasha originally entered the room with one of the kids, though he didn't ask any questions before she too started to heckle him, the god of thunder knitting his eyebrows together. "who's spooked? kids don't spook me. they should be spooked by me." okay, that one didn't make much sense, though he would just have to go with it. the avengers loved to tease him, though he wasn't sure why. tony and natasha were two of the worst though, he could say that with certainty. the two soon started talking logistics and thor couldn't help but become distracted, dazing off and only hearing a few key words. this was absolutely ridiculous. couldn't they have gotten someone like clint to do this? he actually had kids and was probably a bit better with them than thor. sure, they were smaller, but they were still kids nonetheless.

the last time thor had been around kids, though they were younger, he had regaled them with a tale about one of his most daring and gruesome battles. it was in a classroom that he had gone to speak in and tony had told him that kids enjoy violence, so he didn't spare any details. there may have been some crying and thor, not really being the nurturing type, didn't know what to do. hopefully since they were older the new team would burst out crying during one of his stories. the mention of captain america drew thor back into the conversation and he glanced between natasha and tony. "why does rogers have permission to not be here?" he started, clearing his throat and shaking his head. that was a question for later. "I mean, yes stark. I agree with nat. what's the game plan here?"

"speaking"

isab'la halted her excitement at dakota's reminder, nodding her head and flexing her fists. her confidence levels had risen due to being successful in her first fight, though she had to be careful and not allow it to cloud her judgement. the martian swiftly followed wild card down into the thick of things, having taken the flying way, and carefully touched down on the ground. she could tell that some of the goons were taken aback by her appearance,4 though that didn't stop them from trying to take her out. the goons weren't too difficult for her. one would spray bullets in her direction and she would deflect them with a wave of her hand. the other would try to punch her, though she might catch their fist and throw them to the side. she was doing relatively well up until she heard striker yell her name, an arrow wizzing by her face to take out a particular goons gun. as far as a normal human, he was pretty big. he waved the sting of his gun being thrown away out of his hand, cracking his knuckles. this was about when the fear came back. a second later, he charged, and miss martian propelled herself in the air, but not before he managed to grab hold of her legs, slamming her into the ground hard enough to crack the concrete. that one hurt a little. still, there were some perks of being an martian and she quickly got back up, dodging his next hit gracefully. "my turn," she simply said, rearing back and slamming her fist into his chest. the man went flying, landing in the water a great distance away.

not wasting a moment to celebrate like before, isab'la quickly made her way over to aurora, creating a barrier against a barrage of bullets, eyes faintly glowing. she turned her head to watch connor and dakota taking quite the beating, her eyebrows knitting together. as far as physical strength went, brick and herself were probably evenly matched. "they can't beat him with regular hits like that," she got out, slightly worried for her other teammates. her adrenaline was pumping heavily through her veins as she sent kinetic blasts towards other goons, but her brain was beginning to feel exhausted. she knew that she was capable of more, though the only way she could explain it was like physical stamina. after a while of running, you just can't run anymore. "you're our leader. I need you to let me know when I should intervene. brick isn't going to get tired very easily doing this."

"speaking"

the time for stealth was over. brick knew that they were there and realized that his operation was in danger as soon as wild card and miss martian took out two of the guards. striker wasted no time in taking out some guards as well, though connor took a very different approach. he ignored the goons entirely, narrowly dodging when one swung at him. the familiar click of a gun sounded to his left and the baton went flying, knocking the weapon out of the mans hand. the entire time mamba's eyes were trained on brick and the villain realized this. instead of any fear, bricks mouth formed a cocky smile, knuckles cracking. "your days of smuggling are over," connor growled, baton coming back into his hand. brick smirk didn't disappear, though recognition flashed on his face. "I remember you. I saw you fighting in the pit in gotham." not dignifying him with an answer, connor launched one of his batons towards the villain, the weapon bouncing off harmlessly. then, they rushed each other. brick reached to grab him, though the blond evaded his grasp and sent a knee into his stomach. brick took a few steps back, recoiling from the blow, before laughing. connor held his ground, and they repeated the same moves for a while before brick managed to grab on of the teenagers arms. there was a sickening pop as his shoulder came out of its stomach and brick threw him to the side and into a metal shipping container, falling not he ground and leaving behind a dent. "shit," he muttered, spitting out blood as he rose to his feet, ignoring the pain of his shoulder.

before he could even get a coherent thought or move much away from the container, a red tiger came flying at his body, causing his to be thrown backwards once more. tigers were not light creatures. the breath was knocked out of his for a moment, shoulder pain intensifying as he grit his teeth. dakota shifted back into a person, some weight relieving, as the other boy scrambled up. connor glanced at the outstretched hand, instead deciding to ignore it as he stood up himself, hiding a grimace of pain. "I'm good," he got out, glaring daggers at brick. "we end this now."

"speaking"