exsilium | video.

Hi, I'm Kate Bishop, and I'm a superhero. [There's a pause before she goes on.] There's a chance that doesn't mean much to many of you. There may even be some of you questioning the legality of vigilantes, but I'm not the type that goes too far. There's a reason why we kind of prefer "superhero" over "vigilante" anyway. For those of you who do know them, I'm an Avenger. But that's meaningless here. And I'm not really here to ... brag, either.

[Her voice is warm either way. There's a reason why she's here.]

Back home, I've got a like-minded group that tends to go on missions like the ones here. I was hoping to form something like that. It won't be the same, but I've got a couple teammates and not the whole set. We'd do pretty well for ourselves, but we need a couple more helping hands. So that's why I'm here. Well, partly.

[There is a question she has about this whole alternate earth business, but she'll get to it. She really wants a cohesive unit working together, as that seems to be the best way to proceed forward.]

The other goal I'd like for our group is to mobilize and help people in need. I can do this myself, and I'm planning on it, but more hands at the deck might help out. We don't just need this in missions, and from what I've read, we don't know what's gonna come next. I know it's risky to put together a group like this with how people come and go, but I'm prepared to deal with that. Plus, I don't just back down from something. I'm kind of stubborn that way.

If you've already got something like this going and wouldn't mind a few more people, I'd love to chat with you. I'm an archer mostly, but I have other gifts. One member is a ... [a trickster? How does one even sell Loki?] ... well, I'm sure he's good at something. And the final is an alien with advanced knowledge of technology that he might share. He's also got bug DNA and is extremely flexible. [That last bit. She really had to add that last bit.] So let me know.

The other question is: in the annals of this world, have people of Earth found evidence that they existed? Back home, alternate Earths like this usually mean ... alternate versions of us, which can either be a good thing, or a very, very bad thing. I'm thinking bad, considering the state of things. I was just wondering.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Buckle in for your most superhero-esque story you'll ever hear. [She only phrases it that way to make it lighter. But she knows it fails—the effort is lost on her, anyway.]

My group came together because the Avengers disbanded. I told you that. But the more complicated version was that a time traveler came to the past to try and escape his past. When he got there, he looked up a group of potential Avengers. That led to my friends Billy, Teddy, and Eli. They once crashed my sister's wedding, and after Eli tried to think he was better than me, I ended up helping them.

I took off to join them. I was determined. Skipping ahead ...

Said time traveler, Nate, turned out to be the teenage version of one of the Avengers' worst enemies. He wanted to skip going home, and when he did, it dramatically changed the course of events in the timeline for the Avengers. The trick was to force him to go back home anyway. To follow that path.

He came back one day. And ... I'm skipping details again, he turned out to be on that path. It was subtle at first, but something happened. [Her best friend died. And he killed the person trying to reason with him. Things she's not going to mention.] And he left. His last words were pretty super villain-y.

So, bad. One bad thing. Then another bad thing.

Very little good.

Also a whole lot of terrible inevitability.

I'm sorry.

[ It makes her wonder, however. ]

Wonder if some can really escape fate.

[That makes her think of Clint, of the life he used to live.

It also makes her think of Tommy, of Eli, of Noh-Varr.]

I'd prefer to think so. I'd like to think if Nate stuck around, he'd have done so, too, but it'd be at the cost of everything. Kind of like being thrown to his own wolves. His own demons.

Nathan Summers?

[ Or a different Nate? ]

Richards. No one you'd know. I assume, anyway.

Not familiar, you're right. Nathan Summers is familiar with time travel. I'm not sure where or when he's from, but he's a veteran.

Do you know if that's helped him any here?

Not too sure, but he's more grounded than most. He was running his own team a while back.

And let me guess: the team all disappeared?

Transports, but it's possible some have.

Friend told me about transports disappearing too.

All the time. Sent back home or not, we don't know.

No one comes back?

People do, but there's no discernible pattern.

Do they just fall into limbo?

No clue. I hope not.

[ She thinks of Bette and the corners of her mouth tighten. ]

I'll add the question to the list. It does seem like something that can be answered, at least.

I've spoken to someone who had been back home and brought back here. Said he had no recollection of this place while he was there. But he's long gone now.

[ Also he was a panda. ]