video | un: slothbaby - after hell is sealed/on their way to safety

[cosplayqueen]

[A very tired teenager waves at the camera. As usual, she's got a smile on her face. Apparently a lack of sleep, murders, and run in with another crazy person isn't enough to ruin her mood. Kamala Khan everyone.] Hi, guys! Stuff has been super crazy, huh? I'm 90% sure we saved the day so yay! Another win for the team! Great job, guys!

[Those who know her or maybe just have a good ability to read people may pick up on the fact she seems nervous. She keeps chatting away like nothing is the matter.] Irenia is back too! Isn't that awesome? And I got food for us! Look... [She moves her pendant around to show a collection of dead wildlife, berries, etc.] I've been asking around for help preparing this stuff because yeahhhh city girl. No clue how you do this! If you want to help out, please and thank you? There's a lot of it and I know we've all been super hungry for what feels like forever. As far as I'm concerned everyone should eat as much as they can once we get it all cooked and stuff.

[Her eyes dart from side to side. Kamala clears her throat.] You might be wondering how I pulled this off and if you're not? I guess click off? But, yeah.... so I may have been carrying around a doll that belonged to someone else's daughter from a couple of places back? He told me his name is Matthias. I returned it to him because hey I'm not a jerk. It belonged to his daughter so it should go back to him.

He gave me this food in return or I guess his undead friends did. Not going to lie, pretty scary stuff. But, that's how I got the food. We talked about some other stuff too. His home world, Ellethia, and what he used to do for a living when his daughter was alive. His hot take on the whole undead thing. It really got me thinking about their deal. He seemed to know a lot about it.

And you know just out of curiosity, what do we know about the undead? Share if you want since I know we have bigger problems right now. I'm mostly worried about this food going bad.


private to Five and Allison

So, don't panic, but I may or may not be in danger here. Can we talk? About everything? This is pretty much the safe version of what happened. I don't want to freak out the the others, but if I were a questionable guy who didn't get their way just now? I'd totally go after you guys first since spoilers you're my favorite people! And Emilia, but seriously I've seen Emilia in action. I feel sorry for anyone who tries to hurt her to get to me. So yeah. We should talk. 

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[cosplayqueen]

[Kamala falls into a rare bout of silence. It is validating to hear Five say that because he doesn't mince words with anyone from her perspective. He says what he means. That's invaluable to an insecure teenage girl who can never be sure where she stands with anyone. It would be easy to explain she only knows because she learned the hard way once but, what's the point? Five already is aware of that story. She can only accept what he has to say.

She nods softly and elaborates,] That's what the Merchant was saying. He's scared of us now and thought he could use me to manipulate everyone else. Not sure why I was his choice, but whatever. I'm not trying to one-hundred percent get all the evil schemes going on here.

[She crosses her arms, visibly troubled, before asking softly.] We're going to have to fight him eventually, right? That's always what these things are building up to. Thanos came for us eventually on Earth after sending lackies to kill us since I was like what? Four? [She shakes her head. Not important.] This guy will finds us too.

[somebadnews]

[ Five has more than one guess why he went after her. The daughter story could be real. She was vulnerable and alone. He thought it'd be easier to manipulate a child and that the rest of them would listen to her spread his lies.

Matthias didn't expect her to be too smart for him. Kamala gives him a hint to why that was, but he won't press for the rest of the story about Thanos right now. For once he can tell that she's upset enough without calling up childhood trauma. ]

...Probably, yeah. He's not likely to go away until he's dealt with. [ If he waited until Five wasn't being eaten alive by anguish, that'd be preferable, but with his luck. ] I don't think he's done testing us. I also don't think we're ready to face him.

The Merchant doesn't care about that. Now we know that he'd risk any one of our lives to get to him. Remember that if he asks you again.

[cosplayqueen]

[Kamala looks more distressed even if it confirms the reality she knows. The bad guy always comes back until he wins. You have to be ready for him when that day comes. The powers that be will sacrifice others for their cause. Everyone knows that thanks to Black Widow leaking it all over the internet. The Sokovia Accords and their repeal later confirmed it.]

I will. [Her voice is heavy. It's hard not to recall at the moment what the consequences of losing even temporarily back home were. As usual, Kamala searches for the brighter side of things. She finds something after a few seconds of digging.] Guess it's a good thing we're training, right? If I get more control over my powers, it'll be easier for us to win if I don't make it back home before the boss battle.

[She forces a smile. That's one good thing, right?]

[somebadnews]

[ Five still isn’t used to anyone listening to him the way Kamala does, and by her expression he can see she’s taking his words to heart. As she should. It doesn’t make him any happier that they’re in this situation, and clearly Kamala has attracted attention that they’re going to have to deal with.

Curtly, he nods. He’ll have to work more on her combat training, and he intends to, if he can just… ]

We’ll have to pick it up more. [ He folds his arms around himself and takes a few breaths while he thinks. ] He probably hasn’t seen what you’re capable of if he’s targeting you. That’ll be an advantage.

[cosplayqueen]

[Kamala blinks in surprise. She hasn't been careful with her abilities here after seeing Five use his without any pitchforks coming his way. It occurs to her that it wouldn't have been wise to approach her if he did see how she can manipulate the Noor. On paper, she could seriously cause some damage if she wanted to with it.] Oh yeah probably not. I haven't really done any of the cool stuff yet too. The point was to keep the tower in one piece. And even back home I had to pull my punches. Even if those guys were trying to kill me, I didn't want to kill them, you know?

[somebadnews]

[ Her last comment gets an odd reaction out of him. He tilts his head and observes her for a moment as takes that two ways. For one, she most likely does have potential for her powers that she hasn't begun to tap into. And two, that he has to be very careful about how he trains her to react to a threat.

Let him be the killer. If it comes to that, he'll jump in to spare her from doing what he and his siblings justified way back in their superhero days. That he took much further as an adult than any of them really comprehend. ]

Lucky for you, I can teleport away before you can land anything on me. We'll test what it's like when you don't hold back, and go from there.

[cosplayqueen]

[Kamala looks excited by the prospect before reality hits. It is a risky move. One thing she figured out in her first fight as Ms. Marvel is that she is stronger than she thinks. The teen suddenly looks nervous at the thought.] Are you sure? Not to brag, but I kind of punched through a city street and destroyed some military vehicles. And weapons they used against the strongest hero on our planet.

[She grimaces. This sounds really terrible, huh? She should probably give some context so he doesn't think she's some kind of lunatic.] They were trying to murder someone I cared about for having powers while being brown and me obviously. I was mostly worried about Kamran. Turns out I really rise to the occasion when people I care about are about to die in front of me.

[somebadnews]

[ Five takes what she says in slowly. She's stronger than he gave her credit for, obviously, but his gaze softens when she admits what she would do for someone she cares about.

Eventually, he nods. ]

We'll take precautions. Go somewhere no one can witness. [ And even though he doesn't need to, he reassures her in at least one aspect of his experience. ] My brother had super-strength, so it's nothing I'm unfamiliar with. It's more important that you have control over your powers for when it matters.

[cosplayqueen]

[The anxiety slowly starts to melt from Kamala's frame. She feels heard in a way that she needs. This whole ordeal finally feels like it's leading to something good. She can't help that she ran into the worst possible person and got manipulated for a hot minute. Kamala can use it to become stronger and wiser. It's nice to know that she has someone in her corner willing to guide her on that journey.] Oh yeah! I totally forgot that Allison gave me the rundown on you guys. The one with super strength is... Luther!

[She claps. Kamala is very confident she got it right. Her expression soon softens. There is something she should convey and not just insecurely fret over whenever Five helps her with something.] Thanks, Five. I know you don't really need me to have your back since you're experienced and stuff, but I'll always try to be there for you too. You know in case you need help someday. I don't want you to feel like I just take from you and never give anything back.

[somebadnews]

[ He smiles at her, small and slightly nostalgic for a moment, but still legitimate. Kamala is endearing in a way most people aren't. In a way that rarely manages to get through to him. Something about the innocence of youth. More than that, she pays attention. ]

Luther. Number One.

[ They'd all largely abandoned their original names before Five jumped into the apocalypse, except for him. Still, he'd only just started getting used to 'Luther' before getting stuck for decades. Somehow he's still adjusting. Then there's what Allison said happens to him that nearly distracts him from what she says next.

From his reaction to her offer, that's not something he's heard very much in his life. He has to take a moment to process it. ]

It's... nothing, really. [ That doesn't seem like enough, so he clears his throat and adds: ] You already helped when you came to me first about all this. That's all I ask.

[cosplayqueen]

[Her brows knit together. It surprises her that is only Five wants. It only seems to benefit her to have someone she can turn to when things go south. He is not in the habit of telling her what she wants to hear. Kamala doubts he's going to start now.

She decides to take him at his word.] Okay, if that's really all you want then you have a deal. You will always get the exclusive on all the crazy stuff going on from me.

[somebadnews]

[ She might understand if she knew how few people give him the same consideration. And with what Kamala unwillingly got herself involved with, it’s important that he’s the first to know.

Of course, as soon as he shifts the mirror swirling in him is quick to make itself known. His brows knit as he tenses and mentally pushes it down, but it’s a firm reminder that he still has to take care of something before he can properly train her.

It shortens any speech he had any indication of giving, but he nods and focuses again. ]

Thank you. We’ll figure something out.

[cosplayqueen]

[Kamala notes the facial expression. She doesn't know how to read it. Is he nervous? Anxious? As hungry as the rest of them? The teen decides to smile brightly and go for the reassuring angle. He has after all set her mind at ease after an emotionally taxing day.] We will because we're an awesome team. You're the experienced one, Allison is the cool one, and I'm the one who is learning. Great dynamic. No one stands a chance against us.

[somebadnews]

[ She manages to get a genuine smile out of him — small, but there. As much as he longs to save the rest of his family, he can admit that the three of them are less dysfunctional as a team. If only because they actually listen to him. ]

There's no guarantees. [ He schools any physical discomfort with a sigh. ] We've got a long way to go before we can let our guard down, but I'll do everything in my power to get us out of this.

We'll start training as soon as we get out of here.