The Defenders Renewed (Group Thread Open To All)

[silvertongue217]

COMMANDER POV

"It is" John said nodding at her and smiling "you know your among friends the only one with me at the moment is Avery who I am sure you remember"

 

[KimaniNight]

"Indeed I do," Lita said, as she deactivated her hologram. Instantly, the feline woman known to the world as Lynx appeared. "And she's one of the reasons I'm glad you've gotten the Defenders assembled again. She needed a place to belong, and there was nowhere better for her to be than in the Defenders." Lita paused before continuing, "I've been keep tracking of everyone you've publicly assembled, old and new. And considering the talent you've put together, I'm wondering why you called me. I'm doing good work right where I am, after all, and the world seems happier to have me here, rather than where I was five years ago."

 

[SinisterSpiders]

Just as her lips were about to touch John's, a loud ringing buzzed through the room and John pulled back. Avery couldn't help but groan at the interruption, despite the fact that his words had been far more encouraging than she had dared to hope for. She watched with regret as he summoned some shorts, and then suddenly realised that she was still naked.

Avery scrambled around behind John as he accepted the call, trying to locate the clothes that had been thrown off in the throes of their passion. She managed to stay out of view as she slipped her shirt on (having given up on finding her bra), and shimmied into her trousers. When she was done she stood up behind John, her face cracking into a wide smile as she saw Lynx's familiar face.

"We always need you doctor Piscin!" Avery said brightly, nodding at the feline woman. Her wings shifted slightly behind her back. "And I do have a place I belong. Besides here that is." She said, keeping her tone light and jokey despite the pang of indignation at the comment. A place to belong was just that; she was already missing her outback home and the freedom it offered. She placed a hand on John's shoulder as she leaned over to get a better look at Lita, unable to stop the smile of recognition on her face.

 

[KimaniNight]

"A place where you feel you serve a purpose then, Avery," Lita corrected herself. "And you are too gifted a person not to serve the noble purpose which you were born to."

"I on the other hand," Lita said with a self-depreciating smile, "am an admittedly gifted athlete among my own people, as well as a researcher and scholar, but I can easily use those talents where I sit now." Lita turned her full attention to the Commander. "In the past, I have been that exotically beautiful creature who made our arguments in palaces and courthouses and other buildings where laws were crafted to preserve our environment, and I am willing to serve that purpose again. But do you really need me to leave my research to come join you to do that, Chief?"

 

[silvertongue217]

COMMANDER POV

John leaned back letting Avery have the space to join him in talking to their old friend.

"You know it was always about more than that" John reminded her with a small smile "Eco watch never took off like we planned no but half of what made it great was you helming it! You did good work and you know it even if the world still hasnt fully come around to it"

"I have no wish to take you from the important work and honestly I dont know how much of Eco Watch we can revive now that were all fugitives but I do know no one cares about the earth as much as you and the syndicate they seek to destroy it for some bull shit alien invasion. We can set up a teleporter system and connect with the arctic base if that would be more fitting? That way you can split your time between the two projects"

 

[KimaniNight]

"Or I suppose we could just incorporate my little ice box haven into your new Defenders," Lita answered, the corner of her lip and the tip of her tail both twitching. "Quite a few of the staff I have here, I poached from the old EcoWatch."

Lita silently pondered for a bit, her tail moving back and forth in a pattern that, for those who knew her, meant she was deep in thought.

"You have a deal, Chief. There's no reason we have to have the duplication of work that's probably happening because my people and yours aren't talking. So count me in." Lita paused before adding, "But I'm only speaking for myself. My staff here...well, there were a lot of people who were bitter about how the old Defenders and its EcoWatch got disbanded five years ago. They may not want to join your new team, and I'm not going to run them out of my research station just because they don't want to play ball with you. But as long as you don't have a problem with that, you can show me signing on, Chief."

 

[Zagreus_D]

With Gregory's help Romeo joined the rest of the group. His desire to make small talk was almost entirely overshadowed by hunger, and he found himself focusing much more closely on the bowl in front of him than on the conversation around him. When he finished eating, he made his apologies to the group.

"It's okay Gregory. I'm pretty sure I can make it back to my room, now that I've eaten. You don't literally have to put me to bed. I'll see you guys in the morning."

 

[silvertongue217]

COMMANDER POV

"I am happy to hear that" John said his relief evident at her words "We can make it work you and your team have an open invitation and we can always use more workers this place is pretty much empty even with the members we managed to recruit!"

"I think the teleporter in that area is still working" John said making a mental note to check with Gregory in the morning "Can I expect you for the meeting then? Our next Area of operation is going to be in Russia I could use you there if you dont mind doing some crime fighting again"

........................

SPIDER POV

"I promised Nibo I would get you in bed and fed" Gregory said to the man clapping his back "So come on"

The others were breaking as well and Gregory took the time to tell each of them good night. He helped Romeo up noting he was still weak from the entire ordeal.

"Come on you can lean on me" Gregory said shaking his head and laughing at the man. He took leave of every one else and soon the two were hobbling back to Romeos bedroom.

"Alright mate" Gregory said once they reached his room "I trust you can take it from here?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

 

[KimaniNight]

"With my flight suit on and my usual knapsack of tricks, Chief," Lita promised. "As long as no one tries to make me wear that damn utility belt everyone was always trying to foist off on me. Damn belt was always throwing me off balance." There was a definite look of feline distaste on Lita's face as she said this.

 

[silvertongue217]

COMMANDER POV

"Sounds good Lita" John said chuckling at her words "You will find were a bit looser than we were previously I doubt your going to have any one doing any thing besides trying to pet you" He teased rising up and smiling.

"Good night Doctor" John said waving his hand and disengaging the feed before turning to Avery.

"We have a busy morning it would seem" John told her coming over and glancing at the bed "can you stay for the night? Or even permanently?" He asked smiling at her.

 

[KimaniNight]

When her computer went blank, Lita summoned Stephanie into the room.

"I'd like an all hands meeting in the main conference room in two hours," she instructed Stephanie. "And tell them I won't be incognito," she added with a chuckle.

 

[SinisterSpiders]

"Bye Lita!" Avery called out just before John cut off the holoscreen. She stood up, stretching her arms and yawning. She was just about to suggest she head to bed when John spoke.

"Permanently?" She repeated, rolling the word around on her tongue to get a taste for it. Her eyebrows furrowed and she looked at the huge man before her. He had never suggested that before. She let out a heavy sigh. "Well, John, I just got my own room back. You know how much I loved my quarters. I just feel so at home there-" She rambled with a grin. Then, feeling bad for joking around she stopped chattering and gave him a deep, full kiss.

"If you want me to stay here, of course I will. Permanently is another issue entirely, but John... I want to give this a shot. Give us a shot."

 

[silvertongue217]

COMMANDER POV

John shook his head snorting and kissing her back

"I would have taken it away if you really had protested" John told her growling out slightly even as he smiled "I want it to work to I know... I know its not easy given my condition and Jane but I dont want to focus on the past not when I want very much for you to be my future"

John cleared his throat at the ignoring the whispered words in the back of his skull "Stay with me your already my second in command I would also like you to be my partner" He told her leaning in to give her one more deep kiss.

 

[SinisterSpiders]

Avery melted into John's kiss, the cares of the past five years draining away as if they never existed. When she pulled away she was breathing faster, her cheeks flushed. Her lower regions screamed in protest at the possibility of being used again.

"Partners, yes, " Avery agreed, reaching out to cup his cheek. She hugged him again before stepping back. "Though as your newly reinstated second in command, I suppose I should debrief you on my mission before tomorrow morning?"

Avery walked over and sat down on the bed, body slanted so her wings weren't at an awkward angle. She patted the bed beside her and smiled at him.

"I mean, we could always talk about it in the morning, but then we'd need to get up early. I'd rather roll out of bed just before breakfast if we can..." Her voice held a bit of a husk about what other type of rolling about she would like to do in the morning as well.

 

[silvertongue217]

"Oh would you now" John said smirking and eyeing her "I think I would like that as well Siren" He said in a fake professional voice as he leaned in to nip her neck lightly.

"Your right though" John said his eyes growing more serious as he stood up "The mission briefing if you please" He said turning to face her and smiling as he waited.

"I mean I know it was a success but I believed you mentioned some thing about Gregory?" John asked her curious despite himself "I have a hard time believing he would ever do some thing wrong or stupid though" John said chuckling.

 

[SinisterSpiders]

John nipping at her neck almost made Avery regret her course of action. Almost.

"Not something wrong per say, but maybe just a bit stupid. And insubordinate. Very insubordinate," Avery said with a sigh, resisting the urge to scoot closer to John and take advantage of the heat he always radiated. She crossed her legs beneath her and tried to figure out where to start.

She decided to start with context. So Avery recounted the mission for John. Explaining it from the beginning. She made sure to praise Gregory where desserved, perhaps to soften the blow of the anger she knew John would feel. But the fact that he had ignored a direct order, and possibly put himself and the whole team in danger, was the truth of the matter.

 

[silvertongue217]

John said nothing waiting until she finished before coming back and sitting next to her.

"I dont know how quite to handle it" John finally remarked "I can understand him wanting to find the guy who is able to channel his dad but.... It was reckless incredibly so"

"Maybe some sleep will clear things up" John remarked sighing and turning to her "ready for bed my love?" He asked reaching out with his hands to pull her into his lap.

 

[SinisterSpiders]

"I understand what he wanted, I don't blame him. Even being him I might have done it myself," Avery agreed, "But that said there are other ways we could have done it. It wasn't even open for discussion. It was impulsive, and more than a bit dangerous."

Avery sighed then as she settled onto his lap.

"So, me sleeping here... Are pyjamas compulsory or can we dispense with that civility?" Avery asked, tugging a the hem of her shirt with a sly grin.

That night, for the first time in far too long, Avery asleep beside John. Her sleep was deep and easy, restorative in the best possible way.

 

[Zagreus_D]

Romeo looked at Gregory feeling suddenly shy. Nibo would have some clever quip for such an occasion, but the lwa were blessedly silent for a change, and the only thing Romeo could think to say was another expression of gratitude. "Thank you Gregory. I'm really glad to have met you."

 

[such_a_bad_man]

As dinner was wrapping up, Peter started gathering dishes and cleaning the kitchen again. He had a lot of nervous energy for some reason and felt the need to help out more than usual. Maybe it was just the need to do something normal, like dishes, to remind himself of where he is now. He smiled as he looked at Greg helping the new guy, Romeo, get back to his room. It seemed his powers took a lot out of him physically so he might need watching when they are out on missions. Seeing Maya still hanging around, Peter spoke up.

"Have they set you up with a room or did your exam end too abruptly for them to set all that up yet?" He asked as he filled the sink with water.

 

[silvertongue217]

SPIDERS POV

"Ah its nothing" Gregory said shaking his head and waving it off "I am glad to have met you to Romeo even without the dad stuff"

He punched his shoulder good naturedly and turned "get some sleep we got a busy morning together"

And with that Gregory went to his own room to crash. He enterally prepared himself for the talk down John the Commander was going to give him in the morning and fell into a fitful sleep.

RUNNER POV

"They showed me the room on the way here" Maya said rising up and stretching "The offset of my powers drains me really bad so they thought I would need a place to crash after I ate"

"You should get some sleep" Maya said pushing her self off the table "The dishes can keep until the morning Gregory said some thing about his spiders taking care of breakfast I have no idea what he meant though"

Maya went to the door turning "Peter I am sorry about what happened but your free now and I dont think any one is going to let you go back" She said softly before leaving him alone with his thoughts.

 

[such_a_bad_man]

Peter nodded as Maya explained her sleeping arrangement. He just smiled and chuckled as she explained that the "spiders" took care of things around the base. "Yeah, I know, but... I just wanna feel useful again." He said, looking up at her before she slipped away, hoping that was enough explanation.

He smiled a bit wider at her reassurance that he's not going anywhere. "After all the trouble the Boss went through to get me out of there, I don't think he'd let me leave either." He said as she got to the door. "Have a good night's sleep." he called after her.

After a few more dishes, he stacked everything to dry and hung up his towel. Walking back to his room, he stopped and looked out the window at the Earth below. Seeing it so small always gave him pause for thought when he passed the windows. As he stood there, though, he felt strength returning to his muscles, the sort of sleepy pallor felt like it was evaporating from his skin. He smiled as he turned to look at the sun just beyond the Earth. Closing his eyes, he let the light wash over him as every part of him felt invigorated. When he opened them again, he was hovering a few inches off the floor and every part of him felt warm and strong.

"I can do so much more than fly the plane now, John, just wait and see..." he muttered to himself as he clenched both fists. Slowly, he let himself rest of the floor before walking the hall back to his room. Dropping back into his bunk, he fell back into sleep from earlier. His brain still needed to switch off despite how refreshed his body felt.

 

[silvertongue217]

THE NEXT MORNING

The base PA system was automatically set to go off for revelry. That hadnt changed even when it was just John and John alone in the base. The alarms blared and minutes later the trumpets began to go off.

"Revelry revelry time to wake up" The AI system called as the heady shields dotting the few windows on the base began to roll open "Every one report to the mess hall for breakfast before the meeting.

COMMANDER POV

John eyes slid open his body used to it by now that it felt refreshing. He turned noting with a smile that Avery had indeed spent the night. He leaned down kissing her cheek his hands traveling up and down her body to taste it before he nipped her ear.

"Time to wake up baby" John said softly to her ear pushing the blanket away from his body "Start and dawn of a new day!"

John was excited so much so that he almost ripped his table getting out of bed. He stretched debating taking a shower with her as he glanced back at her.

"As much as a shared shower would be nice I think the others will come looking at us before long" John said simple fatigues morphing on his body.

"You hungry?" John asked coming over and kissing her.

.............................

SPIDER POV

"Darius!"

Gregory had just stepped into the mess hall, at first he thought he was the only one there but then he spotted Darius tapping away on his laptop and watching as Gregorys spider bots prepared breakfast.

"Hey G man" Darius called turning to looking at the man as he came up "Did this "Chief" chew you out to bad?"

"I havent seen him yet" Gregory remarked groaning as the memory hit him "And really only Avery and some of the old Defenders call him that"

"Hmmm" Darius said already back to his laptop "my buddies sent me some thing interesting a kind of program based on what we pulled from the Essex corporation it tracks people with potential powers"

"It does" Gregory said leaning in to study it "so you can-"

"Track powered people yes" Darius replied "we may be able to approach them and help"

Before Gregory could say any thing more two other trickled in. David otherwise known as Specrte and the new girl named Maya. They were chatting together as they came over and quitted once they reached the two techies.

 

[KimaniNight]

Five years since I've been in this routine, Lita thought to herself as she stepped off the transport platform, heading for the mess hall as the PA instructed her to. Lynx, she reminded herself. She needed to start thinking of herself as Lynx. Not Dr. Lita Piscin or Hrara Mroren. Lynx.

The site of a white furred anthropomorphic feline in a gray-green flight suit carrying a knapsack over one shoulder didn't seem to turn any heads as she made her way down the corridor. But then this was probably one of the few places she knew, outside of her homeland, that she wouldn't garner a second look Or at least not an obvious one.

Hope they have fish on the steam line, Lynx thought to herself, as she entered the mess hall.

 

[SinisterSpiders]

Six Days Earlier

Cloe ran her hands over the exposed roots of the socratea exorrhiza. This one was young one in the grand scheme of the forest, yet it had already moved forward by a few centimetres, pushing out towards the very edge of the place from where it first took root. A walking tree, if she were to use the colloquial name, but she couldn't understand it's motivation. Why would anything want to leave this haven? She certainly didn't.

"Settle, young one, there is nothing out there for you unless you wish to be turned into a floor," Cloe hummed softly, fingers relishing the pulsating life force the plant was sharing with her. She pushed back, just a little, and sent some of herself into the plant, bolstering it. On her shoulder sat Caro, her familiar, a chirpy and brightly coloured frilled coquette. He was getting jumpier as they got closer to leaving the forest.

Cloe wished that she didn't have to leave the forest at all. She enjoyed the earthy humid air of it, much more than the smoggy mess that was Brasilia. But she had made a promise to her parents, and she knew she had to see it through. Six months of each year would be spent in the forest, six in the city. Her time in the forest always came to an end far too quickly, and the adjustment back to human society was always a hard one. The forest was an escape for her, a true home, as it had been for the past five years.

Another hour long hike found her at the national park borders, and in the distance she could see a familiar red car. A small thing really, but powered by as many environmentally friendly technologies as her parents could manage. Then a figure waved in the distance, and her regret at stepping out of the rainforest diminished. Caro gave several happy cheeps, bopping on her shoulder, looking like he wanted to fly.

"Go on, little friend," Cloe laughed. Not a split second after she spoke the bird was off, winging into the sky and down to where her mother was waiting for her.

Cloe increased her stride, feeling the mosses of the forests tugging at her feet, almost as though they were begging her to stay. She frowned, and sent a silent promise to the rainforest to return. Six months, she told it. The mosses receded then and she heard the wind behind her sigh in disappointment.

"Cloe!"

Her mother's voice echoed through the clearing and Cloe ran then, letting out a sigh of contentment as she closed the distance and familiar warm arms wrapped around her. This was the first human contact she had felt in months, and it felt better than she remembered.

"Cloe! Love! How are you?" Her mother asked, putting her hands firmly on Cloe's shoulders and stepping back to look at her. Her mother's eyes scanned her, as though looking for signs of injury or wear, and then nodded, apparently satisfied that she was fine.

Her mother reached into the car behind her and pulled out a long loose cotton coat. Cloe gritted her teeth. Clothing. She took it grudgingly and slipped the fabric on, skin hating the feel of it even though it was all natural fibres. She concentrated then, using her connection to her powers to draw back the vines, leaves and mosses she had used to cover her in the forest. It felt wrong, reducing the nature in contact with her body, but it was a necessary part of blending back into society. What she couldn't do though, was hide her green hair, and the vines that had chosen to weave their way through it. The coat did a good job of covering most of her markings though, but there were still some green scrolls climbing up her neck that nothing would be able to conceal.

"How is Pai?" Cloe asked, wondering why her father wasn't here. Her mother hesitated for but a moment, ignoring the way that Caro twitted around her head, ecstatic to see his second favourite human again.

"He's good," her mother said, an odd hesitation in her tone, "He was just stuck at an appointment he couldn't leave. He will be joining us for dinner."

Her mother looked at the sky, at the way the sun had tipped over the crest of midday.

"Into the car, Cloe dearest, it is time to go home."

The conversation in the car was unusually stilted. It wasn't until Cloe turned the radio off and insisted her mother talk to her that her mother sighed heavily. She reached into the center console and pulled out an old transmitter, something she had never thought she'd see again.

"This went off five days ago," she said, "Beeping and lighting up and what not. It's time, I think Cloe."

Cloe took the transmitter, fingers running over the glossy surface as her heart fluttered.

She waited until her mother dropped her off at home before accessing the transmission.

The Defenders, it seemed, was back in action. And they wanted her.

~*~

Cloe made her decision far too quickly. She had booked a charter flight to the location of the nearest teleporter moments after she had seen news replays of the battle with the Twins and the hacking of the UN report.

She had always wondered about this situation, about whether she would go back if the call came. The Defenders, and the life they offered, was a rabbit hole of kinds. She knew that once she went back she may get stuck there. But the world outside her rainforest sanctuary was suffering. There was a tension there; a smog-like omen in the air. As she packed it was with a weariness for what was to come, but a sense of renewed purpose. The past five years had been wonderful; focusing on her experiments and communing with nature. It was good also, that her time spent in the wild had kept her abilities from going to waste. She had found the time had given her a chance to grow, to develop, to come into her own in a way that she had never been before.

Cloe caught the chartered flight with a teary farewell to her parents. It was a quick trip. The longest part of the journey was making her way to the transporter. She had decided to take a walk through the wilderness to the east before going to the moon. She knew they had a greenhouse there, one she hoped had been maintained in her absence, but it was not the same as the Earth itself.

Cloe got to the transporter just as the heat of the day was starting to cause ripples of illusion on the face the world. Warm tendrils of evaporation that spoke of a scorching day to come. Caro sat on her shoulder, twittering apprehensively as his black eyes took in all the machinery surrounding them. Cloe spooled the contraption up easily and stepped onto it with a sense of dread (most of which was due to knowledge of just how the teleportation would feel).

~*~ AVERY VARPULIS ~*~

Avery smiled up at John as she sat up in his bed. She stretched her limbs, wings fluttering behind her as she resisted the urge to stretch them too. There was a pang of loss in her then, for the freedom that her little home in the outback offered, but when she looked at John once more that was pushed away.

Avery dressed quickly.

"Yes, I am absolutely starving," She said as she linked her arm with his and they made their way into the hall way.

They didn't get far. They made it out of the barracks and were walking past the training hall when Avery stopped in her tracks.

There, in the hall, she felt like she was looking at a memory. A ghost of the past.

A woman stood there, a curvaceous tanned powerhouse with green, plant bound hair and the call of nature in her eyes. Her lips parted when she spotted Avery and John, the moss and vines wrapped around her body rippling in a phantom breeze. On her shoulder sat a little green and grey bird with a red crest. Upon seeing Avery, the bird let out a trill of excitement as it hopped about on

"Cloe?" Avery said, eyes widening with excitement.

And just like that, a grin broke out on Cloe's face. The two women crossed the distance between them and hugged as though their life depended on it.

"And Carro!" Avery clucked, sparing a scratch and a smile for Cloe's familiar. Her keen brown gaze then turned back to Cloe. "Where the heck have you been?" Avery said, pulling away from Cloe reluctantly. When they had hugged she had gotten a whiff of her familiar, earthy scent. "I tried contacting you after everything?"

Cloe grimaced then.

"I needed to commune after everything that happened. When I got back out..."

Avery felt a bit bad then, she had gone off the grid also. Her face broke into a grin despite it all and she patted Cloe's shoulders.

"Well, it's great that you're back," Avery said, looking over her shoulder at John. "Actually, we're on our way to breakfast before a group meeting. There are so many new members for you to meet. Do you want to join us?"

~*~

Cloe smiled, seeing her old friend and boss. She noted the look that was shared between them and buried her momentary suspicions.

"Yes," Cloe said, looking around at the familiar halls of the Defenders base, "I would like that very much." Cloe stepped around Avery.

"It is good to see you again too Chief. I am only sorry it took me so long to answer the call," the vines that formed her body suit rippled in response to the regret in her voice. Nevertheless, she held her hand out for John to shake, her warm brown eyes meeting his. "I hope you haven't let the greenhouse falter in my absence?"