Disclaimer: I do not own the DC characters of Hawk and Dove, whom I loosely based my main characters on.
"Remember when I said to pencil in emotional maturity for today?"
Phil cracked a smile. "Yes."
"It isn't happening." Dan promptly pressed his forehead to the table in front of him, groaning pathetically.
Reaching over to pat his back, Phil sighed. "We only have a few more," he paused, "Four! We have four more."
Dan lifted his head and glared around the room. It was just a gym; the one they used specifically for demonstrations. But right now it felt like a prison, because although it hasn't been a particularly long time, it seems like they've been watching for hours.
"Right then," Dan muttered, picking up his pen and once again focusing on the next applicant, "Next."
Phil raised his voice. "Next one, Zoe!"
In the following moments, Zoe opened the gym door and blonde guy tall enough to rival Hawk and Dove headed in. He also seemed just as awkward with that height as they did.
"Hi, Evan," chirped Carrie from the table beside the boys. She and Alfie have been sitting in since they moved onto physical talents; Carrie also taught lessons to most of the applicants.
Evan smiled and waved. "Howdy."
Dan and Phil looked at each other and then at Evan's application. "You're American?" asked Dan.
"I feel like we should have remembered," Phil continued. They liked to sit in in training sessions sometimes, and they must not have paid close enough attention.
"Well, I came here to study abroad when your whole debacle happened," the hopeful answered, waving his hands at them, "And I never left because I loved it here so much. So I wanted to join, of course, and the Trifecta was a bit difficult to reach from New Jersey so… here I am."
"You're in the right place, mate," Alfie added, "So, let's get this started, yeah? Quick and painless."
Evan nodded once. Then, without warning, he reached down and stripped his shirt off. Dan and Phil both recoiled in surprise, and then Dan looked down at the evaluation form sitting in front of him for some kind of comfort. That's when he noticed that Evan had filled in 'flight' under the ability box. He looked back up just as a pair of grey, feathered wings unfurled from Evan's back.
"Oh, that makes more sense," Phil whispered in Dan's ear. He nodded in reply.
In terms of Evan's demonstration of his ability to control his powers, there wasn't much to show. The wings were large enough to lift him off the ground and take him around the room, and he also told them how he went so long hiding them (home birth, not much public exposure, lonely school life; typical for most mutants) and that he's never had a problem using them. Alfie and Carrie supplied that most of his lessons were combat training. The boys thanked him for his time and sent him on his way. They just had to exchange a look before they knew that he was in for sure.
"We don't have anyone who can fly!" said Phil excitedly.
"Those wings though," Dan agreed with wide eyes, "I wonder if they molt. I hope we become good enough friends so he lets us touch them."
"I bet they're soft."
"Next!" Carrie interrupted loudly. The boys sat back and put on identical pouty expressions. They had a schedule to keep, sure, but that was no fun.
Next a girl came in, small and obviously shy, and she reminded Dan of Dodie just by the way she carried herself. Phil was the first one to pipe up. "Bethan?"
She nodded. "Yes, sir."
"Don't be nervous, love, everyone here is super nice," Carrie told her gently.
Phil put on one of his megawatt smiles, which was probably cheating when it came to encouraging someone. He just radiated so much happiness that he could probably convince anyone to do anything. And that seemed to have just the right effect on Bethan, because her smile grew and she set to work.
She walked across the room with a purpose, which was the first interesting thing, and then when she reached the wall she kept walking. She continued to walk so she was parallel to the floor. She paused and looked back at her evaluators, a little hopeful smile still on her face. Carrie and Alfie looked impressed, but unsurprised considering they taught her. Dan and Phil, however, both had slack jaws.
Carrie seemed to take notice of this. "Keep going," she prompted.
Bethan continued to walk up the wall until she was standing on the ceiling. Her hair and her cardigan hung down towards the floor while the rest of her just stood there as if this were normal. The boys continued to gape at her.
"You can come down now," said Phil, his tone flat with distraction.
"Also, you're in," Dan added, marking it off on the form in front of him.
"Dan!" Carrie admonished. They were officially supposed to send out acceptances to each new member, but they were too busy being blown away to really care about that at the moment.
After Bethan thanked them and left the room, Dan turned once again to Carrie and Alfie. "Real quick, how are her combat skills?"
"She passes," Alfie replied with an amused expression.
"Great. I want to make sure I didn't just guarantee a spot to someone who can't fight."
Later that same day, once their demonstrations were finally over and they had time to eat something, Dan and Phil went to the basement in their combat suits. The suits were only worn on two occasions: missions and their monthly tests with Louise. Each month she checked up on Dan and Phil's mutations, and while there haven't been any major changes, she kept it up. It's been two years.
The MGGB's labs got the entire basement floor. Similar to the top, it was completely open, with equipment and lab tables and anything else Louise demanded they have. It all looked a little freaky to Dan, but seeing the MGGB seal all over the equipment helped make it feel a little homier.
As Dan and Phil walked in, Louise's voice echoed through the room, but she couldn't be seen. "How is it looking, Peej?"
Dan looked around. Finally, he spotted PJ standing behind the test chamber on the right side. That was the one Dan always stood in. The chambers looked a bit like small, glass space ships with tubing and thermometers on the inside. They were specifically designed for these tests that the boys had to participate in, and were often called antechambers. There used to be a reason, but now that was unclear since the first one Dan stood in promptly melted after the first test.
PJ pressed the metal panel back over the place where he had been repairing it. "Good to go," he said, giving Louise a thumbs up. From where she stood in the observation deck, she gave one back.
Dan crossed his arms as PJ rounded the antechamber. "Are you sure we're good to go?" he asked hesitantly.
PJ waved his hand, which would have been covered in lubricant if he were anyone else. The technopath didn't even need a toolbox. "A couple tubes were just unattached. Considering this one is yours, we couldn't let that sit or you might burn the whole building down," he replied, patting the corner of the machine with his hand. With Louise's designs, PJ assembled both antechambers by himself. He was very proud of them, and Dan had felt horrible when he ended up completely ruining the first model.
"Can't have that," Dan agreed. PJ winked teasingly and walked away, leaving him and Phil alone on the floor. "I'm not looking forward to this," he grumbled; hopefully low enough so Louise couldn't pick it up.
Phil shrugged. "It's in the job description."
"I know, I know, I got myself into this," Dan sighed. He looked at Phil a moment. "I think we should come up with a different way. It'll make you bleed–"
"Dan," his partner interrupted quickly, "Remember what Dr. Rogers said. We're at work."
Dan pressed his mouth into a line and looked away. "Right…" he mumbled. He looked around and grabbed a cloth from a nearby lab table. "Take this in with you."
"Is this sanitary?" Phil said, studying the cloth apprehensively.
"Please," Dan implored, "For piece of mind. And so you don't bleed all over the inside of the machine."
Phil sighed and cracked a smile. "Alright. I'll keep it with me."
Louise tapped her microphone, sending a dull but annoying noise echoing around the lab. "Ready when you are, boys," she told them.
Dan and Phil exchanged one more look before each going into their respective chambers. When Dan pulled the door closed on his, it hissed to signify it was locked airtight, and a little spike of anxiety flared up in his chest. He hated being locked up in a small space. But, he had a task to do, so he normally didn't think about that fact for very long.
The silence stretched for a few more seconds until he heard Louise's voice again. "Alright, everything is set. Remember to build gradually."
Dan closed his eyes and took his first deep breath. Heat started to pool in his palms and spread into his fingertips, which was normal. After another exhale, black smoke puffed out with his breath, and the heat started to spread through his whole body. He had to really push through this step to keep actual flames from growing over his limbs. This test wasn't about studying how much flame he could produce; it was to see how hot he could raise his body temperature and simultaneously that of the atmosphere around him.
Dan's hair started to move with the heat waves, as if there was a breeze. One last breath. In for three, out for three. The chamber was clouded with black smoke, and the heat spread in the air around him. No doubt his visage would be distorted, like a mirage. He wouldn't be able to sneak a peek at Phil even if he wanted to.
Soon, an automated voice that sounded a lot like Louise informed him, "Initiating reversal."
Oh fuck-
And then Dan was drenched in water. At the same time the black smoke started to filter out through the vent that slid open in the top of the chamber, and the water ran down into the drain on the floor. The smoke was replaced by a copious amount of steam, and Dan couldn't even think of trying to see again until he got out of the chamber and released all the extra steam.
While Dan was dripping wet and slightly annoyed, Phil emerged from his chamber just as dry as when he went in. Besides for the cloth pressed under his nose with a growing red stain, he was fine. Dan did his best to ignore it.
"Can we please find a better way to cool me down quickly?" he called to the observation deck. He waved his arms for emphasis and sent droplets of water flying. "I hate this."
"Would you rather be sprayed with foam like a grease fire?" Louise asked in response, her head slightly tilted, "That wouldn't work as well and there would sure be a lot of it."
Dan pouted. "No."
"Then water it is, fire boy!"
He dropped his head back and groaned. Water dripped from his hair and dribbled down his neck, giving him an uncomfortable chill. When he lifted his head, Louise was approaching with a towel in her hand. Dan wrapped it around himself while Phil walked over.
"How do we look?" Phil wondered, still trying to staunch his nosebleed.
Louise studied him a moment with a thoughtful expression, then answered. "Well, not a whole lot of change, which is good. Dan stays near the same temperature nearly every time, 720.76 Kelvin which is around 620 Celsius. Which is quite hot."
Dan grinned. "Sweet."
"Phil, however," Louise said, her eyes darting to bloody cloth as he pulled it away from his face, "has actually been getting steadily colder in each test. I can't believe I didn't notice it before. Your temperature has been dropping each month, and I have a feeling your nosebleeds have been becoming more frequent."
Phil glanced over at Dan for a moment and sighed. "Yes," he admitted.
"There must be a correlation. We'll run more tests and figure this out, but perhaps in the meantime go to the hospital?" Louise continued. While she made to leave the lab, Dan gave his boyfriend a meaningful look that loosely translated to 'I told you so'. Phil narrowed his eyes and just looked away.
Outside the lab while they walked together, Dan sidled right up beside Louise without touching her with his wet towel. "Soooo," he drawled, "How does it feel to know you're getting married in two weeks?"
Louise smiled and turned pink, but tried to hide it behind her hair. "Surreal," she replied.
"I'm wearing a pink suit, I hope you're ready," PJ added from behind them. Phil chuckled quietly.
Louise looked over her shoulder to give him a look. "I'm holding you to it."
"Oh, please do."
"Can't believe you won't let us be in the wedding," Dan continued.
Louise huffed, already exasperated. She probably couldn't count the number of times Dan and Phil complained about this on one hand. "I told you! We're not having groomsmen or bridesmaids. Matt's having his brother as best man, and I already asked Zoe to be my maid of honor. That's all, no more changes."
"It's not fair you like Zoe more than us!" Phil whined.
"Oh please," Louise said with a laugh.
"You said this was all because you want a small wedding," Dan pointed out, "but you'll have so many guests, there's no way this wedding will be small."
Louise frowned. "Well, I couldn't choose who to take off the guest list without feeling guilty. So, yeah, it grew just a bit," she said sheepishly.
Phil moved to walk on Louise's other side, a bounce in his step. "I'm really excited for the Trifecta to get here! It's been nearly a year since we've seen them."
Ever since their help with cleaning up London after the MI5 incident, the American Trifecta has developed a very close relationship with their British counterparts. Dan missed out on their one trip to California (his grandmother turned 90), but they come over to visit quite often. Members of the MGGB, especially the upper tiers, have made pretty good friends in a couple Trifecta heroes. Hence why a good number of them were invited to Louise's wedding.
"Tyler and Connor are kind of freaking out," Dan chuckled, "They keep–"
The blaring of a siren cut him off. They only had one, and that was for emergencies. Dan and Phil exchanged a quick glance before they went sprinting back to the lab for access to a computer, wet towels and bloody clothes forgotten. Louise and PJ were hot on their tail.
Phil was the first one to a computer, which was already booted up and showing them location coordinates. Once he clicked in, the siren stopped. PJ handed each of them a comm and Phil asked, "Who's responding?" Dan pressed in beside him. Voices answered in quick succession.
"Mercury."
"Stronghold."
"Selkie."
"Retrograde."
"Pathwave."
Joe, Alfie, Zoe, Marcus, and Caspar. A good force.
"What's the emergency, Selkie?" Dan prompted.
Zoe spoke quickly and efficiently, as she was their main connection to local law enforcement all over the country. "Officers were dispatched in Bristol after university students reported loud groaning noises in the library. Shortly before they arrived, supports gave way and the ceiling began to cave in. Everyone got out okay, but things such as lampposts and cars have started being pulled down as if by a giant magnet. We have reason to believe this is mutant activity."
Dan drummed his fingers against the desk. "Bristol. Which is the fastest way to Bristol?" he asked PJ.
He was already on his tablet. "I'm programming the directions into your bikes now, they're the fastest," he replied.
Dan nodded once and then turned to Phil. He continued. "Everyone who's responding convene on the location that PJ sends you. And be quick about it! Universities get mad when we destroy their stuff."
When the boys arrived on the scene, Alfie and Zoe were already there. They were in deep conversation with one of the police officers. Phil jogged over to catch up, and Dan surveyed the wreckage of the university campus. No wonder they had reason to believe this was mutant activity: lampposts were bent nearly in half, cars were turned over on their sides, and railings were pulled up from their supports. It looked like a giant magnet rolled through the quad and pulled everything metal along with it. But with so many curious students milling around, it was hard to tell which one (if any) caused all the destruction.
Zoe was by his side in a flash. "Is everyone really okay?" he asked her.
"No major injuries," she confirmed, "But naturally everyone is hysterical. Apparently this all happened very suddenly."
"How odd."
Phil and Alfie joined them. "Whoever did this must think they're in trouble," said the latter, arms crossed.
"I know the feeling," Dan muttered.
They all turned at the roar of engines. Marcus, Joe, and Caspar had finally arrived and dismounted their own motorbikes. The three of them joined their little powwow and took in the predicament for a moment.
"Do we have a lead?" Joe asked.
Before anyone could answer, Marcus was a step ahead as usual. "I'll find one," he said. He closed his eyes and was silent for a few moments, and when he opened them he pointed. "There. All the metal things are pointing in the same direction, and there we'll find our mutant. In the loading area."
"He's probably freaking out," Caspar commented as they jogged in the general direction that Marcus pointed them.
"She," the telepath corrected.
"Nice," Zoe commented quietly.
The 'loading area' Marcus mentioned was an alley just wide enough for a truck, where the university got deliveries. The pavement was dirty and stained with oil, yet there was still a girl sitting against the far wall. She had her knees up to her chest and her head pressed down onto them. Her shoulders shook; she was crying. Around her, random metal objects slowly skittered across the ground towards her, trapped in her magnetic pull. Marcus looked pained, so Dan took the first few steps towards her.
She noticed. Her head darted up.
"Hey–"
And she wasn't happy about it. "Don't!" she shouted and held her hand up. The movement sent a rogue trash bin lid sailing through the air towards Dan. He didn't even have time to prepare, but luckily it never had time to hit him. Joe stood to his left, the lid in his hands. Dan clapped his shoulder in thanks.
The girl's teary eyes were wide with surprise. "I'm s-sorry," she said just above a whisper, "I didn't mean to."
Dan knew what she meant. "It's okay, nothing's going to happen to you. Just… don't move, okay?"
She nodded mutely and carefully wrapped her arm back around her knees.
Dan approached her again. "We're here to help. My name is Dan, I'm from the MGGB."
"I know who you are," she said and gulped, "Does this mean I'm one of you?"
Phil was right behind him. "Seems like you are," he said in the gentle way only he was capable of.
Dan smiled at her. "We really need you to come with us." He crouched before her, and she looked a bit less miserable now. "We can teach you to control this. And if we can't do that, we can find a way to prevent this from happening again."
"What's your name?" Phil asked her.
She wiped at her eyes. "Niomi," she replied, "What about school?"
Dan waved his hand. "We'll take care of everything. It pays to work with the government sometimes," he assured her.
Niomi cracked a smile and nodded. She adjusted herself just a bit so her knees were no longer up by her chin, preparing to get up. Then, she promptly lost consciousness and fell forward. Everything metal that had been attracted to her was immediately still again. Dan was quick to catch her in his arms. Then he looked back accusingly at Marcus.
"We would have had a repeat if we took her awake," he said defensively.
Joe was staring at him. The trash bin lid was still under his arm. "You didn't know that would work."
"Well, I was hoping it would."
Dan sighed and looked down at the girl he held. He moved her blonde hair from where it stuck to her tear-soaked cheeks. He always felt a bit of a personal connection to the ones who didn't know how to control their abilities. He remembered being in the same position.
Zoe piped up. "We'll get her home in a squad car." And she jogged away to talk to the police again.
With a little difficulty, Dan stood with Niomi bridal style in his arms. Phil chuckled a little behind his hand, and he received a withering look in response.
"Here, noodle arms," Marcus teased, walking over and taking her instead. She was just the right size to lay her head on his shoulder. "I think I'm better built for this."
Dan glared. "I do not have noodle arms. Not anymore. God."
Marcus just grinned at him and headed out of the alleyway. Dan and Phil made to follow.
"Never a dull moment, huh?" said Phil, looking over with a bemused expression. Dan met his eyes and cracked a smile, shaking his head. It really wasn't much of a surprise that he was drenched with water and nearly taken out with a trash bin lid on the same day.