And now our three chapters of pure chaos have come to an end.
Year Three: Our Own Path
Wakanda's Palace - 12:49 PM
Iqadi returned from her impromptu trip to Fiji as Emily took a flight to New York. When she arrived at the palace, her parents didn't think much of it since they, as with Imanu, believed she was hanging out with Emily to look at things for her wedding. It was a believable lie, Iqadi had to give herself credit for that, but then the catastrophic feeling of being engulfed in the cyclone and losing her mind, while having a defenceless Emily by her side - it didn't sit well with her.
Nothing about this made the flight home easy. She had to fix her appearance before entering Wakanda's borders.
After saying hello to her parents, she speed-walks to her room and closes the door. Imanu looks up at her in shock due to her rushed composure.
"Emily and I didn't roam around Milan looking at wedding things," Iqadi whispers hushed.
Imanu pauses, looking at her before giving his wife his full attention. "Okay, what did you do?"
Iqadi takes a seat on the corner of their bed and gestures for Imanu to do the same. "We went to Fiji."
Instantly, Imanu knows what they did there. Iqadi bites down on her lips, watching her husband's reaction. She expects him to be angered and feel betrayed that she felt the need to lie to him. He knows that her parents didn't want her to get involved, especially since they believe her miscarriage was influencing her thoughts - which they were.
"Iqadi…" Imanu mutters. Iqadi's unable to narrow in on his reaction. "Are you and Emily alright?"
Iqadi nods skeptically, still studying him. He's more concerned about her wellbeing rather than being lied to. "I almost froze out there. It was overwhelming."
"But you did it, didn't you? I had to sit in with your father during the council debriefings and the tropical storm wasn't mentioned. That's amazing."
"Yes, it was."
"So, what's wrong? Why did you go?"
Iqadi sighs, looking down at her hands. "I couldn't save our baby and said that in the eye of the storm."
Imanu turns closer to her and puts a hand on her shoulder before cupping her cheek along her jaw. "That's okay. Neither of us could. But look what you did, Iqadi, you saved that island and countless babies."
Iqadi looks at him and he kisses her cheek, right above his hand before hugging her from the side. He rests his chin on her shoulder and Iqadi wraps her arm around his waist and pulls him closer to her to have him there. Grief isn't a singular occasion because it never happens and vanishes when it's done. It's never over. It always appears, embedding itself in everything.
"We'll be okay," Imanu whispers, "I promise."
-o-
Academy's Commando's Lounge - 13:27 PM
"I have a concussion, I should be sitting in a dark and silent room," Merida states.
Angela, Ashton, Brody, and Orchid all stare at Merida, wondering why she would say that yet be sitting in a loud and bright lounge in the Academy's student centre. She wasn't wearing sunglasses or doing anything to shield her eyes from the light. To spite herself, she was sitting right underneath the brightest fluorescent light in the whole lounge. They sit around her and Merida looks at Angela.
"Why aren't you feeling this?" Merida asks her.
"It's been my whole life, having the whole advancements or inherited genes spiel in my face," Angela responds. "Kind of hit again recently but Xavier and I are figuring it out."
"Angela beat me up in class," Brody adds in support.
Angela gives him a face. "Please stop telling people I beat you up."
"I'm bragging about it because it's an honour."
Angela smiles before looking back at Merida. "My parents gave Xavier a bigger problem with football despite me doing cheerleading. They were tougher on him because I 'complied' when he 'rebelled.'"
Orchid snorts a laugh, covering her mouth. "Xavier rebelling is a funny thought."
"But rebelling with football sounds about right," Ashton adds.
Merida groans. "My head hurts to talk but the Academy is basically using this nepotism bullshit. Comparing us and treating us like our parents. It's not a problem but they can't give us crap at our parent's levels because we're not them. It's a cycle of bullshit making my head hurt."
"That's the talking, bright lights, and excessive noise."
"Shut up."
"Just saying."
"I'm going home."
Merida gets up and storms out.
It wasn't until she was outside, wincing at the sun that Merida realized she couldn't drive home because of her concussion. She curses aloud in Russian, not caring who around her could hear or understand. Her options are to call her parents to pick her up or ask one of her friends for a ride. She isn't even sure if any of her friends are leaving early for the holidays but odds aren't in her favour. She didn't even tell her parents she's concussed and it'll be gone by the time she's expected to leave for Thanksgiving, so maybe she'll wait it out. But she doesn't want to be here anymore.
And now she sees Victoria grinning at her. Silver locks fly behind her as Merida stops to see what she wants.
"Where are you going?" Victoria asks her.
"Home."
"You weren't planning to say bye to me?"
"Bye."
Merida shoves past her and continues walking but can hear Victoria smiling and laughing mockingly at her. Merida stops to turn around and glare only to see Victoria already facing her as if she expected her to turn around.
"What happened?" Victoria asks.
"I'm mad at the Academy and my parents so I'm going home to figure it out," Merida responds.
"That makes no sense."
She knows. "Last I checked, you're the one who wanted to help Sokovia and yet you came to the one country you're supposed to hate the most."
Victoria purses her deep red lips together as she stares at Merida. "You seem to want to stand out from your parents and be someone else but you came to the one school that wants you to be your parents. Be good to yourself, Barton, you're the only you that you'll ever get."
Merida has never wanted to beat her silver-haired Sokovian sister more than now. "Fuck you."
Victoria's smile returns and she adds a finger wave. "See you after American Thanksgiving."
-o-
Academy Landing Area - 14:00 PM
Despite hugging a truce at Camp after a possible near-death prank war, Xavier and James had a lovely flight back to Camp. The entire plane was quiet. Cadets were happy to be leaving Camp early since James and Xavier, mostly James, destroyed it but this experience was nothing any upper-year classmate could've prepared them for. After their hug, the faculty on-site reprimanded them and said they'll have Agent Vander deal with them when they get back, which will be early since Camp could not work under those conditions. They were lucky that the state of Ohio didn't come after them.
Xavier and James get off the jet with their bags, walking past cadets who are desperate to go home. They spot Angela, Orchid, Brody, and Ashton cheering and holding airport signs with their names on it to get their attention. Once Xavier and James get closer, Angela hugs James first (which doesn't offend Xavier at all since Brody, Ashton, and Orchid pummel him with welcoming punches). It's a moment full of Angela kissing James while Xavier is greeted with force by the others before they part.
"What happened at Camp?" Angela asks, holding on to James. "You guys are back early."
"James killed me," Xavier says.
"Dude!" James yells. "We swore not to tell her."
Angela's brows furrow. "What?"
"Really?" Orchid asks.
"Awesome!" Brody exclaims.
Ashton laughs. "No wonder all the cadets look traumatized."
"Don't worry, I'm fine." Xavier reaches forwards to hug Angela, shoving James to the side. He parts from her and smiles at her stunned expression, eyes nearly bulging out of her head. "Anyways, James and I have to meet Vander because we're about to be expelled."
Neither of those statements calms Angela down.
-o-
Operations' Faculty Building - 14:28 PM
Xavier and James tried to create a story but couldn't think of anything. Agent Vander already knew what happened and got pictures of the horrific aftermath of the wasp-cement catastrophe, the pig rampage response, and the earthquake finale. (For evidence.)
They dropped their bags off at their dorms but stayed in their uniforms and counsellor windbreakers. They were prepared for suspensions, expulsion, or even being sent back to Camp to clean it all up. Hell, they'll probably get all three of those possibilities. But they agreed on one thing. Despite Xavier breaking his word and telling Angela that James killed him, they agreed to take the fall for Camp together, but it doesn't seem like one of them will walk free.
They walk into Agent Vander's office. Xavier closes the door behind them and the two boys face Agent Vander and Prof Nine who have straight faces.
"You boys know why you're here," Agent Vander says.
" … in my defence," James mutters, "I didn't think the earthquake would work."
"Not my fault the pigs followed me," Xavier adds, "it was their primal animal instinct."
Prof Nine nods, keeping his hands in his pocket. "If anyone asks, we were scolding you."
Xavier and James pause, looking at each other but they're both confused. They didn't prepare for that response. Agent Vander's the head of Camp SHIELD so Xavier thought he and James would've been expelled.
Agent Vander nods. "Nine and I were told of the events and it was hard to keep a straight face. We laughed at a bar afterwards."
Xavier and James are even more confused when their SOs start laughing. When they realize they're not getting in trouble, they laugh as well. For the first time since Camp, they got to rejoice in the realization that they pulled those pranks on each other and duked it out in an earthquake.
"Oh, and your formally issued apology was the best thing I've read in years," Agent Vander adds.
"We didn't even write it," James says. The formal apology was brought up when Xavier and James were being reprimanded at Camp.
"We could tell," Prof Nine says. "Aside from the signed name at not being either of yours, we could tell."
"Communications wrote it as a thanks for keeping them entertained during Camp," Xavier explains. "I don't know what it says. James was probably cleaning up after the earthquake."
"And Xavier was probably dead," James adds.
"Amory, read it to them," Prof Nine says.
Agent Vander walks over to his desk and pulls out a crisp letter with a Camp SHIELD heading heading from the top of a pile. He clears his throat before starting.
"Agent Vander:
I hope this letter finds you in good times.
As you might have heard upon receiving this letter, all events at Camp SHIELD from the date of this letter to the originally planned end date have been cancelled due to the life-threatening consequences and the damages done on campgrounds by the surrounding man-induced wildlife and man-made natural disasters. Photos of the aftermath were provided. No freshman cadets, counsellors, or faculty on-site were critically harmed.
As head counsellors, Cadets James Pym and Xavier Rogers take full responsibility for the horrendous outcome of the long-lasting Camp SHIELD tradition. Their strategies and execution of the traditional Operations v. Sci-Tech Prank War were extreme displays of toxic masculinity and mulling excessive testosterone due to an unapproved romance creating a conflict of interest between their already-feuding programs.
I hope to write that they have learned their lessons but that is up to a higher authority to decide.
Signed,
Cadet Katrina Ives
Head Counsellor for Communications."
Xavier and James are speechless because, aside from the flowery language, that letter is spot-on. Agent Vander and Prof Nine went back to laughing and discussing getting the letter copied and framed for both their offices. Xavier and James are tempted to ask for a copy and they're probably going to receive one as a Christmas present.
"So we're not expelled?" James asks to make sure. It didn't seem like they were but he wanted to hear those words.
"Hell no," Prof Nine scoffs, "Amory just has to rework the finances put towards Camp to repair it. You boys did us proud."
"Seriously?" Xavier asks.
Vander nods, putting a hand on Xavier's and James's shoulders. "Nine and I wished we were there to witness the real version of a prank war. You and Xavier are officially dismissed for Thanksgiving. Cadets should be on campus for another day or two, depending. If anyone asks, you've been suspended but it's not on your permanent records."
"Sweet," James cheers. "Thanks!"
"Thanks," Xavier adds.
Prof Nine and James leave. On their way out, James tells Prof Nine the details of his wasp infestation and cement pit prank. Once his voice is no longer audible, Xavier turns to his SO to see if he's dismissed but Agent Vander's sitting on the edge of his desk.
"Rogers, stay for a second," Agent Vander orders.
"Sir?" Xavier asks.
"So you enjoyed Camp SHIELD?"
"I did not. Not one bit. I never want to go back."
Agent Vander nods. "Good. You're going back and you'll make a great RA."
"Yeah…" Xavier smiles before realizing what Vander said. "Wait, what?"
"You managed to save the cadets and your fellow counsellors from a wasp invasion and a cement pit, you got feral pigs to obey you, and overloaded Pym's fuse. It only makes sense to make you an RA and it'll help you for your future leadership role. Do you know what Sci-Tech did in my day? Electric toilets. You're damn lucky you got a few bees."
"James killed me!"
"You walked it off and got that boy to blow his own fuse out. I've never met Captain America, but I imagine your father would be proud. We'll talk near the end of the year about you being an RA next year. You're dismissed for Thanksgiving."
Xavier nods. There was so much in this conversation he had to process. "Have a good Thanksgiving, Sir."
-o-
Atlantic Residence - 15:29 PM
Merida ended up lying on her bed, finally in a silent and dark place. Her conversation with Victoria keeps ringing in her head and all Merida wonders is what the fuck does Victoria know about her? Victoria doesn't know if the tests and serum given to her mom in Red Room made some stuff in Merida innate, especially since her mother supposedly couldn't have kids. Merida now thinks about why she's even at this school but she loves it here. She's made new friends, maybe Victoria counts, and she enjoys her classes.
Merida doesn't even know why she cares so much about being compared to her parents, being told she isn't as good as them. Her friends are being told the same thing but they're not as bothered as her. They're not a product of their genes. They're a product of many things: genes, environment - nature and nurture. They didn't want to be like their parents as much as her but what other model did that have? As much as they love their parents and their work, they're also trying to live their own lives. College was supposed to be a fresh start, a chance for them to figure out who they really are, free from their parents' influence and roof. That's why being with her friends was so much easier because they've known her for her whole life and don't judge her.
Merida looks up from her bed when Angela walks into their dorm. She almost turns on the light but stops when she sees Merida in her bunk.
"Not going home?" Angela asks.
"No," Merida responds as she hops out of bed. "I realized I couldn't drive home due to my current medical state."
"Right. Look, Xavier got dismissed early for the holidays so I'm heading home too. We could drive you."
"Oh my god, please."
To her concussed mind's surprise, Merida climbs out of her bunk and hugs Angela. Angela is shocked for a second before wrapping her arms around Merida.