p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;""I uh," Pointing to her glass I stood up abruptly. "need one of those. I'm just gonna go do that."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe walk to the bar wasn't quick enough. It was on a lower level, darker and lit by red and green neon. Festive. When I'd found an empty barstool I sat and put my head down on the bar. A large hand clapped itself onto my back. "Listen dude I-" I started, turning around to find Ms. Marvel, her hand shrinking in the process. "Oh sorry, I thought you were Wonder Man again." I laughed nervously and stuck my hand out./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Beacon." We shook firmly./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Ms. Marvel." She smiled "Sorry, I followed you, I know what it's like to be the new kid, this is only my second Christmas party and I still don't really feel like I fit in." I offered her the seat next to me. She politely declined. "I'm not old enough to drink, even if I was I kinda can't, religion and all that." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"I waved over the android bartender. "How about a Shirley Temple for her, and a Washington Apple for me?" The sophisticated machine nodded and started off on our drinks. "Come on," I pat the seat. "You won't get drunk from just sitting here, and I don't really want anyone else to sit next to me."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShe smiled and took the seat. "So how are you liking it so far? I saw you sitting with Deadpool, what's he like? I've still never formally met him, he kinda scares the crud out of me." Her rapid talking made me feel at ease. I was glad to not be the only nervous person in the room. I drank from my glass once it'd reached me, the alcohol eased me even more./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"I told her about what had happened at the table. "I don't like people knowing about me before I've introduced myself y'know?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yeah you're right!" She slammed her cup down. "That's super rude, and so not fair to you!" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanShe was a bit younger than me, but since she was older than me in superhero time I felt I could let myself relax a bit. "I really like this though." I gestured to the heroes all around us. "It's pretty surreal."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;""Yeah, it's a big jump from writing it to living it." Her face dropped and she reached out at me. "Oh god! Forget I said that!"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI snort laughed and finished my drink. The bartender started on a new one for me. "You wrote about this stuff? What like fan-fiction?" She blushed. "That's pretty cool, my sister writes a ton of it. She's pretty good at it too."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHer walls came down, she shared her username with me after I'd told her Fionna's. We sat there reading on our phones for a few minutes. It was the most at home I'd felt since the evening began./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"br / "I love it! Your writing is amazing!" I squealed, finishing one of her stories./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShe slammed her phone down. "I need to meet your sister like, yesterday. That was amazing! I'm so following her!"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanAs I finished my second drink I smiled to myself. "Can't wait to tell her a superhero is following her. She's gonna freak."br / span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanEyes were upon us as we screamed and laughed about various stories we'd read. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;""Aren't you guys being a little loud?" We both turned to see Spider-Man standing there. I swallowed hard and did the best to not let the blood rush to my face. Ms. Marvel read my expression and spoke up/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"We're just having fun!" She giggled and beckoned for him to come over. "Have you met Beacon? She's quickly becoming my new favorite Avenger!" Her upsell warmed me right up. He and I shook hands. Melting at his touch, I did my best to stay on my barstool./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;""Oh- I'm not an-"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Nice to meet you." His voice was. Oh. How could I describe it? Smooth, but like he was trying to make it sound that way. I wasn't expecting any one to put on airs, at least not for me. "I've heard a lot about you." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;""Yeah who hasn't?" I joked, sipping on my drink to keep my nerves straight. "Seriously though, huge fan. I've got a Spider-Man toothbrush…why did I say that?" He and Ms. Marvel laughed at me. From behind Spidey emerged one of his lesser halves. Deadpool waved as he approached us./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Hola newb-vengers!" He wrapped an arm around Spider-Man. "How's my sexiest partner doing?" The smaller man pushed him off./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You reek of beer dude. Not cool." Wade let a large burp loose in his face. I pursed my lips to keep from laughing. Reaching across the bar Deadpool grabbed a beer and opened it off his belt buckle. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;""No Webs, you not drinking is not cool." He lifted his mask slightly in the dark room and sipped from the bottle. When he'd finished he yanked his mask back down and pointed at Ms. Marvel. I got nervous real quick, sister defenses kicked in. "I'm only joking, drinking is not cool young lady!" She looked at me with a small grin. I got up with my drink and slid myself under Deadpool's arm./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Come on, lets leave the kids alone. Marvel, you better text me!" We walked away, Spider-Man looking on disappointingly. "Dude what is the matter with you?" I scolded in a hushed whisper, dragging the large man back upstairs to the party./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;""Oh come on, I was saving you. You don't want to hang out with kids all night." He pulled up his mask to sip again. I let him walk on his own and drank from my glass as well. "Everyone will think you're a Champion, or a Young Avenger or something. You gotta walk the walk around here." We sat back at our table which still seated the three women from earlier, with an addition of two famous characters. Power Man and Iron Fist were at my table and I was scumming it with Deadpool. Great./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Welcome back!" Trish smiled at me. "See you found the alcohol." I winked at her and finished off my glass./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;""Yeah but not enough." I leaned back in my chair and sighed. "Would anybody be interested in a little after-party?" The whole table turned their attention to me. I suddenly felt small. "I mean, my place isn't far from here, and there's probably more booze there." I leaned in. "And we wouldn't have to invite the big guys." Pointing over my shoulder at the head table, I saw She-Hulk's face light up./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;""You're a genius!" She stood up suddenly. "Here." Her phone practically flew out of her pocket. "I'll text everyone, trust me, this is going to be awesome." An excited squeal escaped her lips. "I love a good secret party."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI received a text reading "It's me!" from an unknown number and wondered for a second how she'd gotten mine. There wasn't really time to think before I stood up and announced to the table. "I gotta say goodnight to 'dad'. Party at 10." With that I headed up to the foremost table. It felt like I had hit a forcefield of hatred. When their eyes fell upon me I wanted to burst into flames./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Hey Beacs. What-uh, whatcha doing?" Tony acted as if I'd broken into another one his labs./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;""I just wanted to say thanks for the night, I'm gonna turn in early though. I'm pretty exhausted." I faked a yawn and he eyed me suspiciously. He stood up and came around the table to give me a hug. It was uncomfortable. For the both of us./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"He used the opportunity to whisper to me. "Don't do anything stupid. I've been watching you all night." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI pulled away and nodded, pursing my lips tight. "You got it. Have a good night pops." We each had nicknames for each other, both with seeded hatred. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI felt his eyes on me the whole time as I walked out of the crowded building. The cold air hit me like a ton of bricks and I'd realized I forgot to call an uber. Somebody honked at me as I looked for a taxi to hail. The source of the sound came from a beat-up Cadillac with Deadpool as its driver./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;""Hey lady of the night you need a ride?" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"I laughed and ran around to the passenger seat. "Where'd you get this thing?" He peeled away from the curb and laughed. "Oh it's stolen isn't it?" He laughed even louder./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanThe walk to the bar wasn't quick enough. It was on a lower level, darker and lit by red and green neon. Festive. When I'd found an empty barstool I sat and put my head down on the bar. A large hand clapped itself onto my back. "Listen dude I-" I started, turning around to find Ms. Marvel, her hand shrinking in the process. "Oh sorry, I thought you were Wonder Man again." I laughed nervously and stuck my hand out./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Beacon." We shook firmly./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Ms. Marvel." She smiled "Sorry, I followed you, I know what it's like to be the new kid, this is only my second Christmas party and I still don't really feel like I fit in." I offered her the seat next to me. She politely declined. "I'm not old enough to drink, even if I was I kinda can't, religion and all that." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"I waved over the android bartender. "How about a Shirley Temple for her, and a Washington Apple for me?" The sophisticated machine nodded and started off on our drinks. "Come on," I pat the seat. "You won't get drunk from just sitting here, and I don't really want anyone else to sit next to me."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShe smiled and took the seat. "So how are you liking it so far? I saw you sitting with Deadpool, what's he like? I've still never formally met him, he kinda scares the crud out of me." Her rapid talking made me feel at ease. I was glad to not be the only nervous person in the room. I drank from my glass once it'd reached me, the alcohol eased me even more./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"I told her about what had happened at the table. "I don't like people knowing about me before I've introduced myself y'know?"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Yeah you're right!" She slammed her cup down. "That's super rude, and so not fair to you!" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanShe was a bit younger than me, but since she was older than me in superhero time I felt I could let myself relax a bit. "I really like this though." I gestured to the heroes all around us. "It's pretty surreal."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;""Yeah, it's a big jump from writing it to living it." Her face dropped and she reached out at me. "Oh god! Forget I said that!"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI snort laughed and finished my drink. The bartender started on a new one for me. "You wrote about this stuff? What like fan-fiction?" She blushed. "That's pretty cool, my sister writes a ton of it. She's pretty good at it too."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanHer walls came down, she shared her username with me after I'd told her Fionna's. We sat there reading on our phones for a few minutes. It was the most at home I'd felt since the evening began./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"br / "I love it! Your writing is amazing!" I squealed, finishing one of her stories./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanShe slammed her phone down. "I need to meet your sister like, yesterday. That was amazing! I'm so following her!"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /spanAs I finished my second drink I smiled to myself. "Can't wait to tell her a superhero is following her. She's gonna freak."br / span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanEyes were upon us as we screamed and laughed about various stories we'd read. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;""Aren't you guys being a little loud?" We both turned to see Spider-Man standing there. I swallowed hard and did the best to not let the blood rush to my face. Ms. Marvel read my expression and spoke up/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"We're just having fun!" She giggled and beckoned for him to come over. "Have you met Beacon? She's quickly becoming my new favorite Avenger!" Her upsell warmed me right up. He and I shook hands. Melting at his touch, I did my best to stay on my barstool./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;""Oh- I'm not an-"/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Nice to meet you." His voice was. Oh. How could I describe it? Smooth, but like he was trying to make it sound that way. I wasn't expecting any one to put on airs, at least not for me. "I've heard a lot about you." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;""Yeah who hasn't?" I joked, sipping on my drink to keep my nerves straight. "Seriously though, huge fan. I've got a Spider-Man toothbrush…why did I say that?" He and Ms. Marvel laughed at me. From behind Spidey emerged one of his lesser halves. Deadpool waved as he approached us./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Hola newb-vengers!" He wrapped an arm around Spider-Man. "How's my sexiest partner doing?" The smaller man pushed him off./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"You reek of beer dude. Not cool." Wade let a large burp loose in his face. I pursed my lips to keep from laughing. Reaching across the bar Deadpool grabbed a beer and opened it off his belt buckle. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;""No Webs, you not drinking is not cool." He lifted his mask slightly in the dark room and sipped from the bottle. When he'd finished he yanked his mask back down and pointed at Ms. Marvel. I got nervous real quick, sister defenses kicked in. "I'm only joking, drinking is not cool young lady!" She looked at me with a small grin. I got up with my drink and slid myself under Deadpool's arm./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Come on, lets leave the kids alone. Marvel, you better text me!" We walked away, Spider-Man looking on disappointingly. "Dude what is the matter with you?" I scolded in a hushed whisper, dragging the large man back upstairs to the party./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;""Oh come on, I was saving you. You don't want to hang out with kids all night." He pulled up his mask to sip again. I let him walk on his own and drank from my glass as well. "Everyone will think you're a Champion, or a Young Avenger or something. You gotta walk the walk around here." We sat back at our table which still seated the three women from earlier, with an addition of two famous characters. Power Man and Iron Fist were at my table and I was scumming it with Deadpool. Great./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Welcome back!" Trish smiled at me. "See you found the alcohol." I winked at her and finished off my glass./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;""Yeah but not enough." I leaned back in my chair and sighed. "Would anybody be interested in a little after-party?" The whole table turned their attention to me. I suddenly felt small. "I mean, my place isn't far from here, and there's probably more booze there." I leaned in. "And we wouldn't have to invite the big guys." Pointing over my shoulder at the head table, I saw She-Hulk's face light up./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;""You're a genius!" She stood up suddenly. "Here." Her phone practically flew out of her pocket. "I'll text everyone, trust me, this is going to be awesome." An excited squeal escaped her lips. "I love a good secret party."/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI received a text reading "It's me!" from an unknown number and wondered for a second how she'd gotten mine. There wasn't really time to think before I stood up and announced to the table. "I gotta say goodnight to 'dad'. Party at 10." With that I headed up to the foremost table. It felt like I had hit a forcefield of hatred. When their eyes fell upon me I wanted to burst into flames./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /span"Hey Beacs. What-uh, whatcha doing?" Tony acted as if I'd broken into another one his labs./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;""I just wanted to say thanks for the night, I'm gonna turn in early though. I'm pretty exhausted." I faked a yawn and he eyed me suspiciously. He stood up and came around the table to give me a hug. It was uncomfortable. For the both of us./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"He used the opportunity to whisper to me. "Don't do anything stupid. I've been watching you all night." /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI pulled away and nodded, pursing my lips tight. "You got it. Have a good night pops." We each had nicknames for each other, both with seeded hatred. /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"span style="mso-tab-count: 1;" /spanI felt his eyes on me the whole time as I walked out of the crowded building. The cold air hit me like a ton of bricks and I'd realized I forgot to call an uber. Somebody honked at me as I looked for a taxi to hail. The source of the sound came from a beat-up Cadillac with Deadpool as its driver./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;""Hey lady of the night you need a ride?" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Calibri Light',sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin;"I laughed and ran around to the passenger seat. "Where'd you get this thing?" He peeled away from the curb and laughed. "Oh it's stolen isn't it?" He laughed even louder./span/p