( IC INBOX )

[mucked]

PEGGY CARTER | MCU | DRIFT FLEET ( action ) or ( text ) or ( video )

Comments

[mucked]

I confess -- children aren't really my forte.

[ it's an easy confession because it's easily assumed. a creature as terse and tightly laced as she is doesn't always mesh well with the whimsy of childhood -- not like she used to, once upon a time. ]

[expellerhead]

[SIIIGGH...no way around it.]

Against all common sense, I AM a teacher. I can look after him.

[mucked]

Now, there's a question. How the devil did you become a teacher?

[ because apparently adults aren't her forte either. ]

[expellerhead]

The school I teach at has a specialized heroics course. It's my alma mater, they needed teachers... [so, nothing mysterious. he just doesn't like it when half-hearted kids enter a program only to flunk out and/or get terribly hurt.]

[mucked]

Dear Lord. What precisely does a 'specialized heroics course' entail?

[expellerhead]

A lot.

[look he doesn't have his curriculum books with him cut him some slack]

Basically we prepare students who want to enter the world of heroics professionally. Since it's a profession where people can easily die, a strict education is important.

[mucked]

I don't think I have ever -- in my entire life -- heard of something more ridiculous. Or more necessary.

[ a funny little paradox. ]

[expellerhead]

[does he care enough to give her a crash course in quirk history

...no]

It became necessary.

We also teach regular educational courses, of course. Math, science, language, etc. The school also offers tracks for people who wish to go into management or support, or even just general education.

[mucked]

-- Then you ought to know that three of your new shipmates have past or present affiliations with...God, I don't know what to call it. A 'heroic' group?I can't vouch for it. It's about seventy years past my time.

[expellerhead]

[yayyyy more time travel.] Is one of them this 'Rogers' you mentioned?

[mucked]

Yes. Steve Rogers -- he took point during the raid. He's the First Mate and the security officer.

[expellerhead]

I'll keep an eye out then. Thanks for letting me know.

[It doesn't necessarily make them more trustworthy to him, but it's good to be aware of the things they might have in common.]

[mucked]

[ and well! now she can't help herself. back home, she was never so quick to assume 'powers' -- but the fleet has been an eye opener. ]

These 'heroes' you teach -- are they powered? Enhanced individuals?

[expellerhead]

[looks like he'll need to give that quirk history lesson after all]

Nearly every human being back home is 'powered,' so yes. Teaching the students proper usage and control is part of the curriculum.

[mucked]

[ wanda comes to mind. immediately and irrevocably, she thinks about wanda. the young woman herself has described difficulties with her powers. but peggy doesn't dare mention her in this conversation. that said, it's worth floating the concept past steve. past wanda, too. it's filed away. ]

Nearly every human. Good Heavens. So, your institution isn't all that niche. I suppose.

[expellerhead]

There are other schools, but not many.

Quirk usage by the general public is more or less restricted by the law. We have systems in place to keep that sort of chaos from happening, but obviously there are plenty of people willing to disregard it. Professional heroes work closely with the government and police forces, so while we tend to have free use of our powers, there are about a dozen steps to take to get and keep those certifications.

[he practically quoted a first day homeroom speech at her. he's pretty sure that makes her his student now]

[mucked]

[ -- thank god this conversation is happening via text. peggy would have had to school her expression through the entire description. what she reads (however unlikely the comparison might be) reminds her of the sokovia accords as described by those who come after her. she hums to herself and has to wonder whether she hasn't inadvertently converted the ship into a powder keg.

maybe it's nothing. maybe it won't matter. but she's the captain; it's her duty to foresee even the smallest of road bumps. ]

What's yours?

[ 'our powers' -- that's what he'd said. ]

[expellerhead]

[he'd expected the question but he's still kind of pissed he put himself into the position where she could ask it. lying is an option, but if she went to uraraka then she would have to lie too. not only does aizawa not want to put her in that position, he doesn't think she'll be particularly good at it either.]

I don't like sharing this. I'll ask you to keep it between us, please.

[mucked]

I said earlier I was rubbish with kids. Turns out, Mister Aizawa, that I am good with secrets. You have my word.

[ whatever that's worth to him. likely not much -- she wouldn't blame him for it. ]

[expellerhead]

[honestly, he doesn't have much a choice. if she wants to find out some other way, she can. sharing information here, and willingly, will work out to be more mutually beneficial.

...he still hates doing it though.]

Erasure. I can eliminate another person's quirk, or powers I suppose, for a short period of time.

You can see why this is more useful when people don't know about it.

[mucked]

[ her blood runs cold. but at the same time, she can almost touch the possibilities something like that provides. peggy takes longer to answer, this time, than she has before. ]

How pragmatic. Especially in an educator. I wish I'd known about it before you transferred.

[ it isn't that she assumes he'll make trouble -- but there's something to be said for her loyalty to the enhanced individuals on the starstruck. for all peggy knows, this man is as likely to exert his ability out of spite as much as anything else. after all, he'd come to her with a desire to lock others out of the consoles -- that's a level of control that could be either helpful or hurtful. what if he felt similarly entitled to lock wanda out of her powers? or pietro? or steve? bloody hell, she doesn't even know if what steve is counts as 'powered' -- it's the serum that altered him on a biological level. he's less powered and more peak.

even so, she realizes she'd rather not find out. ]

[expellerhead]

How lucky that I didn't think to tell you beforehand. [sorry peggy, he'd show you all his certifications if he thought they'd mean anything to you.]

If you want the full medical disclosure, I guess I'll give it to you. As a show of good faith.

[mucked]

Please.

[ funny, really, how the thought of keeping this from steve doesn't bother her half as much as keeping it from wanda. although she hadn't seen it for herself, a description of the collar they'd kept on her in the raft was chilling enough. ]

If you can do what you claim you can, you may need all the good faith you can get.

[expellerhead]

Relax. You can verify everything I tell you with Uraraka. She can't lie to save her life.

I can only erase a power that requires activation; mutations, physical quirks and the like, they're immune. I also can only do it as long as I maintain eye contact with my target, so anything that interrupts my line of sight will stop it.

Additionally, I have chronic dry eye. So I don't like using my quirk unless someone's life is in danger.

[mucked]

[ -- it goes some way to assuage her worries. peggy begins to consider the loopholes. consider how she'll be able to look wanda in the eye. ]

Thank you for your candor. A few in our number have had a rash of recent bad experiences with government overreach -- specifically targeted towards their...abilities. If I'm to try their trust by keeping your erasure a secret, then when it inevitably becomes less of a secret I need to reassure them that I had their best interests at heart the entire time.