The A.V.E.N.G.E.R. Program

-> May 22nd, 2024
-> Wednesday, 4:21 PM
-> The H.Y.B.R.I.D. Facility
"Hero Youth's Beginnings and Reassessment Initiative Division"

"Dad? Dad! Where are you?!" A little boy - his form quite sharp for a child his age - called out into the air, searching for any sign of his father. A clue, a footstep, a sound.. anything. A single trace.

However, nothing came to sight, hearing range or mind. He stood still, his mind racing with a train of thoughts. There was only one thing that came to mind in the end, something that manifested in a high-pitched, little boy's hopeless scream.

"DAD!!"

The boy punched the punching bag harder with each memory, stood unsteady and unbalanced, panting more and more with each heavy punch. He lost himself in the work-out, just trying to find some way to release the anger and tension he felt from the flashbacks. He was gonna be a hero, if the A.V.E.N.G.E.R. Program worked out..

"What.. What's the A.V.E.N.G.E.R. Program exactly?" The boy asked curiously. He was only freshly sixteen years old back then, he was almost eighteen now..

"It's an acronym, in this case, for: Alliance of Vigilant Emergency Navigators and Global Emergency Responders." One of his past mentors responded, bringing interest to the boy.

"..is it based on the Avengers from those Marvel comics and movies??" The boy asked like the little Avenger fanboy he was, despite how important the meaning of the acronym sounded.
"Yes, it is.. and you'll be the "Captain America" of the team, buddy. You and your team will become real superheroes."

He was a young boy, a teenager. His hair was shaggy, brown. It usually hung slightly in front of his dark blue eyes, and to the contrast, his skin was a tan color. His quite muscular arms were shown due to him only wearing a white sleeveless shirt, black pants, and black shoes. He did his best to keep himself in great shape. And on the right side of his face.. ran a strange scar, one that stretched from the right side of his forehead down across his eye and cheek.

The boy punched the punching bag heavily, pushing it flying back as he quickly took a step back, so it wouldn't hit him. He sat down on the bench behind him and grabbed his water bottle. An Avenger.. the "Captain America" of the team.. god, he wished it would be the team assembly already, he'd been training all year long. He wanted to prove himself.

"Cody? Cody! Are you here!?" Suddenly someone called his name. The boy stood straight and looked around for the voice, as a smile made its way to his face. "Mx. Brooks!" He exclaimed and ran to their side. "Brooks" chuckled at the sight.

"Brooks" was a tall person, for their relatively young age. Their hair went down to their waist, an ash brown color, and the front was dyed a purple-ish color instead. Their eyes were a sky blue, a stark contrast to the lightly tan color and freckles on their skin. They wore white, button-up t-shirt with a purple-ish tie. Then a black, sleeveless jacket, along with a pair of grey pants. They had black-and-purple boots, once again reminding Cody of their status as a mentor, as H.Y.B.R.I.D. used the color purple a lot in anything related to them. Other than that, they wore finger-less gloves or a utility belt.

And a moon hairpin in their hair, one Cody always found interest in for some reason - he liked to pay attention to the little details. He has teased them about the pin before, asking for one of his own - they never gave in, only teased him, not that he minded it either way.

He wondered what they needed from him this time around, and they never really 'needed' anything.. "Brooks" sighed and put a hand on their waist, before smiling down at the boy with a soft smile. "There you are, Webster. Look, call me Taylor, okay? I told you before." At those words, Cody paused and rubbed the back of his neck nervously, as he hadn't realized he called Taylor "Mx. Brooks" once again. He was used to it from his old mentors.. ones that were the type of people who didn't tolerate nonsense. Yet, Taylor didn't mind at all.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it." Taylor teased lightly and ruffled his hair, messing it up one way or another, no matter how messy or sweaty it already was. Cody grumbled at the sight of his hair falling into his eyes. He exhaled tiredly and death-glared up at Taylor, drawing a snicker from the mentor. "Either way.."

"We need you in the meeting room. The others have something important to show you."
Those words caught Cody's attention. The boy quickly sprinted over to grab a towel. The moment he grabbed it, he threw it around his neck. He reached for the water bottle and easily ran back over to Taylor, who had an impressed expression on their face, when they saw him sprinting. "Woah.. yeah, you'll make a great Captain America with that speed—"

"—half the trainees here aren't as fast as you." Cody finished the sentence with a nonchalant tone of voice, moreover, gave Taylor a 'smartass' look. The mentor couldn't help, but burst into laughter at what they heard. "Exactly! You're learning fast. Now come on, you'll want to see what the others have in store for you.." They trailed off, their tone of voice hinting at mystery. The boy was intrigued by their mysterious tone, nevertheless, he kept his focus on the entire thing.

"Any hints?"
"Well.. it regards a certain Program candidates list."

....

The moment Cody and Taylor walked into the meeting room, all attention was on them. Especially Cody, thanks to his workout outfit, however most of the people ignored that. Those who didn't, on the other hand, found it amusing. The mentor ruffled his hair once they noticed, and took their seat at the table among the other "mentors". Cody continued standing, his polite demeanor coming in handy at that moment. He was usually relaxed, yet hardworking.

The large meeting room had light grey walls, with a black wooden floor and a white ceiling, which was decorated by bright LED lights. A large table stood in the center of the room, surrounded by up to eight chairs. Scattered across the table were various items: notebooks, tablets, coffee mugs, and an assortment of pens, both normal and compatible with tablets. Or with, which was covering one side of the room, the massive board that could serve as a monitor. By each of the remaining walls stood a large, grey cabinet.

"Mx. Broo- I mean.. Taylor said you wanted to see me?" Cody asked, drying his face from the sweat with the towel around his neck. They all found his teenage or child-ish behavior in such serious situations quite silly, although he would only dare to do such things around them, because they knew him well. One of the mentors - who wasn't Taylor - stood up and nodded before speaking. Mr. Riverton, to be specific. He was usually quiet with the trainees around, Cody found it strange sometimes.. "Yes, Mx. Brooks is correct. We wanted to see you."

He told the boy in a calm manner, although almost unnervinglycalm to him. Mr. Riverton was quiet.. and a little old, at least to Cody. He always was so.. rugged to Cody, despite the professional attitude. Light hair - with gray hair already growing out in it - matched his forest-green eyes, along with the pale-ish skin. He usually wore dark suits, with purple undertones such as the tie or cufflinks. He was one of the much more experienced mentors, the ones who already spent quite a while at the H.Y.B.R.I.D. Facility - or more facilities. There was a similar moon hairpin, put over a side of his upper chest on his suit, Cody occasionally wondered if it was like a friendship thing. Maybe that's why they never let him have one, it was only meant for certain people?

Cody nodded to his words and put the towel back down around his neck again, feeling the sweat from his intense workout. "Why, exactly? If I may ask?" Cody asked curiously, drawing a smile to Taylor's face at that simple, curious question. All of the mentors were fond of the boy, that has always been for sure. He was as polite as Steve Rogers was.. and as polite as Cody's father was.

"It's about the A.V.E.N.G.E.R. Program list, to be precise. We may have all the candidates chosen, along with alternative candidates."

Cody's eyes widened in shock as the board behind the mentor lit up, with the six main candidates and their respective "roles".. including the boy himself shown on the board. The first in line. The leader, the captain. The boy gasped in further surprise at the sight of the six of them in two seperate lines. It looked like quite the unexplainable team at first sight.

The boy couldn't help, but mumble "woah" under his breath, which made Taylor chuckle a bit and snap him back to reality with a pat on the shoulder. "Wait, so— if they agree, the A.V.E.N.G.E.R. Program could.. be put up into use?" Cody questioned, gripping the towel around his neck in anticipation and hope. Perhaps a hint of desperation, he had been training far too hard for his role as captain, for it to go to waste.

"Exactly. Let me explain to you who each one of them are." Taylor piped up again, instead of Mr. Riverton, before heading out of their spot beside Cody. The older mentor - Mr. Riverton - sat back down and gave Taylor space to explain everything necessary. "It's quite simple, don't worry." Taylor reassured a bit teasingly, causing Cody to shake his head with a playful little eye roll, along with a small chuckle. He didn't mind playing along with their teases. It made the serious discussion much more lighthearted.

Taylor headed over to the large monitor and lightly touched the screen, then pushed the entire list into the corner, all while focusing on one person in particular. A girl, the only girl on the team to be precise. Brown hair, hazel-colored eyes, light skin and some very light lipstick.. she looked pretty cute, Cody had to admit.
A lot of other pictures lit up on the board as well after that. Two or three pictures of her doing karate, another few from self-defense courses, and finally one of her standing proudly in front of the rest of her classmates. She was quite.. intriguing to him.
The Black Widow candidate, huh? How about some more crimson shade? She looks like a crimson-liking type..

"First up is Sadie Tessa Hawkins. She is quite the master at karate, has the purple belt, on her way to get the brown one. Basically very advanced for you, Webs." Taylor explained in more simple terms for Cody to understand easily. The boy nodded subtly, leaning onto the table comfortably, not that anyone minded. He was a part of the 'family', as it were. At least between the mentors.

Taylor chuckled at his interest. They themself found Sadie intriguing, however they didn't let it be shown all that clearly. "She went to several self-defense courses and is one of the more advanced or rather— best students in all of her classes. Top of her class in P.E. as well." They finished explaining, making Cody seem.. very intrigued.

"And also, she knows plural Russian. And went to a dancing course as a kid, but gave it up for karate." Taylor added, making Cody chuckle under his breath, because a friend of his was a dancer too.. an old friend. He couldn't help, but feel pure and utter regret at the thought of that friend. If it wasn't for them, he wouldn't have so many scars. But- it was his fault that.. nevermind.
"Sounds like my type of person." Cody teased lightly to get his mind off of it. Taylor smirked and pushed her file aside, revealing a boy, at least one of the many boys on the team. This one, in specific, had black hair, wood brown eyes, light skin and a cold, yet relaxed look on his face.

Other pictures that lit up included him at several archery competitions or training sessions, one from a self-defense course, one of him training with his bow and the other of working out. He looked like a strategic guy, the definition of "he knows what he's doing". He seemed familiar as well, for some reason that Cody couldn't quite put his finger to..
Yet, he sure looks like a Hawkeye-type of guy, that's for sure!

"She sure is. So is this next guy, you might've actually met him." One of the other mentors spoke up too, partially raising her hand and smiling at Cody. Cody turned to look at her and smiled. She had always been kind to him, no matter how bad he might have felt. "Yeah, she's right. Ryder Miller - this boy - is her son." Cody gasped in surprise at those words, he really did meet Ryder before! He remembered him! They became friends very quickly. His gaze flickered between Ryder in the pictures and Mrs. Miller nearby, noticing the similarities.

Mrs. Miller was one of the kindest mentors there. Her wavy hair was quite long, and black like Ryder's. Their eyes were a sky blue, just like Taylor's, complimenting her light skin. She usually wore a sleek, black dress with ruffles on the ends of the skirt, which went down to her knees. It was rare to see her in pants he and Ryder talked about it for fun one time. She had black-and-purple flat hells, along with light stockings. There was that same moon hairpin in her hair as well. Cody thought it was for a mentors thing at first, however not every mentor had it. It really had to be friendship thing - but for adults!

But back to the other Miller at hand..

"He won a lot of archery competitions, trains and works out a lot.. and knows some phrases in Russian as well. Only basic from what we know." Taylor explained, with the information provided by his mother. Mrs. Miller nodded in confirmation at each point.

She seemed quite calm about him being a part of the A.V.E.N.G.E.R. Program.. Cody wondered about the specific relationship between Mrs. Miller and her son, although from the few times he met Ryder, he never once spoke badly of his mother or acted strangely at the mere mention of her. "I met him a few times. He was pretty chill, to be perfectly honest. Strategic too! Hawkeye all the way 'round." Cody quipped, making Ryder's mother take it as a compliment. Taylor let out a snort-laugh and returned their attention to the board. Again they swiped their hand across the screen, showing a tall, dark-skinned boy with black hair and lime-green eyes. Cody immediately noticed the scars on his face.. they were similar to his own. Not that he was proud of them, and from his expression on the picture, this boy wasn't either.

Other pictures of him were pretty interesting too. A few of him on a few medical contests, one of him with very-well written essay he had made. The picture was similar to Sadie's at being in the front of his class - though he seemed way more shy than the confident Sadie.. he seemed nice despite any apparent flaws, like the scars. Kind, understanding even..
Really a Bruce Banner candidate, eh? But.. what about the Hulk side?

Taylor smiled and took a deep breath before speaking. "That's Riley Ryan Byrd. Canadian. He's quite the fluiding type of person - sometimes he's kind, other times he has a short fuse. But he has his own way of doing things, which fits into the A.V.E.N.G.E.R. Program perfectly." They seemed fond of him at first sight, a little too fond.. Cody was a little jealous. He didn't know exactly why he felt jealous, yet he felt it, at least a tiny bit.

"Let me guess, he has anger issues, but the one he shows is his soft side?" Cody let out without a second thought about what he had said, the little bit of jealousy slipping through in his tone of voice. Taylor couldn't help, but mock-offensively shake their head at him, despite smiling at him too, with a look of 'don't be jealous, I still love you'. Instead of directly telling Cody to cool off a little, they decided to continue. "Exactly. And he has some medical issues with the heart, like you did." The mentor - Taylor - told him in response. Right, health issues.. how much fun was that?

The answer was no fun, health issues sucked.

Taylor put their finger on the screen and in another smooth and swift movement, revealed the next candidate. A short boy with dirty blonde hair, deep ocean-blue eyes and too light skin, it was almost a pale color. He seemed.. tense in the picture, trying his best to seem relaxed, though he wasn't at all. Did he not like getting photographed? Cody wouldn't, couldn't, blame him.. he wasn't fond of photos either.

The pictures connected to his file revealed him in a cosplay of a Greek god - which was such an irony, considering who he was the candidate for. One of him with his parents and their diplomas, along with one of his own. A few of him drawing and one of.. him making a soldier uniform design, along with gadgets related to it. They seemed accurate, as if they had been researched thoroughly, before being drafted down onto the sketch itself.
Cody could already see the Thor-like side of that boy, but the research caught his eye anyway.

Taylor smiled softly and spoke. "That's Austin Boltson. His parents are teachers of History and Biology respectively, and he has a past of loving mythology. He's also known to love cosplaying and drawing from what we know. He's actually Swedish, but knows plural English.. though, he also has a knowledge of military or weapon related things, as you can see."

Cody wasn't sure how to feel about him at all those points and facts. Such creativity in his cosplaying and drawing, perhaps such hidden confidence and also smarts? He wasn't the only one with weapon-related knowledge after all. It made him feel less out of place, knowing he wasn't the only with strangely military knowledge.. knowing he wasn't the only weirdo out there. Although Cody had literally been trained to know those types of things. The boy smirked with interest at the sight of that 'Austin'. He was a guy all over the place, quite useful on a team such as this one. "Interesting.." Cody muttered.

Taylor sighed and shook their head in amusement, smirking the whole way through. Then they moved the file away one last time, showing the last main candidate besides Cody himself. A boy with blonde hair - purple-dyed front hair, dark blue eyes and a bunch of scars of his own. Looks like Cody had one more thing to feel even less out of place about that - already seeing Riley's scars made him feel strangely more normal. He seemed to have slightly pointier ears too.. ear disorder?

The other pictures showed what his role was without even needing to say it aloud or guess it internally. He was like a reborn Tony Stark in this world, the pictures gave it off all too much. The pictures included him winning a mathematics contest, working on an Iron Man-like gadget of his own, studying languages, him having straight A's or B's in any class.. again, a reborn Tony Stark.
Reborn Tony Stark.. Iron Man candidate. Obvious as hell, as previously mentioned.

Taylor nervously rubbed the back of their neck before speaking, the teen never made much sense to them. "That's Axel Sie. The Stark of the team, as you can see. Extremely intelligent. Despite having started engineering about two years ago, he already figured JARVIS out. Wouldn't be surprised if he's improving him as we speak. He's on his way to make a proper Iron Man suit." This.. caught Cody's attention. The Mark suit? Wasn't that almost impossible in the world in which they lived?

"Isn't that almost impossible??" Cody exclaimed in surprise, gaining a few nods in response from all of the mentors in the room. Taylor included. "Presumably. We have no idea how he did it. Hell, we don't get how he even got JARVIS to work. Probably works like its own internet!" Taylor let out in their own confusion, gaining a few laughs from the other mentors at the amusing exchange between Taylor and Cody. They found it relatively funny.

They cleared their throat and continued explaining.. "He's actually.. Czech. So basically, he naturally knows one of the world's hardest languages. He also knows plural English, and has been learning basic German and basic French. He's the top of his class on multiple occasions, won multiple contests in all sorts of things, several health issues.. basically Tony Stark in real life." Taylor explained. Cody could only stare with his jaw open. He even fit the negative aspects of being such a role, such as the several health issues Taylor had mentioned. How was he real again?

"But don't worry, he's not all that good at working out." Taylor just had to quip lightly, teasing the boy and snapping Cody back to reality, before expectedly gaining a mock-exhausted eye roll from the boy - he acted disappointed, yes, while he couldn't be happier at the choice of his teammates.

Then, Taylor swiftly moved the file on Axel away and revealed Cody's own file. Brown hair, tan-ish skin, dark blue eyes - as previously described.
The pictures attached were of him training hard at the H.Y.B.R.I.D. Facility, training with his father at the Facility, studying various weapon-related things, training and/or working out on his own.. thankfully none related to his life before the H.Y.B.R.I.D. Facility. He always had a difficult time speaking about whatever happened, before the event that brought him to the Facility they were now standing or sitting in.

"And then.. there's you. The Captain America of the team." Mrs. Miller spoke up instead, smiling calmly and teasingly at Cody. She was encouraging him though, she liked the idea of him being the captain after the work he had put into it. He was surprised when the topic shifted to him. "Right.. forgot I was the leader of the team." Cody muttered aloud, doubtfully. Of course he didn't forget, that was practically impossible to forget, he just wanted to mask the doubts that were taking place inside his mind.

His hands fell to his sides, his fingers trembling. A part of him was proud to be the leader of such a program, to be the one to lead a potentially great team of heroes to victory. Another part, however.. wanted to delete his face off the candidates list. He didn't deserve it, did he? He could barely lead himself, let alone a team such as this one.

Everyone was different, too different, to Cody. He'd have to learn what they were like, what they liked, what they despised, how they acted in crucial situations.. He didn't believe in himself enough to pull off such a task.

His hands continued trembling lightly, his breathing growing unsteady, and he felt the familiar doubts consume his mind. That was when a familiar voice snapped him out of his anxious, self-loathing state.

"Cody. Listen to me."

Taylor's voice snapped him out of his thoughts once again - he knew he had to work on how much he tended to zone out - and so did the sudden grab of the shoulders, as Taylor moved to stand in front of him. The expression on their face, the look in their eyes.. god, it made Cody feel more guilty about his doubts than ever before. Cody was known to have doubts about himself a lot, it was a known fact to each and every mentor of the Facility, however Taylor never wavered from continuing to be his mentor. He didn't deserve such a patient mentor. "Your past does not define you, you got that, Webs? You'll make the best leader this team has seen. And I'll be your mentor the whole way through, trust me." Taylor told him firmly, yet gently.

The boy desperately wanted to believe them, but his self-loathing thoughts began to take rise as well. "But.. what if something happens and I won't be able to deal with it as the team leader? What if I mess up too bad?" Cody asked doubtfully, the worry of himself not being enough to be the team's captain clear in his voice. The mentor sighed and smiled at him. "Then that's what the rest of the team is for. That's what a team is. You don't have to do stuff alone, you'll have the others to help out."

Taylor then suddenly pulled him into a hug, much to Cody's already-big-enough surprise. The boy took a shaky, deep breath and gently wrapped his hands around Taylor to repay the embrace. He.. hoped what they said was true. He begged and prayed for it to be true, or else he'd hate himself even more. And that his doubtful side would go to hell.

"You went through a lot, Cody, but I promise it's gonna be alright." Taylor reassured him, gently running their fingers through his fluffy hair. The boy chuckled at the gesture and pulled away a little, smiling gratefully. "Thanks, Mx. Bro- I mean.. Taylor. Thanks, Taylor." Cody thanked them, bringing a little smirk to their face. He felt a little better, despite the lingering doubts in the back of his mind.

"No problem, that's what I'm here for."

Cody's smile grew wider at the corners at their words and the boy pulled away entirely. He looked over at Mrs. Miller, the rest of the mentors, and then up at the board. He felt ashamed for his panic, for it happening in front of them, even if much more subtly than some of his.. other panicked states. Rather, he focused on the board, on the photos of the future team- no, his future team. Right? "Can I..?" Cody asked uncertainly and pointed to the screen. Taylor patted him on the back and said: "Go ahead." Then they leaned back onto the edge of the table.

The boy smirked and made his way over to the board, opening up one file after another. Sadie, Ryder, Riley, Austin, Axel and Cody.. that's what the new A.V.E.N.G.E.R. Team hopefully was. The boy sighed and looked through each one in detail. He still couldn't comprehend Sadie's confidence, Ryder's precise aim, Riley's shy demeanor with that angry side, Austin's creativity and Axel's practically insane smarts. How was he gonna be their team leader if there were gonna be so many different people on the team? If they all accepted, which he doubted..

No! Enough doubts. Enough self-loathing. "I just hope me and Axel here won't pull the 'everything special about you came out of a bottle' fight." Cody muttered aloud, while Mrs. Miller laughed the most, as she didn't realize the entirety of underlying worry in his words, only a hint of it. Taylor chuckled too though, so did a few of the others. And those who didn't just smirked in amusement or playfully rolled their eyes.

His mentor moved to stand beside him in front of the board, almost proudly. "Don't worry, we'll make sure of it. But be careful about each of them, not everyone is the same age as you, bud." Taylor told him carefully and firmly, making Cody understandingly nod in response. The boy sighed as he turned to look at the main candidates once more. They all seemed to be sympathetic, and he was afraid of making a bad first impression as he always was anxious about. They seemed to share some of his better qualities.. which made Cody wonder. He had noticed they knew some personal stuff about the candidates. The courses, languages, even small things nobody besides the candidates themselves should know.

How the fuck did they know stuff like that?

"I have two questions.. First off, how did you even get so much information on each of them? Second off, who are the alternatives?"

The boy's questions were quite justifiable to the mentors sitting in the meeting room. Taylor turned to the rest of the mentor team and nodded simultaneously, looks of perhaps shame, pride or a hint of acceptance on their faces. They turned back to the puzzled and confused Cody, and exhaled, then spoke with a serious look on their face. A little too serious for Cody's liking. "Well, let's take it one step at a time, eh?"

Taylor stood up straight and walked over, pulling up the entire main candidates list. They weren't sure how to explain the situation at hand. "We had to pull a few strings to get some more information about them. That's why some of the other trainees are missing lately.. They are in disguise, being friends with these guys, along with the alternative candidates. Only one is an alternative candidate and a friend at the same time."

Cody wasn't sure how to react, as he felt both confusion, shame and light anger course through his veins at the mere idea of them getting basically spied on by the H.Y.B.R.I.D. trainees. "Except for Ryder?" Cody asked carefully, giving Mrs. Miller a momentary look, before snapping his eyes back to Taylor. They sighed and continued, "Well yes.. but no at the same time. He knows his new friend is a trainee here, but he doesn’t know he’s getting 'interrogated' or 'spied on' for the Program after a while of them being friends." Taylor explained further, bringing a perplexed expression to Cody's face.

Cody looked over the list, then turned back to the rest of the mentors. "Wait- so basically, they were getting spied on without them knowing or realizing it!?" Cody exclaimed in shock and all the mentors nodded simultaneously or collectively, Taylor included. They sighed and rubbed the back of their neck nervously - their usual nervous tic, Cody knew about it. "You could say that.." The boy's shame and anger grew at the words. He turned his attention to Mrs. Miller, and questioned her, "What about Ryder? How's he gonna react to you, sending a trainee to become his friend and spy on him?" Cody asked Mrs. Miller a bit more bitterly - the venom seeping through his words - than he had intended and she chuckled in a nervous manner, before actually replying.

"Well, he's either gonna be extremely confused, overjoyed that he's a candidate and gained a new friend, aka the trainee.. or he's gonna be mad at me, which knowing how much he is like his father, it's the most likely." Mrs. Miller responded, a hint of shame in her eyes. She knew Ryder would understand, although he might not talk to her for a while. She never once felt like a failed mother or mentor, whereas this.. this made her feel close enough to it. But she assured herself Ryder would understand after enough time.

"Hell, the only one who probably realized something was up is Axel. Usual Stark stuff, even if he's not an actual Stark." One of the mentors - Mr. Levine - commented, making Cody growl under his breath. He wasn't sure how to feel about this, it felt derogatory to him. Taylor tried to reach out to him, but he pushed their hand away before they could. "Never mind, forget it.. what about the alternative candidates?" He told them coldly, attempting to change the topic and not let his emotions get the better of him.

Taylor exhaled, "Let me walk you through them."

Taylor moved the list away with a few simple taps of the hand, revealing the next list. The list of alternative candidates for the A.V.E.N.G.E.R. Program. Cody felt off about those guys, they didn't seem as sympathetic as his “original teammates” to him.

Then, a realization came to him quickly. These alternatives.. they were all H.Y.B.R.I.D. trainees. Most of them were about two or three years older, only like one or two were a year older. But one of the alternative candidates was missing.. there was no picture in there for one role in particular.

And he also felt uncertainty, a different type of uncertainty. Something felt off about being the leader of these alternatives than the other group. And no, it wasn't different as in age differences. Perhaps it was that he was closer to knowing them, and the new team was a chance at an entirely fresh start? He took a deep breath and leaned back onto the table as Taylor had earlier, while still giving the mentors enough room to see that huge screen.

First up was a short girl, she seemed innocent at first sight, but was possibly a maniac. Cody knew people could be like that. Dark skin, chocolate brown hair put up in a ponytail, sky-blue eyes. And an innocent look on her face. Cody decided to take a mental note to keep an eye on her, for some reason.. Other pictures were of her training at the H.Y.B.R.I.D. Facility, passing the trainee 'entrance exam', winning a little contest the trainees held between each other, then one of her father. He was an employee at the Facility.

"Black Widow alternative. Well, she was a hard one to get between the trainees who fit the role well, but basically.. that's Ember Solace. We call her Spirit around here. Stealthy, sneaky and sometimes a little crazy." And that was exactly why he wanted to keep an eye on her. Something was.. familiar and strange about her. "Her father is an employee here, a coach to be specific." Taylor added calmly.

Mrs. Miller could feel the tension radiating off of Cody, he didn't like the sound of her. The boy sighed and nodded in agreement, somewhat agreeing with the fact she was an alternative. "Hopefully Sadie will accept.." Cody mumbled under his breath - the confident girl flashing through his mind - by which he let his thoughts out into the open. Taylor chuckled at his slightly exasperated reaction to Spirit.

Taylor swiped their finger once again, revealing the next alternative. A Hawkeye alternative to be specific. They had black hair, dark skin and amber eyes. Looked strategic like Ryder, however they just weren't Ryder.. they weren't the boy Cody had grown to like from the few times he met him. It just felt strange to have this alternative on the team, mainly after the great chance Ryder had of possibly being Hawkeye.

"Cody, come on! I wanna show you my new trick." Ryder yelled, while he stood at the established aim distance he should have been standing at. Cody seemed cheerful, as he ran over, smiling with excitement at Ryder. "See that little title 'H.Y.B.R.I.D.' on the top of the target? Watch me hit that small-looking ‘D’, right in the middle." Cody let out a little 'woah' at the idea.

Ryder snickered quietly. He lifted his bow, aimed the arrow at the D - it was way smaller than the bullseye itself - and prepared to shoot. "3.. 2.. 1.." Ryder counted down, while pulling the arrow and the string back, before confidently letting go of the arrow. The head of it hit the D, right in the middle, as Ryder had said. "WOAH!!" Cody exclaimed when it hit it, cleanly no less. Ryder, on the other hand, posed with a confident smirk. “I'm just that awesome."

The memory laid on the back of Cody’s mind at the idea of this trainee possibly being the archer of the team. Ryder just.. deserved it, Cody guessed.
The other pictures were quite similar to the ones Spirit had, except with the person using more long-range weapons - and specifically guns or a bow, as expected. Cody internally groaned at the sight of the bow for some reason, as he felt like Ryder was made for that role, not this person. He just couldn’t imagine anyone else there.

"A great upcoming archer, if I do say so myself." One of the mentors let out, making Cody a little more frustrated than before. Mrs. Miller sighed and ran a hand through her own hair, listening to the conversation, while still rethinking her decision. It had always made her feel a little bad, however Cody’s frustration at the idea hit hard. "That's Leif Aether, we call them Voice, because of their.. well, great voice. They have a way with long-range weapons, that's for sure."

Leif Aether, huh.. Cody recalled meeting them before as well. They were good person, but not all that interesting as he found the main candidates. And not that great of a teammate either, Voice seemed quite more independent, than a team person as was suggested by being an alternative candidate.

The boy decided to just go along with it, crossing his arms as he decided so. "Is known to make small Spanish remarks, trains with long-range weapons a lot - we'd say they're a good alternate candidate." Cody scoffed in his own mind, hoping Ryder would accept and pass the Program, when he was given the chance. He didn’t know why he felt so bitter about Spirit and Voice potentially being his teammates, however he just.. did for some reason.

Taylor knew Cody didn't like the alternatives, it was far too evident. He felt like the main ones - if they accepted - would get compared to the alternatives and get stressed out.. even if they were much better. Or hell, they might get replaced by those alternates at some point in time. Perhaps it was some buried trauma about events Cody never wanted to talk about? Taylor trusted he had his reasons. "Alright. Sounds good to me." Cody responded firmly, keeping up a cold facade.

The mentor swiftly moved the file on Voice aside, showing two files at once this time, in an attempt to move things along. They didn't want Cody to become more frustrated than he already was.
It was two girls at once. One had braided, brown hair with green undertones, lime-green eyes and light skin, while the other had short, dirty blonde hair, hazel eyes and light skin as well.

The brown and green girl looked innocent in a way, and something was familiar about her, however Cody couldn't put his finger on it. The boy sighed - deciding to let it go - and nodded, looking at the files connected to their report.

Similar to Voice's and Spirit's reports, as expected, and showing them training at the H.Y.B.R.I.D. Facility, passing the entrance exam and.. for the interesting alternative? Getting assigned to be the one with Axel. Of course, she was one in one of the pictures on Axel's report. "That's Abby Corvin, we call her Poison Ivy, the one with brown and green hair. The other is August Eve Taylor, also known as Nightmare."

"Taylor? Sounds familiar." Cody decided to tease his mentor a little, just to lighten up his frustrated mood. Taylor let out another snort-laugh at the tease and smirked down at him. "Oh please, your last name is Webster, Webs." Taylor teased back, ruffling his hair a little. "Not again!" Cody grumbled out.

"Either way, both fit the roles they've been "assigned" as alternatives quite well. Strategic, out of the norm in these two's case, just like Riley and Austin. Poison Ivy knows a lot about plants, as expected, and Nightmare knows much about the human mind and how to deal with people that way." Taylor's words grew Cody's interest, but the uncertainty was worse.

Taylor turned to the screen again and pulled up the entirety of the alternative candidates list. The mentor turned to the missing slot with no alternative and turned back to Cody. "They all have alternatives, except - obviously - you and.. Axel. We can't find anyone close to being like him, and if there is, then we don't know where they are." Taylor stated and Cody was uncertain of whether he should be relieved or worried about that. What if Axel needed a replacement?

He wasn’t sure what to think anymore. He knew an alternative list such as this was necessary, however he also hated the idea of it existing. Cody didn’t know what to think anymore. Suddenly, Taylor grabbed Cody by the shoulders and stared him in the face. Taylor knew damn well how messed up Cody's thoughts could be sometimes.. his reactions to the alternate candidates said so.

"Look, look.. most of the main candidates should probably accept. Don't be worried about the alternates, okay? I know you don't like ‘people being replaced or compared’, or stuff like that, I know." Taylor reassured him, keeping up a calm expression. Cody took a step back and grabbed the towel he kept around his neck tight. He was grateful for the comfort, however he also felt even worse. Why was he so angry at the alternatives? "I guess. Just.. thank you for telling me about this."

Cody bowed his head to the rest of the mentors in a show of respect, and bowed it again to Taylor. Taylor repeated the gesture, as did the rest of the mentors. Then, the boy headed for the door. "I'll be in the gym, if.. anyone will want to find me." Cody told the mentors with a respectful, collected tone of voice, bowed his head one last time, then turned away and walked out of the room, the door shutting behind him.

Taylor overheard one of their colleagues speak up. "Mx. Brooks, are you sure you want to be Webster's mentor?" Mr. Riverton, the one who stayed quiet a lot with trainees around, spoke up suddenly. The mentor in question responded without a single hint of hesitation in their voice..

“I am certain, Mr. Riverton. I have never been more certain in my life." Taylor stated.

....

Cody walked back into the gym, seeing other trainees finishing up their workouts. Seeing "Voice" - or whatever their nickname was - among them.. he couldn't help, but turn away at the sight. He felt conflicted about the alternatives, about everything regarding the candidate choosing such as the ‘spying’, and the fact his doubts got the better of him. He was caught up in thoughts.

Then someone patted him on the shoulder. Someone he didn't expect to see at all in that moment.

"Ryder?!" Cody exclaimed in shock at feeling the archer pat him on the shoulder.

Ryder snickered at his friend's reaction and crossed his arms, smirking confidently the whole way through. "Didn't expect to see me? Did "Mrs. Miller" not tell you I was stopping by today?" Ryder questioned with his usual sarcastic and teasing tone of voice, snapping Cody out of his thoughtful state of a few moments ago. "Not exactly.. I didn't see Mrs. Miller all day. Until like— half an hour ago, more or less." The boy explained, catching Ryder's attention, when his mother was mentioned. The archer sat down on the nearby bench, gently patting the seat next to him with intrigue, as if to sign to Cody to sit down. Cody nodded and sat down, seemingly exasperated. "I wanna hear all about it." Ryder teasingly ordered.

Cody snort-laughed as Taylor usually would, shaking his head in amusement. He turned to Ryder and smirked, thinking back to what happened in the meeting, though he wasn't sure how to explain to keep it somewhat secret. Especially the candidate checking and choosing system he was being put through. He thought for a few moments before finally replying.

Ryder held his head up, listening with clear interest. "Well.. the mentors called me in about something and your mom was there too, considering she's a mentor too." Cody nervously explained, buying himself more time to think of how to keep the A.V.E.N.G.E.R. Program secret.

“Tell me something I don’t know about my mom.” Ryder chuckled and shook his head at Cody's nervous behavior - Cody groaned internally, he had to learn how to lie! At least in necessary situations. He was too honest for his own good sometimes, making him a bad liar. "I heard about a new trainee program getting prepared around here. Mom just didn't wanna tell me anything about it, said it was 'classified' or whatever. Was it that?" The archer explained and asked, before standing up from his seat.

"Uh.. maybe?" Cody shrugged nervously, showing and confirming that indeed, it was true. Ryder shook his head in amusement again and held his hand out to the boy, smiling down at him. "You're such a bad liar sometimes.” He teased, “Come on, let me help you up." Cody grabbed onto Ryder's hand as he swiftly pulled him up from his seat. The boy looked over at his friend and smiled, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Yeah, I am a pretty bad liar." Cody muttered in admission, looking over at Ryder who began preparing his bow in the meantime. "Anyways.. Good thing about this place is that it has a good range for archers too, y'know? I've been training hard at my local archery range." Cody listened calmly as Ryder rambled about archery, all while taking out his archery equipment. He was passionate about his archery, and it made Cody feel good - the passion in his voice made the boy forget about the program a little.

Whether it was the arm guards, a finger tab, quiver, arrows or the bow itself, it was a perfect set of archery equipment that intrigued Cody. Ryder had other things in his case too, such as a bow stringer for stringing and unstringing the bow - self explanatory, a finger sling and finally, his own small bow stand for some cases. Though it was clear he liked the H.Y.B.R.I.D. Archery range bow stands better. At least Cody thought it was that way.

Then came something Cody was quite excited for..

"Hey, Webs, you wanna put on some music?" Ryder asked teasingly out of the blue.

"You know me really well." Cody responded.

The boy reached into his sweatpants’ pocket, pulling out an iPod that Taylor had gotten for him for his music. He found it useful. With that, he pulled up some playlist he and Ryder made together, when they were bored before. Ryder was waiting for his mom to finish a meeting that day, and Cody didn't know what song to put into his playlist.. therefore, Ryder helped him out. A little too much, but helped.

"Now let me be perfectly honest, honest.
I've been with someone else before..
But baby I can make a promise, promise.
I don't care about them anymore!"

The music played out of Cody's iPod, echoing through the part of the gym the two boys were present in.

Ryder was really feeling the music, as he filled his quiver with arrows, and moved his body to the beat without a care in the world. "Ha! Your dancing never gets old." Cody commented sarcastically, smirking up at the archer. Ryder continued dancing, all while grinning teasingly at Cody.

"As if you were any better." Ryder shot back a little quip of his own, catching Cody off-guard with it. "Hey!" The boy exclaimed in embarrassment, causing Ryder to laugh. Cody softly smiled at the earshot of Ryder's cheerful laughter, chuckling as well at how contagious it was.
"Okay, enough dancing and more shooting."

Ryder piped up and aimed his bow for the target as a test, then put it back down. He took a deep breath and concentrated on nothing else, besides himself and the target itself. "But if you close your eyes.." He hummed and fixed his posture, then held his bow up. Pulled the string and arrow back together..

..and shot the target, near its bullseye to be precise. First try, without needing to warm up too much.

"..you hit the target, right where you want it to be hit!” Ryder added his own sentence in a sing-song manner, turning to look at Cody, while he put his bow down. The boy stared in shock at how damn easy Ryder made archery seem. He was the same age as Cody, which didn't help his baffled surprise one bit. "Woah.." Cody mumbled under his breath.

"I can do a pattern too, if you'd like!" Ryder exclaimed joyfully, clearly being in his own little world right now. Cody immediately nodded and muttered something incoherent, before speaking actually understandably. "Oh- uh- um.. a star! A 5-pointed star!" Cody suddenly let out, chuckling at his own exclamation in even more embarrassment.

"A star, huh? Alright, you asked for it. Gonna be a challenge. Hopefully I have enough arrows." Ryder teased and accepted the challenge without a second thought.

Cody retrieved an arrow for him, and then sat back down, awaiting Ryder's take on the challenge.

The archer took the arrow he had been handed by Cody. He aimed carefully, and shot it about a foot right above the bullseye. With that, he followed the pattern and did the same thing with four more arrows for the remaining corners of the star. "Looks like a damn.. hexagon. I guess." Ryder muttered out in disappointment. "A pentagon." Cody corrected him.

"Whatever, you know what I mean, dumbass." Ryder shot back at his friend, making Cody shake his head in response and amusement this time around. The boy stilled his head afterwards. He watched the archer get ready for five more shots to make a star - he wanted to complete the challenge, fair and square, just as requested. "You want a star? You're gonna get it." Ryder added in concentration.

Ryder fixed his position from his exchange with Cody. He inhaled deeply, then sighed, as he attempted to carefully aim his shot. He just.. couldn't get it right, for some reason. The archer took a step back, setting the bow down and took another deep breath.
Then he prepared to shoot again, by stepping back forward, fixing his position and grabbing the bow tight into his grip - much tighter than before.

Then he hummed something that caught Cody off-guard, yet intrigued him.

It went along the lines of: "One was an enemy long before..", yet Cody didn't believe it was those lyrics, that melody, those tunes. Especially during archery training for Ryder. Cody gasped silently and listened more, knowing that.. yeah, it was the melody he heard.

"One's an archer who never missed.." Ryder hummed under his breath, just coherently enough for Cody to hear and understand exactly what he was humming to get himself back into focus.

"..one can make reality twist." Cody mumbled in a melodic way in response, catching Ryder’s attention this time instead.

The archer set his bow and arrow down one more time and absolutely messed his position up, just to turn to Cody. The boy in question blushed in pure embarrassment at Ryder’s sudden shift of attention, aimed straight at him. Was Ryder straight-up glaring or just staring? "I mean— sorry, sorry.. I just know the song." Cody muttered an apology in a shy way, while frantically trying to pause the song that had been playing in the background.

"Fight beside me and I.." Ryder hummed again, this time aimed directly at Cody to sing along.

"Lead them into war." Cody finished the melody, making both of their gazes widen in more shock. Only for those shocked expressions to be quickly replaced with smiling faces, each filled with child wonderment and excitement of finding someone who liked the same thing as you.

"I'll lead the way!" Ryder sang with more excitement. Neither of them were good singers in the slightest, yet they seemingly loved that song, and nothing was gonna stop them from singing it together. "With courage I will venture!" Cody sang back and stood up.

"It's now the present day!" Ryder grabbed his hand and held it up in a victory-kind of way, smirking him in the face as smirks and smiles made way to both of their faces.

"I'm Captain of the Earth's Defenders!"

Cody let out into the open, with more enthusiasm than before. It was what he was training for after all, he was training hard for it. Ryder let out an amused chuckle at his absolutely enthusiastic - and excited - singing. The moment Cody tried to apologize again, Ryder cut him off in the best manner possible.

"Will never hesitate! We fight—" Ryder spun him around, their backs facing each other in an impromptu dance. Cody let out a snort-laugh once again, finding the scene so hilarious and entertaining, yet so.. comforting and endearing, in a way.

"Together, Avengers!" Cody finished the lyric yet again, as the two boys held their hands high in the air in a determined way. Both had different reasons for their enthusiasm, however both were fans of the same thing, and that was enough for them.

"Be HYDRA, God or Alien.." Ryder turned back to face Cody, smirking at him as he gripped his bow again. He awaited his response, waiting for Cody to finish the lyric one last time.

"You'll feel the wrath, of my vibranium."

Cody sang back in response, his determination as clear as day. Ryder's smile faded into a more surprised expression, seeing the awakened determination in Cody's eyes, feeling the joy and prepared, fighting spirit radiating off of him. The archer chuckled at all of it and smirked again. "Not bad, Webs. Guess we have one more thing in common. Both of us are Marvel fanboys." Ryder teased.

That was what snapped Cody out of his determined state, turning him back into his usual self. "Ri— right! Yeah, yeah. We are. Yeah." Cody stammered, still letting what just happened sink in. His brain had a difficult time processing it. This was.. insane. And— perfect! If Ryder knew Marvel so much, to a fanboy level like Cody did, it'd be quite easy to recruit him to be the Hawkeye of the team! The Program knocked back into his mind.

‘No, enough A.V.E.N.G.E.R. Program thoughts, Cody..' the boy thought, brushing the thoughts off.

Ryder took his zoned out moments as the chance to make the pattern on the target that he had promised Cody earlier, now that his mind was cleared and determined. The archer lifted the bow upwards, aimed as precisely as possible, and shot an arrow. He messed up one of the straight lines of the earlier ‘hexa— pentagon' on purpose. After that, he did it again. And again. And again..

Then.. he was finished. He seemed proud of his own aiming and shooting. He stood pridefully and turned to look at Cody. Ryder exhaled, setting the bow down again and snapping his fingers in front of Cody's face - the boy was baffled by his archery skills each and every time. "Hey, Webs! Wake up, dummy." The boy blinked rapidly to snap himself out of the zone. "Huh?" Cody mumbled.

"I made you a star. As promised." Ryder teased, then pointed a finger to the target. Cody's jaw flew open at the sight of the almost perfect star corners-only pattern with the arrows sticking out of the target.

He was right about to compliment it, when suddenly, he heard a voice. He could feel a hand get placed onto his own shoulder.

"There you are, Webster. You too, Miller."

Mrs. Miller called them by their last names on purpose. She gently let go of Cody's shoulder and crossed her arms. Ryder confidently waved and Cody nervously chuckled, turning his head to look at Mrs. Miller. "Are we in trouble..?" Cody mumbled his question, when he had heard his last name in full, causing both of the Millers to laugh.

"Trouble? No, no, no. Just wanted to check up on you! And tease you a little." Mrs. Miller walked over to Ryder and tickled the back of his neck, which led to him attempting to get away from her tickles. The archer pointed his finger tab into her face to catch her off-guard. At that point, he took a step back. "Good one, Arrow." Mrs. Miller called him, to embarrass him on purpose. "Arrow?! Mom!" Ryder let out in embarrassment.

"Arrow? Seriously?" Cody quipped, as of which, Ryder felt even more awkward. The archer set the finger tab aside and covered his face with his hands, which led to both Cody’s and the archer's mother’s laughing. "Don't worry, I won't call you that around here. Although I'm sure Cody won't mind knowing about the nickname."

Ryder let go of his face, running a hand through his messy hair. He looked at Cody and smirked, surprising Cody, who had thought he’d glare at him. He thought he’d threaten him to not use it or tell anybody about that nickname. "Yeah.. he's a friend, I guess I don't mind a friend knowing." Ryder mumbled in response, suddenly feeling a pat on the back from Mrs. Miller.

At that, he got a small memory kicked into his mind. "Mom! Did you know Cody is a Marvel fan too??" Ryder let out in a child-ish way, making both Mrs. Miller and Cody laugh, because of the fact that the entire A.V.E.N.G.E.R. Program was based on Marvel. Cody knew all about it, of course - Mrs. Miller was one of those who came up with it and is in control of it.. Ryder looked at the two in complete confusion. "I feel like I'm missing something here.." Ryder mumbled in suspicion. Cody laughed even harder at how similar it sounded to a line in the Hawkeye series. Such irony, although the boy was pretty certain it was unintentional.

Mrs. Miller rolled her eyes playfully at his quiet mumble. "I forgot to tell you about Cody being one, didn't I?" Mrs. Miller replied calmly. As she looked around, awaiting Ryder’s response, her attention got caught by the pattern on the target. "A star, huh?" Mrs. Miller smirked and turned to look at Cody. He agreed with a small, oblivious nod of the head and Ryder turned to look at it as well. The archer's eyes widened as realization hit him like a freight train, his head snapping back to Cody, making immediate eye contact with the boy.

"You— wait.. I missed a lot!" Ryder stammered, then finally exclaimed as the subconscious realization hit Cody too. He didn't realize the real reason behind his own sudden shout of 'star!' either earlier.

"So did I!!” Cody exclaimed and stared right into Ryder's eyes. The two let out a 'ooh!' simultaneously, finally realizing why. Captain America's spirit hit Cody hard, didn't it? Probably.. he wanted to be the Captain the Program wanted him to be. And he was gonna make sure he'll get there.

Mrs. Miller turned to look outside of the gym window, her expression becoming one of disappointment as the sun started to go dawn - pun definitely intended, even if dawn is sunrise, not sundown. "Ryder, we'll have to go soon. You should pack your equipment." She told Ryder, who groaned in the exact same disappointment. "I got it all out like.. not even twenty minutes ago!" Ryder argued a little.

"I know, Arrow, but we can't stay much longer. You know what hell it is to get back home in such dark." Mrs. Miller retorted simply.

Ryder was about to argue once more, however he quickly shut his mouth and unwillingly agreed, remembering what happened last time they went home too late.

He turned to Cody and sighed, being sad he had to go so soon. "Sorry, we have to go." Ryder apologized, before grabbing his bow and placing it into his case, along with everything else he had taken out. Cody calmly watched and replied, while doing so. "Don't worry about it. It's not like this is the last time we'll see each other." Cody smirked at Mrs. Miller, while Ryder was distracted with setting everything in his case into a proper manner. Cody winked, referring to the Program, as well as another hang out. Mrs. Miller just shook her head in enjoyment at his suddenly cheeky attitude. "That's true." Ryder responded, oblivious to the silent exchange between Cody and Mrs. Miller.

"Got everything?" Mrs. Miller questioned, looking down, as Ryder closed the case.
"Yup! We can go." Ryder replied calmly, grabbing the closed case into his hands. He turned to Cody with a mischievous grin on his face, much to Cody's own puzzled expression.

"I wonder.." Ryder muttered, putting his case into the other hand and holding his fist up. He had been thinking of doing this to somebody for a while, he loved that song. "Follow me, my friend.." Ryder hummed, holding his fist up and awaiting a fist-bump. "..to glory at the end." Cody hummed in response, fist-bumping Ryder without a second thought. The two chuckled at their little exchange and Mrs. Miller just rolled her eyes, finding the scene a little hilarious, yet so heartwarming. She was glad Ryder made friends with Cody so quickly, it worked in both their favors and also gained both of the boys a new friend. "Alright, let's go, Arrow."

Ryder chuckled at the nickname, shaking his head in mock-offense, before waving to Cody. "See you around!" Ryder waved him bye, and smiled as Cody waved back. "See ya!" He exclaimed, watching the two Millers walk off and disappear out of his view. He sighed with joy, and turned back to the rest of the gym.

"Now, where was I.."

-> 8:48 PM

"These waves and tides,
Have grown in strength and size.
Is it nature or divine,
Or a blessing in disguise?"

The song played in the background of the gym. It was the only other sound in the gym, beside a certain trainee working out - Cody himself. Cody punched the punching bag intensely, his hands wrapped in bandages of sorts. The boy's gaze was as cold as ice, as if not caring about anything else, besides the goal in mind.

Become the captain the team needs.

Many people have told him he's too mature for his age, but.. that was exactly what gained him the place of a main candidate in the Program, didn't it? The boy was prepared to be the captain of the team that would come from the A.V.E.N.G.E.R. Program. He was gonna make sure he was the captain the team needed.

"Our home's in sight,
This storm's our final fight!"

The boy fought through his own doubts, trying to gain his own mind's respect. He punched the punching bag as if it was his worst enemy, as if it had no reason to be here anymore, as if it destroyed everything he loved.. didn't matter if it was just a piece of workout equipment. Sometimes they were his worst enemies either way.

Cody wanted— no, needed to be the team captain, the leader, the one that holds responsibility for the team in a way that is respected - or feared, as Tony Stark had said in that iconic speech. He needed to be the one that pushes the team forward, one that is the team's head cheerleader, one that puts it into shape. He was gonna make certain he became that person, just as Captain America was. Just as his father was. Just as his father would've.. wanted him to be. Cody was gonna be the team leader, whether someone attempted to stop him or not.

"There's no time to die!
Comrades?"
"Sir!"

Cody kicked the punching bag in addition to his workout, letting his anger and frustration, yet determination, slip out straight through his actions. "Come on!" He told himself, hyping himself for.. anything that would come his way. His face was as cold as ice, only there was a flame burning in his eyes.

It would always burn, whether someone tried to extinguish it or not.

"Brace for a storm!"
"Storm!"

The boy punched it heavily one last time and took a step back, only to run back from another side and punch it again. He was being strategic as much as he could.. even if the punching bag couldn't defend itself. Not that it mattered to him at that moment. He wanted to prove he was strong, responsible, mature enough to be the team's captain, its leader and the one who could push his teammates through the darkest of times by being there for them. Being a teenager wasn't easy and he knew it, being a teenager himself. He wasn't eighteen, not yet at least. Not to mention it was possibly gonna be even more challenging with them needing to be responsible enough to be Avengers. Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

"The likes of which we've never seen before.
Brace for a storm!"
"Storm!"

Cody turned it and punched it with full force, letting out a grunt of pain from the impact of his hand colliding sturdily with the hard surface of the punching bag. He took a step back, and hissed in pain. It stung, yet the determination coursing through his veins like poison didn't let him take a break for even a moment. He quickly got back to work - Cody couldn't let something such as this simple pain stop him from training for something so important.

"With home so close, we must keep pushing forward!
Full speed ahe—" 

"-ot all the power!
No, I'm not a player, I'm a puppeteer.
No, I don't play, I puppeteer, yeah."

The boy's song ‘Storm’ was cut off by.. ‘Puppeteer’. Cody turned his head around and took a precise, quick step backwards, away from the punching back, letting it steady on its own. All to see a certain someone lowering the volume of the sound and changing the song itself as well. The boy sighed at the sight and leaned onto the bench. "What do you need, Mr. Levine?" Cody politely asked as he sipped from his drink, not keeping eye contact with him. The older man crossed his arms behind his back, looking down at the boy. "You seem to be hard at work here." Mr. Levine told him, ignoring the boy's question about what he wanted. Cody put the drink down and looked over at Mr. Levine, straight into his eyes.

The boy took a deep breath and nodded, while he spoke. "Well yeah, I decided to get a bit of work done after the meeting with all of you mentors earlier, even if it's so late." Cody politely replied, recalling Mr. Levine's gaze during the entire meeting - unreadable, yet seemingly intrigued.

He was mostly there to listen, yet Cody was always alerted, inside his mind, of each mentor’s presence. "I see.." the older man mumbled.

"Why do you ask?" Cody asked curiously one more time, hoping to get his answer.

"I wanted to talk to you about the A.V.E.N.G.E.R. Program, Cody.."

This caught his attention. The boy wondered what exactly did Mr. Levine want to talk about. Was it about his expressive behavior during the meeting? Was it the reactions to the alternative candidates? Maybe a little hype? Questions?? What was it!? "What about specifically, regarding the Program?" Cody politely questioned once more. He knew Mr. Levine was a sweetheart, he had to be with his tough behavior on the outside.

"You're.. not enough to be the team's leader, Cody. You should give up on being the team's ‘Captain America’, kid, you.. won't fit the role."

There it is—! Wait.. what?
The boy's eyes widened in clear, perplexed confusion, his expression explaining the mess going through his mind all at once. How could Mr. Levine say such a thing?! Not that Cody didn't agree in a way, but at least he still had some hope for himself!

"You're not enough for the Program, Cody. I doubt that little group of misfits and you will be enough..” Mr. Levine coldly, yet firmly stated.

"But.. I've been training all year long to be the Captain! Since my father told me I could be a trainee, I hoped to be something great like this, I—” Cody was then cut off by Mr. Levine, who shushed him by putting his palm in front of his face all of a sudden. The boy took a step back and stared up at Mr. Levine with confusion, shock and a hint of fear. Mr. Levine's expression was.. so much colder than usual. Frustrated, even. Cody couldn't ever read what was going in his mind through the look in his eyes, no matter how much he tried, however this was.. far too cold. "Enough. This is exactly why. You should get those child-ish qualities of yours in check if you wanna be the captain." The older man told him.

He grabbed his shoulder, sending a shiver down the boy's spine. Mr. Levine glared into his eyes, the look in Cody’s eyes completely puzzled. All he could do was listen to Mr. Levine’s cold words, to his doubtful sentences. "You and that group of.. misfits are not enough. Let the experienced trainees take care of this." Mr. Levine spoke in an almost commanding tone.

Cody couldn’t help the urge to argue that had grown inside him. "What?! No! We're all enough! I'll prove it to you!" Cody fiercely argued back with the mentor, who simply rolled his eyes in response. However.. he wasn't sure whether it was out of annoyance or frustration in general.

“You seriously think you and a group of kids will save the world? Those trainees are of age at least. If it wasn't for Taylor or your father, you wouldn't even be a chosen captain." The older man shot back instantly.

"What..?" Cody mumbled in confusion, trying to let the situation sink in. "You're not fit for this. None of you are. I doubt you'll even get a chance to touch the shield. To use it. To be worthy of it, as Thor has to be of Mjolnir." The boy breathed heavily, trying to understand what was happening. The entire mentor committee believed in him! How did Mr. Levine, one of the most experienced mentors in the committee, suddenly criticize him like that?!

Did they all think the samething? What if he really wasn't enough..?

The boy gulped nervously and took another shaky step back, staring Mr. Levine in the eyes, as his cold hand slipped off his shoulder. The older man stood straight. He pulled his hands behind his back. "You probably won't be a part of the Program soon anyway. Keep these words in mind and think about everything, because you are not fit for this." Cody's entire body was shaking, his mind running in a thousand different directions, at all the words coming out of Mr. Levine's mouth.

"Now go get some sleep, it's getting quite late. You'll need it."

Mr. Levine commanded firmly and turned away, letting his hands fall to his side as he walked off. The boy fell to his knees the moment Mr. Levine got out of sight, staring down at his hands in confusion. Cody was disoriented, stunned.. and afraid. If he wasn't gonna be a part of the Program soon, what was gonna happen to him? Was there any other trainee program fit for him?

Should he switch trainee programs the moment he woke up..?

Mr. Levine was always such quite wise, why was he suddenly such a cold bastard? Taylor was already going to be recruiting everyone by next week! Perhaps less, or more, depending on how things would end up! What was gonna happen then, if none of them proved to be enough? Would they just go back to their normal lives? But.. What about Cody?

His mind was running a thousand miles an hour like an oiled up machine that had just gotten a kick, while trying to find some sort of solution. Some sort of plan. He really was too tired, too exhausted for this. He curled his hand into a fist and banged it onto the cold, hard floor of the gym. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!!" He groaned in a stressed manner. He slid over to the punching bag and punched it as heavily as he could. This time he ignored the pain - not just from the hit, but also how the punching bag moved backwards, then back towards Cody and hit him into the chest. He ignored it, all the pain, his mind focused on the turmoil.

"What now, what now?! Come on, think! Think, Webs, Think!" Cody became completely stressed out. It was too late, for all of them. If not them, then certainly for him. Anything could hit him hard at this point, either mentally or physically, as the punching bag had demonstrated mere seconds ago. "You're the captain, think!" Doubts easily got to him, far too easily. His breathing was unsteady, as his mind tunnel-visioned on the Program alone and his own possibilities now.

"I can hear her still! (No one will find)"
"And her voice deceives! (Their way between)"
"What if she can't be killed? (My nymphs and I)"
"Will you choose to leave? (Their loving queen!)" The music played, making the chaos in Cody's mind worsen.

"I don't know." Odysseus in the song replied, emphasizing exactly what Cody's mind was saying to him as he tried to think of a solution.

"..and you are the "CaptainAmerica" of the team. Basically the leader, quite self-explanatory." Taylor explained to him during the first preparations of the A.V.E.N.G.E.R. Program. The same preparations that started about a few months ago. Almost a year, at least..

"That's so cool, what!?" Cody, the younger one from back then, exclaimed with childlike excitement. He was so, so glad to be a part of the future team of heroes, of defenders, of Avengers. He loved Marvel ever since he was a small child..

Taylor laughed at his excitement. They found it endearing. "It sure is cool. Come on, I'll show you what else we have in mind for you and your future team, Webs." Taylor added, before pulling the boy closer to them - into a side hug. It made him snicker, he found the gesture affectionate and funny.

"I got all the power, yeah, I got all the power!
No, I'm not a player, I'm a puppeteer!
No, I don't play, I puppeteer, yeah." The song Mr. Levine put on played into Cody's ears, making the cold attitude he just had hit Cody even harder than intended.

"Damn it.. what do I do now..?”