Young Avengers : Assembled

Chapter 1 : Billy Kaplan

William Kaplan, also known as Billy, was a normal 17-year-old teen. He had good grades and he loved his parents. He lived in a big house in Queens and he had everything he could ever hope for. Billy was normal in almost every way. Except he had powers.

He discovered them one day, when he came home, feeling upset about what had happened at school. His hands started glowing, in a blue halo. It was some sort of energy that he couldn't quite control or understand. He thought he had imagined it but the next day, the same thing occurred. From that moment on, every time he got mad or even sad about something, his powers would manifest.

Billy was so excited about it. For the first time in his life, he felt special. He was no longer just the normal, uninteresting kid, that everyone seemed to forget.

However, one day, at school, he had to hide in the bathroom after his fingers had started to glow. At that moment, he knew he had to control his powers, otherwise he would be discovered. Every day after school, he would spend hours just practicing, trying to make the energy appear and disappear, making it bigger and smaller, transforming it into different shapes.
After months, he had gained some control on when his powers manifested, apart from when he had very intense feelings.

Even though, he could control his powers, he felt like they served no purpose. He thought a lot about whether he would one day make a difference in the world, but he couldn't see himself using his powers to do so. He felt mostly afraid about them and of how it would change everything if people found out. He was not ready for that.

Then, one day, something happened that completely changed his point of view. Billy had just graduated high school and was relaxing in his backyard. His parents had left for the weekend so he had the whole house for himself. He could swim in his pool and get tanned.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of an airplane in the distance. The sound got closer, so he opened his eyes and saw something land next to him. It was an armor that looked very similar to Iron Man's.
Billy panicked and used his powers to throw him away but the stranger resisted with some kind of energy shield.
"Calm down, I'm not here to hurt you" the armor said in a surprisingly human voice.
"Who are you? And what are you doing here?" Billy asked worryingly as he grabbed a towel to cover himself.
"I'm here for you." The man said while his helmet started to retract, slowly showing his face. He looked quite young and very normal. "I know you have special ability and I could use your help. I'm sort of building a team"
"Like a superhero team?"
"Yes, exactly. Are you interested?"
"I mean, I'm flattered and all, but I'm no hero."
"Yes, but you could become one."
"I don't think it's that simple."
"Why can't it be that simple? You can do some good with your powers, make an actual difference in the world! So why not do it?" the guy asked.
"I'm just not cut out for this life."
"No one ever is at first. It's a learning process that takes time. Look, I get it if you're scared, but why not try it? Here's my number." He told him while tapping on his wrist. Billy heard the sound of his phone buzzing on his tanning chair. He grabbed it and saw a new contact had been added to his list.
"Text me if you change your mind"
The man's helmet started to materialize and quickly covered his face.
"Maybe, ... I'll think about it. By the way, what's your name?"
"You can call me Iron Lad." The man said right before he took off.

Once the man had left, Billy was crimpled with doubt. His words resonated in his head. He thought about what it would be like to save people using his powers. He had grown tired of always being quiet, of constantly hiding so others would not make fun of him. For once in his life, he wanted to do something bold and actually meaningful. So, he called Iron Lad and told him he was in.

Billy met Iron Lad outside of a seemingly abandoned building the day after. The man did not have a suit this time, he was instead wearing normal clothes. Now that he had seen him outside of his suit, Billy noticed he looked very young, maybe around 20.
"Hey, so glad to see you've changed your mind. Let me show you our base of operation."