The Defender

Tricksters 3

I fly towards the Tower, looking for Thunderclap. He's there, on the very top. The faint beat of a techno song echoes in the air. Daft Punk. Thunder's favorite band. I land nearby and he turns the music off.

"What's up?" I ask, turning into myself.

"The sky," Thunder replies sarcastically, but with a smile on his face. I look up and smile.

"Why yes, I believe it is." He laughs, sound ricocheting off the buildings. "So, why did you call me here?"

"Just wanted to talk," he says, staring out across the city. I follow his gaze, something I often do.

"About what?"

"An adventure." I smile to myself. Adventures are fun.

"Where to?"

"An island where no one will find us in Micronesia."

"Wow. Secluded."

"We can be pirates, and only care about ourselves. We can get drunk anytime we want and do whatever makes us happy." Thunder used his hands to illustrate. "Like Huck and Tom and Joe."

"Who?" I ask, cocking my head slightly. He sits up and looks at me like I grew an extra head.

"You've never heard of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn?"

"Nnnnnnno," I say, still confused.

"Wow. You really need to read that book."

"It sounds good. I might look it up."

"Anyways, we should go pirating. It would be fun."

"Yeah. Would we bring anyone else?"

"I dunno. Maybe Tony's kid."

"Firework?"

"Yeah."

"What about those new kids on the block?"

"The time travelers?"

"Yes." Thunder ponders this for a moment.

"Nah. They're too crazy."

"I still want to meet them."

"Then we can do that later." I sigh. I've heard good things about them, even though they're brand-new.

"Pleaaaaaaaaase?" I whine, making puppy-dog eyes. Thunder stays firm, not giving in.

"No. Two of them are going to be X-Men and the younger two are just plain crazy. Now, are we going pirating or not?" I sigh and curl up, the breeze chilling me.

"It'll be warmer than here," I grumble, turning into a blackbird for the warmth. Thunder chuckles and picks me up, setting me on his shoulder.

"C'mon," he says, rubbing my back with two fingers as he stands up. "Lets head out to Stark Tower."

Don't ask me how, but I finished The Adventures of Tom Sawyer on the trip to New York. It was pretty good, but I still like Lord of the Rings better. Even still, I felt a sort of connection to these two fictional boys. These two are the original mischief-makers. It's amazing what they can get away with. I still am really mad at the ending, though. Huck SHOULD NOT be forced into society!! No!!! That just should NOT happen! Grrrrr. Stupid Mark Twain. I did get the general gist of pirating now, though. It seems fun, although I think we're going to do it differently. Instead of trying to smoke, the other two are going to attempt to beat me in a drinking contest. They're probably going to both pass out before I can even get drunk. Thank you, Asgardian blood.

I've heard good things about Firework. Unexpected powers, works alongside Iron Man, only 14, all that. This is going to be so much fun. Thunder flies up to a window and knocks on it. A girl with chocolatey brown hair with strands of red erupting from the roots opens it, smiling up at us. (For those if you who thought Firework was a boy, I laugh.) She grabs a backpack before her eyes glow a bright red as she flies out to meet us. Her hands and feet are surrounded with little nuclear explosions, helping her hover in the air. See, her power is the ability to cause nuclear reactions in the atoms around her, and she controls the size of them. She deals some pretty nasty damage. And she can do it anywhere, unless they've discovered something not made of atoms. Which it's probably not. She can also drain atoms from objects, causing them to literally disintegrate into nothing. This girl is effing amazing. She is the future of America. I just hope they don't weaponize her. Yeesh. That would suck for Iraq.

We fly together, all discussing the wonderfully horrific things we're going to do on that island. I'm surprised a girl could be this boy-like, especially with a mom like Pepper. But she is. I'm not objecting. She actually relates to all the stuff we're going to do. It's amazing! I wish Becky was this boyish in Tom Sawyer. That would rock. But...she's not. But I guess that helps the story along, or else Tom would never learn responsibility until he's practically holding his child. Assuming he has one.

Seems as though we're all mad at the ending of that book. Everyone liked Huck the way he is. But then he runs away...and Tom-how the heck did he even do this?-persuaded Huck to stay. Honestly, I would've been all: "Run away while you can!" Seriously. Huck does not belong in society.

I love mortal books. Back on topic, we finally land on the island in the middle of the ocean. It took FOREVER. But, we all made it. The first thing we do is crash on the sand, exhausted. Which is expected. Then we get up and look around, make camp, and then settle in for the night. We have a big day tomorrow.