Issue 1 Downtime

A little before 6:00, Mars knocks on Natalya's door.

"Come in," Natalya called out from the kitchenette. The room was better furnished now than a few days before, sturdy wood furniture with ample padding having taken the place of the old stuff.

Mars steps inside, carrying a basket filled with vegetables from the market. Taking off her shoes at the entryway, she steps into the apartment and looks around.

"Pretty nice digs," Mars says.

"I indulge myself on some things. Furniture is one of them." The smell of garlic and tomatoes wafted through the apartment.

Mars sets the basket on the counter, "It shows."

"Did you just move in recently?"

"Yeah, still getting settled. Had to have my stuff shipped here after I left SHIELD."

"What was it like working for SHIELD?" Mars asks, sounding curious.

"Alternating exciting and dull. Sometimes you did a lot of sitting around analyzing and planning things. Then there was the frantic activity of executing the plans. Then back to boredom."

"Basically, just like the Circus," Mars says.

"Funny how organizations on different sides of the fence can seem so much alike in how they work, huh?"

"Well, I guess it's the same sort of personalities," Mars says, "Broadly speaking."

"In some ways," she said, serving up the food. It appeared to be a meaty sauce with chunky tomatoes. And wasn't too bad, all things considered.

"This is good," Mars says, "Thanks a lot."

"They're not really all bad people," Mars says, "A lot of them are just...umm....stupid?"

"On which side?" Natalya smirked.

"Good point," Mars says, "Oh, hey the man with a mind control hat broke out of prison. Again. Don't tell his daughter or anything. I'm sure he won't just mind control everyone and take her back to his crime circus."

Mars might be a little bitter.

"Some of the heroes are even worse. I met Darkhawk once. He beat some of my uncles up, took my dad, and left. Yeah, no reason to stick around and make sure the rest of the circus goes to prison. We just all stood there and watched him leave like, 'Is he serious?''"

"Some heroes hold very specific grudges," Natalya said. "And some villains do to. Me... There's a special place in hell for a couple of the organizations I've fought over my career." She stopped and smiled, "But don't worry about being taken back. We'll make sure that doesn't happen."

"I'm not worried," Mars says, "I mean, they always lose. So, I figure the best place to be is surrounded by a bunch of superheroes, right?"

"Even better, a bunch of superheroes who actually give a damn about what they do," Natalya said.

"Exactly," Mars says, "I've seen you guys on TV. You're so cool."

Mars was a bit of a fangirl.

"Psh, if you've seen me on TV, then I'm doing it wrong." She grinned.

"Well, not necessarily you," Mars says, "But the X-Men? Last year, when they stopped that crazy guy from destroying reality? Or when they took down those aliens that attacked?"

"So cool."

"They're certainly a good bunch. It's nice to be working with non-bureaucrats again."

"I'll bet."

"So what are you having trouble with?"

"Oh, you know," Mars say, "Math, history, everything."

"Well, let's start with the first and we'll go from there."

Later...

"Hrm... you might talk to the History prof about this. I'm really not sure what he's asking for."

"Well, that's still further than I got."

In her time tutoring, it was obvious that Marcie had some huge educational gaps. She was reading several levels below her age group, only had the barest grasp on basic algebra, and was a horrifically bad speller.

"I think we should make this a thing. Dinner and homework once a week, if that's cool with you. I get to work on my cooking. I also wouldn't hesitate to ask your teachers for help. Most of them have office hours so that you can talk to them in private if you want."

"Sure," Mars says, sounding thankful, "That sounds great."

"Thanks for all your help, Natalya."

"My pleasure. If you need anything, just let me know."

"I will," Mars says, smiling at Natalya, "I promise."