Issue Ten: The Marvel Illustrated Swimsuit Issue/Assistant Editor's Month

"It's not that. Some of my men believe we should take a...more militant stance, if you will. Many of them grow weary of our isolation here. We are Kree; we should not tolerate any interference or inconvenience. I, however, understand the situation we have found ourselves in..."

"I do not ask for your pity or your charity", Ronin replies through a snarl, "I will not allow my men to further interfere with your nation provided we are permitted to forage the minimal resources we need to survive and rebuild until we are ready for departure."

As Centennial Man hosts a semi-private telepathic conversation, some of Ronan and T'Challa's earlier words begin to make sense; T'Challa's mention of 'intelligence gathering', for example...it was a spy mission after all. The Kree deciding to keep tabs on one of the densest populations of super-powered beings in the galaxy, perhaps?

The Black Panther falls silent for a moment. Whether he does it to consider his options or for dramatic effect, you can't be certain.

"Your arrival in my nation occurs at an inconvenient time. The nation of Wakanda is currently in the midst of celebrating my recent betrothal. Having to deal with an alien invasion is as inconvenience I would prefer not to have to deal with. Perhaps we can come to an agreement that is mutual beneficial to both of our peoples."

"What are you suggesting?", Ronan asks with an obviously suspicious look.

"It would be a benefit to both of our people to have you leave as soon as possible. It would also be beneficial to avoid any further...agression...agreed?"

"...Agreed..."

"Then I propose a temporary alliance between our peoples. I will employ the best smiths and smelters in Wakanda to help fabricate any materials you need to repair your ship. In return, I expect no further displays of aggression from the Kree while they are guests of the nation of Wakanda. In fact, I insist that while your men are not engaged in repair and restoration work they be treated to the full hospitality that can be afforded them by the nation of Wakanda as our honored visiting guests."

Ronan takes in Black Panther's words. There is a long pause as he tries to find the trap being set for him by this strange human. After several seconds, he realizes he cannot find one.

"Agreed", Ronan responds.

...

The next several days, the pools and beaches seem just a little more crowded, as there is a noticeable increase in the number of blue skinned individuals in the area. "Beginners classes" in volleyball and water skiing are hastily put together to teach the interested Kree some of Earth's common recreational activities. For their part, the Kree seem to have adjusted well; many attend the nightly luaus and accompany traditional Wakandan musicians on strange-looking Kree musical instruments.

Perhaps, you think to yourself, while reclining on one of Wakanda's sparkling beaches as a Kree officer has it explained to him that the small umbrella in the glass is simply for accent and not intended to be a consumable item, there is much we could learn from one another.

Silver Hawk /Agent X spends the days after with Warbird. He will also spend time with some of the Kree trying to learn what he can from them and helping to teach them about earth pastimes.

Benni walks around the beaches the next bemused with how fast we went from fighting the Kree to them becoming guests. She tries pinching herself awake several times while watching a blue-skinned person walking past. Although she does seek out the Kree engineers to see if they are receptive to exchanges of information. She will move cautiously, because she doesn't want to trigger another situation and she has very little clue about these people's culture.

Although she does take one day to stress test her new body. She will go into a gym set for stronger than normal people and she will spend the day pushing her body, seeing what she can do and how long she can push herself. She wears a grey tank top and a pair of black short athletic shorts, turns off her breathing and spends the day alternating between cardio machines and weights. She keeps careful records of how long and what intensity level she sets each cardio machine. She also records who much weight she can lift with how many repetitions.

ooc

"Does this all seem odd to you?" Centennial Man asks as he sits on a grassy hill, tossing pebbles into a nearby lagoon. He pays no mind to whether or not the stones sink, skip or miss the pond altogether. Instead, his attention seems completely focused on watching the Kree mingling about the Wakandan resort.

Moondragon sits cross-legged beside him with her eyes fully closed. She ignores the young hero's plight and maintains her meditation.

"How can you just veg out like that in your lettuce position?" Centennial Man says, his eyes glaring at Moondragon now. "Haven't you seen the television show V?"

Moondragon eventually lifts a lazy eyelid and looks at her suspicious and impatient companion.

"It's called the the lotus position," she replies casually. "It encourages proper breathing and fosters physical stability. You have neither."

"It's hard to relax when we have gun-toting aliens around us," Centennial Man retorts.

"Both Ronan and Black Panther have come to a temporary arrangement," the calm mentalist says. "And all weapons have since been holstered and put away. But this still has you at unease."

"C'mon, you're not at unease?" Centennial Man asks with a huff. "An alien army crash-landed in Black Panther's backyard. I read Ronan's mind. I know there's more to his story than what he has told us. For our own security, we owe it to ourselves to find out more." He points at Moondragon. "And with that beautiful bald head of yours, you could find out way more than I did."

Moondragon uncoils her legs and moves to a more conventional sitting position. She looks at Centennial Man pensively, pinching her lower lip with a thumb and index finger. She would not openly admit it, but her telepathy is arguably the most powerful on Earth and she has grown quite fond of her ability to read what people think. It allows her to verify the intentions of people, groups and entire populations. She can confirm whether or not individuals and masses have any hidden agendas. She knows Centennial Man is right, and she's being irresponsible if she does not use her powers now.

Using her telepathy will either put her mind at ease, allowing her to confirm that Black Panther has made the right decision. And if it does not put her at ease, because she in fact discovers something criminal or life-threatening brewing in the minds of the Kree, she can warn the king of Wakanda of the potential threat before it actually happens.

"Give me a moment, will you?" Moondragon says evenly. She then closes her eyes and gently touches her temples with her finger tips.

OOC

Benni starts off with a relatively conservative routine to find her limits. She quickly loses track of the number of reps she can do at lower resistances, finding quickly that most of the settings along the standard scale offer her no challenge. She gets up to the maximum limit of most of the equipment (around 360 kg) with no difficulty. Having a scientific background, Benni is somewhat amused as other American heroes occasionally confer to figure out between themselves what that would be in pounds.

Switching to "the big gym", and followed by her growing throng of observers, Benni finds equipment more suited to a woman of her abilities. She surprises herself (and those around her), but managing to do a series of 15 reps or so at an astonishing mass of 907 kilos. She picked the odd figure to accommodate her American allies, so that when she heard them conferring again, she could just say "it's a ton."

For the first time, Benni realizes she is starting to sweat. She finally begins to feel she is "exercising" and not just demonstrating for the crowd. After that series, which she managed to complete without too much effort, Benni decides to take it up a notch again, and push the equipments limit up to 10 tons...

Meanwhile...

Agent X has managed to organize what might be the first interplanetary softball game with Earthers versus Kree. Tensions are high, initially, as Kree have to be reminded, several times, that the ball is not to be thrown directly at the batter or runners and that merely a "tag" is acceptable to get someone out. After a couple tense innings, the newbies settle into their own and by the fifth inning, the Kree are grabbing their crotches and spitting like seasoned pros.

More to follow...

Never let it be said that Blackbird was one to judge another by the color of their skin. Be you white, black, yellow...or, well, blue...if the hand of friendship was offered, he would take it in good faith with no reservations. Because that's what this was all about, after all. It was past time to put race, color or other discriminatory factors behind yourself.

It took Blackbird only hours to locate the pilots among the Kree, and if he was pleasantly surprised to find out that one of them was an attractive woman, he just didn't show it. Shortly the four of them were 'talking shop,' which included a vivid description of the aircraft from which he took his name, the race the 'little brouhaha' had interrupted, habits of the Common American Airman...

10 tons.

Benni is now painfully aware that the maximum she can press is ten tons. An incredible feat, true, but one that she would prefer not to have to repeat anytime soon. After finally finding the perfect facility to develop her abilities, Benni thinks it might be best to lay off the workout for a day or so as her muscles recover from a little over exertion.

Elsewhere...

Lowering her hands from her temples and opening her eyes, the woman known as Moondragon turns to her companion. "The one known as Ronan has accepted Black Panther's proposal, but he draws no pleasure from the compromise...he predicts...unpleasant repercussions upon his return to the Kree homeworld..."

Benni will rest for two days and then hit a treadmill, her goal to see how fast and how long she can run. She will turn off her breathing once she feels herself start running out of breath to see if that makes a difference. If she can lift 10 tons, what can she do running and how much endurance does she have! She finds this very exciting. She was never a very physical person while growing up and now she has this super body!

During the Softball game Chris really starts to enjoy himself playing. It is something he has not done in a while playing a game. When the score is decided and the game finished. Chris sets up an after game party a good old fashioned beach party. Including all the food fit to be grilled and barbequed lots of music with the party set. Chris turns his attention to spend some more quality time with Carol as much time as he can and she wants. Sheridan by the way which team wins the Softball game.

Benni has found that she can run, full speed, for about 12 minutes before she needs to take a rest. Unfortunately, her heightened Endurance doesn't make rest unnecessary as she was kind of hoping it would. After a few minutes, however, Benni feels fully recovered; like she could do the whole thing again...

...and so she does...

...several times...

Yup, 12 minutes at top speed (which she swore hit 60 mph, even if just for a second), with no more than 3 minutes recovery time afterwards and she's good to do it over again.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, the "Home" team has managed to defeat the "Away" team (the names being selected after it was decided "Earth versus Kree" might sound just a tad inappropriate) in the first interplanetary softball game. While the "Away" team's performance improved remarkably during the later half of the game, a significant number of errors on their part during the first few innings gave the "Home" team a distinctive advantage, even with a few human heroes having joined the mostly-Kree "Away" team in an effort to balance things out.

The Kree, however, are definitely interested in a rematch.