Cobwebs, Everything Collects Dust (Open to Dark Avengers)

[Sophie Von Doom]

As Sophie moved the door out of her way a cloud of dust had pretty much filled the air as it made her cough a bit from it all. This place looked like it hadn't been used in years, it was a old mansion looking like building, and with the help of some money the electricity was turned back on. However it would take ages to get everything settled and ready for new members too. "Well I can certainly say this place has an inch of dust just about everywhere." Sophie said and with a soft mumbling tone she used a spell to cast as her hands lit up. It was filthy covered with cob webs. "Well it's nothing like lateveria but it will do." She said and with another hand she touched a nearby light as the light filled up into the air.

Suppose they got more Dark Avengers to join, the group would be rather impressive. So far they only had a measily three members, including herself. She knew that SHIELD was recruiting members left and right, it was probably impossible for them to increase that amount of members. However they did have power and they could use it when they wanted. They didn't listen to any rules an such, so it mattered not what the police or SHIELD thought of them, in her opinion.

The other problem was they hadn't had a leader yet, it was perhaps too soon to figure out that part of it. Using another turn of her hands she created a small gust of wind and it blew most of the dust away. There was an old antique bed on the far right side as Sophie came over and put her bedding on it and she also had one trunk with her. Once she was done with that it was time to explore the rest of the room. And perhaps meet the other Dark Avengers.

She could make new friends, or enemies, it didn't matter to her. All that mattere was that she was a princess, and her father was going to be pleased with her work. Hopefully she wouldn't be overshadowed by his work, she would make her own path.

"Well now where to begin?" She asked as she stepped out and began to descend the staircase. This place had a lot of clean up to do.

[Deleted]

Victor's biological side was certainly kicking in, unable to help sneezing from time to time with the amount of dust that filled this mansion. Maybe in its prime it was a beautiful, luxurious place that had been well taken care of by servants and staff, kept alive by all the hustle and bustle of the owners and their help. Days of which had been long gone and the place long abandoned for who knows what. And the result was many years of dust build up along with dirt and grime, which meant it would take quite some time to make this place look even remotely something resembling a base of operations. At least they had power.

Like Sophie, he had simply set his things he had swiped from some stores after being found in one of the unclaimed rooms and had decided to do some exploring on his own. The place was enormous and would offer quite a fair bit of room if their team grew and could be altered and changed to accommodate whatever their needs might require. So far, it was not exactly mapped out what those needs would be, aside from the obvious and Victor had already begun calculating such things in his impressive cybernetic mind as he ran his hands over some dusty decor and fancy wooden tables left behind. There were still a fair bit of belongings in the house from the previous owners, many antiques and well past their time, perhaps better sold for a bit of money for the Dark Avengers.

Just as he was dusting off his hands though, the young cyborg noticed movement from the corner of his eyes and turned to see who was coming down, spotting the other young Dark Avenger Sophie. "The princess finally graces us with her presence. I was beginning to think you got lost in the sea of antiques and dust." Victor spoke as he gave a mock bow, the language he spoke actually being Sophie's own native Latvian tongue, indicating he had some language skills. He stood straight though once more, fixing his intense gaze on her as he moved a lock of hair out of his eyes, "But in all seriousness, you picked an adequate domicile Ms.von Doom, that much can be said." Victor gave the room another pointed look, mainly towards the condition of the place.

"Shame you could not have found it under better conditions." He remarked, knowing they had a long way to go to get this place presentable.

[Sophie Von Doom]

"Oh it's Victor." Sophie said as she gave him a soft smile as she heard his voice. It appeared that Victor had done the same, found a room for himself in this sorry old mansion and then came out to see who else was here, at least that was what she had thought in the first place. "Well it was hardly a princess job if you ask me. I was never allowed out of the castle unless I was being supervised. My father had a protective streak of his 'little girl' so sneaking out was the best option." Sophie said catching the snarky and sarcastic remarks that Victor said.

"My father seemed to like the idea that there was a cyborg around. He himself his good with technology having made numerous weapons and items for his homeland to try and progress further." Sophie said as she nodded back towards Victor. She had to agree that this shabby looking mansion had a lot of work. "Shall we fix that then?" She added and with a snap of her fingers some of the chandeliers came to life and the flame itself seemed to melt away from some of the cobwebs that were dirtying the main wall that had been there. "In case you noticed, I have studied many arts and forms of magic so this place could be cleaned up a bit faster." Sophie explained knowing she would drain herself.

"My question is for you, Victor how do you know lateverian? I've never seen you before in lateveria when I've been around." She asked as she put her hands on her waste. Her black hair flowed behind her as she had just brushed it. A bit of makeup was on her face to make her stand out or be at least a bit pretty. "And I didn't come here totally helpless I have my own set of doombots that we can station around the mansion. If anyone dare sets a foot into this area, they will be blown to bits with the sensors they have." Sophie said knowing all of the additional work on the mansion could be used, and who knew, the extra security certainly helped here too. It was clear like her father before her, she was skilled at setting traps that surprised and stunned the enemy, or if there were going to be any.

[Deleted]

Victor tilted his head slightly, wondering what exactly a princess’s job description entailed exactly. He was still trying to understand this world and the habits of humans, having been given the most basic understanding of them. It seemed Sophie would be quite fascinating specimen to watch since he was only aware of the history his own father provided. Most humans who had any sort of abilities were either imprisoned or dead, Dr.Doom probably included from the time he came from. But that would be something Victor kept to himself, not wanting to trigger the young woman’s wrath at this point as she watched her work. Her movements were simple and controlled, which meant the young cyborg would have to be quite careful how he stepped if Sophie was ever angered.

“First, I know Latverian because I can easily access the internet and download that information directly through a wireless connection. Pretty simple thanks to this powerful “brain” of mine.” Victor tapped the side of his head with a grin. “Little tidbit though, if the Doombots need greater coordination, I’m your man. They’d be greater puppets on strings if something starts going south.” Perhaps that was pushing the envelope as they said, making it seem like Sophie’s and Doom’s bots couldn’t handle the task but that was not what he meant to imply. If things got bad it was a second alternative than Sophie maybe having to constantly worry about reassembling them or having to try and keep them go if they began to fail. He cast his gaze around the room, seeing it would indeed be helpful of her using her own abilities. “We should definitely get started. Sadly, the big walking duster herself isn’t around.” He commented, referring to their third member Vanora.

Hands sparking slightly, Victor fired off small discharges of electrical energy, knocking up dust and frying away cobwebs with ease. “Luckily, we can get a decent start I think. And I can work on making this place a little more technology friendly." That was one thing this place really lacked for a secret base, and the young man had every intention of changing that.

[Sophie Von Doom]

"Hm it seems like you can get anything from the internet these days with one quick question or even a search on something in the world. I thought you had to live in lateveria for a couple of years and it is a complicated language that only a handful have mastered. My father being one of them." Sophie explained as she listened to Victor as he spoke. He certainly was odd, being half human and half machine. But she knew Doom would've liked him as an asset to the group of lateveria that were in the castle. Unfortunately he hadn't made much of an appearance these last few years in his home since the peaceful conditions had been just right, he knew he'd be a magnet for SHIELD if he ever came out in the sun and Sophie was tired of hiding she wanted her time to shine and make her father be proud.

"Well if you think they need up grades or anything go ahead, just try not to change them too much. As you can probably tell my father takes pride into his work as he sees fit." Sophie said as she gave Victor a soft nod. They really needed all of the help they could get at this point in cleaning it up. "You know my father would've liked you with your technology half and human half. He would consider you a 'rare specimen'." She said copying his words from what she had overheard many times, often times spying on him had helped and it often got her into trouble too.

"Sounds like a plan I think we'll probably be spending months on trying to clean up this sorry dump. I can't help but wonder what kind of family or people lived here a long time ago. Perhaps they were rich and had a wealthy life, but something happened to them and the home is the only thing that stands." Sophie said knowing not many souls would step into a place like this. Some people may think this place is haunted or even creepy beyond imagination. However Sophie wasn't scared as she crossed her hands. Some candles were lit in the main room and it looked like they needed to restore the electricity in this place again.

[Deleted]

"That's the good thing about this world, technology can be easily accessed and manipulated if you know what you're doing." Victor told her, having had more than his fair share of quick practice while he had been there. One thing he did find fascinating yet amusing was the fact that humans were so reliable upon their technology, making their lives easier and becoming angered when it didn't work. If he wanted to he could make things so much easier for the Dark Avengers to get a greater advantage than they might realize. For now, his real concern was helping getting their base of operations actually operational period.

"I suppose I am a rare specimen. But, I wouldn't put it past yourself to be a unique specimen yourself Sophie. I come from a place there are few superhumans or humans who can do extraordinary things." He explained, pausing in his cleaning to peer at the Von Doom girl, actually giving her a sincere smile. Manipulsting the energies of magic is something I have never seen before. So, maybe both of us will have an interesting time knowing what we can all do. Heck, I hear Vanora is a Demi-goddess, who knows what that can do for us." He pointed out, wondering if their uniqueness from one another may just make them a powerhouse despite how small their team was. Maybe making a statement was exactly what they needed to draw attention and help others to join them.

"Yes, I suppose it is possible this belonged to a once wealthy family. My theory is they probably lost it all to something, bankruptcy, stock market losses, who knows. Fair bit of possibilities to lose one's wealth and home." Victor suggested, knowing that there probably was a history on the house but he didn't quite care to look it all up. Perhaps one day they could find the history and deed to the house and get proper ownership of it through legal means. Not that was the fun way of handling things. But as he was cleaning, Victor came across some old mixtapes and cassette player, making him look at it curiously. "Hey Sophie, check this out." He called to her, brushing away the layers of dust and cobwebs.

[Sophie Von Doom]

"Hm having that kind of ability around sure is useful especially in this day in age." Sophie said knowing most humans had a smart phone or some kind of electronic with them. If they were able to block out the electricity imagine what kind of havoc they'd be able to do for the city! She snickered a bit imaging what the humans would be struggling with while nothing worked. It was fantastic. But could they really pull it off? She listened though to what Victor said and smiled a bit.

"I can give you a few demonstrations to show you what I can do. I lived in the castle and had a lot of time on my hands. I grew so bored of the place I snuck out, but of course father didn't exactly approve of that." Sophie said rolling her eyes knowing that her father was so over protective of his little daughter she got tired of that too. This had actually been the first time that she had been able to get away from him and that smelly old castle. The mansion was a nice change despite it being sad and dark itself. It would at least have a better look to things once they started to clean up the place. "Demi goddess? I hear they are a bit higher up in the ranks of super powers. Best not to get on her bad side." Sophie pointed out knowing those were things that her father would've liked. He liked anything old, of legend but he kept that thought to himself.

"Maybe one day we'll find out what happened. My father helped buy this place so we'd have a roof over our head. It's a shame that we can't have a decent place like the Avengers or SHIELD." She said. "But in time this place will probably look much better." She added. As Victor paused she noticed that he was looking for things and found a cassette player that probably had worn away tapes on it. Would they be lucky if they still worked or even managed to turn it on? There was only one way to find out at this point. "Hm those look like an old cassette player. We'd be lucky if that even was able to work." She pointed out. "Do you think it could still work?" She asked but her voice didn't sound hopeful of it.

[Deleted]

Victor had carefully picked it up, opening some parts but being mindful to not damage it, knowing with the conditions it had been left in the wrong move could mean breaking it entirely. He examined the insides of the device, blowing on it and causing dust to blow upwards in their faces, making him cough slightly and giving a look of disgust from some bugs that crawled from in it, scurrying away in fright. Shaking his hand to get the insects off, he shook his head, "Not in the slightest. It would take a miracle to get this thing working again, might be best to throw away along with the rest of some of this junk. Or sell them, take your pick." Victor said, placing the pieces back where he found them after putting the player back together.

"But what we do with this mansion is up to you Sophie, seeming as your family owns it now." Victor pointed out to her, knowing that even if they got proper leader any major changes, especially cosmetic changes, would have to go through Sophie unless it pertained to their personal rooms. But, he nevertheless smiled, "And maybe one of these days I wouldn't mind a demonstration, a proper one that is. Right now though we do have a lot of cleaning to do for the mansion. Not to mention we have to gut some places to be able to properly have it working in a more modern fashion than what it already is at this moment."

Truth be told, there was a lot Victor wanted to learn about and see. But there were still other priorities at the top of his list, and the Dark Avengers, that needed to be handled first. Security, up-to-date tech, and having this place looking adequate to live in were just some of those concerns. "How about we try the kitchen? Maybe we'll discover something interesting there." He suggested with a chuckle, figuring moving from room to room might help get things going along.

[Sophie Von Doom]

"Well, that's a shame." Sophie said though she didn't feel that bad. Probably a lot of the stuff here would be tossed into the dumpster. And she continued to listen to Victor as he spoke. "Sounds good to me, a lot of this stuff looks like it could be tossed, there's no way we could fix it since it looks so badly damaged." Sophie agreed. She nodded also as Victor mentioned that things would go through her before they determined what to do with it. If there was the slightest chance that it could be saved, Sophie or Victor could possibly work on it together to try and repair it, a lot of the technology looked simple. Especially with what she had been working on at the Castle Doom in her spare time.

"Alright then we'll go to the kitchen." She said as she began to move forward through the mansion. There were plenty of rooms to explore, it'd probably take them a week to try and figure out where everything was. As they entered the kitchen, just far off to the right there was a large opening that looked like it was the dining hall. An old long table that sat many guests and the head of the table with old and faded chairs. The kitchen looked out of date too as the refrigerator stopped working, most of the machines in this area stopped working also. "this place looks just as sorry as the rest of the mansion." She pointed out. "But whoever dined here liked to do it in style, it reminds me of how my father would eat with some of the best well known people in the country. Of course, he liked his throne room the best." She pointed out.

[Deleted]

Victor paused at the threshold, giving the front room one final look before he turned back towards the kitchen. It seemed to be a bit easier to clean in here, more open and spacious, perhaps just needing the least upgrades and just more modern hardware. "We should definitely put the kitchen as the top priority, this place will take less than a day to tidy up and update. Like anywhere else, some gutting will be needed but nothing that can't be fixed quickly." Victor told her, inspecting the electronics, strolling over to the fridge seeing it wasn't too out-of-date, maybe more for the 90s era but could maybe be salvaged.

While inspecting it though, he paused to listen to Sophie for a moment, turning to look towards the long dining table. "Sounds pretty grand. Can't say I've really ever had a family dinner." He told her, coming to check out the dining room, blowing on the table and waving away the thick layers of dust, only removing a few top layers, but there was still more. "Appears to be mahogany, nice and polished, someone certainly had luxurious tastes." He mused, throwing himself on the more elaborately decorated chair at the head of the table, leaning back and resting the heels of his feet on the table. "I do say dear butler, bring me the finest wine from the cellar for me and my special guest please." Victor spoke in his worst mocking British accent, grinning widely and showing the charming smile he really didn't consider he had.

"Think I'm close to what they probably asked on a nightly basis?" He asked Sophie, giving a genuine laugh at the thought before he stood back on his feet, brushing the dust from his back side.