driftfleet | A cry for help

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A cry for help

[a distress call has been tracked across the void, finally leading back to the source. a hulking crippled ship, teeming with hostile alien life, now lies before you.

what do you do? do you dive in or hang back? are you here to learn, play, build, or observe?

however you choose to proceed, your audience is out there somewhere, watching.]

ooc: here is a good ol' themed mingle to get you all started! and don't feel limited by the prompts and what they describe--they're just there as idea-starters, so feel free to go anywhere and do anything.

have fun!

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[ His hand drops, and he gives her a curious look, not expecting that statement out of all others. ]

How did — oh, never mind. [ it's probably the uniform, even with the lack of shield ] Nah. S'mostly publicity these days.

[ A pause, then, ]

We're from the same world, huh?

[She cannot bring herself to look at him. She knows these next words... may likely hurt.]

No. We are not.

[A pause. Her mouth opens, closes. Attempting to form words.]

But I do know... a Captain America.

But —

[ He frowns. She knew the name. This is Natasha all over again. ]

[ Quietly, ] It's Steve, isn't it?

[ The better world, where Bucky's the dead one. ]

[Wanda turns even further away from him. She braces internally for the reaction that her response will likely bring.]

Yes.

[ There's a long, patently heavy silence, and then something angry and wild gets soothed away. Bucky closes his eyes, and he exhales, and he seems more assured, somehow, when he looks at Wanda again. It always should have been him on the train, and somewhere out there, it is. That's enough. ]

The Avengers, they exist? The Chitauri? We won, didn't we?

[The silence feels like it hangs so long and heavy that when Sgt. Barnes starts speaking, it almost makes Wanda jump from surprise. She turns back to look at him now, and she can see it in his eyes. His thoughts and feelings about the train. It almost causes a new wave of sadness, but Wanda controls herself this time. Instead, she merely nods her head and answers his questions.]

Yes, the Avengers do exist, and they are strong. Very strong. They were able to drive back the Chitauri's invasion of New York.

[She almost goes on to tell him about Ultron, but... that would mean revealing her own part in that story. And it's a part that she's not especially proud of. Least not all of it. There's a pause before she simply adds:]

They have done a great amount of good in a world that desperately needs it.

[ She is almost colossal to him, all that emotion in her eyes alone. Bucky's quiet for a moment. ]

That's good. Thank you for being honest with me.

[ It's entirely possible she isn't, but very unlikely. Instead he stands and shifts awkwardly. ]

I'm sorry Miss, I forgot my manners in all this. [ holding out his hand for her to shake ] James Barnes.

[Wanda smiles weakly, and resists the urge to say "I know." Instead, she extends her own hand to shake his.]

Wanda Maximoff.

[ His grim is professional: firm and not crushing. ]

Call me Jim.

[ Bucky belongs to another man, of another time. ]

[Wanda's solemn demeanor cracks slightly as she lets out a small giggle. It's not Sgt. Barne's fault. It's just that the name "Jim," seems rather non-threatening for someone portrays such stalwart strength.]

Okay, Jim.

[ It softens her face and makes her sound much younger, and he smiles genially at her. ]

You promise to keep your weight off your leg, hey?

[ He's still a little worried about the weird red earlier, but it's dissipated now and he feels a lot calmer. ]

[The smile fades a little from her face as attention is drawn back to her injury, a reminder of her own weakness.]

Yes. I will be careful.

Are you going back in there?

[She gestures towards the corridor that leads further into the infested ship.]

At some point, probably. There's a lot of scavenging to be done and [ he gestures to where his augment is, under the skin ] they made me an engineer.

[ He thinks it's amusing. Always did like tinkering with things. ]

[Wanda looks Sgt. Barnes, or rather Jim, over, a bit of warmth creeping back into her smile.]

You do not look like an engineer, but then I know better than to judge someone by how they appear on the surface.

[Bit of a nudge, nudge wink, wink there.]

[ It's usually him doing the winking and nudging, and he smiles earnestly at her. ]

What did they give you?

Tactical Support.

[The words she used to say with a sort of bemused curiosity now come out with a slight tang of bitterness. After all, what kind of support can she be here? Especially now with the injury to her leg.]

[ He can't immediately identify what's in the tone, and so, it prompts, ]

Not a lot of experience with it?

I do not know. Perhaps if I knew exactly what I was meant to do with it, I could tell you better. I had thought it meant to help in combat. To protect those who could not or would not fight. But...

[She glances down at her leg again, almost on impulse, before looking up and away.]

...perhaps that is not the case.

There's a lot of ways to protect someone.

[ And a lot of ways to fail, when it comes down to it, but. Not the point. ]

Who're you fighting at home, sweetheart?

[ Perhaps that's forward, but he feels he can push a little. She has the scorch of war all over her, where it shouldn't be but nearly always is. ]

[Wanda ponders briefly if she should tell him. She supposed there was no harm in it. After all, they were from different versions of Earth, and perhaps her telling him could, in some way, help prevent another Sokovia's ruin?]

His name is, or was, Ultron, a hyper-intelligent artificial intelligence. Supposedly, Stark created him to be some sort of peace-keeping initiative. Something that could protect the world if the Chitauri, or some other alien threat, were to ever attack again. Instead... he became just the opposite. A monster... determined to try and bring about the genocide of man, believing it to be a natural step in evolution. We, the Avengers that is, stopped him, but...

[Wanda's expression is forlorn. She immediately seems distant; her head somewhere completely different from their present reality.]

...at a cost.

[ He leaves the soldier's assessment out of his face, but his mind whirls at this information. Somewhere, there's another fight waiting for them, bigger than the Chitauri, enough that it requires additional manpower. That's no small feat, fighting something Stark made, and grew beyond him. ]

We haven't faced anything like that, or met anyone like you. If we do — [ he pauses, and his own mouth becomes a thin, unhappy line ] I promise I'll do everything in my power.

[ But war is war, and it takes without regard. ]

[And now here comes the part that it is hard for Wanda...]

When- [She stops, corrects herself.] if you meet me... another Wanda... back home... I may not be an ally.

[ At this, he falls silent, impulses warring. He's curious, and a little concerned too, because the other Avengers — they are all incredible people and it stands to reason Wanda is amongst them. ]

I think she'll make the right choice.

[ He smiles at her, the quiet warmth of a sole lamp in a room. ]

[Wanda's eyes widen slightly in surprise at Sgt. Barnes' response. She feels the warmth behind his words, and would like desperately to accept it. But...]

She will not.

[A pause, as Wanda's expression once again becomes forlorn. She seems weighed down with a heavy burden. But her words that follow imply some sense of internal hope.]

Not at first.

[ He desperately wishes Sam was here. Sam who knows how to be easy when the humour's needed, how to push when something needs bending. He has the gentle touch that Bucky himself never quite employs with the same finesse. ]

She does, eventually, right? That's what's important.

[ He rests his hand on hers. ]

I'm not your Cap, so you don't have to believe me, but I think that's what's more important.

A cry for help

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