A cry for help

[thespaceopera]

[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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[redactions]

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

What did they give you?

[notmutantbutmiracle]

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.]

[redactions]

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

Not a lot of experience with it?

[notmutantbutmiracle]

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.

[redactions]

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. ]

[notmutantbutmiracle]

[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.

[redactions]

[ 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. ]

[notmutantbutmiracle]

[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.

[redactions]

[ 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. ]

[notmutantbutmiracle]

[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.

[redactions]

[ 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.

[notmutantbutmiracle]

[Wanda looks down at his hand, resting on hers. Her gaze follows up his arm before reaching his face. His kind words inspire another small grin on her face.]

You may not be "my Cap," but you are a good one.

[redactions]

Now you're just tryin' t'butter me up.

[ He gives her a playful smirk. He's not Steve — just a guy trying his best to be as great as he was. ]

[notmutantbutmiracle]

[She cocks her head at first.]

Butter you up? I do not-

[Then she thinks she understands the turn of phrase. She blushes and gives a slight smile before turning away.]

I- you... are a fine Captain. I am only speaking the obvious.

[redactions]

[ The smile fades from mischievous to just plainly warm as he realises she's not used to the idiom. It's not obvious. He's just — he can't be what Steve was, he can only manage a sometimes. That will have to be good enough. ]

Well, I'll do my best to live up to that.

[notmutantbutmiracle]

[Wanda turns to look at him again. The smile on her face somewhat more warm and genuine.]

I believe you will.