driftfleet | (no subject)

Who: Natasha Romanoff & You
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Marsiva
When: 6/24

Video

[Transmission starts at the same moment the woman laying in fram shifts from unconsciousness to tense stillness—her eyes open, darting, and she goes tense, but otherwise there's no movement from her for the first four or five seconds. That seems to be how long it takes her to process that she's in an unfamiliar space with no memory of how she came to be lying there. Then one hand balls consciously into a fist. Her eyes flutter. Jaw tightens.

Natasha takes a deep breath and forces her body to relax muscle by muscle.

Seems like spies don't make for great entertainment when they first wake up. Not unless you find tension and veiled suspicious looks riveting. The first minute or two isn't much more than that. She wakes up. She sits up. She swings her legs over the edge of her cot and stretches her back, trying to flex the adrenaline out of her muscles.

She looks directly into the camera at one point, her expression flat, lips tightening in a frown. She taps the edge of the lens experimentally.]

You know, if you're gonna kidnap a girl you could at least buy her dinner first.

[Her voice is just a touch to defiant to be neutral as she speaks.

Then she hauls herself to her feet. The last thing caught on camera before the broadcast ends is a shot of her catsuited figure walking away.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ms. Maximoff is a member of my crew here on the Starstruck. Sam Wilson has been a recent arrival. And then there's Loki.

[ one name remains conspicuously absent. ]

[So it does. The name Natasha was looking for in particular. She clears her throat.]

Vision mentioned that Loki was here, and that he seems to be behaving himself.

[Which implies that Vision may have also mentioned Barnes, and that he hadn't been.]

Said Loki didn't seem to like him much.

He's not done much more than be -- well, mouthy is putting it mildly. [ peggy exhales. ] But I've been privy to the reports detailing what happened in New York.

[That gets a snort out of her.]

If all he's being is mouthy, then we're pretty lucky. But he's probably smart enough to know starting anything openly would end badly.

With every conversation I have with him, I'm left with the distinct impression he's smart enough to hope his needling will result in one of us starting something for him.

[ it's cowardly, really. ]

You're probably not wrong. It could give him an advantage in optics.

Or he might just be bored. I get the impression we're mostly entertaining ourselves around here.

While we entertain others. Supposedly. It's all a bit perverse.

Maybe he's trying to take advantage of the system. Gin up some drama.

Likely, you're right. But he's been oddly quiet of late. [ ... ] I wonder if that's reason for concern.

I can't say it inspires confidence...

[She gives a half shrug, arms wrapped around her body.]

But if he's not acting out, there's enough going on without borrowing trouble.

Or playing into his provocations.

[ enough going on -- that's a telling choice of words. ] Someone's told you about Barnes, then.

[He was included in the "enough," but even without him Natasha is new enough for for the kidnapping and captivity to count.

Still, she's not going to deny it. And she's not going to miss that it's where Peggy went first.]

It's come up.

I suppose it would. [ ... ] Who let the cat out of the back, then?

Vision was fairly thorough when he filled me in on who all was here. He mentioned you too.

[ her exasperation is quasi-affectionate. ] He does take a rather wholesale and clinical approach to information-sharing, doesn't he?

Sometimes a valuable resource. [Her smile isn't unsympathetic.] Other times...

What did he say, exactly?

[ about herself? about barnes? peggy doesn't specify. she leaves natasha to field that ambiguity. ]

[Natasha isn't doesn't mind the question's vagueness. She's also not above deciding just how she wants to interpret it.]

That we're here from different points in time, sometimes different timelines entirely. He mentioned that at one point there was a version of Steve who was the Winter Soldier.

...And a version of Barnes who was Captain America.

Yeah, that too.

Sounds... that sounds like it would be difficult, especially for Steve and Barnes.

-- I must say, Jim handled it rather well. [ there's a low rumble of affection. she rather liked jim barnes, captain america. he'd been a friend. ] He had an easy way about him.

And he did wonders for the Winter Soldier while they were both here.

He he was up to the job of being Captain America, that doesn't come as much of a surprise.

[It's about the nicest thing Natasha can think to say of a man she didn't know, but judging from Steve, she figures she's not far off.]

It can't ever have been an easy mantle to assume. [ ... ] I certainly don't envy him his responsibility.

No, I don't think any of us do. But that's not why people end up with responsibilities.

Fair enough. [ ... ] How did you end up with yours, Ms. Romanoff? I can't imagine anyone joins the Avengers lightly.

[ not a softball sort of question, really. but they're both big girls. ]

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