driftfleet | A bittersweet return; Video + Action

Entry tags:

A bittersweet return; Video + Action

Who: Wanda Maximoff
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Starstruck
When: Right now

[At first, the scene appears to be a relatively familiar one. That is, the typical network broadcast of a new arrival to the fleet. A communicator's video feed broadcasting a slumbering figure curled up on a ship's cot. However, a second glance and one can easily tell that this not typical at all. Instead of the Marsiva's recognizably distinct interior, this feed seems to be coming from the bunkroom aboard one of the Fleet's smaller ships. In fact, crew members of the Starstruck may find the setting quite familiar looking indeed, along with anyone else that may have paid Wanda a visit in the past.]

[The sleeping figure stirs, waking from a deep slumber with a slow sit up and stretch. The communicator's camera focuses on the individual, as she quickly recognizes that something is amiss. Wanda Maximoff looks around, startled and confused to not find herself waking up in the room she'd been given in Wakanda. However, she soon begins to recognize the room. It's her room, her bunkroom aboard the SS Starstuck. And that could only mean...]

I'm back...

[The thought vocalized out loud, her tone sounding somewhat somber, yet also a tiny bit relieved. She swings her legs out of her cot, and pads her way over to her storage locker. Checking inside, she finds all of her trinkets, clothing, and other souvenirs that she'd picked up on previous planet visits. All of them in the exact place she had left them. A new outfit also noticeably present among the garments. Her fingers gently glide over each item, as the respective memories associated with each one float back to her.]

[A moment later, she closes the locker and turns her attention back to her room. She studies the interior, looking everything over.]

All exactly as I remember it.

[She then spies the communicator perched upon a shelf, optimally poised to capture her return. She walks over to it, picking it up and holding it out in front of herself. She looks ready to address the camera yet falters for a moment. A small frown on her face, and her eyebrows furrowed as she ponders what to even say, if she should even say anything at all. But only a moment later, her expression relaxes, and a small grin replaces the frown. Looking now more bemused and her tone more playfully sarcastic, she addresses the camera.]

It's been a while. What did I miss?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ -- peggy isn't aboard the starstruck. she's down on the planet, convalescing in an inn as per nursemaid steve's orders. and her face is still a bit of a bruised and horrible sight, so she doesn't rush to share the visual.

instead, she replies with a purely audio feed. even so, her relief isn't diminished: ] Wanda. What a treat to see you up and about.

[That's a voice Wanda is certainly happy to hear. She can't help but smile at Peggy's voice. It does strike her as a bit odd that she's not meeting her in person or sending a vid message, but she waves it off as Peggy likely visiting the current planet the fleet is parked at.]

Sorry if I worried you. I understand it's been a month here?

Yes, indeed. [ but peggy's been through the process herself. gingerly: ] How long was it for you?

[Wanda's smile dims a little, but it does not fade.]

It was a year back home.

[A moment and then she adds:]

A lot happened. Has Stev- Captain Rogers mentioned anything about new memories? Or has he disappeared similarly for any period of time?

No. [ -- but the question is too pointed to ignore. peggy asks for clarification: ] Why? Did something happen?

[Wanda sighs. Taking a moment to consider whether or not to fill Peggy in on everything happened. Was it really her place? That is, should she wait for Steve to go through a similar experience as herself, regaining--or perhaps acquiring--these new memories? Supposing he never does, would that just mean that Wanda was needlessly complicating things by bringing events of home with her back here to the Fleet?]

[There were a lot of questions bouncing around in her head, and Wanda was taking too much time thinking and leaving Peggy waiting for her answer. Ultimately, she figures that she will not be able to keep things from Peggy indefinitely, and she trusts Peggy to decide how much should be shared with Steve. If it should be Wanda or Peggy, to be the one to tell him.]

There was... a disagreement between Steve and Stark. I don't know how much Steve told you about events in the future, but there was a battle against an entity called Ultron. A genocidal Artificial Intelligence that sought to end the world by using a city, my city of Sokovia, as a meteor, lifting it up and dropping it back down to Earth. We stopped him, but... we could not save everyone. Many lives were still lost, and the city of Sokovia is gone now. It is leveled, a wasteland. So many are homeless now...

What is the expression? No good deed goes unpunished?

The governments of the world felt the Avengers were acting with too much autonomy. They proposed a new ordinance, the Sokovia Accords, which would great an overseeing board that would determine when and how we could respond to crises.

Stark sided with the Accords, believing we needed to be kept in check or else we too were no different than the ones we were looking to stop. Steve felt differently. He believed that the best hands were still our own.

[A small smile plays across her lips as she echos the words she heard him say earlier.]

He did not like the idea of someone being in need, and we not being able to respond.

A line was drawn and sides were taken. The Avengers... we are no longer a unified group. I am not sure if we ever can be again.

[ ultron, she knows about -- sokovia, too. and what comes after is something she could have handily predicted: a world, unprepared to cope with such power without trying to leash it wholesale. in a sense, something very similar had happened immediately after project rebirth. but the scale upon which wanda speaks?

peggy's breath catches in her throat. her expression darkens. ]

And upon which side of the line did you find yourself, my dear?

[At that, Wanda gives her a knowing grin, but it is small and fleeting. Despite her animosity towards Stark, having to pick sides and then having to fight one another... it was nothing to be happy about.]

I sided with Steve.

...The damn fool makes it easy, doesn't he? [ siding with him. fighting by his side. peggy's smile is equally small and a bit hollow. ] I wish I hadn't seen this coming -- but the moment I read the SHIELD report on the New York incident, it was obvious. World governments don't much care for powers they can't control.

[The grin flickers back on Wanda's face for a moment, but then quickly vanishes again. Replaced by a more troubled, even frustrated, expression. Wanda knew, personally, the feelings of others' towards things they cannot control.]

No, they do not. Many do not. They fear what they cannot control, and so they act from that fear, trying to re-establish control.

[She can understand the sentiment, but that doesn't mean she doesn't resent it.]

And to act on fear -- well, it opens a door that isn't easily closed. [ soft and tender, her voice is careful. ] Not that fear doesn't have its place. It is, after all, only natural.

I think the U.S. government rather feared Steve when he first became Captain America. I think he may have even feared himself. Oh, how they misused him. [ and oh, how he allowed it. ]

...Tea. We should have some tea together. If you'd like to talk more.

[Peggy definitely piqued Wanda's interest. The U.S. government afraid of Steve? Afraid of Captain America? Sure, when they sided against the Sokovia Accords, they naturally put themselves at odds with U.S. and U.N. interests. But this sounded like something different. Something Wanda had not heard yet about Steve. Truthfully, up until the Sokovia Accords, she had considered him the "golden boy." The "boy scout." Not that there was anything necessarily wrong with that. In fact, it was sort of endearing after a while. But just to hear that the very opposite may have been the case, even long before she knew him, it naturally has Wanda curious.]

I would like that. Actually, tea sounds rather nice at the moment.

I fear you'll have to indulge me. I'm on the planet -- thoroughly ordered to stay put. You'll have to come to me.

It is all right. My legs could use the exercise.

[After all, as far as she know, she'd been sleeping for a month.]

I will contact you when I'm planet-side.

-- No need. Only come and knock.

[ and following this request, she sends directions to the inn where she's been staying. ]

[Wanda nods.]

I'll be there in a little bit.

[A little bit of time later, Peggy will get a hesitant knock on her door.]

Peggy?

[Wanda's voice asks from outside, hoping she hasn't knocked on the wrong door.]

-- Come in.

[ her voice is as terse as ever, though muffled behind the wooden door. peggy invites wanda to open the door for herself, as she's still on the other side of the room. and on a crutch, no less. but when the door is opened and the young woman steps inside, peggy meets her with a smile. ]

Take a seat. I'm glad you came.

Of course.

[Wanda tries not to stare at the crutch, and Peggy's current condition. She'd heard what happened, but still she can't help but look concerned for her friend and ship captain.]

I would have come sooner, but... Steve said you needed your rest. And I figured he was a good enough nurse that you'd be in good hands.

[She smiles at her joke, but still... the concern is obvious on her face.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

A bittersweet return; Video + Action

audio »

Audio

no subject

no subject

no subject

1/2

2/2

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

1/2

2/2 ; action planetside

no subject

no subject