catching up with friends

[outstandingbalance]

Who: Natasha + Wanda, Natasha + You
Broadcast: Nope
Action: SS Starstruck, SS Vanquish, Iskaulit
When: Now-ish?

Starstruck

[With Pietro showing up, it seemed like the thing to do to check in on Wanda. Natasha had kept an eye open for the girl, but unsurprisingly their paths hadn't crossed by accident since then. She could have sent a private message—maybe should have—but the kind of distance that talking to someone through a screen would hide clues to Wanda's emotional state that Natasha would rather not miss.

It made the most sense to drop in. Have surprise on her side. See Wanda face to face.

That's how Natasha found herself on the SS Starstruck, standing outside her younger teammate's door like she belonged there and knocking confidently. Will Wanda even be in? On the other hand, would Natasha be here if she weren't?]


Starstruck - later

[It's a less confident Natasha who slips off of the ship after her meeting with Wanda, a Natasha with new memories and nursing a stabbing headache. She'd just as soon sneak off the ship without running into anyone else at this point; she could use a little time to herself to recover and regroup.

Even a spy might have a hard escaping a spaceship unnoticed, though.]


Vanquish

[Back on her own ship, Natasha retreats to her bunk almost immediately. She lays down for a bit—but she doesn't stay down long. After enough time to push aside the worst of her nagging headache, she throws herself into activity. Nothing useful. Nothing that takes focus. But empty action, something to work off a little energy while her thoughts are elsewhere. Pushups. Sit ups. Lunges. Whatever she can do with the space she has.

Eventually, the workout might spill out into the corridor...]


Iskaulit

[But after that, her workout will take her to a real gym, somewhere she can actually open up. Anyone who finds her here might run into Natasha taping up her hands before laying into a heavy bag. Or they might run into her working her frustration off on the bag itself. Spectators might be impressed—if they don't know her, and if they don't know people with superpowers. She's stronger than most people take her for, though, and her form is more or less flawless, if you notice those things.

She stays in the gym for a long while, until she feels herself back on top of her emotions. All of her reactions have been identified, categorized and compartmentalized.

That's when she she finally wanders over to one of the bars.

She's earned a drink.]

Comments

Action - Iskaulit

[complicatedliar]

[Loki has his own routine, most of which is accomplished in his obstacle course. Though he does pass by the regular gym on occasion. He leans in the doorway for a few moments before observing:] You seem troubled, Agent Romanoff.

[outstandingbalance]

[That isn't a voice Natasha welcomes hearing, but at least it doesn't come as a surprise. She glances his way, doing a pretty convincing job of pretending that having him behind her doesn't put the hairs on the back of her neck on end.]

Is that curiosity? [She asks levelly. If the rasp to her voice is a little more pronounced, it's still more a feature of her voice than an admission that he's right.] Or just an observation.

[complicatedliar]

An observation. It is my nature to always be curious.

[outstandingbalance]

Sounds a little like both, without quite admitting to both.

[Natasha seems to focus on the bag, but she doesn't imagine either of them believe it.]

Starstruck ; let's get our canon-bump on!

[notmutantbutmiracle]

[Wanda is not actually in her bunkroom when Natasha knocks, but, good news, she had just arrived back from visiting her brother on the Bloodsport. Wanda is just as surprised to see Nat as she may likely be having Wanda approach her from behind.]

Nat- [She stops herself. She still was unsure how informal she can be around this Natasha Romanoff.] Agent Romanoff, can I help you?

[outstandingbalance]

Natasha is fine. [One eyebrow raised, lips twitching toward a smile. Natasha can't say she likes a surprise, but if she's bothered by it, she covers it well enouh.] No reason to stand on formality.

[But in answer to her question.] Just thought I'd check in. See how you were doing. How your brother was adapting?

[notmutantbutmiracle]

[A little surprised by Natasha's concern but certainly welcoming the check-in, Wanda gives her a friendly enough grin.]

He is doing well. He's already a little antsy from being confined to his ship, but otherwise he seems to be settling in well.

[Wanda walks past Natasha, opening her bunkroom door and gestures inside.]

You want to sit down?

starstruck »

[mucked]

[ -- and one spy doesn't fail to notice the other.

peggy carter, captain of this illustrious tub, appears from inside one of the starstruck's briefly decommissioned shuttles. she has her silk sleeves rolled up to her elbows, and a bit of dirty rag working between her fingers. whatever work she'd been doing, it had been dirty. pulling, plucking, prodding at the internal workings of the shuttle's cockpit.

there's something wrong with the larger ship's communications array, and peggy thought to solve that problem by cannibalizing a shuttle. as fine a plan as it might have been, it wasn't going well.

so she crosses paths with natasha in the shuttle bay. ]

Ms. Romanoff. Leaving already?

[ she'd noticed the avenger's arrival earlier, but hadn't intruded. until now. ]

[outstandingbalance]

[Really, it's not a surprise that Peggy made her. It would have been more surprising if she went entirely unnoticed.

But there's always hope, isn't there?]

Just here for a quick visit—checking in on Wanda.

[Which is the best kind of dodge: the kind that's entirely true. She imagines Pegy is aware of Pietro's arrival.]

[mucked]

Ah, yes. [ a half-smile. ] Sudden arrivals hit all of us differently -- especially those of a person we thought lost to us.

How is she? In your opinion?

Iskaulit

[unbearablynaive]

[Whether or not one knows superpowers, her skill is clear to someone who can recognize it. The Vision had decided to peek in after checking on the Iskaulit gardens, Beverly being unable to do so at the current time, and waits until she finishes a set to clear his throat and announce his presence. Not that she didn't notice him as soon as he'd entered, probably.]

Your form is excellent, as always.

[outstandingbalance]

[That gets a glance back from Natasha, a quick one, and a little bit of a smile.]

So I'm not losing my edge?

[unbearablynaive]

Not that I can tell. Do you feel out of practice?

[It is somewhat calmer here, after all.]

Gym

[takingkarabusiness]

[ Kara decided to come over and see if anyone she normally trains with is around. she watches nat for a bit ]

And here I thought I had super strength.

Re: Gym

[outstandingbalance]

Do I look like the kind of girl who goes in for flattery?

[Natasha says it joking, but dry.]

[takingkarabusiness]

Well, it's not flattery to say you're better at that stuff than I am, even if I might be stronger.

starstruck.

[theroadwarrior]

[Natasha may be surprised to find — a dog! An old dog, fur matted gray and black but with a relatively healthy coat. He doesn't seem to be... friendly, exactly, but he doesn't seem to be any sort of decent guard dog. He just watches Natasha curiously for a second, as if he's spectating her attempt to flee without catching anyone's eye.

And hey, she's doing pretty good until a pair of legs pop out from under the shuttle nearby. It's followed by a grunt and a rather peculiar but rugged fellow sliding out from underneath on a board. He's got a line of oil on his forehead and a focused sort of stare, intense, like he's trying to read Natasha's brain through her eyes.]

Who're you?

[outstandingbalance]

[Natasha's attention shifts from the dog to the man and back again. She ca believe they go together.]

Natasha Romanoff.

[One brow lifts a little, though for the most part her expression just looks tired.]

You?

[theroadwarrior]

[............... He gave his name to Peggy.

He should, uh. Give his name to other people... Um.

....

.....]

Mr. Survivalist.

[goddammit]

Or whatever else you wanna use. [The lack of trust burns.] You a friend of... someone aboard? Don't know where the captain is.

starstruck;

[uprightness]

[ it's an almost ordinary day aboard the starstruck, steve spends his time at the weaponry, checking that everything is functioning and numbered, that nothing is missing. he is filling up spare time, really, between this and some sketching and anything else he can think about. idleness breeds eternal misery, doesn't it?

he's heading out of the weaponry and towards the kitchen when he catches sight of her. ]

-- hey. been visiting?

[outstandingbalance]

[Natasha's smile when she sees him doesn't quite reach her eyes. Could be because of new memories, but more likely it's because he head feels like it was split open.

Either way, she makes the attempt. That has to be worth something, right?]

Something like that. Checking how Wanda was doing.

[Then, clearing her throat:]

She didn't entirely approve of me babysitting.

[uprightness]

Well, she hardly appreciates any of us doing that. She'll come around.

[ and then, with a concerned tilt of his head: ]

Hey - you ok?

Iskaulit;;

[reconstitution]

[ It's the first time he's really stepped foot on the Iskaulit in months, for understandable reasons. He can only venture that his presence still unnerves people. He hasn't exactly tried to make his case over the network, either.. Thankfully, there aren't too many people to run into right now.

Bucky is on his way back to the shuttles from the meditation room when he hears someone in the gym. Peering in, he finds Natasha prepping for a workout. There's no one else around, so now seems to be an okay time to talk to her.

There was a lot that remained unsaid on the planet. ]

Need someone to steady it for you? [ He nods to the punching bag. ]

[outstandingbalance]

[Natasha finishes wrapping one hand, balling it into a fist experimentally.

Funny enough, seeing Bucky again for the first time after getting her memories back, she found she wasn't particularly angry at him. Much as she might wish otherwise, to look at the last year dispassionately, tally the score and cut her losses the way she'd always been trained, she'd let herself come to care about the Avengers. As people, yes, but because of what it represented for her specifically. Because it had become her way of taking control of her life and choosing how she would use her training.

But...

None of that was his fault. He'd tried to get out.]

Yeah. [She says a few seconds too late, her voice just a little tired.] I could use that.

[She's still working out how she feels about being choked, but in their line of work, you didn't take that personally.

It wasn't worse than getting shot, at least.

Twice.]

If you're not doing anything else.

[reconstitution]

[ Thinking he could get out was naive of him. He'd hoped that if he'd just slipped through the cracks, he could go to some remote place and simply disappear. The Soldier has always been good at being a ghost when left to his own devices.That only worked temporarily, and now they're all fucked.

He response sounds weary, and he's briefly curious if she knows. She's bound to say something if she is, though on her own terms.

Bucky nods, stepping behind the punching bag, planting his feet. He holds it in place with his good shoulder. ]

Not particularly.