driftfleet | catching up with friends

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.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That is the charitable response, isn't it. [ -- all is well, then. she certainly isn't bothered by the run-around. she practically invited it. ]

I imagine it's a little like how I feel about Tony Stark. Spitting image of his father, in some moments, but -- different. As he should be.

Most people don't call me charitable.

[She's trying very hard to be pragmatic, though. Success: TBD]

That's got to be a strange one—I'm not sure it's fair to have to deal with more than one Stark.

You never know -- you might learn it for yourself. Howard was here, a piece back. [ puffed cheeks. almost a sigh. ] He might return. People -- [ a pointed look at nat herself ] -- seem to do that from time to time.

It's a real possibility. [A possibility Natasha is uncomfortably aware of. She shakes her head.] Were Tony and him here at the same time? Because that could get real awkward.

It was. [ awkward. ] I can't say who was moved most by the phenomenon. They both handled it like such supreme wankers.

Tony had to get it from somewhere. [Said wryly, not entirely without... if not affection the some concern for him.] How'd Steve handle it?

They rather missed each other, I'm afraid. [ there's a drop of genuine disappointment in her voice. ] Howard would have been thrilled to see him again.

[ peggy certainly had been. ]

We really have been involved in a shuffle, haven't we?

[At least as far as Natasha can gather. It sounds like all coming and going, different versions from different worlds...]

Thing is, you'll get used to it -- it's not like it's any more or less unpredictable than home. At times.

Not sure being more or less as unpredictable as back home is an endorsement. Home was getting pretty unpredictable.

...So I keep hearing. [ she clears her throat. ] The -- Sokovia Accords? That's what Wanda called them. Those smack of being a little too predictable, I find.

[ at least from where she stood, watching all the events trickle in memory by memory from those who regained theirs. ]

You've heard right. [Natasha shakes her head a little.] I won't say the writing wasn't on the wall.

Something was going to come down. I have the feeling it's been in the words for a while, in one form or another.

So long as there is power in the world, someone will attempt to wrangle it -- whether for good or otherwise. [ because she isn't so simple-minded as to think such a wrangling could only ever be evil. sometimes, power needed wrangling.

sometimes, heroes needed to be pointed in the right direction. but she can appreciate the slippery slope something like the sokovia accords might present. honestly, she hasn't yet decided on which side she might have found herself. ]

[Not exactly as cut and dry as some people might have you believe, is it? Natasha appreciates that Peggy seems to have a bit more nuance than Steve or Tony.

She hums softly, acknowledging the truth in that statement.]

Not just that. As long as we make mistakes, we're going to have to try and find ways to make up for them.

And acknowledging those mistakes is an important part of the process. [ ... ] Not that acknowledgement ever truly makes things right in the end.

[ -- and oh well it's worth asking: ] Did you choose a side? I don't envy you the choice.

No. No apologies ever brought people back from the dead.

[No reason to mince words about it.]

But it can go a long way to re-establishing some lost trust.

[As to her question, there's no pretending it's one Natasha wants to answer. Especially because it's not a question with an easy answer.]

I'm just trying to put out fires and keep the team together.

And if you can't?

[ -- some teams don't stay together. ]

I couldn't.

[No reason to hold that back, is there? Not at this point.]

And at this point, I not in much of a position to try anymore.

-- Don't tell me you got yourself cast as a fugitive as well? Hard to do good work if you're persona non grata.

I have practice.

[Which is more of a dodge than an answer, but until she knows how likely Peggy is to report back to Steve, Natasha prefers it that way.]

At the end of the day, I think my friends know we're still friends. Not really in a position to be taking any side though.

[Because, yes, she's on the run.]

[ she wouldn't -- report back to steve, that is. but neither would she volunteer that information. she can utterly respect natasha's reticence, even as she attempts to needle it. ]

See? [ light, airy, and far more cheery than she has any right to be. ] This is why I am determined to loathe the other agents back at the home office. Makes it all easier in the end, no matter where the chips fall.

[ that, and most of them are jerks. ]

Good plan. Wish I'd have thought of that strategy. Would have made things a lot easier when things went bad.

[No emotional conflict because she'd rather be with Steve based on their friendship. No worrying that Tony was quietly spiraling.]

I'll have to try that next time.

It helps if they're all wankers, I find. [ a terse smile. ] It mightn't be so easy for you.

What, you don't think the boys I'm working with now are wankers? Have you met Tony?

-- And the rest are rather endearing. That I've met, at least. Sam Wilson especially.

[ but she just won't mention steve. ]

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