driftfleet | "My mind's like a deadly disease..."

Who: Wanda Maximoff
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Starstruck
When: Now

Broadcast - Text

[Wanda's presence, both in the Fleet's comms and aboard its vessels, has dwindled, slowly but surely, over the course of the past month. There was period of time, around the beginning of the month, when she couldn't be found or reached at all--save for by Misty, Vision and Pietro. More perceptive fleet members might recall that her disappearance occurred around the time that rumors of a dragon and its rider terrorizing Solrius were circulating about. However, she did pop back up a little while later, seemingly as though nothing was wrong. However, those that know her well may have picked up the subtle tells that there was something she was not saying. Something that she was trying to bury. And so, she became more and more scarce around the Fleet. At least, until now...]

What do you think happens after death?

[The message is short and simple. Anyone familiar with the festivities of the month of October, perhaps this is simply her way of trying to get into the spirit of things?]

Starstruck - Action

[Friends and shipmates of Wanda's, if they want to go looking for her, will find her either holed up in her bunkroom aboard the Starstruck, or in a corner of the ship's kitchen or shuttle bay at times she thinks no one would typically wander in. By the look on her face, it is clear something is troubling her.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Sye's death was bad enough; she held her breath on that one, hoping that people returned alive here, too. But it doesn't make it any easier. Now that she's hearing about it after the fact, it's hard to process how she's even meant to react.

In the end, she answers again, this time aloud. It feels too personal to be talking about in text.]

There isn't any need to apologise. What happened?

[At first, there's no response from Wanda. But after a moment, the video feed suddenly clips on so Nami can see her. And she doesn't look particularly well. She looks as though she's not had a peaceful nights sleep in some time, and she carries an additional fatigue about her that really only comes when one has had some worries hanging over their head for far too long. Though, given the revelation she's just shared with Nami, perhaps her appearance makes sense.]

In the last system, on one of the planets... there were rumors of a dragon. A monster terrorizing some nearby towns. Pietro and I... I thought perhaps we could do something to help. We were not looking to slay the creature or to make ourselves out like heroes. We only wanted to help those that we could, but...

But we ran into the beast... it did not end well.

[A major understatement, but it was still hard for Wanda to talk about the exact details of what happened. Both emotionally speaking, and because her death had made it hard to exactly keep straight the events of that day.]

[The dragon. Mikleo. So a glitch that someone died for, this time. Nami closes her eyes. She wonders if Mikleo knows that he caused a death.]

I'm sorry, Wanda. But yeah... the people in charge of these places seem to think death is just a trivial thing. It's more entertainment for them, I guess-- doesn't mean it hurts less for us.

[She shakes her head.]

None of this was Atroma's doing.

Not unless they somehow created a dragon monster to attack innocents.

[It's hard for her to muster up the humor, but she means those words as a jest. As much as she painted the Atroma as villains for kidnapping them and detaining them in the fleet like this, the accusation that they could have created such a beast just for ratings seems just a little too outlandish... right?]

I wouldn't put it past them. [As far as Nami can see, they did, but she only knows the vaguest of facts, so she'll keep that guess off the table.] But I meant in general-- with the way death is so... cheap.

It's good not to lose anyone, don't get me wrong. I would hate to have lost you. [She bites her lip.] But in a world where people just wake back up again, it means the people who control this place don't rule it out for a cheap thrill. It's... horrible.

[Wanda's eyes begin to water slightly as Nami says that she would have hated to lose her. There's a look of genuine, unexpected affection for her friend. It's not that Wanda doubted their friendship. It's just a powerful thing to hear how much she has come to mean to Nami.]

[She tries to restrain the tears, but there's a sliver of a smile, a thanks that she gives Nami for her kind words. she then renews her look of concern over the rest of what Nami has suggested. She had honestly put the Atroma out of her mind this whole time. Though now, their involvement in all this... the way they had been puppet masters, pulling their strings to make events happen seemingly at random and by no fault of their own... A familiar feeling of being used finds its way into Wanda's heart, and it begins to cause her blood to boil.]

They... you really think they could be behind this?

[Her anger clearly building to a point not yet seen by Nami.]

Directly or indirectly. Even if they have nothing to do with the dragon, they're sure as hell responsible for putting you in a position where you end up dying to one.

And I bet it would've made great ratings. [She can't say that any more bitterly.]

[And at that last point, Wanda's anger focuses like an arrow. Time after time, the Atroma have used her, her friends, and others in the Fleet as their playthings. The justification of it being for show ratings -- if the flimsy context they've been provided around the Fleet is even true -- further intensifies Wanda's anger. Every time, in the aftermath, she's felt this anger, yet has let it fade each time as normalcy resumed or something else distracted her. This time, though... this time, it will not be so easily quelled.]

I am going to make them pay. One way or another. They will be made to answer for everything they have done to us.

[The resolution in her words coupled with the pure fury in her eyes, Wanda means every word of what she's said.]

[She'd expect no less, to be perfectly honest. It's Wanda's right, and they all need to hold the Atroma accountable.]

If and when we ever get the option, you won't be alone on that score.

"My mind's like a deadly disease..."

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