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[reconstitution]

Who: Bucky & You!
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: Heron
When: 11/2

[ Hello, fleet! Today you get a message from someone who's been more than a little absent the past month. Some people may be more aware of it than others, but he's finally crawling out of the woodwork.

Waking up has been more than a little disorienting, because he didn't recall falling asleep, or when. It makes him uneasy, a solid weight sitting in his gut. The last time he couldn't remember things, it wasn't so great for the fleet. ]

What year is it?

Not sure how long I was out..Is everyone okay?

Comments

[reconstitution]

Really? How did he even know that it wasn't really her if he'd never kissed her before?

[ It doesn't make any goddamn sense. ]

[ladybro]

How should I know? Maybe it wasn't the first time. Maybe it was. Frankly, being around for it to happen was bad enough. I try not to ask too much about Clint's personal life 'cause then you start learning about things like him sleeping with robots or -- you know, whatever the hell the thing with the Black Widow is.

[ it's like a chill legitimately went down her spine. kate has mad respect for romanoff, she just can't comprehend why a figure so daunting like her would ever waste time on a half-functioning mess like barton. ]

[reconstitution]

Mm. Guess that's a smart thing. Don't ask questions you don't want to know the answers to.

[ That bit of information is new. Barton and Natasha? Guess he wouldn't have thought of that. Then again, different universe. It makes Bucky wonder just how different things really are. ]

[ladybro]

And, between you and me, the old-school Avengers team kinda leaves the impression that it reached -- like -- freshman college dorm levels of unresolved tension and romantic drama. [ or maybe that's just 'cause clint is, like, 90% of her insight into that team and clint's got a real problem on that front. ]

[reconstitution]

I don't really know from experience what that's like, so I'll take your word for it.

[ It is her world, after all. Maybe all of them have more time for romance than they do in his own world. Sounds weird, but okay. ]

[ladybro]

Yeah, but doesn't it still make the news where you're from? [ a tilt of her head. ] The Richards-Storm wedding made the cover of just about every magazine. Same with The Scarlet Witch and Vision, but that's for a whole other reason.

[reconstitution]

I don't have any idea who they are. [ Richards and Storm aren't two names he's incredibly familiar with. ]

Vision is only a year old, isn't he? [ What the hell is wrong with your timeline, Kate? ]

[ladybro]

Depends on the Vision, I guess. [ she grabs her coffee. drinks deep. that definitely hits the spot. ] The OG version was around before I was. But then there was the newer one -- he was on my team.

[ that didn't end well. ]

[reconstitution]

There's more than one Vision where you're from? [ This is getting weirder the longer he listens. ]

[ladybro]

Just about a handful, now. Or. Well. Vision Jrs. So to speak.

[ it's complicated! ]

[reconstitution]

I'm not even going to ask.

[ He's just going to drink this coffee and think about that. Goddamn, Vision. ]

[ladybro]

It's for the best. [ ... ] I've probably said too much. I don't wanna go futzing you guys up just 'cause my home's a persistent mess.

[reconstitution]

I'm pretty sure mine's not any better. Kind of goes without saying, if it's a place we're involved.

[ladybro]

Not to be a debbie-downer, but it does seem like you still have a lot ahead of you. But who knows, maybe everything'll be different.

[reconstitution]

It's hard telling. [ What with being in cryo in the middle of Wakanda and all. ]

[ladybro]

Not least of all because none of you guys are all that talkative.

[ she's poking fun. honest. ]

[reconstitution]

Steve is plenty talkative.

[ladybro]

I dunno. I don't talk much with Cap. [ she will never ever call him steve. ] He's -- too nice, I guess? It's hard to explain. Like I feel bad trying to get information out of him.

[reconstitution]

Don't feel too badly. He's pretty tough under all that marshmallow. He'd fight anyone who looked at someone the wrong way.

[ladybro]

I don't doubt he's tough. Don't doubt it at all. Just -- [ a soft hum. her nose scrunches. ] Back home, Captain America can be kind of a jerk. Like...a real arrogant asshole.

[ made worse only by the fact that he's so often right about things. ] Don't get me wrong. I'd follow him into just about any fight. But between your version and mine? Yours smiles more.

[ it's unsettling. ]

[reconstitution]

Really?

[ It's hard to imagine a version of Steve that was much different- though Orion had been different in his own right. That circumstance an anomaly. ]

[ladybro]

Really. [ she runs her palm across the back of her neck -- tracking flour. ] My first real conversation with him was when he tried to dismantle my team.

[ sure, she'd seen captain america before that. kinda hard not to, living in new york. and when she was 11, the avengers saved her from those thugs. but it's not the same as trying to meet him face-to-face and argue your point. ]

He and Iron Man told us they'd step in if they ever saw us put on the costumes again.

[reconstitution]

[ Really, he doesn't know if he'd get along with this Steve. Feels like they'd butt heads constantly. Maybe there were more circumstances that made him that way. Who the fuck knows? Bucky doesn't really want to spend hours mulling that over, either. ]

The Avengers in your world have been active a lot longer than in mine. At this point, it's not really safe for anyone to go vigilante.

[ladybro]

Forget vigilantism. It's not safe walking around New York as a civilian, either.

[ which she doesn't intend to say with such conviction. but it just slips out. ]

[reconstitution]

What? Why not?

[ Not even the civilians aren't safe walking around? What the hell kind of world are they living in? ]