004;;

[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]

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? ]

[ladybro]

[ perhaps it's not quite as dire as he's anticipating (although in other ways it very much was) and kate is quick to clarify her meaning: ]

Doesn't matter how good you are or how much good you do. Powers. No powers. Bad shit happens. In the streets or behind closed doors -- [ or in central park. ] The city can always use more people willing to intervene when things go south.

[reconstitution]

Shit happens no matter where you go. Hard to avoid anymore.

[ As long as there are good people, there are going to be bad ones and the others who lurk in between. ]

Sometimes people don't realize they don't have to be extraordinary to do good.

[ladybro]

-- That's kinda why I do it. [ the hero thing. ] I don't want anyone to feel helpless, I guess. Even 'not feeling helpless' just means calling on someone else for help. Powers or no powers.

[reconstitution]

That's why it's important that you keep at it. Even if you can't wear the costume. You're at least trying to make a difference..

[ladybro]

Cap did come 'round. In the end. [ kate smiles -- she might feel a spark of pride, here, despite what she's said about her world's steve rogers. ] He's the one who gave me Hawkeye's bow. And the codename.

[reconstitution]

Good.

[ladybro]

I certainly thought so. Good codenames are hard to come by.

[reconstitution]

I can imagine- especially with all of your Avenger groups. Does anyone ever fight over name ownership?

[ladybro]

I can't speak for anyone else. But Clint once challenged me to a shoot-off to win his gear back.

[reconstitution]

'Once'. I'm assuming he didn't try it after that?

[ladybro]

He won, actually. [ she's not ashamed to admit it. ] I was young. Cocky. He challenged me to a wager and won back all his stuff.

[reconstitution]

But you got it back, or just got your own?