Naviadna Mingle

[thespaceopera]

Who: Everyone
Broadcast: If you want!
Action: Anywhere on the fleet or in the system
When: The month of June



Welcome to Naviadna! Enjoy the beautiful sights, amazing technology, and all the other wonderful things this system has to offer! Where will you go? What sort of shenanigans will you get up to? How are you dealing with the planet's insistent singing at you?

Have fun!

(( System Info here ))

Comments

Natasha Romanoff | sneakinging in an Avengers: Endgame update

[outstandingbalance]

[Natasha's not usually one to nap. Even in the fleet, there feels like there's too much to do. Too much risk of missing the next planet threatening catastrophe or bit of information doled out through clues and hearsay. It's a migraine that takes her down in the middle of the day. Also not usual. It occurs to her, but the headache and nauseous light sensitivity are enough to convince her to lay down.

Hard to say if things would have gone different if she'd done otherwise. Probably not.

When she wakes, it's with a start. Her whole body tenses like she's waking up from a nightmare. It's not a dream, though. It's all too real, and the proof of that is on her face and in her hair. The blonde is back—but just at the tips. It's been months since the last time she bleached it. Maybe years. At some point, she stopped caring—she had priorities so much bigger than keeping her hair stylish, bigger even than staying inconspicuous. It's visible for anyone looking how long it's been since she cared what she looked like.

The new memories overlap with the old one, but there's so much new...

She has to get out. She's off Vanquish quickly, not sure who she's looking for or who she's trying to avoid. She just needs to be moving. She needs fresh air, if she can find it. And quiet. She needs—

She just needs something. She can be found in bars and markets, walking in the street, distracted and vaguely rushed, but with no where to be. People from home she'll catch if she finds them, grabbing them by the arm and looking into their faces without a word and searching for signs they remember too.

There's no words with that look. Not at first. Somethings can't be asked.

Did it work?]

[rebuildyourruins]

[One of the hardest parts of coming back to this place was having to split his attention between the different people he needed to see. First priority had gone to Loki - as always. But soon enough Thor had taken off to the Vanquish as well, because there was one other person he needed to see immediately, in person.

Which makes it all the more alarming when Natasha isn't on her ship.

Thor has no idea where she might be otherwise, so he does the only reasonable thing he can, though he doesn't feel particularly reasonable as he makes the call. A bit panicky, maybe. But he checked the manifests, he knows she's still in the Fleet, so --

He calls. Hoping as it rings that it doesn't just go to message, because then he'd really not know what to do.]

[outstandingbalance]

[It's a short list of people who Natasha would have answered the phone for right now. James. Steve. Maybe Vision or Wanda. It's a short list, but one Thor is near the top of.

The timing being what it is, she has to wonder.

She can't be the only one who woke up with new memories, can she—]

Thor?

[rebuildyourruins]

[And there she is, voice on the other end of the line. A voice he hasn't heard in months. Thor's shoulders sag with relief even though he realises now that maybe video would have been a better idea. --or maybe not, depending on what she remembers.

He still can't keep the relief out of his voice.]

Natasha - thank the gods! I couldn't find you on your ship.

[outstandingbalance]

No. I—[She wasn't ready to face Barnes with what happened, and didn't want to face herself. She needed to find someone else who remembered.

Seems like she might have had more luck with that last part if she'd stayed behind maybe. Thor sounds as rattled as she feels.] I needed to get some air.

You okay?

[rebuildyourruins]

I'm-- [Is he? On the balance of things, yes. But he'll feel better if he can see her in person.] --yeah, yeah I'm fine. I've just had some... some memories.

[One thing he absolutely won't do is blurt out the truth if she doesn't yet know. Easier on the phone, at least. He might fold under pressure in person. Surely though, if she's remembered anything too, she'll say so.]

Where are you now? On the planet?

[outstandingbalance]

[That's a relief. It also doesn't seem fair; this isn't the first time it seemed like she and Thor were the only two to remember what's happened at home.

It'll be the last time.]

Yeah, me too.

[She rubs her face. They need to talk.]

I'm on the planet. I can send you my coordinates.

[rebuildyourruins]

[It twists his heart, hearing that. He won't know until he sees her exactly how much she remembers, but... if it's anything like last time...]

Thank you. I'll be there as soon as I can.

[For both their sakes.]

[outstandingbalance]

[Natasha waits for him in a public park, seated on a bench. Her nerves are barely contained, her posture tense in a way it wouldn't have been before her memories came flooding in.

She holds her hand by her mouth, thumb to her lips, like she might have wanted to chew on her nail but didn't give into the urge.

When she spots Thor, she perks up—taking in the changes.]

[seeingscarlet]

[Wanda's hair is still not the orangey shade Natasha last saw it and she's not the one looking like she just saw a ghost. But she can tell that something's wrong, even without her powers, and she lightly lays a hand on Nat's other arm protectively.

She doesn't sense danger, but something must have happened.]

What is it?

[outstandingbalance]

[Mistake. Natasha sees it almost immediately. Not soon enough tamp down on the impulse. Not soon enough that there's not a half a moment where she stands still and shaken, before she realizes that Wanda doesn't know.

Natasha shouldn't have dragged her into this.

She gives a quick head shake then.]

New memories. Sorry—still getting my footing back.

[seeingscarlet]

[Natasha doesn't need her protection, but she would have had it if there was a real threat. But this...this isn't something she can help fix. Wanda winces sympathetically and lets her go.]

No, it sounds like it would be hard. [She tilts her head.] How long?

[outstandingbalance]

Years. [That's the easiest answer to give, one she doesn't have to consider too deeply or censor. It's been years. And it is a lot to process.

Natasha would rather be honest with Wanda, if she can. But there's only so much she'll saddle the girl with.]

I'll get caught up with things. Just... need a minute.

[seeingscarlet]

[Wanda has a vague understanding that something bad happens in the future from Calibrations, but she doesn't quite remember what and has never asked anyone about it. Whatever it is...it's left her with a lingering sense of dread and there's no reason to prod at it if no one else brings it up. What can she do about it here?

Still, the urge to find out what has Natasha so upset is strong. But Wanda keeps her mind to herself.]

Do you want to sit down? We could find a cafe...or something stronger.

[outstandingbalance]

A cafe sounds good. I could use something—tea. Not coffee.

[She's not ready for alcohol yet. She needs to sit down though and take a moment to gather her thoughts.

She doesn't want to get swept up in any kind of emotional reaction, not when it's premature.]

I wouldn't mind something to eat either.

[seeingscarlet]

[Well, that settles it. The rest of her shopping can wait.]

I saw a place a few blocks away. It looked cute.

[There's some sort of fluffy animal as a mascot - it looks a little like the adorable Flouds from Lyndia.]

Do you want to talk about it, or do you want me to distract you?

[outstandingbalance]

Tell me about something else. Anything else.

[Natasha isn't picky. She needs to gather her thoughts, and the only way she's going to do that is with time.]

Were you shopping for something in particular?

[She might not listen too closely to the answer, but hearing Wanda talk is comforting.]

[brooklyn_boy]

[Steve isn't prepared for the moment Natasha grabs him and looks at him with this strange, searching look in her eyes. Her hair is all different. The way she looks at him is all different. For a second he is about to ask if something happened. If Winter is okay or if he was gone all over again. But no. That wouldn't account for everything.

But with a sickening feeling in his stomach, he realizes what would.]

Nat...

[They need to get out of the area. Steve forgets all about the shopping he was doing and takes her hand to pull her off someplace private. Or, at least, more private.

Once he's there he looks at her from head to toe, trying to discern from just how she looks what she might have seen.]

What happened?

[outstandingbalance]

[He doesn't remember. Of course he doesn't. No one has so far.Only Thor and James have even remembered Wakanda. It's disappointing.

More than disappointing, it doesn't do anything to calm the anxiety not knowing how their mission turned out.]

More memories. It's—it's fine. It's just been a lot and I was hoping...

[brooklyn_boy]

[Steve doesn't look any less concerned with that answer.]

More memories? By your hair I assume that it's been more than just a few...

[He has questions in his eyes. So many questions and he can't ask a damn one, too afraid of the answer.]

I take it what you're hoping for is an answer to how it all ended...

[outstandingbalance]

Five years worth. [And not a great five years, just as a guess. She's looked better. It's not just her hair, either. While she's fit for duty, it's clear she hasn't been taking as much care of herself as she should be.

She looks away, her jaw tense, shifted sideways. She knows what he wants to ask. Unfortunately, she doesn't know the answers he might want to hear.]

I'm hoping I wasn't the only one. We were on a mission, to fix it. What was can fix of it. Thanos...

[And she wants to know how it ended, yes.]

[brooklyn_boy]

[She doesn't know if they won or not. Christ, of all the cruel tricks for the Atroma to pull.]

What was going on, last you know? Maybe we can make an estimated guess?

[He's joking but only a little. Steve's just as desperate for information as she is.]

[outstandingbalance]

It's a long story. [She winces, considering how much to tell him. She knows he won't be satisfied with nothing but dodges and vagaries.]

We split up. Each team was going to collect one or more of the Infinity Stones. That's all I know.

Clint should have ours. I don't know if the other teams were successful. I don't know if they were able to use them.

[brooklyn_boy]

[Steve doesn't miss the wording on that.]

Clint should have yours? Because...that's when the Atroma took you, again?

[outstandingbalance]

[The silence that follows is probably enough of an answer. But she owes Steve an answer.

She'd rather he hear it from her.]

The Soul Stone requires a sacrifice. The only way to get it was for one of us to die.

[She knows he won't want to hear it, but he would do the same in her place.]

We disagreed over who it would be. I won that fight.