entranceway | 001 ☆ video

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001 ☆ video

[When the video feed starts up, it shows a man seated at a desk in a rather nondescript room. Not much can be seen behind him beyond a bed and closet. Much more noteworthy is his face, which has a few bruises and a line of stitches extending outward from the corner of his mouth.

Despite that, he has a bright, open look on his face, though the fact that he's sitting up straight and looking head-on at his phone's camera makes it clear that he means business.]

So... had a few days to take everything in, read what information I could find. It's been helpful, it really has. [A lot of the work and investigation had already been done for him, though that hasn't prevented Steve from doing his own exploration.]

Just a few questions, if anyone can help. [And so far, most everyone has been helpful.] I can only assume there's some escape effort that's been put together here. A group of like-minded people, working together to get everyone home. I'd like to be a part of that. [It might seem overly transparent to ask about something like that over a network like this, but Steve has no interest in secrecy, especially not after everything that he's been through.]

Secondly, I've heard a lot about people being from different worlds. I'm trying to get an idea of how many we're dealing with. [He knows about Asgard and has heard vaguely of the Nine Realms, but beyond that he's clueless. He needs to determine the scope of this operation.]

Oh, and the name's Steve Rogers. I'll do whatever I can to get us all out of here. [It's meant mainly as a test to see if anyone here is going to recognize him, or if he actually has some manner of anonymity in this place.

With that said, he offers a small smile and then ends the feed.]

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[Steve's relieved to hear there are some other combat-ready people here.] Yeah, I should be able to handle whatever this place has to throw at me.

[Should be. Between him and Natasha, they've got this covered. They may not have Thor or Iron Man on hand, but they'll be fine.

He nods as Bela explains that the whole future thing could be faked.] We can't exactly discount it, though, can we...

Have any plans been put in place for how to handle this jabberwocky whenever it shows up? If it does. [Because if that's the case, then he naturally wants in.]

No, we can't. Better to be safe than sorry.

[It's not a future that she wants to see happen, no matter how impossible it sounded.]

There was a discussion a couple of days ago about how to approach the situation and someone made an open network address about it. He proposed trapping the creature in a cage- purposely built for something like the jabberwocky. That's all I've heard so far.

[Putting it in a cage is a good idea if it's actually impossible to kill without that sword. Steve doesn't think it's a solution so much slapping a band-aid on the problem, but at least people have been thinking about it.]

Got it. Well, I'll keep an eye out for anyone else tackling the problem. I'm not much of an architect, so I don't know about building any cage, but I should at least be able to protect people from it.

[The jabberwocky may be impenetrable, but so is Steve's shield.

As for cages, that one that had been built for the Hulk might also work in this case, but the people behind that construction aren't here. He'll ask Natasha about it all the same.]

The jabberwocky is a fearsome creature and can only be killed using a particular weapon. How can you protect people from it? Unless you have some sort of power or ability, you wouldn't last very long in a fight against it.

[She has a lot of doubts right now, but they weren't just about him. No matter how good of a plan others came up with, the only way to truly defeat the jabberwocky was with the sword that they were unlikely to get.]

[All his life, Steve's had people tell him that he isn't capable of things, and so he isn't all that surprised that Bela's questioning him now. He barely blinks before responding.]

I have some abilities, yeah. [Did he have the kind of strength to face off against a monster? Well, he's already fought his fair share of them, so he's going to say yes.]

I also have a shield that can deflect anything. Protecting is... kind of what I do. [Even if it means taking the hits himself, then that's what he'll do.]

Well, I'll be sure to give you a call if I run into any trouble. [Which will probably happen at some point in the near future. Why not ask for help from someone who was a self-proclaimed protector?]

I'm sorry if that was rude of me. [Bela sounds sincere in her apology] Must be some shield if it can do that. What is it made out of?

You do that. [Steve isn't even being sarcastic. Rude or not, if Bela needs his help he will be there in two seconds flat. Possibly literally, the guy is kind of a fast runner.]

And it is pretty special, yeah. [Special to him, at least.] It's made out of a material called vibranium. You may not have heard of it -- it's rare enough that I think pretty much all of it went into making the shield.

[Which is probably for the best. They don't need something that strong falling into enemy hands.]

Okay. [Bela could work with that.]

You're right, I haven't heard of it before. As it happens, I have an interest in rare objects; doesn't matter what they are really. [Although she is wondering exactly how much something like it would fetch on the black market.]

How did you get it in the first place?

Edited 2014-05-10 22:46 (UTC)

[Please don't steal and sell his shield, Bela. He kind of needs it. Not that there's much of a place to sell it here in Wonderland. Would the vendors even take it?

If she's interested, though, Steve doesn't mind answering her questions. He lifts his shield up from where it had been leaned against his desk to bring it into the frame, so she can get a better look at it. Ready for your daily dose of America, Bela? Because there it is.]

It was made for me. It was the middle of the war, and they figured I'd need something sturdy. [Steve's thankful that they thought him worthy of using some rare element to make him a shield, and he can only hope he's made the best use of it. He's still relieved it survived the seventy year sleep with him.]

[Rest assured, the shield was safe. She could understand that something so rare was important to him and Bela wouldn't jeopardise that.

When the shield comes into view, she leans forward in interest and studies it closely; well, as close as a video feed would allow. It doesn't look like much but that didn't mean anything. He said it was strong and Steve didn't seem the dishonest type.]

Very patriotic. I can see why the colours were chosen. [Is she amused? Just a little.] What war was it?

[Those are colors they share, although the symbolism with the star makes it impossible to mistake as anything but American.

Steve's so used to people knowing his history that he hadn't actually specified what war, whoops.]

Oh, World War II. Probably a little bit before your time, unless there's something you're not telling me.

Well before my time. I was born in 1983.

[It doesn't surprise her to learn that he was from the past, given the amount of people here who were from another era.]

I've read about that war. But it wouldn't come close to experiencing it like you did.

[1983. That means that Bela's close to Natasha in age. Steve can't help but wonder if the two of them would get along.]

Who hasn't read about it? But yeah, the history books only get so much of it right.

[Some of that is a lack of sources, but plenty of it is also the fact that history is always going to be biased to some degree.]

[There weren't many people who did get along with her so it would be interesting to see.]

I can imagine that to be the case. There are some stories that are never told.

[But she wasn't going to get into a lengthy discussion about World War Two.]

Would you believe me if I told you there are people here from the 1600s?

[Had she been the first one to imply things about different times here, Steve might have been more shocked. Instead, he only nods.]

Yeah, I've come across a few of them. Maybe not that far back, but at least from the 1800's. And I thought I had it rough.

[At least Wonderland is a contained space, which means it's a little easier to get the hang of things. Not like rushing out into the middle of Times Square.]

I think most people have experienced at least one hardship in their life.

[It might depend on one's definition of a hardship but from what little she knows about some people here, Bela can imagine that it hasn't always been easy.]

It might take you some time to adjust to this place, so keep an open mind.

Oh, don't worry, I have no problem doing that.

[Steve's had to open up his mind ever since waking up in the future. Heck, even before that. Ever since seeing someone rip their skin off to show a reddened face and skull underneath. He's... getting used to insanity.]

Thanks for all the information, Miss Talbot, I really appreciate it. I'm sure we'll run into each other again, soon enough.

You're welcome, Steve. I think we will come across one another at some point. The mansion might be expansive but it's not like we're going anywhere.

It was chatting with you. Oh, and by the way, feel free to call me Bela.

[She smiles before ending the feed.]

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