entranceway | video; guess who's back, back again

video; guess who's back, back again

[ The feed snaps on, and the frame is on the crowded side. In the foreground Steve and Wanda are seated, arranged on a couch in one of the mansion’s tea rooms, while Natasha stands behind them, leaning against the wall near the door. Steve has his phone tilted so that all of three them are visible, Wanda’s arm linked with his.

Steve’s in civilian wear, his expression composed and collected. He isn’t here to give out orders or make any speeches, though. ]

So it looks like Wonderland sent all three of us home at once. Sorry about that. [ As if they had any control over it. ] But we’re back now and more or less in one piece. [ Which isn’t the full story at all, but that isn’t something that needs to be shared with all of Wonderland.

Natasha pushes away from the wall at this and moves closer into the frame of the video, leaning on the back of the couch over Steve’s shoulder, expression mild. ] I don’t know if any others of us were sent home recently, but if so, letting us know would be greatly appreciated.

[ Her lips quirk briefly. ] Either way, I think some of us will need to be assembling for a SitRep soon regardless. But we wanted to let you know we were back to keep people from worrying.

[ Steve glances over his shoulder at Natasha, nods, and then returns to looking at his phone. ] Let us know if we’re needed anywhere.

[ With that, the feed cuts. ]

[ They’ve done their duty and reported their return, which means that it’s time for all three of them to go and lick their wounds. Steve returns to his room first and foremost, finding Bucky even sooner than he had expected when it turns out he’d camped in his room.

Once they’ve reunited, though, Steve laces up his shoes and goes for a run up and down the beach, needing some time to clear his head. Everything that happened back home has him on edge, searching for a way to take action, to do something, and yet none of it means a thing here in Wonderland. There are no Accords here, but a secret that had been revealed in the worst possible way back home remains a secret here, and it’s eating at him.

He also heads up to the roof, as if hoping that a bird’s eye view of everything will somehow cause it all to make more sense. Wonderland isn’t where he’s supposed to be, but at least some of his team is here. They maybe be prisoners, but they’re not caged and collared. It’s something. ]

[ Once Natasha parted ways with Wanda and Steve, having had a chance to - finally - compare information, she briefly stopped by her room upstairs, checking to make sure everything she'd accumulated here was as she'd left it. Then, after replying to a few text messages that had been waiting for her, she headed to the fifth floor. And the bar.

Because damn, did she ever need a drink. Or twenty. ]

[ For most of the day following their return to Wonderland, Wanda remains out of sight. There's no trace of her in either of her usual haunts, the training room or the magic study: she shuts herself away in her room for the better part of the afternoon, door locked tight, though she'll likely answer for those who seek her out. It's been months since she's been this withdrawn-- longer, considering how much time had passed during her trip home, but she finds herself feeling very much like the Wanda who had first come to Wonderland one year earlier, skittish and wary of human contact, unnerved by the idea of having to explain exactly what had changed to rob her of the confidence she had spent so many months building alongside her teammates and new friends alike.

Eventually, it's one of the most basic of human needs that forces her to emerge, hunger driving her to leave her room behind and make her way down to the communal kitchen. After spending time in government custody, the need for a real meal as opposed to whatever the closets might be able to supply is enough to make her brave the mansion beyond her room. She keeps her focus narrow at first, rummaging through the pantry to see what it might have to offer in the way of ingredients, occasionally turning her attention to the kitchen at large to see who else might have wandered in since her own arrival, an attempt to remain aware of her surroundings. House arrest followed by more severe isolation has done very little to put her at ease, and she finds herself unwilling to trust even the slightest creak of the floorboards, regardless of the fact that here, the word fugitive means very, very little. ]

[ OOC: One or all of them will respond to any network replies. If you reply to any of the action options, please specify who it’s for! ]

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[ Up close, she can see the red in a precise line of a collar. Anger flares, cool and precise. It comes off her in waves. ]

[ However, lightly, ]

Let's make that our little secret. Have you ever had homemade pelmini?

[The surge of anger doesn't escape her, however restrained Natasha might appear on the surface, and without thinking, Wanda finds herself lifting her fingers to lightly brush against the side of her neck, the skin there still sore and raw thanks to what had been done.

She doubted she would have to explain much. Natasha was exceptional when it came to putting pieces together.]

No. [She shakes her head, as though food were the only thing they had to discuss.] Homemade anything was-- scarce, for some time.

[ Natasha's hand follows, lightly brushing over the irritated skin. Fury focuses to a point: I will find who did this. She doesn't indulge fantasies of revenge, but there are some things that are unacceptable. ]

[ Her hand drops. She curls it lightly around Wanda instead. ]

My treat. Sit down, it'll only be a few more minutes.

[That part of the exchange remains unspoken, but even without her ability to read minds, Wanda is certain that Natasha's intentions would have come through loud and clear.

She nods firmly, conceding.]

Thank you.

[She seats herself nearby, folding her arms to lean her weight against the table. She considers her words for a moment longer before offering:]

It was only a week here, I think, but we were gone a year.

[A lot can happen in a year.]

It was a week.

[ Three of them at once. Natasha hasn't been here long enough to know if that's normal — Tony and Clint were still here. ]

Here. Careful, it's hot.

[ The plate between them, and Natasha hands her a fork. ]

Mm.

[A week. How strange, to experience so much in what had been so short a time here. She looks thoughtful as she accepts the offered fork, managing a faint smile of gratitude. She and Natasha might not know each other as well as they'd like to, but Wanda realizes this particular gesture is a significant one.]

Have you heard, then? What happened while we were gone?

[She can't be the first one Natasha has spoken to.]

Why don't you tell me?

[ She has eyes and ears, as well as an alternate who's honest with her and receives honesty in turn. This time, however, one doesn't need that to know. Just by looking at Wanda it's obvious it was bad. ]

[ It's better when it's a choice. ]

It will not be pretty.

[It went without saying, but she stalls for a moment, looking downward as she helps herself to some the food Natasha has prepared. It's a welcome distraction, as well as comforting.]

A lot happened. I am not sure when it started-- I think it has been a long time coming, but my actions certainly didn't help. [A beat.] I got people killed.

[Not for the first time, but this time had been worse, somehow. She'd been trying to help.]

I think I'd mind pretty.

[ Mildly, like Wanda's said she'll choose a blue dress instead of a yellow one. That the world for them is that small. She leans in. ]

What was different about this time?

This time, I truly thought I was helping. Not acting out of anger, or a vendetta. Just trying to protect people-- to protect Steve.

[It had been her attempt to help him in particular that had gone so dreadfully wrong, and that's part of why guilty has begun to weigh so heavily on her once more. It hadn't been a selfless act. She'd been too afraid of something happening to someone she cared about to be able to keep herself in check.]

Many innocent people died, to save one life. It was an accident. It is always an accident-- but the fault was mine.

[ Bluntly, ]

The fault's always yours. If that's what you choose to think.

[ One life for many. The math is simple; she sees a little of herself in Wanda. ]

[She grimaces. Perhaps that's true, and while she's chosen to believe that she couldn't be responsible for every life lost during similar accidents, with this one, it's harder to distance herself.]

I've tried telling myself that. Steve, too, has tried to remind me that we can't save everyone, but I can't help thinking that if I had better control of my abilities, it never would have happened.

[It wouldn't have been the straw that broke the camel's back. Maybe she and the others wouldn't have become fugitives.]

[ Maybe, perhaps. Natasha considers hypotheticals because that's part of the math. She reaches across, and curls her fingers with Wanda's. Her power is connected to emotion. ]

Everything is true, but not all of it is real.

[ Her mind is a shifting consciousness. Names, lives, faces, blend, and Natasha emerges as the strongest continuous impression. ]

Know what you're feeling, and feel it.

[Wanda studies her face for a moment, even as their fingers entwine.

Know what you're feeling, and feel it.]

I feel afraid.

[She's admitted it before, but the confession has so much more gravity to it now. So much has changed.]

Before I went home, I thought I had learned to control my powers. I was confident. I no longer felt overwhelmed by them-- but there, in New York, there was so much more. I had never imagined any of that for myself.

Good.

[ Brisk, calm. ]

Circumstances change. You will, and so will the people around you. There'll be situations you can't foresee. You don't win that with the application of force, but by knowing yourself and your limits.

[ She reaches out very slowly to tuck a few stray strands of hair behind Wanda's ear, like a mother would. ]

You win because you are prepared to face the unknown. Do you understand, Wanda?

[There is a part of her that is still surprised by every display of tenderness Natasha offers, shows of affection here and there, but unexpected as it remains, it's enough. It bolsters her, encourages her to nod in reply, to accept what Natasha has to offer.]

Yes. Things will continue to change.

[She knows that. She'd always known that, she suspects, but she hadn't expected it to happen so suddenly. That was the danger of Wonderland. Complacency. The illusion of control.]

I have to accept that. Ready myself for it. Know that there will be challenges none of us can prepare for. That, in itself, must be preparation enough.

[ She smiles, and pushes over the remaining pelmini for Wanda. ]

You'll survive, dushenka. It's in your nature.

[She smiles back, ducking her head a little as she accepts it gratefully, fork still carefully poised in one hand.]

You such faith in me. It-- means a great deal.

[ Natasha leans in, like it's a secret. ]

I was only telling the truth.

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video; guess who's back, back again

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