entranceway | 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! ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Nah, I think we scared them away for the time being after their last attempt. Either that or Thor's running interference. Maybe both.

[ Her lips quirk and she keeps it light, despite the very real worry there on occasion. ]

No, this time was... a little more complicated than before.

By the way, how old were you when you put on the suit?

[ Because Tony had kept his Ace in the Hole's identity a secret, even from the rest of them. Kid's request, he'd said, and she'd let it go at that. But the voice... had it been different? Or just that much younger? ]

[Peter smirks lightly when she keeps it light. He rolls with it even if there's concern in his gaze as he looks at her]

Complicated sounds potentially painful. I mean, the superhero gig in general isn't exactly... simple. [So if this was more complicated...]

Uh, seventeen, which is the same age as I am now. I only put it on for the first time a few months ago.

[He started out doing the whole vigilante thing, and it was really just the last couple of weeks that he started saving people instead of just looking for revenge. It's another reason he has yet to really view himself as a superhero. It's just not- He hasn't really done it yet.] ...why?

[ She considers that for a moment. ]

Because Tony brought Spiderman along to play. Picked him up in Queens. But your voices are different.

[ She was fairly certain of that. It was the only defining thing she'd been able to pick up of the person beneath the suit and mask, other than his youth. ]

[Peter shifts abruptly, glancing down. The thing is he would love it if it were true, if he could believe when he got sent back home, it wouldn't be to a world where he's the only guy trying to do right with super powers around, because it's hard and he's seventeen and he messes up a lot, and he'd love the kind of back up that the Avengers clearly give to each other. He'd love someone just telling him when he screws up or being there and maybe saving someone he's not able to save, but-]

It can't have been me, right? I mean, I would have heard about aliens trying to take over my city otherwise. Or I would have heard of any other person with super powers ever.

As far as I know, I'm the only one. But wait, brought Spiderman along to play with the big complicated thing going down?

I don't know. I don't know how alternate universes work. Or if this counts as one. I didn't know such things even existed until I arrived here. At least, not outside of theories. There are others here who know more about it, though. They were the ones who tried to explain it to me.

Yeah, Spiderman was there. He was actually Tony's Backup Plan. He held his own admirably. I'm impressed.

Yeah, same. I only learned about them first here. I've heard the theories before, but I'm not really an expert.

Hey, good for him, and I'm glad there's a Spider-man somewhere who isn't like- [Peter shrugs a bit, shoving his hands into his pockets.] So was everything at least solved before you guys were brought back? It'd kinda suck to be pulled back in the middle of it...

[ Her lips twitch faintly. ]

I was brought back from the middle of it. Fortunately Steve seems to be from a little further ahead with things... resolved sounds like it might be stretching things a bit, but he's certainly closer to it than I am.

[ She hadn't liked walking away, but she'd made her own choices and didn't regret them - would do it again, if needed. Even if it put her in a difficult position once more. It was hardly the first time. ]

But I hope you realize you're going to be dragged to team training a whole lot more now.

That's good at least. He can tell you what's to come so you won't have to worry about what happens as much. Sounds like there's still plenty to worry about though.

[Peter tilts his head to the side then, because he hadn't-]

...what?

Isn't there always?

[ Her tone is lost somewhere between exasperated and wry.

His confused look gets a knowing smile from her, however. ]

Well, a version of you's been recruited now. Even if I hadn't seen what you could do during the past few events, I probably would have dragged you along with us sooner or later, but now you'll have more of us bringing you along.

...yeah, there's always something.

[It's kind of how life is though he vaguely remembers how before- before he'd decided to chase a mystery, life was pretty simple. No Lizard Men, no super powers, no bad guys, no... people dying cause of him.

There's a tiny smile from him at what she says, and he's been told he's not alone anymore (those words meant so much to him at the time). It's what he wants. In general, he's a loner outside of having the mask, but just having someone tell him... if he's screwing up or not, that'd be-]

Really? Thank you. I mean, seriously, because doing this whole super powered thing on my own back home is really difficult and I wish I came from that same universe as you guys and the other Peter because then- Yeah.

[Is it clear he's all for this idea? Because he is]</small

[ Her smile is fond and indulgent as he babbles out an answer. ]

Yes, really. Whenever you're ready to start, you can usually find me down in the Training Center. If you like, I can start setting up practice sessions with some of the others. I've been giving lessons and helping with team training since I arrived.

[ And since Steve was going to need a little while to recover from the trip home, she suspected she'd be handling it for the foreseeable future. ]

Besides, maybe you're not as alone as you think back home. Maybe you just haven't stumbled on the rest of us yet.

Yeah, I'd love that. Thank you.

[Peter says that genuinely, finally managing to stop his own rambling a second to breathe and accept this as truth. It's a wonderful truth, and it makes him feel happy, steady like he's got ground to stand on in the midst of all these powers. He's going to have to find his way at home on his own at least until he finds others, but- This is good to have here.]

Maybe. I hope so at least. Kinda nice to have a team or at least people you can count on, y'know?

video; guess who's back, back again

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