video; guess who's back, back again

[assembles]

[ 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! ]

Comments

[hypoxic]

[At his point in time, there are about three billion issues more pressing than the Winter Soldier. The Soldier is Avengers work. Trying to do something about the sudden thousand other powered people is theirs.]

Truthfully, I'd been under the impression you'd already handled the situation. It isn't typically my concern. But this place doesn't often allow for the typical.

[assembles]

What do you mean by "handled the situation"?

[ Steve has a sneaking suspicion that Fitz means that he believes he put the Winter Soldier down, when it hadn't been anything approaching that. Quite the opposite, actually.

Rather than letting the conversation turn too ugly, though, Steve decides to ask a simple question. ]

Do you know who Bucky Barnes is, Agent Fitz?

[hypoxic]

I mean... The means by which your problems cease to be problems.

[He doesn't like to think about Captain America killing people. But that might be the job. It's an unsavory job, at times. Captain America only kills the people who deserve it.]

I've heard that name before. The director is fond of mentioning it... Not sure of the significance.

Why?

[assembles]

[ A lot of people seem to prefer not to think about Steve killing people, even though the very reason they all look up to him is because he's a soldier. Killing is a necessary part of the job, regardless of how pure everyone seems to believe he is.

That being said, the Winter Soldier is the one person that Steve had refused to fight.

While it's a little surprising that Fitz doesn't recognize Bucky's name off the bat, it makes sense. He's not American, wouldn't have grown up hearing the name. ]

He was my best friend and one of the Howling Commandos. He gave his life during the war -- or so everyone thought.

[ Steve gives Fitz a very pointed look. ]

[hypoxic]

[He can read that look well enough. His lips press together.]

... Hydra, you mean.

[assembles]

[ Steve nods firmly, the pain of him overlooking it displayed in the tightness of his jaw. ]

They recovered his body. And once they had him in their custody, they turned him into their weapon.

[hypoxic]

... I'm very sorry. That seems to be a running theme of theirs.

[It's also something that doesn't have a cure, as much as they've been trying.]

[assembles]

[ Steve's expression shutters because this isn't something he can talk about rationally, but he's going to try anyway. Even if that means trying to turn off those rawer feelings. ]

Yeah, well, it's the only way they can get people to join their cause. Anyway, my point is that I broke his conditioning and he isn't going to be a threat here.

[ Not unless he gets triggered, but no one in Wonderland would know the words. ]

[hypoxic]

[He tries not to let his pity show through in the smile he returns, but he's got a terribly expressive face that never does Spy things well.]

In that case... I hope he does better than the others.

[assembles]

It's now been two years since his conditioning was broken. I think he's doing...

[ Steve pauses, trying to figure out how to phrase any of this. He really hasn't had much time to sit down and just talk to Bucky, to get an idea of where his head is currently. ]

As well as could be expected.

[hypoxic]

[There's a decision to make here. the Captain probably doesn't know about their experiences with attempting to recover Agent 33. How they'd cleansed her of the physical evidence of Hydra's tampering only to have her betray them all and nearly have a core teammate murdered. There's no cure for what Hydra does. There's just a variable fuse on a very potent time bomb.]

Environment might help. When they're newly recovered, they're... particularly vulnerable.

Do take care of him.

[The Captain needs hope. Fitz can't bring himself to dash that.]

[assembles]

[ Steve wouldn't consider Bucky newly recovered when he's been on his own figuring things out for two years now. Whether or not he's vulnerable is less clear. He'd fought for his life, and maybe that had only been because Steve had been there with him, but he'd still done it. On the other hand, he'd also chosen to put himself back in cryo.

At least it looks like Fitz has decided to back down now that he knows the truth. Steve nods firmly and even manages a brief smile. ]

Don't worry, that's the plan.

Thanks for reporting in.

[ Not that he's someone anyone needs to report to anymore, but Steve doesn't want to get into that right now. ]

[hypoxic]

...Always, Sir.

[He's still not sure whether or not saluting should be a thing.]

And. Um. Welcome back.

[assembles]

[ Saluting is absolutely not necessary. Neither is the "sir," honestly, but Steve realizes that some people prefer it. ]

Yeah. Thanks, Agent Fitz.

[ With a nod, Steve ends the call. ]