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

[ Steve doesn't consider himself one of the people who's been here longest, but it's getting to a point where he's in the top quartile. It's a dubious honor. ]

Yeah, a few people sent me some messages about it while I was gone.

[ Which Steve appreciates. It means that he'll be able to track Bucky down sooner rather than later. It's difficult to not just go up and do so right now, but he'd wanted to make sure to respond to people's messages. ]

You two talked?

A bit. Friend of yours?

_{[This next bit takes time to compose, mostly because he's not sure he wants to draw unnecessary attention to it out of context. In the end, he decides to plunge ahead. Better to do it now than have it pop up later.]}

The timing is poor, I realize, but you might as well hear it from me before you hear it from him: I gave him my real name, which is not the same as the one I gave you when first we met. In the interests of transparency, you would better know me as Victor Frankenstein.

It is a small matter but it may clear some confusion up.

_{[It probably sounds out of the blue, but there's no protocol or precedent for correcting your own false identity. If there's ever a good time for that, Victor can't imagine when it would be.]}

Yeah, we go way back.

[ It's funny because they're old, Victor.

Steve really hadn't expected this conversation to go much further, so when another text comes through out of the blue, it takes him a few moments to wrap his head around it.

Victor Frankenstein? Okay, Steve could see why Victor might not have wanted to lead with that name. It actually makes a lot of sense, though, now that Steve is thinking back on their interactions. ]

Huh. Well, I guess Wonderland kind of does all your work for you.

[ Seeing how people come back from the dead here, as Steve knows firsthand now. ]

_{[Two medical marvels for the price of one... If Victor had guessed just how old Bucky is, guaranteed there would have been more questions for him.

Text messaging technology makes Victor feel old, too, but texts do come with a nice bonus: he doesn't have to be around to see the looks on people's faces when he makes these sorts of admissions. It says something that he's willing to do so with Steve.]}

You could look at it that way. The deception was for practical reasons, I hope you understand.

_{[No need to ask if Steve's from a world where Frankenstein is well-known. He clearly knows his Shelley.]}

[ Steve can only imagine that Victor had realized that his name was much more well-known than he'd expected, and had decided to keep it to himself for a while after that. Steve really can't blame anyone for keeping things from other people, given what he's done. ]

I do.

What made you decide to start telling people?

[ It must have been a conscious choice, or maybe the truth had been getting out whether Victor wanted it or not. Steve knows what that's like, too. ]

_{[Does he? If so, he might have a clearer sense of Victor's motives than Victor. It's a murky affair on Victor's end.]}

Truth will out. Wonderland sees to that.

You're right about that. Better you have some control over how you tell people.

[ Steve figures they should find agency for themselves in this place however they can. ]

Is that how you think of your abilities and duties?

_{[Yikes, where did that question come from? It's almost like Victor is curious about how Steve deals with exposing the truth of his medical upgrades, but that can't be right because since when does Victor ever pay attention to other people?

It's a harmless enough question on the surface. Maybe Steve will chalk it up to idle chitchat now that he's back in Wonderland.]}

[ It is a pointed question, but Victor has remained curious about Steve's enhancements since they first met, so he isn't too surprised to see this now. ]

It's not really the same situation. Back home everyone pretty much knows already, and here what I can do doesn't even come close to topping the list of weird Wonderland things, so...

[ Steve's more concerned with having control over other aspects of his life. Wonderland actively tries to prevent that by keeping him here, but that's the case for everyone. ]

You never considered your reputation to be a spectacle?

_{[That's what having details about yourself exposed to the public is to Victor--a spectacle. Has he never regretted having little to no say about what others know about him?]}

Oh, it's definitely a spectacle. They trotted me out onto a stage at first, plastered my name wherever they could. I was a propaganda tool.

[ It's not something that Steve can get away from, even if his role now is something he can take much more seriously compared to the chorus girl shtick. ]

Do you resent it?

_{[The question no doubt gives away Victor's feelings on the matter, but he asks anyway.]}

[ That question is probably the most loaded one Victor has asked so far, given what Steve just went through back home. He'd dropped his shield, left his title and everything it was supposed to mean behind.

He could already imagine the sort of news headlines that would be popping up back home. Captain America Betrays His Country, The End of a Legend...

Funny how quick people could turn on you.

Instead of explaining any of this, Steve gives a vague response. ]

Sometimes.

Then I suppose you understand why I grew tired of having no say in the matter of my own reputation.

_{[He'd figured Steve would. Whatever he is, the man's not a complete fool, and probably understands more than he lets on.]}

But that is another story and you must be eager to get back to settling in again.

I get it, yeah.

[ Though Steve kind of feels like he needs some more time for it to actually sink in. ]

I wouldn't say eager, but I have a lot of people to talk to. Guess I'll see you around.

_{[The true talent of Victor Frankenstein: making an already complicated day more complicated.]}

Yes, you had best get to it. I am sure we will end up crossing paths again.

video; guess who's back, back again

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject