entranceway | 010 ☆ video/action

[ It's been a long, long while since Steve transmitted a message through the network, and that's been no accident. His last announcement was when he came back from his last trip home, over a year ago. It hadn't felt right to take the lead in the same way after that, and others had jumped in to take his place as needed. Hadn't they? He'd thought as much, but others have told him that he's still needed as a leader. Maybe not as Cap, but as Steve.

It's a work in progress.

But here he is all the same, sending out his message toward the end of the second day. He's indoors; the room he's in not well-lit but his face is still visible. It's quiet out, the calm before the storm. ]

Michonne and I took a trip past the gates today, and... there's something coming. Or, well, a lot of somethings. A whole horde of zombies headed right for us. She's already given you guys the rundown, but I wanted to get the word out. We're gonna have to fight, or barricade ourselves away from danger. [ His expression hardens then, something steely and determined. ] Whatever you can do to keep yourself and your loved ones safe, do it.

[ A pause as he gathers his thoughts, and then he's back to it. ] I know death isn't permanent here, but this isn't a way that anyone wants to go. [ Is he speaking from experience?? Who knows, he doesn't elaborate. ] And I'll do whatever I can to help. In case you didn't know, I've got super strength, super speed, and I can take a hit. I'm not even sure if this infection will affect me because of the way my metabolism is. So if you need help getting out a scrape, let me know, all right? Or even if you just need help barricading a house. [ He's perfect for all that heavy lifting. ] I'm here to do whatever I can.

[ It's never enough, but he's still going to try. If he's learned anything this past year, it's that. ]

Oh, it's Steve, by the way. Steve Rogers. Stay safe, everyone.

[ With a firm nod, he ends the broadcast. For someone who's rusty on the speeches, it could have been worse, right? ]

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[Since she obviously knows Steve, she feels comfortable making this a video reply. But she still locks it. Why? Because she's not sure she's ready to go that open on the network yet.]

If you get infected, I'm going to be really mad. [Her way of saying 'TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF TOO'.]

If you need me, I ... can help. Or try to. [It's the last thing she feels like doing -- more fighting, more trying to survive -- but shit is going to get real really fast, so it seems like a -- quite literally -- do or die situation.]

[ While the remark from Wanda seems a little tongue-in-cheek, it does help: the reminder that there are people he'd have to answer to if he does anything overly reckless. She still cares, after everything.

And she still wants to help, even if she seems reluctant about it. Given that she'd been locked up for what she can do, Steve doesn't blame her.

Lately, though, he's been thinking that they all need to push through their doubts and misgivings. ]

You sure about that? Fighting these things can get pretty messy.

[Of course she cares. Steve might blame Steve a lot for what happened, but she puts a lot of the blame with Tony. Part of that may be her bias against him speaking, though.]

Nothing in the past year at home was, what, not messy? [As in, it totally was messy. She may be hesitant and unsure now, but Steve pls. Mess is her specialty.]

As for now, the options are do something or hang out barricaded somewhere, right? The less appealing option is the latter. [Since she just did that at home.]

I meant more like... blood, guts, rotting skin. Having to destroy their brains. [ It isn't going to be pleasant work, and considering how Wanda fights? That could be tenfold.

All the same, he can understand if Wanda wants to take the fight to the zombies instead of hiding away indoors. She's been having to do a lot of that lately, not because of her fear but because of others'. ]

I should warn you, though. Your powers might not be working quite right here.

[Steve, you sound like someone who has personally fought zombies many times before..........] I can. Bathe in scented laundry soap or something when it's all over. [That's how that should work, right?]

Hang on. [She squints at what he says next, putting the device down to walk off camera and test her powers by trying to send a blast of energy to the other wall -- not enough to break the wall in the house, but, you know.

A second later, there's a very annoyed not-quite-yelling-but-not-quite-inside-voice-either string of words coming from her. Spoilers, it's a few curses in Sokovian. Partially because of course there'd be zombies and she's not at full capacity (at least she has some, but still), partially because she just dealt with something inhibiting her powers completely, partially because she's annoyed at herself for not testing her powers out sooner.

And then she's back on screen.]

Well. That was an enlightening experiment. I guess I'm bashing zombie heads in with bricks instead.

[ Steve raises an eyebrow, amused despite himself. ] You'll have to let me know how that goes. [ Better than rubbing zombie guts all over yourself, he's sure.

He listens to what he can when Wanda puts the phone down, not able to actually see what's going on, but he can still infer what happens. Power-dampening is a fresh wound for Wanda, even if she doesn't have an actual collar around her throat this time. ]

I mean, at least they're not completely gone. But if you're looking for weapons, the closets here still give stuff out.

[ A combination of their limited powers and sheer brute force will have to be enough to get them through this mess. ]

010 ☆ video/action

video; private

video; private

video; private

video; private

video; private

video; private