02| Steve is an idiot

[brooklyn_boy]

WHO: Steve Rogers
WHERE: In a cave, in a storm, and Network. Kinda.
WHAT: Being stupid, mostly
WHEN: Once the storm starts moving
WARNINGS: Nope



Steve crouches in the cave, nursing a nasty wound he took to his side. The medical information he has from the data point is telling him how to fix it but he's lost a little bit of blood and there's no super-human healing factor that is making up for it. The wound is also in such an awkward spot that Steve can barely even look at it properly, let alone do sutures. He moves further into the cave, feeling marginally better as he does so. Maybe getting away from the storm will stop its effects on him? It is worth a chance until he can concentrate enough to stitch. Or, maybe, he will find someone there who can do it for him...



The storm is moving. Steve can barely see straight, he's so close to the center of the storm, but he can tell its moving. And, honestly, if it weren't moving toward Temba, he'd be glad to see the back of it. As it is, he knows there isn't much time. The city is still so fragile and barely back together enough for it to really take a storm like this. Not to mention the people waiting, back there. People who thought they'd be safely away from this madness and were going to be badly surprised.

Steve races back to his ship. He's not a pilot, though, so the controls are a mystery to him. He grumbles and scowls, feeling impotent before taking his comm up and hitting the network.

This is Steve Rogers of the Bishop. If there are any pilots out there, we need to get back to Temba. I'm looking for a ride and anyone else who wants to help prepare the city.



It's not the first person he's seen in the fog. Steve has been seeing these ghosts for the whole storm. People he knew. People he didn't know. People who had disappeared from here and people who had faces similar to the ones here. He'd managed mostly to ignore them all but this. This was different. This was out of his memories both from home and from before. It's enough to stop him in his tracks, storm be damned.

The Winter Soldier. Not Bucky. No. He'd refused that name. He'd refused any name at all. But there he was in his black armor, arm shining in a sun that wasn't here. He looks straight at Steve, face hard. For a second there is a moment when Steve forgets he is a ghost and almost braces for a fight. But the ghost turns and walks away. He turns, once, to glance back, and then continues walking.

And Steve, damn himself, follows.

Comments

[brooklyn_boy]

Steve knows the voice and goes towards it faster than before. "No," he answers with a small wince. "No, I haven't seen him. It's just me." Steve stops and flops onto the floor beside her. The pack of medical supplies he has gets tossed in front of him but he's just too winded and dizzy to focus on that, yet.

"A rock got me across the side. My fault. I was getting close to the center and...I guess the storm doesn't like that."

[seeingscarlet]

"He was in the storm..." Wanda says numbly while she kneels by his injured side. She's completely overwhelmed by the overall situation - at least with her powers she wouldn't be completely useless but right now she has no idea what to do.

"If we can get someone to take us out of here I can heal this. If my powers come back," she adds quietly as she reaches for the medical kit. It's not a pleasant thought, though it would be irresponsible not to at least consider the possibility. "But all I can do right now is try to stop the bleeding."

[brooklyn_boy]

"Was?" Steve is alarmed by that but doesn't think now is the time to dive in. Wanda looks so lost and small all of a sudden that he can almost sense what she's going to say. It makes his blood run ice cold.

"Stopping the bleeding is fine. I've been bleeding awhile so I'm a little dizzy. I think being in the cave will help as long as the cut is at least scabbed over."

[seeingscarlet]

She's never needed medical training. Her powers can cover everything basic first aid could (and more), and she's always been so uncomfortable in medical facilities that taking the medical implant specialization on the Fleet or the data point here was out of the question.

But anyone can figure out bandages, at least. "I just need to keep pressure on it, yes?"

[brooklyn_boy]

He nods quietly, eyes shut. "In my bag there's a blue jar. It should make a plaster over the wound if you squeeze it on. Put pressure on top of it when it dries and... I think it should stop bleeding."

He has been through worse in his time. This is really just a scratch. Still, Steve can't help but feel a little helpless, dizzy and weakened from a rock to the side. He's gotten too used to having the serum, it seems.

[seeingscarlet]

Wanda's hands are shaking, either from cold or nerves or both, and she feels slow and clumsy as she searches through Steve's bag. She hasn't been this particular flavor of scared in a long time, but first Vision, then her powers, now this...it's too much.

She doesn't feel very much like an Avenger right now.

Eventually she finds the little jar, and then some sort of tool that will work for spreading it over the wound. Wanda takes a deep breath, then glances up at Steve. She's too cold to stop shivering, so she's just going to have to do the best she can under the circumstances. "This is probably going to be cold. Are you ready?"

[brooklyn_boy]

Steve nods quickly, closing his eyes in anticipation of the cold. All he needs is for the bleeding to stop and then he can concentrate. Then, at least, he will be able to focus on the fact that things seem so Not Right at the moment, not just with him but with Wanda as well.

He can almost feel her shaking even though she isn't touching him. He can't remember the last time she seemed this small. Well, no. He can. But it wasn't from the universes they've shared for the last few years.

"Once you put it on, it will cover up the wound enough to stop the worst of it. The cave should do the rest. We'll just have to wait."