revivalproject | 01 ★ Arrival

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01 ★ Arrival

WHO: Bucky Barnes + YOU
WHERE: Town and environs
WHAT: A wild winter soldier appears
WHEN: Early May
WARNINGS: Severe PTSD, possible mentions of Nazis, torture, etc.

Arrival

[ The soldier's grasp of reality is still a bit tenuous, but he's pretty sure that sitting inside an old bus one moment and abruptly waking up in a town square somewhere else isn't an ordinary occurrence. At least, not like this. He has gone under in one place and woken up elsewhere, but there are protocols followed. Doctors and techs and his handler. This is ... not like that.

He's quick to roll to his feet, taking a cursory glance around, and makes for the closest building that might provide shelter. He's reasonably confident of keeping his feet under him if someone objects, but it's dark outside, and the world is full of weird smells. And his ears echo with equally strange noises, ones he doesn't care to investigate without some sort of weapon. Especially ~~potentially~~ hostile strangers. ]

Exploring

[ For the next few days, the soldier will do his utmost to gather intel (including a spare change of clothing) and explore this strange place on his own, without giving away that he's even there. Much less wandering around and asking questions like an idiot. Of course, the road to hell is often paved with good intentions. So those who are observant (or, indeed, any who might stumble across his path by accident) will find the newest arrival exploring the ruined city first — the 'town square', including the agriculture building, a brief investigation of the hotel to find out how many people might be quartered there, and avoiding the hospital once he takes a gander inside and realizes what that particular building used to be. ]

Wildcard

[ The soldier will expand his area of investigation to other sectors, so if there's another place you'd like to meet him or have a different idea in mind, throw it here. As always, pm or plurk pings for plotting and questions. I will also try to match tag styles. ]

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( Sansa never sleeps any longer. The baby has made it so that she's massively uncomfortable no matter how she positions herself so she only gets snatches of sleep here and there. She is out on a walk just now when she sees someone moving in the shadows. Her eyes are good but not as good as Lady's and the direwolf makes a break for it. Sansa calls for her and demands that she yield, immediately, before she notices the faint glint of metal where an arm is supposed to be. Oh. Oh this one was hers, wasn't it? It had to be her version, with this arm, and Sansa tries to keep herself calm as she approaches. )

James, I'm sorry about Lady. I think she scented you and made a break for it because my own wolf likes you better than me. She's a damned traitor. Are you all right? Are you hurt?

( What she wants to do is throw herself at him the way Lady had but unlike her wolf, currently begging for pets, Sansa knows a little better. )

[ In another life, he'd like to say that it wasn't intentional skulking around in the shadows. That he doesn't mean to startle her. But that other life is long gone and one he can only remember in tiny flashes, so it's more that he doesn't think to try. And, besides, there is a giant dog bounding toward him - which takes up the majority of his concern.

The soldier steps back, his movements exceedingly cautious (with maybe a hint of fear, because giant canine), and tilts his head to look past Lady to her mistress. ]

I'm fine. [ That is .. a prepared response, and not quite accurate. ] Who are you?

( This has happened so many times before in the time that Sansa's been in the Fleet and now here but it does hurt to hear him say that he doesn't know who she is. It's difficult to even describe what they were to one another, the things they knew about each other, but she has to push through this. She hadn't built the relationship they had in a day and it isn't going to come back in a day, in spite of Lady's enthusiasm. Lady is still nosing for pets but Sansa comes only a tiny bit closer, just enough that they might see one another's faces. )

My name is Sansa. There's...a lot to explain about this place but I'll start with the simplest bit. I knew you, in another time, and we were close friends. I'm sorry if I startled you by calling you by name and having my wolf lose her mind but she doesn't have the same restraint that I do. I know you won't believe me, because I did know you well, but you can trust me. I promise.

Lady, to me. Now. Leave him be.

( The last is sharp and the command of a queen, not the soft tone she'd used before, and Lady slinks back with her tail between her legs to come and sit at Sansa's feet. )

She isn't going to hurt you. She loved you, very much, and you smell like her friend. It's harder for her to understand than it is for me, unfortunately, but she'll heed your commands the same she does mine.

[ It doesn't compute: 'I knew you in another time'. That makes next to no sense, but he can say that about most of the last few weeks. But the tone of the woman's (girl's?) voice says she believes it. It's what stops him from arguing, from denying her certainty, from saying that it can't be him. Because none of the flashes of memory ever showed him this place. ]

Sansa. [ He says slowly, committing the name to an admittedly swiss-cheese memory, then flicks his attention from lady to .. well, Lady. Man and wolf eye one another for a long moment before the soldier lowers into a crouch and extends his flesh hand, palm facing the sky. Just to see what happens. ] Lady?

[ His tone is low and miles from certain. ]

( Lady looks back at Sansa to see if it's all right before approaching him again, licking his palm. He seems the same to her, her old friend, and she wags her tail hopefully in search of pets. )

That wolf of mine will betray me for you every single time, I think. I want to tell you something you can keep to yourself, all right? There are others here who know you. They'll have memories of you from your home and it might overwhelm you - it did before, sometimes. I am your advocate. No one else's.

I know - I know some things. I've never betrayed those confidences, not even to my own husband. You knew my darkest secrets as well and I know you never told them. If you need anything, all I have is yours. If anyone is too much, even me, you needn't apologize. Tell me and I'll keep them or even myself away.

[ He frowns even as his fingers curl gently into the coat of the wolf, half expecting to get his arm ripped off but going for it anyway. Who says Steve has the sole lion's share of doing stupid shit. Besides, it's easier to concentrate on the animal while his brain is racing with everything that Sansa is saying.

People know him. Know of him. Know the horrible shit in his head, and know the blood he's spilled in the name of HYDRA. And he has absolutely no idea how this whole situation may or may not have been rigged. ]

I don't remember anything, [ He says, after a moment. It's both a break in the silence and an apology. Of sorts.

[ Jon spots the man on his way back to the hospital - And he does recognize that face. Though something does seem a little off about him - Aside from that slight wariness he seems to radiate. ]

Bucky? Can I help you?

[ He calls out, some concern swinging in his voice. Then he spots the man's arm. Which... Hadn't been made of metal the last time Jon saw him. And this is when alarm takes over his tone and the Archivist hurries over to the soldier. ]

W-what happened?!

[ Excuse you, that 'slight' wariness is purposeful and thanks to a bucketload of training. But yes, there is definitely something off about him - at the very least, longer hair and a 5 6 o'clock shadow when Jon gets closer. And speaking of the arm, the Soldier angles it away from the oncoming gentleman, more so to make it less ogle-able than out of any shame. ]

How do you know that name? [ Is his first impertinent demand. The second is: ] It's none of your business.

[ Okay. This is definitely odd. Jon frowns. ]

Ah- You told me? Back on the Vanquish. Yes, it's been... Christ, it's been almost two months by now.

[ No. No dwelling on time spent being stuck in the ruins of an alien city! Jon raises his frown to fully meet Bucky's eyes. ]

And it is my business if you are wounded, I'm afraid. Altair can't run the hospital on his own - But we managed to get some supplies together for unpleasant surprises.

I was not here two months ago. [ He's fairly sure of that, but not fully one hundred percent and it shows in his voice. The soldier steps back, straightening, maybe trying to seem more sure of himself. More willing to fight, if necessary. ]

And it's still nobody's business but mine.

[ Just a frown. Please don't consider attacking the Archivist, Bucky. He's small and squishy and will scream if attacked. ]

So... Are there two of you now?

[ And he's deliberately holding back on any compulsion. But he's sticking with the important part, setting aside the potential argument. ]

Well. Since you don't seem to remember me: I'm Jonathan Sims. Jon is fine. And I assist with the hospital for the time being.

Two of me? [ He blinks, taken aback by the notion. ] Was I cloned?

[ HYDRA did a lot of nasty shit in the name of science and power and glory and money. Cloning a supersoldier would be right up their alley. ]

Jon. [ A faint grimace. ] You're a doctor.

Archivist, not doctor. Sorry. As I said, I only help out here.

[ Not many around willing to do the job.]

And I don't know about anyone being cloned, either. Though there is a man here that looks like you.

[Funny enough, Bucky is also exploring. He and Steve keep meaning to find a good place to settle in away from the hotel or the ships, but it's a big enough city that there are a lot of options, and Bucky isn't sure about Steve, but he wants one that's defensible as well as comfortable.

He steps out of one promising option and into the sunlight, shield strapped to his back (he doesn't like to go completely unarmed, especially not around here) when he spots -

He freezes, not sure if this is Soldat or... well. A different version. It's not Winter. Regardless, he's pretty sure that if he's made the guy, then he's been made. He just stands, doesn't move, and calls out,] Hey.

[ There is really no mistaking the build, or the gait, or the face. Even unmarred by stubble, it's like looking into a mirror. This soldier stops moving, hand dropping away from trying to open a door, and. Just watches. A twin? Highly unlikely, seeing as he knows he isn't one.

It's uncanny, though. That's what he'd look like with a haircut. ]

Hey.

[ Maybe the worst part is recognizing the shield. The one he caught. The one that the man on the bridge dropped. Steve. The one that Steve dropped. Something twists in his stomach. If this ... person has it, what does that mean? Has the Enemy captured him? Captured them all? What the hell is going on. ]

[Well. That's actually more words than he was likely to get out of the last guy who looked like that.

Not that this couldn't be the same guy. It definitely could. It's so hard to tell.

It might be a stupid move, but Bucky puts his hands up, clearly empty. Clearly visible. Even if the shield is on his back, and he can get to it faster than might seem possible.]

You prefer to go by Barnes? Or Soldat? Or something else?

[ It's one word, James. One. Word. It's not like he burst into song or recited one of Shakespeare's longer soliloquies.

That said, he shrugs. Once. Because he's honestly not sure. ]

Why?

[Bucky frowns, but it's more concerned than unhappy.]

Because I want to know what you want to be called.

[He takes a tentative step closer.] I go by Bucky. Or Captain Barnes.

But we can both be Bucky if that's what you want.

I don't have a name.

[ That is actually a lie. He does have one, according to what little history he's researched since walking away from his old masters. It doesn't feel like his, though, so maybe it isn't completely a lie. But, his doppelganger did ask. So, ]

Which do you prefer?

Edited 2020-06-29 03:07 (UTC)

The testing phase of the Development And Teaching Assistant was overdue to extend outside of the Forge, and the first key place that one of these bad boys had to be placed eventually was the fountain. It was where Tony had been told everyone else had the luxury of arriving, after all, so if that pattern was going to stay reliable, it was going to be, hands down, the most interesting place to watch. Having the Agrii's data point floating right there for direct comparison was a small and significant bonus.

It did make Tony feel slightly underdeveloped, though, as he stood in front of the glowing orb, holding his array of smaller ones cradled against his chest. The hovering was still a mystery. The theory that it was entirely aesthetic was feeling particularly strong in that moment, because it was actively threatening Tony and Tony was, purely aesthetically, irritated. He slinked away from it with a sidelong look as he went, not quite glaring at the pool of light in the square.

There was an empty building directly facing the fountain, housing only a cardboard box and serial killer writing on the walls that Tony had otherwise found unsettling at best, whose portico had to be the ideal place to install D.A.T.A where it could look out over the square. The facade was even damaged enough that, after the brace he had made to house the orbs was secured into place, he could easily run the cabling inside through a convenient seam in the stone to store the battery, taking his time to bolt it to the wall here where he was left squinting in the dark. Tony was just giving a rough tug to the arrangement to make sure a strong breeze wasn't going no knock the whole front of the building in now that he had put a few more holes into it, screwdriver between his teeth, when movement through his cable feed hole caught his eye. A flicker of darkness, obscuring the steady glow of the data point outside. He leaned slowly, until his shoulder touched the dusty ground, to peer out along the wires, eyes wide and staring, hoping this would lead to temporary nightvision if he didn't blink for long enough. Was that a man?

[ Yes. Yes, it is a man. A tall, dark-haired, very disoriented man who is scowling at everything his eyes alight on and shuffling carefully across the ground. Almost like he's expecting a landmine with each step. Or something worse, like a trap. At one point, about halfway across the space between fountain and building, he shakes his head and reaches up to rub the back of his neck.

Almost kind of like it's tingling. (Because it is).

Because he's lost and the darkness is always a little more heavy and oppressive when a guy is wandering through new territory. And dealing with sensory overload. In fact, between the data point and his own disorientation, he almost trips over one of the cables - that draws him up short, body language switching from confused to wary in maybe a heartbeat-and-a-half. ]

Who's there? [ Because someone is. He can hear them. ]

[The line of his leg is naggingly familiar, but the similarities Tony was searching for ended abruptly at the very wrong curve of of this man's shoulder, just barely asymmetrical, the weight of the arm compensated for in a low centre posture, even in this cautious slinking. Tony narrows his eyes, definitely not familiar with that gait, sure now that he had just barely missed a new arrival at the data point. He didn't know a good reason anyone else in town would be lurking like that around the fountain at this hour.

He also didn't know that his breathing had been so obvious, and Tony tenses in surprise at being called out, biting down on his screwdriver and immediately regretting it with a groan and a clatter as it hit the floor. Now he's definitely been caught.]

No one!

[That was nothing, that didn't work. Tony sits up, backing away quickly as he scrambles to his feet to put more distance between himself and the entrance in case this stranger didn't find that greeting friendly enough.]

"Liar."

It's not that Tony is breathing all that heavily, really, it's just that Bucky has enhanced hearing. And with the disorientation, it feels like everything's been turned up ~~to eleven~~. The soldier turns in a complete circle, slowly, making himself memorize everything in the immediate area now that his brain isn't trying to call red alert every few seconds. Also, clattering and scrambling don't help with being quiet.

He hunches his shoulders, bracing as he approaches the doorway and peers inside. Still kind of expecting an attack, judging by the set of his shoulders.

"Are you injured?"

That was fair. Feeling trapped in this building, not very familiar with it and unsure of where the exits were, Tony tried to get a quick glance around to hash an escape plan in case that turned out to be necessary and ended up taking another cautious step back as the guy appeared in the door, hands up innocently. "Oh, that? No, I just make that sound when I'm...gassy," he said, not sure how else to excuse a flighty panic at the sight of one human man. It was still very much happening, Tony wasn't proud of that, but nobody else needed to know about it. Especially not-- Tony dropped his hands, squinting in the dark again, sure that between the jaw line and the voice he had to know this guy. "Bucky...?" He hadn't spent a ton of time with Barnes, they weren't exactly familiar, but the sight of him had surprised Tony the first time around, too. Maybe he had some kind of werewolf thing going on, coming back from the dead was complicated, Tony didn't know.

[No, that's not suspicions at all, finding someone skulking about outside of the hotel. It's unusual behavior for someone in the city, at least if they've been here a while, and while Cal is sure he's not met everyone that's been brought to Agra 10, he figures those who have been here wouldn't be acting so cautious.

Perhaps it's not the best thing to completely let one's guard down, and seeing the man as he is serves as reminder enough, or at least it prompts the padawan to also likewise be careful. You never know who the Agrii might bring, even if they claim everyone they do pull in are heroes suitable to save their home.

Cal quietly follows, at least until he might find a good moment to confront the other.]

[ It's not suspicious at all! It's recon. Surely Cal has performed a similar task before? Wandered around inconspicuously, noting who lives where and what rooms are still empty. Which buildings hold supplies and which might have to be condemned before someone declares them safe to step inside. This is run of the mill "I've been kidnapped by aliens" behavior.

Probably.

At any rate, it may soon become clear that the Soldier is leading both of them to an area in between buildings, far enough away from milling crowds not to be a nuisance. But maybe close enough to yell for help. And then he just gives up the pretense and turns around. ]

What. [ unasked: Do you want? ]

[The man is definitely no stranger to such behavior, that much Cal's figured early on. He follows along, even with the telling shift of scenery that he's led to. When finally addressed, Cal shrugs, giving a vague lift of his hands to show he's unarmed. His droid peers over his shoulder, oversized, rectangular head tilting curiously.]

You're new here.

[The padawan decides to forego beating around the bush. This guy looks like he prefers straight-forward anyway.]

...I'm Cal. Cal Kestis. This is BeeDee-One. Same story as you, and most anyone else you'll come across around here. We're not from this planet.

Yes.

[ Cal is right, he does prefer straight-forward. Sometimes. Even if he can't really trust it. But offering a sliver of truth this time seems like the right thing to do, as opposed to denying everything and beating a hasty retreat. ]

Most of ... everyone. There are natives here?

[He answers the questioning hoot from the droid behind him with a slight shrug. To the man before him, he starts to shake his head.]

Well, yes and no. We've apparently been brought here by the beings who called this planet home, the Agrii. So far as we know, they're able to watch what's going on here, and their communication with us has been sparse. Otherwise we haven't met or seen them in person.

[ Bucky tilts his head in the direction of the hooting. That does not sound human. At all. It sounds very metallic and now the soldier is curious. ]

Do you know why?

[ It's easier to ask questions than answer any, and maybe the kid will be obliging. ]

[Cal doesn't mind answering questions so long as he can. Most of the people have been in Bucky's position at some point, after all. The shrug he offers this time is for him.]

Not really, no. They don't really explain very well. It could be that they're concerned about the storms they claim to be deadly for them, but so far as I've gathered, only one's ever hit since anyone's been brought here.

But it doesn't seem like they're against coming planetside. They've set things up for us here and there, cleaned up things. It's difficult to gauge exactly what their intentions may be.

[Tommy loved the greenhouse. In here, he felt like he was fucking useful. Here he could help others and feed them, and be just a touch of that hero he used to be back home. And, of course, when he heard the main doors opening he's there at them in a second, mostly because he was expecting someone.

Instead he frowns when he sees who is there.]

Cap Scruffy? The Agrii not give you new scissors to cut your beautiful locks with?

[Tommy's gotten so used to only the Bucky he's already met here that he hasn't even realized that there could be another Bucky in town.]

[ It's an impressive greenhouse, considering it must have gone untended for quite some time. The Soldier is cataloging everything that grows inside as much as he is mentally calculating how easily it could be neutralized. Sorry Tommy, it's ingrained habit.

He turns his head, a trace of confusion present in his voice.]

Who is Cap Scruffy?

[That's... huh. Tommy stops and stares at Bucky, like he doesn't get the joke. And then his lips form an unvoiced 'oh'. They haven't had a situation like this in a bit.]

You're not the Bucky I'm used to.

What Bucky are you used to?

[ Rather than directly acknowledge it, because he doesn't know this guy from Jack. ]

Cap' Scruffy. He's like you, only more clean cut?

[This place was weird, having more than one of them at a time. But he'll take it, because what other choice does he have?]

[ He huffs something close to an amused laugh, or at least an amused huff of breath at the 'more clean cut'. Because he's met that guy. The other him. ]

He's not scruffy. [ thank you captain obvious. ] Why do you call him that?

Because you are.

[Because it's obvious. He considers this closer to prime Bucky Barnes, The Winter Scruffster. One that even Kate had worked with.]

And he's just, like, discount you?

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01 ★ Arrival

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Hospital

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exploring!

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Arrival!

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Exploring

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Exploring - Welcome to the Greenhouse

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