★ 1 ★

[stillgotmyleftarm]

WHO: Agra 10 gets another Captain America, and this one is Bucky Barnes!
WHERE: Starting in the square, then pretty much anywhere you want to run into him around town/the forest
WHAT: Arrival and exploring (NOTE: If you'd like to continue/assume our TDM thread as canon, just go ahead and I'll roll with it!)
WHEN: Bucky's arrival, a few weeks into the first event
WARNINGS: Will mark if any appear!



The last thing Bucky remembers is being on the Bishop with Steve. Then, suddenly - he's in the middle of a run-down square in a run-down city and there's a glowing... thing downloading information into his head.

All in all, it's kinda like any Tuesday in the Fleet. Almost. Except not. Especially not since after things changed.

He's alone - at least, he is at first. Which means he goes looking for Steve, once he realizes he's got no communicator and, honestly, pretty much nothing else, either, except for the plain coveralls he's wearing and the red, white, and blue shield that might be familiar to some.

He eventually finds his way into places like the hotel, the hospital, and the power plant. He's not afraid to poke around, and anyone he spots that doesn't look like a threat will be approached without hesitation.

At first, he's looking for Steve - or for acquaintances from the Fleet. But that doesn't mean unfamiliar people get the brush-off. He'll come right up, ask if you know what's going on, and probably offer help if it looks like you need it.

It's pretty much part of the job, after all.

Comments

[waterwhip]

Katara feels a little bit like she's being taunted.

The building is marked "秘密隧道" as clear as day, and she wonders if there really is a secret tunnel inside, or if the words were put there as some sort of message to her. It's a little embarrassing, really, and it would be even more embarrassing if anyone else here knew about her history.

Even worse, that dumb song is stuck in her head now.

She paces back and forth in front of the building, humming that stupid song quietly to herself as she tries to decide how to proceed. On the one hand, it feels like an invitation. It's marked in a language she can read, unlike many of the other buildings, and the wording is a callback to her own experiences. On the other hand, going in alone is a terrible idea. Besides, hasn't she had her fill of secret tunnels after the last time she got caught in one for hours on end?

She kicks a pebble and sighs, burning with curiosity. Maybe someone else would be willing to go in with her? She could probably convince one of her new friends to take a chance.

Out of the corner of her eye, she notices an approaching figure, and she turns to see who it is. No one familiar, but she gives a friendly wave regardless.

[stillgotmyleftarm]

Bucky definitely doesn't recognize the writing - or the person pacing in front of it, or the song she's humming (sharp hearing), but honestly that just makes the whole thing more intriguing. Which means he's already approaching when she spots him and waves; he lifts a hand in response, hiking closer to give the lettering another once-over, before he turns to the girl in front of it, looking a mix of wary and hopeful.

"Hey. Don't suppose you know what this is all about?"

He kind of means... well, everything, from the place they're standing in right now to the entire planet. He just got here, but he doesn't know if that means everyone else has, too, or if he's just late to the party.

[waterwhip]

Pointing to the painted calligraphy, Katara gives a noncommittal shrug. "It says 'secret tunnel,'" she translates for him. "So, someone either has a real sense of humor or there's actually a tunnel down there. If my friend Toph were here, she would be able to tell, but..." But Toph isn't here.

"I'm Katara," she adds hastily, before the absence of her friend can visibly get her down. "Did you just arrive?"

[stillgotmyleftarm]

Bucky eyes the writing with a soft, "Huh." That's not ominous or anything; he peers as far into the entrance as he can, but even with better-than-average vision... yeah. Not much. "I can't tell, either."

He blows out a breath, but nods a little at the introduction, replying in kind: "Captain Barnes." But honestly, in this kind of situation, "You can just call me Bucky." It's not like he's about to really stand on rank at the moment, unless something really shitty goes down.

And at the question, he nods, "Yeah. Couple hours ago - I'm still finding my way around. Have you been here long?" Because that kind of a question indicates maybe she has been - but maybe she hasn't.

[waterwhip]

Katara nods briefly. "A few weeks now. We're all still exploring and figuring out what's what, but I can show you around later, if you want. There's a greenhouse near the square with lots of fruits and vegetables, and the water in the fountain is good to drink. There's a big inn, too, and most of us have found rooms there that are okay to sleep in." Those are the most barebones of the basics, and she'll give him all the pointers she knows if he's interested. For now, the tunnel is the most pressing thing.

"I wish Zuko was here," she mutters, mostly to herself. The prince of the Fire Nation--or was he the Fire Lord by now?--would be able to provide light for them in the tunnel, if there actually was one... apart from boosting Katara's morale. She starts casting around on the ground for a stick large enough to serve as a makeshift torch.

"What I don't understand is why they'd write 'secret tunnel' on the building," Katara says, gesturing widely at the wall. "It's not a secret if you label it. Why not just write 'tunnel'?"

[stillgotmyleftarm]

"Do you know how many people are here?" Bucky asks; he's peering back into the tunnel, but definitely still interested in the answer. Maybe Steve is here, too - or maybe someone else he knows. Or he could be alone from the Fleet - but what matters is that others are here, and that means they probably stand a better chance together than they do alone - especially if some of them can read at least some of the writing.

He squints a little more, but then sighs and glances back at Katara. "It does kinda sound like a big joke," he has to admit - because she's got a point. You don't label secrets. Not like that. "You haven't tried going in yet?"

[waterwhip]

"I'm not sure how many, exactly," Katara says, crouching down to pick up sticks and bundle them together. "Nobody else from my world--at least not that I've seen, but I haven't met everyone yet. There's Tommy and Clint," she begins, naming off some of the people she's met. "Natasha, and Lance, and the Vision. Not just Vision--the Vision." Which reminds her rather pointedly of the Duke back home, though the two of them couldn't possibly be more different.

"I haven't gone in," she confirms with a shake of her head. "Last time I went through a secret tunnel, there was a cave-in and we got lost for ages."

Once she's bundled enough sticks together and stuffed a handful of grass into the top, Katara bends a stream of water out of her pouch and holds it in her hand, forming it into a sphere of ice and then compressing it into a rough lens. This in turn is used to focus the sunlight on the grass, hoping to catch fire to it. "Come on..."

[brooklyn_boy]

Steve doesn't believe what he's seeing when he leaves his hotel room. It's been a year since he saw Bucky but, even with all of that time, he knows what the back of his head looks like. And, even if he didn't, the shield on his back gave him away almost immediately. Still, Steve can't trust it. He can't even breathe at the moment, let alone do much more. He's dreamed of seeing Bucky again--his Bucky-- but there is too great a risk that, shield or no shield, this still wasn't the one he'd loved so much.

It would break Steve to both have and not have him at the same time. But after a year without him, even being shattered feels better than being empty.

"Bucky?" He calls out, still unable to move. It's like he's seeing a ghost and all the hope and desperation is plain on his face.

"Buck? Is...is that you?"

[stillgotmyleftarm]

Bucky knows by now that Steve is here - that at least some Steve is here - but without communicators, it's been a slow process of trying to track the dumbass down. After he'd made it out of that "secret tunnel," the "hotel" had seemed like the next best place - that was, after all, where Katara had said that most people seemed to be staying.

Still, it's a big, empty place to be searching. And Bucky's trying to steel himself for the possibility that when he finds Steve, it might not be the one he expects, after all.

Still, that sure sounds like Steve's voice - the right Steve's voice - behind him, as Bucky stops dead in his tracks, turning like he almost doesn't expect to have heard what he'd thought he had.

"Depends on which me you're looking for," he offers, but there's something like hope trying to break free from his chest, when he catches sight of Steve's face, to go with his voice.

[brooklyn_boy]

Steve wants to laugh. The noise that comes out is something between a sob and a hysterical bark. This sounds like his Bucky. It looks like him. Without meaning to, Steve walks a few steps closer and stops just out of reach. He doesn't trust himself not to grab and yank Bucky in if he gets nearer.

"I'm lookin' for the jerk who I spent some time falling in love with on a spaceship," he starts off boldly. Either this will confirm his suspicion or make set the groundwork for who Steve is now to this new Bucky. Still, his heart is almost pounding out of his chest with the hope and almost certainty that this is the man he lost. His Bucky.

His Bucky.

"Have you maybe seen him?"

[stillgotmyleftarm]

Bucky can't help it; he snorts out a sound that's almost a laugh, even as he can see Steve almost falling apart in front of him. And hell - yeah, it's been a long couple of days, but Steve's face... well. Steve did always tend more toward melodrama, but there's something about the look on his face that makes Bucky suck in a breath, and step closer, even when Steve's stopped.

"I mean," he says, lips twitching up a little, "there's no mirrors around here that I've found yet, but... I think I might be your guy."

So stop looking so suckerpunched, is what he wants to say, but instead he just reaches up to touch the side of Steve's face, because he really wants to wipe that look off of it, and replace it with a better one. "Although that might've gone real interesting, if I wasn't."

[brooklyn_boy]

"Oh my God..."

It's all Steve can say before he's surging forward and pulling Bucky into him, head pressed into the crook of his neck as he just holds his lover and friend. A damp spot starts on Bucky's shirt as Steve silently let's himself cry from the sheer relief of having this man back in his arms. He can't even speak for a long moment as he just assures himself that this is real. As he inhales the scent of home that he'd tried to save from pillows and sheets for a full year. And here it was again.

His whole face is wet and destroyed as he pulls just far enough to press a soggy, salty kiss to Bucky's lips and then shoves his head back where it had been before.

"I never thought I'd see you again. I thought I'd lost you..."

[stillgotmyleftarm]

Honestly, the reaction is really melodramatic, even for Steve. It doesn't keep Bucky's arms from closing around him, but it does mean that Bucky's brow is furrowed even as he kisses Steve back, for as long as their lips touch before Steve's face gets buried right back against his neck.

He's definitely frowning, concerned, as he starts to slide one hand up and down Steve's back, planting his feet to stay as steady as possible while Steve just... honestly kind of falls apart in his arms. It twists Bucky's stomach up in a tight, uncomfortable knot, because something isn't right here. Something's off.

"Steve, sweetheart," he murmurs, fingers sliding up to the back of Steve's neck, palm resting flat there. He knows that yeah - it's been a worrying, terrifying couple of days. They're from two completely different universes, and the idea of being torn apart without any say in the matter is shitty. He knows they're subject to forces beyond their control, but... "Come on, you can't tell me you gave up on me after just a couple days, pal."

[doubled_speed]

Seriously, Tommy's going to shout if he doesn't stop running into people associated with Cap's shield not even kidding. He had been frustrated enough with just the idea of Legacy heroes, but all these variations on them? It's a headache.

He does, approach, though, and when he does so it's just immediate. One second he isn't there, the next he is and is tapping the vibranium shield.

"Seriously, there might be too many of these things kicking around them multiverse. So, who are you supposed to be? Because you super look like Winter Soldier."

[stillgotmyleftarm]

Tommy isn't the only one who'd maybe like to shout. Bucky does not super appreciate the concept of someone appearing to literally pop up out of thin air, and it is by the very thinnest margin that he doesn't just swing his arm outward and potentially send said someone flying.

As it is, he tenses and looks like he's maybe shouting internally a little. "The hell?" He falls into a more defensive stance without really thinking about it, even as he's processing just who or what has sprung up right in front of him.

"I'm Captain America," because yeah, there are days when Bucky sure as hell doesn't feel like it, especially when Steve is here, but he's not gonna go through that with this kid right here and now.

But the rest of what Tommy says isn't lost on him, either. "Guy who used to be the Winter Soldier where I'm from is blonde," he says quietly, a bit tightly, because he's sure got plenty of feelings about that, too. "But if you think I look like him, then we're obviously not from the same place. I ain't missing an arm."

And that's enough explaining, when he'd really like to know, "Who are you supposed to be?"

[doubled_speed]

Dude, the number of people who are called Captain America who have taken a swing at him? Really damn high. And it's a shame Bucky doesn't swing, because it would be cool to show off by ducking the thing, moving fast enough to almost make it look like the shield passes through him. But that isn't here or there.

And oh geez, another claimed Captain. Tommy's left standing there and taking a deep breath. These Captain Americas are giving him a headache. But he doesn't show this off to this guy.

"Definitely not from your world, that's for sure. Because Captain America is blonde, and Winter Soldier is definitely a surly brunette with a missing arm, but who am I to judge the multiverse? Tommy Shepherd, go by Speed. Fastest man on this planet."

[stillgotmyleftarm]

Bucky snorts a little. "The multiverse is a really frickin' weird place," he agrees, because it's true, as far as he's concerned. He's used to the idea of Steve staying Cap - hell, he'd prefer it, frankly - and even accepted that there are a lot of universes out there where Bucky's the Winter Soldier - and doesn't he just wish he could take that off his own Steve's plate, because he would in a heartbeat.

Although if he looks skeptical about the rest of it - well, he didn't actually see Tommy show up, so there is that. But, taking the kid at his supposed word might get him somewhere, so he asks, "In that case, how much of this planet have you seen? Is it the same everywhere?" That seems like a much better - more productive - thing to focus on, at any rate.

[doubled_speed]

If only he had the energy to do that. In fact, Tommy's face falls just a little. Because he feels like he was letting down Steve in that he wasn't out there exploring a lot. Instead he was in his greenhouse with his father dealing with food needs.

"Uh... I haven't? I mean, using speed uses a LOT of calories. And food isn't reliable enough for me to do that. I could eat a supersoldier serum person under the table several times over, and I can't afford to do that yet."

He wants to explore, though. He deserves to explore. This whole would should be his fucking playground.

[stillgotmyleftarm]

Bucky does grimace at that - but it's in sympathy. "Well, as a 'supersoldier serum person,' that sounds like it sucks."

So okay, that makes sense - and it also makes him worry a little, because food and water are kind of important, and clearly that's going to be a priority.

"So where did you come from? Because I'm guessing it's probably a direction I should check out." Bucky hasn't been here very long, and being the new guy on the planet gets real old real fast.

[bossofspace]

Carol's back at the power plant. Now that she knows where she's going and more or less what she's looking for -- and that the path out to it from the gate has been cleared -- it's not as rough of a trip.

She's not expecting to find anyone else already there, but she doesn't even need to get in that close to see the shield from above, and there's a relieved smile on her face when she touches down. She doesn't even care which other Captain it is -- any of them are welcome in a place like this -- but she's pleasantly surprised to find it's Barnes. He seems more level headed than the other ones.

"Don't you know it's dangerous to be out here alone?" she teases, in lieu of a hello.

[stillgotmyleftarm]

Bucky just gives her a lopsided smile; he's been working his way steadily outward from the square - and Steve - as he spends more time in the city (or what's left of it), and the power plant seemed like the next best place to explore on his slowly expanding mental map.

"Is that why you're out here? Looking for danger already?"

[bossofspace]

"I live for danger," Carol counters easily, with a soft laugh as she glances up at the tower of the plant. The power tower. "I've been coming out here every other day to give it a little juice," she explains, holding up a pair of glowing, sparkling hands. "Doesn't last long, but it's better than nothing. Unless you've got any bright ideas to get it working again?"

[stillgotmyleftarm]

"Huh." Bucky eyes the building, then glances back at Carol. "Engineering ain't my strong suit, but I haven't looked at the guts of anything around here," he admits. And, granted, the pilot augment is probably gone, as far as he can tell, and it didn't exactly imbue him with anything specific that might help, but, "I'd be willing to take a look inside."

Mostly, his experience is with making due with less, but maybe that'll be useful around here. Rationing is definitely a skill that a lot of "modern" people just never had to deal with, and he can't fault them for it.

"So how do you recharge?" he asks, curiously, heading for the nearest thing that looks like a door.

[bossofspace]

"Same way you do," Carol replies with a little laugh. "Sleep. Food." Not that she's gotten nearly enough of either of those things since she's come here, but she's gotten by on less, too. "I've got less to work with than I usually do, with the crappy diet and the longer days, and there's something in the atmosphere that's messing with it -- it feels, I don't know. Sticky." It's not quite the right word, but she's not exactly a master of language, here. She's got other strengths.

And normally she'd just fly up to zap the tower, but hey, going in through the door isn't a bad idea, either, now that she sees that's the angle Bucky's taking. That might just give them a real answer, and a permanent solution. She follows him in, glancing around for any indication of some sort of operating station or instructions, but -- as usual -- nothing's written down anywhere. There's a too-green light that filters through the forest outside the windows, illuminating a room filled with stale, dry air, and walls that seem too bare to be part of a facility like this. "Well, this is helpful," she mutters.

[stillgotmyleftarm]

It sounds reasonable enough to Bucky - after all, they're all running on low, and Carol's not the only one it's adversely affecting. He and Steve have been all right so far - hungry, but all right - but Tommy mentioned slowing down due to lack of calories, and if Carol's experiencing the same thing...

"Sounds like better food's a priority," he says, "but I'm not exactly a farmer." He doesn't know if anyone is, around here, but they might have to learn, and quick.

Food aside, though, power wouldn't hurt, either. The place is predictably abandoned and run down, and mostly dark - except for -

"Wait, there's a light." Bucky squints into the shadows, but there is a soft glow, tucked not far away. He's (fairly) sure it's not a bomb or weapon - he figures they would've run into those long before now, somewhere else, if someone had it in for them - which means he approaches it, if cautiously, until the soft glow resolves into...

"It's like the one in the square," he points out, eyeing the glowing orb. "You think it's got more information? Like the other one?"

Not that he's particularly enamored of having information downloaded directly into his brain. But if it's the only way...