04 | I Need A—

[sinistral]

WHO: Bucky "Captain America" Barnes (sinistral) and you
WHERE: In and around Superhero City (or, you know, whatever we're calling it)
WHAT: Shenanigans. No seriously there's some SHIELD stuff but then also some open stuff
WHEN: At the start of the event so this is going to be a little low key to be honest; I went for light and a little campy in places but if you want to hit the ground running with the heavy stuff, you know I'm all in and I will absolutely bring the pain
WARNINGS: None; will update if that changes the thread with Poe gets a little bit racy...ngl, I'm as surprised as you are

---

SHIELD
→ Interior/closed to SHIELD members;

Bucky strides into the meeting room, shield at his back, rolling his shoulders and tossing his head from side to side to work out a kink in the neck. He's not quite all smiles because this is business, but it's not doom and gloom either.

He turns a chair around and straddles it, arms crossed over the backrest. Will the action cause eyerolls? Possibly. Will it be the day someone tells him to sit properly? Possibly. Will be listen? Well, that depends entirely on who's asking.

"What've we got?"

[Anything from run-of-the-mill meetings to post-mission debrief to planning an appearance at the local fundraiser are fair game! Also SHIELD peeps can use this as a mingle with each other, I'm cool with that.]

→ Lobby/Outside/open to all;

Business done there's no further need to hang around headquarters. He's traded uniform for jeans and a leather jacket; the shield is still at his back and a mostly-finished coffee in his hand as he walks through the lobby. Most people get a smile or a nod of the head, but if anyone looks really determined to get his attention he'll stop, or at least invite them to walk with him to the parking garage where his motorcycle is stored.

Or perhaps he's already on the bike and has eased it out of the garage, one foot propped up on the curb as he talks to you. Did you flag him down for a little conversation or to ask a question?

CITY
→ Crime;

Bank robbery? Hijinks at a local school bake sale? A bank robbery with deadly baked goods? Brownie bombs?!? This is the obligatory Super Heroes Being Super Heroes™ prompt. Or perhaps you're the villain and Cap has just thwarted your plans? Or did you escape with what you really wanted, and all this is just a distraction? Perhaps you're an innocent bystander, or someone needing rescue. Either way this is the shield-throwing, bad guy punching, action scene option.

Pop up fight words are entirely optional.

→ Coffee;

Maybe it's a trendy, hip coffee shop. Maybe it's a corner bodega. All that matters is that it sells good, strong coffee — for Bucky and his heightened metabolism, coffee is more about the experience than the caffeine content anyway.

"Coffee, black." Whether he's been here enough times for the barista to know his order or this is the first time, it doesn't matter; he'll slide a few bills across the counter and tuck another one into the tip jar, then shuffle off to the side until his drink is handed over. Time for small talk?

→ Up a Tree;

The obligatory my pet cat/snake/robobird is stuck in a tree. Maybe it's full Captain America gear, maybe it's just jeans-and-tee Bucky Barnes, but either way he's jumping to catch the lowest branch, swinging himself into the tree and starting to climb.

"What's its name?" he calls down as he climbs. Hopefully the thing isn't too scared or injured and thus in a lashing out mood, but he won't be able to tell for sure until he gets closer to it.

ELSEWHERE
→ Wildcard;

Got an idea? Drop something below and I'll roll with it, or hit me up here or at sometimesamuse or Discord for more in-depth plotting. Note that while I write starters in prose, I'll match brackets if that's your preferred style. Bucky has no secret identity; he's Captain America, he's from the 1940s, and a decent amount of his history is probably touted in a museum somewhere (he hates that exhibit). So feel free to have your character recognize him, know things about him (and make assumptions based on those things!), and generally give him a hard time. Villains and heroes: whether or not he knows your secret identity is up to you, but if it's a secret and you've told him, he'll keep that secret.

Comments

Crime!

[beepbeepmotherfucker]

Hey, Cap. You know how your shield tends to stick in things? Well some poor schmuck had the misfortune of parking his car too close to a hero fight.

He's standing, staring helplessly at the shield sticking out of the side of his rental car. Sighing, he scrubs his hand over his face. "This is getting ridiculous."

[sinistral]

Look it's not his fault if the bad guys he's flinging the shield at dodge at the last minute. Seriously, he hadn't expected that one dude to be so spry! Dude's out cold on the ground now at least... that counts for something, right?

Anyway, here comes Cap in all his uninformed everything, looking half apologetic and half like it's just another day at the office. "Hey man, sorry about this. You know what to do for insurance?"

In this city, that's a normal question.

[beepbeepmotherfucker]

Well it's not every day he gets to meet one of the big name heroes. That's something, at least... kind of...

He looks up, waving a hand. "Yeah, yeah. This is... was... my fourth rental car so far this week."

[sinistral]

"Man, that is some bad luck." Which is definitely stating the obvious, especially considering the mess is only going to get worse when Bucky wrenches the shield out of the car. It's got to be done though.

"I am sincerely sorry about the inconvenience here. You work nearby? I can have our people handle removal and delivery of a replacement loaner." Okay so it'll be pulling some major favors, but four in a single week is kind of extreme.

[beepbeepmotherfucker]

Tell him about it. He's met more heroes this week than any other, and one of them was just a dick.

His eyebrows fly up at the offer. "Really? You could do that? That's... wow, thanks!"

Up a Tree

[deal_me_in]

"Uh...Tony?"

Not the most convincing response, and come to think of it, that voice sounds a little strange. Then again it might be strange altogether because the person who had implored that Cap come rescue their kitty had been a little girl, who had vanished just as soon as Bucky was up that tree and she'd claimed her five bucks from the guy in the hood who was now standing beneath said tree.

The cat is sitting there on one of the upper branches, an orange tabby that pauses in licking its paw to regard the man up in the tree with him. This wouldn't really have been a difficult problem to have solved, given Cayde could have hopped up there in one good leap, but that would have defeated the purpose. ...whatever that purpose is that he's concocted in that metal head of his.

"Honestly I have no idea, he's kind of on loan," the Exo adds helpfully.

[sinistral]

Bucky notices the shift in voice, sees the little girl scampering off out of the corner of his eye. But that doesn't change the fact that there's still a cat stuck up this tree, and he's already in the tree, so of course he's going to finish what he started.

And, well, Tony is as good a name as any. "Here, Tony. C'mere boy." Not that calling a cat has ever worked, but it's always worth a try. Bucky keeps his voice gentle as he maneuvers higher in the branches — which also gives him a better view of the hooded guy below. Wouldn't be the first time someone's tried to distract him like this.

"So, loaner cat?" Who seems to not be moving at least. Maybe the cat's done this before too. "Where'd you get him? The Rent-A-Pet on Fifth? Or is he one of Gary's?"

[deal_me_in]

The cat has resumed licking itself, seeming to accept that there will be a new resident here with him.

"Oh, definitely Gary's," Cayde says with that sort of carefree air that makes it clear he has no idea who Gary is- outside of those he's established as Garys who are in fact probably not. For a brief moment Bucky might catch a glimpse of his face as the Exo looks up to watch, immediately tucking his head back down when he realizes the man's looking in his direction.

"So um, you been doing this sort of thing long?" he asks.

[sinistral]

"Interesting." Very interesting, as Bucky made both of them up. Whoever this guy is, he's hiding more than just his face.

The cat, meanwhile, doesn't care. Typical Tony cat.

But getting back to the guy on the sidewalk, Bucky can't help but frown at the flash of metal. A mask, perhaps? Could be. Wouldn't be a surprise in this place, anyway.

"Could say that. Why?"

[deal_me_in]

"Oh, no reason, just curious," Cayde shrugs. "You must really be devoted to rescuing cats from trees."

He hadn't taken that seriously enough, it seems. Getting a cat and having him sit up in a tree had been more of a 'well let's just see how this goes' sort of thing. Now he's having a bit of an awkward conversation with a man in said tree. Not that the whole matter doesn't tickle him.

Right, stay on target.

"Soooo...you've always lived here?"

SHIELD

[no_applause]

The Queen of Thunder has her arms crossed over her breastplate. Her helmet sits on the table nearby. She's no need to hide her face from those in the room, after all. She raises an unimpressed eyebrow at the Captain.

"You could at least pretend to take this seriously and sit properly."

I am so sorry for this asshole

[sinistral]

That look just makes Bucky grin. Not only does he respect his teammate, he genuinely likes her. But that's not going to stop him from being himself — at least, not right away.

"Gonna make me?" He takes things very seriously! When there's a need for it, anyway. Speaking of: "so what's going on? I didn't see a meeting on the docket this morning."

That usually means one of two things: the shit just hit the fan, or there's paperwork. Bucky hopes it's not the latter.

lol don't be

[no_applause]

"I could." She smirks, a little lightning crackling around her fingertips. She wouldn't, of course, but she enjoys the banter. The two of them get along better than she and Tony.

He does bring up a good point, though. She shrugs, shaking her head. "Nor did I. I do have other things to do, after all." Being a mom as well as a superhero does have its drawbacks... "Though I suspect it's got something to do with the sudden increase of activity in the city."

❤

[sinistral]

"That a threat or a promise?" Banter between them has always come easily, as does their teamwork in the field. It's one of the best parts about their relationship.

"Interesting." It remains to be seen if that's the good kind of interesting or the bad, but knowing SHIELD, they're unlikely to get the information any sooner than the higher ups want them to have it. Bucky's tried.

Padme brings up a very good point though: there has been an uptick in activity lately. "Good to know it wasn't just me imagining it. Doesn't seem like it's organized though. Could be too early to tell."

[no_applause]

She smirks, "Depends. Let's see how this meeting pans out." Flirting with Captain America? Maybe a little. It's all fairly innocent, though it leaves the press speculating.

He gets a nod and she leans forward a little, resting her elbows on the table. "It's not just you. Crime seems to be on the rise, but the sudden invasion is what has me more worried."

SHIELD

[happybeeps]

Poe's lips quirk, sparing the Captain a quick glance as he finds his seat. Outside the Director there's not too many brave enough to tell him to behave, and Agent Dameron's certainly not to going to say anything, he enjoys it.

"'Bucha terrorist threatening to pilot the GoodYear blimp into the Empire State building. We gotta add that one to the betting pool, that's new," he mutters, filling him in as the head agent continues to explain. "You're going to be late you could at least bring coffee you know."

[sinistral]

"That is new." Which in their line of work is something of a novelty, especially as the unofficial betting pool (no gambling at work!) has brought about an amazing accuracy of record keeping. "How'd they plan on getting the keys to it?"

Just once, Bucky wants a villain to hold a press conference, just to ask these questions.

He offers the agent a crooked smile. "Would've made me even later. But if you ask nice I'll leave and come back."

Maybe. He'll maybe come back.

[happybeeps]

"I'd guess either they plan on taking someone hostage or they've given away a massive clue as to who to look into first." Blimp pilots weren't exactly a dime a dozen group, shouldn't be too hard to do some background checks.

"How nice are we talking?" he asked, before hushing up for a moment as their muttering earned a reprimanding look. "I'll keep that in mind next time I think about saving you the last donut," he teased softly.

[sinistral]

"Anyone considered the mind control angle?" It says something that they even have to consider that angle, truly.

But at least he has the grace to look a little bit ashamed when they're caught not paying strict attention. It's enough to not get a verbal reprimand and that's fine; Bucky just leans a little closer to keep their murmuring even quieter.

"Depends. How nice you wanna be?" Just don't mess with the donuts, that's playing dirty.

[happybeeps]

"Good point." Mind control. Skrulls. The Multiverse. Life's never simple in this line of work, is it?

He bites at his lower lips with a hushed laugh. "Oh, I can be very nice. So why the delay? Late night?"

Coffee!

[doubled_speed]

Coffee. Not all people with enhanced metabolisms take it for the experiencing. For Tommy it actually helps him stabilize his powers a bit, especially after a long work day. And hey, today he was a bit tired. So if maybe it was Crimson Speed in this coffee shop he made sure to only ever come to as Crimson Speed, nursing the largest quintuple espresso with caramel syrup and whipped cream and sprinkles, no one gets to judge him.

When Bucky approached he offered a brief nod before opening his mouth to speak.

"Any judging me for sprinkles will get a kick me sign stuck to your back every day for a month."

☕

[sinistral]

Bucky wasn't going to judge anyone's caffeine indulgences; he'd too often been on the receiving end of some very creative threats and death glares. News flash: SHIELD runs on coffee and spite more often than not.

"Not saying a word," he replies easily enough, shrugging one shoulder. "Would hate to be the one responsible for Crimson Speed's descent into super villainy. Today, kick me signs. Tomorrow, world domination."

[doubled_speed]

Yeah, SHIELD would run on that shit, wouldn't it? But Tommy wasn't about to join them. He was busy enough as it was, and they might not approve of someone his age joining, even if he was an adult. Nah, better to stay away from that, even if he considered some of their top heroes something like family.

Not that he ever let them KNOW who he was under the mask. Though there was probably a few of them who could figure it out.

"Nah, see the problem I see with world domination is that the you've got to be in charge of the world. I don't want to be in charge of people. Seems like work."

Crimson Speed definitely projected an aura of giving no fucks and being sorta lazy about responsibility. It was a deliberate choice given Tommy was actually nothing like that.

[sinistral]

SHIELD or not, secret identity or not, Bucky doesn't care. People have their own reasons for it, and that he can respect and support both. Then again, Captain America has a certain responsibility to be what SHIELD needs him to be, so it's a little different in his situation.

"No but that brings up an interesting question: if you're in charge of the world, who do you delegate the boring stuff to?"

It's a question Bucky usually tosses around on missions, with whoever else is on the job. All these villains with their takeover plans, and none with the foresight for what to do after. Go figure.

[doubled_speed]

"See, my plan would be to never be in charge of the world," Tommy answered. But he knew that wasn't going to work. So he instead offered a shrug with another answer.

"Are you familiar with the concept that those who wish to hold power are those least suited to hold it?"

Yeah, sometimes C.S. just said things that implied some level of classics training or reading.