01 ✴ voice

[ohmythor]

[ It takes Jane a long while to settle down to this first ... whatever. Video? Journal entry? Something. She has clothes - not her own, but clothes nonetheless - and even a small bag of food, to take with her when she goes to find ... well. Someplace to stay. Stay, not live. This won't be home. It can't be.

She sighs heavily, puffing her cheeks out on a hard breath as she flips through the pages. An hour or two of reading have acquainted her with how the system works, as bizarre as it is. She sounds tired, when she speaks, a sort of bone weary ache. ]

Alright. So the journal is some sort of half-book half-iPad technomagical means of communicating, aaaaand this place gives you wings. [ A beat. ] There's a cheesy Red Bull ad in there somewhere, but I'm not going there.

[ A pause. Stay on track for three seconds, why don't you? ]

Sorry, I-- my name is Jane Foster. I'm a astrophysicist with SHIELD, if that means anything to anyone. Well, more like a researcher, but -- anyway. I just really hope that means something to someone. It'd be nice to at least -- I don't know. Have a familiar face from my own world. Or universe. I'm guessing universe.

[ Another pause, shorter. ] So how many versions of Earth are there, here? I'm going to guess at least a dozen. Maybe several dozen, who knows. And probably plenty of other worlds besides. From who knows how many different universes. And yet here we all are. [ She laughs, incredulous and kind of unhappy. ] This place is somehow the special one. I'd just -- love to know how they do it, really. Someone's going to tell me it's magic, and I just--

[ She finally stops, sighing again. ]

Sorry, sorry. Um -- hi. Nice to ... meet all of you, I guess.

Comments

[action] do it and he can go totally nuclear and terrify everyone

[selfhelp]

It's a defining character flaw, sorry. [Except that he doesn't look sorry at all.]

[action] ........ 8| /kidnaps jane, allows her to be tortured

[ohmythor]

Cute. [ But she's more amused than annoyed. ] Teenage super hero thing?

[action] billy: /HORRIBLE FLASHBACKS!?

[selfhelp]

No, just a me-thing. I think it's a built-in defense mechanism to confuse the primitive beasts known as high school bullies.

[action] oops. 8)

[ohmythor]

Bullies? You?

[ But she doesn't sound incredulous. More curious than anything. Her first thought is, who bullies a kid with reality-bending witch powers?

But immediately she realizes the answer. Billy's mannerisms - the nervousness, the fidgeting, the fluctuations in mood - plus his obviously good nature...

Using his powers to make people stop bullying him would probably never occur to him. And even if it did, he'd probably be horrified. It's easy to see he's that kind of person, even if she barely knows him. So without those, he's just a nervous, awkward, easily kinda sad kid. Prime bullying material.

She figures this all out in a matter of seconds - it's just a bunch of rapid mental leaps - and then she smiles very crookedly. ]

Wow. High school bullies. That's practically ancient history, for me. [ Lightly poking fun at herself, yes. ] I used to deal with them, too. But you know what?

[ She sits forward, lifting a hand to tap the side of her head. ] In the real world, what matters is definitely not your wedgie count. It's what's in here. [ Indicating, of course, her mind. And then, after a brief pause, she taps on her chest too with a goofy grin. ] And, as cliché as it is, what's in here, too.

[action] well at least you didn't fake an apology...

[selfhelp]

[...Heh. She's just full of pep-talks, isn't she? He can't help but smile again, scuffing a hand through his hair. Now she sounds like those books of his.

But like with Teddy, it doesn't sound so corny when he hears it from someone else. It feels- well, like it's supposed to. Inspiring. Uplifting. Still corny, but he doesn't feel ridiculous about it. Actually, more than the books...]

You remind me of a friend of mine. He used to say that kind of stuff to get the team practices going sometimes... at least until he and Patriot started arguing.

[Wedgies, though? It's kind of idealistically cute that that's the worst she could come up with.]

[action] I will not apologize for terribleness because you love it too.

[ohmythor]

I'm reminding you of your teammates now? [ She laughs. ] I'll take that as the compliment it sounds like.

[ Honestly, it's an example she used specifically because of how harmless it sounds. She doesn't know what Billy went through, but she remembers what she experienced. And it was worse than wedges. But why dredge up old, crappy memories by being, well, more realistic about it? The point still stands, in her mind. ]

[action] yeah I can't even lie on that one

[selfhelp]

It's at least half a compliment. I make no promises about the rest of it.

[Guh, this is just making him miss Nate again. And Teddy. Always, always Teddy.

Desperate grasping at distraction time.]

So did you find a place to live yet?

[action]

[ohmythor]

Working on it. [ Her expression turns a little wry. ] It's still a little weird, thinking about finding a place to live here. That makes it feel so permanent.

[action]

[selfhelp]

I don't know if I'd call it that. To me it's kinda like a con, or staying at rez in school. Even if we're stuck here, we need a place to crash, right? Unless you want to commune with the beasts or something.

[action]

[ohmythor]

[ He wins a laugh. ] I'm not that big on nature.

[ Jane pauses for a moment, resting her cheek on the heel of her palm as she watches him. It strikes her, of course, that he's reassuring her - she's been trying to be the one that does that for most of this conversation. He's pretty mature for a teenager. Of course, considering the things he's probably been through? That isn't so surprising. ]

You're right. I know! It's just ... it's still so surreal. [ She bunches up her shoulders and gives her head a little shake -- and flutters her vividly colorful parrot-esque wings. ] I'm still not over all the wings.

[action]

[selfhelp]

Yeah, I don't really know what to do with them, either. [He wiggles his own blue wings, leaning his elbows on the table and glancing at them out of the corner of his eye.] They're just so... pointless. If they were gonna give us wings, they could at least let us fly with them. Flying is cool.

[action]

[ohmythor]

Iiii wouldn't know. I mean, the plane variety of flying, sure. But I'm guessing that's not what you mean.

[ She glances at her own wings, fluttering them again with a lift of an eyebrow before she looks back at him. ]

I read that you can use them to hover. That's ... almost something.

[action]

[selfhelp]

[Oh Jane, honey, you just hit his fanboy ping.]

Do you want to? Fly, I mean. I can take you sometime.

[action]

[ohmythor]

[ ... her eyebrows shoot up. After a moment of staring, she laughs, incredulously. ]

I... wow. Is that a serious question? I mean... [ Another laugh and a shrug of her shoulders. She's clearly a little blown away by this idea, but rolling with it. ] Sure?

[action]

[selfhelp]

[Grin. Being a super hero is dramatic and important and honourable and all that good guy stuff, he knows, but he's honestly never gotten fully past the whole "I can do cool stuff with my powers" part. He thrives on that enthusiasm more than anything else.]

I've been getting pretty good at flying lately, I think I could pull it off. Either way I could use the practice.

[action]

[ohmythor]

... I can't believe-- [ She just can't stop laughing, and rubs a hand over her face. ]

You know, I actually have flown once before. Sorta. Though it wasn't for very long. And we went really fast. So, yeah. I'd definitely like to try it again.

[action]

[selfhelp]

[He perks up even more at that. You'd think it wouldn't be humanly possible, but apparently it is.]

...With Thor? Was it with Thor? I've always wanted to do that!

[action]

[ohmythor]

[ wow what a fanboy look at his face ]

Yeah, it was. He just picked me up and off we went. [ ... ] Everyone else had to take the car. [ With a big grin. ] Flying was definitely more fun.

[action]

[selfhelp]

[You ain't seen nothing yet.]

Oh man, that's amazing... you're so lucky! Flying is really the best, though. If I had the choice I'd never walk anywhere.

[action]

[ohmythor]

[ Talking about it like this is honestly making her a little heart sore. She hasn't seen the guy in two years. But she keeps up the brave face for Billy's sake. ]

You would totally jump at the chance to fly with Thor if you could, wouldn't you? [ A beat. ] Stupid question. [ Still grinning. ] You know, I can't say I blame you. The whole "amazing and fun" part aside, it's a lot more convenient. ... buuut the "amazing and fun" part is probably all anyone really cares about.

[action]

[selfhelp]

[ffff. Yeah, he can't even lie about that one. He almost looks sheepish now, though he's still smiling.]

I would, yeah. But first I'd just like to meet him. He's the one original Avenger that I haven't yet, which is weird considering I modeled myself after him right from the start.

[action]

[ohmythor]

... I wonder why he hasn't been around.

[ There's more than one meaning to this question, but she keeps her tone reasonably light.

Of course, it's a bad question to ask anyway, isn't it. ]

[action]

[selfhelp]

[Probably, but he at least knows better than to tell her the assumptions people have been making about it.]

Even I don't know that one. When the Avengers were disassembled he kind of disappeared, and it's not like we can just phone up Asgard and ask. Probably doing important thunder god stuff, saving the universe, fighting ice giants...

[action]

[ohmythor]

[ It ought to be to her credit that she manages to keep her reaction pared down to a pause, and a slow sigh through her nose. ]

... superhero stuff. [ A faint smile. ] I wonder if I'll ever really get used to that.

[action]

[selfhelp]

Heh, good question. I've been one for months now and I still wake up not believing it sometimes. Doing some magic is part of the morning routine now just so I don't have to wonder about it.

[After breakfast, before brushing his teeth. He used to do it at the same time but then he broke a mirror and got himself grounded for a week.]