10320/Letting Off Steam

Letting Off Steam
Date of Scene:	01 March 2022
Location:	Gym - Playground
Synopsis:	No description
Cast of Characters:	Yelena Belova, Dottie Underwood

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Yelena Belova has posed:
The closest thing Yelena ever had to an actual mother, unlike the Mother who ruled her entire existence, is now in a SHIELD holding cell. Yelena has no clue what her fate would be, or if she gets a say, but she does know that if she'll release Melina on her own, it will likely kill her chances to ever 'belong' with SHIELD again. Natalia has also done quite a lot to make SHIELD take Yelena in, so it would be unfortunate to break that trust with her 'sister'. It felt awful feeling all the urge in the world to act, but pragmatically forcing herself to inaction. The best way to vent that frustration was on the poor MMA dummy at the gym which was taking quite a beating from Yelena's unrelenting attack.

She's dressed according to function, sports bra and a yoga pants, proof of her strong conditioning in the fact she's not using boxing gloves or shoes, and still delivering punishing blows to the solid training instrument, each of her strikes accompanied by colorful Russian words that anyone native speaker would no doubt mean that lady is pissed.

Dottie Underwood has posed:
SHIELD has gone through more practice dummies since it's taken in more Widows. And more practice rounds. The world should be grateful that that's the only expense. Dorothy Underwood's presence in the shooting gallery has become too predictable. Staid, dependable. All adjectives she abhors. So time to hit the mats. Besides, she might find a sparring partner. Someone who will test her reactive skills. Someone who isn't afraid that she'll break their neck.

She spots Yelena. Ah, yes, the little one with so much anger. Dottie drops her gym bag by the wall, unzips her jacket, and strolls into the young Widow's eyeline. She calmly begins warming up.

Yelena Belova has posed:
Another set of quick strikes, and sets of knee to high kick, to ankle crunching sweeping finish, and Yelena takes a break. Hands still clenched to fists, rage still burning in her crystal blue eyes, but she's definitely in control of herself, and certainly spotted Dottie who made sure to be in her line of sight. "I've heard about you..." Yelena notes, before switching to Russian, "<but haven't had pleasure to meet you yet, I hear you're a sister? Older than Melina though...? Is that possible?>"

Dottie Underwood has posed:
Dottie nods curtly. <Older than Melina. Older than Natalia. I was there at the beginning.>

She doesn't name the Red Room. There is no need. She also doesn't mention her time in cryostasis over the years. It all adds up. She's the oldest. But only in a certain light. She considers her missions, the many interesting people she's killed. The few that she didn't.

<Science and aliens and magic.> Dottie shrugs. <Many things are possible.>

Yelena Belova has posed:
<Beginning?> Yelena can't even fathom that, would be interest to have a glimpse of what it might have been, it's such a well oiled top assassin creating factory these days, hard to imagine it before it was fine tuned. <I guess you also had to kill many of your classmates?>

Yelena scoffs, apparently she's still newer relative to most, having been named as Natalia's replacement not that long ago in an official capacity. Her encounters have been mostly within the realm of mortals, science, yes, but not too much magic and superpowers, though she has been slowly increasing her scope of the possible of late. <I imagine...so...I had to kill Mother to get here,> she notes, not naming Lyudmilla Kudrina by name, but all who ever were involved in the Red Room don't need to hear more than Mother. It's likely unthinkable a Widow was able to hurt her at all. <Natalia I believe was affected by the Hawkeye, how did you get here?>

Dottie Underwood has posed:
<I did, yes.> Dottie nods. <I killed many of the other girls to complete my training.> Always on Mother's orders. Or one of her other teachers. <I was given away a long time ago. Mother Russia questioned the loyalties of Leviathan after Stalin died. But they were cultivating a relationship with HYDRA and I was...useful.>

Dottie longs to be useful once again. She swallows the anger and unease, replacing it with cold steadiness. She flashes Yelena a too sunny smile. And drops into English, into her perfected, placid midwestern accent. "I've known Peg a long time," she tells the young woman.

It's almost as if Yelena is speaking to an entirely different person when Dottie switches languages.

Yelena Belova has posed:
<Good to know that was always there from the very beginning...> Yelena somehow doesn't sound entirely serious as she makes that statement. <This Leviathan is new to me, only heard from Natalia, I guess it's more relevant to you true Soviets, I missed out by being born later, haven't I? Saw debriefs, lots of fun was head...East Berlin sounds like a blast...> seems like the jokes keep on coming with Yelena, either youth or she's just a bundle of fun.

<Isn't Hydra always enemy? They've originated from Nazis, no? Fascists scum are never friends to Mother Russia.>

When Yelena switches back to English, it's apparent she's not as well versed, but she can still pass off as American, just slight glimpses of accent here and there which could easily go unnoticed by most. "I heard of this Peggy...haven't had the pleasure, but judging by Melinda...she must be hard as nails lady, am I close?" A pause, and then she nods, "yes, you're definitely of the same model, even if the year is older." She recognizes that shifting persona, that smooth shifting from full emotional output, to complete detachment, a top Black Widow identifier.

Dottie Underwood has posed:
<Pauchoka, who do you think let them into Siberia? Where they made the Winter Soldiers.> Dottie raises an eyebrow. <I killed many Nazis in the war. But I killed comrades too. For the good of Mother Russia. Comrades who would not think of their Mother and do what was best for all of her children. And our allies poisoned us. To help us they said. And then they buried their treachery under a mountain of lies. You cannot trust those who say they will help you. Eventually they will betray you. Or you will betray them.>

Dottie's expression is almost fond. As though betrayal is the nearest thing to friendship -- to love -- she can recognize. To let someone betray you, you have to first let them get close. "Peg was tough as nails, when I first met her." Dottie smiles. "Still in love with her dead soldier boy. Particular about her lipstick. I don't know what she is now."

Yelena Belova has posed:
<Winter Soldiers is your work...?> Yelena looks a little surprised, before murmuring, <I was trained by one...they're incredible fighting machines.> Yelena nods at the words that follow, her face a mask of no emotions, staring almost like automaton, a testament to her own Red Room training. <There's no room for traitors or weakness in Mother Russia, we sacrifice for the sake of the many.> She's been brought up under the same ideaology of course.

<You take note of her favorite lipstick...?> Yelena seems surprised, but then if Peggy was ever her mark, she'd be lying if she said she wouldn't take note of the same minute details.

"You feel like she changed...?" Yelena muses, "Natalia been telling me that people change."

Dottie Underwood has posed:
<Not my work, but I became theirs. Your mother, though. They used her...*research*,> Dottie explains. She makes no comment as to the sacrifices she has made for Mother Russia. Nor when she has been the instrument of sacrifice. It is much the same to her.

She smiles as she remembers Peggy's favorite lipstick, her pliant lips and surprise -- Sweet Dreams. Such a waste to be interrupted in that moment. It was all so long ago. "She has changed, yes. Sometimes I don't even recognize her. I've tried to keep her sharp throughout the years. I don't think she's appreciated my efforts."

Yelena Belova has posed:
<Is that so...?> Yelena asks with mild interest, listening as she pays attention to Dottie, having stopping beating on the poor MMA dummy. <She's a surprisingly capable scientist, isn't she?> Yelena treads carefully, as Dottie casually lets slip that she knows far more than the average person would about Yelena. "So what's the end goal with Peggy...? Seeing she's alive, I imagine it wasn't to eliminate her...was it?"

Dottie Underwood has posed:
<Not so surprising, little spider. The Red Room cultivated only the best. And Mother Russia provides many test subjects.> Including herself. But that's a secret worth keeping.

"Goal?" Dottie muses. "I couldn't kill her." And then continues. "Not that it was a matter of skill, but life was so much more *interesting* with her around. At least when we first met. She's gotten dull. Duty-bound by her office. Taking meetings, receiving reports. Married. Pregnant. A sitcom wife behind a white picket fence. Not even a hint of subterfuge to keep herself entertained. It seems so much worse than death."

<But these are paths worn deep by history, little spider. What of you? Your mother and your sister back. Playing at unhappy families?> The cant of her head and rise of her brow implies a perverse understanding.

Yelena Belova has posed:
<Have to be the best to survive, yes,> Yelena agrees so she adds nothing to the mention of test subjects, apparently not knowing as much, or not caring to comment. "So...this is an affectionate attraction?" Yelena murmurs curiously, looking at Dottie with confusion. It was unusual to have an observational assignment only, but to have that sprinkled with affection was absolutely unheard of. "That is...disappointing," Yelena agrees, wincing a bit in disgust, it's clear Yelena cannot picture such a life for herself. "It does..." Yelena agrees that death sounds far more appealing.

"I did not expect I shall ever see either again..., but is it a family...? I don't know. Unhappy? Well, who ever is truly happy that is actually aware of their reality?"

Dottie Underwood has posed:
"Oh, Pouchoka," Dottie says with seeming genuine fondness. "We are not happy. We're Russian." She pats the young woman's cheek.

"And it's complicated. Peggy Carter and me. I wanted to be just like her, once. Imitated her every move, tried understand her. So I could beat her, of course. I tried to kill her. She...came to my rescue." The far away look of recollection washes over Dottie's countenance. She shakes her head. "It seems like a dream now. A nightmare. Maybe it never was. A false memory, courtesy of Melina."

Yelena Belova has posed:
Yelena doesn't mention anything but it does seem like she's a bit surprised or otherwise confused at being called with an affectionate nick name by a complete stranger, even if they do share some form of bond most will never understand. "Yes, we are Russian," she agrees, a full radiant smile on her lips. "Why would she come to your rescue when you try to kill her?" Yelena asks, but already she has an example from her own life, when Natalia could have ended her but didn't...

"She put false memories in you? Melina?"

Dottie Underwood has posed:
<She has played with my mind, your mother.> Dottie switches to Russian again. Too many revelations for open air. Of course, she assumes they're being observed under the guise of security. But no sense in making it easy for the lip-readers. <She is not the only one. Perhaps it was SHIELD. So that I will not kill their precious Director.> She shrugs. <But I do not think so. I think that happened. Over half a century ago, but still. I think it happened.>

Yelena Belova has posed:
<Recently?>" Yelena wonders with interest, she wasn't well versed at all about Melina, not really, and has only very recently discovered the whole thing about the capability of mixing science with the mind. <How did they go about making you not kill their Director?> Yelena takes a deep breath, and then offers <I think SHIELD did something similar to Natalia, I think that's how the Hawkeye got her to join SHIELD in first place. Playing with the mind.>

Dottie Underwood has posed:
<If SHIELD ever offers you a vacation in Tahiti, don't go Little Spider.> The warning is cryptic, but should serve. <And Melina showed my her little vials of subjugation when she found me. But only as a threat.>

<I do not know if SHIELD has a 'medicine' as sophisticated as the Red Room, as HYDRA. Their solution felt real at the time, but I was...not myself.> Dottie suppresses a shudder, remembering Iowa.

Yelena Belova has posed:
<What's a vacation in Tahiti and why would I want it...?> Yelena seems quite skeptical, Tahiti being the last place she'd have a desire to go to. Plus, coming from the Red Room, vacation was just such a foreign concept. <I heard she can do wonders...> Yelena adds to the Melina remark, she can imagine the horrors Melina no doubt has caused. <Well, my life isn't really my own either, now is it? No matter if someone played with my head or not...how would I even know?> Yelena does seem to have an actual concern about it, as she lands a powerful kick on the MMA dummy which knocks it fully down.

Dottie Underwood has posed:
<There's a difference, Little Spider, in seeing the trap you inhabit and believing that it is home. Not because you want to, but because you have been blinded. Because all that is left is the shell of a false person. They say it's a magical place, but it is not good magic.> Dottie falls silent, watching Yelena taking her frustration out on the dummy. <Who do you think has been messing with your head -- Melina or Natalia?> she asks softly.

Yelena Belova has posed:
<...so, are we in a trap right now...?> Yelena muses, since she thinks it's quite clear neither of them considers SHIELD a home perse. She laughs at the candid question, <I have only seen Melina for first time in 16 years a few weeks ago, I doubt it could be her...Natalia however...> Yelena delays a moment there, looking deep in thought, before looking at Dottie and asking, <you know of Mother, right? Lyudmilla? Natalia made me kill her...>

Dottie Underwood has posed:
<How did she make you? Would you die if you did not?> Dottie asks, curious. If nothing else, it's at least an opening to see if Yelena might have an interest in taking out another monster from her childhood -- Draykov.

Yelena Belova has posed:
<It was...inside Operation Iceworm, if you're familiar,> Yelena gives as non-commited a location as possible, and it's clear just talking about the incident doesn't sit well with her. She seems a bit aggravated, breathing more heavily, hands locking into tight fists. <Mother wasn't supposed to be there, I was there to intercept Natalia...finally caught up to her, but...> she quiets down, and looks for a moment frightened? A weird expression on a Black Widow. <There were vats...with clones, of her, of me, and I realized how expendable the two of us are...that Natalia maybe wasn't lying to me.> She turns to look directly at Dottie, <we later encountered Mother, she instructed me to terminate Natalia, and Natalia begged with me to terminate Mother...I had every instinct in me pushing to kill Natalia, but somehow, she said something...and before I realized what happened, I had shot Mother dead...> a few tears start to roll down Yelena's eyes, yet she's not quite crying. Audibly she's very collected still. <It was scary. Now I am here.>

Dottie Underwood has posed:
Reaching out, Dottie touches the young woman's shoulder. It's meant as a comforting gesture. She's not a hugger. That sort of affection is an act, a smokes screen to let her wriggle under the defenses of the unsuspecting. But she understands Yelena, understands the torment of being weaponized, being controlled. <What did Natalia say?> she asks very quietly. <Did she *activate* you?>

Yelena Belova has posed:
Yelena shakes her head, <I don't think there is an 'activation' for me...> thought having learned what she has over the last few weeks, does she honestly know? It's hard to say. She takes a step back at the comforting touch to her shoulder, likely every bit as uncomfortable as Dottie is around such things. <Everything in my life has been fake, my most real memories are fake, so who really knows. What about you? Was anything in your life ever real?>

Dottie Underwood has posed:
Dottie lets her hand drop. <I was lucky,> she says almost to herself. <I knew when I was pretending. The Red Room was real. The war was real. The fighting, the killing, that was real. The rest of it?> She shrugs. <I don't know.>

Yelena Belova has posed:
<Yes...the Red Room is very real> Yelena agrees, reflecting, she almost says more but stops herself. After all, she really doesn't know where Dottie stands at all. The involvement of Hydra alone is concerning. <I think I should go wash and rest a while, thank you for the conversation, good to have another Russian friend around.>

Dottie Underwood has posed:
<You can find me if you have need, Little Spider,> Dottie tells her. <And if I go hunting any of our mutual boogeymen, you would be welcome.>

There is a small, kindly smile as she offers the invitation, couched as it is in coded understanding.

Yelena Belova has posed:
Yelena does flash a genuine smile at Dottie at that little invitation before she departs the room, <I think I would like joining you on a hunt,> she takes no offense at the 'Little Spider' moniker, there's no doubt Dottie is the more experienced and older of the two from what she told her on this meeting. Of course it could have just been woven tales, but one must take everything with a grain of salt until assured beyond all doubt. For now, Dottie is more likely to be a friend than any of the SHIELD personnel, if only for being Russian, and that they graduated the same school.