11166/After the Orphan

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After the Orphan
Date of Scene: 15 May 2022
Location: Meeting Room - GIRL Headquarters
Synopsis: Natasha drops in to GIRL Headquarters to get help from the stylish Van Dynes to fight Red Room operatives.
Cast of Characters: Natasha Romanoff, Nadia Pym-van Dyne, Janet van Dyne




Natasha Romanoff has posed:
It's been a somewhat chaotic time in Gotham. Runaway Widows sent out on killing sprees and 'go to ground' patterns. Widows are dangerous. Particularly in numbers.
    Natasha knows this as well as anyone does. So she's coming in quickly with the intent of.. Restocking. There's some tape over one of her ribs and some quickly stitched cuts on her face.

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
    Nadia is working today, you can tell because there is a lab coat draped over her red and black street wear, even if it is worn more like a cape than an actual lab coat. There's a lot to work on, too. That the Red Room apparently some kind of offshoot experimental project in Gotham is only one problem on the GIRL genius' plate. There is also the fact that AIM still has one of their prototype Zetabeam emitters, which would be a major security issue on its own, but GIRL has been asked to set up Zetabeam logistics for the new star port in the first industrial scale use of the technology. Thus closing that security hole is paramount. Or should be.

    Nadia, however, does not seem to be working on either of those major issues at the moment. Instead she is sitting at the meeting table reading a copy of Alice in Wonderland? An old and worn first edition copy to be exact, which it may be better not to ask how she acquired, both the two to three million dollar auction price or theft of such a rare object each raising their own questions.

    Spread out on the table before her are other Alice related materials, like she has become some sort of Lewis Carol superfan. There is a stack of other editions of the story including sequels and various offshoots. The screens around the room have the various animated and theatrical releases of the story on them paused on various scenes. Finally there is what can only be described as a full Red Room impersonation work up of one 'Alice Liddell' arrayed next to the stacks of books, including pictures that look eerily like Nadia, various government documents relating to the life of a woman who died back in 1934, and even some personal effects like hand written letters and a copy of a diary. Someone has clearly gone super stalker on a fictional character...

Janet van Dyne has posed:
"No, that won't work for me. By the twentieth, Stan," Janet says with a vexatious tone. While Nadia reads, Janet is on the phone doing what she does best: running a multibillion dollar corporation. A significant holding of which, is GIRL's facilities and members.

Her black skirt covers from navel to upper calf and would be almost modest if it wasn't so close-fit. A square-neck tee with thick horizontal strips of white and red creates a bold relief that draws attention to her eyes and face. Her jewelry is all gold; bracelet, thin anklet rings, and earrings. Diamonds glitter in all their settings, and the four-inch iconic black Louboutains could pay rent for a month for a modest family home.

"Yes, this is an event of critical national importance!" she snaps into the phone. "Don't-- Stan, I swear to God, say 'government' to me one more time and I will reach through this phone and throttle you."

The near-proximity sensor starts beeping at Natasha's unscheduled return. Janet acknowledges the beeps, then snaps her fingers twice at Nadia to get her attention and points a lacquered fingertip at the radar telemetry.

"No, that's not much of a threat," she says into the phone. "So how's this? Get me those regulators by the end of next week or I will buy your company, gut it, and make sure you never work in this industry again, even if I have to put my people on your ass for a year to cause an incident everywhere you apply for a job."

"See-- now you get it. -That's- a threat. Call me when you have results."

She terminates the call and presses her phone to her forehead in exhaustion, head bowing. "Asshole," she mumbles.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Natasha Romanoff gives a glance at Nadia, as she would arrive in the laboratory area, "That seems rather involved." She would pause, hand going up to go to a shoulder to press a joint back into place and then look over the facilities. First the ever instinctive sweep to look for any security holes or signs of breaches. Any counters to the Zetabeam technology taken by AIM would be technological in nature to develop. Natasha left it to the experts. Sweep of the location. Doors. Walls. Windows. Entrances. Egress points. Each and every one given a quick sweep, compared to her memories, geometry, and inspection for the slightest disruption.
    Then an evaluatory glance given over to the materials spread out. "And unique layout. What are your impressions on the individual that you're profiling?" Fictional character or real one, the layout was always still the same, perhaps. Her pausing to let Nadia fill her in if need be and to not interrupt. In those moments, if there was a pause, Natasha would go to take out a small holograph with the footage recorded by some sort of modular drone, and be inspecting it once more of a street fight by a 'no questions asked' medical clinic.
    Missing the first parts of what would be Janet's proclamations, she would query, "And bureaucratics as usual? You can't just make them understand that you can hide their body several universes away and no one will ever find it?" Natasha would say wiht somewhat black humor. But, in her business..

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
    "Huh? What? I didn't do it! Or maybe I did.. was it good or bad?" Nadia blinks several as she returns from being engrossed in the book at Janet's snapping and the proximity alert. Her attention is half on Janet's conversation for a moment, but this is nothing unusual. She's heard dress down business people countless times. Natasha's swift arrival doesn't really surprise her either, she's the head of security after all and able to bypass most of it.

    Nadia looks up at Natasha with a very serious expression, even as she says something most people would find utterly fanciful and preposterous. "What if I told you Alice in Wonderland was real and those events seem to have actually happened? And the people from Wonderland mistook me for Alice? Which seemed weird at first, but," She points to one of the pictures. "It's kind of uncanny. I shrink, I grow, I ask lots of questions and try to make sense of things, reading this is kind of surreal. But if they're going to mistake me for Alice," She pauses. "Being able to /be/ Alice might come in handy later..."

    Eventually she starts to actually /see/ Natasha instead of just looking at her. "You're pretty banged up ...for you. What happened?"

Janet van Dyne has posed:
"I'm pretty sure Alice in Wonderland is just a book by a creepy nerd who was disturbingly affectionate towards a little kid," Janet says with derisive amusement. "But it does sound a lot like taking mescaline," she adds, and tossess her phone indifferently onto the workbench behind her.

"But this is what life is like in the real world, Nats," Janet points out. She leans her hips against the desk behind her, fingertips splaying to help balance. "You can't kill everyone, otherwise sooner or later you run out of people willing to do business with you. And I've found a lot of them can't really wrap their brains around creative ways to be killed-- but *everyone* panicks when their mortgage is on the line."

"Nadia's right though, you look like shit," Janet tells Natasha. "Someone get the drop on you? Or did you fall down the stairs?"

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Natasha Romanoff would nod over at Nadia, "Oh? Some sort of parallel dimension or reality? Or similar plane of existence? Or just one focused moreso on a common form of creative parable?" Because the dreams of one place could be the reality of another one. Her listening to Nadia attentively and then shifting to Janet. "That's why you find the ones to make examples of and go from there. It is better to be feared than to be loved." An often paraphrased quote of Machiavelli's, stretched into meaninglessness. Amusedly.
    "The local cell of Red Room insurgents is.. Larger than was expected. And worriedly well equipped. Normally a cell in a city given destruct orders will do some hits and then scramble to go underground. This one is putting up considerable resistance. And.."
    She would hold up the small holo-film she had been watching. A fight earlier. Showing a picture of one of those Widows. Cassandra Cain.
    Also known as Orphan.
    "The files on her did her a great disservice. They misstated what she was physically capable of by mlutiple orders of magnitude. She's likely faster than I am and I would presume possibly as strong as I am at a minimum."

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
    "See! Nat believes me!" Nadia protests Janet's dismissal, though who can blame her. The Bible and all the Myth cycles is one thing, but Wonderland being real opens up so many questions about other tales from classical literature. "Though admittedly our last encounter with them was a lot like that time I accidentally used your special mushrooms in a salad." Whoopsie.

    The book is set down as Nadia gives Natasha her full attention, this is all highly disconcerting news. "None of the files recovered and other information looks anything like a standard Red Room operation. It was highly experimental and completely off the official channels at the same time or the Science Class would have been involved. Almost like someone got their hands on something experimental and was planning to use it in a coup or to break away from the Red Room proper."

    There is recognition in Nadia's eyes as she studies the hologram. "That is Orphan, she works with the Outsiders, a covert team I sometimes assist." After a long pause she adds, "She must not have broken as free of their control techniques as was thought."

Janet van Dyne has posed:
Janet snorts at Nadia. "I told you we were out of morels. That's what you get for not believing me." She reaches over and gives Nadia's scalp a gentle tussle with her fingers, then leans over to kiss the top of her head with a maternal affection.

"Anyway, we can talk weirdo fantasy books or Russian girl ninjas, and I want to talk about the ninjas," Janet bids the other two. She points her chin at Natasha, uplifts it fractionally. "So she's that good, right? And she's operating out of..." Janet trails off, eyes skimming over the bio.

"Hnnh. Says here she is one of Batman's hires. Minions? Whatever, that cavalcade of costumed freaks," she says. "Is it possible you didn't ID her correctly? Or maybe she was there trying to help close the place down?" she inquires of Natasha.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Natasha Romanoff would nod at Nadia, "No, she's still fully compromised. And you're right. The cell is likely a breakaway. the training regimen is similar.. But the methodologies are not. Someone with access to their expertise and assets, but not in the program. A deserter or a capitalist." They ran away with the technology or were paid to make use of it. "The girl has the hallmarks of enhancements."
    She would look at Janet flatly, "I do not make mistakes." As close as she came to a reproach. Deathly serious now and in the coldness that was her hunter-killer mode. "She was capable of ambushing myself and another survivor of the program, and I engaged her later attempting to attack a street medical clinic. At least two others came to her aid to extract her. She's been fully activated and is working iwth the remainder of the cell. She's.. Outside of our existant ability to use the antiviral protocols on."

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
    Janet gets a rueful look and a small shrug, "I have learned to be more careful! And also engaged in an extensive study of the physical appearances of naturally occurring hallucinogens and narcotics since then!"

    Nadia leans back in her chair folding her arms. Comfy swivel chairs were a must for GIRL's meeting room during the planning stages and she takes full advantage of it. "Ninjas it is then, though we're not really ninjas, okay admittedly they do dress in all black, but!" There was a but, however she seems to have lost that train of thought while speaking as another came in and derailed it. "The Red Room never employed only a single method of control. Beyond that at the next level of oversight Department X had their own methods of control. There were always fail safes and fail safes for the fail safes and still more contingencies if those failed. For example the Winter Soldier program used several different control mechanisms ranging from chemical to mental conditioning. The antiviral solution not working is unfortunate, but there are still plenty of things left to try. When I escaped from the Science Class, I took a library's worth of their science data from both inhouse and external sources they gave us to learn and innovate on. Though it is a lot to sift through without being able to examine her in order to get a lead on where to start looking."

Janet van Dyne has posed:
"Oooh, a /capitalist/," Janet says, drawing the word out with an amused ghostly moan and bobbling her brows at Natasha. "Careful, we capitalists will show up and ruin the country with home appliances and better cars." Janet reaches for one of the holographic displays and orders it to pan to face her, watching a loop of some of the video evidence that Natasha had procured. She whistles low under her breath. "Wow. Yeah, she's quick all right," Janet says. She looks at the other two women with a Suspiciously Straight Face. "I mean, speaking of the Winter Soldier-- we grab Bucky, Cap, toss T'challa in a van and head over to Gotham to get her sorted. If she's Red Room, I don't give a fuck what Batman says-- that's our problem."

Her eyes go a little dark and hooded. "Mm. Batman. Maybe we'll run into /him/, too," she says, in a decidedly smokier tone of voice, and her teeth dimple her lower lip.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Natasha Romanoff would nod, "She's too fast for the deployment mechanisms to hit her and too strong to fight to incapacitate without escalating. We need a deployment methodt hat can incapacitate her or put the anti-virals over a wide enough area she can't evade it. She has evasion speed probably better than mine and her body seems to go on autopilot. She doesn't have to think to move. She and the others.>" Natasha would muse.
    "We need something that can be launched fast enough she can't evade it and can cover a wide enough area she can't disengage fast enough. She's fast enough to dodge a bulle tat close range. Throwing something at her is useless. You need something for someone that can move at my speed and dodge in our tier and do so automatically. A nd we need ot quickly."

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
    Well that is certainly easier than the anti-virals just not working, though that could still be the case if they haven't even managed to get any into her. Nadia files that tangent thought away into a separate planning contingency in her brain. "Then don't fight her in a way that her speed can be used as an advantage."

    She gestures in a show of agreement with Janet's line of thinking. "This is definitely something to call in help with. If you and others can keep her distracted, myself or Janet can likely get the anti-viral into her." There is a reason spy agencies the world over salivate at the thought of Pym Particles and the Red Room spent considerable resources trying to get Nadia to crack them for their own use. "It is very difficult to dodge what you don't even know is there. With the improvements I've made to my father's technology the shift in size can be done in a microsecond. Corner her, keep her busy, and you can leave the rest to us."

Janet van Dyne has posed:
"/You/ can shrink that fast. I can't," Janet reminds Nadia. "Not without a whole bunch of gene therapy that's going to put me out of action for weeks to replace all the latent Pym Particles in my bloodstream." She folds her arms loosely over her stomach and shifts her weight over her right foot, chewing on her cheek in quiet contemplation.

"But I think you're onto something there. You and I could take the anti-viral payloads and shrink them down with us. Get to the target, maybe target her when she's asleep, and work our way into the bloodstream. It's /really/ tricky to do, Hank and I did it just a few times," she warns Nadia in particular. "We'd need to practice. But we get in, we drop the payloads, get out, and an hour or something later-- pop! She's got 5ccs of antivirals flooding her bloodstream."

"It's just like that movie with the tiny submarine, and they went into someone's body...?" she hazards.

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Natasha Romanoff would nod at Nadia and Janet, "Excellent. What's your opinion of the.. Locals?" By 'Locals' she meant the Bats. "There have been skirmishes tonight between them and the remainder of the cell's operatives. Any of the operatives that have for now escaped capture will be setting up a large scale ambush to handle their pursuit." A finger would flicker to the hooded individual in the grainy holo feed. "She is familiar with how they operate and can counter what they can do. She will be to a degree familiar with how I operate and will act to counter it and when we pursue her will be attempting to play us against the locals. Her.. Comrades will attempt to fight to neutralize her and she will fight ot kill them and take advantage of their restraint."
    She would twitch her lips upwards. "She has no remote abillity to anticipate what you can perform." She would smile upwards.

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
    "Ooooh! A micro submarine!" Nadia of course heard the warning about the danger of attempting Janet's idea, but there is also the chance to build a cool new thing! Or perhaps they could shrink the Tereshkova since it is fully environmentally sealed, though that ship would be a lot to risk, probably stick with the submarine. "That would be even harder to dodge." She agrees. "If by harder I mean probably impossible." In the end she still needs to qualify it with super beings being what they are. "Who will we practice on?" She wonders, curious

    "Between the Titans and the Outsiders, I have worked with three Robins." She answers Natasha. "All of them are extremely competent fighters, not enhanced with anything like Black Widow serum, but about as good as an unenhanced individual can be. And much of that they make up for with brilliant tactical acumen. Not unlike Red Room agents they attempt to plan contingencies for any given situation while still maintaining high mobility. If she tries to trap them it is going to become a match of who can think the furthest ahead with move and counter move and counter counter move and counter counter counter move etc. I wouldn't write them off though, they can take care of themselves."

Janet van Dyne has posed:
"Batman's been running Gotham for... shit. Ten or twelve years?" Janet hazards. "And he doesn't run into the same assholes we do, he's got some legit psychopaths who do things like throw folks in chemical baths for fun. I used to think he had superpowers but scuttlebutt in the crowd is that him and the 'Robins'--" she rolls her eyes at that alias-- "are baseline humans."

"Still, if I know one thing about Batman, it's that he does not accept outside help. If we get to her first, maybe he can adapt to our plan. If he gets there first, we'll have to adapt to his. But if you've got a better idea than standing under that signal-bat-thing with a posterboard sign, I'm listening."

Natasha Romanoff has posed:
Natasha Romanoff would nod at Nadia, "Acceptable. Coordination amongst so many will be difficult. I'm guessing that we won't get to choose the nature of our engagement nor can we guarantee the ability to communicate. So that means improvisation." Janet's commentary gets a thoughtful look.
    "It depends who their target is. I'm guessing that any remainders of the cell will setup an ambush to slow down whatever members of the Bats have been mobilized in pursuit. So that means a target to lure them out.." Her mind is running through things. Analytically.
    "I don't care for what he thinks or what he says. We'll work together if we need to to save the children. But I'll simply ignore him if he becomes focused purely upon a machisimo display of his own territory. You won't have any issues working independently using your technology or anything you rig up?" She would purse her lips. "And we'll have to make contingencies presuming that we can't communicate with them or that they'll presume us to be hostile."