2345/A Baby Wasp in a Gilded Cage

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A Baby Wasp in a Gilded Cage
Date of Scene: 05 July 2020
Location: Empty Room - Avengers Mansion
Synopsis: Dr. Banner brings Nadia some food. Then they discuss military secrets, second chances, and fathers...
Cast of Characters: Nadia Pym-van Dyne, Bruce Banner




Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
Nadia's stay with the Avengers has been eventful. From her initial appearance throwing everything into disarray, to her science adventure with SHIELD that recovered an entire bus of victims of Brainiac's shrink technology that got left behind, to her very pointed security interview with Mockingbird and Black Widow, things have been quite active. But now they seem to have died down again as she awaits the results of her SHIELD evaluation, whether they will help or try to kill her forcing her to run away again.

Currently Nadia is passing the time laying on her bed. In her hands is a sheath of paper with an academic binding that read 'Micro- and Macroscopic Applications of Particle X: A Treatise by Dr. Henry Pym', it is the sort of manuscript one might find in a lab rather than a public library. Given Hank's secretive nature where she managed to get an early original manuscript of his while here under house arrest is anyone's guess. Next to her is a notebook that she has been filling with seemingly copious notes about whatever she is researching and continues to add to as she reads.

Bruce Banner has posed:
"Knock knock," comes an awkward voice from the door as it slides open, "You're, uh, you're hungry. I mean, are you hungry? I've got food if you're hungry."

Banner is a bit more dressed up than usual in the sense that he's wearing a crumpled button-down shirt and a pair of khakis instead of pajamas. In his hands he holds a tray that has a bowl and some instant noodles that he's poured hot water on, mixed with a fork, and called done.

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
When the door opens Nadia perks up, one swinging off the bed on to the floor, the other folding in front of her. "Hello Dr. Banner!" she waves at him excitedly. "Wow, I can't believe you actually came to see me! And you brought food! You're the best." the manuscript is set aside as she smiles brightly at him, as full of upbeat positive energy as ever.

"You look nice." Nadia informs him after a moment, apparently approving of his new fashion choices, as much as a girl who has spent much of her life in a bunker knows what constitutes fashion. But there were courses and magazines to study, you can't infiltrate if you can't blend after all. "What's in the bowl?" she asks curiously, "It smells delicious! I've never smelled something like it before!"

Bruce Banner has posed:
"It's just instant noodles," Banner says, his brow furrowing a little as he peers at Nadia through his thick-rimmed glasses, "Nothing special, I'm afraid. The chef's not in."

He sets the tray down on the table for her, taking a few steps back before shoving his hands in his pockets and looking down at the clothes he's wearing. Odd reactions all around, it seems.

"Uh, yeah. Look, sorry you're being locked up like this. It's only temporary, I'm sure."

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
"I bet they are wonderful instant noodles!" Nadia beams, "Speed noodles made with Science!" she seems genuinely excited about instant noodles, maybe it's a bunker girl thing. She hops off the bed leaving the notebook and manuscript behind to go and sit at the table.

"Well SHIELD said they verified that Hank is my father and also the Pym Particles in my blood, and the chemical enhancement done to all Red Room trainees, sooo maybe they believe me now." she makes a little shrugging motion like it is completely out of her hands, "Not like I can do much aside from wait if I want to find my father. Running away would just make them think all their worst fears are true and I think I have enough black ops agents after me already." She brings the fork twirled with pasta to her mouth and takes a bite, "This is really good!" she exclaims covering her mouth with her other hide to hide the fact that she is talking with her mouth full.

Bruce Banner has posed:
"It's good?" Banner asks, raising his eyebrows, "Well, good. I'm glad. Eat up. I can make more if you're still hungry later."

He hadn't really expected to be put on 'prison guard' duty but so far things seem to be going fairly well. That's good. He was kind of worried he'd get shanked or something.

"I'm sure Henry's around here somewhere," he promises, "I mean ... he gets really small. Maybe he fell behind the couch."

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
Nadia continues shoveling the food into her mouth like a hungry growing teenager ...with a dialed up metabolism by super soldier drugs. "They never had anything like this in the Red Room, lots of protein and in the Science class we got a lot of fish and other foods they thought might help with brain development, nothing like this, is this what they call ...junk food?!" She seems postively excited at the prospect of it.

Far from shanking Nadia seems just incredibly happy to see Dr. Banner, postiviely tickled that one of her Science Heroes has brought her some of the legendary forbidden 'Junk Food'. There is no shanking to be found here, only bright cheery smiles.

The last thing Dr. Banner says makes her pause though, "It's not like that... I can do that, too. He wouldn't get trapped by something so simple, not my father, he's too smart, too amazing for that. Small or big, I can't find him anywhere. I guess nobody has been able to reach him? Maybe if we go to his main lab there might be a clue? I wasn't able to check there because it is super locked down so I initially just figured he wasn't using it at the moment. But maybe if we could get in..."

Bruce Banner has posed:
"I guess you could call it that," Bruce admits, hands still in his pockets, "I practically lived off this when I was writing my first dissertation. By the end I was so blocked up I couldn't - "

He seems to remember his audience all of a sudden and closes his mouth suddenly, deciding to pretend he didn't just say that. Instead, he pushes on.

"So, this Red Room thing. It's like Project Rebirth was here back in the Forties?"

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
Another mouthful of instant pasta from the bowl disappears into Nadia's mouth, the revelation that this is what Dr. Banner ate while writing his dissertation seems to make her enjoy it even more than she was already. Her mind seems to neatly skip over the bowel ramifications of extended consumption or maybe she's just distracted by Dr. Banner's next question. "Not exactly, well sort of? It's only one component of it. The Red Room 'acquires' and trains young girls from infancy to be Black Widows, Russia's ultimate spy assets though the program is a holdover from the Soviet era. The children are given what seemed to be a variant of the Project Rebirth formula tailored specifically for female physiology made by Dr. Lyudmila Kudrin. I was shown her notes because they wanted to see if I could possibly improve the formula but I wasn't interested in helping them do that. Then they train the young girls to be perfect killers and assassins. The average Red Room Black Widow candidate masters at least seven different martial arts by her teens. I only got to five before they switched me primarily to their new Science program. Anyway the ones who don't get drafted into Science if they complete the program become perfect spies and assassins, flawless infiltrators. I can't believe you have one living here." There is genuine unease in her expression at that last bit.

Bruce Banner has posed:
"Natasha is good people," Banner offers, although his tone is awkward, "She's done a lot to help us. She's never given us any reason to think we can't trust her, you know? Besides, you're from part of the same program and you?re here and you want us to trust you. You seem like a nice kid, too."

He leans against the wall heavily, letting out a sigh as he pulls his glasses off to wipe them with the untucked hem of his shirt.

"We just give everybody their fair chance. That's what they're giving me."

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
"Thank you Dr. Banner!" she is smiling widely at him again, "She did threaten to kill me but I can't really blame her under the circumstances. She probably had it far worse than I did becoming a full Black Widow. I escaped a lot of the mental conditioning because they didn't want to potentially negatively impact my mind and then I also escaped, so they're probably regretting that lack of conditioning now." she watches Dr. Banner curiously for a moment when he says he's getting a chance too, and then makes an 'Oh' expression with dawning realization, she's read a lot about that research. Somehow that he was also 'that other guy' had slipped her mind while she's been here until this moment, just too distracted to be in the presence of one of her Science Heroes. "I'm glad they're giving you a chance, too. I think you're really kind and a wonderful person." Teenaged innocence seemingly bordering on naivite.

Bruce Banner has posed:
"That's ... nice of you," Banner murmurs, not really one to weather compliments well and it shows in how he awkwardly rolls his shoulders and then redeposits his glasses back on the bridge of his nose.

"Anyway, this shouldn't last too long," he offers, "Once they work out you are who you say, they'll figure something out for you. Maybe get you set up with a nice foster family. Or hey, if we can flush out Hank from wherever he's hiding I'm sure he wouldn't be the worst dad, maybe."

He looks unconvinced before he shrugs and says, more authoritatively: "There have definitely been worse dads."

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
Nadia smiles brightly at Dr. Banner as he struggles with the compliment, it is a brilliant sunny smile, the likes of which has felled lesser men and might cause even criminals to question their life choices with the sheer friendliness that it exudes.

She falters a tiny bit as he continues though, "What do you mean? You don't think Hank will be an absolutely amazing dad?" There is starry eyed never met the man in her life hero worship in those eyes.

Bruce Banner has posed:
"Oh, ah. Look, don't listen to me. I just mean every first-time father makes mistakes, right? You'll have to cut him a little slack when you finally catch up with him."

The awkwardness has gotten too much for Banner, and he pushes away from the wall while clearing his throat noisily.

"It was, uh, nice meeting you. I'm glad you're not a violent assassin. That'd be a ... a real pain in the ass if you were. A pain in the butt. Not ass. I didn't say ass."

He moves quickly towards the door, tapping the button so it opens for him.

"Uh, bye."

Thwish-thunk. The door shuts.

Nadia Pym-van Dyne has posed:
Nadia blinks a few times not entirely sure what to make of what just transpired but in the end just goes with smiling that incandescent smile and waving enthusiastically in his wake as Dr. Banner flees the social awkwardness. "Goodbye Dr. Banner! Thanks for the delicious junk food!! It was great to see you! Come again soon!" can be heard in the hallway even after the door closes.