5868/Uneasy Reunions

Uneasy Reunions
Date of Scene:	06 April 2021
Location:	Bushwick Safehouse, Brooklyn
Synopsis:	The crew decides to try and settle Abcde into the old Brooklyn safehouse, when they discover a certain someone is watching from next door. That someone is a face Peggy never thought she'd see again. Dottie Underwood, out of prison. Again.
Cast of Characters:	Peggy Carter, Melinda May, Daniel Sousa, Abcde Prescelta, Dottie Underwood

---

Peggy Carter has posed:
The evening is actually shockingly pleasant. One of those spring evenings that feels like summer, the birds out, a balmy breeze coming through Brooklyn streets even as the sun goes down, and the city isn't yet hot enough to smell. It's lovely. While Abcde is more than welcome to stay full time at the Long Island house, Peggy realized they did have a safe place rather closer to the city. Besides, Daniel hadn't seen it and she'd not checked back on the place in a while, so it was time to take a trip to Mutant town.

"...Unless anything looks disturbed, I think the old keys are fine. We could change the locks of we need, get everyone a fresh key, but there are a... lot of deadbolts." Peggy mutters to the group as they approach the slightly run down, four-story walk up apartment building. It's not too big, 4 apartments on each floor and wrapping staircases that smell like a mix of foods from all different cultures. Someone is loudly playing steel drums at the corner and it clashes gently with the blasting hip hop from floor 3. There's a stack of fliers in the mailbox, evidence no one has been there in a while. Peggy gives a little chuff, pulling them out to trash before she leads the way up the stairs.

Melinda May has posed:
May managed to procure an unmarked Lexus from the Playground, the last time she left there. The SUV is sturdy and doesn't actually scream 'feds', since it's more of a dark grey colour than brutalist black. Finding it a spot on the street to park is a bit of a challenge, but one she's well used to.

Her eyes scan the neighborhood as she subconsciously tries to match the people she sees with the emotional signatures she senses. Slowly, she's begun to recognize distances as well as presences in the clusters of tangled feelings she absorbs.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
For Daniel just about everything in the future is new and strange for him so instead of focusing on the differences he focuses on the similarities, Mutant Town was at its core not too different to any other little enclave in the city, and the four floor walk up here wasn't much different than the ones he'd see back working for SHIELD or the SSR even if the hip hop music coming from upstairs was very different from the music of his day.

"What is that?" he asks about the music before tackling the one universal bane of his existence no matter what century he's in: stairs. Still he climbs them without complaint and with the help of both his cane he's able to keep pace with the others, even if it's not that comfortable for him.

Abcde Prescelta has posed:
    How do you explain to the lovely people who saved you from HYDRA that you didn't want to get in the way of their reuniting across time and space. No one wants to be the third wheel and those two really need their privacy. While Abcde is certainly good at staying out of the way, Mittens just can't help but creepy stare at anyone... always.

    "I never thought the idea of a safe house would exist in my life outside of spy movies," she comments as she walks along with the agents. In her mind this place will have secret panels with passports, money, and guns hidden everywhere. But as she learnt with May's car sometimes mundanity is the key to staying under the radar.

    "If it's got good internet access I'm sure it'll be wonderful. Lots of nice markets and groceries in the neighbourhood too." She is looking forward to cooking, though also notes plenty of takeaway places too. Spies live on takeaway right? This was her first time in Mutant Town.. and it really just seemed like any other urban neighbourhood to her so far. Besides the odd metal statue of Magneto they passed by. One persons terrorist is another persons freedom fighter.

    "Oh Daniel, this is where a lot of the mutants I told you about live," she adds for his benefit. "Hip hop?," she replies wondering if that's what Danial was asking about.

Dottie Underwood has posed:
A tall woman, dressed in classic hipster chic -- tall boots, taller socks, flowy little dress, long statement piece necklace, a broad brimmed black hat -- exits a nearby apartment as the group starts up the stairs. She glances over her large black sunglasses to observe their ascent. Then she fishes a phone out of the large tote on her shoulder and leans against the door, idly amusing herself as she waits for them.

Peggy Carter has posed:
A slight frown of concern crosses Peggy's lips as she realizes there's no elevator. She never much thought of it before, and she knows Daniel can take care of himself, but there is still a glint of guilt on her features that she's drug him along. The interior of the building really doesn't look much different than what it would have in the 1950s, but everything else around them has changed. "Ah, yes. I do believe that would be hiphop. They like to play it off the fire escape all summer, if last year is any indication. It's useful if other things get... Loud." Peggy mutters with a wry smile.

Once they are on the second floor, she gives the hallway a long, slightly wary look. She's still paranoid, just for different reasons these days. Her eyes flicker across the neighbor she doesn't know, a briefly friendly smile flickering in her direction, but Peggy's not gotten a good enough view of the face to realize what might be very wrong. Yet. She moves for the door, fighting with the key in the lock, "And, of course, it always...sticks. Maybe we should replace." She mutters to the small group.

She herself is dressed not like her normal style. SHe's left the 1940s dresses behind for some casual jeans, knee high boots, a tank top and one of Daniel's shirts again. Trying to blend in to the modern city and NOT look like 'Director Carter', a highly wanted woman.

Melinda May has posed:
May hangs back, letting Daniel and Abcde go ahead of her. Someone needs to watch their six -- and even without her nascent empathic abilities, she's still the best. Her black leather jacket is loose, concealing her weapon. The little holdout blade is invisible in her boot. Jeans, a scooped neck tee... maybe it's not very different than her usual look, but it's not the blazer and trousers or tacsuit most of her SHIELD imagery reflects.

She lingers on the stairs and then down the hall, wandering slowly behind. The sense of anticipation in the woman with the cell phone attracts her attention briefly, but not long enough to register her as a threat. For all May knows, the woman's just checking a the latest TMZ news.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
"Right, the guys with the powers like Daisy's but not?" He was still working out the various flavours of superhumans there were in the future, of which there were many. "And if that's what that music's called, yeah" he says, though as he listens and climbs he has to admit the beat was alright even if some of the lyrics made him double take. "They can say that in music these days?" he asks the group with a bemused expression on his face.

At the top of the climb he takes a moment to lean against the wall, resting his leg before he makes himself push on, a bit of sweat dotting the borrowed green button down he wears to go with the slacks dress shoes, and jacket he found. Still despite his clothes being new something in how he carries himself in them makes them seem retro.

The neighbour is noted but with no reaction from Peggy and having seen a million people with their faces buried in their phones since he got here he barely gives her a second look except for a casual scan for any signs of weapons, and idly brushing his hand against where one of those fancy future guns the agents used now hung in a shoulder holster under his coat.

Abcde Prescelta has posed:
    "Hmm no elevator. That's going to make it hard to move a cauldron in," she says - though given the people with her have gotten to know her she may not be joking. There's an excitement to checking out a new place. She will one day get sick of moving but she loves her apartment, and Peggy and Daniel's house, and now whatever this place has to offer.

    "I'll get some WD40 and try and fix the locks. My uncle Davie loved locks. He was always trying to teach me how to pick locks but I could never get the tensioning feel right. What took him barely seconds took me half an hour.. usually longer. But, yeah, if there's rough edges to the place I'll fix them up. Leave a place better than how you found it, right?"

    Abcde is no trained spy. She doesn't even register the woman as threat or not threat - just another body nearby doing her own thing. As May said, she went to spy school to learn this stuff. "You can say anything in music so long as you don't mind it being bleeped when on tv and the radio," she says happy to continue explaining the future to Daniel. It is a confusing place after all. "I always get the Not Safe For Work versions of songs because I want to hear it how the artist intended it."

Dottie Underwood has posed:
The woman waits as the group crowds around the door, still blocking the stairs. Her body language remains indifferent. Whatever's on her phone, must be fascinating.

Peggy Carter has posed:
"...A... cauldron? Really? I mean, you could pulley it up the fire escape." Peggy mutters, their conversation probably not loud enough for the neighbor to hear. Well, unless she was really listening sharply. The woman in the hall is given a momentary apologetic smile, "Sorry, we'll be out of your way in a minute." Peggy apologizes offhandedly. There's a moment where she swears she sees something -- a double taken done in the hipster's direction, but then Peggy shakes it off. She's jumping at shadows.

Peggy gets the door open and pushes it into an apartment that smells slightly stale, but not too bad, not having been occupied in some time.

It's a decent sized one bedroom for Brooklyn. Not too much dust has gathered over surfaces yet, there are even still a few files on the coffee table and an abandoned tea cup from the last time Peggy was here. There's a tiny two person dining table and a desk in the corner. The kitchen looks like something out of the 70s but there is both a well used kettle and a coffee maker there. "Well. Doesn't look like Howlett's been through at all. I wouldn't touch the milk, if I were you, it's probably grown something." The bedroom is still a bit of a mess, the bed unmade and one of Peggy's long robes tossed around the end post. "Oh. I wondered where that thing went. Sorry...I thought I'd be coming back here more, then things got... Busy. But I think you and Mittens might be quite comfortable here. As long as Mittens doesn't mind Logan's scent around. This place was his. He's a...bit of a harry beast of a man." Peggy warns with a bit of a laugh.

Melinda May has posed:
There's something about the anticipation that lingers in the hipster's emotional spectrum that begins to tickle May's paranoia. Of course, to be fair, she's also in a hallway with Peggy, who -- being the one person of all of them May is most familiar with -- has emotional bleed like nobody's business. Still, it means that, as she steps into the apartment, she is sure about closing the door. She doesn't turn the deadbolt for no other reason than the fact that she intends to do a thorough sweep before she does... in case they need to dart out quickly.

Why? It's not like she can sense anyone else lurking in the place. She's getting good enough, now, that her confidence in her ability to detect other emotional presences is growing.

But she's been in this game long enough. There are other ways someone could strike at them. Trip wires. Bombs. Gas leaks. Pick a booby trap. She's probably seen it.

It probably lends Peggy absolutely no comfort as the senior agent starts methodically moving through the small space, silently 'clearing' rooms, checking windows, and double-checking exits, corners, and connections.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
"Beeped?"" Daniel asks, before he says, "Oh, like censored? I get it," he says, seemingly proud of understanding that much about the music of 2020's. "Yeah that could get annoying," he admits, even if some of the very graphic lyrics from what's playing now makes him clear his throat a little bit. "Wow," he says, leaving it at that. He's likely going to be sticking to records from his time for awhile before venturing into the wilds of the music of 2021.

Stepping into the apartment, Daniel gives it a quick scan, "Howlett? Any relation to James?" he asks remembering an asset by that name and general description from back in the 50's that featured in a number of Peg's war stories.

Abcde Prescelta has posed:
    "You know a little bit of el... bow.. grease..." she says as she notices the distinct stale smell and the need to dust absolutely everything. "Mittens will find trouble anywhere he goes I'm sure," she comments glancing at the fire escape that she might be able to pulley a cauldron up.

    She nods her head, "This will do just fine." Though the description of this 'Logan' person has her slightly worried. "A modern vacuum cleaner, some soaps and rags. I'll have this place sorted in no time. Who is Logan and who is Howlett though?," she asks realising whoever they were it must have been quite a while ago. Peggy's age boggles her mind.

    "Yeah censored. It's ridiculous to censor words everyone fucking uses in their daily life," she says adding in the swear to try to be funny. There's something wrong feeling about swearing around someone who would be the age of her great grand father though. "Ahem. Sorry," she adds. First thing is first though, she heads to the kitchen to see how bad the 70s were. Forty plus years of kitchen technology has evolved after all.

    "I wonder who she was waiting for," Abcde comments about the lady in the corridor. Because why would you stand in your own hallway checking social media when you could do that in your apartment, unless you're visiting or waiting for someone. The writers brain does connect with reality sometimes.

Dottie Underwood has posed:
"Depends on the size of the cauldron," the hipster calls helpfully, "Catland sells some small ones. It's just a couple of blocks away." Something about her voice is naggingly familiar in its perfect blandness. Her footsteps on the stairs echo through the hallway.

Once the group is inside with the door safely shut, the woman silently ascends the stairway and reenters the apartment next door. It is a barren mirror of the safe house -- except for the several monitors on the desk, which are streaming live video of Peggy and Daniel and Lily and the witch girl from several angles.

Dorothy Underwood sits at the desk, puts on some headphones, turns up the volume, and starts to observe.

Peggy Carter has posed:
It's pure habit that Peggy's immediately in the kitchen, putting on a kettle of tea. The echo of that voice in the hall, though quiet, did stumble her a moment. Maybe the paranoia is getting to her. But she shakes it off and then she's doing a bit of a sweep herself, but seems mostly content that everything is where she left it. Once the kettle is on, she scoops up the few tins from the counter, giving them a quick sniff to see how stale things have gotten. Mostly still good. Her eyes flicker back to the others, "Oh! Logan is...Howlett, actually. Just the name he's going by these days. And... yes. He's... it's James, Daniel. Remember how he could take a bullet and just rather... not stop? Apparently, his cells don't stop for age, either. He's still around. Still as much trouble as anything."

If anyone is *particularly* apt, they might notice there's imprints of two heads on two pillows in the bed, and one of his robes over the back of the bathroom door too. It seems distinctly possible Peggy and Logan were doing some actually co-habitating here for a while, even if she's not thought to bring that directly up. A bit awkward with her husband in the room.

"Tea is on. I can't tell if the coffee is stale or Howlett just drank shite coffee, but I'm not brewing that and it's gone in the trash. Fire escape window's a little loose but I think it's always been that way. We...never planned on this being a permanent safe house. Was just a good place to stay low and keep files from disappearing."

Melinda May has posed:
In the bedroom, May picks up the extra robe and tosses it in the laundry. She doesn't need to pick up on the subtle signs to know some of what happened here. She's simply grateful it's not Constantine's things kicking around. Howlett, despite his profusion of hair, she gets. Constantine? Yeah, that was just sheer desperation and self-loathing on Peggy's part, as far as May can tell. And that's when she *wasn't* an empath.

Emerging from the bedroom, she continues through the apartment, scooping up the files and collecting them into a bundle they can take with them, gathering old dishes for delivery to the kitchen, and scanning the shelves for places where dust has been disturbed recently or something looks out of place since the last time she was here.

She ultimately places the files on the kitchen table and the dishes in the sink. She's also vaguely aware that the anticipatory signature has moved from the corridor to a nearby apartment. She looks to Abcde speculatively as the girl wonders just who the hipster was waiting for.

"That's a really good question..."

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel is fairly apt the twin indents on the pillows aren't missed but May tossing the robe does keep things from becoming too entirely awkward. "Really?" he calls back to the kitchen when Peggy says James and Logan are the same guy. "Does anyone die anymore?" he remarks fully aware of the irony of /him/ saying that. He shakes his head and makes his way out to the kitchen to lean up against the counter. "He likely to come back?" he asks. "Might want to give him a heads up we're stashing Abcde here."

Abcde Prescelta has posed:
    "Catland," she echos and nods her head making a mental note to check it out later. Next step is the toilet because if it's not clean it soon will be. She ties back her hair and then checks out the bedroom too. "It's a fixer-upper but I'm game," she says as she moves from room to room, from camera to camera from Dottie's perspective.

    "You know what would really help in this place? since there's no stairs it's all flat -- a Roomba," she says, "Alexa controlled." She explains to Daniel, "The Roomba is this small robot vacuum cleaner that controls itself cleaning up your rooms floors for you. It has a recharge station and a gunk dump spot too. Very cool."

    Having checked out all the rooms she returns to the living space and plants her hands to her hips. "I'm going to need to sanctify this place too." Witch problems. "If you're desperate for some tea or coffee I can make a quick trip to the corner shop," she offers. "Also thank you for letting me stay here Peggy," she says with a smile.

    She opens the window to the fire escape because this apartment could use some airing. It's not long after that that she's found a mop and bucket, run some water, and is cleaning floors. Floor boards she likes. So much easier than shag carpet.

Dottie Underwood has posed:
Dottie sighs. How dreadfully boring. This residence may not be worth the trouble. She starts checking apartment listings on her phone.

Peggy Carter has posed:
As Peggy catches sight of May with that robe out of the corner of her eye, her gaze goes a little wide. 'Thank you!' She mouths to the other woman, really not having cared to give that awkward explanation to anyone. She seems content enough that the apartment is as she left it, so now she's just waiting for the kettle to go off as everyone else seems intent on some cleaning and arrangement.

"Most... most people die. Just not super soldiers from WWII, it seems, and stubborn ex-SSR agents." Peggy flashes him a bit of a wink and leans down and over, pressing a little kiss to the corner of his mouth. Everyone in this apartment knew, she didn't have to be too off about it. Granted, it might be a surprise to the woman on the cameras. Daniel Sousa was absolutely murdered by HYDRA in 1956, body found face down in a hotel pool on the west coast. "And yes, I messaged him before we came over. He's spending most of his time in upstate, right now... Better he's not seen with SHIELD. Not when he's trying to be some sort of school teacher." Weird for Howlett, and her voice doesn't hide that fact, but she's warmly amused at least.

"...Sanctify? As long as it doesn't... burn the place down. And I can't promise you someone won't try to murder a robot vacuum in the middle of the night, but you're welcome to try one for a bit." Peggy admits with a very deep smirk. There are reasons she doesn't keep robots in her house and accidentially shooting one while she's half asleep is fairly high on the list.

Melinda May has posed:
May acknowledges Peggy's mouthed words with a faint rock of her head that's almost a shrug. It's as much in her best interest to keep things on the downlow as it is Pegy. When Daniel and Peggy have that discussion, May does not want to be within a football field's length of it. At all. Even with her magical little knife.

Still, she decides her concern about the hipster and the emerging anticipation next door was nothing more than borrowed paranoia. It's turned into a sort of petulant disappointment, which really only tells her is that whatever was anticipated did not come to pass. Which happens.

Sucks to be whomever.

But the old book on the shelf in the livingroom with the black dot on its spine where the printer's mark should be... that's something different again. Frowning faintly, she moves toward the shelf and scans the spines. A small lens peeks out at her. She clocks it briefly and then spends time studying the spines of the other books. Strategically, she pulls a perfectly ordinary book from the shelf near to the one with the lens, opening it and wandering back toward the kitchen as she does. "Gee, Peg," she says casually. "I didn't know you had a copy of this."

The book conceals her fingers from view of everyone but Peggy as she gives her friend a relaxed smile. Those hidden fingers stroke out a dots-and-dashes pattern: Hidden. Camera. Bookshelf. Yours?

Daniel Sousa has posed:
"Do those spy on you too?" Daniel asks about the Roombas at Abcde's explanation of what exactly they were. He hadn't forgotten the robot drapes. Though at Peggy's explanation, about people not dying, he smiles, doing a mental count, "Yeah, that about covers it I guess," he says counting Steve, Logan, Peggy in himself, if he knew about Bucky he'd have thrown him in with that first category.

"A teacher, really?" Daniel asks about Logan, "That must be the most well behaved class in the entire school," he says with a smile trying to picture the man he knew in the role of teacher. "Anyhow, as long as nobody's walking in on anybody, it looked like he had company last time he was here, might get awkward if they both show up and not knowing they've got company,"

When May walks in with the book he goes in search of a tea pot and cups, finding them and bringing them down for when the water is ready.

Abcde Prescelta has posed:
    Abcde's expression changes a touch at the thought of a roomba being murdered. "No burning.. though I assume we could probably try to remove the djinn in here. With the right help. I don't know what kind of dangers that will present --" she frowns a moment and then resumes mopping. "You need to sanctify a place if you're intending to do magic regularly there, otherwise you get residual - which is how spirit magic forms. If you're not doing it deliberately, you'd best not be doing it at all."

    She kids to Daniel, "I personally haven't died yet and I'm pretty sure when I do die it'll be permanent -- unless a necromancer is involved. Perhaps romantic after life affairs or the like, or if vampires are involved." She's definitely teasing. It's easy to tell because she has a zero in the poker face stat.

    "Sanctifying will involve lots of smoke, so..." she peers at the smoke alarms, "well those are going to need replacing anyway." They look old to her eyes. "Oh can you get Daisy to come visit some time? I owe her a signature and also I have _so_ many questions about her abilities. And I also want to ask her if she'd like to be in my next book. Speaking of which.. Peggy - Daniel, could I please please please write about your story? I'll abstract you both massively to avoid any confusion that it's really about you, but your time travelling love story is just SO good."

Dottie Underwood has posed:
Engrossed in the hellish task of scouring New York City real estate postings, Dottie missed Lily's perusal of the bookshelf. But when Sousa utters the word "spy", she puts down her phone. Her attention returns to the monitors.

Peggy Carter has posed:
"I really hope my vacuum doesn't spy on me..." Peggy responds to the question about the roomba, but is sounding a little more concerned herself, which only deepens when she looks down to the morse code that May is tapping out towards her. A tighter grit comes to her jaw and she taps out a fast NO in return on the side of her cheek. But there's other people in the front room who also might need to know. And god knows Peg wasn't going to let Abcde stay in a place where someone might be spying.

She turns back into the room, stepping over to the bookshelf and staring hard at the spines for a moment. "...Second thought, maybe we should keep you back on Long Island. This place isn't... quite as quiet as I thought it would be." And with that, Peggy abruptly rips the book out of the shelf, leaving the small wire behind where she's pulled it out of the internal circuitry.

"Good eyes, May. Seems we had some company while I was gone after all. Logan isn't the sort to leave those cameras and... we've got too many enemies. Bloody *Hell*." She hisses. She's pissed off now. The place wasn't exactly her's, but it was a place she called home for a while and it's been *violated*.

Melinda May has posed:
"It may not be the only one," May says evenly, running fingers under the edges of furniture until she finds a bug. She pulls it out and drops it to the floor, crushing it with one chunky, two inch heel.

She gives Abcde a faint, apologetic smile. "It may be that our best bet to protecting you is to stop whatever HYDRA has planned, rather than stashing you away in a safehouse." Though, they could try her apartment down in Chinatown. The building has more than one. Lily and Suelin saw to that decades ago.

"Come on," she says, moving toward the door, easing her weapon from its holster. "I suspect our voyeur is close." Like, right next door close, if the weird emotional spike she caught is any indication.

Who the hell gets excited about being discovered?

No one she really wants to meet with a civilian in tow. "We're leaving. Now."

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel glances back to Abcde, "Please be joking about the vampires," he says, his horizons on what's possible expanding dramatically since being brought to the future, but that's all the levity he has before the cameras are revealed and he draws his ICER and starts limping towards the door. "I'm with May, we need to get out of here, if it's HYDRA or Task Force there might be a team on the way already," he says. "Abcde, keep your head down and stay away from the windows until we give the all clear."

Abcde Prescelta has posed:
    A visceral shudder spreads down Abcde's spine, her skin crawling. A bug? what world do these people normally live in that this is a thing. "I take it back Daniel, you're right about Alexa," she says. There's also a slight grimace when he asks if vampires are real. She turns this way and that slowly, as if she could somehow see the bugs that have been hidden - she cannot.

    There isn't a single place she knows where to start with this kind of invasion. It's not magical in nature, she cannot use magic to force it to reveal itself because it isn't mystically hidden. She does unclip her wand and draw it out like she were holding a weapon. May drew her weapon after all.

    "Is it HYDRA?," she asks as if the spies could somehow know that immediately upon finding the bugs in the first place. "I'm coming," she replies to May. If there's one thing Abcde has learnt - it is to trust Daniel, Peggy, and May when it comes to spy stuff. In return, May and Daniel have trusted her with magic. She likes them.

    There is no posture of combat from Abcde. She doesn't know how to 'fight'. There is however.. fear. Defensive magic is always useful but it can have such nasty side effects. She's ready to use it though even if she is gripping her wand tighter than she should.

Dottie Underwood has posed:
Dottie grins. Finally. Something *interesting*.

She quickly scans the apartment for anything that could incriminate her specifically. She leaves the clothes and personal effects. She removes the handcuffs from the headboard and drops them in her oversized tote bag.

Then she listens for movement next door as she debates the fire escape or the front door.

Peggy Carter has posed:
While there might be excitement coming from next door, there's anger from Peggy. Nothing but anger and that cold shut down of someone who is going into mission-mode. She dashes back into the kitchen, "Shutting off the burner, other people live here, I don't care to burn down the whole damn building." But she is moving fast. She kills the burner on the pot just as it's starting to come to a boil and tosses that last dish in the sink. She'll have to text Logan about it later. She's then moving fast for the front door again, her own ICER out from beneath her shoulder.

"It... could be HYDRA, but they've have no reason to know this place. I haven't used it since before the whole... Mess happened. I can't imagine who else, though.." Peggy mutters, as she shifts to push the door open, her weapon still pointed at the ground. "Abcde. Stay between all of us. Try to keep your head down. We're moving straight for the SUV." With those orders given, and utterly unware of the excitement in the apartment next to them, she's moving out and into the hall. If their observer goes for the fire escape? She might make it out. But the SUV is right next to where it spills out into the street.

Melinda May has posed:
"Whoever it is," May says, "They're excited. We've piqued their interest." Her money is increasingly on Hipster, with that weird anticipation earlier and tendency to linger in places where lingering didn't make sense. "I'm taking the fire escape," she tells Peggy and Daniel. "If they're not there, I'll meet you at the bottom and try to flank. Failing that, I'll head for the car."

She looks to Abcde, moving to give her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Stick close to Daniel. Listen to Peggy. Don't do anything rash and you'll be fine. We've got you."

That said, she turns and heads for the fire escape, ICER still in hand.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel moves to cover Abcde, stepping close to her, so he's between her and the door, and when they move into the hall between her and the far end. "Got any magic that might help if we run into trouble?" he asks her. He's still a complete newbie when it comes to that sort of thing so it'll help to know what's possible. "Doesn't need to hurt anyone, just slow them down, blind them, pretty much anything that makes it harder for them to shoot us."

Abcde Prescelta has posed:
    Abcde simply nods to Peggy, then May, then for symmetry Daniel. She ducks her head down and moves with the group to get to the SUV. This reminds her of trying to deal with hauntings - you know there's danger but you can't see it. She much prefers the entities that she can see and hide from.

    "I hate being hunted," she admits, "I don't get what HYDRA even wants with me." Her forearm starts to get itchy and she rubs at the bandage around -the spot-. "Hush you," she murmurs to her parasite, "there'll be no blood for you today."

    There's a nod to Daniel and she says, "Yes.. to varying degrees of help." She lifts one shoulder up with concern. "Rash magic tends to kick back hard," she warns.

Dottie Underwood has posed:
Are they running? Dottie's mouth makes a brief moue of disappointment. She hears movement in the hallway and on the fire escape. So she opts for the window. It's only the second floor.

Peggy Carter has posed:
Sadly, Peggy is more worried about getting the civilian out of the situation safely than catching a hipster from one apartment over. She's listening sharply now for any sounds of sirens or the police who could be breathing down their necks any moment, but it's thankfully quiet. She goes first down the stairs, letting Daniel take the back and inside of the stairs and Abcde between them. "Hell, Abcde. I am... sorry. Really sorry. You shouldn't be in any of this muck."

Peggy pauses to check the bottom hallway, making certain no one is ready to ambush them from there, then it's back out to the doors and street beyond where the SUV doesn't rest too much further, but she's definitely a good 20 seconds behind Dottie and May at the window. She pauses only a second to give the witch a bit of a frown about the woman's arm. She's fairly certain she should be worried about that, but there isn't time right now.

Melinda May has posed:
May can feel the emotional signature from the other apartment moving. She moves to the edge of the fire escape, towards the other apartment, towards that likely window. Her weapon is in her hand, looking for movement.

The body out the window, rather than the fire escape, isn't exactly what she expected. She fires once, but then shoves her weapon away to swing over the side of the rail and drop straight down, catching metal as she goes to control her descent. It's only a second or two before she's on the ground, pulling her weapon again and moving through the alley.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel takes up his position behind Abcde watching their backs as they head downstairs. Once they pass onto the street he lowers his weapon keeping it down by his leg to keep it from being spotted and someone calling the cops.

"I trust your judgement," Daniel tells Abcde about her magic. "If you see a chance where you think what you can do will help. Do it, just let us know if we need to duck or anything."

As they get closer to the car, he asks, "Any sign of May or the other girl, Peg?"

Abcde Prescelta has posed:
    "Don't be Peggy, you've done nothing but help ever since I met you. It's not you who is trying to kidnap me or whatever... and thank you Daniel," she says as she quickly absconds herself in to the SUV and immediately feels safer. Surrounded by armour is better than being out in the open. She rests her wand in her lap and presses her forehead to the back of the front seat head rest leather.

    A few puffing breaths she tries her best to keep it together. Outwardly a tear slides down her cheek, but inwardly she wonders why her emotional brain has done this. "You've got this," she whispers to herself and then presses her bandaged arm between her thighs and squeezes.

Dottie Underwood has posed:
Dottie rolls as she hits the ground. She's up and running in one fluid movement. She has already darted behind a dumpster before she looks back to see the woman she rememebers as Lily slide down the fire escape. She takes note of the weapon. And decides it is inconsequential. She waits.

Peggy Carter has posed:
"I...don't think they are after you directly, if that helps at all. No one else knew you were coming here and that camera was planted long ago enough there was some dust on the books. So, you don't need to add to your paranoia, at least..." Peggy reassures the young witch, tossing a gentle smile back to the woman as they all quickly cross towards the SUV.

Once they've gotten Abcde inside the vehicle where it's a little bit safer, Peggy gives a quick shake of her head to her husband, frowning more. "No, I heard something in the alley but no visual. Just... stay back. Both of you. If this goes bad, take the SUV and go. May and I can get ourselves out of here. But I'm not letting her fight this alone." ANd with that, Peggy's dashing for the alleyway. There isn't much cover between alley and car, but she's willing to take the risk.

Melinda May has posed:
May's choice of direction is dictated by two things: First is the fact the alley has two ways out -- and no one ran past her to get to the one at her back. The second, however... that weird combination of excitment, anticipation, and curiosity is more focussed toward the front of the alley. Therefore, that's the direction she heads in.

Her eyes scan for obstacles, points of concealment, and other environmental hazards that could both help and hinder her. Old as she is, she's still at the top of her game.

The dumpster's the obvious ambush point. Instead of going around or by it, she leaps so she's atop its closed lid, muzzle of her ICER sweeping down towards the sense of anticipation she feels.

"Freeze!" she snaps, despite the fact the people she chases almost never do.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
As Peggy makes a dash out of the car he catches her hand for a moment, "Be safe," he tells her before letting her go and pulling the door closed behind her. He glances at the car's controls with all it's digital displays and buttons besides the wheel and gear shift that he recognizes. "Do you drive? If we have to get out of here I like our odds better with you behind the wheel."

Abcde Prescelta has posed:
    She wipes away the tear and nods to Peggy even as she dashes back out in to potential danger. Her eyes turn to Daniel and then back to the SUV. There's another nod, "Yes" ....as she realises May was holding out on her. This car is full of fancy spy like controls. She climbs over the center console and slides in to the drivers seat, then taps the center display and stares at the fascinating overlays provided by SHIELDs operating system. "Whoa," is all she has to say at this, "I suppose you don't know, does this car have ejector seats and rockets and secret weapons compartments?" Her voice wavers a touch, she's making light of the car because she's scared and humour is her defense.

Dottie Underwood has posed:
Dottie grins at the gun in her face. For the first time one of her quarry has a momentary clear look at her face. Then Dottie springs up and, reaching up past the weapon, grasps the woman's forearms, and pulls. Using this momentum, she both forces her opponent downward and swings herself around the other woman's body to land on top of the dumpster herself.

She glances over her shoulder to see Peggy framed in the alley entrance.

"Hiya, Peg," she calls out.

And then she's running again, toward the other exit.

Peggy Carter has posed:
Well, Peggy *was* ready to shoot. But even a woman nearly 100 years old can be shocked once in a while, and the sight of that too-familiar face popping out of the dumpster, especially when she's VERY expecting that May has it handled, means she's about two seconds two slow. Her ICER coughs out quietly, two neurotoxin rounds burying themselves in the alley wall just short of Dottie as the woman begins to dash off the other direction. She feels like she's going insane.

It CAN'T be Dottie Underwood. The universe isn't that insane.

Never the less, she whips forward and levels her gun carefully with both hands, snapping a few other shots in the fleeing woman's direction. "Dorothy Underwood, FREEZE THIS INSTANT!" She yells down the alley, her voice sharp with authority. She's looking for any tells at all that she has the right person. But she knows the face she saw.

Melinda May has posed:
It's only been about two and a half months (and 70 years ago), since May saw the face of the woman who grabs her arms before she can actually flex her finger to fire. She does fire -- like Peggy, a second too late. And, to be honest, it's a wild shot that goes off as she's pulled off her feet and flipped toward the ground beyond her adversary.

Somehow, May and Underwood switch places, the senior agent letting out a half-cry/half-cough of pain as she impacts the pavement. It's not just the weight of the impact that knocks the wind out of her. It's her shock, compounded by the even stronger emotional response of her best friend only a few feet away.

She rolls onto her side, eyes blurred with tears that are caused purely as a reaction to physical surprise and pain than anything else, and extends her arms. Were she upright and on her feet, her stance would be a stable, two-handed grip that would add power and accuracy to her aim. Prone, on her side, one shoulder braced against pavement, the shots she fires are approximations at best. They go wild and she struggles to regain her feet. By the time she can give chase, Underwood is already pelting around that far corner.

"What the hell was that?" she coughs.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Daniel's head snaps around when he hears Peggy shout /that/ name. "Seriously, does anyone ever die around here," he says as much to himself as Abcde. "If a Stark built it, probably," he aswers about the car. "Just don't touch any buttons you wouldn't see in a regular car and you'll be fine," he says, at least she'd know what was in a regular car. "And be ready to drive, the woman out there is serious trouble."

Abcde Prescelta has posed:
    "Just one woman??," she asks thinking how could they be a match for a May and Peggy combo. Super spies who travel through time? Time spies.. her eyes widen, "Gosh I just thought of the best name for my next book." She nods though and puts her hands to the wheel, "Yes. I am ready to drive. Focused." The regular citizen is woefully underprepared for the real life ramifications of spies.

Dottie Underwood has posed:
Once out of sight, Dottie stops momentarily to pull a kimono vest from her bag. She shrugs it on. Then, smoothing her hair, she takes a deep breath to slow her heart rate. And disappears into the busy Bushwick street.

Peggy Carter has posed:
As the woman dashes off around the corner, Peggy curses to herself. But they've already made enough noise and there's the faint sounds of sirens in the distance now. There's no time to wait and try to dash after her. Peggy breathlessly looks up to May, trying to reach over and assist her out of the dumpster, "You saw what I saw, right? Underwood? Right? I'm not... going insane, am I?" Peggy asks her as she nods back towards the SUV.

She'll double time jog it back, sliding the door open for her and May to pour in. "We've gotta go, that was a lot of noise and there's a lot of eyes on us now but... just... Drive, and we'll figure it out. Just... Oh hell. Drive." Peggy's got that look on her face, the look of being stunned and a bit angry all at once. It probably is a good confirmation for Daniel that the name she said, she meant.

Melinda May has posed:
"I saw," May says, grabbing Peggy's hand and letting her help her up. "The universe officially hates us." Like that's news.

She runs toward the SUV, rolling over the hood to reach that driver's side door. "Climb in the back, kid," she says as she pulls it open. Because if they end up in a car chase, she's not leaving it up to a civilian to handle it. Five seconds now is not wasted time.

That she doesn't physically toss Abcde into the back seat, over the console and between the two seatbacks, is only because she's looking around and listening to figure out which direction they're likeliest pursuers are coming from.

And when she's finally sliding in behind the wheel, her door is still open when she hits the gas. It closes before they hit their first turn, getting the hell outta Dodge.

Daniel Sousa has posed:
Yep. Peggy's look confirms it. "Crap," he says. "How is Dottie here?" he looks to Abcde when she's unceremoniously removed from the driver's seat and put in the back. "We sure nobody else came through the mirror besides me and Ar-" he changs up mid word. "That other guy?" he asks her.

Abcde Prescelta has posed:
    Being told to scoot out of the car by May in the midst of being very affirmative? well, she's young and squirmy and fit so she easily slides back in to the back seat once more. Is this going to be an honest to goodness car chase with spies?!? Fear and excitement mingled together as she puts on her seatbelt. She looks to Daniel and says, "Just the two.. trust me I saw you both die plenty of times. If there was a third I'd have remembered."

Peggy Carter has posed:
"And if the mirror had brought her through, she'd probably not be caught up with things enough to be dressed like a Bushwick hip-girl." Peggy's probably trying for the word 'hipster' but it's not quite a part of her vocabulary yet, even if she's heard a few of the young agents use it in the past. Hip girl makes sense to her! She slides into the front seat and keeps her ICER in her lap, just in case they need to actually do some shooting out a window.

Sirens are coming from the west, so if they go fast, they can probably dodge out towards Long Island proper, especially if they can get on an open freeway. Always hit or miss on the Island, but it's a good way to go. She studies Daniel and Abcde in the mirror, shaking her head slowly, "I have...no bloody clue what is going on, but I do know that's a woman who should have ALSO been dead a long time ago, and was one of the most dangerous Soviet spies of our time."

Melinda May has posed:
May says nothing more now, concentrating on driving. She dodges through traffic, heading east. Ultimately, she leaves Bushwick behind, ending up on the Jackie Robinson and guiding them back home to Long Island.

It's not until they're well into Queens and on the Grand Central that she says anything. "I've got a couple of places Underwood shouldn't have gotten anywhere near," she tells them. "Let's face it: Her obsession has always been with you." That comment is to Peggy. "And I'm reasonably certain HYDRA doesn't know about them, either." It's where she went when she fled the house the night Daniel returned.

Ultimately, though, she just shakes her head. "Doesn't matter. Let's just get back to the house. We can figure out where we go next from there."