6524/The pull of a kindred spirit...

The pull of a kindred spirit...
Date of Scene:	11 May 2021
Location:	Vault D - Playground
Synopsis:	Bucky is going to make sure that promises to Ava are kept. He might apologize to Finley later. Certainly she did her best.
Cast of Characters:	Ava Starr, James Barnes, Dottie Underwood

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Ava Starr has posed:
Finley is, as far as Ava knows, working diligently on rigging up the necessary apparatus to 'fix' whatever the distruptors did to her. The woman still experiences periodic seizures, bearing them with remarkable fortitude. She's no longer on the hospital bed, sat instead on a cot in the corner, her legs crossed, her eyes closed and head leaning against the concrete wall behind her.

To anyone who knows the technique, it's clear she's silently working on combat breathing -- four beats inhale, four beats exhale. It's meditative and, when used in the field, really good for controlling emotional reactions like fear, anger, and pain. Her face looks drawn, brows creased, and her darkly tanned skin somehow is pale beneath the light sienna tone that is her natural colour.

James Barnes has posed:
    Possibly if Bucky knew he only had one more night before Peggy was potentially gone forever, he would have stuck around upstairs. With no way of knowing that, he once again found himself pulled by a kindred spirit. They were supposed to let Ava go and something wouldn't let the former Winter Soldier do anything else before he checked to make sure that was actually going to happen. He steps quietly into the room and just stands there for a moment or two. He's statue still, he's really good at that, it's usually because he needs to not be seen. Now it's more that he can't figure out what to do with the situation now that he's here. Finally he clears his throat ever so slightly.

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava's eyes slit open as he clears his throat. She cants her head slightly, staring at him through those slits, trying to decide what he may want. He did, she recalls speak up for her when no one else did.

Finally, she inhales a silent breath. "Come to say goodbye?" Her British accent has a rasp to it, bespeaking the fatigue and pain she's in. There's still no humour to her at all. She's still got that sense of anger simmering just beneath the surface.

James Barnes has posed:
    "Just making sure they're doing what they said they would." Not that Bucky has EVER in his life doubted Peggy, but this time he needed to be two hundred and ten percent certain. "Can I ... do anything?" he asks before adding, "...that was lame, I'm sure. I mean what the fuck can I do about any of what's happening to you..." But he *genuinely* seems to want do something to help. Talking to strangers outside of an interrogation or the like isn't really his forte' anymore and it shows in the awkward way he's running his hand through his hair or shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava rolls her head, her brows rising and falling in a manner suggestive of a shrug that doesn't really touch her shoulders. A shudder runs down her spine and she holds her breath until it passes. "They seem to be," she says. "That tech... whatshername... said something about needing a few more pieces of equipment so she can reverse whatever those HYDRA bastards did when they shot me."

She eyes him for a moment. "I take it you're acquainted with their hospitality."

James Barnes has posed:
    For a moment, Bucky doesn't answer. This woman is a complete stranger to him and strangers... well, he doesn't trust so easily these days. Maybe it's the same thing that compelled him to come back down here that compels him to admit, "I had a little over seventy-years of their hospitality." Yet he actually looks younger than Ava... mid-twenties or so?

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava blinks mildly, brows still faintly creased. She lets out a soft noise that's halfway between a disbelieving grunt and a thoughtful 'huhn'. "Winter Soldier," she says, recalling what he said earlier. There's a brief pause. "I thought you were a myth." Then again, there are those who think the 'Ghost' is a myth, and she's only been actually in the field for ten or fifteen years.

James Barnes has posed:
    "Not anymore," Bucky retorts, maybe a little too harshly. Sure sometimes they even still call him that around these here parts, on missions and whatnot, but it's something he prefers to leave in the past. "But, yeah, I used to be him." He looks down at the floor for a brief moment when he makes that confession. It's easy to see the guilt he carries over the things he was made to do in that moment. But it passes quickly enough and he puts back on his resting 'blankface'.

Ava Starr has posed:
Again, a soft grunt -- this time of assent -- before another shudder runs through the woman. Ava's eyes screw tightly closed and her hands curl into fists as her body tries to separate in half a dozen different directions at once before snapping back together. She pants softly when it passes.

She sees the guilt in his eyes. Her own expression softens somewhat for just a moment. There's empathy there, a bit of a mirror that suggests she understands... from experience. "We should kill them," she says almost casually. "I try not to kill, any more..." She's still panting softly, her voice a rasp. "I never wanted to kill. But there are some people I'll make an exception for." HYDRA and child abusers are pretty much top of the list.

James Barnes has posed:
    "Been killing them since I got brought in from the cold. They're like fucking roaches," That last bit is snarled out between clenched teeth. Bucky shakes his head as if to clear it of the dark thoughts he's having. Thoughts like his left hand around the throat of one head of the snake, then the next, then the next... not just choking them but squeezing until the head pops off like a dandelion flicked by a child's thumb. "...anyway, I'm sure they'll figure this out, what's happening to you." Although he's... not really sure. They have yet to figure out what HYDRA fucked up in his head.

Dottie Underwood has posed:
Finley's eyes are like saucers as she listens to the legends talk casually about HYDRA and killing people and scientific experiments that would be considered crimes against humanity, if anyone were ever tried. Fortunately she keeps her head down and her hands steady as she works. Everything is arranged, just so. She connecting cables and running diagnostics on her tablet. Finally, she clears her throat, "I think we're ready?"

Ava Starr has posed:
"They should *know* what's happening. They just don't give a rat's ass about stopping it." Ava still isn't separating SHIELD from HYDRA very well. She trusts her foster father, a former SHIELD scientist. That's about it.

Her head turns toward Finley as the tech finally sneaks back in and finishes setting up her experiment. "Great," she says, though without any real enthusiasm. Nevertheless, she stretches out her legs now and pulls herself to the edge of the cot. "Let's get on with it, then." She wants to go home to her quantum chamber and her Ghost suit. This is the last time she uses a civilian disguise.

James Barnes has posed:
    Bucky rolls his right shoulder up in a shrug. "I dunno, I guess if they didn't give a rat's ass, they wouldn't have her," he nods in Finley's direction, "...working so hard to figure out how to help." He takes a step back, then another... one more and he's leaning against the wall, out of the way. Talk of HYDRA ceases, talk of killing... ceases... Talk of everything ceases in front of Finley. Other than, "Name's James by the way." Not Bucky, no, she's not BuckyZoned yet. That's a special zone that, for now, is reserved for Steve and Peggy.

Dottie Underwood has posed:
"If you could just stand in the cent of the apparatus," Finley instructs, "And try not to kick any of the connections loose as you go. Sorry it's a bit of a mess, but I hadn't anticipated you, um, well...moving."

The tech bites her lip at the thoughtless acknowledgement of Ava's condition when she arrived. Still, this *should* work. As long as nothing goes wrong. "Sorry."

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava looks between Bucky and Finley. She hears the man's words. There's probably some truth in them. She's just reluctant to trust anyone. Though... he's not quite as shiny as the tech, which somehow puts her more at ease. "Ava," she says shortly in response. It's not much of a beginning, but it may be a beginning.

Then, a little stiffly, she moves to stand in the middle of the contraption Finley has built. "What is thing going to do?"

James Barnes has posed:
    Bucky's not an idiot by any means. But the tech and the science of most stuff is over his head, unless it involves weaponry. So, he just watches... like that kid that's really bored in science class. So maybe it's not really watching so much as it is zoning out with his gaze in the general direction of what's happening. Normally this is when he would turn and leave, but for some reason he just has to see it through, make sure that Ava's released as promised.

Dottie Underwood has posed:
"It's going suppress the energy buildup cycle in your cells," the tech explains. "And luckily for you the process will take a not insignificant amount of energy. The drain should leave your molecules slightly more electrified, allowing the bonds to cohere. While the machine -- prototype, really -- will suppress the incoming cycle, stopping the seizures. You'll have to stay in the field for one full series of energy buildup and release, I'm afraid." Finley offers Ava a smile that she hopes is reassuring.

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava eyes Finley for a long moment. "Is it going to put me back to how I was?" She really wants to be able to phase again. She didn't think she'd miss it. But being trapped isn't her idea of a good thing. It's very hard to trap a ghost.

Of course, it doesn't much matter, since she's already in the midst of the setup. One way or another, she's committed. Otherwise, she'll be atomically scattered across the cosmos.

James Barnes has posed:
    Hand to God, if Bucky was not holding up that wall, it would come crashing right down on all of them.

Dottie Underwood has posed:
"Eventually, yes," Finley says a bit regretfully. "It won't stop your molecules from dispersing the energy buildup until they reach their natural state. It will stop the whatever that disruptor weapon triggered. And if my calculations are all correct, you will be left with enough energy for you molecules to remain bonded as they would be in a normal human until we can reach your equipment."

Ava Starr has posed:
So, it's not like it'll be an immediate thing. Ava still has to play nice with these people -- black bag and all. "Just do it, then," she says, setting herself in the middle of the array. There's really nothing else she can do...

James Barnes has posed:
    Bucky's forehead creases, that would be resting glowerface. "That's the best you can do?" he asks Finley. His voice is low pitched, maybe a little dangerous sounding. It might have something to with the fact that he can relate so well to being forced to be somewhere that you don't want to be. It doesn't stop with HYDRA even! He has friends here, yes... a few... but isn't he basically still just a prisoner of SHIELD? A puppet and an asset to a different master, even if they are a much gentler one.

Dottie Underwood has posed:
Finely looks confused. "She's having small seizures every 10 minutes or so. And they're getting closer. I'd like to keep her in the suppression field for an hour, maybe ninety minutes -- just to make sure that her molecules don't go firing through quantum space. I don't think she'd be able to re-adhere if that happens."

After rechecking all of the connections one more time, Finley looks up at Ava. "I'm sorry I can't do more, but I was only given your file after I'd requested parts. This is all based off of my field observations and data."

Then picking up the tablet once more, the tech takes a deep breath. "Ready?" she asks.

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava glances to James, then back to Finley. Ultimately, she lets out a chuff of air and holds up a hand. "Hey," she says to him. "You wanna come, when they escort me out of here?"

She gives Finley a bit of a nod. "Just hit me," she tells her wearily, now. Might as well get it over with.

James Barnes has posed:
    It's really amazing how many emotions James Barnes can portray with nothing more than that intense brow over those intense blue eyes. Seriously, the rest of his face never moves ... at least not right now. His mouth is set in a thin-lipped, tight line. But that brow. For a moment it says confused, then it shifts a little to thoughtful. "I can come," he agrees finally. ... so that's where he'll be spending the last not he could have had with Peggy before...

Dottie Underwood has posed:
Finely keys in the final commands. She nods as the glass cylinders which encircle Ava start to glow blue. The air hums and burns with the faint scent of ozone. At an extremely carefully judged moment Finley begins a secondary sequence. The blue glow extends vertically from the canisters, arcing over Ava, encircling her complex system of light and energy, with something that totally resembled, while being not at all like, a faraday cage.

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava watches the energy columns loop and coil around her -- well, okay, more like grid and criss-cross, but still. A shudder runs through her, causing her to wince. But since she's got at least an hour in here, she lets out a soft sigh and settles down on the floor to wait. Her arms drape over her knees.

She eyes Finley for a moment and then, gives a wry, still slightly bitter smile. "I spy with my little eye..." she says -- not that she actually intends to continue the game. But, apparently, there's a hint of ironic humour left in her, despite everything.

She turns her attention to James and nods. "You seem to care they keep their word. So, yeah. You can come."

It's not the best day she's had by a longshot. But, if they keep their word, it won't be the worst. In a couple of hours, she'll leave this place behind and return to Hell's Kitchen, her quantum chamber, and her own bed. Maybe even with her tech piece in tow.

If not... she'll be back.

James Barnes has posed:
    Indeed, Bucky does care that they keep their word. Truth be told, it's something he might even care about if there wasn't that 'kindred spirit' pull toward Ava. He may have been the Winter Soldier before, but now he's James Buchanan Barnes... a good man, or so Steve and Peggy insist. So, he'll stay and wait, likely still and quiet and saving everyone in the room from the wall that might fall.