8693/How to be a Ghost

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How to be a Ghost
Date of Scene: 15 November 2021
Location: Abandoned Warehouse
Synopsis: No description
Cast of Characters: Wanda Maximoff, James Barnes




Wanda Maximoff has posed:
Good idea, bad idea.

Lessons in the Avengers Mansion really only go so far. All the clever technology in the world cannot replicate the actual world, though Tony would probably argue strongly about that. He could be right to scoff at the need to venture out into the playground of the civilian world, where the chances of something going wrong get quite expensive where an assassin, a sorcerer, and any other well-known team member are involved. But they need practice, and sometimes the school of hard knocks is the only way to get it.

The usual way of going in hot, this doesn't work for me," started the conversation easily enough after yet another training run, yet another debriefing in preparation for a time no one wants to face. A time when there might actually be lives on the line, and no other choice. "I am not in a metal suit. Not Kryptonian, bullets don't bounce off me. How do you avoid notice?"

Questions posited to the right people get a variety of answers. Answers lead to a plan. A plan leads to... well, it's not New York. Hartford, actually, a rather rundown city past its heyday in Connecticut. Where crummy shipyards and an alarming number of medical billing companies replace the whaling industry. It isn't dark yet; that would be too easy, but the dying afternoon light is present.

The rental car is ditched a few blocks back. On foot, casing the area in a hoodie is easy enough for Wanda. "Clear," she says. Well that's her opinion.

James Barnes has posed:
These days, it's so difficult to tell the difference between a good idea and a smart idea. Thoughfor this training exercise, Bucky firmly believed it to be a good idea. She needed to learn how to disappear in plain sight, which takes practice and training. She has powers to assist her, but they've come up with ways to detect such things. So Bucky decided to teach her how to handle things. In case he wasn't around to protect her...the worst case scenario.

But hopefully that won't come to be.

Either way, the usual way of going in hot doesn't work for her indeed as Bucky remains in audio contact, though is a small distance away from her. He even let her borrow one of his hats if she wanted to use itto help with her disguise. It's also a nice fashion statement, he's been doing some reading and it's in style.

Anyway.

"You avoid notice by staying anonymous. No powers, no flashy displays, act like you are nobody and everyone will believe you are and not pay any mind to you. You have to trust your instincts, and you'll get through what you didn't think you could before." She announces the word 'clear' in her opinion, and Bucky watches carefully.

"Movement on your far right, in the window."

Wanda Maximoff has posed:
"My brother used to tell me, America was not like Europe. Wide and far the cities go, stretching for kilometers around. Everything was shining and new." The recollections from the young woman, in Russian, could be mistaken as coming into her comms link. "Imagine, building whole cities not ten years old on farmland. Places like Oakland and Sedona, popping up like flowers after a storm. You never heard of a Hartford. Never knew the rotting wharves or the fallen warehouses would be so much like Kaliningrad. Old, worn, rusting."

Like a command word implanted in his mind, maybe like the whole state apparatus that birthed the Winter Soldier to usher in a new era. An era gone teh way of the dodo when you get down to it. He's somewhere in sight, if she were to look, but she isn't.

Nobody here. Nobody important. She takes in a breath and keeps walking with her head down, the knit hat pulled down over her hair so only the auburn tips poke out like a wild cornflower. Hands in her pockets. Don't rush. Rules, so many rules. "He would need none of these lessons. He moves so fast, it's a different invisible to yours." But not everyone can carry her. She glances to the two mark on the clock, gauging the shifting darkness in the gaping holes for buildings. Someone locking up? Someone going to stare at her? The trick is to keep walking.

James Barnes has posed:
"Still need to meet him." Bucky tells her through coms as she keeps moving, likely an attempt both to suggest interest in meeting her brother either for his approval or to just say that he knows himself worthy enough for Wanda to look into her personal matters. Hell, he still needs to meet Magneto at some point, though considering his metal arm, that would be largely unwise at the moment.

But, best to leave those for the next time.

Bucky keeps his full attention on the situation Wanda finds herself in. The era that she births into existence in his mind, whether intentionally or not so, is witnessed by Bucky as he imagines the city, the new eara that has gone the way of extinction, maybe it was intentional, maybe something happened that caused it to fall int othe ashes of history, but who could know?

"Don't look. Just keep moving." Bucky's voice radiates in her ear, though his eyes continue to look around. At the moment, the only person actively staring at Wanda is Bucky.

Wanda Maximoff has posed:
"Da, important, you know?" The words fall easily from Wanda's lips. She keeps her head down; it's much easier for her navigate quietly this way, not drawing attention or someone mistaking her face or features for another. No one needs that. Her eyes shift to the street, mostly empty. Has that van moved? Hopefully not. She shifts her attention back again to the warehouse frontage.

They make it look so easy. Slide up and simply vanish into the dark, tagging a target. Widow with her red hair and black clothes can vanish at the drop of a hat. How T'Challa and Bucky do it, stealthy and silent, she hasn't put together.

Rolling her heels to keep from making too much noise, she keeps on straight as told. Look ahead and see a sidewalk end, the cross-section slashed through it. Ugly potholes. Time to stretch her legs, as she makes sure no one is coming. No truck, no van, no shot from the back.

"Too fast, too slow?" she asks.

James Barnes has posed:
"Important." Bucky agrees with a single word. Shadows move so swiftly as they do because they were raised in the shadows. That's why people can have loud characteristics, Bucky's arm, Natasha's red hair, Cap's shield, T'Challa's vibranium, and still be able to practically vanish without a trace. They make it look easy because they've already dominated what would normally be beyond difficult.

and so, Bucky keeps his full attention on Wanda. The van hasn't left yet, which gives Wanda some time. "Too slow. Get moving." Bucky says over the coms as he watches with a critical eye. He's not expecting her to succeed, but if she does, then it will be a pleasant surprise as they say.