View source for 8774/(Don't) Call Your Mother

{{Log Header
|Date of Scene=2021/11/21
|Location=Medical Ward: Triskelion
|Synopsis=Jon checks in on Yelena, as her 'mother' asked him to do. It doesn't go so well, but at least nobody's held at gunpoint this time.
|Cast of Characters=362,3364
|pretty=yes
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{{Poses
|Poses=:'''{{#var:362|Yelena Belova (362)}} has posed:'''<br>Ever since she was sorta-kinda recruited into SHIELD, following Operation Iceworms, Yelena has been mostly allowed to keep to herself, with Natasha Romanoff serving as main point of contact for anything at all. Likely a result of SHIELD's concern for their operatives, over anything else, she was a Black Widow, and had extensive Red Room training. It was hard to know what to expect, despite recent history. So Yelena found it odd to get a summons that did not detail Natasha's accompaniment, but she does make it.<br><br>Dressed in her Black Widow suit, all black, fitting like second skin, she definitely did not strike the profile of a 'patient' as it were. At least not day to day one.<br><br>Walking into the Medical Ward, she is pointed towards Jonathan Sims, whether it be his office or meeting room, her first words are, "what does SHIELD want to do to me...?"<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:3364|Jonathan Sims (3364)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The place Jonathan Sims waits for Yelena is the little room off the medical ward that he's been using for therapy sessions, not least because it's fairly non-threatening, what with the mauve chairs and the pastoral pictures including sheep and shepherds going about their pastoral business. Given that he still has a broken arm in a cast and sling, he /himself/ is also fairly non-threatening. He's wearing fairly SHIELD-standard clothing, could be just about any of the nerds that wander the corridors.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He... blinks at her as she walks in and asks the question. "Ahh... nothing, that I know of? Please, have a seat. I just..." A pause. "I was... asked to check in on you by a... mutual acquaintance." There's a slightly nervous air about him; the man is quite new to spycraft, and this /particular/ 'mutual acquaintance' is not exactly known to his superiors.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:362|Yelena Belova (362)}} has posed:'''<br>Naturally, Yelena, with her past and training immediately enters a high alertness state when she's met with the pastoral medical room setting, she knows nothing short of death comes from these places, and sometimes worse. "I am quite comfortable standing, if you don't mind," Yelena offers, never one to volunteer getting into a more vulnerable position, she's seen what happened to Natalia when she retrieved her for the Red Room. Probably another one of the chain of mistakes done by Mother in her endless 'testing' of Yelena's mettle.<br><br>"An acquaintance can be many things..." Yelena notes, making a show of trying to think of one, before blurting out, "a hired assassin comes to mind as an example..."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:3364|Jonathan Sims (3364)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Jon blinks rapidly at the woman. "Well. I... suppose... that would be most of the people you know, wouldn't it...?" A pause, and he rubs at his face. "Good lord," he mutters. "Why'd I ever agree to..."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A deep sigh and he looks up at Yelena. This was much easier when people walked in the door willingly. "Look, do I /look/ like I could kill--no, wait, that's precisely what you're trained for, isn't it? Not /looking/ like you can kill people. Bloody hell. Alright, I probably /could/ kill you with my mind if I /really/ wanted to, but I don't. Honest. I had an... encounter with someone who asked me to be sure you're doing well. That's all."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:362|Yelena Belova (362)}} has posed:'''<br>"I know people," Yelena notes, for once intentionally emphasizing her words with a thick Russian accents, as if to highlight the differences between them more than necessary. "Agree to what..." she intentionally makes everything less comfortable by letting him know she overheard his muttering of exasperation.<br><br>"The most dangerous people at any given room are the ones who look like they couldn't possibly kill you," Yelena states sharply as if it was a fact beyond contestation.<br><br>Yelena studies Jon for a moment, and eventually asks, "what does Melina wants?" Not even making any guess work.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:3364|Jonathan Sims (3364)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Agreed to work here at all," Jon grumbles, then shakes his head. "Neither here nor there. As for... well." He flicks a glance at the ceiling and sighs. He hasn't given any details of /how/ he met Melina, just that he /did/. So... hopefully she won't try to kill him.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"As for Melina... she asked me... she said you deserved better. Wants to be sure you are safe. Asked me to... watch after you. Not that I'm remotely certain how to do that, beyond..." He hesitates. Sighs. "Look, I... want to help. I wish I could figure out how to help Melina, but..." He shakes his head.<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"I don't know what you've been dealing with since you've come here. I'm a recruit, I'm entirely new to all of this, but I actually do have experience... helping people who... I'm a therapist. And perhaps that gets your guard up, I certainly understand that it might with what little I know of your, ahh, history. Only what I can extrapolate from Melina, really. But I imagine it must be miserable, walking around assuming everyone is trying to kill you at every moment. But if nothing else, I promised that I would check on you, and I keep my promises."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He seems... utterly sincere. Which implies he must be /crazy/, sitting there genuinely saying 'I want to help you and your trained assassin semi-adopted-mother or whatever's going on there.'<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:362|Yelena Belova (362)}} has posed:'''<br>"Of course," Yelena remarks as if she fully sympathizes with Jon, and yet, there's this eerie sensation that she couldn't care any less. "So it was Melina you met, thank you for sharing," Yelena makes her point about how the world of Spycraft works, smirking at Jon, "SHIELD should be careful with you, might be an information compromise generator, or something..."<br><br>"I guess you can help me by keeping SHIELD out of my head," Yelena sounds all too serious as she says that, punctuating by pressing a finger to her forehead, as if it was a drill. "I'm sure just that would make her happy enough," Yelena remarks.<br><br>The mention of him being a therapist gets Yelena to snort, "where I come from, therapist is other word for brainwash engineer." Though his admitting to knowing about her history has her looking dubiously, "SHIELD promise high level clearance, what is yours...? Information Compromise Generator indeed, I have good instincts." Her finger shoots up in a 'no' gesture, swining from side to side, "not assuming, everyone wants to kill, that much is fact. Melina, she sees you, she has weapon pointed at you, yes?" Yelena has to envision it as such, not like Melina would ask him to be nice without leverage.<br><br>"I appreciate you want to help, so, let me know if SHIELD want to put bugs in my brain or chips in my body, or whatever. Instead, of, you know, helping them brainwash me...that'll be great help."<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:3364|Jonathan Sims (3364)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"A lot of people point weapons at me lately," Jon says with a shrug of his good shoulder. "I have discovered, much as you said, that it's often the people who /aren't/ being up-front who can do the most damage. As for high-level clearance? I know very few details beyond what Melina told me, and what I can guess. Assassins, presumably Soviet, raised in a cult-like environment with various abusive techniques. I've seen similar cases, in cult survivors and others. My specialty is in treating people who are... unique. Superheroes, magic users, former assassins, that sort of thing. Nor have you given any indication I was wrong. And I think Melina might have wanted you to know she was asking after you."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He considers the woman for a long moment. Then he says, "I'm not in the business of brainwashing, or... putting chips in people's heads or..." He glowers. Huffs out a breath. "I will /certainly/ let you know if they're planning to do such a thing. It would be against my professional recommendation, that's for damned sure. And maybe I can't help you--maybe the idea of a 'therapist' is too... dangerous for you. But I can say, as someone who..." He hesitates. "I know something, of... coming out of a bad situation, and not knowing who to trust. I would suggest, at the least, opening up to those who understand your situation. If you haven't already."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;After a moment, he adds, softly, "And... if you have any idea how I could help Melina..." He sighs again, shakes his head. Frustrated, clearly.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:362|Yelena Belova (362)}} has posed:'''<br>"Congratulations, you truly are a member of SHIELD," Yelena offers in such a deadpan delivery, it's hard to tell if she's congratulating him or having fun at his expense. "Pleeeease..." Yelena scoffs, "I had a typical childhood," one doesn't need to be a SHIELD Interrogator to have an inkling that she might be lying here.<br><br>"Yes, perhaps it is time I go see how my 'mother' is doing," Yelena agrees with Jon, though her take on 'mother' may or may not be affectionate. She really is a tough read. "Don't worry about me though, nothing former about me, turns out SHIELD needs wetwork as well." She winks at Jon playfully while adding, "don't worry, you're not a target."<br><br>"I have a sister here, you call her Natasha, I am okay talking to her. But no need, she knows, she understands. So...I go now?" Yelena asks, but then doesn't quite seek permission, she just turns to leave. "Medical advice, eat apple a day, yes?"<br><br>Oh she could think of some thoughts about Melina's situation, and a therapist isn't what her 'mother' needs.<br> <br>

:'''{{#var:3364|Jonathan Sims (3364)}} has posed:'''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Jon narrows his eyes for a moment, then nods and sits back a bit. "I presume," he says rather blandly, "that if I were going to be a target I wouldn't be told. But I doubt the Chief wants to risk seeing my particular skills out in the world before we know who my successor will be."<br><br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;He raises a brow. "As for medical advice? I think it's more like seven apples a day, now. But... if you ever /do/ want to talk, my door is open. Thank you for coming." As if she hadn't been semi-ordered to do so.<br> <br>
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