[action - semi backdated to midday]

[sublimating]

[at midday Bruce finds himself hovering at the edge of the sand near where the sand begins to give way to grass and trees, milling about and rubbing his hands, occasionally ducking down to survey the plants that are visible from the tree line. the heat is oppressive, but he's unfazed by it, having spent times in hotter climates. it's already been a trying day, and the last thing he wants to do now is dwell on the things he can't change about their situation]

[he promised Sif that he would forage for food, edible fruits and vegetables and berries; and Sif promised him volunteers. so he's waiting to mentor whoever shows up -- and/or who he stumbles across in the jungle while hunting over the next few hours]

Comments

[antiapocalypse]

[ pffff ]

I might be able to manage that. I mean, I was almost a rogue soldier, there's gotta be some crossover there, right?

[sublimating]

What, like in the army?

[antiapocalypse]

Well, that depends. Does a secret group of super soldiers count as "in the army"?

[sublimating]

[okay that gives him some pause] Sounds -- more like a militia, really.

S, super soldiers?

[antiapocalypse]

I know, totally the wrong word. Makes them sound like a good thing.

[ dry ] They called it The Initiative. A bunch of -- good ole red-white-and-blue American boys, trained to fight monsters and souped up with all the latest in magical steroids and brainwashing.

Super strong, super fast, super good at following orders.

[ she trails off, lost in her own distaste ]

[sublimating]

How many of them? [fidgets] I mean, if there's a whole... monster-fighting platoon of... Captain Americas... seems like you'd be out of a job, a little bit.

[this is the least awesome thing he's ever heard]

[antiapocalypse]

Well, they didn't actually think I existed. Apparently I'm a fairytale. [ lip quirk ]

Luckily for my job prospects, their leader turned out to be a megalomaniac with delusions of grandeur. Also she Frankenstein'd one of the biggest bads I've ever fought as part of some scheme to... oh, what do they ever want?

[sublimating]

That does seem to be the way it goes. [wow, this is-- okay, rubbing his forehead] So did that get -- settled?

1/2

[antiapocalypse]

Well, the Frankenstein monsterything -- Adam, she called him -- killed his creator and ran pretty much aduck. Amuck? Amuck. That doesn't sound right either.

[antiapocalypse]

Not the point. The point is, he almost ended the world. I stopped him. Well, with some help from my friends. [ she gets briefly distracted remembering. the warmth and the power of that union was incredible. ]

...They kind of shut down. Closed up shop. Filled the facilities in with cement, actually.

[sublimating]

Sounds thorough. [a tiny bit of relaxing, but he asks] And the super soldiers are...?

[antiapocalypse]

Yeah. Hopefully, it was. [ she wets her lips, then lowers her eyes ]

Well, I'm -- dating one of them. He's off the Kool-Aid now. The withdrawal was -- scary, though.

[sublimating]

Scary how? And... when he's off it... does he get to go back to being -- [a beat, and then] -- normal?

[antiapocalypse]

[ that -- quiets her a little. she's been trying not to think too much about it. ]

Honestly? ...I don't know. The guys who did pretty much disappeared into thin air.

[ she pauses, looks at him sideways, then adds ]

When I was in high school, there was a girl named Marcie. One of those kids who... feels invisible. You know? She had no friends. No one paid any attention to her at all.

And one day, she disappeared.

[ are you on the edge of your seat yet? ]

[sublimating]

[he's not sure he's following your tangent, but he's game] Yeah? Where did she go?

[antiapocalypse]

Nowhere. She just disappeared.

Literally invisible. [ she knows, she's hilarious! ]

[sublimating]

--Oh. [blink...] That's -- talent. I guess just wishing you were invisible isn't enough to do the trick.

[antiapocalypse]

I think she actually wanted nothing less in the whole world.

It wasn't something she chose to do. It wasn't something she did. It was... something we did to her.