survival of the fittest

[advanced]

who: Bucky and anyone!
what: Bucky is a big old thief, tracks down his name twin, and also goes monster fighting with Clark
when: Anytime between March 8th and March 12th
where: Around Quarantine
warnings: Probably violence

[i: Around Quarantine; open to anyone]

[Bucky has chosen to eschew the communal housing gifted to him, as well as all the benefits that affords. Like food, shelter, and access to a shower. The last two aren't such a big deal, but he needs a lot of food to keep him going, the bastardised serum in his veins makes him burn through calories at a ridiculous rate.

Which is why he's ghosting through Quarantine on the look out for empty housing or possible a not very well attended street food stall, in order to snatch a hand out and take something. He can be found shoplifting in the street; or, if you'd prefer, breaking into your character's housing in search of food.]

[ii: Down a back alley somewhere; closed to Bucky Barnes]

[Ever since he saw that name on the network, his own name, Bucky has been in overdrive trying to figure out what's going on. It takes him a day or so to track down who owns the username, and then another day to just follow them around and try and figure out who they are. It's only when he catches the imposter out alone, whatever he might be doing, that he reveals himself by trying to drag the other man down an alleyway in an explosion of movement and bad decisions.]

[iii: Monster hunting; closed to Clark Kent]

[The perimeter is of interest to Bucky, partially because it means an escape from this town and partially because he knows that Stark is going to be making upgrades to it. It's why he's scouting around it today.

He's too focused on the possible security measures, trying to find surveillance equipment or defence mechanisms, that he has completely failed to notice the large monster shaped like a monstrous caterpillar creeping up behind him on silent feet.]

Comments

ii

[anotheroldsoldier]

[The fact that it takes a bit for Bucky to catch on that he's being followed says a lot about the skill of his stalker. When he does finally realize, he doesn't let on, goes about his business like normal (this isn't normal, nothing about this place is normal). Who knows who else from their world came through that portal? It could be literally anybody with a grudge against Captain America, or anybody who has beef with him. The list is much too long to narrow down just yet.

First, he tries to find out for himself who it is, in subtle ways, while he spends time with the other Avengers or around his floor-mates. It gives him a smokescreen to act normally. Unfortunately, his stalker is good.

Finally, he decides to go out alone, thinking maybe then he can either lose the guy and figure it out, or draw him out into the open. On the way back from an innocuous grocery shopping trip, taking a different way back to the building, the latter happens, with the stalker trying to drag him down the alleyway.

Bucky drops the bag of food immediately and lashes out with a metal fist to try and escape his hold, slipping easily from his pretend-relaxed civilian demeanor to highly trained soldier in an instant.] Who the fuck are you?!

[advanced]

[He has no idea that he's been noticed, which would say something about the return skill level of the person he's stalking if he knew. It's a good thing that he didn't know, or he never would have taken the risk of coming out of cover to try and drag him down an alley.

He's expecting resistance, so he's got his own arm up to deflect what comes in as a surprisingly heavy hitting blow. His eyes are fixed on his opponent, blank and focused, like a machine carrying out a task rather than a man in a fight.]

That's my question.

[Voice low and rough, obviously not used often.]

You're using the name JB Barnes on the network, what the hell does that name mean to you?

i

[dust_of_life]

[Merali girls don't do well in captivity. It's not one of the many axioms Fatima's grown up with, but it's proving, nevertheless, to be very true. Being told she can't do something--in this case, can't go home--is making her want to crawl out of her skin.

So she's doing the only thing she can do, short of drinking, to relieve the tension. Which is to say, she's throwing herself into work. Hard.

Today's task is investigating the local fruits and vegetables, with an eye toward seeds she can cultivate. She walks along the stands, stiletto heels clicking in a reassuring way as she makes little notes in a notebook. The one she was using only a little while ago for her community college coursework.

She pauses by a stand that seems to have something similar to pears, her favorites. And she glances up to spot a guy helping himself to a five-finger discount at the stall across the way.]

[advanced]

[Bucky is extremely careful when he takes things, the last thing he wants to do is get into a brush with the law because that would inevitably end up in a fight. He is not, after all, about to let himself get captured again, not by anyone.

It's just bad luck that the woman with the notebook looks up at the wrong moment, and his eyes lock with hers for a moment. Perhaps she won't do anything, a lot of people don't want to get involved when things like this happen, so he can only hope she'll let him walk away without making a fuss.

That's what he's trying to do, just backing away casually.]

i;

[pundemic]

[She doesn't have a roommate, which suits her just fine. Honestly, she's not sure she could stomach one. Prep school was like-- fine, whatever, if they needed the space you just dealt with it, but here? Nobody needs to be crammed in like sardines.

And anyway, she likes it. The quiet. Not having to worry about accidentally sticking anyone with a knife if they get up in the middle of the night to take a leak, none of that. Being alone isn't her favourite thing, but she's not yet sure if it's better or worse than being alone surrounded by people who haven't seen what she has.

Still. She expects anyone she gets saddled with to have something like manners. Which is why when she comes in with an armful of groceries to some fucking dude digging through her shit she is already Done.

Things that register: he's bigger than her by a lot, stronger, and-- what the fuck, dude, is that some kind of metal arm?

Things that also register: get the fuck out of her space. Her gun's drawn and the groceries dropped before she's even come fully across the threshold. Clear sightlines to the windows, the door stays open behind her in case she needs to run and she pitches her voice lower than usual to try and sound Intimidating.]

Hey, fuckface! Get your hands where I can see them.

[advanced]

[Damn.

He really thought this place was going to be empty longer than this, and he's swinging around as soon as he hears the door open. He usually has his arm covered, there's a hoodie and gloves slung over a nearby chair, but he had them peeled off because he was planning on using her shower.

Not now.

He makes a grab for the hoodie to pull it back on, he can't afford to leave it here and have his arm exposed out there, it's too noticeable.]

Drop the gun.

[He's not scared, it sounds more resigned than anything.]

I

[arsebiscuit]

[Assigned bedding. Some shite, that, but seeing as there were no nice towers to loom in just yet, she'd settle for the company. Interesting bed fellows and all. 'Specially that one that left his bed nice and empty for her, leaving Sera no choice but to claim it for herself. It was more game than anything, waiting and seeing who'd have the balls and brains enough to challenge her blatant stealing. Still, fair was fair. She wasn't much for taking something (from those that didn't have much to start with) without giving back.

So it takes her a bit to hunt her mystery bed donor down, only to find he's doing some hunting of his own. Shrugging, and with very little concern for her own safety (she has a bow and her arrows on her and all) she slips in after him into the latest empty house.

Her steps are silent, but her mouth? Almost never.]

Lookin' for cookies?

[advanced]

[He knows someone is following him.

They're good, really good, and he doesn't hear footsteps a lot of the time. But he catches glimpses, he feels that itch between his shoulderblades that all good assassins get after a few years on the job, and he knows.

It's why he turns and levels a gun at her as soon as she talks.]

Why the hell are you following me?

[starspangled]

[it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood. steve isn't exactly out enjoying his day, or looking for anything in particular. he's mostly just trying to get a little more familiar with his surroundings, trying to sort out his thoughts on everything that's happened and everything that still needs to be done.

needless to say, he's been up for awhile, long enough that the food stalls are starting to smell pretty good to him. steve stops in front of one, but his attention is turned to one several feet away.

the guy's quick, a literal 'blink and you'd miss it' moment where he grabs something and keeps moving. it's not enough to warrant a chase and a tackle to the ground, but it isn't right to take something without paying either. so steve starts following him, closing the distance with each stop.]

[advanced]

[He hadn't believed it the first time he spotted Steve here in the city, but then all the other Avengers started showing up on the network and it made a lot more sense. Of course they were here, this place needed heroes, where else would they be? It's why he's really done his best to keep low to the ground, he doesn't want to be found.

It's hunger that does him in.

He doesn't even notice that Steve is there in the market, eyes on his target and the stall-owner to make sure that he can snatch what he wants without incident. It's a good fifty yards on from the initial grab when he realises that someone is following him. He whirls on his heel planning on confronting whoever it is, and comes face to face with the last person he wants to see.

Steve. Target. Mission. Friend. It's all jumbled up still and he feels his entire body tense up completely, frozen on the spot.]

(iii)

[signifies]

[ He's being followed.

Clark hasn't been here long enough to learn what the other residents' bodies sound like out here in the forest. He tries to make a note of their voices or something that might mark them out if he had to pinpoint them in an emergency. For 'Simon', it's been that arm of his.

There's no harm meant in it. Clark is only careful to eat a bit more when he knows he's being watched, and not move anything a regular human his size can't move. He listens for the monsters more, knowing that sometimes they venture out all this way.

Some of them are very quiet, like this one, if not for the fact that it rustles and he can hear its stomach. It's lucky he's as fast as he is, or this would be bloodier.

A red-and-blue blur flashes past Bucky's periphery, as Clark puts himself in between them. ]

Get clear!

[ He dives at the monster, trying to lure it deeper into the forest, instead of the perimeter defences. ]

[advanced]

[Everything happens all at once, and Bucky's instincts crank into overdrive. There's a voice shouting, a bright blur, and the screech of a monster who's been denied its prey.

Bucky has a gun out from where it was concealed in the waistband of his pants in half a second, and is firing it past Clark at the monster in the next half second. He puts two bullets right in its face, but that doesn't seem to do anything other than make it angry.

It rears up to an impressive ten feet, maw opening to reveal a circular mass of teeth, before it lunges at Clark as the nearer target. And how did he get to be the nearer target? Bucky will want that answered afterwards, but for now he's not about to let someone else get hurt for protecting him.]

Fall back!

i, probably in or close to the abandoned city?

[somnioergosum]

[Ronan isn't looking for food but abandoned houses? Sign him up for a much different reason. Unfortunately, there's usually a good reason a place is abandoned here in Riverview. It doesn't take him too long to judge this one unsuitable. As he steps out, he starts at the suddenness of Bucky appearing before him. This guy someone who screams 'shady' to Ronan's eyes, probably cause he can recognize a hint of his own in them.

But instead of commenting on that, he jerks his thumb back to the place.]

Don't bother. Use this as a secret lair and the roof will crush your skull before day two.

[advanced]

[It's not exactly ideal, that there are other people trapped here that also want to find abandoned places to squat in, but hardly unexpected. He can't be the only person to distrust the housing given to them with no real satisfactory explanation.

He wasn't expecting to run into one of those people in the doorway to a decrepit ruin, and he takes an instinctive step back when he does.]

What's wrong with the structure?

[wingedman]

[ Sam's out wandering through the markets when someone familiar catches his eye. Which apparently isn't all that strange around here, since there are multiple Steves, a different Tony, (thankfully) the same Wanda and Scott he's used to, and- others. This guy is trying to get the old five-finger discount, and in two years of hunting Bucky, Sam's learned more about how to be successful than Steve has - which is to say that he knows damn well that the man doesn't necessarily want to be found.

So instead, Sam buys a few pieces of food here, a few there - munches idly on bits and pieces as he goes along to look more normal. And when he reaches a more deserted place, he leaves the food sitting out, then calmly sits down a good distance away from it, both hands clearly visible and empty. And he waits. ]

[advanced]

[It's a smart tactic.

Bucky knows who this is. Even aside from fighting him only a few months back, he's done a lot of research since on both the Avengers and the people close to Steve. Sam Wilson, counsellor at the VA, veteran himself of combat duty.

He stays a long way back when the food is put out, but he picks a position that lets him watch both Sam and the food for any sign of a trap. It takes a full half hour for him to decide it's safe enough to come down, ready to bolt if there's any sign of Steve, and make his way slowly to the pile of food.

His eyes, though, stay fixed on Sam.]

i quarantine

[toolatetochangethename]

Scott's a nice enough guy, but social-skills-wise? He's about at the level of a rabid hippopotamus. So, uh, hope you weren't planning on actually stealing that pastry.

"Hey, you! I know you!"

Smooth.

[advanced]

Bucky's eyes widen as he hears someone literally shouting over at him, making everyone turn to look on instinct, including the stall owner that he was about to rob. His hand ghosts over the pastry as if he had only been about to choose it without touching, before he turns to glare at the stranger.

"No, you don't."

Utterly blank and blunt. Sorry, Scott.

BOO

[livingsymbol]

[Steve is feeling out the area, checking Quarantine's streets and getting a general idea of the city's layout. He just happens to be passing near by the food stall and just happens to see when a man there reaches out, snagging some food as he goes by. It's not a serious issue, but with the conditions of the place as they are, Steve changes direction and crosses the street, following after the thief even after they are both well out of sight of the stall. He walks up behind Bucky, tagging along almost like he's meant to be there.]

Hey.

omg nooooo gross other Steve

[advanced]

[He very nearly takes off running, and there's an obvious half step where the decision to keep a normal pace is made. That doesn't stop him from tensing up completely, pulling his hood further around his face to hide it.]

Go away.

i

[ragnarsson]

That's called stealing, you know.

[Ivar tuts mockingly as he watches Bucky raid the fridge of floor five. He says this looking up from where he's propped up on his arms, having dragged himself from where his bed is all the way over to the kitchen. While his lower body may be crippled, he's still got an ax strapped to his side, and an unseen knife in his boot. But he doesn't make a move towards Bucky.

Instead, he watches with wary eyes, rather like a wolf encountering another predator out in the wild. He won't begrudge the man some food. If a traveler showed up in Kattegat with nothing, they were taken in until they could get back on their feet, no questions asked. Not to show hospitality was a death sentence.]

[advanced]

[It's not a kind thought, but the first one that goes through Bucky's mind when he spins to the sound of that voice is that this man poses no threat because of his limited movement capability. It allows him to relax a little, though not all the way.]

I know.

[He's not making an apology for it, as he picks up another tin and shoves it in his pocket.]

I'm not taking much.

i

[prisonking]

[ Michael's on his way back from City Hall when he spots the man, dark and quick, snatching jerky from a grocer's display.

At first glance he looks like Bucky Barnes. The resemblance is uncanny, but there are differences. Small details that don't match up, bigger details, too. The Bucky he'd worked with was fast, but didn't move like a shadow. Wasn't so desperate, or feral.

Michael's been on the wrong side of the law for long enough to know what a fugitive looks like. He is one.

He pulls out his wallet and the card designated for his expenses, handing it over to the grocer with a smile and a nod in the silent man's direction. Working for the city had its perks. He's never short on lunch money. ]

For my friend's jerky. Need anything else, bro?

[advanced]

[The second that he knows he's been clocked, Bucky freezes in place. He's trying to decide whether to just make a run for it - something that will probably end in a chase, lots of yelling, and possibly a fight - all over some jerky, or whether to try and pretend that he's not taken anything.

But then the stranger offers to pay for him and he's stumped. Wary, but this is better than a fight, so he just shakes his head. He's not about to abuse that generosity, but now Michael can enjoy the creepy, silent, intense stare of a man who is both suspicious and confused by his actions.]

i!

[fingerstripes]

[ The funny thing about paranoia is that it can actually work against you, depending on time and place. It's probably obvious to the trained eye that this room is... well, not booby-trapped, not yet. But getting there. There's the disconnected wire loosely attached to the window. The water-soluble glue stacked against the wall. Dick pushes open the window, bearing the supplies to finish the job in one arm, and... he knows in his gut that he isn't alone here.

There's nothing to do but play it off. Try, somehow, to turn a bad, bad situation into an advantage. The room is still dark, and he hopes to hell that's enough to cover the Nightwing suit. ]

And here I thought a nineteen point security setup might be overkill. [ There's not really a point to pretending he was in the middle of anything else. He draws the escrimas slowly, almost casually. ]

What's it been, a day and a half?

[advanced]

[He should have chosen a different apartment when he ran into so many security measures, but at least most of them weren't finished and he's experienced enough that he can bypass the ones that are. Besides, he's been watching the darkened interior for well over an hour and there's been no movement, so there's definitely nobody home.

Why did this have to change when he's in the middle of raiding the fridge?

He slams the door shut and whirls to face the voice, though he can't make out more than an outline in the gloom.

You know what the sensible thing to do when confronted by a stranger while stealing from their apartment is? Clearly it's to throw a large pot of yoghurt at them in the hope that will drench them, distract them, and allow you to escape out of the window. So... that's what he does.]