[OPEN] shattered glass and black holes

[anotheroldsoldier]

who: Bucky Barnes and YOU
what: Open catch-all for the rest of the month
when: Any time after the 20th
where: Around
warnings: Fighting atm, possible description of acid rain effects.


[I. Acid Rain]
[Bucky is on his way back to the housing complex when the stormclouds gather ominous in the sky. He pauses in the street to look up, frowning, noting the strange green tinge - and then the sky opens up and lets loose. Storms are one thing, but when he feels the exposed skin of his hand and cheeks starts to blister, he scowls harder, moving the shield off his back to use as a makeshift umbrella. It's wide enough to keep him mostly covered.

At least until he spots someone uncovered in the street. If you're trying to get to shelter, Bucky will tug you under the shield and start ushering you both to hide under the nearest concrete awning.] You don't want to let this shit touch your skin.

[II. Just Another Day at the Office]
[Bucky has been serving as a Squad Captain of Search and Rescue for over a month by now, and he's an obvious choice to head up one of the protection teams heading out into the woods to keep the payloads and their deliverymen safe. The hazmat suits they've been provided with are unattractive, but protective enough for the moment. Bucky is fully geared up, wearing his Cap suit underneath that and the extra layer of his Perimeter Guard jacket. The cowl is down for visibility's sake, but he's not exactly stealthy, carrying a large red, white and blue shield.

Thank god the rain seems to have no effect on metals. The vibranium of the shield is holding up perfectly.

The vehicle carrying the other team and their canisters of compound trundles ahead at a slow pace due to the fallen trees in the path. Bucky clicks on his radio headset, following on a cherry red Indian motorcycle that thankfully also seems fine in the rain, even if he might have to replace the leather of his seat later.] Spread out a bit but keep the truck in sight. We want to intercept these things before they become an issue for the payload carriers.

[III. Floor 5, Blackouts]
[Several months into living in Riverview, something Bucky's roommates might have noticed about him is that he's never seemed quite settled. His bed, desk, and general area are all immaculately clean and mostly devoid of personal items. Whatever he's accrued here besides clothes, he keeps in a locked box under his bed. Maybe it makes sense, then, that he's at the kitchen table one evening with a takeout container of cold fried rice, browsing classified ads on his phone. Buildings for sale and rent, different types of housing. Nothing is set in stone, but he's casting out feelers.

Of course, in the middle of his late dinner is about when the power flickers off with a crackle, and Bucky throws his chopsticks down on the table, cursing out loud.] Fuck. Again? [He huffs out a breath and gets up from the table to go dig in one of the kitchen drawers. If he hears one of his floormates come in, he'll say,] Hey, do we have any candles?

[IV. Gym, Blackouts]
[Bucky's gym of choice near the housing building is small, and generally does whatever it can to attract people to pay to use it. During a particularly long blackout, someone had the bright idea to fill it with battery-powered LED lamps (in safe places, not too close to the equipment or where they might be knocked down) and make a whole 'rustic' thing out of it. Apparently at least one person is fine working out in low lighting.

Bucky's on the pommel horse, running through a difficult acrobatics routine. Strength training is important, but as he gets older (and as he's gotten heavier), so is maintaining his flexibility. The shield is leaning against the wall nearby, lit by a steady LED lamp; he'll add it to the routine later, practice his return angles and throws.

The mats are open, though, if you'd like to invite him to spar in the poor light conditions. It could be good training.]

[V. Wildcard]
[Either toss a prompt at me or hit me up on plurk at nekky for a custom prompt!]

Comments

III

[striketwice]

[ Alec keeps weird hours and he keeps to himself for the most part. He’s aware of his floormates, especially those he shares a sleeping space with, but he hasn’t gone out of his way to introduce himself. He’s just kind of… there. Quiet and self-contained.

So far, no one has tried to pry him out of his shell, and he’s grateful for that. It’s probably one of the only reasons he hasn’t fucked off to find some other place to live.

That, and the free rent.

The wizard is milling around in the common area, sprawled on a couch and idly scrolling through whatever passes for news blogs in this place (lots of stuff about the freaky green cloud, he notes), when the power flickers out. He sits up, casting around for a sign of his floormates emerging from their spaces to see what’s going on, and when there is none, Alec mentally reaches for the fire spell tattooed on his arm. A small flame flickers to life in his palm, and he hauls himself off of the couch, stowing his phone in his pocket with his free hand before meandering into the kitchen.

Which is where he runs into Bucky. Not that he even knows Bucky’s name.

For a brief second, he looks startled, like a deer in the headlights. He was really hoping to keep his magic under wraps for the foreseeable future, because he’s a selfish bastard who will take any advantage he can get, but there’s not much explaining away an open flame in the palm of his hand.

Ultimately, he decides that it’s not like he’s exposed every single trick he has up his sleeve on accident. Just this little bit won’t hurt. His expression smooths over to something more like a smirk. ]

No idea. Never really had a need for candles.

[anotheroldsoldier]

[Bucky glances up when another person enters. He's expecting someone else, maybe, not their newest roommate, who he hasn't really met. His gaze immediately falls on the flame flickering in the man's hand, and he has to suppress a groan. Another one? It seems like half the floor uses magic now.

It makes him twitchy. It's part of the reason he's thinking about moving out.]

Apparently. [He responds a little dryly, changing gears to check in a lower cabinet. He finds an LED flashlight and a full, translucent jug of purified water with the emergency kit. It'll do for now.] Wonder how long this one is going to last. Rain's playing hell with the grid.

[striketwice]

[ Alec doesn’t know this guy from Adam, so he has no idea what to even make of that reaction. Still, Alec maintains his flame until their makeshift lantern is set up. Then, he extinguishes it with a slight flex of his fingers- an unnecessary motion considering the spell is all mental, but a habit nonetheless. ]

I don’t know. The acid is weirdly selective with what it dissolves and doesn’t dissolve, so at least we still have a roof.

[ A beat, as if he really has to think about whether or not he wants to engage in common niceties such as introducing himself. ]

I’m Alec, by the way.

II

[buildsomething]

[The minute word had gotten out about needing people for a protection team, Tony had volunteered himself. In part because going around in acid rain seemed like a perfect job for someone who liked wearing a full suit of armor, but mostly because it made more sense than just about anything else in Tony's life at the moment, so he'd take it.

He'd barely even payed attention to who he'd been grouped with, which might have been a mistake. But most of his attention was on banking through the trees -- not his favorite way to fly, but the coverage was too heavy to be able to see anything if he went over the top -- and he only realized he'd been tracking a very familiar shield when he drew up close enough to see the figure on the motorcycle.

Which meant he was even more startled when the voice that came through the headset wasn't either of the ones he was sort of expecting. To his credit, it didn't affect his flying, at least. He had been warned about this, after all.]

Do we know what exactly we're keeping an eye out for? [He draws up alongside the bike as he asks, keeping pace with it.]

[anotheroldsoldier]

[Bucky has caught glimpses from the corners of his eyes at the Iron Man flying not far behind, but he hasn't gotten a good look at the suit to try and tell which one it is. Any Iron Man is good enough backup for him, and he has to focus on driving and the immediate surroundings. The trees are just close enough together to make this a bit of a difficult trip, but he's glad SHIELD had upgraded his bike for a bit of off-road.

Tony draws up alongside his bike, and Bucky turns his eyes back to the road. Possibly this is the new one, judging from the voice.] Very well camouflaged boars or elk, apparently. Thick layer of bark and vegetation on the back that means the rain doesn't bother them. Picking up any heat signatures?

[buildsomething]

Many. [It's short but not clipped, Tony sounding distracted as he flicks through the images on his HUD. Between the rain and the apparent camouflaging, picking up on anything specific is difficult, but it's more than enough to make it very clear that there's a lot of activity out there.

Well, good. Tony veers off slightly to the side to put more space between them, though he stays even with Barnes and his bike.]

Track them down or wait for them to come out, you think? [His tone is almost more curious than anything. Wondering exactly what type of a leader Barnes is. He's past the point of pushing just for the sake looking for a reaction and he'll genuinely go along with either option, but well. He can't help wanting to know.]

[ I ]

[dothelokimotion]

[ Loki blinks as he watches people being dragged to safety. He knows the difference between normal rain and the terrible kind. He's lived with Thor long enough, after all. Still he's not familiar with this kind. ]

Acid rain?

[anotheroldsoldier]

[Bucky is shielding an older man from the worst of it, at least until he gets him under the awning. From there, he sees him off into the shop to wait it out. He tenses slightly, when he looks over at the speaker to find Loki - one of the Lokis, evidently the one he hasn't met, the one that has... something going on with Steve. They're not identical by any means, but he's making an educated guess.

His expression is a little sour as he shakes the greenish rain off the shield and then shucks his jacket to start wiping it off his exposed skin, which is already looking pink and irritated.]

Literal acid rain. Real uncomfortable for us mortals.

[dothelokimotion]

[ Loki raises an eyebrow at the recognition. He's seen the man before, at Steve's party. But for obvious reasons, Loki didn't deign to mingle much unless people approached him. It was safer that way.

Still his gaze on the shield is inscrutable. Not judgmental. Is this who Steve gave it to? ]

I can heal that.

II

[hititwithacrowbar]

[ Jason was relatively new, but had offered to roll with the group. He didn't exactly like the Hazmat suit, more with it over his uniform... which was over his Red Hood suit, that he had been wearing everyday just in case. Normally rain would be welcomed, but this rain certainly wasn't. The cowl and the shield had caught his attention easily. Almost like a male wonder woman, and while that might just be Superman, the shield kind of killed that idea in the water.

Jay was sitting with the team in the truck, he had pretty much been staring in the mirror at the man on the bike. Not just because of the curiosity of who was this man, but a bit of envy on that motorcycle to. He missed his.

There wasn't much he could do sitting in the truck with the team, but he was waiting for the opportune moment to slip free and not have to worry about burning his skin to go speak to the man. He was pretty sure work had to come first.]

[anotheroldsoldier]

[Jason will find an opportunity pretty soon. It isn't long before the area the truck pulls up to has the path blocked off by a couple of fallen trees, slightly charred as if from lightning. It'll stall the convoy for at least an hour while they try to move them, which makes the group sitting ducks for the wild animals that have no doubt been prowling on their tails.

He pulls to a stop behind the truck and hops off the bike, scowling at the blockage. They've got people who can move the trees, he won't bother with that. His job is protection. He nods to Jason.]

Let's scout back a little ways and make sure nothing followed.

[hititwithacrowbar]

[ When the trucks came to a stop, Jason had shifted up to look to where the tree was. He really didn't want to have to move it. He knew he could be of help but moving a log wasn't on the list of things he wanted to do today. So when he heard the man he had been watching call out he slipped free of the truck and moved to meet him. ]

Yes, sir.

[ He spoke as he approached, the familiar weight of the guns at his side. The hazmat suit would make it a little harder to get them, but he'd pull them if need be. His eyes locked on the cowl once he was close enough to not have to yell. For now he waited, better to walk a little before questioning it, but he couldn't help but point out the obvious.]

That's one hell of a shield.

iii.

[krasnaya_vdova]

[Ava walks in not too long after the lights go out- not exactly thrilled with the idea of sitting in her room alone even if the darkness is less of a problem for her than it probably is for most people. She's just honestly not a huge fan of being on her own, let alone in the middle of a blackout. He might catch sight of her eyes before she speaks- the bright blue glow in the darkness, like had happened back at the diner.]

James? [Her footsteps are almost silent as she moves, listening to see if he's alone.] I don't know about candles, but I can probably manage something.

[She keeps it vague for the moment. She's still a little cagey about her powers, but she told Tony -- again, since he didn't remember. She's just always aware of how dangerous they make her, but she supposes James would probably understand that.]

[anotheroldsoldier]

[He definitely catches the blue flash of her eyes. For half a second he thinks it's Billy, but then his eyes adjust a little better to the darkness and he can make out the outline of Ava. 'James' is a big giveaway too. There are two people in Riverview who call him that, and curiously enough, they're both Russian teenagers.

He breathes out a slight laugh as he digs through another cabinet.] If you can do better than a flashlight and a jug of water, be my guest. [He can make a kind of shitty makeshift lamp for the room out of that, but he'd take a better alternative.] I wonder how long this one's gonna last.

[krasnaya_vdova]

A little bit better, probably, yeah.

[She doesn't know if he can see her smile in the dark, but it likely becomes obvious as energy curls down her arms, pulses over her heart, to crackle between her fingers, condensing into a bright sphere of blue-white in the palm of her hand. Showing off, her? Never.]

It comes in handy once in a while.

[She hadn't told him about this. The aftereffect of taking down the machine that had tied her and Natasha together, about Alexei's death by the same thing that had made her into .. this.]

i

[worldsaway]

[It takes Thor a moment to realise that the rain is beginning to burn his skin, given that it takes more than a few drops for him to feel the skin. For the moment, he'd been eager to enjoy feeling of the rain on his skin while walking the streets, but now he's having second thoughts.

With a whim, the rain begins to divert around him, as if an invisible barrier has formed around him. From a distance, however, it's hard to see that he's not being rained on. Now, he takes it upon himself to search the streets for less fortunate people who might be trapped under inconvenient shelter.

He hears Bucky call out and turns when he recognizes his voice. At this point, Bucky is probably aware of the barrier when his hand sticks into it. Thor is able to increase it enough for the both of them, which he does with a smile.]

I assure you this has nothing to do with me.

[anotheroldsoldier]

[Asgardians and their barriers. They're having an easy time of it, meanwhile, Bucky is looking a bit tenderized already despite the heavy layers of his Guard uniform (which he is positively baking in). It's a small relief to come up alongside Thor and share a bit of that barrier; he's less twitchy about the whole magic aspect when it's someone who has proven themselves. He can trust Thor, he figures. The man's been nothing but nice.

He shakes droplets off the shield outside the barrier with his left hand before he draws it back in.]

Didn't figure acid raining from the sky was one of your tricks. Thunder and lightning, maybe, but this seems more like a really bad supervillain plot.

[worldsaway]

[Thor isn't particularly subtle at the best of times, so don't mind the fact that he's looking over Bucky's wounds with a mix of concern and confusion.

It looks painful, but he's not about to point that out for Bucky.]

Whatever it is, I've no control of it. I cannot dilute it, nor stop it. [Which is frustrating.] Do you have any idea who the source may be?

i

[livingsymbol]

[ Once Steve what is going on with the rain, he's also out trying to help people caught outdoors get to safety. It really seems like there is nothing they can do to stop these issues from coming up, and he can't decide if that is terrible or just a little more like home. There's always something to fix, and he does feel useful, even if he doesn't want other people to have to deal with it.

Then again, their problems could be worse. Is he being ungrateful because they have blackouts and killer plant incidents and not world-ending threats?

He catches sight of Bucky patrolling the streets and helping the locals get to cover, and he heads his friend's way, using the energy shield to keep dry. ]

When it rains, the sky burns? What do you think this is about?

[anotheroldsoldier]

[Bucky has just ushered an older woman into a shop to shelter from the rain, and he's back underneath the dome of his shield when he looks up to see Steve. He's looking a little pink in the face and on the back of his hand, but at least the shield and his metal prosthetic are holding up fine.]

Something seeped out of the portal this morning from some other reality. Some kinda mist. Contaminated the atmosphere. Far as I know, the eggheads are working on something to neutralize it, but not much we can do until then.

[livingsymbol]

That door does more harm than good half the time. Wish we could just shut it.

[ But Steve knows that isn't how things work. He sighs, his arms and face streaked with red where the rain has fallen and burned his skin. He's glad to be out helping, though, and uses his own shield to help shield them from the stray water. ]

In the meantime, they're going to have trouble getting where they need to go. We can't just stay inside for too long.

CLOSED ✪ For Thor

[anotheroldsoldier]

[It had been a casual suggestion to get together for drinks sometime, and Bucky had been perfectly content making it a reality. He likes this Thor's company. He's more easy-going than Bucky thought he would be, which in turn, helps Bucky to be at ease in his presence. So when it had come up again, he picked out a bar - one that caters to normal human beings and also has strong enough liquor for super-soldiers and gods. It wouldn't be much of an outing if only one of them could drink, after all.

He's dressed casually and seated on a stool at the quiet bar next to Thor, their first round already on the mahogany surface in front of them. His left hand curls gently around a glass with two fingers of whiskey and a couple of chilled whiskey stones instead of ice.]

So what's the latest? [He starts off conversational, taking a sip of amber-colored liquid.] Always somethin' going on with one of our teams.

[worldsaway]

[Thor never knew the Bucky back home, maybe that's why it's so easy for him to get along with this one. There are no preconceptions, no assumptions, Thor has simply come to like the man on his own merits, which is rare given their multi-verse situation.

Thor is dressed equally casually, he doesn't often don the cape and armor here unless he thinks it will be necessary. His drink matches Bucky's, although the alcohol is double his portion.]

Nothing completely unexpected, given the circumstances. [He takes a long sip of his own drink.] Beyond one small development, of which you may already be aware.

II

[fingerstripes]

Gotcha. [ Dick's bike is nondescript, lacking both color and identifiers, but the little salute he offers Cap speaks to recognition. There's a smile lurking beneath the visor of his helmet. ]

Fancy meeting you here.

[anotheroldsoldier]

[He doesn't recognize the bike, and the suits make it hard to pin down faces, but he recognizes the voice over the comms, and grins a little.] We both went to where the action is, surprise surprise.