entrancelogs | Avengers Catch-All Post

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Avengers Catch-All Post

Who: The Avengers and YOU
Where: Along the Oregon Trail
When: Sunday, August 31 - Thursday, September 4
Rating: S for Shpadoinkle. And Snowmen. And Sickly Steve with his entourage.
Summary: Catch-All Post for the Avengers Wagon Train and all related shenanigans. Of which there will be many.

The Story:
Sunday morning dawns bright and early and full of confusion, because this is Wonderland, which is reason enough. But the setting everyone wakes up to is not the Wonderland they've become used to. It's not immediately obvious to some what event this world has dropped them into this time, but for others...

The presence of the wagons and oxen and the trading post's residents encouraging cheers to send everyone on their way to Oregon is a fairly telling clue. And since it seems there's no avoiding this one way or another, the resident superheroes form up a wagon caravan and hope to get through the long journey in one piece.

...Or at least as close to that as they can manage it.

[OOC: Top-threads to be added for individual Avengers below]

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[ The outpost had been a welcome sight for all of them, especially after Steve had died in the night. Making camp here for the night had at least guaranteed them any extra supplies they might need in case of an emergency.

Which is apparently going to take the form of Bruce getting bitten by a snake. A snake.

Natasha really hates the outdoors.

Needless to say, she lets the others fend for themselves for the night while taking care of the scientist wrapped up in blankets in the back of her wagon, taking the place that Steve had so recently vacated. She shows up with a basin of water, a clean cloth and some questionable remedy the man at the Outpost had said was a surefire cure. Which Natasha didn't believe at all, but what else was she supposed to do? It's not like she can take him to the closest ER. ]

[ Bruce's hating the outdoors more than just a little right now too, even though he's had plenty of it over the past years. It crossed his mind more than a couple times already that were the other guy still here, that snake bite would hardly have had any effect on him, and even the wound would've been gone in no time at all.

Then again, this isn't a normal situation. Even for an event, it's completely crazy and unpredictable when compared to others.

In less than an hour, he was already a feverish shivering mess, curling up on the spot that Steve had been taking up not so long ago. The bite doesn't really hurt anymore, then again it might just be another way the poison is affecting him. Some of his senses numbed, other heightened, the slightest of shuffles or mumbles sounding like a loud orchestra concert in his ears, all shapes around him shifting and shining in a million colors.

And sometimes, at the corner of his eye, he sees something. A scene, an object, a face, things he's absolutely sure can't be real. Well, as sure as he can be in a place like this.

So when Natasha approaches, he reacts much the same as he's been reacting to most everything else all day: with a startle and a gasp, moving away until his back's pressed to the side of the wagon. ] What, I... No...

Bruce. It's me. It's Natasha. You're alright, you're safe.

[ The reassurance is quick to come as she crouches down beside him, one hand stretched out to rest against his shoulder, feeling how fever-hot his skin is. it's also a reassurance to him that she's real, she's here, hoping that will get through to him when maybe his mind is still playing tricks on him. ]

I need you to lay down here for me, alright? I have something that might help.

[ Her touch meant as comforting, but when Bruce looks up, all he sees is a mask, a man, a doctor, he doesn't know-- he feels pieces of him being cut away, needles and drugs shoved into him, tests and scans and a persistent green light blinking, always, in the background. And through all that her voice barely pierces through.

It's Natasha.

(It just takes him a while to remember who Natasha is, and then slowly the visions go away. For just a moment anyway.) ]

Natasha. [ A shaky breath, and he nods, practically flopping back down on the floor of the wagon. ] Sorry...

No need to apologize.

[ Her voice is warm and gentle as she reaches for the blankets he'd thrown off, dragging them back up over him to help him get settled again. ]

Comfortable? Here, drink this. The man running the outpost swears by it as a remedy. Just don't ask me what's in it. [ Her lips quirk a little at that as she brings the small flask up to his lips. ]

[ Somehow he still manages that moment of clarity for a while longer, just tilting the head and offering no resistance as she brings the supposed remedy to his mouth, drinking down without protest. The flavor not at all pleasant, it doesn't really help in keeping his mind any clear.

He winces and frowns, curling away from her and into himself once he's swallowed the concoction, flashes of light blinking behind closed eyelids and making his head pound. And voices, from somewhere, his memory maybe, muttering away inside his mind.

Take it, it's a remedy. He puts a hand to his forehead and whines almost silently. To calm you down. You need to calm down. ]

God… Get away…! [ But he's not talking to her, that much is obvious. ]

[ At least she got the remedy in him while he was momentarily lucid, now she just had to hope it worked, and quickly. The sounds he makes has her frowning with worry as she reaches for the cloth, wets it in the water she'd brought, and presses to his brow. He's sweating and pale and she's worried they're going to have one more ghost joining them come morning. ]

Bruce, Bruce, it's alright. You're safe here. There's no one here but me. I'm not going to let anything happen to you. You know me. Just listen to the sound of my voice, alright?

[ Just like that, it seems her voice is no longer getting through to him. Despite her assertive tone, her clear words, Bruce is just shaking his head, hands resting on both sides of his face as he quietly whines and mumbles. ]

No, no... I just want to leave...

[ And that's what he tries, and fails miserably, almost falling over when he sits up, and in the end only shifting away from her, until his back's pressed against the corner of the wagon. His legs fold closer to himself, his arms press to his sides, curled into himself as much as he can. ] Please, I can't-- can't stay... I'm...

[ She's lost him again and she reaches up to catch his hands, because she's worried he's going to hurt himself. She grasps them in hers, tugging them down from his face, her grip firm and warm. he's too weak to even sit, although he tries anyway, ends up curled into a tight ball against the side of the wagon with her still leaning over him. ]

You're not well, Bruce. You need to rest for now. I know you don't want to stay, but it's just a little longer.

[ She doesn't even know if he's listening, but she has to try. ]

[ He's not listening, not for the most part - he's not even really there, but somewhere inside his mind instead. A blindingly white room, with a constant deafening silence, and the only presence there, people in masks, with gloves, their touch cold.

Tests. He's being tested on, he's sure that's it, but--

Before he can make sense of that, someone holds his hands, and suddenly it's not cold. It's a soft touch, warm, beckoning him to look up to the face of whoever spoke his name, and so he does.

For a fraction of a second, it almost looks like he's regained some lucidity, his gaze focused on her face, his breath calmer, quieter. But then he opens his mouth, his voice barely above a whisper when he speaks. ] ... Betty?

[ For the briefest of moments he looks up and sees her, and she takes that as a good sign, maybe something hopeful, because keeping him lucid and in the present has been the hardest struggle so far since he'd been bitten. And maybe the remedy's working even quicker than expected.

And then he opens his mouth and whispers that name and the hope in his voice as her going still, frozen over top of him, her eyes darting up to meet his gaze again, startled wide. ]

Oh, Bruce.

[ Her voice is soft, a hint of an ache held in his name as she gives his hands a light squeeze. She doesn't know what to tell him. Doesn't know if letting him think she's her will make this easier for him now or harder for him later. So she doesn't confirm or deny, lets his mind think what it needs to while she continues to try and take care of him, to nurse him through the worst of this.

Dampening the cloth once more, she brings it to his forehead, checking his fever again, hoping the cool cloth with help. ]

You're sick, Bruce. But you're going to be fine. Close your eyes and rest for a while. I'm right here, alright? I'm not going anywhere. But you need to rest.

[ She neither confirms nor denies, and all Bruce sees when he looks it's her - even the dark hair, the light eyes, the warm smile, and the way she says his name. It's Betty he sees, and even if Natasha tried to tell him otherwise, he would still not believe her.

She's here. Somehow, he doesn't know how, why or since when, but that doesn't really matter to him. In his dazed state he can only reach for her, clasping her hands in return, one of his own moving to pull her closer, though weak as he is, it's not really much of a hold at all. ]

You will... don't go, don't... I'm sorry... [ His voice withers and dies into a quiet sob, not even yet a cry as a hand reaches for Natasha's arm, her shoulder, a feeble and weak hold, only desperate to keep her close. ]

I'm sorry, just... Betty, stay-- please... I won't... [ A shivered breath, a quiet noise. ] I won't hurt you...

[ Her eyes close for a moment at that broken confession. The apology. That's not something she was meant to hear and this was why she'd wanted to tell him the truth, but at the same time...

It's not a decision she's ready to make. Prepared to make. But she's the only one here and the others have found other places to bed down for the night. She just hopes he doesn't hate her later for what she's going to do next.

She opens her eyes and gives him a small reassuring smile as she cupped her free hand against his face. Maybe this could help in its own way. ]

I know you won't, Bruce. I know you would never want that.

[ When he tugs, she lets him, understanding what he wants, even if she'll only accommodate to a point. She shifts, stretching out beside him, because this will at least help keep him warm, maybe help the fever break in the process. His hold on her is weak, but she wraps her arms around him, letting him have the contact he seemed so desperate for as she wrapped around him. She settled down at his side and let him curl up against her, his head on her shoulder as she combed her fingers through his hair, hoping this might soothe him enough to let him rest. ]

Don't be sorry, Bruce. It's alright. For now, I promise it's alright. I just want you to rest and get better. Can you do that for me?

[ For that while he seems both scattered and entirely focused on her, his eyes at the same time searching wildly, yet lingering only on her, though only on the image that he sees with his mind's eye.

And she smiles and speaks softly to him, reassuring as she'd always been, keeping him afloat though, ironically enough, right now it's the image of her that's making him sink even deeper into his own mind, and the illusions caused by the venom. But Bruce doesn't care; right now he can't even remember anymore that all this was no more than hallucinations, tricks of his own mind.

It's with a sigh and sheer relief that he welcomes her presence near him, and he curls and shifts close, settles his head on her shoulder. When he closes his eyes, even the scent is something else altogether, something that's not actually there, but in the midst of the chaos in his mind, it soothes him. Even if it's not real.

(And he won't hate Nataha for any of it. If anything he'll blame no one but himself for the situation she's found herself in.) ]

I can... [ If you stay. He puts an arm lightly over her, almost limp in the way it rests so bonelessly across her. ] I will... Thank you.

Shhhh.

[ She hushes him softly, pressing her lips lightly to the top of his head when he settles down against her, her fingers lightly carding through his hair as his arm drops to drape around her. She lets her other hand come to rest there, a reassurance she wasn't going anywhere. ]

I'm here. [ It's simple. Simple words, simple thought. But she thinks maybe it'll be enough. For a little while at least. ] I'm here. Close your eyes, Bruce. Rest for me.

[ Real or not, whether he's completely lost in the illusion or part of him is even aware that it's Natasha comforting him right now, her presence and soothing touch does calm him, his breath quieting as he falls silent and stops moving.

He nods only, his eyes closing at her request, not even mustering the strength to speak again. It might take him only a few minutes or over an hour but eventually he falls asleep, much needed in his state as the supposed medicine does its work. ]

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Avengers Catch-All Post

Day Three

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