entrancelogs | ((CLOSED)) I can tell who you are

Entry tags:

((CLOSED)) I can tell who you are

Who: mirror!Bruce and Natasha
Where: the lab
When: December 15th
Rating: PG-13? Possibly? I'll update.
Summary: Bruce's mirror has crossed over to the real side, and is taking this chance to spy on any research his real counterpart's been working on.
The Story:

Visiting the real side this time around was different than before. Bruce wasn't exactly hiding, but unlike last time, he was aiming to slip under the radar, to not have anyone realize he'd switched places with his counterpart. When before he'd made it a point to meet some of the people on this side, to get acquainted with the place, and yes, to have fun in his own way, this time around, as soon as he steps through, he walks straight down to the basement, where he knows the lab is.

He makes himself at home there... more or less, as much as he can. He hopes maybe this time not to cross paths with anyone, while the mess and havoc on the mirror side is still happening - and if the Jabberwocky crosses to this end and it so happens Bruce can't go back to the other side, well. At least there's plenty more space on this side.

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Everyone has been a little tense around the mansion since they'd all shared in that particularly unsettling dream. Not to mention there's starting to be a few whispers about something happening on the other side of the Mirrors. Natasha's been listening and watching where she can and trying to keep tabs on her teammates at the same time, just in case. Even she can feel the growing tension that hints that they're finally heading towards some action. While she's worried about what that means, there's also a part of her that's anticipating having something she can fight for once. All the researching for a way home, the looking into the makings of this world that the scientists have kept themselves occupied with all these months, there's little she can do to assist that. She's only been able to train, and wait.

This morning, she's even taking a break from that as she wanders down to the lab with a steaming mug of tea for Bruce to go along with the coffee she has for herself. She nudges the door open with her hip and saunters in with a smile in greeting.

"Morning. Please tell me you haven't been down here all night again. You need to sleep sometime, you know." Because yes, his absence had been noted.

The dream - right. That had reached the mirrors as well, touched all their minds at the time, and it hadn't taken him that long in this place to realize that most people have been on alert about the whole thing, even more so after the Jabberwocky had actually shown up on the mirror side. Bruce didn't tell anyone, obviously, or he'd have given himself away immediately, but he's been listening in, and watching whatever mirrors he crosses paths with attentively, for any clues that might show up.

He's reading through some notes about those dreams exactly, and about the Jabberwocky's previous visits to Wonderland, when the redhead walks in - it takes him a flicker of a second to think Natasha rather than Natalia but he manages, though he never says her name out loud.

"That depends," he offers with the best mimicked smile of his counterpart, as he turns and accepts the mug of tea, guessing easily that it's meant for him, and he sets it down on the table to let it cool. "If it's morning now, then yes, I've been here all night."

She makes a quiet disapproving sound with a tsk of her tongue as she lets him take the mug and then comes to peer over his shoulder at his research notes he'd been looking over when she'd entered, resting lightly against his back, her arms propped up on his shoulders.

"Did you find anything interesting at least? Or just lose track of time?"

He sighs a little, the unusual closeness of her approach surprising him, but somehow he manages to keep it all perfectly masked. A quick glance sideways at her, he sets the notes aside on the table as well, before reaching for the mug to inhale a little of the tea's scent, then risking a very small sip.

"Just lost track of time," he sets the mug aside again, shaking his head slightly. "I doubt there's even anything to find at this point. This place isn't exactly ripe with clues."

"No, it really isn't." She shares in the frustration of that, because it's been the story of her life in the months she's spent here so far. Deciding some distraction is long overdue, she winds her arms around his neck and turns him on his stool to face her, a smile playing at the corner of her lips.

"So why don't you take a break for a while instead?" she suggests coyly, leaning in to brush her lips against his, the kiss light and teasing.

So he'd managed to hide his surprise well before, but there's only so much he can take without it becoming apparent. The turning of the stool first, making him sit a little more upright, his eyes widening as he reaches for anything to support himself, one hand settling on the table while the other rests on her side.

Then, before he realizes what's happening, she leans closer, much closer than before, and by the time the realization of what this means dawns on him, it's already a little too late. The shock has him tensing up, inhaling sharply, breaking the kiss far more abruptly than she'd even initiated it, pulling away only half an inch away from her.

Well... this isn't exactly something he'd prepared himself for. And knowing how perceptive he is, he's sure his cover's pretty much blown now.

Yeah, that blows his cover right there, because by now Bruce is more than accustomed to stealing a moment here or there in indulgence for the both of them. Actually, she'd been half-surprised by the fact that he hadn't initiated something first, but the possibility of this not being him wasn't one in the forefront of her mind on one cup of coffee.

Stupid of her. She should have been paying much more attention.

She's paying attention now. Enough that her fingers curl in the fabric of his shirt as she pushes him back against the edge of the table, all warm fondness replaced by a sudden icy anger that has her gaze turning sharp and lethal.

"What did you do?"

And there it is. Whatever warmth from before vanishes completely, replaced entirely by a cold gaze, an anger he can see clear as water in her eyes. She knows who he is, and immediately she must realize what this means, that if he's on this side of the mansion, then her Bruce can't be.

Her Bruce. Suddenly that thought and expression gains a whole new meaning for him.

Just like her demeanor changes, so does his, no longer a reason for him to play pretend. His act has been exposed, at least to her, and he knows there's no way he can trick his way around it. So his arches both his eyebrows, shock subsiding and giving way to that biting kind of amusement, lips tugging into a sharp smile.

"Me? I didn't do anything," which, technically, isn't a lie. He just came to this side, is all, and if his real got forced into switching places with him, well... that's not really his fault or doing.

"Bullshit." The word is hissed and venomous as she drags him off his stool. There's considerably more strength in her grip than there maybe should be, but hey, adrenaline does lots of things right?

"The fact that you're here and he's not is evidence enough that you did something. What's happening over there? Why are you here?"

She practically lifts him off his stool, and he doesn't react partly because he's caught by surprise, partly because he doesn't care to try and fight her. Instead he just seems all the more amused, not feeling particularly threatened by her aggressive attitude.

All things considered, she really can't hurt him that much, and she won't try to either - she wouldn't risk the safety of everyone in the real side, after all.

"Why does it matter?" he reaches for one of her wrists, moving to wrap a hand around it and force her to let go of his collar. "Why are you so worried? Your boyfriend can handle himself just fine."

"The fact of the matter is he shouldn't have to," she returns, her tone sharp, still gripping his shirt, even when his fingers curl around her wrist. The touch is both familiar and not - not in this context, at the very least. It makes her furious, looking into his face and seeing this expression that doesn't belong there.

"You're the one that's all about embracing who and what you are, right? Why aren't you over there having a party? Finally, someone you can wail on as much as you like. Or are you just a coward when it comes to something that can fight back?"

If he seems patient at first, it's only because he's not all that interested in picking fights, not this time. He doesn't want to call attention to himself while he's here, even if he knows both Queens are probably too busy to worry about him right now. But there's only so much he'll put up with, and while at first it's almost amusing, her apparent lack of awareness or care for who and what he is, and what he can do, becomes unnerving really quick.

"If I were you," his hand holds her wrist tighter, and this time when he tugs on it, it's forceful enough to push her back just a little. His eyes flicker up to hers, gaze darker though at least not changing color. "I would be careful about what you do or say. Regardless of my reasons for leaving the other side, that doesn't mean I can't do some real harm on this one."

Her fingers loosen their grip on his shirt when he tugs harder this time, but she is still in her personal space, still keeping him pressed back against the lab table she'd maneuvered him to in the first place.

"If you were over here to do harm, you would have started it already, not hidden yourself down here in a lab where you probably wouldn't be bothered." She'd learned a lot about him during their last meeting, after all. Her gaze narrows on him in speculation, puzzling that through.

"There hasn't been an outcry from anyone on this side about Mirrors crossing over again. You're not supposed to be here, are you?"

"And I won't start anything on this side, not by my own choice," the word carefully chosen and smartly applied. He might enjoy his abilities far more than his real counterpart, but just like him there are times when he can't control his transformations. She hasn't done much of anything yet, but he warns her anyway - wouldn't want her getting too aggressive and being the reason why this Hulk would go on a rampage through the real side, after all.

"I'll tell you this," though really, he can't imagine it'll take long before she learns about what's wrecking chaos on the other side of the mirror. "Just be glad there are two sides to Wonderland, and that you're on the bright colorful end."

She'd be more glad if her Bruce was still the one here with her. As it was, that just had her frown deepening further as she takes a step back and crosses her arms over her chest, leveling him with an unimpressed glare.

"Fine. You don't want to start anything? Then start talking. What's happening over there?"

He regards her in silence for a while after she lets him go, looking around the lab as he weighs on whether or not to tell her. Seeing the reals' faces if and when that monster crossed over would be priceless, but on the other hand... that would mean it would cross over, and he could somehow find himself stranded on this side along with it.

If he tells her, though, then the group, with their righteous hero complex they all have, they might just try and find a way to stop it before it managed to leave the mirror side.

"Our nightmare's a reality," he looks back at her, knowing that she, along with everyone else on both sides, shared the same dream as he a while ago. "The thing is free, on the other side. The sword didn't work, apparently, because the creature's still roaming around the place, unstopped."

"I thought the sword was the only thing that could kill it?" Natasha asks, frowning as she leans back against the table behind her, resting against it as she absorbs what he says, a little surprised that he's willing to offer information at all. Things must really be in dire straights on that side. "Is that no longer the case? Or was it not the right sword?"

Because the natives of this place hadn't exactly proved themselves to be trustworthy so far. And she was not overly fond of the Duchess or the Queen of Hearts.

"What is it after? Do you know? Or is it just here to rampage and cause chaos?"

"Fake sword, I think," he presses his lips together, crossing his arms and walking around the counter, farther away from her. Not avoiding her or anything, but he'd rather keep some distance right now. "It was hard to tell. Even the Queens were shocked when it didn't work."

A sentiment he'd shared at the time - killing the Jabberwock is something everyone in this place wants, considering what it can do. He hadn't been too glad when the sword failed to kill the creature, and him being here is probably proof enough of that.

"Going on my experience with mindless beasts, I'd say it's just going on a rampage. But I don't know."

"Great. So we've the Duchess to thank for this then. If she even knew herself."

Because really, at this point, Natasha wasn't sure she could credit any of them with a grain of sense to share between them.

Of course, this meant the sword was still potentially somewhere. For all the good it did them now.

She narrows her gaze on him again, still more than a little annoyed that he was here rather than her Bruce, who she really wished she had to talk this over with right now. She'd come to rely on that so much lately. "So the sword failed and you decided to come hide over here. I imagine your Queen's not going to be happy about that. Or do you have another purpose on this side?"

One thing's for certain, the sword isn't anywhere near enough that it can be the solution to the current issue. And trying to wonder how it got switched for a fake, or who even would want to do something like that, won't help them now either.

Still, it's a thought for later... should there ever be a later.

Her question earns her a flat stare, though slightly skeptical, his lips tensing into a brief smile. "That goes beyond the limits of what you need to know. Nice try, though."

She gives him a faint smile, one that shows a sense of wry humor without ever fully meeting her eyes.

"It was worth a shot. If you can manage to stay out of trouble, we'll leave you alone down here. Try not to knock the house down this time, would you?"

Or the forest. She doubted she could count on Loki for a conveniently timed decoy a second time around.

He shrugs, not at all surprised that she'd give that a try. But it was a bit too obvious, not really her best approach so far, and Bruce isn't so stupid that he'd fall for it so easily.

"Let me be, and I won't," he doesn't have any interest in doing that this time, after all, instead he just wants to keep to himself for however long this event lasts. So this little offer of hers is more than agreeable as far as he's concerned.

She ducks her head, because at least that much is something, and what she'd been hoping for. He's far too suspicious to let any other information slip so easily, not now and especially not to her. This at least buys them time to investigate what they need to, and if need be, a source she can come back to.

"I'll see what I can do," she answers, giving him one more intent gaze before turning and striding for the door again, her composure perfectly composed despite the lingering anger and frustration and worry she now had to work with.

They had to find a way through the Mirrors.

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