entrancelogs | [Semi-Closed] Event Aftermaths

Who: Natasha Romanoff and various friends/teammates
Where: Around the Manor
When: The days following the Mirror Event and Hunt for the Sword
Rating: PG-13ish?
Summary: Catch-all post for Natasha touching base with the newly-returned people who got sucked to the Other Side
The Story:

With the sword handed over to the Queen of Hearts and the Mirrors now returning to their own side, Natasha's both a little relieved and more than a little worried about what this will mean for the returningReals who were trapped over there. The fact that she's one of the only few on her team that didn't end up transitioning over at some point is not lost on her, has her wondering why and for what purpose, but she suspect she knows all the same. Which is why she spends the immediate first few days once more combing the Manor, this time searching out her teammates and friends she knows were drawn to the Other Side and making sure they'd returned mostly unharmed.

And if she had to start composing apologies for what her Mirror might have done over there. At the very least, she wanted to know more, if they were willing to tell her.

[[OOC: This is a Semi-Closed log for some pre-arranged threads to deal with the fallout of encounters with her Mirror Side, or the visit to the Mirror Side in general. Interested in threading out something with her, feel free to ping me!]]

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She puts her tools away as she watches him visibly heal in front of her eyes, but when he brings up the matter of his Mirror, she goes carefully still for a moment, before sinking down to sit on the rug beside him, her legs tucked under her as she gives him a rueful look.

"Damn werewolf senses. I'll have to remember to shampoo my carpet next time."

When he casts her a guilty look, she huffs out a soft laugh and reaches out to ruffle his hair. "I'm fine, Scott. Not even a scratch. Don't worry about it."

A smile quirks at his lips when she curses his senses, but he's still too worried about her to drag his expression completely out of its worried concern.

"I don't want you to hide it from me." He mutters softly. "When he's here, I mean. Or... if for some reason I do something..." He turns his gaze up at her again. "A scratch is all it takes. Deep enough from an Alpha. And if it doesn't turn you, it... it kills you." He curls in on himself a bit. Normally, the ruffling of his hair would bring a bright smile back to his face. Though he leans into her hand, it doesn't lift his mood much. "How can I not? He targeted you because of me."

"Whether it's me or him, if I come at you, don't fight to disable. I can't..." He swallows hard again, blinking back the well of tears. "I can't lose anyone else."

"Hey," she interrupted him, a little alarmed at the sudden sheen of tears she can see in his eyes, because this is suddenly more than just his Mirror showing up here, even she can sense that. She slides around until she's sitting in front of him, her hands sliding up until she can cup his face in her palms, making sure he's looking at her, her own gaze steady and unwavering and serious.

"You listen to me, Scott McCall. You're not your Mirror. You're not responsible for what he does when you're not even here when he's finding trouble to get himself into. And I know what he's capable of. We had a very enlightening conversation while he was here. He was disappointed I wasn't more impressed, to be honest, but that's his problem. He left without so much as laying a finger on me and that was that. I was perfectly polite about it." Mostly. "Although lucky for me, he's no more fond of electricity than you are."

Scott looked up when she moved in front of him and captured his gaze, holding it there. He forces back his budding fear and anxiety as she speaks. He takes a steadying breath, shuddering it out. With it, he finds a stronger resolve and nods lightly. As much as her hands would allow.

"Electricity's your best weapon against me--against him. Those wristbands pack some serious kick. He won't touch you if you've got them on." Not that he'd been Stung or anything. Nope. Don't question it. "I may not be my Mirror, but if I ever do lose control, I could really hurt people."

He brushes the 'almost' tears away from his eyes. "Tasha, I... I don't think I ever want to leave here." That was a very, very deep admission from the teen.

Which is what reminds her of why he was supposed to be coming to her room in the first place, all those days ago. For the moment, she brushes the Mirror things away to be dealt with after this, because there's apparently something far more wrong than whatever shit Wonderland had thrown at them this week. Instead, she drags him close, careful in announcing any moves she makes before doing so, because they're both a little uneasy around each other apparently - and no she hasn't missed that, or that he has new information that he shouldn't. But that can wait as well.

Instead, she draws him into a tight hug, wrapping her arms around him. "What happened, Puppy?"

He's grateful she announced her movements deliberately, because he likely would have jumped or worse had she been as quiet as he knows she can be. He leans into her hold, obviously not unsettled enough to let it get to him right now.

"Too much happened." He tries to keep his voice level, and for now, it was working. "I thought I could protect them. Everyone. I thought--" He closes his eyes tightly, still able to see her face when she tells him she loves him. "What good is all this power if I couldn't save her? I'd--I'd give it all up to have her back. She d--" That time the word was choked off in his throat as it tightened. "It happened so fast." The words were mechanical; a mantra repeated until he forgot the meaning of the words themselves and only knew how to say them. Foreign and cold words. "One of the Oni got her and I was just seconds too late. I couldn't even take her pain. I couldn't do anything." He sniffles, curling in on himself in her hold.

"I don't ever want to go back. I almost fell apart when she answered me on the network. But, God, she can't know. She can't." Though he didn't mention her name, Natasha probably knew who the 'she' was. But right now, her name was a taboo. He couldn't say it out of fear. If he voiced it, Wonderland might realise and she might disappear from here too.

Allison.

He doesn't need to say the name. She knows exactly who would get this reaction from him and for a moment her eyes slide closed at the secret he'll have to hold. One she can sympathize with all too well. And that he had to go home to that at all. She lifts a hand and tangles her fingers in his hair for a moment, holding him tightly against her, feeling the shuddering breath he takes when he curls in on himself against her.

"Oh, Scott," she murmured softly, turning her face to rest against his shoulder as she held him. This wasn't something she could fix, or even make better. It was just pain and loss and there was no band-aid that would make any difference. "I'm so sorry, Puppy."

[Semi-Closed] Event Aftermaths

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