standing on the cliff face, highest fall you'll ever grace [OPEN]

[assembles]

Who: Steve Rogers and YOU
Where: All over Wonderland
When: 08/28 - 09/02
Rating: R for lots of violence
Summary: Steve is not Steve anymore. Now he's only the Soldier. But he has a mission to complete and he doesn't fail.
The Story:
I. there's a knock at your door [08/28]

After a rude awakening, the Soldier is back in his element. A minor setback, to lose the target, but there are plenty of others out there who are in need of conversion and his mission parameters are clear. This is the kind of assignment he prefers. There are no mysteries to it, everything is set out plainly before him. Anyone who is not HYDRA must be made HYDRA by any means necessary. That isn't difficult.

Not when there is equipment set up, scattered around the mansion for their ease. The first thing the Soldier does is map out each floor, making careful mental notes of where each station is set up so that he can always corner a potential target in the most convenient place.

After that's done, he observes. He is nothing more than an embodiment of the task he's been given, and so it's not difficult for him to remain on the outskirts of any situation as he catalogues the myriad of people who are still offering resistance to HYDRA's ideals. There are still a great many of them, which means that there's plenty of work to do.

That's for the best. He doesn't do well when he's idle.

[ OOC: This option is for interaction before he's actively trying to recruit or convert, if you want your character to be baffled by Steve not remembering them! ]

II. you don't even recognize the stranger [08/29 - 08/31]

The Soldier is on the hunt.

He is made to fight. War is in his bones, combat is in his blood, and his desire -- no, he isn't meant to desire. What he wants doesn't matter, and should not exist. All that matters is the end goal.

So if a particular target requires a subtler approach, then he can do that. He can greet them with a few well-placed words, but deceit is not a part of his skillset. He would rather be direct: convert or die. Not that murder is truly a part of his mission right now. These people won't do HYDRA any good if they're dead. Better to drag them over to their side by force, if that's what's required.

Which he's entirely willing to do. The shield he carries is not his, it can't be, but it's been provided to him for this mission, along with the uniform. (He will not admit that there's something about them that he's fond of. He cannot be fond of anything.) He bears the shield and wears the outfit as he slinks through the mansion and identifies targets, then approaches them to insist on compliance.

[ OOC: This option will involve him aggressively trying to convert people to HYDRA. Only threads that were pre-discussed as ending in brainwashing will do so. If we haven't talked about Steve brainwashing your character but you would like that to happen, just let me know in your comment. ]

III. there's a hole in your head [09/01]

He rushes down the hallway, somewhere between a jog and a run, doing whatever he can to get away from the buzzing in his head. Something is unraveling. Flashes of images cycle through his mind: a group of laughing men sitting around a wooden table; a woman, smiling, with red red lipstick (she's here, isn't she?); the man he left in the room, but younger, smiling down at him --

The Soldier slumps against the wall, hardly aware of where he is anymore, or who might see. His knees fit the floor and then he pitches forward and catches himself with both hands, breaths coming ragged. Like he can't quite get the air into his lungs. He's felt this before...

No. Whoever those images belong to, he is not him. Whatever ghost of a memory is tugging at him is not meant for him to know or understand.

His lips are still warm, but his eyes are panicked, flicking from side to side as he struggles for breath even though he has a pair of perfectly good lungs.

Steve -- no, no, the Soldier begins to push himself to his feet.

[ OOC: This is for the last day of the event when Steve's programming is beginning to break down! ]

IV. it's you from before [09/02 and onward]

Steve Rogers is someone who submerges himself in guilt as a general way of life, to say nothing of the past five days. Now that guilt isn't simply an extra weight that he carries around on his broad shoulders. No, it's morphed into something much more vicious, a parasite that's eating away at him, making it impossible to think straight or focus on much beyond how incredibly awful he feels.

Now he knows what Bucky has to go through on a daily basis and it gives him even more respect for him. That Bucky has learned how to live with this kind of crippling guilt is a testament to how incredibly strong he is.

Steve has been spending the past nine months telling Bucky that what he did while brainwashed hadn't been his fault, yet now that it's time to apply that logic to himself it feels impossible, unattainable.

Still, languishing in the guilt won't do anyone any favors, and so all Steve can do is pick himself back up again and seek out those he hurt to apologize. He dragged some of them down with him, turned them into mindless HYDRA agents too, and that may be the thing he's the most guilty for having done.

[ OOC: This is for post-event fallout and aftermath when Steve is himself again! ]

[ OOC (2): Both prose and action brackets are fine by me, I'll match you! ]

Comments

II.

[possiblymad]

Loki was already getting sick of these eyesores littered about. He couldn't quite figure out why he recognised the symbol, but there it was. He stopped, examining one closely, running his hand across the strange multi-limbed creature until he felt a presence approaching. The demigod rolled his eyes and placed a hand flat over the beast. If he were to show his back to any one of his enemies, it would be Captain America, wouldn't it? Then again, they had a truce and the man was mostly honourable.

"And what can I do for you today, oh noble Captain?" He asked as he turned, eyes dropping to the shield. Was Steve planning on a fight? ...shield. S.H.I.E.L.D. His gaze darted back over his shoulder for a moment to the symbol. HYDRA. That was where he knew the symbol; it made sense now. When Barton had been his, looking for any number of SHIELD's enemies, the name HYDRA had come up and that was their logo. Were they here? He could only assume, but why now? Why were they broadcasting themselves? And who exactly were they, apart from enemies of his enemies? He should probably check the network, but he really didn't plan on being social today.

It took him a moment to notice Steve's countenance seemed... odd. The way he held himself seemed stiffer than usual. A man like Loki, who paid attention to the details of those around him, could pick up on slight character changes like the way one carried themselves. It was all key if he suddenly needed to impersonate that individual effectively. "Are we felling well?" Not concern. Mocking, perhaps.

[assembles]

Captain.

That was sometimes his title. It tugged at a part of his mind that had been locked away. More often he was simply the Soldier. With a rank came an identity, and he was not allowed one, at least not for any extended period of time.

He observed quietly as the man put the dots together, worked out who he was and who he represented. The symbols had appeared all over the mansion because they had finally decided to come out into the light. HYDRA couldn't linger in the shadows any longer. If they wished to have complete control over Wonderland, so that they could foster peace, then this was how.

Not everyone would understand. Some would have to be forced to comply. This was something the Soldier understood well.

How he felt had nothing to do with anything, and the Soldier frowned in slight confusion. It was irrelevant, so he ignored it and nodded to the symbol on the wall instead. "You understand what that is. Then you should realize what you have to do now," he said, his tone flat and to-the-point.

[possiblymad]

Well if that wasn't incredibly cryptic. If he didn't know any better, he'd swear the man had been replaced with a bad copy. A... weird and surprisingly unobservant bad copy. He may know of HYDRA and their status as villains on Midgard, but that was close to the extent of his knowledge of them. He side-stepped the banner as if being that close to it offended his very presence.

"I'm afraid I don't follow..." He replied with a cheeky smirk at the double meaning of the sentence. "Quite literally, actually. I do not follow. I won't be a part of your petty rivalry between your SHIELD and your HYDRA organisations. If we are to engage in another war of the factions, please do so outside where the rest of the children play." True to his words, Loki didn't actually understand just what was going on here. He knew Captain America was aligned with SHIELD, so he was more expecting the Captain wanted him to do something about removing the offending faction symbol and he would have no part of joining their little game.

Loki did get the impression, however, that he was probably missing a few key details that would explain Rogers' sudden change. He may have grown more lax here in Wonderland, but he wasn't about to start taking orders from Captain America. Surely the man knew that. But something about him still told Loki not to turn his back on the star and striped mortal, so he didn't quite move any further just yet. Those instincts were not something to be ignored.

II (brainwashing planned oocly :3)

[thesamurai]

[She's not going to do this. Michonne would rather die trying than become whatever the hell it is these people want. She fights, as hard as she can and as long as she can, her katana on her back, trying to help people into hiding. When she comes across Steve in a hallway though, she's at one end, he's at another, and she just stares at him. She knows him, knows he's a good person, a good man. But she also knows that right now he isn't. So if she has to fight him? Fine.

Michonne will not back down, and one hand raises to rest at the hilt of her katana. She doesn't pull it, not yet, but she watches him to see what he'll do.]

[assembles]

[ This isn't the reaction that the Soldier has cataloged thus far. Most people treat him with confusion at first, call him by a name that is not his, try to reason with him when they're the ones who must be reasoned with. They have it backwards, so backwards, but that's why they need the machine.

This one, on the other hand -- she goes for her weapon first. He likes that, as much as he can like anything. A fight is much simpler for him to navigate than a conversation. Maybe she'll even present him with a challenge.

So he starts toward her, walking at a steady but quick pace as he detaches his shield from his arm and readies to throw it. ]

[thesamurai]

[She has no idea that she won't win this. She just knows that she won't go down without trying to stop this, to stop what's happening. Pulling her katana she braces herself, registering the shield and pushing through a door to avoid the shield. And that's one attack missed, but now she's in a room with no way out, and she knows, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she just made a mistake.]

II.

[hashtagging]

When Loki finds Steve (or Steve finds him; it is difficult to tell with the way Loki is lounged against the wall as if he has been there for hours), he fixes the Avenger with a wry smile. There is something off about his entire countenance, which only reaffirms the suspicion that has been growing in his mind since he saw the video post from James. Captain America does not slink.

"It has been a whole day since this HYDRA mess started, and I have not heard one single rousing speech out of you," he mentions, tone casual. "In fact, your bosom buddy made a dramatic video post in your stead. It is most unlike you to go without theatrics." And then was coming from Loki, the King of Theatrics himself. He playfully finger-gunned in Steve's direction, lining him up in an imaginary sight.

"Let me guess why: you're evil now."

[assembles]

This is one of the first times that the Soldier has been preempted by someone he's been stalking. The casual nature in which he's addressed speaks to some kind of familiarity. Just like so many of the others. He narrows his eyes, back going even straighter despite the fact that he isn't being threatened. Even the signal the target makes with his finger doesn't have any intent behind it.

The Soldier has no idea who his "bosom buddy" would be, and he is hardly one to be theatrical. His whole purpose is to work surreptitiously; a rousing speech wouldn't do him much good in accomplishing his ultimate goal. That sort of thing is reserved for his superiors.

When the accusation comes, the Soldier frowns just slightly and shakes his head. He's neither good nor evil. He's only a force of nature, nothing more and nothing less. And there's a duty he needs to carry out now.

"HYDRA isn't evil. It's order." His grip on his shield tightens. "Will you join it?" There's only one right answer.

[hashtagging]

"Ding ding ding! I am a winner." Loki tossed his hands up in the air, shaking them in celebration to himself. "What do I win? Tell me it is something good. Oh, oh, please give me the enthused villainous speech about the glory of HYDRA. Wait, wait, don't start yet, let me get my phone out. I'm sure I could get a good vine out of this."

8/31 let's do this

[sorryitasedyou]

She shouldn't be wandering around so much considering what's been happening the last few days.

Honestly, staying in either Bucky's safe room or hanging out in one of the safe spots she worked so hard to get set up on the 2nd day. That would be the smarter thing to do, but how much would it actually pay off? There were still things that needed to happen - people that needed help. She had to keep getting whatever names she could to Bucky and the Resistance of people that had been hit by HYDRA, corralling who she could into the safe spots, and circling back to try the whole rinse and repeat of her to-do list.

Darcy was doing what she could to be attentive while moving through the mansion, keeping an eye on who was around - new and old faces. There were a few people she knew she couldn't handle dealing with and Steve was at the top of her list. Yes, she could hold her own in a fight to a point against regular people thanks to the training from Bucky and Natasha, but Steve wasn't regular people. She had genuinely no interest in dealing with that.

Phone in hand, she tries to get out of the hallway as quickly as possible when she all but stops dead in her tracks. Shiiiiiiiiitake mushrooms. She lets the hand holding the phone slide down the side of her jeans, thumb moving over the screen as she gives a little awkward laugh. She needs to get this text off to Bucky and give him a heads up that she may be in a rough spot.

"I would love to stay and chat, Steve... But, busy busy. Ok - yup."

Is she stalling as she tries to back up? That she is.

[assembles]

His reputation precedes him.

It's all too clear in the way that the woman goes still, as if she's had a bucket of ice water dropped down the back of her shirt. She starts to back away and the fear is there in her tone, wavering like an inconsistent heartbeat.

The Soldier realizes that she's right to be frightened. But the fear will be gone as soon as he converts her. He has to make her understand that.

So for every step that she takes back, he advances forward, his gaze firm and almost unblinking as he stares her down. "Busy with what?" he asks, his tone as stony as his expression. Nothing is more important than HYDRA; nothing should be distracting her from it.

I.- let me know if this works.

[actualwizard]

Wiccan found himself in one of the set up rooms on the third floor, going over the controls when someone else walked in. He turned, spell ready on his lips, until he recognized the person in the doorway. The Soldier. He nodded at him and went back to the controls, working them until he was satisfied. He wouldn't give the okay until everything was perfect.

When he was finished he turned and stood at attention. The Solider may not have been in charge but he had been a recruit longer than Wiccan and he was paid respect. "This room is ready. I also checked the rooms on the first and second floors of the mansion and they are up and running, ready to use."

absolutely!

[assembles]

The Soldier moved quickly, so it didn't take long for him to canvas the first and second floors and head up to the third. He'd been impressed to find that all the rooms he'd come across thus far had already been prepped for use, and it was as he entered this particular room that he found the source of that.

Those who were nothing more than targets for conversion he knew nothing about, save for the only important fact: that they needed to be brought into the fold. But those who were already a part of the organization he was permitted to remember.

"Wiccan," he said, his voice monotone -- but it was some sort of greeting. Wiccan was powerful, skilled. A worthy addition to HYDRA. "Do you plan to cover every floor?"

III.

[oversight]

He's been watching Steve closely for days, monitoring their super soldier, their most precious asset. Steve Rogers is proof positive that change can and will happen, and thanks to HYDRA's advanced techniques, it doesn't even have to be a difficult transition. In fact, there hasn't been trouble with Rogers at all... until now.

Blake can see the lifting veil. The small cracks in Steve's generally stalwart training are beginning to come through and it's not good news; if this is what can happen to their star pupil, then there's no telling how quickly their tactics can be thwarted.

No, they need to keep Steve well under control. His is HYDRA, as far as Blake's concerned, even if there are plenty of other people behind the scene. As a symbol, he's invaluable, and they can't lose that imagery or they will lose this war. He is their own personal propaganda, the reason so many people are devoted to advancing HYDRA from the inside out.

"Rogers." John steps from the shadows and he has no doubt that Steve had long since detected his presence. "Walk with me," he says, aiming for a direct approach.

[assembles]

It's not who the Soldier expected.

Really, his hope had been that no one would come across him while he was in this state. It's shameful, it's wrong, it's a sign of faulty programming. It's a sign of failure and he's not supposed to fail. The man he had been unable to convert is responsible and he wants nothing more than to track him down all over again and put an end to him, but--

More than that, he fears that if he sees that face again this will only become worse. Only more ill-fitting memories will flood back and tear up his mind like barbed wire.

Blake is not a handler, but right now he feels like one. He's a pillar stone of HYDRA, someone who can make everything make sense again.

The Soldier drops his hands from where they'd been clawing at his hair and then he shakes his head vehemently from side to side. "Not my name," he grates out, even as he pulls himself to his feet and steps toward Blake. "Where are we going?"

Does he need to be wiped? It certainly feels that way.

III.

[disassembles]

They have to be getting near the end now. Though he still stops to help where he's needed, he hunts for one particular person. He's responsible for everyone, it's true, but he's done what he can for as long as he can. He's exhausted, the lack of sleep, the constant fighting and paranoia and too many familiar faces and too many ghosts all catching up to him.

This is his last fight, one way or another.

He knows Steve better than most. If he was smart, he would take him by surprise, from a distance, and then move in to confirm. If he was a better person, he would have done it near the start of the event, before any of this could have happened. It's not that he didn't try. It's that he couldn't pull that trigger. The Winter Soldier who had shot Steve three times already, just a few short months ago, couldn't put one more bullet into his body now, when it was a mercy. It was a joke.

Almost every time he caught sight of Steve, his heart seemed to seize up in his chest, and he wondered half-sane if he was HYDRA, really, and this was all in his goddamn head all over again.

There was hope that maybe someone on the team would finally be the one to get through to him, and James would have staked everything he had left in him on that hope, but this has gone on too long already, and now it has to stop.

He finds Steve on the roof, surveying the grounds. He wonders what it is with them and high places.

He doesn't reach for his weapons, though his hands linger by them, waiting. He has a few knives, a stun gun, a taser... But even if he was at the top of his game, Steve wouldn't go down as easy as all of that. He's sure that Steve knows he's there long before he speaks.

Despite the exhaustion, he's clean-shaven, his hair combed neatly into place. Strangely enough, it feels more natural now than it did the first time. He's still wearing his black uniform, and this feels like an extension of it, a deliberate vulnerability that's just as tactically sound as another layer of armor.

"You remember when I brought you up here on your birthday, Steve?"

[assembles]

The Soldier hears the man's footsteps when they're still on the stairwell. He can tell by the sound of them alone who they belong to, though he can't explain how that knowledge flits to the front of his mind. How he can know the gait of a stranger, someone he's had one failed encounter with.

Whoever the man is, he must have a death wish to come searching for him after that morning. The Soldier can't remember why he'd been in bed with him, but he assumes it was a means to an end. Take the man by surprise in the early morning hours, except he hadn't been fast enough.

He'll be fast enough this time.

The man reaches the roof and the Soldier can sense that he's armed. It's something he doesn't have to think about; he just knows. There's a light breeze up here that's causing his hair to shift back and forth, that's brushing over his face in a way that he might have once termed "pleasant," but now all he's focused on is this rematch. This second chance.

He spins around at the question, something that's far too close to anger contorting his face as he responds, "No. That wasn't me." He doesn't have a name, and he doesn't have a birthday, and he doesn't have a memory of coming up here with this man. When he looks at him, he feels nothing.

So why does his head feel like it's pounding?

Pain brings order. He pulls his shield off of his back and without much warning, flings it across the rooftop toward the target. Before the shield even reaches its mark, the Soldier breaks out into a run toward him.

II

[agentxthirteen]

Sharon tells herself that the mission is all that counts. Her fears being realized are nothing. Her anger over what Hydra had done to her entire life before has to be set aside.

She can do this. She can join the resistance, she can help people. This is what she's dedicated her life to.

And yet, this is not the way she pictured it as a child. Then, the adventure had been temporary and with childishly low stakes. Now, failure means that someone is converted. Someone is taken, lost.

She knows most of these people can't help what they are; she avoids them when she can, tries her best to beat them when she can't. She doesn't know if she can kill them; she doesn't know if the brainwashing can be undone. She hopes it can be. She tries to leave people alive and hopes it won't backfire.

She doesn't venture out often. When the anger overwhelms her, when the nightmares wake her, when she feels it's needed. She has all of her guns with them, unwilling to share them with anyone. She knows Bucky is safe - or at least, he had been when he'd messaged her, but he had been brainwashed before and she has no great hope he hasn't been brainwashed again.

Any of them could be brainwashed. Even Peggy? No.

At least, she hopes not.

She skulks through the hall, her gun drawn and at the ready. She will do this, she thinks to herself. She will overcome the fear and the paranoia, and she will use the anger. She can do this. She can do this because she has to.

She turns a corner, then ducks back as she sees someone. No, not just someone, him. Bucky had warned her against him. Because he's different now. He isn't himself. He's a twisted, broken version of himself. He would hate himself if he knew what were happening, but right now, he doesn't know himself. All he knows is some sort of brainless urge to ruin people and subject them to a hell that he doesn't understand even though he's living it.

She swallows and keeps herself pressed against the wall. Her finger is on the trigger.

Slowly, her finger eases off the trigger. She can't kill him. She'd sworn to protect him.

But she can't fight him, either. She knows better than to think she stands a chance. But if there's someone there... she can't let him attack them, either. Shit.

Okay. She can either run like a coward - except how she can't - or she can... stay out of sight and, if he attacks someone, try to fight him without getting attacked herself?

Oh, Jesus Christ. This is a terrible plan.

Shit. She needs a new plan. Shit, shit, shit.

[assembles]

The Soldier does not believe that he's ruining people. The Soldier believes that he's helping them. As things are now, they're lost. Showing them the benefits of HYDRA will only make their lives easier, and make all of them safer in the long run. With compliance comes order, and with order comes peace. That's all he's ever wanted: an end to war.

If he has to make difficult choices to get there, then so be it. Granted, none of this is -- in his mind -- a choice. There are only his orders, which he knows better than to not follow.

The woman may believe that she's hiding, and if he were a normal person, it may have even worked. But he can hear her breathing, can hear the way that her finger brushes off of the trigger of her gun. That's a mistake she may come to regret.

There's no reason to act as if he doesn't know she's there, and so he starts down the hall toward her hiding place instead, fists clenched at his sides and shield at his back. He doesn't think he'll need it, but maybe she'll surprise him. It's so rare that he's given a challenge, there's even a part of him that misses it. The thrill of a good fight.

II

[altarwolf]

[Morrigan is heading to the library when she runs into this man on a mission. Steve's approach results in a raised eyebrow. She doesn't make a habit of entertaining random strangers, but he may have something worthwhile to say if he seems so intent on speaking with her.]

What is it? Is the library closed today? [she asks with a smile, knowing that no, the library isn't closed, and he clearly has something unrelated to speak to her about.] I cannot imagine what else you may wish to speak to me about, as we do not know one another.

[assembles]

[ It doesn't matter whether or not they know each other. The only people the Soldier are allowed to know are those within his own organization who he has reason to interact with. Everything else? A distraction, something that will have to be wiped away. He may not remember her in a day or two if it's decided that it's not necessary for them to be acquainted, even if he does bring her to their side.

Which is the plan, of course. ] You don't have any affiliation with HYDRA. [ As far as his mission briefing is concerned, at least. He knows which people are on his side, which labels everyone else as "in need of conversion." ]

You have to decide. [ He levels his gaze at her, clenches his jaw. ] Are you with us or against us?

II (feel free to drag him off to be brainwashed. Bucky is meant to be saving him)

[beforeblue]

He's back in his armour now. Too dangerous to be without it when those people are walking the halls, dragging people away to be brainwashed. At least that was what Barnes had said they did and Wash was inclined to agree. He'd seen a couple of people from their little group vanish and come back working for the other side.

It's not a betrayal. He has to remember that. They don't get a choice. It just sits uneasily in his gut. CT had got a tomahawk to her chest for her trouble when she'd betrayed them. It'll never be right.

He's patrolling one of the hallways, running interference for anyone who needs to get out. He recognises the man who steps into the hallway. Saw him training a few days ago. Walks like he's military. Confident. And Wash is immediately on edge.

[assembles]

It isn't often that anyone in this place carries themselves like they're readying for battle. Wonderland spoils them, and so they've become relaxed, complacent. It's something that makes the Soldier's job simpler, as he doesn't have to work hard to corner someone.

But he doesn't like for things to be simple. He would rather someone offer him a challenge, and this figure in full armor could do just that.

The Soldier hopes he isn't disappointed, at least. He so often is.

He pauses when they're about ten feet away from each other and studies the armor, eyes flicking back and forth before he goes still. Unnaturally so. "Are you willing to comply?" It's the only question he really needs to ask.

II, 8/29

[mindbend]

It's a mistake, for her to still be so hesitant about using her powers against others. Slowly but surely, that has become abundantly clear over the last few days-- but she doesn't even consider using them against Steve, doesn't even think to look inside his mind and see if he might not be the team Captain she's come to put her trust in, what little she allows.

She makes hunting easy for him without meaning to, making her way towards him the moment she spots him in the hallways, relief washing over her when he comes into view. If anyone will know what to do, how they should handle this, it's him, isn't it?

"There you are!"

[assembles]

That trust would have been well-placed during any situation but this one. The Soldier spots the woman starting down the hall toward him. She looks relieved, glad to see him, and it doesn't make any sense. He shouldn't mean anything to anyone but his superiors, and even then it's only in the context of what he can do for them.

The Soldier suspects that she isn't truly looking for him, but this makes his job easier. She's already putting herself right into his grasp. He could play along, try to behave like the person she thinks he is, but that's not his way.

He looks her over, realizes after a moment that there's something familiar here. It causes him to frown just slightly.

"You should be one of us." And yet she isn't. A defector?