are you going to age with grace? [OPEN]

[assembles]

Who: Steve Rogers and YOU
Where: Throughout Wonderland
When: 03/17 - 03/24
Rating: PG-13
Summary: A "day in the life" scenario with the star-spangled man!
The Story:
I.
Steve's always preferred the diner to the dining hall. There's something about the personal touch that's put on the food. It's not quite like home, but it's definitely better than the formal setup of the dining hall, with its long tables and lavish decorations.

On any given day, Steve can be found camped out in one of the diner's booths, picking at an enormous plate of food while he works on one project or another. Depending on when he's found, he might be scribbling down names into a notebook (names like Black Widow and Hawkeye, among others), or reading a novel, or even doodling in his sketch book.

While he doesn't mind eating by himself and never has, finding the alone time to be relaxing, he certainly won't turn away anyone who might decide to join him, gesturing them toward the opposite side of the booth with a brief smile.

II.

As much as Steve enjoys jogging around Wonderland's grounds, particularly now that spring has sprung and the weather is so nice, from time to time he prefers to switch things up, which is how he finds his way to the swimming pool located on the mansion's second floor. As far as he knows, people don't often make use of this amenity, and so he usually finds it empty when he heads down in a pair of trunks with a towel in hand to swim some laps.

Steve's instincts might be good, but with his head mainly submerged underwater while he swims, he isn't likely to notice if anyone does happen upon him during his workout. On the other hand, he might be finishing up and pushing himself out at the edge of the pool to dry off as someone walks in.

Either way, it's going to involve him wet, dripping, and shirtless -- and who would want to miss that?

III.

With Natasha and Clint having arrived in quick succession, the pressure on Steve to restructure the Avengers is stronger than ever. He's been putting it off, which isn't like him, probably because it's another way in which he has to make a change because Bucky has left. That, and there haven't been any threats on the mansion as of late. Most people can put up with some talking plants without the aid of a superhero team.

Still, it needs to be done, and that means getting back into the swing of his title. He can't just be Steve here, not when he's got people relying on him, and so he's in full uniform as he takes out the robot drones that Tony set up for them in the training room.

He crashes into one with his shield, throwing it off balance, and then flings his leg up high enough to slam his boot into its head, which knocks it clear off the thing's shoulders and sends it rolling across the floor. Then he spins around and flings his shield out to clip two more of the drones, racing after it to slam into the metal dummies with all his strength. This is entirely different from watching Steve spar -- he isn't holding back right now because he doesn't need to, instead making full use of the serum.

IV.

Wildcard! Want to interact with Steve in some other place or setup? Go for it! If you need to check anything over with me, hit me up at demonology.

Comments

II

[uncaging]

Elizabeth's never had the opportunity to swim, and it's one of those things that she knows she can't really learn from just reading about it. The last few days she's wandered over to the pool, acclimatising herself to the water, just floating around mostly and attempting a few strokes. The swimsuit she's got from the closet in her room reminds her of the ones the women at Battleship Bay were wearing, and while it doesn't feel very practical as she moves in the water, she assumes it's the sort of thing people are supposed to wear whilst swimming.

...That is, until she arrives at the poolside just in time to see a man emerging shirtless, droplets of water rolling down his bare torso. She finds herself rooted to the spot, unsure of where to look, a blush spreading over her cheeks.

[assembles]

Both Steve's hands lift up to wipe the water from his face and then smooth back his hair, and it's only after he drops them and takes a look around the area that he realizes he isn't alone.

It's not some stranger who's come across him like this, though. Steve knows this girl -- or rather, he knew her. It's been a long while since Elizabeth was last here in Wonderland, but their conversations come rushing back to him with a sharp clarity.

She's from a place called Columbia, a city that floats in the sky. She'd been locked away by her father, because she had the ability to see through doors to other possible universes. She likes to paint, and she considers herself responsible for a number of deaths.

He knows a lot about her, as it turns out, because she'd confided in him back then. But to her, he's just a stranger.

"Elizabeth," Steve blurts out, standing there in his soggy swim trunks as he drips water. The blush she's got there barely even registers. He's a little too stunned to see her again.

[ OOC: So yeah, Steve knew a previous version of Elizabeth! If this isn't okay, please let me know and I'll change it. ]

[uncaging]

When he says her name she stares at him in surprise, then her glance flits down again to the water dripping from his chest and she quickly averts her eyes again, never having seen a man in a state of partial undress other than illustrations in books.

"How... how do you know my name?"

[ooc: That's fine! I'd rather she's not spoiled for the end of her canon, but otherwise go for it.]

I

[sciencelizard]

Alphys, by her own fault mostly, hasn't been out of her room much in the last couple of days. After finding the library, and the closets being able to provide her with food if she needed it, there hasn't been much reason to get out and see people. Alphys is aware, however, that she's falling back into old habits of disappearing, and she doesn't want anyone to be worried about her, so maybe it's time to at least get out and walk around.

She's got a volume of her favorite manga shoved in front of her face as she shuffles into the diner, unwilling to put it down long enough to look where she's going... causing her to trip and fall flat on her face, right next to Steve's booth. She's immediately mumbling her apologies to whoever she's just dropped herself in front of, trying to get herself up off the ground so she can scurry away in her embarrassment in peace.

[assembles]

Engrossed in his work, Steve doesn't pay much mind to the other people who come and go through the diner, so he isn't aware of Alphys' presence there until she's already in the process of tripping to the floor.

That being said, his reaction time is impressive. He's out of his chair and at her side in a matter of seconds, not giving her the time to get up or scurry away. "Are you all right?" Her appearance is hard to mistake. They'd only spoken by phone before, but it's obvious who this is. "Dr. Alphys, right?"

He reaches out for the book that had flown from her hands, some sort of comic from the looks of it, and hands it back to her. "You know, you should really watch where you're going..." At that point he straightens and extends his hand to her to help her up.

[sciencelizard]

Alphys immediately blushes and almost can't look him in the eye when she realizes who's there- Steve was one of the people who responded to her when she first arrived. At least this wasn't a first impression, necessarily, but that didn't make it any less mortifying to land on your face in front of someone.

Despite this, she takes his hand to help her to her feet, and takes the comic back from him, pressing it tightly to her chest. She looks at first glance like she might be crouching or slouching, but no, she's just actually kind of small. "Y-Yeah, that's me! Uh, s-sorry about this." She can't quite meet his eyes. "I mean, uh, I'm fine! That, uhm, h-happens sometimes. A-And, I mean, I should, uh..." She stops for a second, tries to get her thoughts together. "I, uh, w-was really excited to finish this c-chapter. I hadn't been, uh, a-able to get this volume b-back home, and... y-yeah. I'm sorry for, uhm, b-bothering you!"

She manages to flash him a smile. "B-But, uh, thank you for h-helping me out."

III

[naughty_nurse]

Mikan visits the training room on occasion, but never to make her own body stronger. No, this is a good place to see if people would injure themselves if they worked too hard. She'd come with a first aide kit clutched to her chest like a little girl would with their favorite toy.

So when she hears all the noise inside, she's a little excited. It's not that she WANTS Steve to be horrifically injured or anything - she just likes feeling useful. So she watches from the entrance quietly, hoping she isn't spotted.

[assembles]

It doesn't take long for Steve to finish off with this round of robots, his body moving much like a dancer's as he spins around and lunges out to either bend them out of shape or send them flying to the other side of the room to fall to pieces.

Unfortunately for Mikan, this isn't the sort of situation where he's likely to hurt himself. Steve's body is resilient and his suit is lightly armored, so punching and kicking even hard metal isn't going to do much but leave him with some temporary bruises.

Once he's done with this round, the drones have to reset themselves with new targets, and it's at that point that he circles around to where he left his bottle of water -- and spots Mikan in the process.

"Oh -- sorry, I didn't see you there." Will she recognize him with the helmet on? "It's Steve, we spoke once before. Did you need help with anything?" He doesn't know if she's here to train, but he'll show her around if that's what she's interested in.

[naughty_nurse]

She lets out a little eep, and ducks away, but it's obvious she's been spotted. After a moment of hesitation, she slowly pokes her head back in, as jittery as always.

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to b-bother you, I... I was just seeing if you n-needed any help..."

II because prepare for trouble and make it double

[araneidal]

The operative word is: usually. Natasha isn't averse to water, or relaxation, but it's been on the less sunny side lately, and she's not a creature to be found at poolside parties on the regular. The first hint of a warmer day? There's no harm in spending an hour or so with a chilled glass of lemonade, a good hat, and some company. She's been remiss lately.

It helps to have a partner-in-crime. They are just there when Steve emerges from the water, and lower their sunglasses in a smooth, identical motion.

'I have to say, darling,' she says, a little smugly to Natasha at her side, 'I was in two minds, but the view convinced me.'

she objects to being Team Rocket, Nat. People might mistake them for the furry rodent.

[widows_kiss]

Natasha hums mildly, taking a sip of her very fruity-looking drink to hide the smile that tugs at the corner of her lips, her eyes tracing over Steve as he pushes out of the pool before glancing knowingly over at the other woman beside her.

"It is rather nice, isn't it?" she teases with a knowing smile and a hint of a dimple peeking out at the corner of her lips as she stays reclined on her chaise, posture lazy and indolent.

[assembles]

To Steve's credit, he doesn't startle too much at the sight of them. He's baffled, most definitely, because they've somehow set up in recliner chairs with drinks and sunglasses, as if they're outside at some hotel pool rather than one that's more suited to a gym.

But he's also resigned to this. It's a part of being Natasha's friend, and now he has two of them to contend with.

Steve stands there, dripping at the poolside as he starts to towel off his arms and chest. "How long have you been here...?"

III.

[outofthebreach]

"Did you just... throw your shield?"

Brennan's standing just inside the door of the training room, dressed in simple leathers and a comfortable tunic - an outfit that clearly dates him as someone not hailing from the modern times of jeans and tshirts.

He'd been walking past the door when the sound of fighting caught his attention and he'd peeked in our of sheer curiosity to see the man in the strangest suit of armor he's ever seen fighting off some sort of metallic assailants. And throwing his shield as some manner of projectile in a fighting style he's never seen anything remotely like before.

It leaves him watching the scene in a bit of dumbfounded awe for a moment.

[assembles]

When the unfamiliar voice cuts in, Steve focuses first on making sure that he successfully catches said shield as it returns to him and then swivels around to face the visitor, tilting his head to one side when he realizes they've spoken once before.

It had been a while back, when all of those portals had been opening up around Wonderland. This guy and his friend had been trying to close them, but it hadn't worked out so well. They'd compared stories about the portals in their worlds, and that had been that. Steve's not sure he even got his name.

With the helmet on, there's a good chance that the guy doesn't even recognize him. Steve let his shield magnetize to his arm and then reaches up to unclip the helmet and yank it off, revealing his face.

"Yeah. Never seen anything like that before? Most shields aren't really balanced the right way for it." But his shield is special, and he can't help but feel a little proud of it.

[outofthebreach]

Brennan recognizes him once the helmet comes off, though he can't place a name right away with his face. Curious now that he has the man's attention, he wanders a little further into the training room as he approaches the warrior.

"No, that's a skill I've never seen anyone employ before. Your shield was crafted with this purpose in mind?" What a fascinating concept.

II

[mindbend]

While she had sensed someone's presence within upon approaching the pool for her own use, Wanda hadn't prodded far enough to discern exactly who it was-- but somehow, she's not entirely surprised to find Steve there when she enters, a towel tucked under one arm with her swimsuit already on beneath black jeans. She offers a lopsided smile as she approaches the edge of the pool, waiting for him to resurface from his most recent dive before saying anything at all. When he does, she keeps it simple:

"It looks like great minds think alike."

[assembles]

Steve definitely isn't prepared to find Wanda standing at the poolside and peering down at him right as his head breaches through above the water, but it's not as if her presence is unwanted either. She's sought him out more lately, he can't help but notice, and that probably has something to do with the fact that both of them are missing their most important person here.

"I didn't take you for the swimming type," he shoots back, pushing himself out of the pool so that he can sit on the edge of it. "But hey, it's great exercise and it's pretty relaxing too. I think I might see if the closets can give me one of those waterproof MP3 players." The future can be pretty amazing sometimes, inventions like that being just one example.

[mindbend]

"It suits me better than running," Wanda confesses, her smile hitching up a bit higher on one side, "And I was feeling restless. I thought it would be a nice change from all those hours spent in the training center."

Sometimes, it was nice to lose herself in an activity that had nothing to do with the powers she'd made a deal with the devil for, so to speak. She sets her towel down on the nearest bench, canting her head as she turns back to face him with her hands on her hips.

"An MP3 player? You really are catching up with the times," she remarks approvingly. "If you ask Stark, I am sure he can make you one that's not only waterproof, but takes your vitals and-- what, flies?"

Something like that, probably.

III.

[sponsored]

"Yo-- what's with the mask?"

Faith doesn't mind the training room; it's a little fancy for her tastes, but hey. Open space is open space, right? You don't look a gift horse, or whatever. And, on occasion, she gets to see what's in everyone else's tool box. Definitely not a con, given the ever-present potential of infighting any given morning.

Her Southie comes out a little whenever she hollers like that, voice amplified and accent with it to carry across the room. Faith knows better than to get in the way of someone in the middle of a pummel-session. Especially someone who looks like a bulldog and fights like a terrier, full body blows that carry more than physical weight behind them.

[assembles]

It's not that Steve doesn't hear her voice, but all the same, he doesn't react at first. There's a flow to a fight like this, even an artificial one, and he wants to carry it out to the end -- just like wanting to finish the page of a book before acknowledging someone who wants your attention.

With a few more well-placed kicks and punches, the robots are destroyed and the shield lands back into his hands. Steve sucks in a breath and heaves it out, turning to the woman standing in the doorway.

"It's part of the uniform." He'd call it a helmet rather than a mask, but he isn't going to get into semantics right now. Steve tilts his head at the stranger. "I don't think we've met."

[sponsored]

"Oh, uh. Faith." She gestures to herself, you know-- just in case it isn't obvious she's doing the introduction thing. A loose movement, like it doesn't really matter all too much, who she is.

His answer strikes her as glib, and so makes her want to know more. What kinda guy dresses up in a full uniform and covers his eyes in order to massacre a bunch of automatons? Probably someone who's a little crazy. Her eyes drift over the uniform; hard to ignore the stars and stripes. She smirks.

"So, then ... what's with the uniform?"

III.

[beforeblue]

Being exhausted helps, he's finding. Physically exhausted anyway. Training is habit, one that he doesn't intend to give up just because he's in a magical world filled with talking animals and insanity. There's something clean in the movements; in running or shooting, or training. He can lose himself in it, forget what he knows for a while.

He pauses in the door of the training room, staring as he watches Steve fight. That is, well fuck, as impressive as he remembers Carolina being the first time he'd watched her fight. The second time he'd been up against her and had got his ass kicked so that had been less fun.

He waits until there's a lull in the attack and gives an enthusiastic round of applause. "Damn, I think you could take on Maine like that."

[assembles]

The robot drones whir into silence as Steve finishes taking them down; he breathes hard with his shield held tight at his side. Then he hears the applause, and turns hard on his heel to find out who'd been watching while he was distracted.

Steve should have heard Wash come in. That's something to keep in mind for his own training. He can't get so drawn in by what's right in front of him that he doesn't hear a potential friend or enemy coming in from his flank.

Never sure how to take a compliment, Steve ducks his head down and then shrugs. "Who's Maine?" Some buddy of Wash's from his program, maybe?

I

[1908]

Adaline is new here and, as such - she finds herself lost more often than not. She's unfamiliar with the layout, but she's slowly (and steadily) learning.

Still, one can find themselves wandering the halls aimlessly and discover new rooms and locations, the diner today being one of them.

(the closets, she has to admit, are fantastic. she's loving her new wardrobe choice.)

There aren't many people in it, just the one until she herself steps in. She's not terribly sure if she should say something or move along, but she smiles and gives a brief wave anyway - if just to be polite.

"Hello."

[assembles]

The voice cuts through Steve's concentration during his sketching, causing him to glance up, greeted by a stranger in some familiar fashion.

It's not often that he comes across anyone here in Wonderland who can likely claim to have been born within a few years of him rather than a few decades, and yet this woman's dress seems to indicate that. Unless she's just wearing what the closet decided to give her without much consideration for when it's from.

Better not to jump to conclusions, but Steve straightens in his seat, manners sliding into place as he pushes his sketchbook aside and turns to face the woman.

"Hello. I haven't seen you around before." And she would be hard to miss. "Are you new here?"