[Closed] So now you bring me your bruises

[animalhats]

Characters: Molly Hayes (animalhats) and Natasha Romanoff (tendnottoweep)
Date: June 9th/10th (not long after Tony and Steve's introductions)
Location: Wood Sector, in Molly's assigned suite (that she's never used)
Situation: Molly is freaking out over Iron Man and Captain America being here after everything that happened back home. Natasha noticed the yelling on the network and is tracking her down to make sure she's all right.
Warnings/Rating: Uh. 12-year-old freaking out to a russian spy?

[ Molly might have overreacted to Tony Stark and Steve Rogers arriving in Keelai. There's a tiny, rational, totally drowned-out part of her mind that knows it. She could have said nothing, she could have just avoided them instead of shouting and expecting that to do anything good.

But in the end, Molly is a scared little girl, and scared little girls who haven't had "proper responses" drilled into them for years can generally be expected to not respond rationally to something like this.

So she shouted at the console, and then she shouted at Rikki when the older girl tried to calm her down, and then she ran out of the suite and maybe slammed the door harder than necessary out her way out. She's taken shelter in the safest, secretest place she knows of right now - the suite that she's never actually lived in, in the Wood Sector. There's no reason anyone would think to look for her there, she thinks, not anyone who doesn't know her well anyway. So she's pulled the blanket off the biggest bed and is curled up in it underneath the dining room table; sniffling, trying not to cry even though she's alone, and failing miserably at it.

The door's shut and locked, but it's not exactly a difficult lock to pick, should one be so inclined. ]

Comments

[tendnottoweep]

[ Natasha did check her suite in the Metal Sector - it was on her way, after all - but she's not surprised to find that Molly's not there, that Rikki's half-frantic worrying about her getting in trouble somewhere, and Natasha had to pause to talk her out of putting on her Nomad costume to track her down. She can handle this.

She tries the door, and isn't entirely surprised when she finds it locked. She pauses, leans against the doorframe, and cocks her head slightly to listen any noise coming from inside. ]

Molly? You can unlock the door or I can pick it, but the former's much easier for both of us.

[animalhats]

[ There's a long silence from inside, then a bit of movement, followed by the sound of the door unlocking. It cracks open and Molly peeks out, looking a bit like she's been crying. ]

...Hi.

[tendnottoweep]

Hi. [ Her voice is soft, but calm and even, as if it's any other day. She pushes herself away from the doorframe and smiles. ] Can I come in?

[animalhats]

[ Molly seems to consider this for a moment, sizing Natasha up almost like she's deciding if she could run away and not get caught.

But then she nods and, instead of holding the door open, just returns to her blanket nest under the table and letting Natasha see herself in ]

[ After a few seconds, her voice comes from said nest, a little muffled ] I didn't really mean to yell.

[tendnottoweep]

[ Natasha follows her, closing the door quietly behind her. She pulls out a chair from the table a few feet - far enough that she can see Molly without having to bend down or crane her neck - and sits, one leg crossed over the other, body language casual and pointedly non-threatening. ]

I think Cap can handle it, if he's at all worth the name. An apology might be in order, but if it is, it can wait. Why did you yell?

[ She's honestly curious - both for Molly's sake, and as another point of information about this version of Cap. Obviously Molly's extremely biased, but in a different direction than most Natasha's seen so far, which makes her opinion valuable for that alone. ]

[animalhats]

[ Molly sighs a little, burrowing further into her blankets and not answering right away. She has so many conflicting emotions, and she's scared Rikki will hate her 'cause she yelled at Cap, and really right now the person she wants more than anybody in the world is Gert.

But Gert's dead, even if Molly were home, so it doesn't matter what she wants. And at least Natasha is a lot like Gert - she doesn't treat her like a baby and she doesn't pretend everything's going to be okay. ]

Well, I just was really upset already when Captain America showed up and I kinda flipped out and came here. I really don't like him, the Avengers never came to help even though Cloak and Dagger promised they'd send them. And it wasn't really their fault 'cause someone messed with their memories, but he showed up after we'd already rescued ourselves and he put us all in foster care and split us up even though we're family and we said we didn't wanna.

[ She pauses in her ramble to get a little more comfy. ] and then when he saw us again in New York when we were trying to help Cloak, he wanted to send us back, I know it. And he thought Cloak had hurt Dagger and he wouldn't, not ever!

[ Not precisely accurate, but that's how Molly saw it. She's not as sorry about yelling at Iron Man, though, so she doesn't say anything about him yet. She doesn't want Natasha to get mad at her for hating him or anything! ]

[tendnottoweep]

[ Well that's a lot to process all at once. Natasha sits still for a moment, quietly considering it and weighing how much might be truth versus how much is down to the emotions of a small, angry (possibly rightly so) twelve-year-old. Finally, she nods a little. ]

Technically speaking, taking you into care is the right thing to do. Captain America in any universe would be a figure that... isn't allowed the same choices as the rest of us. You can't have shades of grey in symbols. You understand? [ She's not supporting whatever Rogers did - she doesn't know enough of the circumstances for that - but she can understand why. It's also painfully obvious that Molly doesn't trust adults as a whole, and at her age that doesn't come without a good reason, and Natasha thinks in his position shed have made another choice. ]

Why were you upset before?

[animalhats]

[ Molly considers this for a moment, and it's a testament to how much she actually likes Natasha that she even bothers. ]

It wasn't the foster care exactly. Just... All of us went different places, and we couldn't see each other really. I couldn't see anyone.

[ Huff ]

I was already upset 'cause Iron Man came too. The one from my universe.

[tendnottoweep]

I understand. I'd be upset too. But I doubt Cap did more than make the arrangements to put you in foster care, honestly. I'm not saying you weren't worth his attention, but that isn't his job. [ She pauses, and there's a twist to her lips that's almost a smile and almost sad as she adds: ] Steve was an orphan too. If yours was, I doubt he willingly separated you from what family you do have.

[ An eyebrow shoots up at the mention of Tony. She likes her version now, but... ]

What did Iron Man do?

[animalhats]

I guess. [ it's reluctant, but not sullen - she doesn't have the same anger toward Steve as she does Tony. ] He coulda told them to keep us together though. They would've listened, he's Captain America!

[ And then Natasha asks about Tony, and Molly scowls in a way that would almost be murderous, were she a little older. ]

He came to our hideout with a bunch of guys with guns to try to take us away or something and we had to run away all the way to New York and ask Kingpin to hide us even though he's in charge of the mob people and has glands.

[ because that makes total sense. ]

[tendnottoweep]

He has... Never mind.

[ She's good at analyzing complex situations, seeing perspectives not her own and empathizong with them, but... She's having trouble seeing the need for Tony to ambush a handful of children with armed men. ]

Do you know why he did that?

[animalhats]

No. [ Molly curls up a little in her nest. ] I mean, all the superheroes were fighting about... Registering or something. We just wanted to stay out of it.

[tendnottoweep]

[ Well. It's not terribly hard to put the pieces together from that. She doesn't like the implications, but the actual reasons are pretty clear unless she or Molly is terribly mistaken on some point. ] And you weren't registered. [ It's not a question - just a soft sigh, as she uncrosses her legs and leans forward, cupping her chin in one hand. ]

He can't do anything to you here, if that's what you're worried about. Neither of them can.

[animalhats]

Nuh-uh. They would've sent us back to foster care.

[ Molly huffs a little, quietly ] I guess... [ Yeah, logically, she knows there isn't registering or foster care here and that there's... not really anything they can make her do. Which makes her feel kind of stupid for flipping out.

But she's still scared. ]

I wish they'd go away.

[tendnottoweep]

[ Natasha slides gracefully off the chair to sit cross-legged on the floor - not coming into Molly's little shelter without invitation, but closer and there for comfort if she wants to reach out. ]

I feel that way about some people too. [ Loki, mostly. ] Maybe they will, and maybe we're stuck with them, but I doubt they'll come and find you. And if Rikki has the Captain over... you can come stay with me for a while. He'd never make it past the booby traps.

[ She's joking. Probably. ]