~ (stealthyy) wrote in avengers_logs, @ 2019-07-01 13:01:00 |
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Entry tags: | -complete, ava starr, darcy lewis |
Who: Darcy Lewis and Ava Starr
What: Random meet up
When: Recent, a week or so after Ava’s arrival
Where: 30 Warren apartment complex
Rating/Warnings: Green
Status: Complete
Ava tended to keep odd hours. She was used to traveling back and forth to various time zones, and pushing her body and abilities to the brink during missions - all of that added up to basically crashing at all hours of the day and night, whenever she could. She’d been relying on the quantum stabilization chamber for sleep for most of her life; but that was different now that she had received the healing particles. Still, old habits were hard to break, and a regular sleep schedule was still a foreign concept to her. Her first few days in the new universe had been eventful, to say the least; and she hadn’t really given herself time to slow down and think about everything yet. It was nearing 3am when Ava returned to the lobby of the apartment complex at 30 Warren; after a rather long walk to try and clear her head. Not a single person had attempted to rob her, which was a little disappointing; as she would have welcomed the opportunity to practice her newfound molecular stability. A fancy way of saying - her body didn’t phase in and out all the time; which meant she could fight with greater control and force. She’d have to find some sparring partners eventually; though nothing compared to random violent encounters for testing your skill sets. And speaking of which, she preferred to avoid said violent encounters when it came to her fellow neighbors. Not a great reputation to start up, after only having been here less than a week. Ava stopped as she took notice of the other woman down the hall. “Early morning or late night?” *** Years of working for crazy scientists who ran experiments at all hours of the day and night meant that Darcy wasn’t used to keeping anything close to resembling a normal schedule. Her job with SHIELD was largely weekday daylight shifts, but Fury didn’t exactly expect her to maintain a strict schedule or punch a time clock or anything, as long as she got her work done. She’d gotten wrapped up in a project at work and, by the time she left, was starving, so she stopped for a very late dinner and ended up playing darts with some random dudes she met at the bar. Now it was nearly 3am and she was just getting home. At least she wouldn’t have to get up too early to head into the office tomorrow. It surprised her when she saw an unfamiliar face in the hallway. She thought she was at least aware of all the residents of the building. “Late night,” she said, figuring there was no harm in being friendly. Darcy knew that there was a ton of security here and if she screamed, no fewer than a half dozen superheroes would rush to her rescue. “I’m Darcy. You must be new around here.” *** “Late night for me as well,” she answered, offering a slight smile as if to reassure that although they were total strangers, she wasn’t about to mug her or anything. The fact that Darcy hadn’t run screaming away from her meant they were already off to a good start. “I’m Ava. I just arrived here a few days ago. Is this building some sort of headquarters for the super powered?” I mean, there were already five or so that she’d counted so far. That was quite a lot. Ava took a few steps closer so they weren’t shouting down the hall from one another. Neighbors probably wouldn’t be too fond of that, given they were likely sleeping, like normal people. “Have you also got a super power?” she asked, eyeing the other woman as if she could attempt to guess what it might be. Strength? Flight? Maybe she could read minds - how terribly inconvenient that would be, living in a large city like New York. *** “Does sarcasm count?” Darcy asked, clearly amused by the question. It kind of made sense, given where they were, but she was as human as human could be. “A lot of the people living here are superheroes. Not all of them have super powers though.” She studied the other woman. The question led her to assume that she did have some kind of abilities though Darcy couldn’t even begin to guess what they might be. “I’m right down the hall,” she said. “Want to come in for a cup of tea or something?” If Ava wanted to hurt her, she probably would have by now and Darcy was always a little impulsive. *** “Sarcasm absolutely counts. It’s a lost art, really,” she responded with a half grin. A bunch of super heroes all living in the same apartment complex was like something out of a bad movie. Or a reality show, where they all dated each other. Actually, that wasn’t far from reality as it was, according to the two couples residing here already, that Ava knew of. She wasn’t used to super powered individuals actually …getting along, much less all living in close quarters. But maybe that was just how things worked here. The fact that Darcy then offered her a cup of tea was also somewhat surprising. She was either friendly, impetuous, or maybe she was planning on robbing her after all and just wanted to do so in the privacy of her own apartment? Probably it was friendliness, since that was what Ava received so far on the network - everyone had been so welcoming, she almost didn’t know what to do with it. But tea was a normal thing people offered, so after a moment’s contemplation, she nodded, “Sure, tea sounds good,” then followed the other woman into her apartment. *** Darcy tossed her keys on the table and kicked off her shoes on her way to the kitchen to put on the kettle. “Have a seat,” she said, gesturing to the comfortable living room furniture. It only took a minute to get the water started and she wandered back into the living room, flopping down in one of the chairs. “So, what’s your deal?” she asked. “Like, what’s your connection to all of this? I used to work with Jane Foster and was with her when Thor first landed on Earth.” She figured Ava had to have a story. It wasn’t like this building was open to random people looking for a place to live. *** “My deal?” she repeated, thinking that was an amusing way to look at it. “It’s a long story, but I knew Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne in the other universe. There was an accident with a quantum tunnel when I was younger, and it gave me abilities.” Ava figured she’d stick with the abridged version for now, given that she didn’t know this woman very well yet. “It’s not a very happy story, I’m afraid,” she finished, and left it at that for now. Ava sank back into the couch, relaxing a bit more. “This is nice,” she commented, feeling the density and plushness of the cushions. “I had trouble regulating my abilities, one of which is intangibility. But I’m alright now, thanks to Hope and Scott’s help. It means I can appreciate things like a comfy couch without phasing through it,” she added with a small grin. Darcy had mentioned Jane Foster and Thor, which made Ava wonder who else she might also know. “Do you happen to know a Bobbi Morse? I’ve been invited to join a ‘naughty girls’ club and I’m wondering what I’ve just gotten myself into.” *** Most of the people connected to their universe didn’t have happy stories and as nosy as Darcy could be, she wasn’t going to push Ava to share more than she was comfortable with. Especially when she mentioned being invited to join them by Bobbi. “I do know Bobbi,” she said with a grin. “We have a blast on girls nights.” She didn’t know Hope or Scott very well, just in passing from the network, but she was glad that they’d been able to help Ava with her abilities. “And being tangible means you will definitely be able to appreciate the strippers.” So what if they technically weren’t supposed to touch. *** She was relieved there weren’t any follow up questions to what she’d said. It wasn’t that she intended to hide her past, just that it was a lot to delve into when it came to meeting someone new for the first time; especially at 3am in the morning when you decided to take a stranger up on their invitation for tea. Ava had to laugh at Darcy’s next comment. “I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to touch them,” she added. “You know I don’t think I’ve ever had a traditional girl’s night,” she admitted, thinking back for a moment. There hadn’t been much time or room for building friendships in the past, for a variety of reasons. The loneliness that came with that was unpleasant, but a necessity at the time. Now that things were different, friendships were an appealing concept, for all that she didn’t really know what to expect. “Please tell me there is no sitting about braiding each other’s hair?” *** “We haven’t done a slumber party yet,” Darcy said. The idea was appealing though. She’d have to suggest it after they enjoyed the strippers. They could hang out and gossip and eat junk food. Maybe she’d even get lucky and a few of them would want to experiment. She had some fond memories of high school sleepovers. Hair braiding could be optional though. “Everyone is really cool though,” she said. “I didn’t know most of them before I ended up here.” At least not personally. Having read their files and followed the news about them was definitely not the same thing. “Did you figure out a job yet?” *** “Not yet, no, but it’s only been about a week. I’m still trying to wrap my head around everything.” Not being in pain every moment of every day and night was a bit of an adjustment, as was the whole… time travel through dimensions thing. “But this is New York, there’s bound to be somewhere I can find work.” Mostly, she wanted to find a job that wouldn’t remind her of her past working for SHIELD. So if that meant doing something simple like bartending or being a server somewhere, that would be alright for the time being while she figured out how best to integrate back into ‘normal’ life. “Do you like where you work?” she asked curiously. *** Darcy nodded. “I’m working as Nick Fury’s assistant,” she said. “It’s been cool so far.” Since her internship with Jane, her professional life, such as it was, was being an assistant to someone. Mostly absent minded scientists. Working for a badass spy was a whole new experience. “Wanda works at a vegan bakery,” she said. “Their stuff is awesome.” *** Ava nodded. She didn’t know much about Nick Fury personally, beyond his association with SHIELD. But so far, hadn’t heard bad things either. It was a little surprising to find out just how many new people she’d met either worked for SHIELD or were affiliated with them in some way. Back when she worked for them, they’d kept her in the dark about her fellow agents; among other things. “Maybe I’ll stop in, see if they’re hiring. She sent by a mocha fudge cake she made, as a welcoming gift; I ate about half of it in one sitting,” she said with an expression of delight, because really, it was that amazing. “I had no idea that vegan stuff was actually any good, but,” she shrugged. “So everyone in this building is on friendly terms, huh? No one I ought to be avoiding?” *** “Far as I know,” Darcy said. “I haven’t had any issues or anything.” The only person who made her slightly uncomfortable was Loki and he was in Norway now so she didn’t even have to worry about accidentally running into him. She hoped. It was still hard to believe that multiple versions of her chose to date him. She’d almost rather be celibate than go there. She smiled. “Welcome to the madness.” *** “That’s hard to believe,” Ava said with a skeptical expression. “Although I guess it’s probably best that you get on well. A building full of people with enhanced abilities bickering over trivial things… that’d get ugly quick. Entertaining, but ugly,” she said with a small chuckle. “Anyway, thanks for taking a chance on inviting a stranger into your apartment,” she said with some amusement as she finished her tea. “Next time you’re wandering the halls at 3am, give me a ring; I’ll provide the tea. Probably cake as well, for good measure.” I mean, it was only polite; and she’d probably be bothering Wanda a lot more now that she’d developed a taste for the vegan mocha fudge cake she’d made her earlier. This had gone well, though - Darcy was good company. Ava gave a wave and slipped out the door once they said their goodbyes, feeling hopeful about the prospect of continuing to meet new people here. |