A day late, and Sonya still had no idea what to make of this realm. The whole thing seemed like some twisted, science fiction movie, one where the people woke up in a supposed ideal world, only to have it really be a sort of nightmare. That she actually seemed to ‘replace’ another version of herself didn’t really make her feel any better-especially since she left behind a kid. Even if she wished to take it as it was (a sort of well earned vacation), there was the underlying guilt that this wasn’t meant to be her life-that she was a sort of intruder of sorts.
She left the kid with a babysitter, one that was at the top of this ‘other’ Sonya’s contact list, needing to take a walk and explore the town. She never had the chance to do that before, just to walk and window shop at her leisure; in her own realm, all she and the others did was fight off enemy forces, and any chance they had at a normal life was on hold because of the constant threat of attack. Just to have a chance to shop, to enjoy herself away from the Mesa and the others, she should’ve seen it as a welcomed break, but the guilt kept nagging at her that she should feel bad about ignoring her duty.
The display window of a boutique shop caught her eye and she stopped to just look inside. Inside were a few clothing items and accessories, all of it for the sort of woman that didn’t lead a constant life of combat and military training-or at the very least was able to afford time off to wear and enjoy it. She could go inside though, see if there was anything that caught her eye; she could just go inside and browse for the sake of it.
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Natasha knew something was going on, mostly thanks to her husband believing he was somebody completely different. With no memory of her or Cassie or Madison or anything else Bruce would have known. It was incredibly odd and Natasha had to admit she was getting pissed off with the powers that be lately, it seemed they were really enjoying playing with everybody and their lives. Natasha felt like hitting something hard and repeatedly so she’d decided to head into town and hit the gym.
Catching sight of her friend browsing a shop window she smiled and headed over, “Sonya” she called out, “Are you, well, you?” she asked, hoping the other woman hadn’t been hit by the same thing Bruce had been.
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Her thoughts were broken when she heard her name, turning to see who it was. No surprise in that she didn’t recognise the woman, but the woman spoke and looked as though she recognized.
This was going to be a fun time.
She took a deep breath, before realizing just what exactly the woman was asking-and the implication that she wasn’t the only one dealing with this. “If you mean did I recognize all of this waking up yesterday, no, I didn’t.”
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“Oh no, I’m so sorry” Natasha said as Sonya replied, “Well I can tell you my name is Natasha and this place is Madison Valley” she offered in a hopefully helpful way.
This was perhaps more widespread than Natasha had been hoping, honestly Madison was really going mad lately.
Sonya nodded. “Yeah, I get that, This is actually my second day here.” And the woman seemed to know her. “It feels almost like intrusion. None of this is recognizable, but the woman I replaced clearly had a life here-and you knew her enough to even ask.”
Once more, she wondered if this was a common thing; that people could just be ‘replaced’. In the past, she had wished to have some time off from battle, but not like this, not pulled into a life that wasn’t entirely hers.
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“Right” Natasha said, so it had happened at the same time as it had with Bruce, hopefully that meant it was all temporary like most things around here. “I can imagine it’s disconcerting, I don’t know if it helps to know that it will most likely be temporary. Strange occurrences happen with some regularity in this town and this seems to be the latest of them”
Sonya decided to finally ask. “So..what’s the point of all this then? Realm hopping isn’t a new thing, but even this feels more like some overblown lab experiment, like some Elder gods up there are having a joke at our expense.” Especially with what Natasha just told her.
Discussing this in public also felt a little strange. “There a quiet place to talk about this. Talking about experiments, back home, it’s just rare I get the chance to get out.” That was if the Mesa that was HQ could even be considered home-sometimes it really depended on how she felt towards everything in the first place.
“Honestly we’re not really sure. We just arrive here with no explanation, some people come and go, some have been here for years. But there’s never been any reason that we’ve been able to work out” Natasha replied honestly.
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She nodded, “It takes some getting used to, people come here and some of them are so used to keeping what they do a secret that it’s a bit adjustment to make. Talking openly isn’t something they’ve done before” Natasha and the rest of them had been the same to begin with but now they all spoke openly and offered help to others.
She’d had the whole song and dance the first day, and still none of it made any sense. At the very least, it was consistent. “So..what are we supposed to be? Allies, co-workers..friends?”
That was something the woman never made clear: bad enough she had to deal with a kid that wasn’t really hers. “Like I said, I wasn’t really able to get out much back home. Seeing if window shopping results in anything.”
And if she could get over the inner guilt of trying to enjoy herself.
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“We’re friends, we bonded over languages actually” Natasha told her with a smile, “I’ve been helping you develop your japanese” She liked Sonya, she had a simply straightforward approach to learning and it was something Natasha appreciated.
“Window shopping is a nice way to spend some time, though with me it always leads to purchasing something” she gave a small grin.
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Sonya actually felt her expression relax into a smile. Contrary to what the others (save Jax) assumed, languages were actually something she enjoyed; and it never failed to amuse her when Liu and Subzero tried to say something in cantonese and she could understand just enough to get the message otherwise.
“I haven’t had the chance to speak Japanese in ages. Three of the guys I work..well, live with, are multilingual, but neither speak Japanese and the other two just speak a dialect of Cantonese when it’s just them.”
“It’s been nearly just as long since I’ve had the chance for an impulsive purchase. The base I live is one of those ‘middle of nowhere’ sorts, everything has to be shipped.”
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If the woman knew her as she did, she would’ve likely figured she was in the military already. The rest, so long as she kept the details secret, she could go into the more vague parts of her ‘career’.
“I don’t get nearly enough chances to use my languages so helping you has been very enjoyable” Natasha smiled.
Natasha had known Sonya had a military background before they’d ever spoken, it was just one of those things she’d been trained to recognize. Beyond that she didn’t need to know unless Sonya wished to share. Natasha knew all about the kind of ‘career’ that was mostly secret.
“Then we should definitely make sure you do some impulsive buying while you’re out and about now” she said, “It’s something everybody should do on a semi regular basis I think”
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“I was just thinking that when you came up,” She answered, before motioning to the shop door. This one was as good as any-atleast until they saw the average cost of things. “After you.”
Just hanging around, browsing the shops with a woman who might be considered a friend and not merely an ally in combat; the whole notion seemed almost like an indulgence she didn’t deserve.
Stepping inside, Sonya also made a note to get Cassie something. Maybe she was only her daughter in another timeline, but she was still her daughter and felt felt bad for being in place of her realm mom.
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“Perfect then” Natasha smiled before nodding her thanks and stepping into the store they were in front of, shopping with a friend, even one who didn’t currently remember her, was never something to refuse.
“Did anything in particular catch your eye?” she asked as they browsed, wondering if she should also pick up something for her daughter. She had seemed more and more troubled lately.
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She looked around, the clothing on display definitely not the sort worn to go into combat. That she was actually thinking of buying anything seemed indulgent and she could just see some of the guys rolling their eyes on her.
Sonya forced the thoughts back before going towards the first thing that caught her eye; a black blouse with loose sleeves and floral pattern. She immediately took it from the rack and checked the price. “Christ…”
Maybe this was a bad idea after all.
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“That would really suit you I think” Natasha said, as she moved to look at what had caught Sonya’s eyes, “And I’ll give you a little tip - never look at the price tags. Pick things you like, try them on and if it looks good buy it. Trust me it’ll make you feel so much better if you don’t think about it too much” she winked, “Let loose a little, you might find you enjoy it”
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The thought was a tempting one, but she had to remind herself that this wasn’t entirely her money, that she had to be careful with it. “Suppose once nice piece wouldn’t hurt, so long as it fits of course.”
She actually felt herself take a deep breath before taking the shirt from the rack. “You have fun, I’ll be in the dressing room.”
Sonya headed over there, stopping by several shelves and taking a pair of heels on the way. If she was going to go fully on girly, she might as well go all the way.