Jemma Simmons is a terrible liar (needanewplan) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2017-07-06 08:09:00 |
|
|||
Digging herself out of a mass grave? Jemma had thought that would be the most traumatising of it all when she woke up in the Framework. She should have known better. After trying to get to the city to find Daisy and the others, to evading capture by Hydra (who was now in charge? What sort of fresh hell was this?), only to find out that Ward was alive here and apparently dating Daisy’s avatar and on the side of the resistance. Yep. This was hell. Full on hell.
Then the backdoor didn’t work and Jemma woke up.
Not in her room. She felt a bunch of dirt on her, a nearly crushing weight that had her pressed against…. Were those body parts!? Managing to maneuver enough, Jemma covered her nose and mouth before pushing through to claw herself out of the ground. More than slightly dazed and confused, Jemma finally broke ground and pulled herself up and looked down to see the bodies she’d been on top of.
What. The. Hell.
Had she gotten out of the Framework? Or…. okay this was way too confusing and she needed to figure out where she was. Making some mental notes on markers, the brunette headed towards where she could hear cars. She might look a fright, but hopefully a friendly motorist would take pity on her and get her at least back to the city so she could get home and then let Natasha know what she had discovered.
Stumbling over branches, the biochemist found a discarded coat and put it on in some attempt to disguise the fact she’d had to dig herself out of a grave before she continued on her way to the road and saw….two men in suits. Well, that was suspicious, especially the look they gave her as well as noticing the direction she had come from.
“Are you okay?”
Jemma was really bad at improv, so she just decided to go with what she had used in the dreams, so she smiled in what she hoped was reassuring.
“What? Oh. Yes. I was camping with a friend and it seems I’ve gotten lost….”
“Into a dumpster?”
Looking to the one who spoke, the smile never left though her eyes flashed some.
“Well that’s not very nice….”
“Why don’t we drive you into town so you can try and call your friend.” Feeling Dumpster Man grab her arm, Jemma walked along as the one who was pretending to be nice (whom she was pretty sure she recognized from one of her ‘field trips’ with Natasha) pulled up his phone as if looking up information. Something seemed to flash on his face, as if recognition, and so she acted. With the one holding her arm leaning into the car, Jemma slammed the door on him and grabbed his gun, shooting at first the one with the phone only to be knocked to the ground. Still, she never wavered and then shot at the other one before scrambling up and running.
So far they weren’t following her, but if they survived or not, she wasn’t sure. What Jemma knew was she needed to get away from there. She wasn’t sure how far she got, just that it was getting lighter out. And then she noticed a car….. She really hoped whoever was driving was willing to help and wasn’t backup for the two she had left behind. For now it was waving her arms in hopes that they would stop and help her.
Things were settling in so far for Bucky in this place. He’d settled into his apartment, he was making friends, and even maybe something a little more. But that remained to be seen for the moment. At any rate, he was learning where things were in this place, and he was getting around far easier.
Today, he was out running errands. He had a couple projects he wanted to put together for his apartment. He wanted some more shelving, so it was heading to a couple hardware stores and the like.
Though his attention was caught by a woman waving her arms. She clearly was signaling for help of some sort, and Bucky was a helper. He pulled over to the side of the road and rolled the window down, getting a better look at her.
“Do you need some help?” He asked.
Oh thank goodness, someone was slowing for her. Though Jemma nearly did a double take as she recognised the man behind the wheel. True, she had never met Sergeant Barnes in the dreams and only knew about him. Had read his history both at the Academy where he was on the Wall of Valor, at the Smithsonian on the exhibit on Captain Rogers as well as his files, had seen the news reports… but it was still a bit jarring.
Not that it mattered right now. Right now she wanted to get home and pray that the two she had shot remained down and didn’t call for backup.
“Yes, thank you. I seem to have gotten lost and need to get back to Irvine if you’re going in that direction?”
It was hard to know where he was going, but even if she could get back to more basic civilization, she could at least find a way to contact Cosima and Natasha even if she didn’t get back home first.
Now, it wasn’t hard for Bucky to notice how disheveled this woman seemed to be. Considering his military career and the places he’d been, he was willing to bet that ‘gotten lost’ was a cover for what she’d really been through. But considering he didn’t know her, he wasn’t going to outright ask what had happened. Not at this juncture, anyway.
“Yeah, of course. Hop in,” he said as he unlocked the doors so she could get in the passenger side. Considering his errands, he was more or less going in a few directions. But one of the places he was heading was actually in Irvine.
“My name’s Bucky,” he introduced himself, hoping to try and make her comfortable by introducing himself. He was friendly, though he was wondering if she was in trouble. And if she was in trouble, he was going to help her. It’s what he did.
If Bucky had asked straight up, Jemma probably would have panicked. She knew he was on the network, she knew his file but it still would have made her on edge. Yes, it would have been a valid question but given adrenaline and the latest dream and then her run in here, she was a bit more paranoid than she might otherwise be,
Getting into the car, Jemma did a quick look to the direction she’d come from as she buckled herself in. One had to follow safety laws after all. Yes, she had the gun still in the pocket of the found jacket should she need to use it, but she wasn’t a specialist so shoot outs from a car? Not something she was prepared for.
“Yes, you’re on the Network, correct?” She knew she had seen him on the network. At least she had managed to catch herself from calling her Sergeant Barnes. “Mine’s Jemma.”
At least he could recognize when someone was in an adrenaline rush, and he knew better than to press certain subjects. Bucky had been there, seen others be there. So it was just trying to be a calming presence and if she brought up what had happened, that would be fine. Bucky could roll with things. He did noticed her glance behind her and he didn’t need to ask to know that she was afraid of being followed. Or at least something along those lines. So once she was in the car and buckled in, he checked traffic, then pulled back out onto the road.
Though he didn’t expect her to bring up the network. He glanced at her momentarily before nodding. “Yeah, I am. Still somewhat new to it.” Bucky was aware of the weird things that happened here. He had been here when Star Wars had invaded the area. And he was dreaming himself.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Jemma. Where in Irvine are you heading?” Getting a specific destination would help getting her to where she wanted to go. That was just a little important, really. While he could’ve just driven to a random place in Irvine and let her off, that’s not the kind of guy he was. His mother had raised him to have manners and be kind and all of that. He liked to do his mother proud where he could.
“It is...quite something.” There wasn’t much one could say about the Network. The things people spoke about, the things which happened because of the dreams and the cross over. Still, it was a generally shared upon belief and view of the Network once someone had been dealing with everything after a while. First it was the strange dream journal, but once people really figured it out….
“Likewise.” Giving him the location, Jemma’s gaze flickered to the rearview mirror, again checking. It was hard not to worry. Despite the confusion of what she had dreamt about (Seriously what sort of fresh hell had AIDA made for them?) and then waking up in a mass grave here and crossing paths with this world’s version of Hydra….
“You’re telling me. Kind of seems like some grandiose acid trip at times.” Not that his dreams had gotten overly crazy yet. It was pretty straight-forward World War II dreams. He almost felt like he was watching Band of Brothers when he dreamt at night, except it was him in the dreams.
He set course for where Jemma had told him. He flicked his gaze to the rear view mirror, though he didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. Not that he knew what she was afraid of, but he expected if someone was after her they would have come after her if they knew the direction she’d gone in. He took a couple turns before getting onto the road he wanted to take. The turns had been taken to hopefully shake anyone that may have followed them.
“I don’t want to impose or make it seem like I’m some weird, crazy guy, but I’m in the army. If you’re trouble, I promise you I won’t let anything happen to you.” He was feeling rather protective of Jemma. He was a protector at his core.
“While I have never been on acid, that is a rather apt description.” She’d been so excited at first with the dreams. Just new things to learn really, but as they had gone on? Well, that was life and she had gone from bright eyed and curious to more hardened and not so bright eyed. Still the voice of hope, but not quite the same. And no, she’d never been on acid, but those self made stimulants certainly had the same effect.
As he mentioned the army, Jemma bit her lower lip in thought. She knew better than to reveal the exact work she did, however she did know Bucky’s general history from the dreams before being the Winter Soldier, and well…. If someone did show up, it would be best that he was prepared. Just in case.
“It’s possible that I might have stumbled across something I shouldn’t have and angered people who didn’t want it found.” She was just part of the people you would call about that.
“Between us, I’ve never been on acid myself,” Bucky responded in a humorous tone. Bucky had never actually done any drugs period. He’d been an athlete and a scholar student, prizing his mind over getting involved in things that could not only ruin his mind and body, but his entire life. But what he heard of drugs like acid, this place definitely warranted that description.
He glanced at her, then in the rearview mirror before turning his attention back to the road ahead. His senses kicked into overdrive just so he could remain aware of the surroundings. Luckily he could pick out people that didn’t belong somewhere rather easily. So he hoped that whomever Jemma spoke of were those kind of people.
“Then it’s lucky that I saw you and pulled over when you waved at me. I assume these are the kind of people that wear suits and sort of stick out?”
“Well, your secret is safe with me.” Grinning some even though she was still distracted, Jemma also was making sure to keep an eye on things. She doubted Bucky would care one way or another if his lack of being on acid was known but the way it was phrased made it seem like an easy response. She wasn’t relaxed given everything that had just happened, but she was comfortable enough with him despite knowing his dream history that she was able to make some semblance of a joke and teasing him.
“Yes, quite lucky. And that they would be.” Of course they could look like any sort of government agent in intelligence but if you were familiar enough with them or the type of people they were, then hopefully they wouldn’t be too difficult to point out. It was still quiet enough and the strip of road was deserted enough that they’d definitely stick out and…
“Bloody hell.”
There was a car. From her work with Natasha, she was all too familiar with the types of cars Hydra used.
“I’m a scientist, not a bloody specialist.” Yes, she was annoyed because even as she was able to evade capture and fight back, she wasn’t a specialist like May no matter what training she had. Another quick look in the rearview mirror and she reached into the pocket of the long coat she’d found. Well, she had the gun if she needed to use it.
Bucky liked being able to make people comfortable with him. Plus he was trying to help Jemma not totally freak out. It wouldn’t help anyone in this current situation. He kept an eye out, and then he saw the car after hearing Jemma curse.
“You have your seatbelt on, right? Just in case I need to do evasive driving?” Bucky asked, taking a quick glance for any side roads he could cut down. But it certainly helped matters when the bad guys stuck out like sore thumbs. “Sometimes it’s like these people want to be found. They don’t actually grasp the meaning of blending in to take people by surprise.”
But hey, let’s not give the bad guys ideas, right? Right. Bucky took a right, keeping an eye on the rearview mirror to see if that car was going to follow them. He didn’t hit the accelerator yet. No need to draw too much attention if they didn’t have to.
Despite knowing what was to come in Bucky’s dreams, he was doing well at ensuring that Jemma wasn’t freaking out, or freaking out more. Given what she’d woken up in? She would freak out later when she was home and after she told Natasha so that it could be further investigated.
“I do.” Evasive driving was definitely better than Jemma attempting to play the role of specialist and shoot out of a window. She was better with a gun than people would think, and better than she used to be, but that didn’t mean she was trained for that sort of action. “Usually, anyway.”
Given the whole Hydra hiding in the shadows for so long in her dreams and how on one seemed to notice them here. But if you knew what to look for? They did tend to stick out like a sore thumb. “It is useful for us though that they aren’t.”
After the assurance of Jemma having her seatbelt on, Bucky turned onto a different road, then took a couple other quick turns, trying to lose them without going over the speed limit. He wondered if a freeway would work better, but he felt that could endanger more people. Also he’d seen plenty of action movies that said why that was a bad idea.
“That’s true. We can spot them and hopefully go around them.” It was Bucky’s military training that was letting him spot these people. He had no experience with Hydra yet, either here or in his dreams. Well, at least he hadn’t been in contact with them to his knowledge in this life. It really remained to be seen there.
Bucky kept checking his mirrors and scanning the road ahead. He then glanced over at Jemma. “So how did a pop tart like you evade capture anyway?” He finally asked. Because seriously, Jemma definitely didn’t look like the type of person to go around beating up bad guys and being an escape artist. As she said, she was a scientist.
Jemma had no choice now but to trust Bucky. Then again, she had always been the voice of hope so it wasn’t that shocking she would decide to throw her lot in with the man. Okay, and the current circumstances of needing to get home and letting Natasha know about what she woke up in. But that really wasn’t something she was currently worrying about. No. Right now she was worrying about just getting through the car ride.
Though she did have to look over at Bucky and smile some at the question.
“I have my ways. But I’d have to kill you if I told you.”
Yes she was joking. One, because both of them knew she wouldn’t actually be able to even if she were so inclined to. But mostly because it was just the sort of comment that came with that sort of question. Turning her attention back to the situation at hand, she sighed.
“But as you’re on the network, crossover from the dreams which apparently has come in handy here.”
Not a complete lie. There was also her work with Natasha and it wasn’t the first time training from the dream had been useful to her. But it answered the question in a way that would make sense to someone familiar with the Network.
Luckily at the current moment, Bucky was a good guy. He hadn’t gone through anything traumatic or had any dealings with bad people yet. Keyword being yet considering his dreams had only really begun, and there were plenty of horrors to be witnessed during the course of World War II as it was.
“Well, I certainly don’t want you to kill me!” Bucky said with a humorous laugh. As much as he was certain that he could easily overpower Jema if she tried, he also knew better than to underestimate people based on size. For all he knew, Jemma could have a black belt in martial arts and be able to fling him flat on his back before he knew what hit him.
“Ah, yes. I’m aware of that. Such skills can definitely come in handy with the crazy that tends to happen here now and then.” Keeping an eye on the road and his mirrors, he navigated a roundabout way of getting to where Jemma needed to go. Probably better that way, anyway.
Well, that was a relief that he hadn’t taken her seriously. That would be awkward in their current situation. So instead she just smirked some at the comment.
“It would be quite unpleasant, and really quite inconvenient.”
Because of course it would be and of course that would be what Jemma would focus on. She was nothing if not meticulous. And at least he seemed to be aware of the things that could cross over from the dreams. She admittedly was unfamiliar with how much he was familiar with in terms of the network and dreams, but it was rather hard to ignore the talk of both on the network.
“That it certainly does. Other times it can be downright annoying, as well as everything else in between.” Because the dreams would never be easy. No. They lived to complicate matters. “It’s just a matter of working with what happens and continuing on with your life.”
“Very highly inconvenient. Especially for me.” Bucky mused with a smile. He had a good sense of humor and was in good spirits, even with the heightened awareness that people in suits were after Jemma. Sometimes it was best to break the tension as much as possible.
And considering the state that Jemma’s clothes were in? Breaking the tension and distracting her for the meantime seemed to be necessary. Once she was where she needed to go, along with her being safe there, then she could go back to worrying if she wanted. But right now, they both needed to remain calm, so it was opting for trying and cutting the tension a bit.
“From the things I have read about on the network, they certainly seem to get annoying and so forth at times.” He had no idea what his own dreams had in store for him. Of course, Bucky doubted that much good could come from them considering he was dreaming of World War II. So many horrors and atrocities happened during that period of time, and he wasn’t certain what he would encounter. Only time would tell on that front.
While Jemma wasn’t exactly known for breaking the tension given her perfectionist tendencies, she could certainly understand the necessity. Besides, being a perfectionist didn’t mean she couldn’t relax she just couldn’t be frivolous about it or let things fall to the side. Reasons Felix’s hopes to train her at being complacent were doomed to fail.
Add in the given situation, a break in tension was definitely good. It wasn’t like either of them were not paying attention to the men following them. Hardly. But it meant less chance for a mistake because they were too tense and running on adrenaline.
“If there’s one thing the network is good for, it’s people venting about their dreams.” Or passing along necessary information from said dreams if large scale matters took place in Orange County that they were familiar with. “You will never want for information at any rate.” There was always someone who knew something.
A relaxed approach to the current situation was definitely best for them both. Too tense and mistakes were bound to happen. Bucky could accidentally swerve up onto a sidewalk and injure innocent people, among several other equally dangerous scenarios.
With that in mind, Bucky decided to try taking the freeway for a bit, see if he couldn’t shake the people tailing them in a calm fashion amidst traffic. He took a couple turns, finding his way to the freeway and jumping into traffic. So far so good.
“Sometimes I notice people oversharing, so definitely not a place where you’ll want for any information.” Bucky said light heartedly. But it was true. Some people said way too much about various topics, not just their dreams. Some things should really not be shared with the general public.
Freeway was a good move. True it could turn into a high speed chase, but given the nature of Hydra-Cerebus, whatever they were going by these days, they were less likely to want to pull attention to themselves. So it should hopefully be easier to get away from them with more cars on the road.
“That’s an understatement.” Honestly, some of the things she saw people post about were just…. She might not be the most expressive of people but there were certain things that really didn’t need to be expressed to the community at large. “Still, when you need information, it’s always a good place to start.”
She wasn’t a spy by any measure, yes she could handle herself and she was better at going undercover, but she still prefered science to all of that. She just was able to pull her weight as needed in that regard. Which meant that some things were easier to pick up. And the things that came from the spy game? Well those weren’t discussed in public.
Luckily for them, Bucky had one of those cars where pretty much every other car on the road was the same type. And it was also a common color, so it wasn’t that difficult for him to blend into traffic. He drove the speed limit, changing lanes a couple times to move around slower traffic, but it didn’t seem to take overly long before he had successfully blended into the traffic around them. He didn’t precisely notice any of their pursuers in the rear view mirror.
“It is. Definitely a good way to keep communication when things get crazy around here.” When things went to hell, it certainly was easy to lose contact with people, so having the Valarnet was a good place to help touchbase with people during those times.
“Alright, I think I’ve managed to shake those guys. So here’s to hoping we have a clear way to where you need to go.” Bucky said with a little smile. He felt good about getting away from the bad guys, and for being the good samaritan and stopping when Jemma had flagged him down.