infreefall | redacted ★ andromeda

[ He takes the pillow and unceremoniously drops it on the floor between the window and the nearest bed. He figures that's the best spot, at least. ]

Oh, you mean powers? [ He snorts. ] Yeah, if you have 'em but don't have access to 'em, that's not a good sign. But not the end of the world. I've never needed any to get by.

... Hey, if your ice powers don't work here, you sure you don't need the blanket?

[who is todoroki.............

the "quirk eraser" she understands from context easily enough, and nods thoughtfully about. that's another theory for the books, then. bucky's snort catches her attention, and she watches him for a moment, smiling patiently.]

Well, it's less a matter of getting by, and more... if you've always had something like that, losing it it like... losing a piece of yourself. Imagine if you suddenly couldn't taste, or smell. It's not the end of the world, but every time you would have naturally relied on them, you can feel the loss. I think that's more of what Ochako and I are feeling.

[it's a gentle explanation, one that she hopes he'll catch the undertext of. ochako is a child—no need to tell her her abilities are worth nothing.]

I wouldn't worry too much about me. I've been wandering about all day with no sign of a chill, so I don't think it'll suddenly hit me at night.

[ she nods along with elsa's explanation, though her energy is fading a little with the serious topic. ]

I guess I'm a little used to it, since my teacher's quirk is temporarily erasing other people's quirks. But that's why I trained under Gunhead - so I could get stronger without it, just in case.

[ He can hear Elsa practically lecturing him and it rankles him. On the one hand, he knows that what she's saying is true. On the other hand, though, he's always had a bit of a chip on his shoulder about being the only non-powered person in the room. And being talked down to about it doesn't help.

That said though, he does appreciate Ochako's willingness to work without it. He nods approvingly. ]

You always need to be ready to work without it. Or else that'll be the first thing about you that gets targeted.

[boys really are just the worst. for her part, she stands, and patiently starts folding up the blanket off her own bed.]

I would hope there's no reason for anyone to be targeted.

[finished, she brings the blanket to bucky, pressing it into his arms, and gives him a smile.]

Thank you for volunteering. But, depending on how long we're here for, let me know if you want a night on the bed—I'm more than happy to trade.

Hopefully not, but it's better to be prepared for anything, isn't it? We don't know what could happen in this place.

[ that said. she does cheer up a little with the return to a lighter subject. ]

Same goes for me, Bucky-san! We can always rotate once in a while, if you want. I don't mind!

Hopefully not, but I'm not letting my guard down. Any time I wake up in a mysterious place with no explanation, it's not a good thing.

And I'm used to sleeping rough. A pillow and a blanket is more than enough. You two keep the beds.

[ Please let him cling to this one element of chivalry that lets him feel like he's an actual civilized person. ]

...Why does that sound like this isn't your first time?

[said lightly, with a concerned look.]

Do you make a habit of being the damsel in distress? Don't worry—Ochako and I will save you.

[teasing. but if they're going to have to room together, they might as well keep the mood light, right? two adults and a teenager. what could go wrong?]

How about this? Whoever gets to the floor bed first gets to sleep there. You snooze, you... win.

Yeah! [ she presses her fingertips together! ] I'm going to be a support and rescue hero, you know! We can totally help! Or at least meet you halfway.

[ since he's clearly used to handling himself. ]

You snooze, you win... I like that.

[ He could bristle at the implication that he's a damsel in distress, but there are more important things to focus on now. ]

I will fight you two for the floor.

No fighting—you'll just have to be quick.

[she goes to shift a pillow down to the floor bed, when something catches her eye on the cushions. she'd just assumed it was a part of the décor before, but...]

--Oh.

[elsa scoops up the shawl from the pillows, and holds it, nearly reverently, in her hands.]

How did... how did this...?

[ ochako just bursts out laughing. ]

You'll fight us for the floor? And you were being so gentlemanly a minute ago!

[ whatever happened to chivalry, lmao. once her laughter's subsided a bit, she'll glance at elsa, still chuckling. ]

What's that? Did they give you a scarf?

Being gentlemanly means always taking the floor.

[ He says, with his arms crossed. Not that Bucky's ever been much of a gentleman. Look, he's trying.

He leans in to get a closer look at the shawl, curious. ]

What, did they give us more gifts other than the ones in the goodie bags?

That's very sweet of you, Bucky. But being truly kind means sharing the burden with your friends.

[she nods at ochako. kid was literally just talking about rescue stuff, they're definitely going to outnumber bucky two to one on this.

elsa wraps the shawl around her shoulders—and smiles.]

I guess they must have.

This is my... my mother's shawl. I didn't have it with me before, or when I woke up. I just found it here. It's... [she hums, pulling it a little tighter, smiling wanely] very important to me.

Mm, mm! Even pro heroes need help sometimes, you know?

[ anyway, pay no mind as ochako comes a bit closer to get a better look at the shawl. ]

That's pretty nice of them. But if you didn't have it with you, I wonder how they got it... Maybe that's their quirk?

[ but for kidnappers to give their victims gifts... weird. she wonders if there's something for her and bucky-san, too? ]

It's pretty, Elsa-san! I've never seen anything like it before.

[ Bucky has NEVER SHARED THE BURDEN IN HIS LIFE AND REFUSES TO START NOW

He scoffs. ]

Fine. But when your back starts hurting from sleeping on the floor, know that you asked for it.

[ He eyes the shawl warily. ]

So they're stealing our stuff now too? And just dumping it in our rooms?

[she giggles, and tilts her head at Bucky, quite enjoying his consternation at two girls telling him to deal with it.]

I'll even let you tell me "I told you so" as many times as you like.

[elsa would, and literally has, died to avoid sharing any sort of burden? so they're probably going to enter a deadlock sooner or later?? it's fine. it'll be like a fun race.]

Seems like it. Not an encouraging sign, but... [she shrugs, sighing.] ...maybe it's a peace offering. A little something to make us feel more comfortable while we help.

Help with what, though? They haven't told us why we're here yet, and we can't help if we don't know what's going on.

[ aizawa-sensei would probably be reminding the class to be prepared for anything, or something along those lines, huh. too bad ochako has never been the best at that.

well. she's going to go check out the closet and see if there's something for her and bucky, after all. ]

Ah - my hero outfit! Wow, they really did bring our stuff, huh?

[ Bucky blinks in surprise. So now both of his roommates have some item of theirs from home mysteriously in their room? Odds are good, then, that Bucky does too.

He peers into the closet cautiously and after a few moments of fruitless searching, almost gives up. But then his hand brushes up against curved metal deep in the darkest part of the closet, and he pulls out a shield. ]

What the hell? This technically isn't even mine. Not anymore, anyway.

...I guess we'll just have to find out.

[she hops off the bed, though—and pads after ochako and bucky towards the closet, staring at their various things—which are significantly larger than hers.]

Oh. My. That's an interesting outfit. [very. puffy? and to bucky:] A shield? Is there a reason it's painted like a target?

[ nodding, she explains: ] It's a bit tighter than I wanted, but it's pretty well designed for my quirk. Helps with the nausea and everything!

[ anyway - ochako's leaning in to get a better look at the shield. ]

Wow, it's almost like something All Might would use. Are you a hero, too, Bucky-san?

[ "are you a hero" is a surprisingly tricky question for him! ]

Uh, kind of? I used to be. That's when I used to use this.

Mostly it's painted like this to match the American flag. Some people say it's target-like to attract more attacks to it instead of your allies, but [ he huffs ] I don't put much stock in that.

[ He gives Ochako's costume a quick onceover. From what he can tell, it looks like a solid design. ] Tight costumes are pretty much industry standard. Especially the more public you are.

[elsa holds up her hands to both of them.]

Okay, okay. Hold on. I have a few questions for both of you.

Ochako, I assume when you say "quirk", that's your country's term for someone's... power, or ability? And you get nausea from using it? [whatever it is] And you're a hero?

Bucky, what is America. A country? A group? And you used to be a hero?

[she laughs a little, clearly embarrassed by her own ignorance and inability to keep up with the two of them.]

And, um... how are we using hero, in this context? You both seem to know more about it than I do.

Ohhhh, so you've already retired. [ she gets it! ] And... yeah, I know about the outfit thing. It's just kind of embarrassing sometimes, you know?

[ do boys know about bad self-esteem days,

anyway, poor elsa over here needs an explanation. ochako gives a sheepish laugh. ]

Yeah, that's pretty much it. My quirk can make anything I touch float. [ she shows them her hands, and the little pads on her fingertips. ] But if I do too much at once, or make myself float, I can get a little nauseous. It takes a while to get used to zero gravity, and it kind of messes up your sense of balance, so...

[ she shrugs. ]

Technically, I'm just a hero in training, but I've got my provisional license already, so I can still do official hero work and al... You know, support and rescue stuff, or fighting villains, that kind of thing.

[ Bucky nods. ] America's a country. I started out in the American army back in World War 2--this shield was my partner's then, before it was mine. We didn't really call ourselves superheroes then, though, we were just...teams of people with powers in weird costumes fighting other people with powers in weird costumes. I think those names came out of marketing.

[ He blinks at Ochako in confusion. ] We don't have licenses or anything like that, though. [ He thinks. Oh jesus, do all the kids have to get licenses now? Is he out of touch??? ] You just...decide to be a hero and start doing it.

[ He also frowns a little, remembering what Ochako said at the start. ] And I didn't retire. I still do the same work, I just do it under the radar, mostly.

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