sixthiterationlogs | I wanted to stay home but I went running running running running from the troubles

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I wanted to stay home but I went running running running running from the troubles

WHO: Valkyrie
WHERE: The Bunker, around the village
WHEN: End of November
OPEN TO: Bruce Banner (Bunker), OTA (Village)
WARNINGS: Possible mentions of alcohol abuse, past implied slavery, and PTSD.

Arrival in the Bunker

To wake with swirling, swimming vision, everything distorted in front of her, is nothing new. Many are the nights where the previous night's inebriation simply bleeds over into the morning, one day into another. But the tube? The tube's a decidedly new development.

Groggily she draws a hand up to push at the glass. Then knock against it a few times, the noise enough to discourage further taps with a groan and a squint. Okay, no, hangover is not liking that at all. Though this didn't feel quite like the average hangover.

Still might puke, though.

There's a shape moving past the glass that she can't quite make out, and she tries to lean forward enough to see who it is. One of the Grandmaster's goons? A gladiator? Is this the new pit? She'd worked her way out of that mess already, or so she'd thought. Or was this some scavenger crew who thought to sell her out?

"Hey!" And that initial shout reminds her with a grimace that yes, still in glass tube. Still only really hurting her own ears here. Ow...

Arrival in the Village

Freed of the tube, she's free to marvel at how much...really hasn't changed at all. She's stuck here, instead of there, with less food and booze but more trees and greenery, and fewer tasers or holding cells. Maybe they like their 'prisoners with jobs' free-range, here.

Still, for a new arrival, she doesn't look that fussed by the change of scenery. Anyone look at her could tell she was new, a well-muscled but slight woman with messy dark hair bound back out of her face. Her expression? Says she's already about a thousand percent done with the shake-up and ready to move on. This gaping uncertainty under her feet is a little less than ideal, but she's handled herself in worse.

Clad in telltale red scrubs and carrying her complimentary pack on her shoulder, she's making her rounds, from building to building. Taking in the landscape, such as it is. There's a vague tally to keep, places to sleep, people she'd be expected to work with to do...whatever needed doing. Because of course they're going to ask her to do things, that's not a question, really.

So the sooner she finds out what she needs to do to get secure and get out of her own mind? The happier she'll be.

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The air's a lot less stuffy all of a sudden, and there's no longer glass holding her in place. So naturally, she stumbles forward with a big gasp of air, catching herself with one hand in Bruce's and the other braced on his shoulder. With a grunt, she's pulling herself out and onto her feet, swaying slightly for a moment before regaining her balance and--

"...do I know you?"

She blinks at the man in front of her. There are shades of something familiar about him, and he knows her name, but. No. No, her mind doesn't immediately connect the nebbish-looking fellow in front of her with her big green friend.

So it's this odd sense of familiarity-and-yet-not as she blinks at him, then backs away, looking all around this place. It doesn't look like Sakaar, not nearly as garish. Another glance down and she realizes her armor's gone, all of it. Weapons, too. Just red scrubs and something slung to her back that she immediately reaches to pull off.

Bruce is surprised, and he shouldn't be, because he knows first hand how people are from different time points. Thor for example, who didn't know what happened to Asgard or with Thanos. It takes him a moment to catch onto that. "Oh, I'm Bruce." He blinks a few times and shakes himself out of the confusion. As before, she looks alarmingly familiar. They've only exchanged a few words, but he feels like he's known her for years. That's how deeply engrained the Hulk is to him, regardless of the fact he's gone.

"I'm Thor's friend." But what if she doesn't know Thor either? Oh god that was going to be an explanation. He lets here put distance between them, very respectful of other people's personal space. "I'm the Hulk's friend." That she hopefully would connect. Bruce never refers to himself as the Hulk's friend like they're external beings, but it feels like a wiser move than explaining that they used to share a body.

"Sorry, this is going to be complicated. We've been, well, kidnapped is probably the best word. We're not on Sakaar anymore." For that he's very, very thankful. "There's an island above this bunker, and a village where everyone lives. There's a lot of us, all stuck in this place with no discernible way out." Bruce reaches down to pick up his book, not having a clue how to explain this even though he's done it several times now. Every person reacts differently. "We're trying to figure out how, but we've had no success so far."

"They kidnapped us from the Grandmaster?" She stares for a moment, before the unexpected: she snickers. Actually laughs, nose scrunching, as she tries to imagine the circumstances that would lead to that.

"The look on his face...."

Eventually, the novelty wears off, and with a shake of her head she's tearing into the bag that wound up strapped to her. Clothes, a lot of basic items, all being rummaged through and then dropped to the ground once she'd looked them over to her heart's content.

"Well, we're not on Sakaar. There's a start." Was that a bra? Yes. Yes, it probably was. It's on your shoe now, Bruce.

Bruce has never met the Grandmaster, but he heard him talk about the Hulk a few times, and he's aware that the Hulk was his favorite slave. So he's not interested in knowing the guy. "I mean, his face was probably pretty good when we stole his favorite ship too. But, uh, you don't remember that, so." This is the first time he's actively dealt with someone who he knows more than the other way around, so it'll be a process.

"We're not. It's a good start. There's no gladiator fighting or killing each other either." Which is very, very good in his opinion. He does not tell her about the lack of booze. It's better not to upset her so quickly. Bruce looks at the bra, and while typically he'd leave it there, they can't waste fabric. If she doesn't want it, into the communal bras it goes. He picks it up and holds is awkwardly.

"What is the last thing you remember?" He's not sure why he asks, because anything she says would only be remembered by the Hulk instead of him. "Have you ever ... oh!" He thinks he can figure this part out. "Thor said that time moves slower on Sakaar, so this place, it can take people from different points of the time stream. So I'm from later in yours, and you're from before mine."

Good call on the booze, Bruce. Good. Call.

"Uh huh." There's a pause as she squints at Bruce, rattling off all this stuff about timelines and remembering things. The last thing she wants to do at any point in the day. The thing she actively tries to avoid doing. Who knew, maybe she'd managed to drink away memory of their acquaintanceship. Wouldn't that be an accomplishment?

No. No, that's not fair, that's actively cruel and she frowns at herself inwardly. This guy, Bruce, he hadn't done anything to deserve her ire. He seemed to be doing his best to help, in fact. Her shoulder sag in a light sigh, lips twisting wryly. "Look, it really doesn't matter. We're here now, so..."

One hand gestures vaguely around them. "Where do we go from here?"

That's infinitely more important than hows and whys and whens.

That was probably the healthiest first approach he'd seen so far. Bruce wasn't that surprised. He knew a lot about her from their brief acquaintance, more than she probably felt comfortable with. So that was out the window, as far as he was concerned. If she wanted him to know any of those things, she could tell him herself. "Yeah, you're right." She really was strong and courageous, the first things he thought when he met her. She deserved a friend here to help her through, even if she didn't remember him.

"Okay so this is all underground. It's a bunker, and sometimes people wake up here, like you did, or they're shot of a fountain up above like I was." Bruce pointed in the direction of a very strange vending machine looking thing nearby. "That apparently spits out powers, but it doesn't always work. Also, apparently they've done something to our DNA, because we have new powers? It'll come out when something emotionally sets you off, from what I've heard." He had too much control to bet set off easily with powers, naturally. So he still wasn't sure what his were like.

Bruce gestured to her to follow, walking backward out of the bunker like a tour guide might, trying to get her into the light and to the next phase of this place. He spoke a little too quickly, so he was trying to slow it down. "Whoever took us here, we don't know, but it's an island and there's a good chunk of us now. All in the same boat."

"A bunch of people from different points and times, thrown together, with none of their old powers and a bunch of new ones?" Okay, yes, no, none of it makes sense, but she's following along regardless. In both senses of the word.

She's trailing after Bruce and frowning, but it appears she's grasped the basics, even if there's no 'why' to it. Maybe no one knows the 'why', and there's just what is. She takes a moment to look down at her own hands, squeezing them into fists before uncurling them again.

She's not sure what means for what she was born with, what she's got to work with, but there'll be time to figure that out. "So, who are you? Other than 'Hulk's friend'. Is he here?"

There is, for just a moment, a little something like hope. If there's a face she wouldn't mind seeing right about now...

"Yes, exactly." He wasn't surprised she caught on quickly. She was brilliant he could tell that much, and from another planet and been through plenty. It was a thorough summary. He smiled at her from the side. Bruce had a thrill, seeing her here again; she was very interesting. Not that it was anything other than respect and he knew wanting her there was wrong so it wasn't like that. It was unfortunate they were unknown to each other though.

Bruce's face falls a little, and he felt genuinely sorry. "No. The truth is that we share a body. I know how that sounds, but the Hulk when you met him, I'm the other side of him." He doesn't think she knows Jekyll and Hyde which is a go-to explanation. "If I'm here, he's not. He only comes out when we're in danger. And he's ... missing here." Taken away. He could lie to her about that or move around the truth, but he's a very honest person. So is the Hulk. They have a lot of similarities. "I'm sorry." It was nice to have a familiar face here, he gets that.

"But I'm, uh, here on the other end, whatever you need." Although he's not much help in comparison. "So there's two ways out of here. We can either take a long walk or a short pod journey that means we have to swim in the cold, but only for a short time."

Well, congratulations Bruce, you managed to surprise her in the end. There's a pause, a few seconds of steady, confused blinking as that whole thing has time to sink in.

"You share a body."

Alright, not the explanation she was expecting. Not at all. This guy is considerably smaller, for a start. Not a lot of room for the big guy to maneuver around in. But the closer she looks at him, the more it makes a strange sort of sense.

So forgive her for being forward, but before she makes a call on going anywhere? She's going to step a little closer to Bruce, looking him square in the face before putting out both hands to stretch his cheeks a little further out. Huh. What do you know. Wider, and greener...yeah. She could almost see it.

"...Huh."

"Yeah, we ---" Bruce blinks as she comes right into his personal space, and he looks up at her with wide eyes. She's so impressive. Everything about her speaks of competence and power. It's why he doesn't shy back away from her, simply wills himself to stay still. People have told him before that given a close look he and the Hulk do actually resemble each other in the face. Bigger and greener, yes, but the expressions can be the same, the dark eyes and bushy eyebrows.

The Hulk most of the time was angry or confident, he held none of Bruce's fear and hesitance. His smile though, hesitant but real, was much like the Hulk's whenever someone amused or surprised him. Bruce had no idea how he kept control those years, but the constant danger helped. Hulk had emotions that weren't just anger now. Go figure. He made a friend. This friend. Though Bruce often said that he didn't think they were the same person, the fact that he instinctively liked and felt comfortable with her said otherwise.

"I know, it's easier if I could show you, but that's not possible here. But uh ----" Wow how did he even say this? Their sincerity and honest were aspects they shared. The Hulk didn't understand deceit, and Bruce was terrible at it. "I know he considered you a friend and that he cared about you. He's never had a friend before, so ... thank you?"

"...nah, it's alright. I believe you." Even if she sounds a little surprised by the knowledge, there's no question. Somewhere in the bones of this guy is the Hulk. Whether or not they're the same person, she can't say, she doesn't know Bruce hardly at all, but there's a sense of familiarity there she can't shake.

Then he talks about him and something odd passes swiftly over her face. A reflection of the twinge in her guts. Yeah, she...wasn't much for making friends, but that's what they'd been. Two people bonding in a bad situation. And he was gone now, or at least not here in the way she'd like.

So she frowns, takes a step back and shrugs sharply. "Yeah, well. He's alright. Never have to guess where you stand with the big guy," she remarks almost off-handedly. "Seems like you're sort of the same."

If the word vomit from earlier was any indication at all.

"Oh! Good." That she believes him. It is a little too much of a crazy story to just make up, and they both are used to very odd things happening. He really wishes she remembered their adventure, but the Hulk connection would have to be enough. He could only hope she'd be okay. But then Bruce reminds himself ... of course she will be! She's a Valkyrie.

He feels sorry then, that the Hulk isn't available for her. Bruce is better off without him, but he really did make a genuine friend. A genuine connection. He chuckles a little at what she says and shrugs good naturedly. "You're not wrong. I have no poker face to speak of. And I'm not a great substitute, but if you do want a friend, I'm around." He knows she's more of a loner type, but it wouldn't feel right for him not to offer that much. She needed to know she wasn't alone, even if she didn't take him up on it.

Bruce blinks, remembering where they are. "But first we have to get back to the village. We'll take the quick route, if you prefer." If anyone can handle that, it's her. "I ... would you like me to keep calling you Scrapper? You never actually told me your real name."

That Bruce is concerned about her, and offering that friendship seemingly without cost, is something she isn't quite sure what to do with. It feels like there's another shoe waiting to drop, that there will be conditions at some point or something he needs from her.

Then again, maybe someone with the Hulk sharing their body understood being used, and how much that unconditional support might mean. She's a loner more through necessity than desire. Maybe some of both, come to think of it. Being alone made it easier in the long run, not having someone to worry about.

For a moment she says nothing, half-blinking as she works out her own thoughts, before speaking up again. "...don't really use my old name much anymore," she replies after a moment, jaw working tightly. "Scrapper's good as anything else."

Maybe one day, she'd tell him. Not today. Today's thrown her off enough as it is.

Hands planting on her hips, she juts her chin in the direction of the exit. Go on then, Bruce. Lead the way.

Bruce didn't really expect an answer right then. She just got there, and there was a lot going on. At the least she would know that an ally existed somewhere in the village if she wanted one, even if he was short and gentle instead of giant and green. "Scrapper it is." Whatever she felt most comfortable with was what he was going to go with. Maybe he'd get that name out of her some day. He was a very patient man. He knew more of her story already than she'd probably like, and he kept that to himself.

"I left a boat by the pod and hopefully it'll still be there when we get back. Otherwise we might have to swim and it's cold." The pod itself was big enough to fit ten of them safely, but it was fine with just the two of them. "This is much faster than the walk. I regretted doing that one the first time." He hadn't known what to make of the pod at the time. Bruce pulled his coat around him more firmly. "There are spare clothes and things at the inn, we have a community stash for people. You're going to need something heavier for the winter."

He paused and looked over at her, as the pod continued to move them underneath the community. "You seem okay, but Thor was having a rough time adjusting to being an ordinary human. Are you just more comfortable with yourself than most ... of your race?" He was careful not to say Asgardian. Thor also may have been injured at the time, but he also seemed to have trouble even standing let alone swimming for a time after waking up. It seemed to be difficult, adjusting to mortality. "Your advanced strength and endurance won't exist here. It's one of the things they do."

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I wanted to stay home but I went running running running running from the troubles

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