Paperwork

[the_wasp]

The showers aren't anything to write home about. The food is; everything's fresh and amazing (or maybe she's just starved after fighting and panicking). The clothes box is pretty... interesting. Jan gets the feeling she's going to be camped out in front of that thing for an obscene amount of time in the near future. Like once she gets a place of her own and a closet of her own. The yellow top and black short shorts she found are good for the time being, but she knows she could get something better with some more effort.

A lot of her questions have been answered -- or she's been informed that there are no answers. She's done the quick tour of the Compound (which she still thinks is an awful name) and been warned away from dinosaur territory. Her head is full to bursting with information, the sensible warring with the completely irrational: The bookshelf can give you anything, but be careful because fictional characters live here. Lots of people help out in the garden and make things in the kitchen, but a lot of the other supplies magically replenish. The alcohol is free and not terrible. That's the most conflicting piece of information of all, maybe.

There's nothing more she can absorb, no more questions she has the energy to ask, so it's time to do something. So she heads over to the council offices, planning on checking herself in, inquiring about open houses and looking for familiar names in the register. Even if it's a small, empty something, it's something. Slipping through the lab/clinic, Jan heads straight for the attached office, strolling through the open door with a quick rap of her knuckles against the wood.

"Janet van Dyne: newbie reporting for processing-- Cap?!"

Comments

[onlyforthedream]

Of all the voices to hear ringing in from the hall, Jan's isn't the one I expect. My gaze snaps up, the logistical report on altering the boardwalk forgotten, to focus on Janet van Dyne- look a little more hassled than I'm used to, but wearing her signature colors and looking pretty surprised to see me.

Not as surprised as I am to see her.

"Jan," I say, standing, discarding my pencil and crossing the room to her immediately.

"God." I catch her into a hug, pulling her close without even thinking about it. Hearing she was dead had been one of the rougher blows the island had managed to deal, and one that had come relatively early. Seeing her now, it's a strange disconnect- the memory of kneeling over my footlocker, digging my knuckles into the dirt while Bucky helped me keep it together, the pain that came with the news, it all seems incredibly far away.

[the_wasp]

"Oh my God, Steve."

She throws her arms around his neck and hangs on tight. He's Steve - his usual standard of human perfection - so she has to stand on her toes to hug him and her chin still can't quite clear his shoulder comfortably. But it's Steve and he recognizes her and it's been a really tough, tiring couple of hours.

"Oh my God, you know me. Thor didn't know me. This kid knew me, that was nice. But I was so worried."

[onlyforthedream]

"I know," I say, holding on, not letting her go (or setting her down, really) just yet. The last time I saw her wasn't on good terms. I know Bill's death was a blow to her, but not nearly a strong enough one to bring her around to the anti-registration camp. Of all the people I went up against during that conflict, fighting Jan was always especially hard.

"It's a matter of dimensions. He's from a different timeline- he's... younger, I guess you could say. The Avengers don't exist yet for him. Jan, it's so good to see you."

[the_wasp]

"Sucks to be him," she says, getting a little choked up. It has been a roller coaster of emotions in the last few hours, and Jan is rarely in control of hers. "Missing out on all the cool kid parties and near-death bonding trips."

Pulling in a deep, tremulous breath, Jan gives him a squeeze and starts to pull back.

"How long have you been here? Is there anybody else? I came in to check and see since, I figure.. Well, we're magnets for this kind of trouble, huh?"

[onlyforthedream]

There's something in the way she talks that raises a red flag. Not that it isn't her, but she sounds... young. The way Thor does. I hope I don't end up being the bearer of more bad news and, selfishly, I hope this is the Jan I know, the Jan who made me an Avenger.

"Tony is here, Bruce Banner; Two of the Young Avengers; Some of the X-Men, Wolverine, Bucky. I've been here for a year and a half, now. Peggy is here," I add, realizing they'll meet, and finding myself thrilled by the idea.

"But not the same Peggy I knew during the war, not exactly. Like Thor, and Tony- and Bruce- she's from a different version of things. They're almost the same. It's... admittedly jarring, the things that are different, but at their cores they're the people we know. Here, have a seat," I murmur, gently taking her by the shoulder and ushering her over to a chair, pulling up one of my own to follow suit.

"Tell me everything. What was happening when you arrived here?"

[the_wasp]

Mentioning the Young Avengers is the tip of the iceberg. Not just the warning that something might be off, but the confirmation as she gets blindsided by the cold slap of reality. This isn't her Steve. He knows her, but it's not the same.

She could be wrong. But her hunches aren't usually wrong. Thor isn't right. Wolverine isn't right. Third time's a charm, she'd think, but right now she's almost expecting to be disappointed. That's not a natural mental place for Jan and it makes her angry that the island's gotten to her already.

She keeps her face clear of her shock and disappointment. Not a difficult feat, considering she was two seconds from crying a minute ago and she's entitled to look a little lost and out of sorts. She sits down in the chair, crossing her ankles and clasping her hands in her lap as she leans forward just slightly toward Steve.

"Well, we were fighting Galactus," she says, glancing up to watch his reaction. "We'd called in all the back-up Avengers and our friends to deal with his Heralds while we tried to figure out what to do with the big guy."

Jan sighs suddenly, feeling her headache from earlier coming back. Too much to take in.

"Steve, please tell me what a Young Avenger is and please don't say it's what I think it is."

[onlyforthedream]

"Galactus," I echo, "which time. The Young Avengers are a group of teenagers with ties to us who showed up. Isaiah Bradley's grandson, Captain Marvel's son, Scott Lang's daughter."

I sit back and rub my hand over my jaw, and when I drop it I know my smile is rueful. We both know, and if there was one thing Jan I never did, it was let each other off the hook.

"We're not from the same place, are we?" I lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees and mulling the thought over before offering her a small smile. Apologetic, maybe, but real.

"It may not mean as much to you, now, but I'm still glad you're here."

[the_wasp]

Jan stares at him with an open mouth for half a beat, then blinks.

"I'm still trying to process blue alien babies, but I'm still glad you're here, too," she admits. It's disheartening, but the fact that they could go for even a few seconds without being slapped in the face with their differences is a plus in Jan's book. They're not that different as people. Thor's pretty Thor-like and Wolverine's, well, Wolverine, but Steve... There's a lot that goes into what makes Steve Rogers. And Jan's proud that this other her is still a friend of his and she's anywhere close to her. She must be good people (and not just because she's a version of Jan herself).

Jan sighs again and lets her face fall into her hands, elbows propped up on her knees.

"Seriously?" she mumbles, words a little muffled but annoyance clear. "Galactus comes back?!"

[onlyforthedream]

"He does, unfortunately. It's handled," I assure her, mostly confused as to who has blue babies, and then I realize she must mean Mar-Vell, being Kree.

"No threats of that magnitude have appeared on the island to date, though, so it's something of a vacation."

[the_wasp]

"Whoop dee doo." The cheer is desert dry and accompanied by a weak flip of her hand. It's the most she can do in the moment; she's at capacity for absorbing information and nothing wants to get easier for her. Vacations are supposed to be easy.

Still, her humor isn't tapped. The island hasn't beaten her. Lifting her head out of her hands, Jan simply settles her chin in her hands as she glances over Steve quickly.

"I can tell you're enjoying yourself. Just look at that tan."

[onlyforthedream]

"I actually spend a lot of my time indoors," I say, reclining somewhat in my own chair, resting an elbow on the table, "working on the council and teaching art at the island school. There are... crises, that come up. There's a newspaper that documents everything with the kind of thoroughness you only get from a professional journalist with limited stories to report, so you can catch up on what they've been, if you like. Right now we're facing the looming issue of Halloween." I sigh shortly and scrub a hand back through my hair, a mild sign of the immense stress the situation is putting on everyone.

"The island is... there are theories, none confirmed, but it seems to have its own kind of magic working for it. Residents have been having nightmares and suffering hallucinations, and the last time it happened those hallucinations became tangible, and incredibly dangerous, on Halloween night. We may end up with a Skrull situation on our hands."

[the_wasp]

A part of Jan wants to rebel against this sense of instantly getting down to business. Not even five minutes and they're talking about the latest crisis, not Peggy, not their friends, not whether anyone's gotten Steve on a surfboard yet. But this isn't like meeting up with an old friend after a long separation. They can't just go for drinks and talk about the old times. Their old times are similar (probably?) but different and talking about them right now would only highlight the differences.

But this they've got in common. This is also something they can't ignore, wouldn't ignore and can maybe make a difference with.

"Who's imagining Skrulls?" she asks, even though the answer doesn't change anything. "Steve.. is that the worst we're talking about, or just that you know of? Do you have any plan in place or-- or do we just get ready to fight?"

[onlyforthedream]

"Billy Kaplan," I sigh, "a Young Avenger. The general consensus is that the island brings your worst fears to light in a tangible way, and Billy's fear, understandably, is watching Teddy- Mar-Vell's half-Skrull son- being killed by the Super Skrull."

The reason I keep running for council is to fight my general sense of uselessness, and the potentialities of this event are putting into sharp relief the degree to which I still am.

"If we're very lucky, there will just be the one to deal with. For all the contingencies I'm trying to work out, all the planning in the world won't help us if the Skrull Armada shows up."

[the_wasp]

Jan's eyes widen as she tries to digest that, to take in the full meaning of what fears coming to life would mean in a community of completely normal people.

And then there are the kinds of things people like them have seen, have lived through.

"I met Billy. On the beach. He seemed.. sweet." The thought of a sweet kid like that living with the threat of that kind of nightmare turns her stomach. And forget how many times she's wanted to kick Mar-Vell in the head; no one deserves a fate like that, not even if your dad's an idiot.

"Is this place trying to kill us? Is that it? Do we get dragged here to be put through some test and the survivors have to face something worse?"