mucked | ( IC INBOX )

Oh, dreadful name, someone should have intercepted it.

It's strange that this place would find heroes the best choice in taking. After all, they'd be more likely to find a way to stop them.

[unless, you know... they're the ones... causing drama...]

-- You'd think, and yet they haven't. Not yet. I suppose the appropriate fire hasn't bit lit.

[ under their asses.

or maybe some of them (like herself) have rather taken to life in the fleet. but she'd rather not discuss that right now -- especially not while inebriated. she doesn't want to see the look of disappointment on his face when he realizes she might prefer to stay. ]

Hmm. I guess all hero stories need a catalyst at some point.

[He rubs his chin, and then sips the tea again. Eh. It's acceptable.]

I suppose I do understand a lack of urgency. Beyond the obvious invasion of personal freedoms, this place is very... calm.

Calmer than calm. Ordinarily. Things do hot up now and again -- but the heat can often be traced back to the Atroma themselves.

[He sighs, bemoaning the thought.]

A group devoted to making our lives difficult at unwarranted times. Truly a new concept. Is there truly no way to separate ourselves from our captors?

Not one that's been uncovered. Stray too far and they have ways of pulling you back. You might pass out and wake up once again on your assigned ship, for example.

[He takes a sip, considering their very limited options.

Overall, the whole situation is rubbish.]

Their technology is... overwhelming. I'm still processing the communication device, let alone... teleportation booths. But I'm very fortunate to have a employer who has already numbed me to these sorts of eccentric advances.

I quite envy the comms, actually. [ ... ] Imagine how useful they'd be, back home.

It would make warning of danger infinitely easier. Imagine not having to call from a phone booth.

[... A hesitant pause.]

Speaking of future -- Mr. Barnes also somehow ends up there as well?

-- We have HYDRA to thank for that.

[ a funny kind of irony. as though she's not yet certain whether she ought to feel genuine gratitude. or maybe merely pity. ]

It's a rather terrible story. But if you're to be here, in the fleet, then you ought to know it.

[The mention of HYDRA nearly makes him shiver. Oh, yes, those sickening murderers, hatemongers. Nazis. A dark, thoughtful expression passes over him; as neutral as Jarvis may sometimes be, there's no middle ground for anyone who would think themselves superior, who would threaten his darling's life. It's hard to forget how many fellow soldiers perished, either.

He has quite a displeasure in dealing with them or anything relating to them. ]

I am familiar with terrible stories, when it comes to them.

They were invoked in Mr. Barnes' return?

Surely, you know the bits that everyone else knows: Sergeant Barnes fell MIA while on an operation with the Howling Commandos. [ with steve. ] He was presumed dead. We presumed him dead.

[ the army. the ssr. peggy -- she put her signature on that report, after all. ]

And in so doing, we left him for HYDRA to find and salvage as they could. [ her voice falls soft. her gaze glassy. she's had a hard time telling this to others -- feels she'll never tell it to steve, nor to bucky. but jarvis...

maybe jarvis will understand. ] You recall what happened to Chief Dooley.

[ it's not a question. it's a lead: mind-control. ]

[Jarvis' expression falls at the mention. Sympathetic, pitying, perhaps.

It's hard not to feel that way for anyone who falls into enemy hands. It's not like he himself is a spring daisy, unseasoned, at the understanding of it. Even though he had been sheltered during the war thanks to his position as a glorified secretary, it was impossible to avoid the carnage that the fighting had left behind. If you had a rank, you saw unspeakable things in some way or another.

So this is terrible, to say the least. A POW, as far as Jarvis is concerned.

He breathes softly, a sigh.]

I do recall, yes. Mr. Barnes was captured and mentally altered.

[Not a question, just a flow of conversation, an observation.

This tea is going to get cold now, with him so deeply focused.]

[ a soft hum. very little about the tale is pleasant, barring the present circumstances where the man seems on track to rehabilitation. ]

Mentally and physically. He's roughly as strong as Steve Rogers -- as though HYDRA managed to develop some form of the serum used by Howard and Doctor Erskine. As far as I can tell, they kept him on ice. Some form of cryostasis. They'd thaw him out whenever they had dirty deeds to do.

[He winces. Howard would be quietly tormented by such a thought, he thinks; Mr. Stark has always had more emotion up that sleeve than most would think, hidden under copious amounts of money, liquor, and an inability to not crack a joke in the most severe of circumstances. But Jarvis knows better - he's a good man, and this would be a terrible mark against something the Stark had only ever seen as good.

He sort of hopes nobody told Howard anything at all here.]

... How is he doing now?

He seemed - asocial, a bit low on words, but...

[He didn't seem like someone frozen off and on and left to committ the dirty deeds, as it were.]

Better.

[ she speaks the word with complete confidence. a month ago, and she mightn't have been so sincere. peggy turns her cup so the handle is facing away from her -- the only outward sign of nerves. ]

The Atroma flipped the switch on his programming a while back. There were injuries. But since then, he's come a long way.

[His eyebrows furrow, a telltale shift of concern.]

They've flipped the switch before? Through these 'glitches'?

[Were you injured? How many? Can this happen again?

There's great need for concern here, to be sure.]

I'm alright. I'm perfectly fine, Mister Jarvis. [ she sees the concern on his face and feels compelled to soothe it. even now, there are things she would shelter him from knowing. easy lies she would tell to cover her involvement in the attacks -- the weeks spent on bed rest, mending broken ribs. ] Truth is, the Atroma can manipulate all of us in all sorts of ways. Not just Barnes.

[He doesn't quite look swayed by her attempts to soothe his imagination. But — she's an agent, and he knows things can be terribly dangerous. Strange, he had no choice to appear here or not, but he feels an inkling of guilt at the idea that she had to endure another grim journey without his accompaniment. He wants to ask the damage, but... she's okay now. Upright and without any injury that he can see or sense with his patented Jarvision.

The idea that he can also be glitched to such a state, perhaps, is unnerving.

To say the least.]

I'm... admittedly unsettled by the concept of glitches.

I shudder to imagine not being myself.

[ it's a sobering conversation if there ever was one. she feels the dizziness subside -- and an old stiffness find its way into her body language. in a fashion, it's almost a comfort. she resists the urge to reach for his hand (things aren't so dire) and instead curls her fingers around her mug. ]

No one likes the thought of being someone else's unwilling entertainment. Nor their weapon. [ ... ] But I promise you -- Mister Jarvis, you will have people around you here who will do whatever they can to help. That's the one silver lining I can sell in earnest: these people are kind. And brave.

[ for the most part. ]

[After a long moment, he looks to her, expression softening. She's grown serious, he sees. And very earnest and supportive! The drink's gone to her head. Or perhaps she worries about the unstoppable (stoppable) butler. He'll have none of that worry if it is indeed that, not on his behalf.]

Oh, Miss Carter, I've got you to keep your watchful eye.

That alone comforts me greatly.

[So don't even focus any of that on him, he'll be entirely alright being the watchman for everyone else. Besides, the Atroma really would be silly to use him over someone with more skill anyway.]

I'm afraid there are forces at play within the fleet that I could not overcome if it came to it. [ powers she can't beat. people she can't take down with a convenient stapler or lamp nearby. that's not to say she couldn't hold her own with many present. but -- but she would hate for him to have undue confidence in her ability to safeguard him against everyone. ]

[He raises his eyebrows, head cocked slightly.]

I'm afraid my confidence in you is not dissuaded, however foolhardy you think it is.

Besides, you're far more dangerous with a pan than a butler.

[ peggy tries to chase away the burgeoning sentiment deep in her chest. somewhere beneath her ribs -- like warmth or pride or affection. his faith means so very much to her. even now, she feels like she can count on one hand the amount of people back home who believe in her. maybe two hands, if she counts the commandos individually. and time and time again, jarvis has proven himself to be a staunch ally. stauncher than most. ]

Sod the pan. Even here, I've got a dependable little pistol. [ ... ] Don't mistake me. Should any trouble arise, I hope you'll call on me.

[ and (if need be) she'll call on steve. ]

Usually trouble tends to appear conveniently among good company.

But I promise you, I'll give a call... As long as you agree to the same.

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