Welcome to the Jungle...

[agentx13]

Who: Sharon Carter and the other freedom fighters.
Where: THE WOODS. The big bad scary woods!
When: Day 31
What: Escape attempt numero uno.



Sharon stands facing the forest, standing perfectly still and breathing calmly. One hand rests on her hip with her gun, the other is held in front of her face so she can see the comm. What no one on the comm can see is that she's also holding her knife. You can never be too careful when planning to take on unknown legions of men that had managed to capture the Hulk. And Natasha. And Tony Stark. And her aunt.

And a bunch of kids. And Barton. And a Steve.

Really, it's hard to tell where these people screwed up first. Messing with Sharon? Messing with the people around her? It doesn't matter. Either way, she's tired of sitting around and trying to learn information about them. They may know now as much as they ever will. And that means that they have to fight. As much as Sharon doubts they'll succeed, she also knows that they have to try. They can't just sit around like lemmings waiting for the food to run out.

She studies the gaps between the trees, then the trees themselves. The captives don't control the environment here. Dangers could be hidden anywhere here.

She may have waited too long to try this. People might be too weak from hunger, not at their best.

But they have to try.

No matter what happens, that's what it boils down to. They have to try.

Comments

[gleans]

Galen nearly throws up, himself, and if Kenzi doesn't catch him, his legs give out underneath him; they're just sources of pain, right now, and he can't even think to move them without his vision going white and his head swimming. If he does fall, he tries to land on his arm, next to Jesse. His mind is just a constant stream of panicked thoughts: make sure Jesse is okay, make sure he's okay, don't let anything happen to him. It doesn't even register, at first, that they've completely changed location.

"I'm -- m'okay," he nearly giggles, breath choking in his throat. Jesse's chest is so bad. Oh god. "I -- I. Oh, god, oh god, J-Jess, wake up --"

[onteamdyson]

It's really not that weird. It should probably be weird, but Kenzi doesn't even flinch and barely gives it a second thought. Anna got them out and that's all that matters.

Of course Kenzi catches Galen. She catches him, but she can't completely support him and they slowly sink to the floor. It's fine. She can see the damage to his legs better like this anyway. After a brief inspection, she nods to Anna. "He's good for a bit. I can try to slow the bleeding. Just fix Jesse however the hell you're gonna fix him and do it fast."

No questions. No judgement. She sees this all the time and if it's going to save her friends, she doesn't give a fuck.

Kenz lays Galen down as gently as possible and pulls her hoodie off, using it to apply pressure to the wounds. It's probs gonna hurt. "Sorry, sweetie. Just stay with me, okay? He's gonna be fine. You're both gonna be fine."

[afallenstar]

Alright, that's good. She's got a bit of time then, which is a relief because the flight has really taken it out of her. It's harder without the direct connection to Heaven, it puts more of a strain on her and for a moment she just has to close her eyes and take a deep breath. She's dizzy, things are spinning a little but she gets it back.

She doesn't have time to be out of it, after all. Jesse is...well, he's pretty much dying here.

Anna doesn't waste any time, just frowns as she rests a hand on his head gently. It happens all in a rush, and though no one can see it and Jesse's probably the only one who can tell, it's like a soft breeze just brushed over him. His clothes are still torn, there's still blood covering the two of them, but if you look at the wounds they're just gone. Not a scratch or a scar, and Anna just turns again.

Another deep breath, another closing of her eyes. Angels aren't meant to rebel and this is her punishment, but she can still do it. She's not that bad. Another couple of seconds and she's already looking better, enough to turn to Kenzi and gesture to Jesse. "He should wake up soon. make sure he doesn't freak out."

Seriously, what would she have done without the other girl here? She moves to Galen's side quickly, and smiles faintly as she touches his cheek. The feeling might strike a familiar chord in Galen, given her accidental slip up at the Christmas party when he'd lost his voice, and when she lets go she just sits back, looking at the two of them. This was a close call, too close. They should have known better, really.

Finally, sounding far too tired for any of this, Anna addresses everyone. "You're all okay now?"

[rigging]

Somewhere he feels the rush of air over him, and it cools him off, cools him down. His body settles, breaths and expression evening out. He looks much better, even with the blood, just maybe a little worn out around the edges. He'll be freaked out when he wakes up, anyway, but for now, he's fine, and he'll be alive, thanks to Anna. Somehow Jesse will thank her.

He stirs, just a little, but doesn't wake up quite yet, just sighs, and murmurs something.

[gleans]

Galen tries to see what Anna does to Jesse, but she's in the way, and the stab of the pressure Kenzi is putting on his legs makes it hard to concentrate on anything but gritting his teeth -- but then Anna comes to him, touches him, and the pain disappears so fast that it's like having a bucket of cold water dumped on him. Galen gasps, grips at the bottom of her coat, breaths coming out short. What the fuck was that?

"Holy -- holy shit," he breathes, leaning one foot to the side experimentally. It feels fine. "What the hell did you just do?" It's not accusatory, or scared; it's a mixture of shock and amazement.

[onteamdyson]

"Yeah, I second this question. What did you do, life-saver extraordinaire?" Kenzi's smiling so wide it's starting to hurt her face. She stands up, grabbing a pillow off the couch, and kneels next to Jesse's head. Just gonna gently lift that brain full of dumb and slide the pillow under there just in case.

She also takes one of his hands and holds it in both of her own because you fucking idiot, you scared the shit out of everyone here. Thank everything you're okay. "Just for the record, I hope you still have some juice left in you, Banana. Because when he wakes up, I'm smacking him. Sorry, Squishy. Just look away."

[afallenstar]

Everyone is alright, thank Christ for that. Anna lets out a sigh of relief and rubs her hands over her face...and then the questions start, just as she has expected. It's not like she hadn't known this was coming, she'd just hoped that it would take a little longer to kick in. She tries to smile, really she does, but this is it. It's over now.

"I, uh." She's not really sure where to start, to be honest. It's not the most believable thing in the world to come out with, and she could probably come up with some sort of plausible lie if she thought about it hard enough, but Anna is tired. She's tired, and she just stopped some people she likes to think are her friends from dying, and someone's going to figure it out anyway, so why the hell not.

"I'm...an angel."

And cue laughter in three...two...one...

[gleans]

Galen doesn't laugh. Not after feeling that rush of calm and relief flow through him just before the pain disappeared, not after seeing the deep gashes in Jesse's chest and seeing, now, that they're completely gone. No, instead his eyes widen, and he pushes up on his elbows, stares at Anna and pauses as he edges closer to Jesse.

"Wh... holy shit." He glances at Kenzi, then back to Anna, one hand coming up to his cheek where she'd touched him. There's no denying that right now, he feels better than he has in days.

"You're not kidding."

[onteamdyson]

"That's a new one." Angels. REALLY?! Well hey, if there are real vampires, there can be real angels, too. Apparently. No laughter from this one, either. "Anna, you are so awesome. Was that an ANGEL SWORD? Where's the halo? Do you play the harp? WIll you be in our band?"

She grins at Galen, totally not even bothered by this new revelation. "That's pretty freakin' awesome. Dude, you just got your ass saved by heavenly intervention. You were totally touched by an angel. And not in a creepy way. How do you feel?"

[afallenstar]

This...certainly isn't what she's expecting. Cries of bullshit, assuming she's joking, disbelief in general yes, but this? She hadn't planned for them to believe her at all, and so after a moment of silence where she actually processes the reactions she starts to smile. She's still tired, and it's still a sad smile, but it's such a relief for someone else to know at last.

"Uh, yes it was, I don't have one, no I don't and you'd be far better without me," she says, shaking her head a little at the questions. It's not exactly anything she hasn't heard before, but they're far more amusing than usual when coming out of Kenzi's mouth.

Here's where it gets awkward though, and Anna rubs the back of her neck lightly as she starts to speak again. "The thing is...no one else really knows. Kind of been trying to stay under the radar and well..."

She's not good at asking for favours, much less trying to get people to keep secrets for her, so she just trails off with a small shrug instead.

[rigging]

At this point, Jesse stirs again, and this time, he mutters something that sounds suspiciously like Galen's name and, a few seconds later, inhales sharply, waking up. He flails a little, and he's not quite sore, that's not what he'd say, just - feeling weird. He's also not bleeding to death, and neither is Galen, he's relieved to see as his sight settles on the singer.

Sitting up, Jesse presses his hand to his face, staring at Anna through his fingers for a moment. "I was -- what'm I doing on the floor? What? Did I miss something?" A beat. "Did you teleport?"

[gleans]

He's about to swear to keep quiet, but, well, Jesse wakes up, and turning to fling his arms around his not-dying boyfriend's neck takes precedence for a moment. He'll just ignore the blood all over his front, thanks. "Fuck you, Finch, you scared the shit out of me!"

Let him just -- he quickly kisses Jesse, then turns his head to look at Anna and Kenzi again, mouth going a little ahead of his brain. "I won't tell. This is fucking -- Jess, Anna's an angel. Which I normally wouldn't even believe, but I felt -- shit. Yeah, she teleported."

He decides shutting up is the best option, so he reaches to tug Jesse's head a little closer and plant a kiss in his hair. He's just so glad they're all okay.

[onteamdyson]

Kenzi backs up to give the two men some space to be totes adorable and instead smiles at the angel. "I'm good with secrets." Seriously. Really good.

Her expression starts to go from totally ecstatic back to mild concern. She doesn't need to... feed now. Right? Or whatever the shit angels do. Maybe normal food? Or ... holy communion. Or some joyous choir singing. She just looks worn down, that's all. "You okay, Anna? Want... some yogurt? At least, I think it's yogurt."

[afallenstar]

See, that just about sums up why she doesn't regret doing what she did. Besides, if there's anyone she could come clean to without having a freak out on her hands, it's probably these three. At any rate, she's not seen any evidence that Heaven is still sending its goons out after her, so she'll probably be fine, right?

She'd still prefer to keep it somewhat quiet though, so when the two of them both agree to keep things quiet she straightens herself up a bit, and her smile is much stronger now. "It's appreciated, really. I just...I'm trying to stay subtle I guess, that's all."

And what a good job she's doing of that too. She couldn't let someone stay hurt on her watch though, not again. This was different than with Tony, too, there were lives at stake. Anna can only be so selfish, after all. She's pulled out of these thoughts at Kenzi's question though, and confusion is written all over her face as she looks at the girl.

"Yogurt? ....Where did you get yogurt from?" Look, Kenz, you even managed to get a laugh out of her. "It's okay, I just need a minute. I'm kind of rusty at all that."

[rigging]

Jesse's distracted by Galen, but it's alright, because he feels sort of dumb, and he can hide that by curling up against Galen. He can conveniently ignore all that blood. "Sorry," He mutters, resting his head on Galen's shoulder, trying to catch up with the conversation. "No, I, uh. I won't tell, holy shit, you're an angel?" Captain Late-to-the-Party, everybody.

He's a little overwhelmed, but he needs to ask Anna like, nine million questions and make sure Kenzi isn't freaked out and pull Galen into a bed somewhere and sleep forever and -- okay, yeah, see, a lot of things. Jesse exhales slow, first.

"... I wouldn't trust the yogurt, Anna," He says, grinning a little, peering at Kenzi. "Thanks, though, it's lucky you were there." He curls into Galen's side, gripping at his shirt a little tightly. Close call.

[gleans]

Galen keeps his hand in Jesse's hair and looks up at the other two. He's dying to ask Anna everything, but she looks worn out, and he knows she has other friends that need her help. It's hard to keep himself from jumping into a deluge of questions.

"Yeah, jeez. We owe you." Smiling, he looks over at Kenzi. "And you're a badass. You're okay?" He glances at her arm, and... wait, he gets an idea -- but he doesn't say anything just yet, just looks back up at her.

[onteamdyson]

"I'm fine." And she sure as hell isn't arguing the fact that they owe Anna. All three of them. Kenzi maybe twice over because Anna got her out of there and saved the people she should have been protecting. Too shameful. Augh.

She hugs her legs to her chest and rests her chin on her knees. "I wasn't a badass. I was a total chicken until that thing tried to eat you guys and if Anna hadn't poofed into existence, we'd all be cat food."

But then she glares at Jesse, "I don't care if I've only known you a few days! Never pull that shit on me ever AGAIN! If you make me cry and I ruin my makeup and use up what little eyeliner I have left before it's time, I will break your face!"

[afallenstar]

"Hey, you got there before I did." Anna gives a small shrug of her own as she looks at Kenzi, and really, she could only have done so much if she hasn't got there in time. Anna got them out of there, sure, but Kenzi took that tiger head on and gave her the time she needed. She can't bring people back from the dead, after all.

She's tired still though, too tired to go back right now, and Gabriel's still there. She can ask him to keep them safe, at least until she's back on her feet and able to be useful again. So when she falls silent, that's exactly what she's doing, asking him for a status report.

"I swear, you guys don't owe me a thing. It's a no-brainer, you know? Leaving you wasn't an option."

[rigging]

Kenzi yelling at him gets his attention, and he waves his hands a little, laughing a bit. "No, no, not the face-breakin'! M'not gonna go facefirst at tigers anymore." Well, not right now, but there's no promise made there. For now he's going to basically crawl into Galen's lap and watch Anna.

"You coulda left us, but you didn't. Means something," Jesse says, shrugging. He glances out the window. "I think we was furthest out, so if anybody gets past where we did, s'gonna be like hell."