hydrogen ☢ video.

[hyperkinesia]

[ Bruce greets the network with a bland smile, brief, shoulders hunched just so, tension lingering in the muscles there. The stance seems almost second nature to him, though, as if that's just the way he usually carries himself. ]

So, this all looks like fun. Too bad I didn't have time to pack. [ His words are as dry as the desert, and his attempt at easing into the video function is stale at best. He presses on anyway; he started it, so he may as well finish. ]

My name's Bruce Banner. I'm still a little green around these parts, [ ha ha ] and I figured this was the best way to get in touch with most of you. The other ImPorts, that is.

Out of mere curiosity: how many of you are familiar with powers or abilities, back in your world? What about heroes, or anything at all even remotely like the system in place here? Did you have any powers at all before coming here?

As for the registration process: I understand there are a lot of perks for those who choose to register. My question is, how difficult is it really to find a job or a place to live while unsettled? If you have the skills, would you say the hiring process is the same as in your world, or more complicated? Financial aid isn't important to me, and I don't mind if I don't get paid a lot or don't have money for any place too fancy. I'll make do.

[ Questions, always so many questions. He smiles somewhat apologetically at the camera. ] Sorry. Inquiring minds, all that.

[ Clearing his throat, ] If the acronym SHIELD or the word Avengers mean anything to you, let me know. I'm— [ He pauses, almost says something else, then just shakes his head dismissively. ] ... done, I think. That's it. Thanks.

Comments

video

[divaricate]

Bruce. [It's said with familiarity in the tone, the 'hi' implied in it.] Nice to see another familiar face here. [Okay, so, they aren't even close to being friends last she remembers, but she also knows that people can come from all different points in time here, so she wants to see if he knows her.]

I know SHIELD and Avengers. [Obviously, what with the 'familiar face' bit and all.]

[hyperkinesia]

[ The look he gives her should be enough of an answer. There's a degree of familiarity that he doesn't return in the slightest, his eyebrows knitting together in confusion instead. ]

I'd say the same, but I have no idea who you are. [ His lips stretch into a tense smile, there and gone. ] Sorry.

video;

[akas]

Oh, perfect.

[ All the eyerolls. ]

The green one.

[hyperkinesia]

[ Oh, perfect, a smartass. But hey, at least that part he keeps to himself. As he does the questions related to how she knows the other guy. ]

And you are...?

[textualhealing]

[This is the best day ever! Just gonna take a moment to let all the internal screaming pass him by before switching the video on, looking all cool and collected with a glass of whiskey in one hand.]

Powers weren't a thing back home for a lot of us, but it's the kind of thing you soon adapt to considering adapt is pretty much the only thing you can do here.

[hyperkinesia]

[ Good idea there. Bruce would probably be a little too weirded out if there were any actual screaming. Or creepy awed staring. ]

Some powers are easier to adapt to than others, at least. [ Not that he has a lot of adapting to do in that regard. Just... literally everything else. ] I take it you come from one of those places without them?

permatext

[deadtective]

I've been unregistered for over a year and nobody's ever even swung by to try and kick me out of the fucking government housing. Anybody who tries to say that people actually ask any questions beyond 'are you an imPort?' are just assholes.

[hyperkinesia]

That's good to know, actually. Nearly all the information I've found so far seems to point out that things are easier when we register, so I was kind of wondering how hard they'd make life for those of us who don't want to sign up.

Do you still have the same job you were originally assigned to, or did you have to look for something else?

[ video ]

[enucleation]

Everything is much easier if you are an imPort, unsettled or not.

[hyperkinesia]

Save for the tiny detail that we all got brought here against our will. [ He still sounds bitter about that, probably will for a good while longer. ]

voice, id: Silk

[lunaraneae]

Oh, hey... Dr. Banner. [Don't make him angry. Everyone stay cool.]

Uh, where I'm from there are the Avengers, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four... tons of superhero teams. A lot of them in New York. And SHIELD kind of keeping an eye on stuff.

I have powers, obviously. [She makes the thwip motion before remembering he can't see her.] Maybe not so obviously, there are a lot of capes without powers.

Can't answer the other questions without risking my secret identity, sorry.

[hyperkinesia]

[ No need for alarm here, he's perfectly under control. Well, of himself, anyway. ]

I've only really heard of the Avengers myself. [ Maybe she's from his future? Or just an alternate universe. Anything's possible, and Bruce has already started to wrap his head around that. Less room to be caught off-guard like that. ]

That's alright. Can I ask instead, what year was it for you before you came here? And I assume you knew me... personally? Or did you just know of me?

video;

[assays]

I know of SHIELD, but the organisation is far ahead of my time. And I didn't have any powers either before I came here.

[hyperkinesia]

Indeed, it is. [ There's a hint of recognition in his gaze, and after a brief pause, he asks carefully. ] You're Peggy Carter, right?

video;

[flowerette]

Welcome, Dr. Banner.

[ Raina offers him a charming smile. ]

Though I'm certain you don't know me, I come from the same world as you. So I am very familiar with SHIELD and the Avengers.

It isn't terribly difficult to find a place or a job while being Unsettled, but the difficulty will come in keeping both of those things. If you choose to leave the government housing, then there isn't a guarantee of finding yourself a stable home elsewhere. And jobs have been known to fire an Unsettled ImPort for their choice. Not all of them will, mind you. But you do take on a greater risk.

[hyperkinesia]

No, I don't know you. Sorry. You are...?

[ Either her name, or how she fits into all of that, whatever she's comfortable sharing. ]

I take it employment contracts aren't much of a thing for unsettled people, then? If they'll so easily fire us. [ Figures. It's better than being forced to register, at least, and Bruce is glad he's not being pushed into doing that. It never works out when he's pushed into doing things he doesn't want to do. ]

[Video]

[eastdetective]

None at all. At home no one had powers, and the closest thing to heroes were the police officers and detectives.

[The child's tone was blunt. He had many secrets, but the nature of his world was not one of them.]

What is Shield?

[hyperkinesia]

This must be quite a change for you, then.

[ Especially being a kid— Bruce had no idea imPorts could even be this young. He can't help but worry about who is even looking after them. Assuming there are more. ]

Just... an organization back in my world. It's complicated. Just a way for me to suss out who might be from my world, or at least from a similar one.

[morethan084]

[Well, Daisy certainly never expected to see Bruce Banner on the network. Shooting up in her bed, Daisy turned the video on from her side as well.]

Holy shit!

[Great first impression, Daisy.]

Sorry, Dr. Banner. I'm Daisy Johnson. I work for SHIELD.

[hyperkinesia]

[ Bruce's brow raises in mild surprise at the first words coming through. Well... that's one way to greet someone you've never met before. ]

Am I really that much of a surprise? [ An unpleasant surprise, possibly? Wouldn't particularly bother him. He already got someone all bitter about him being here, and he doesn't even know who that woman's supposed to be. ]

Right. From... my world? [ This is getting hard to figure out. ] Battle of New York, Chitauri in the streets, all that?

Video

[liverletdie]

Well, I hear it's pretty easy to get a job, if you look in the right places, but really --

I recommend registering.

[ Who. In the Hell. Is surprised. ]

[hyperkinesia]

Right. Because there's no way the government and army here keeping constant tabs on me could ever possibly go wrong.

[ Excuse him while he runs all the worst case scenarios through his head before they're even remotely close to happening. Still, he smiles, because it's Tony, and Bruce is glad to see a familiar face.

Even if the face might be the only thing that's familiar. ]

It's nice to see you, Tony. Despite the circumstances. [ Could've done without getting kidnapped, but what can you do. ] How long have you been here?

video;

[shifting]

I'm with you on wishin' I could've brought a suitcase. Or just a change of clothes. It's one thin gettin' kidnapped, but gettin' kidnapped and then havin' to shop for a whole new wardrobe is just downright cruel.

[hyperkinesia]

Right, it's a nightmare. And I hate shopping. It's even worse that they didn't let us bring along some of the more basic stuff, like shampoo or deodorant.

[ Joking, mostly. As far as clothes go, Bruce is familiar with having to make do with very little— or even nothing at all. Having let him pack wouldn't have made being brought here any easier or more agreeable anyway. ]

You just got here too, or have you been around for longer?

video.

[tardily]

If it makes you feel any better, none of us really did. And hey, at least we were ported in fully clothed.

[ Come to think of it, Barry isn't entirely sure if there's ever been someone who was ported in naked, but that's not the point. ]

In all seriousness and in answer to your questions. I was pretty familiar with powers and abilities— we call them metahumans actually. Same with heroes, though it's definitely not organized like this. More like Green Arrow and Black Canary and everyone protecting their city and the Flash and his team protecting his. Sometimes they overlap or work together but not daily. Heard they're pretty good friends though. And— I might have had a power before coming here. Side effect of a run in with some lightning.

[hyperkinesia]

That's one small blessing, yes.

[ Particularly relevant to Bruce, considering he could have very well be pulled from his world wearing nothing at all. There's a tiny silver lining. ]

But there are still groups of heroes around, and I assume powered villains too. [ Otherwise there would be no need for that kind of vigilantism.

Bruce takes in all the names and commits them to memory, getting particularly curious when he mentions having had a power of his own. Might, whatever. That only makes Bruce surer that he did have some kind of ability. ]

Can I ask what power that was?