15565/Blanket Life

Blanket Life
Date of Scene:	05 September 2023
Location:	Jessica's Room, Avengers Mansion
Synopsis:	Jessica's been hiding in her room since the nightmare, but Wanda promises to help her in setting up protections, and provides pancakes on top of it!
Cast of Characters:	Spider-Woman (Drew), Scarlet Witch

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Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"Miss Maximoff." Jarvis sounds almost apologetic to be interrupting, even if he chooses specifically to address the woman when he's /not/ interrupting anything in progress. "I do not wish to violate privacy, but I must ask: when is the last time you saw Miss Drew?"

It's a weird question. Jarvis has carriage of the entire mansion. If Jessica Drew is here he knows exactly where she is. So that's clearly not his intention in asking the question.

Seems the AI has figured out ways to get around the whole 'and don't tell anyone!' hyperbole Jessica usually throws at the end of her sentences.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda is buried in a book... a mystical, eldritch tome, a dense, prophetic tale of... no, not really. She's reading a paperback romance novel, and she nearly leaps out of her skin when Jarvis chimes in. "Jarvis! I...! I..." She frowns thoughtfully, eyes rolling upwards, "It has been... awhile. Perhaps a few whiles. It has been... some time."

That paperback is set aside, corner of one page folded... this is no cherished book she intends to keep for years. Bargain bin fiction from the pharmacy apparently does not get the same reverent care as, say, the Darkhold. "I wonder if perhaps she is in her room. I should visit her... maybe she is in a cocoon! Perhaps Spider-People do that."

She doesn't sound like she really considers this to be a possibility, but she's already moving, sweeping from her own quarters towards Jessica's. She does, at least, reach out and rap on the door firmly, "Jessica! It is I, Wanda!"

This is a very natural and entirely normal way to knock on someone's door in Transia.

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"I do not believe Miss Drew can actually produce Spider-silk, unlike other so-called Spider-people, but otherwise, your theory sounds solid, Miss Maximoff," Jarvis says. He might sound kind of relieved. Impossible! Yet there it is.

Wanda raps on the door.

The answer, a very muffled, "G'way!" is in no way the appropriate way to respond to a door knock, either in Transia or in New York.

Without prompting, the door opens. Jarvis possibly intervened, because certainly Jessica didn't ask for it. The curtains are drawn, so the room is dark, the only light coming from the television which is currently showing an episode of 'Great British Bake-Off.' Apparently a bunch of them are struggling with making a lemon meringue pie.

There's no immediately sign off Jessica, but the bed is piled up with blankets and somewhere beneath there there's a gleam of an eye watching said baking show. The pile of blankets stirs when the door opens. "You can't be here!" Jess says, and there's an edge of fear in her voice.

Jarvis cuts in: "I assure you, Miss Drew, I have detected no pheromones, and the negation solution appears to be functioning at full capability-"

"Please go!" the blankets add.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda's lips turn in a deeper frown, from 'Concerned she has, perhaps, been a less than attentive friend' and into 'Something is definitely wrong with /my friend/ and someone /else/ is going to pay dearly for it.' Luckily, Wanda doesn't actually know for sure someone has done something unkind to Jessica, and there's no telltale malevolent red glow in her eyes.

Wanda's eyebrows rise, her mouth almost falls open, and her arms cross under her chest. It may not be quite so impressive with her in a rather frumpy and faded NYU sweater and leggings... but still. She stands against the demand that she cannot be here, "Oh, but I can be /many/ places, Jessica." She tilts her head and glances at the TV, "I will risk the damage to my ego of not being able to measure up to the baking contest show to see my friend."

Eyes narrow slightly, lips quirking, "...At least I /believe/ I can see my friend... somewhere... in this mound of fabric..." She slowly stalks into Jessica's room, sighing out, "Jarvis, I believe we are going to need some privacy. This is... clearly something of some import to our dear Ms. Drew."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
Jessica Drew says, "Of course, Miss Maximoff," Jarvis says politely.

"Wanda." Jessica sounds both fearful and frustrated. "You don't understand. I- I-" she pauses, struggling over how to explain.

"I couldn't control my pheromones. And it was worse than usual. They all looked at me, and I knew I had them in my control. Spider-Man. Natasha. You, too." She shivers. Or more accurately, the pile of blankets shake. "And then Steve... he was resisting it. I let him try and knock me out -- he hit me with his shield and I went down, only... only then he stood and looked at me, and he said-" a beat, "Hail Hydra." The words are whispered, like she barely even dares voice them aloud, so fearful is she of a simple dream. Except...

The blankets shift a little. A few of them falling away. Jessica's still all-but-covered though since she's wearing a cookie monster onesie, the blue hood pulled up around her face. "And then I woke, only I had all the bruising from where Steve hit me with the shield." She rubs at her chest, frowning. "It was real, Wanda. Too real. You need to get out, before I do it to you." Jessica's fears have always been simple and easy to understand, given her background: she fears losing control of herself again, and even more, fears her ability to control others through the pheromones."

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda quirks an eyebrow and slowly, smoothly approaches the bed, settling down next to the pile of blankets and murmuring softly, "I admit, my dear... my perceptions of reality are... somewhat flexible. But I do think I would... remember that having happened? I do not /recall/ being under your powers."

She places a hand atop the blankets, not moving to try and peel them away, just providing a simple touch through layers of fabric. "Mh... I do not think Steve Rogers is a Hydra operative... and..."

Eyebrows shoot high and her face screws up in incredulity for a moment, "I... Jessica... that is..." She frowns severely, "I would not say it is impossible. But... that... is concerning..." She sighs softly... because she /so/ would like to tell Jessica her choice of sleep attire is somewhere beyond adorable.

She leans in as those blankets are shed, voice dropping, "Jessica Drew... whatever nightmare you have had, whatever dark vision you have seen, I have no doubt you would not commit misdeeds in reality. You are one of the strongest, most principled women I know." She pauses for a moment, eyes narrowing intently as she stage whispers, "And I know /many/ Avengers. All of them, in fact."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"You looked at me like... you weren't you anymore." It's the primary reason Jessica avoids any eye contact with Wanda. It's pure shame and guilt for something that didn't even actually happen. She only stills when Wanda presses a hand on top of the pile of blankets.

"I... healed it already, or I would show you. You /do/ believe me, right?" Belief is important, and there's a hesitation in the way Jessica phrases that to suggest she's prepared for the answer to be 'no', tugging the hood of the onesie further forward.

For a long moment, she's quiet as she takes in Wanda's whispered words. She really, really wants to believe Wanda. "I can't control it, though. It doesn't matter how much I believe or how hard I work." Yup, the cookie monster onesie /is/ adorable, but Jess just looks flat out miserable. "It wasn't just a dream though," she says, quietly. "What if it's some kind... prophecy?" All right, even for her that's far-fetched.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda sighs softly, and reaches out, heedless of however many layers of blanket are still covering Jessica, her arm loops around her fellow heroine's shoulders as she murmurs soothingly, "That is a common fear, my friend... I have a fear of it too... of looking at you like I'm not myself..." She smiles ruefully and sighs out, "But... I think perhaps in subtly different ways."

"I do. Whether the injuries were from the dream, or from you moving in /response/ to the dream? Well, I am no doctor, and you have already healed. But I believe you had this experience, and that it felt real to you. And that it was intentional on some being's part."

She exhales slowly and murmurs out, "Then I will stop it with you, my friend... but I do not believe it is a prophecy... your powers going out of control and... bewitching us? Perhaps. Steven 'You could call me Mister like the nice man with the sweater on TV' Rogers being evil? Also perhaps. But both? And in a vision that injures you when you wake?" She shakes her head firmly.

"I refuse to believe that is merely some prophetic vision. It is... something else. A manipulation. An attack upon you." She tilts her head and murmurs thoughtfully, "Perhaps we can find a way to shield your dreams... I would suggest 'or lay a trap', but I do not... wish for you to have to deal with such a danger when you are dreaming."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
With a sigh, Jessica leans into Wanda's hug. She seems more relieved than anything that Wanda believes her. "It /was/ real," she mutters, and then stops when Wanda suggests it might be intention on some being's part. Her eyes widen. "You think..." she hesitates, looking distant. "I... I remember a voice. A British voice? Not one I recognize." She shivers.

And then, with a sharp inhale of breath, she straightens. "You're right. Steve Rogers becoming a Hydra agent is so ridiculous." It seems obvious now, in the light of day and with the reflection of someone she trusts voicing it. Such a thing could never happen!

Jessica tugs down the hood off her onesie. Her hair is kind of messy, obviously, and undoubtedly needs a wash. But Jessica just looks, if not happier, at least much less fearful. Much less afraid of herself. "I.." she frowns. "If someone or something is doing it to others, then we need to stop them. If you want to lay a trap, I'm... I trust you, Wanda." She turns her gaze on the witch with a tiny, but genuine smile.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda's eyebrows perk... her lips twist... she wants to tease her friend about the British voice, and the TV show she's watching... but this is too serious to tease. So she sighs and frowns thoughtfully. "A British voice, in your dreams... likely using magic..." She sighs softly, "I'm afraid 'British magician who is evil' is... not the smallest list."

Wanda eyes Jessica with a playful little smile, "Is it not? He is simply... /too/ Steve Rogers to be evil. Not like the rest of us, I suppose." She reaches out to lightly tousle a few locks of Jessica's hair and hums thoughtfully. "Well, perhaps we'll lay a trap. I will begin researching wards and glyphs to protect your dreams here in your room however. If we are going to set a trap, I will not use your sanctuary for it."

Her eyebrows lift and she sighs softly, "And that is good. That you trust me. As I trust you... and /since/ you trust me..." Her eyes narrow, glinting as she murmurs out, "Would you like to leave your dinner plans to me? Perhaps it is your charming attire, but I am thinking... pancakes?"

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"Magician?" Jess seems to realize what Wanda is saying with a shiver. "Ugh. I /hate/ magicians. Can I punch him in the face once we figure out who it is? I really want to punch them in the face for that dream, and just on principle."

Jessica really does like the simple pleasures in life.

"Yeah. He is." Jessica sighs, but it's kind of a content smile. It's not at all difficult to discern that Steve is her moral compass. It's hardly a new thing, and he's exactly the right sort of person to guide someone like Jess, who really didn't have the kind of moral guidance one should've received as a child. Sure, there's a little bit of infatuation there too, but honestly, who doesn't love Steve Rogers at least a little bit for being exactly who he is?

"That... that would be good. Thank you, Wanda, you're the best." Jessica hugs Wanda in gratitude as she comes up with a solution -- wards and glyphs sound /weird/, but she's a former Hydra agent and current SHIELD agent. Not like she's not used to out-there solutions for out-there problems.

Her gaze practically transforms into something bright as Wanda suggests... pancakes! "I kind of love you more than a little bit right now, Wanda," she admits, releasing her from that hug. "But ugh. I smell. I'm going to sneak in a shower and then food?" she suggests.

Scarlet Witch has posed:
Wanda snorts softly, an entirely genuine little gust of breath in mirth, "Oh, I /insist/ you punch him in the face when we find him, Ms. Drew. Insist."

And Wanda's all too pleased when her suggestion for dinner is accepted. She nods slowly, solemnly and smiles all sugary sweetly, "Oh, of course you love me more than a little bit, my dear Jessica. I am very lovable. And enchanting. And bewitching and so on and so forth."

She taps her chin thoughtfully with one finger, "I suppose it would be easiest to simply order the pancakes... and ensure we get real maple syrup... because we have earned it!"

She nods solemnly, "If you have any more adorable sleepwear, feel free to show it off. I think break...dinner in bed is the way to go. Privacy and enjoyment for us. None of that pesky pressue of publicity.... and no judgement for using up too much maple syrup."

Spider-Woman (Drew) has posed:
"You're the best," Jessica blurts out, a genuine sentiment that is not /just/ about the permission to punch asshole magicians in the face (but mostly about that, honestly.)

"I have a dinosaur onesie, too. I went on a buying spree when I purchased ten-thousand t-shirts for Clint." She might be exaggerating. Then again, it's Jess: she very well might /not/ be. "Jarvis, halt the playback. And we'll have to go back to the start of the season so you can try and guess who the villain of the season is." Wait, villain on a baking show? Yeah, why not.

"Get all the syrup, Wan. That is the way true pancakes must be consumed." With one last side-hug, Jessica finally crawls out of bed and towards the shower. Once she gets cleaned up and in her new (just as cute) green onesie, there's pancakes and lots of commentary -- and judgement -- on the baking abilities of the contestants. This really is her favorite show because even the so called villains really aren't. It's just British people who love baking.