Owner	Pose
Svetlana	Staten Island, New York. The Friends of Humanity are gathering for a demonstration across the street from the Staten Island Mall. At the Mall itself, locals are gathering to watch. And considering the neighborhood, they'll likely be doing more than just watching. While the groups are assembling outside the Mall, inside a teenage girl is taking a break from her new school to do some shopping. Lana is browsing the various clothing stores, dressed in jeans and a faded Rolling Stones t-shirt that's at least a size too big for her. The leather jacket also looks vintage, giving the image that she's just another suburban kid with rich parents.
Nadia Pym	It's not all that common for Nadia to make her way out to Staten Island. It's out of her way and she doesn't make enough money for mall trips. But now that one of the malls bigger consumer electronics stores is having a sale... Well Nadia couldn't help herself! After all those science projects don't assemble themselves out of nothing. The young woman is dressed smartly for her age thanks to a designer make-over thanks to Janet. A simple black pants and blouse combo, set off with a bomber jacket with an insect wing design on the back. She glances between the angry crowds and her smartphone, then sighs.
Svetlana	Outside the mall, the demonstration is escalating quickly. While the locals DO represent a certain, strong ethnic heritage the mafia presence tends to be pretty intolerant of any other groups flexing muscle in their territory. Shouts are exchanged, followed by thrown bottles. Then the two groups crash into each other like a movie battlefield scene. Lana is doing more window-shopping than anything else, at least from the absence of packages. She heads down the wide corridor, past a couple of electronics stores towards the food court. Hmmm. Chilidog or burger? And while she's deciding a large crowd sweeps in through the main doors of the Mall, spilling into the wide corridor and threatening to flow into nearby stores. Shouting, fighting, and in full riot mode.
Nadia Pym	Nadia had barely even got through the front doors to the mall before the fighting errupted. Her phone, complete with a preplanned route round all the stores she wanted to visit, is quickly tucked away in her jacket pocket as people come flooding in behind her. "Hey," she calls out with a hint of a Russian accent. "Everyone stop fighting or I will have to call the police!" Of course the police have almost certainly been called by now. If they weren't already outside trying to keep the two angry mobs apart. "Violence doesn't solve anything!"
Svetlana	The mob sweeps into the food court as well. So much for lunch. Time for Lana to leave before the police DO come and arrests are made. That's ALL she needs. On her way to the door she hears a clear voice over the riot and recognizes the accent. Turning, she is just in time to duck a chair that someone is swinging in wild circles. Lana ducks, having to go drop to the floor to dodge the chair. Her movements are fluid, the sweep-kick taking the chair-wielder behind the knees as she rises. But now the girl is right in the thick of the riot, and chair-guy has many friends. Punches are turned and bodies are deflected in a familiar style. Familiar, at least, to anyone who's been trained in the Russian Systema style.
Nadia Pym	Nadia is at least having a less immediately hostile time. Even the most enthusiastic rioter has second thoughts before attacking a fifteen year old girl that's just a bystander. And she takes full advantage of her relative anonymity to slip in and out of the crush of people, seemingly appearing out of no-where to intercede in any conflicts that look like they're getting too serious. A big Biker-esque protestor with a Friends of Humanity branded cut readies himself to club someone with a crudely painted sign until unexpectedly a foot lashes out and hits the side of his knee with a painful sounding pop. Even as he stumbles Nadia's elbow connects with the side of his head and he drops like a sack. The one good thing about having new expensive clothing is it's much easier to justify treating it with Pym Particles. So even without her costume the young superheroine is able to disappear and reappear at will.
Svetlana	Without otherwise moving, Lana is steadily clearing an area as the riot combatants flow into the food court around her. The teenager makes it look so easy, as well. Turning -with- a punch, she deflects it and drops the puncher with a single blow to the kidney. She turns almost in slow motion, stopping a big, angry guy who's at least twice her weight with a single arm-thrust to the throat. And so on. Even with a riot mentality, people are starting to get the idea that perhaps the food court isn't such a good place to fight after all. Lana has somehow acquired a wood and paperboard sign along the way, which she uses with remarkable precision to buckle knees or jab into pressure points. She begins to fight her way in the general direction of that girl's voice with the Russian accent. And for her part, Lana isn't subtle at all as she expresses herself in fluent Russian. ~Get. Out. Of. My. Way. Assholes.~
Nadia Pym	The girl in question never quite seems to be where Lana is expecting her to be. Each time she makes her way to where Nadia was last loudly imploring people to stop there'll be a neatly disabled rioter. It's almost as if she's able to move around without the crowd getting in her way. Or she's cheating somehow. "I don't know who you are or why you're following me," an unusually tiny sounding voice coming from Lana's shoulder informs. "But I'd rather die than go back to Russia." Yup. Definitely cheating.
Svetlana	Lana speaks while she fights, and for the wide swath the teen is cutting through the crowd she still seems to be remarkably fresh. ~I do not even know who you are.~ she offers, still in her native tongue. The voice coming from her shoulder is a momentary distraction, and then Lana has to move for real. The punch is blocked at the last second and she barely manages to pull her counter-punch to the chest. Ribs break, but the sternum wasn't driven into the screaming man's heart. Someone trained this girl to kill, and yet she isn't. ~I would rather die than go back, as well.~ she replies, still in fluent Russian.
Nadia Pym	"These are just civilians," Nadia points out, switching to Russian herself, and with more than a little frustration. The voice coming from Lana's other shoulder. "You don't need to hit them so hard. The American medical system means you'll leave them with lifelong debt that'll only send them further into poverty. Making them more vulnerable to hate groups." There's an odd sensation as Nadia pushes off from Lana's shoulder. Leaping through the air and knocking another rioter out with a tiny size uppercut. Someone in the crowd shouts 'Hey a mutant!' and a few of the Friends of Humanity aligned rioters begin making their way over. Wildly swinging placards as if swatting at an insect. "Who trained you? Why are you here?"
Svetlana	Lana keeps the conversation in Russian as well. "You distracted me!" she protests, switching to that softer and more efficient style once more. "They are civilians, yes. But they are stupid. I wish no lasting harm to any of them." And as the 'mutant' cries start back up she begins fighting her way towards the door. "Follow me! We will talk. My story is not one to yell through a crowd." Lana changes tactics now, and the people she hits don't get back up again. For someone who claims to not want to hurt anyone, she's leaving quite a trail of bodies. Although closer examination would show them to be unconscious.
Nadia Pym	One of the men shouting mutant suddenly finds himself unconcious as his friend, taking a swing at a tiny Nadia, clubs him over the head with something. "Stick to public places please," she informs, her voice again coming from somewhere on Lana's shoulder. "I have no intention of walking into an ambush site." She doesn't really need to follow along in the trail of devastation though. After all she can just catch a ride and trust to her tiny size to stop anyone figuring out where she's gone.
Svetlana	Lana fights her way outside of the Mall, where most of the crowd has invaded in their enthusiasm. People are clearing and things become rapidly more quiet. Adjusting her jacket and pretending that nothing unusual has happened, Lana walks casually over to a bus stop and sits upon the bench. She doesn't know where the other girl went since she never actually saw Nadia shrink, although she does have some idea that she'll be followed. Assuming the other girl is curious enough. In a lower voice, then, Lana offers in accented English. "Is this public enough for you?"
Nadia Pym	"It'll do," Nadia notes from over the shoulder. Still not willing to make her exact position known. "Given the police will be in the area fairly soon to clear up the riot." She pauses, then adds "And I've got a deadmans trigger set up which will post your face to a member of the Avengers if anything happens to me. So don't even think about trying something!"
Svetlana	Lana chuckles softly at that, looking discreet and composed. Yep, just another teenager waiting for the bus. "The Avengers? It was SHIELD who found me in the lab." she replies, keeping her voice down. "Question for a question, then? I will begin with the answering. You asked who I am. I am Svetlana Kuznetsov, and I was born outside of Moscow in 1930. Now you."
Nadia Pym	"Nadia Pym," she replies politely. "A pleasure to meet you Svetlana." She hrms thoughtfully. "I can't really say where I was born. It wasn't listed in my files. Some kind of bunker in Siberia probably... You know you look very healthy for someone born almost a hundred years ago." There's a sensation of something moving around on Svetlana's shoulders as Nadia paces back and forth. "Better than 'Mother' does anyway. She was the one running the Red Rooms Science Class." The pacing stops and she leaps off, landing in the queue for the bus and reverting to regular size. As casual as if this wasn't what most people would consider to be impossible. Nothing to see here! "I don't really trust SHIELD. The main agent I've been in touch with has been a little... goofy. She did buy me hotdogs once though so I guess she's a nice enough person."
Svetlana	Lana turns a little at the movement on her shoulder, chuckling once more. "The Red Room? Da. I have heard only a little of this, but after I was out." she replies. The girl blinks as Nadia so casually grows back to regular size, but other than the widening eyes she passes it off well enough. "I was part of an experiment. Body modification and accelerated training. The program was shut down in 1950 and we were all put into cryogenic stasis. My body is only 20 years old, but I really don't count the last two years since I was nothing but a lab rat." Another pause, and Lana crosses one leg over the other as she leans back. "I was found by Captain America and Black Widow, brought back to SHIELD, and evaluated. I made some friends there, but I don't really trust them either." She brightens a little, then. "One of the agents taught me about thongs and really loud music."
Nadia Pym	"Thongs?" Nadia repeats, pulling an ick face. "Did they try put you into hiding as an exotic dancer?" She frowns and dismisses the thought, "You know I took a lot of research records when I escaped from the Red Room. I wonder if they acquired any of those project files. The Red Room had a habit of stealing from other Russian science programs. Do you happen to know what it was codenamed?"
Svetlana	Lana chuckles softly, shaking her head. "No, they did not. The Agent who told me about them said 'it's all about the ass'. Whatever that means." Her expression becomes more serious, then, at the mention of stolen files. "I was told by SHIELD that my program was not sponsored by the Soviet State, but by HYDRA." She pauses, then, giving Nadia a closer look. "I am told that I was part of a 'Super Soldier' program. Does that mean anything to you?"
Nadia Pym	"That doesn't mean they didn't buy or steal copies of the data," Nadia points out with a giggle. "Which is why I made sure to steal /everything/ when I escaped. No telling what secrets they might have had which they couldn't be trusted with." Her foot taps a few times. "Hmm. It could be anything really. Although the title is fairly self explanatory. You make a soldier only with some degree of super powers. Enhanced physical abilities usually. Was it biological or mechanical in nature?" She gives Lana an appraising look. "I'm more of a biotech expert myself. Genetic engineering mostly. But I've been working on improving my knowledge of science in general."
Svetlana	Lana tilts her head at the question barrage, considering whether she should protest asking questions out of turn or not. On the other hand, Nadia is relaxing pretty well. "I was injected with a serum, then subjected to an intensive training program. SHIELD later told me that it was a kind of mental programming. Rote responses and massive information seeding into the memory."
Nadia Pym	Nadia has indeed relaxed considerably. After all if Svetlana was after her she wouldn't have been so shocked by her size changing powers! "Probably a chemical program then. Steroids and other chemicals. The Red Room had similar mental conditioning systems, although I was never really subjected to them. Science Class students couldn't be brainwashed. Defeats the point of having captive researchers if they're too scrambled to think freely."
Svetlana	Lana tilts her head with a wry smile. "Is that how you do that...." A fingertip makes rapid circles in the air in a vague gesture. "... that thing, with the growing and shrinking? You learned this in your science class? This is not something that anyone in my program was taught."
Nadia Pym	"The size changing? That's something I figured out mostly for myself," Nadia offers cryptically. "I can't really go into the specifics. If you want to know more you'd have to ask the Avengers. But it /was/ how I managed to escape." She sighs. "And it's also why practically every Russian mercenary in the country is after me. I don't even want to think about how much the reward money must be."
Svetlana	Lana give her a peculiar smile at that, then. "I could find out for you, if you wish. Since I left SHIELD I have been working on my own." She pauses, then adds. "I know people who -know- people. But I do not do this for the money, unlike so many."
Nadia Pym	Nadia Pym shrugs. Indifferent. "I don't really care what they're being paid," she admits. "It's not like they're good enough to actually catch me. It's just very tiring always having to look out for kidnappers.. And so long as you don't take any bounty hunter work I don't think we'll have a problem!"
Svetlana	Lana shakes her had at that, chuckling softly. "None where you are concerned, this I promise." she replies. "I am a mercenary, not a bounty hunter. And even then I choose my jobs very carefully. I was trained to be a fighting machine who follows orders without question. That is not who I am, however."
Nadia Pym	"People who want soldiers that follow orders without question generally can't be trusted to give very good orders," Nadia muses, shaking her head with dismay. "But then I find the whole concept of armies and soldiers abhorrent. It's such a waste of time and resources that could be better spent on... well /anything/."
Svetlana	Lana's smile broadens further. "I cannot agree with you more strongly." she replies. "Armies and soldiers do have their place. Unfortunately this is seldom doing good things for good people. This is why I am no longer with SHIELD. Perhaps I may return someday, once I know them better and trust them more."
Nadia Pym	Nadia Pym frowns and scratches her head. "You know I think we were supposed to be doing the question back and forth," she points out with a shrug. "I guess neither of us are very good at this whole cold war style spy meeting."
Svetlana	Lana chuckles at that, stretching her legs out and crossing feet at the ankles. "I was never trained as a spy. Soldier, remember?" she replies wryly. "In truth, before I became a soldier I was a figure skater. When winter comes we will go skating together, you and I."
Nadia Pym	"I've never really tried skating before," Nadia confesses, leaning against the bus stop. "They never let us go above ground. Before they moved me onto the science course they did teach me some ballet though. I think the idea was we could go undercover as dancers if we needed to cross borders. The physical conditioning was also very good for general fitness." "But that does sound like it could be fun. I'd offer to give you my number but I'm not really supposed to give out my contact information for security reasons."
Svetlana	Lana's eyes widen at that and she oooohs. "Really? I thought that everyone knew how to skate." she replies. Then Nadia explains and she nods slowly. "Yes. This makes sense to me. Dancers are more common than skaters, I suppose." She chuckles when Nadia speaks about security concerns and phone numbers. Lana shakes her head. "Then we will do this the spy-way, yes? I will leave an envelope for you behind this bench at midnight tonight. In the envelope is a phone with a single number in the call history. That is how you can reach me. Then you throw away the phone."
Nadia Pym	Nadia Pym pauses midway through getting her phone out of her pocket "I... I just meant I might get in trouble for sharing it," she points out. "Providing anyone finds out that is. So keep it quiet if anyone at SHIELD asks... Not that I think they will." She shrugs. "If you really are almost a hundred then I don't think I have to worry about you tracking my phone signal. Especially not when I've taken precautions to ensure that anyone who /does/ track it will find themselves at a petting zoo instead of my apartment!"
Svetlana	Lana shrugs at that, chuckling again. "Oh! I understand. I still have friends at SHIELD, but I do not tell them as much as they would like." She pulls her own phone out, then. "I am sure that they watch me, but then again *I* would watch me as well." And with that, numbers are exchanged.
Nadia Pym	"I don't tell them /anything/," Nadia says beaming a smile. "Although my friend Janet is an Avenger. I sometimes tell her things, but I think she's trustworthy. Even if she was married to my Dad for a while... It's uhm a long story." After she's got the number typed in she glances over at the mall. "Anyway I think I'll do my shopping another time. And you probably want to be elsewhere when the police come for all the people you beat up.."