With the touch of a button.

[notthaticequeen]

WHO: Betty Barnes and anyone who happens upon her.
WHAT: Eating, surveilling, and figuring out the city.
WHEN: Lunchtime.
WHERE: City of Tomorrow.
NOTES/WARNINGS: None as yet.

The odd little device had appeared beside her makeshift cot, which was suspect in and of itself. For a span of time she hadn't really bothered to count, Betty had been careful to keep her head down, doing what needed to be done to stay off the radar just in case someone recognised her and decided to make her useful again.

That wasn't on her schedule. Not now, not ever. And that was why it had unsettled her to suddenly find a phone-ish thing suddenly beside her. She'd walked away from it, only for it to come back to her. She'd tossed it into moving trucks and had it back hours later. She'd even shot it, but no dice.

In the end, she started to prowl through it, seeing what it did, looking for any symbols or hints that it was from someone she should be wary of. The oddest thing had been how benign it seemed. She'd watched chatter scroll through, none of it setting off her internal alarm bells.

The only button that was confusing was the one that said 'Transport.' There was no way it was accurately labeled, though - or so Betty thought until she pressed it and found herself in completely unknown territory. Her hypervigilance had kicked in immediately, and only after a little walking around and a few exercises she'd read up on from a library could her shoulders start to crawl down from around her ears.

Right now, with her back to the exterior wall of the cafe she'd chosen, she ate from a plate she'd watched be prepared, and she watched her surroundings. So far, it actually seemed... safer. This part, at least.

She'd have to think about that.

Comments

[notthaticequeen]

For once, Betty found herself almost ready to laugh. And not just laugh - laugh almost hysterically. Did she run?

"Yeah," she said, "I've been running for a while."

From everything. From Hydra, from Steve, from anybody who might recognise her. From reality, from memories, from hell...

"I'm pretty good at it."

[angel_of_verdun]

Rita's lips press thin in a wry grin.

"Yeah, no. I mean long distance. I use it to get out of my head."

[notthaticequeen]

She knew. She'd just also known that the joke was right there in front of her, and for once, she had to grab it. So she nodded, answered honestly - "Not really. I'm pretty sure I could, but I've not ever done it intentionally."

[angel_of_verdun]

"Well, maybe I can drag you along with me one of these days. We'll get you some running gear. We'll blend right in with the rest of the normals. Maybe pretend like we are one of them, for a little while, anyway."

[notthaticequeen]

"Running gear better have long sleeves and a glove," she said, but there was no other protest. Sure. She'd run. Hell, she could probably use the basic practice. Get back into the feel of things instead of just keeping her head down and trying to keep from having to fight.

[angel_of_verdun]

"Of course. Though, you know, you're in an era now where you're not the only vet running around with metal bits where their limbs used to be. Sure, yours has a shiny red star on it, but you can tell people you're a huge fan of Pellegrino."

She turns the vase of flowers around so Betty can see the little red star on the logo.

"But it's entirely up to you. Whatever you're comfortable with."

[notthaticequeen]

"I might be followed. If they're pulling people from everywhere, they could pull Hydra as easy as they could pull you." And that meant staying on her guard. Even if things here might be a little safer.

Maybe.

She hoped.

"Easier to write off covering one arm as circulation problems."

[angel_of_verdun]

Rita nodded, not disputing the fact.

"Makes sense to me."

She sipped her coffee, frowning.

"Betty, if you ever even think they're here for you, you'll let me know, won't you?"

[notthaticequeen]

"If I catch a hint, yeah." Problem was, Hydra was Hydra. They'd made a habit of being covert for decades. Just because they'd been outed didn't mean that they weren't still operating in plain sight without being seen. She knew better.

"If I don't, well, we'll both find out at about the same time."

[angel_of_verdun]

"And we'll deal with it."

Rita spoke with a certain finality that spoke volumes. She wasn't good at much else, but dealing with those sorts of things? Yeah, that she could do.

"What are your plans for the rest of the day?"

[notthaticequeen]

Her initial answer to that was a shrug. "Look for work. Look for an apartment. Might be cheaper in the City of Shadows, and we can both protect ourselves, but I might check what the prices are here, too." It was worth looking at, anyway.

[angel_of_verdun]

She waved a hand, lightly dismissive.

"Don't worry about the cost. I've got that covered. Just find some place you're comfortable. Some place you can feel at home in. I've got enough in my bank account, I can put down a year's rent in advance."

[notthaticequeen]

"I'll see if I can find something reasonable on the border." Made sense to her, at least. Something at the edge of the two parts of the city that made her feel best. And Rita seemed to like the Tomorrow sector pretty well.

"I might go to that science expo, too. It sounded interesting."

And right then, somehow, that sounded like something very nice. Something familiar. For a moment, she was very aware of her backpack and of some of the pictures inside. Maybe that was why.

[angel_of_verdun]

"Yeah? When does it start?"

[notthaticequeen]

"Uh."

Betty had to look at the CALL device to remember, scrolling through things with her brows slightly furrowed. "I heard it over that announcement... Hell, I don't think they said. But it's at Saint Something-or-other Academy."

[angel_of_verdun]

"Oh the school. Huh."

Rita sipped her coffee, eyes focused on some point in the distance.

"That does sound like something to check out. Might find someone who needs a mechanic."

[notthaticequeen]

"I saw a flying car once. For about two seconds. Wonder if they work here," Betty mused, still trying to find the announcement. "Probably. I slept through a lot. Hm."

[angel_of_verdun]

"You didn't miss flying cars. Even in 2014, we can't figure out how to keep people from smashing normal ones into one another. Letting people have flying ones is a recipe for disaster."

[notthaticequeen]

"You'd think people would figure it out eventually." But with a twist of her lips, she shook her head, and finally set the quasi-smartphone down. "Can't find it. But if I can fly a helicopter and a jet, you'd think somebody could fly a flying car already."

[angel_of_verdun]

Rita's eyebrows rose.

"You do both?"

[notthaticequeen]

Betty's answer was to tap her temple with one finger. "Fly anything, drive anything, shoot anything, slice anything. They put it all in here. I was already a sniper. They just helped it alone."

But her medical training had gone unaltered. She was way behind, and with that having been the one good choice she'd made, she wanted to pursue that, she was finding. And she'd already grabbed a few library books (and left payment behind) in her travels.

[angel_of_verdun]

"Damn," she exhales, taking another slow sip.

"That's bloody convenient."

[notthaticequeen]

"Not really."

Not when she knew just how it had happened. Her gaze went distant. The memories - those memories - were close. Because she never knew when she'd need them. Never knew when she'd need to steal a chopper to get away from Hydra or just local police who thought they'd spot the Winter Soldier. Some knowledge was just... always necessary to have at her fingertips.

"It took time, it just... They put me in a suggestible state, made me do it over and over again. Days on end. It sank in fast and it stayed. I'm up on everything until... I dunno. A few years ago."

[angel_of_verdun]

Rita's gaze falls to the table, goes distant again.

"Learned to fly a helicopter once."

[notthaticequeen]

"I can probably teach you more gently." Well, more gently than what had happened to Rita, for sure. "If you're interested. And we get to a helicopter."