1964-02-03 - Late-Night Test Subjects
Summary: Ava and Carol run into each other after hours at SHIELD HQ.
Related: None
Theme Song: None
carol ava 


It's pushing after hours, even for a SHIELD office that has to keep an eye on the world at all times. But Ava isn't known for keeping the usual hours anyhow. She's usually some version of undercover when she's not in the office (and some would say she's still undercover when she is in the office), which means that it's hard to find a time and a place to train. So once the office isn't too crowded, she trains here.

She wears a tank top and sweatpants, her hands wrapped in rags as she works a large punching bag with swift jabs and vicious kicks. For all she looks barely old enough to be legal, she clearly knows what she's doing.

*

Carol comes in, wearing the standard SHIELD duty uniform, though the equipment harness is absent since it's the gym. She sees Ava and watches for a few moments, before commenting, "Good form, but you're dropping your left shoulder a bit before you punch from there." She grins a bit, not actually looking like she's going to work out, but… well, not many people (or machines) could handle it here.

*

Ava glances up from her work at the criticism, catching her breath and taking a step back to square herself once more. "It's a slip," she lies, though when she goes back to the bag, she's corrected it. "Makes me smaller, harder to hit. The down side of not being very big, yes?" A few more thumps to the bag and she steps back again, flashing a sharp smile at the other woman. "Usually there is no one else here this late. Except for the director, at her desk. And the scientists, in their labs."

*

Carol nods, "Yeah, Fitz and Simmons live here, I swear." She smiles a bit, "And well, I don't need that much sleep anymore, so I sometimes wind up just meandering about at odd hours."

*

Ava steps away from the bag, moving toward a bench at the side to get a bottle of water. She's usually swathed in layers of clothes - in just the tank top, it's clear that she's a spare thing, all bone and sinew from too much time on the streets. "Any more?" she echoes, tilting her head and settling an eye on Carol as she drinks. "Since when?"

*

Carol hrms, "Since, well…" She looks at Ava, then hefts up a 200 pound weight. In one hand. With about the same amount of effort as one might use to lift a piece of paper. "A few months ago I gained some powers, I'm still trying to understand all of them." She then twirls the weight on her finger as if it were a frisbee.

*

Ava's brows rise at the display. "I know that feeling," she admits, setting the water down before she holds out one hand, blue electricity crackling between her fingers. "I'm still trying to control this part, though," she admits, frowning at her hand as she visibly pulls the energy back.

*

Carol catches the weight easily, then sets it down. She blinks a bit at the electricity, "Well, that's pretty interesting. How much can you do?"

*

"We are still studying it." Ava grimaces, reaching for her water again. "It is…Difficult. Not to do, but to not do. It grows, and it builds, and I am not very good at controlling it yet, so we try not to do much more than I know that I can control. Other things have been a little easier. But they've been with me longer. It is a long story," she smiles faintly, rueful.

*

Carol nods, "I can understand that… for me, that's why I took the leave of absence. So I could figure out what I could do, and really cut loose without hurting anyone." She smiles back, "Well, if it grows and builds up that much, maybe just use it in short bursts so it doesn't get too far."

*

Ava shakes her head. "It doesn't grow. It's just always there. I'm holding it in all the time, like…Like a hose that's turned off. It's all right when it's off. But when you try to turn it on low, then suddenly all of the pressure is there, and it's trying to push its way out, and…" She shrugs, moving back to the bag. "I will figure it out eventually. The other things, I figured out. Now they are like breathing."

*

Carol smiles, "Just takes practice. But don't worry about cutting loose around me, one of my things is absorbing energy, which includes electricity." She shrugs, "I doubt there's enough voltage to hurt me."

*

The rhythm of Ava's punching pauses for a beat. "That…is good to know." And indeed, some small measure of tension - always there in the background - leaves her shoulders. At least she doesn't need to worry about hurting Carol. "What does it feel like?" she asks, going back to her work out.

*

Carol hmms, "Depends on the energy, but electricity… it's a bit tingly. Not unpleasant, if that's what you're wondering." She considers, "Kind of hard to explain without a common vote of reference."

*

Ava laughs once. "Yes, that makes sense. I imagine different types must have different…flavors, so to speak." After a moment, she steps back from the bag again, pushing her hair away from her face. "I think your accident must have been even bigger than mine, if now you can absorb energy and lift weights like they are balloons."

*

Carol nods, "One of the scientists I talked to said it basically exploited potential that was already there, though… well I don't know the exact specifics of it." She grins, "I just /fly/ the rockets, don't ask me to build one."

*

"A transfer of energy." Ava tilts her head, considering the other woman. "You accept it, store it. Which means you can probably also send it back out. It is possible you could even convert yourself into energy," she muses. "Though without a coherent mind to order a return, there might be no coming back from that."

She flushes, looking down as she starts to unwrap her hands. "My parents were scientists," she explains. "And when I first came here to America, I lived with SHIELD under their medical observation."

*

Carol shakes her head, "I haven't even thought about that. Turning /myself/ into energy… I mean, I know I can absorb and release the energy." She looks thoughtful for a moment, then glances towards Ava, "How old were you then?"

*

"Nine," Ava answers, a faint smile curving out of reflex, the sort of expression meant to put someone else at ease more than to express any real comfort of her own. "This place…" She waves a hand around them. "SHIELD bases. They are the closest memories I have to a home."

*

Carol whistles a bit, "Since you were nine. That's not even something I can even imagine." She shakes her head, "Just seems so… well, strange. I mean, I remember when I was nine just going to school, maybe a baseball game."

*

"That was when I came to SHIELD," Ava notes in a low tone, with that same, small smile. "I was six when…" She rolls up the wrappings, carefully lining up the material. "Russia is…not always as ethical as you are here. There was - or is, who knows? - a program deep in their spy agencies. One to raise young women to be sleeper agents here. And deeper in that program was the program my parents worked for. Willingly at first. Until they understood what their science was being used for. And when they wanted to stop, then the people in charge decided that I would be a part of the program. So."

Once more she shrugs, setting the wrappings down neatly on the bench next to her water. "But the director and SHIELD found us. I did not trust them after all of the medical observation, but…We saw lately. It is too easy for an organization of spies to go too far into the dark. Someone must watch."

*

Carol nods, listening, then says, "So… have you ever /seen/ a baseball game?" She smiles a little bit, getting an idea, "And I don't mean on the television, I mean in person."

*

Ava laughs, a more genuine smile flashing across her features. "Once. Right after they brought me here, they took me two places. One, to a baseball game. And the other, to one of the large department stores for some clothes. It was…very overwhelming at the time. Coming from the Ukraine, coming from a place where everything was secret and hidden. Limited. I do remember there was ice cream at the baseball game, though," she adds, wistful.

*

Carol grins, "Well, we'd have to wait a few months, but the next time the Red Sox are in town, you and me, we're going to a game. And I'll make sure you can get some ice cream. Though really, you /need/ to have a hot dog at the game. It's tradition." She nods a bit, "Though, there's a pretty good soda jerk not too far from here, if you don't want to wait that long for ice cream."

*

Ava hesitates for a moment. It's clear she's not used to being friendly - to not having an agenda. But eventually, she nods, taking an oversized jacket off of a hook on the wall. "I think that would be nice. But we had better go quickly," she adds, looking to the clock above the door. "The scientists will be having their late night snacks soon, and if they see us, it will be more tests."

*

Carol chuckles, "We'll get out of here in a flash, don't worry." She smiles and gets a coat to wear over her uniform, so she doesn't draw any attention with it. "Let's go and have a bit of fun."

*

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