Over the river and through the woods, to Wanda's house we go. (RP with shadeof_grey)

[starspangledcap]

[OOC: RP for shadeof_grey. Takes place after this conversation between Jean and Tony, and deviates from canon after Civil War 7.]

Steve Rogers is on a train to Transia. Steve Rogers should be in a prison cell on the SHIELD helicarrier. Or, at the very least, he should be in a considerably more spacious and well-furnished book-filled prison cell on Ryker’s

Comments

[shadeof_grey]

Jean hates public transportation -- all those minds in close quarters, all that anxiety, excitement, fear, exhaustion pounding into her skull. Working to block it out is a full-time job. Her first mental objection to Tony's proposed trip had been -- "a plane, a train, AND a bus? Please, no!" She had quickly decided to keep it to herself, both from the odd fear that Tony would laugh at her for being so trivial, and from the more serious argument she didn't want to have. People reacted differently when they learned that she artificially restricted her own power; the conversation always became very personal, and it wasn't one she felt like having with him

[starspangledcap]

Steve can't help feeling guilty as he hears Jean's words. "I'm sorry, Ms. Grey. I'm still not sure why you were asked to come here with me, to be honest. Not that I mind your company, of course, and I understand that they needed some insurance that I wouldn't escape, but the details don't completely add up. You shouldn't be forced to worry about Avengers business."

And he is, honestly, confused. Tony's suggestion of Jean handling the Wanda situation made sense when he was simply looking for someone to fill a role. But once he decided to send Steve himself - someone who actually knew Wanda - why did Ms. Grey still have to be bothered? Surely the role of his babysitter could have been played by anyone. What attachment did Tony have to Jean all of a sudden? Tony had been harrassing her online, but Jean had been steadfastly refusing his advances with the sort of steely determination that Steve couldn't help but applaud. What had changed?

[shadeof_grey]

"That's not what I meant," Jean says quickly, and it's her instinct to feel bad for making Captain America feel guilty. But then, right away, she realizes that she is annoyed by the implication of the question.

Switching to telepathic communication -- even if no one else on the train knows English, Tommy and Billy might hear -- she says, Please don't misunderstand, Captain Rogers; whether or not I was asked to come -- By the time she got done talking with Tony, she hadn't been sure whose idea the plan was supposed to have been, or even whose it actually was. Wanda's fate -- her welfare, I mean -- is an important issue to the global mutant community. I'm the head of X-Corporation. I don't take orders from anyone else on this planet. And if I didn't think it was important for me to come, I wouldn't have. What I meant --Now, she continues, out loud. "Just the whole situation is stupid. All the taking sides and forming factions and keeping secrets. I'm not even sure what's political and what's personal anymore. And Tony --"

[starspangledcap]

Steve has never been very comfortable with telepathy. He doesn't particularly appreciate one half of a conversation being private when he has no way of knowing if his half could be received in the same way. And, a lot of the time, the "honesty" of telepathy just reminds him of how dishonest people are with their verbal communication, something he's never been comfortable acknowledging. In this case, he understands the need for secrecy, but the voice in his head still grates