The Perk | Late Thursday Morning

[scarlet_chaos]

Wanda decided to take a more traditional method of learning the island's layout today, without bowling balls and wearing normal shoes. It wasn't as exciting or as physically active as yesterday, but she was able to focus more on what the island had to offer.

She eventually made her way into the coffee shop and let the barista go nuts with her order, which was how she ended up with a mountain of whipped cream on her mocha. She very carefully carried the drink over to a table by the window because walking and drinking with this thing at the same time was not an option. She might need a spoon just to reach the caffeine.

[Open]

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[scarlet_chaos]

"Like I need to reevaluate everything in my life before this," Wanda admitted. "I really have no idea what I'm doing and...it's a lot of power I didn't know I had. I don't really understand it yet."

[heroic_jawline]

"Well, you might just be in the right place to find out," Steve said. "There are a lot of people with a lot of powers and they are all pretty swell about offering to help."

That's right, Wanda. They're all swell.

[scarlet_chaos]

"I noticed," she said with a wry smile. "The first plan was to go off into the woods and try to learn this stuff on my own."

You know, with that book from the hell dimension she stole.

"I'm still kind of afraid to do this around people," Wanda admitted. "The first time I used this power I ended up hurting a lot of people. I messed up really bad."

[heroic_jawline]

Steve nodded, looking sympathetic. "Did you apologize?"

He, personally, was kind of terrible at them.

[scarlet_chaos]

"Yes." Probably a little too late, but she had apologized eventually. "They were still pretty mad."

Understatement.

[heroic_jawline]

"That part you can't fix," Steve said quietly. "But learning more, trying to control it, means you won't make the same mistake twice."

You can make a new mistake instead!

[scarlet_chaos]

Wanda smiled slightly and shook her head. "There's no way I could make this mistake twice. But I appreciate you trying to make me feel better about it."

It was working too, sort of.

[heroic_jawline]

Steve smiled back. "You're welcome," he said. "Back home, we're in the middle of the Sokovia fallout, so I know a thing or two about cleaning up a big mess."

[scarlet_chaos]

"I guess you would, yeah," she said. God, she was really far ahead of everybody else. "Yeah that pretty much defined what counted as a big mess."

[heroic_jawline]

Steve made a little face. "I'm guessing it doesn't end in group hugs and the United Nations leaving us alone?"

[scarlet_chaos]

"Not exactly." Which was also kind of her fault, whoops. "You didn't really think it'd end like that, did you?"

[heroic_jawline]

"No," Steve admitted, running his finger around his coffee mug. "There's too many egos at play. I'm just looking for an emergency brake or something to pull before this goes entirely off the rails."

Spoiler: he would not find one.

[scarlet_chaos]

"I get that," she said. "I'm afraid any help I could offer would just make things worse."

That seemed to be a theme with her.

[heroic_jawline]

Steve gave her a tiny smile. "I'm sure that's not true, but I don't want to cheat off of your knowledge of the future."

Because then everyone's dead and/or living in the 1950s.

[scarlet_chaos]

"Probably for the best," she said. "Isn't that how things get screwed up all the time in movies?"

[heroic_jawline]

Steve nodded. "Those always get Tony yelling about time-space continuums or something." He grinned. "I'm still waiting for my flying car, then I'll mess with going back to the past."

[scarlet_chaos]

Wanda let out a surprised little laugh, because wow, was that wrong. "I will spoil for you that flying cars still aren't a thing in 2023."

[heroic_jawline]

"That is very disappointing," Steve said, "especially when there are a bunch of space ships parked in the junkyard here. I'll tell Tony to get moving on that but he keeps trying to distract me with jetpacks and roller skates."