@infernil sent : ' i have not come to fight. only to talk. ' (marvel verse!)
SHE FASCINATES HIM - for a moment he'd thought she would join Xavier's futile cause , or perhaps seek safety among the Avengers. Instead she comes here ; risking more than she knows. Aleksandr rises from his table ; obsidian gaze locked upon her for a moment. "And what , might i ask , is so important you would come here?"
SURELY SHE WAS NOT LOOKING FOR A MENTOR IN HIM? many have tried , many he has found useless. Power ; after all , was a fickle thing indeed & Aleksandr was not interested in what he perceived to be weakness. Baghra had never stood for it ; SHE HAD TAUGHT HER SON TO BE STRONG - even if the manner of her teachings could be perceived as cruel. He has to admit there had been some merit to them. "If you are looking for a teacher , i would advise finding someone else. I am not patient , nor merciful. I do not accept failure."
Marie had heard tell of the starless soldier even in her early days in the widow program. His name was often whispered in the barracks at night, spoken only in the softest of whispers.
Aleksander Morozova.
He had been one of the Red Room's finest before he escaped. Now, he is hunted, always hunted. By the Red Room, by their allies, and their enemies alike. He was often cited, alongside the winter soldier, as a failure: broken. No longer serving his purpose. An example of the life one would be forced to lead after defectingโโ in hiding, useless.
BUT MARIE HAD LONG YEARNED TO ESCAPE. She didn't know why, at first, her mind foggy from years of being brainwashed, from the programming branded onto her mind, from a heartache that she never used to understand. It had taken years, but she had managed it. Marie walks free, has spent the last several weeks making her way to her destination. She knows the red room will be coming for her but she doesn't care. Fear is a luxury she had not been able to afford for a long time.
After so many days spent slipping in and out of shadows, stealing and lying, using her skills to get by in a way she was never meant toโโ a part of her cannot believe she's finally laying eyes on him. Morozova is almost a myth to her... but something feels familiar, too.
"I'M HERE BECAUSE YOU'RE LIKE ME," she says evenly, not frightened by him despite his intimidating manner. "If there was a time when I experienced patience or mercy, it was nothing but fantasy. I should scarcely expect it now."
