accelerate | deerington contact.

You seem very dressed up.

[ in all honesty, the last thing barry expected to see natasha wear is a pair of batons. looking at her in amusement, he realises that, yes, there's a lot more to natasha "alicecooper" than she's let on or meets the eye.

hands in his coat, he glances up at the sky. ]

The weather looks kind of not stormy today… You sure…?

[ but barry, at least, kind of knows how to create one. ]

[ Oh, did she forget to mention the whole she's an Avenger thing? No one picking up on why she uses alicecooper for her handle? Spoiler: it's for the song Black Widow. Well, they've got more pressing matters at hands than what she does for work. ]

Pretty sure. People get lost in a blizzard, somehow find themselves shelter, end up at the hotel.

[ Adjusting a strap, she gives a look around, noting how very not blizzard-ish the weather is around them. ]

I figured with how fast you are, maybe you can run through it and get us to this hotel. Hopefully also out of it.

[ with a shrug and a small smile, ] It's worth a try.

[ although, he's a touch doubtful. despite that, he'll give it a go. the worst thing that can happen is nothing happens: they don't find a blizzard and barry doesn't end up turning into an icicle. snow, ice and himself never quite go well together.

but, like he's said, it's worth a try.

looking at her batons, he purses his lips. ] There's a chance those might melt from my speed. You sure you want to risk it?

[ ~~maybe someone should MENTION THESE THINGS??~~

When he brings up her batons, she looks to him with a slow blink of her eyes before she comes to reach back for the both of them and cracks them a bit to ignite the crackling electricity within. ]

I just had these made for me too.

[ In other words: she'd hate to lose them when she just got them.

But, coming to lower them some, she lets herself look to him a little more gently. ]

You don't have to do this you know. See if you can get me in and out.

Edited 2021-01-10 03:09 (UTC)

[ maybe the electricity of the batons will easily connect with his. ]

I'm going there anyway. It seems like it'd be a waste of a trip if you take the slow express.

[ and he can easily zip through the hotel and find who she's looking for—a question he thinks he'll ask once he's broken through the storm. best to do phase one before hopping over to phase two. her going by herself means minutes will pass by when he can hopefully help ease her anxiety over the friends who are in the hotel.

then, he scrunches up his face. ] I figure I should mention I'm going to have to go really fast to break through the storm. Not as fast as a black hole requires, but fast.

[ he remembers last time. doesn't blame her; not everyone has an iron speedster-proof stomach like him. ]

[ Come again? Oh, The Look she gives him when he lets her in on that. A shake of her head, she slots her batons against her back and sighs. ]

Guess I caught you at the right moment then.

[ She hates to think of anything happening to him but, it's not like she can really stop him from doing so. For now.

Stepping closer, she stands there in front of him and looks to him with lips pursed for no more than a moment before she lets them fall into just the hint of a smile. ]

I trust you. [ She wraps an arm around his neck as she settles in close, letting a breath leave her before she quirks a brow up at him. ] But if you hit a snowbank or something and drop me, I'm going to be really pissed.

[ he laughs lightly, ignoring the pounding of his heart. ] I only dropped someone once. My hand slipped.

[ he's joking… sort of.

considering she was to go find someone, he figures it's time to go. who knows if a blizzard is just around the corner and about to sneak away to a street far, far away. ]

Hold on.

[ wrapping an arm around her, he ensures he has a firm grip, hand against her back, and then kicks off with absolutely no slow warm up to his running. the world is blurred and gold, but to barry, it's sharp as he races out of her street and to the next one in search of a blizzard. ]

[ This has only been the second time he's taken off with her like this and despite her trying to prepare herself for what she knows is about to happen, it still catches her by surprise.

She wonders if the way her fingers press against the nape of his neck are sharp and tight, if the way she holds to him is any sort of indication of just how Not Used To This she is. Even with knowing he holds her safe, it's instinct that tells her to hold tighter to him.

The blur of their surroundings amidst a crackling gold as he goes is something she barely catches a glimpse of, finding that she's pressing her forehead against his shoulder when she hadn't even meant to from the get-go.

Thankfully, as she'd mentioned, a blizzard tearing through a part of Deerington isn't too far off. Though it's not like she can really see that thanks to, well, the world being a crackle of fleeting gold she can barely make out.

Don't make them trip, Barry. ]

[ as soon as he feels the chill of the blizzard, he begins to pick up the pace. it feels like flying to him. the world is a blur and he's experiencing it at a speed that not many others have the luxury of ever experiencing. it's exhilarating and warming, especially so with the chill of the blizzard.

despite worrying about whether the blizzard will stop him or not, barry focuses on the fact he's going to get through it. her fingers are sharp against his neck, but he barely feels it. all he can sense is elation, his adrenaline pumping hard and fast. he charges towards it, feet hitting the ground quickly, and grips her tightly just in case—

and skids along the solid, shiny floor of a hotel's foyer, the wold coming back into sharp, slowpoke focus. barry's not even breathless as he grins. ]

I guess this is a different type of bellboy service you're used to experiencing.

[ When the world suddenly comes to a stop, Natasha can't even comment on the fact that he'd actually found both the blizzard and the hotel because... bad feeling. Bad sick feeling like last time. Fun fun fun. This part.

Fingers curl against the nape of his neck as she presses her forehead to his shoulder a little harder, eyes squeezed shut and a slow nod to come in response to his bellboy comment. She just needs a second or two to let her body... adjust.

When she does finally pull away some, it's with a slow breath and an equally slow blink of her eyes. Again, she nods to him, showing that she's good and gently untangles herself from him once she feels she can stand ok. Though, he might in fact still have her fingers just barely clutching at his arm as she rights herself. ]

You did it.

[ She finally manages to say as she takes in their surroundings. ]

You actually found it.

[ he grins, ] Just had to make a sharp right.

[ it's true, he did. while it may have seemed like a second jump, he'd easily found his way through the blizzard and that supernaturally inclined door. sometimes barry was just good at finding things (a purple jacket in the middle of a black hole) and sometimes those supernatural things were good at finding barry. it's the latter he thinks to credit for finding the foyer of the grady hotel.

his arm closest to hers remains outstretched as he does look around the foyer and glances at her. she looks a little pale; everyone he takes at super-speed always looks a little pale.

eyeing her with an amused smile, he's genuine when he asks, ] You okay?

[ Fingers still gently hold to his arm as she allows herself another moment to just, you know, Take It All In and get herself grounded on the, well, not-moving-so-fast ground. His curiosity earns him a slow blink of her eyes and a nod to follow. ]

Yeah. Just.. you know. [ She twirls a finger around as she takes a breath. ] Speedster jetlag. I'll be fine.

[ She's going to have to be with being here anyways. ]

Thanks though. For getting us here. Wherever here is.

[ he gives her a small smile. speedster jetlag, the one thing that he hasn't experienced as a speedster… or did during that one stint where iris was one. he doesn't take a step away from her, although he does eye the foyer a little more curiously now. ]

Who were you looking for?

[ brows furrowed, he glances up at the ceiling as if he has x-ray vision. ]

I can do a quick run around the hotel and maybe find them.

[ Once she feels like she can balance herself ~~like the ballerina she is~~ without chancing a stumble and then toppling over, she lets her fingers slip away from his arm, letting another breath out as she does so. ]

Scott Lang and Peter Parker. The older one. Younger one left here from what I was told.

[ Or "woke up" as people tend to do here. ]

Scott and I are from the same place. Peter's an older and different version of the one I know but still part of the team as far as I'm concerned.

[ ah, a doppelgänger. barry doesn't react at all to her description of peter as it sounds normal to him. another version of a friend, although he's not quite sure who peter parker is. though, that's never stopped him from trying to find out and being successful.

his face brightens in recognition. ] I know Scott.

[ good to know scotty's around. that guy's a lot of fun, from his sense of humour to the fact that he simply seems to get how barry feels sometimes.

lifting his hand, he steps away and turns backwards, smiling at her as he walks further into the foyer. ]

Stay here, I'll be right back.

[ he kicks off in a streak of golden glow and a forcible wind. it's literally going to take him two seconds. ]

[ Ordinarily, being told to Stay Put might get her to do the exact opposite of that, but. What with Barry being as fast as he is, she imagines she'd get a few steps down the hall before being met with him again. Handy? Annoying? That entirely depends on her mood and the situation, she thinks.

But when Barry takes off, she takes it upon herself to go and take those few steps while checking on her bracelets to ensure they survived the speedy trip they'd taken together. From the looks of it? Didn't end up melting in all that crackling and sparkling gold. ]

Well. Might as well see what we've got here.

[ within five seconds, the foyer glows gold and the wind from his speed pushes papers, hair, cushions and plants over. skidding across the floor (and leaving some skidmarks, sorry, cleaners), he comes to stand beside her like he hadn't left at all.

scrunching up his face, he gestures in the direction of where he'd come from. ] So, I think Scott's on the fourth floor, although it felt like the sixth and then the seventeenth. [ cue brow furrow, even that sounded strange to him. ] And I think I may have found a Peter, although… not quite sure. But hopefully I did. He's on the third floor that felt like the twelfth floor that probably was the twenty-fifth floor.

[ yes, he does realise that this does not help her at all. but at least he's confirmed that they're here? confirming peter was a lot harder… he had to view some logs and then a computer and then, well… just guesswork. ]

Something's weird about this hotel.

[ just to sum it up. ]

[ One day she's going to get used to his popping in and out like this, right?

But, as she'd thought, she'd only been about two or three steps into her exploration when he'd returned to her side as if he'd never left and she looks over to him... as if he hadn't. His explanation of the rooms supposedly moving about or at least feeling as if they've switched floors on their own is a little concerning, to say the least. Though it sticks with what Scott had said to her earlier. ]

Yeah, Scott mentioned something about that. I told him to try and stay put for that reason so finding him would be a lot easier.

[ Though she's beginning to think that's not going to go according to plan. ]

I don't suppose you saw any way out of here, did you?

[ he shakes his head, feeling a little disappointed that he can't answer that. it's one question he should be used to not answering—sometimes it's more difficult to find a way out than a way in for him. but that won't stop him; he's only been here for just a few seconds... he can find a way out in due time. ]

No blizzards outside. I checked the windows and weather forecast.

[ he got a lot done in just a few seconds. ]

But you should be able to find Scott. The phones work here, and your Fluid should, too.

[ at least communication won't be completely cut off, even if the hotel is... a little disorienting to be inside as a speedster. ]

[ When he mentions the Fluids, she pulls hers out and looks it over, scrolling through it with the pad of her thumb to find Scott's contact there. At least there's that, which she can feel relieved about. Although, now that they're both here, it doesn't look as if either of them are going to be going anywhere any time soon. At least not until this place feels like letting them go. ]

Well, at least there's that. And company.

[ A beat, she looks to him and then comes to stop, Fluid being tucked back inside her costume. ]

Thank for for this. I mean, I pretty much just guided the both of us into whatever danger is bound to show itself around here, but... thanks.

[ hands in the pockets of his coat, he shrugs. ] Just another Tuesday for me.

[ "danger" is his second middle name after "henry", after all. he can't help himself; never has and never will, and that's fine by him. looking around the lobby once more, he turns to her and gives her a once-over with a furrow to his brow. ]

So, are you going to go beat up the concierge in that outfit? I have a feeling that's not going to go down well with the management.

Only if they give me a reason to.

[ Even as she says that, he can't hold back the grin tugging at her lips. Strands of red mixed with the very last touches of blonde at the tips fall away from her shoulder as she brushes her ponytail back some. ]

Guess this is when I realize there's still a few things about me you don't know.

[ throwing a thumb over his shoulder, he teases, ] If you're going to beat anyone up, could you spare the cooks because... I saw this really big kitchen and I need to stock up.

[ running through a magical blizzard had taken a lot out of this speedster, but mostly, he'd seen some nice pastries and a pizza and a burger being cooked, and he's hungry. ]

[ Oh she hasn't forgotten about that appetite of his. Kind of hard to forget someone who woofs down way more donuts than anyone else ever could and still needs more. So with a smile on her lips, she gives a bit of a nod. ]

Spare the cooks. Got it.

[ Which, speaking of. ]

You should probably grab something anyways. I'm going to take a look around. See if I can find anything.

[ barry smiles. the best way to get the lay of the land is through the kitchen, and he intends to do so happily. (there may not be any food left by the time he finishes with it.) ]

If you need any help... maybe grab a ball of wool and leave a threaded trail. This place has me not knowing where left and right is.

[ and that's a problem he's going to figure out... after he eats, of course. hotel disorientation will be the third thing he investigates on his list today. (first had been helping natasha get here, the second will be getting himself a nice sandwich.) ]

That's a little concerning.

[ Yet even as she says that, she's taking a look around for herself because, if it's disorienting for a speedster like him, it's bound to be worse for, you know, the not-speedsters. ]

If I can't find thread, I'll just leave a trail of candy for you to follow. Donuts might be a little messy.

[ Not that this is a regular hotel or anything. ]

Just make sure to keep in touch, ok?

[ amused, he smiles and shakes his head. even without a trail, he's sure he'd be able to find her. he's faced plenty of impossible things—after all, for barry, the impossible is possible. ]

I will.

[ it's a promise he's quickly learned she's insistent about. barry thinks it has to do with this earth, but he doesn't press. it's hardly appropriate in the foyer of a strange hotel.

holding his hand up, he pledges, ] Speedster honour.

[ he begins to walk backwards, hands now behind his back, ready to kick off in a flash. ] And if you find Scott, tell him I said hi and I think there are peanut butter cookies in the kitchen.

deerington contact.

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