incrediblebanner | (no subject)

SHIELD actually calls on her for her talents in radiation much more than she would have expected, given that she's also a near-indestructible force of fury. Which is more or less how she finds herself shuttled off to another continent to have a look at some identified piece of something that's leaking gamma radiation at an alarming rate. Of course, it's not until she reaches the site (or, more accurately, a semi-safe distance away from the site) that she's informed that it's also, coincidentally, too dangerous for anyone who can't handle being exposed to generally-lethal doses of radiation to work with.

So they do need the freak, after all. Bryce lets out a resigned sigh at the SHIELD agent - of course they tell her after she gets off the plane, not before or during the flight. "You realize exposure to that much radiation might trigger an involuntary change."

The agent clears her throat uncomfortably. "Director Fury has assigned someone to... accompany you in your work."

Of course. Someone to put her down if she gets out of control. "And who does he think can stop... it?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Either she's flagged for active duty or she isn't. There's no picking and choosing. It's up to some very smart people to decide who's best suited for what, and sending in the second or third choice is a good way to screw up the mission. Still, she figured they'd have a solo job for Ward long before there was a need to pull anyone else off the team, especially her. She's surprised for several solid reasons when the call comes through.

Once she's briefed, she understands. After Romanoff, she has the most experience shadowing Banner, and Black Widow is running completely silent right now on a deep cover op.

S.H.I.E.L.D. has already evacuated civilians from the area, set up a perimeter, and established this temporary base. All non-essential personnel will be clearing out in a matter of minutes, because they can't guarantee they're right about the minimum safe distance, and with Banner here, their risk projections just went through the roof. This got a lot more dangerous the second Bryce's plane touched down, and they all know it.

May walks into the temporary command center at just the right time. The other agent, Lawrence, she doesn't help; quick enough with the introduction to make it sound like the answer to Bryce's question.

"Doctor Banner, this is Agent May."

The previous assignment is classified, kept as quiet as it's possible to keep anything, considering the Hulk made an appearance. May clasps her hands behind her and stands, if not fully to attention, then as in rank and file. She inclines her head to Bryce, curtly, offering no sign of recognition. She gives an entirely different nod to Agent Lawrence; dismissive, cue to leave.

The place is going to empty out around them. Their job will take however long it takes, with Banner going back and forth from the site. May can't get much closer than this, but she'll watch, likely through a scope on some experimental weapon. Hopefully they won't find out if it's any use against the Other One.

Looking to Bryce, she asks mildly, "Questions?"

Edited 2014-03-12 16:11 (UTC)

...Ah.

At least this time she doesn't have to make up a name for her babysitter-agent. Her gaze falls on Agent May's nametag - Melinda May, very alliterative - and her mouth twitches upward in a tiny smile. "Well, ideally this is going to be a boring science run. But I assume you have a plan if that changes...?"

To her knowledge, SHIELD still hasn't developed a weapon capable of incapacitating the Hulk, so she hopes it's a good plan.

An alliterative name, something they have in common. She caught that tiny smile. May's neutral expression is probably familiar.

In the event that this isn't a boring science run, the priority is minimizing casualties.

She says it placidly, "Expand the evac zone and shoot you."

Treated like it's harmless because it probably will be. R&D isn't especially optimistic about the latest batch of weapons, either, so Bryce's knowledge isn't off the mark. If she thought Banner would want to look them over ahead of time, she might—uncomfortably enough—offer.

She raises her eyebrows. "Does SHIELD have something that they think will actually work?"

She does keep tabs on these things as much as she can (having access to Tony's kind of connections and AI help a lot), and she wasn't aware of anything particularly intriguing coming from SHIELD in the Hulk department.

"You'd be the first to know."

It's not phrased as reassurance, nor does it reflect any awareness of how much Bryce is able to glean from other sources; just a fact, and also a 'no'. For the person doing the shooting, that could mean going unnoticed, or it could mean provoking something she can't hope to match. It's with a sort of resignation, neither brave or suicidal, that she doesn't pause to think about it.

She sighs. "For what it's worth, I'll do what I can to keep it at bay" (as always), "but I haven't been exposed to this much radiation in a while."

Despite the potential usefulness of the information, Bryce has always been a little wary of conducting any experiments into involuntary change. Loss of control coupled with anger and personal harm are the big ones.