bigapplesauce | Exploring the city [OPEN]

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Exploring the city [OPEN]

It's Christmas Day and Bruce could use a miracle or two. He doesn't know how he got here or how to get back. He can't find Tony or Avenger's Tower. To be honest, Bruce is a bit disgusted with himself at how easily he got used to having a team to rely on and a home to go back to. He's been living in a homeless shelter, looking for work. Naturally, he's missing some important papers, so he needs under the table work. That's all right. Bruce has experience at this sort of thing. Right now, he's heading for the docks, to see if he can get some work there.

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Bruce smiled, chuckling.

"He's not wrong. You're asking me to choose sides. I won't, unless I know exactly what those sides consist of. I need to know who I can trust."

Blythe nods. "I'd offer to show you our own records, but I hear taking you back to the base is also out of the question," she chuckles. "The library will open in a few minutes, though, and we can make do with what's been made public."

She's confident that will be enough.

Bruce smiled. "Sorry. I'm not trying to be difficult. I just have some experience with bases. I think the public record is a good idea, though. At least, it's a bit more easy to verify."

It also might--might--be a bit less biased, though Bruce knows journalism is rarely, if ever, truly objective.

Blythe is naturally of the opinion that the rebels' own records hold more truth than what's been in the papers, but she understands nonetheless. "Well, I don't mind doing a little research if it'll help a new rifty. Come on, we're going to have to take the subway." Because she isn't taking him to the library where she actually works -- too many potential questions from coworkers about who Bruce is.

"Um. I don't really have that much money. Is it too far to walk?" Bruce asked hesitantly. "I'm sorry. I've been doing day labor, but I'll have to get better established, before I can even think about getting a regular job."

That might have been the oddest part about all of this. Bruce was no longer on the run. He'd finally found a place, where General Ross and SHIELD couldn't track him.

"It's a little far for me," admits Blythe. "I can pay your way, though -- I'll take it out of the general fund. That's another thing; if you join us, you'll get an allowance. A job is still better, but we try to make it easy for everyone to transition."

Bruce hesitated, but then nodded, not wanting to be any more trouble than necessary. At this point, it probably wasn't even polite to argue.

"That's fine, then, ma'am, thank you," he told her, smiling a bit sheepishly. "I'm not sure about an allowance. I don't want to take money I haven't earned that could go to other things."

"Things like helping the new people settle in?" asks Blythe slyly. She turns to lead the way. "Come on, daylight's burning."

Bruce follows her closely, shaking his head.

"I'm not a people person, Miss Blythe. I'll help people, whenever I can, but I make a poor welcome wagon.

Blythe chuckles. "I mean, the money's there to help new people. Like you. No one's going to tell you not to get a job and go off the allowance when you're ready."

Bruce smiled, shrugging. "I suppose so. I would like to find good work. I'd recently settled down, with a good position, before being pulled here."

"I'm sorry," says Blythe with a little sigh. "I was one of the lucky ones, got here before all the regulations got put into place -- you'll find something eventually."

Bruce frowned.

"Okay, let's start there. What are the work regulations for people from the rift?"

"No work unless Romac approves it," replies Blythe -- that's an easy one. "They want to keep tabs on their rifties at all times. People showing up trying to get work without any papers is one of the ways they used to catch a lot of them."

Bruce grimaced. "I see. So, for now, day labor really is my only option. Why such strong measures?"

"I think it's because they can catch people that way," replies Blythe, leading the way down into the subway. "And because back when the laws were being put in place, locals were upset that they had to compete with foreigners for jobs. Real foreigners, not just people from other countries."

Bruce grimaced. "Never mind that the people coming through couldn't help it and still needed to be able to work and eat. What sort of work does ROMAC usually allow? Do they take people's abilities into account?"

"They do," allows Blythe. "Usually. Supposedly they're doing all of us a favor by placing rifties in housing and work, but you wouldn't necessarily get much choice about either."

"No. It'd be better to integrate them and treat them like any other citizen," Bruce admits, sighing. "I'm surprised these laws are allowed. What about the federal government? Are rift victims granted any sort of citizenship?"

"Most of it isn't official," shrugs Blythe. "They're trying to keep it as quiet as they can, and most people outside Manhattan either don't know or don't care."

"How can that be? Why haven't you petitioned the White House or gone public?" Bruce asks, confused. In his reality, the media would have a field day, with a story like this.

"Do you think no one's tried?" asks Blythe, scoffing right back. "There are some people outside who know, alright, but you just try alerting the media and see how far you get -- or how far any reporter who listens to you gets."

Bruce winced a bit, both at being snapped at and the implied threat. He sighs, shrugging, his shoulders hunching, as if he could hide.

"I'm not accusing anyone of not trying," he responds softly. "It just seems like ROMAC would need outside help, very powerful help, to keep something this huge quiet. Leaking information to the press, to the public, is becoming easier and easier. How can so many people be kept silent?"

She's sorry she was so sharp with him as soon as she sees his reaction. Blythe sighs and lays a hand on his arm. "This isn't the only rift, and this isn't the only branch of ROMAC," she tells him a bit more gently. "They have the government's blessing -- they won't kill you or torture you, but they can make you disappear."

Bruce nods, his mouth tightening grimly. He shivers at the idea of people disappearing.

"If they disappear, how do you know they aren't tortured or killed?"

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