[Aiden hums, silent for a moment as he tries to decide what to do with that. if nothing else, the Doctor at least doesn't care about Jemma. he's not sure if that's useful or not, though. might as well file it away for later, until he can talk to her, maybe]
[either way, he's silent for a long moment, before:] You know, he asked me to try and find a cursebreaker. Or at least someone who knew more than I do about magic. [he's picked up a lot, since coming here, both in theory and in practice, but he's no expert]
Pretty sure the implication was that he wanted help getting out from under Barbas. [or out from under the Doctor, maybe, now that he's aware of that little tidbit] You notice he couldn't say his name?
I did. There's some kind of mental conditioning in play, I think. When I confronted Fitz prior to the spell being cast, the more I tried to push him on the subject, the more unstable he became.
Well, at least we know how to push him, if we need to.
[he's tempted, if only for a minute, to go back and see Fitz and purposefully push, so he can interrogate the Doctor rather than Fitz. he ultimately decides against it as quickly as the idea occurred to him, however, if only because it seems like a really fucking bad one. still, though. it's an option, if they can control the fallout and if worse comes to worst]
[either way, though] Part of me's paranoid he wants someone who can do magic for some other reason, though. [what if whatever nefarious plans the Doctor has, at this point, hinges on having someone who can do magic handy?]
[Natasha thumbs her sleeve idly, arms crossed over her chest as she considers. Magic isn't her area of expertise at all. And unfortunately, they've lost most of the people she might have considered asking about it.]
He's incredibly stubborn about accepting it. Seems to consider that scientific.
Yeah, pretty sure there's nothing scientific about this.
[he holds up a hand, that said, flames springing to life at the tips of his fingers. did Natasha know he was magic before now? well, if not, there you go, Natasha. he picked some up, last year, back when they were all relegated to high school thanks to Barbas]
[Aiden might have an easier time rationalizing the wings, scientifically, but he's not going to argue that, right now. instead, his eyes flick between her, the wings and back again, and then he's humming]
[a moment of silence follows, before:] Either way. Think I should actually work on trying to find someone?
[did he mention he's not sold on the idea of finding someone with some magical know-how and delivering them to Fitz?]
[it definitely wouldn't hurt, at least -- and maybe he could learn a thing or two from whoever, like how to hide what he's becoming. he really never considered himself a vain man, but]
[his first thought is that she's going to suggest Lilith, for all that she's one of the magical heavy hitters around here and for all of Natalia's constant disapproval of her. his second is that it has to be one of them, not someone who's constantly at the epicenter of all the bullshit, and in that case -- well, he has no idea who she's going to suggest]
[Aiden huffs out a breath of a laugh, the sound entirely without humor -- yeah, he can see why she said Natalia wouldn't like it, now]
[truth be told, he's not sure how he feels about Wanda, either. they've never spoken more than maybe a 'hi' in the hallway, but some of the shit Talia's told him is downright worrying. he's not sure he can trust her to keep her shit together, with or without Hell's influence. he's not sure she won't be a liability, at some point]
... what about that kid who made all the minions? Kaplan?
[Natasha nods, because none of this is really in her wheel house. At this point, it's familiar enough that she can say something like that and not feel like she's losing her mind.
But it's still ridiculous half-nonsense.]
He'd be an option. I'm not really sure how much their abilities overlap, but they're definitely in the same vein.
[funny, though, how Natalia seems to think more highly of Billy than Wanda, now that he thinks about it]
[either way, though, he shrugs] That's two names, at least. [two more than he had, when he started. he'll have to see about approaching one or the other of them]
[In a weird way. Natasha shrugs a little. She won't push too strongly for Wanda, but she doesn't believe that her counterpart's misgivings should extend to another universe.]
It's a start. They might have other suggestions. You figure all of the wizards and witches around here have a network?
[that was one of his selling points to Fitz, trying to get him to give him the names of the people who were working on this, too -- that he was good at gathering a crowd and then using them to get shit done. he has no idea when that happened. he was always sort of a lone wolf, back home, wasn't he? but then again, he had Jordi and Clara and Ray. maybe he's better at this shit than he wants to give himself credit for]
[either way, excuse him a minute while he rubs at his forehead, frustrated with the situation, whether or not he's in charge of it. when he drops his hand, he shakes his head]
'nother thing that's bothering me is where Barbas's legion, at this point.
[are they on their way here, to free him? does he need to raise more than just a magic expert, more than just a handful of people?]
It's seemed like something for the backburner as long as they didn't have reports of an army on the way and Barbas is in captivity. But Mammon is out there, to say nothing of other potential players.]
Think it's too much to hope that they're a snake without a head?
It might buy us some time, not having Barbas around to give orders, but. [he shakes his head. but he doesn't think it's going to stop anything. if anything, they'll be coming for him]
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[in the meantime]
You know who the wife was?
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[Don't worry. She already has plans to change that.]
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[he might have to reach out to her, too]
[either way, he's silent for a long moment, before:] You know, he asked me to try and find a cursebreaker. Or at least someone who knew more than I do about magic. [he's picked up a lot, since coming here, both in theory and in practice, but he's no expert]
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[This bit is new to Natasha.]
Did he explain why?
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Until the Doctor finally came out.
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[he's tempted, if only for a minute, to go back and see Fitz and purposefully push, so he can interrogate the Doctor rather than Fitz. he ultimately decides against it as quickly as the idea occurred to him, however, if only because it seems like a really fucking bad one. still, though. it's an option, if they can control the fallout and if worse comes to worst]
[either way, though] Part of me's paranoid he wants someone who can do magic for some other reason, though. [what if whatever nefarious plans the Doctor has, at this point, hinges on having someone who can do magic handy?]
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[Natasha thumbs her sleeve idly, arms crossed over her chest as she considers. Magic isn't her area of expertise at all. And unfortunately, they've lost most of the people she might have considered asking about it.]
He's incredibly stubborn about accepting it. Seems to consider that scientific.
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Yeah, pretty sure there's nothing scientific about this.
[he holds up a hand, that said, flames springing to life at the tips of his fingers. did Natasha know he was magic before now? well, if not, there you go, Natasha. he picked some up, last year, back when they were all relegated to high school thanks to Barbas]
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That makes two of us.
[She's fairly sure there's no science to support that one.]
Of course, that doesn't stop him from working jointly with people using magic, or trying to take advantage of it.
It just means he's sure it's science, somehow.
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[a moment of silence follows, before:] Either way. Think I should actually work on trying to find someone?
[did he mention he's not sold on the idea of finding someone with some magical know-how and delivering them to Fitz?]
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[Natasha shrugs. He doesn't have to tell her he's considered not delivering them at all. She's considered it, so she assumes he has too.]
Maybe they can give you a better idea if they'd be able to help at all.
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[it definitely wouldn't hurt, at least -- and maybe he could learn a thing or two from whoever, like how to hide what he's becoming. he really never considered himself a vain man, but]
Gonna guess you don't have anyone you'd suggest?
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[Loki's been gone a little while now. Strange a lot longer.]
There is someone who comes to mind, but I'm not sure Talia would approve.
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[his first thought is that she's going to suggest Lilith, for all that she's one of the magical heavy hitters around here and for all of Natalia's constant disapproval of her. his second is that it has to be one of them, not someone who's constantly at the epicenter of all the bullshit, and in that case -- well, he has no idea who she's going to suggest]
[so, go ahead, Natalia. pitch it to him]
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[Something like that. It's complicated, and certainly not how they talked about it before Natasha's death.]
As I understand it she has access to some magical resources.
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[truth be told, he's not sure how he feels about Wanda, either. they've never spoken more than maybe a 'hi' in the hallway, but some of the shit Talia's told him is downright worrying. he's not sure he can trust her to keep her shit together, with or without Hell's influence. he's not sure she won't be a liability, at some point]
... what about that kid who made all the minions? Kaplan?
[see you one, raise you one?]
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[Natasha nods, because none of this is really in her wheel house. At this point, it's familiar enough that she can say something like that and not feel like she's losing her mind.
But it's still ridiculous half-nonsense.]
He'd be an option. I'm not really sure how much their abilities overlap, but they're definitely in the same vein.
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[funny, though, how Natalia seems to think more highly of Billy than Wanda, now that he thinks about it]
[either way, though, he shrugs] That's two names, at least. [two more than he had, when he started. he'll have to see about approaching one or the other of them]
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It's a start. They might have other suggestions. You figure all of the wizards and witches around here have a network?
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Me and Ray know most of the tech guys, around here.
[so, it stands to reason all the magical types might know each other, too]
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[She shrugs a little. But she knows there are more magical people here than she follows.
People do tend to gravitate to like.]
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[that was one of his selling points to Fitz, trying to get him to give him the names of the people who were working on this, too -- that he was good at gathering a crowd and then using them to get shit done. he has no idea when that happened. he was always sort of a lone wolf, back home, wasn't he? but then again, he had Jordi and Clara and Ray. maybe he's better at this shit than he wants to give himself credit for]
[either way, excuse him a minute while he rubs at his forehead, frustrated with the situation, whether or not he's in charge of it. when he drops his hand, he shakes his head]
'nother thing that's bothering me is where Barbas's legion, at this point.
[are they on their way here, to free him? does he need to raise more than just a magic expert, more than just a handful of people?]
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More than a time or two.
It's seemed like something for the backburner as long as they didn't have reports of an army on the way and Barbas is in captivity. But Mammon is out there, to say nothing of other potential players.]
Think it's too much to hope that they're a snake without a head?
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[he's silent for a moment, thoughtful]
It might buy us some time, not having Barbas around to give orders, but. [he shakes his head. but he doesn't think it's going to stop anything. if anything, they'll be coming for him]
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